“Welcoming”, “Diverse”, “Voluminous”… are the words for China.

On September 1st, a group of 12 American talented high school students were invited to a CCTV program. At the end of the program they were invited to briefly express their impressions on the country after the 15-day visit to China.

All the students are U.S. President Award winners (the program did not tell us exactly which award that is, and it is mostly likely to be the U.S President’s Award for Educational Excellence).

It is inspiring to see how these young American students view the differences in a almost entirely different culture, particularly at the time only just after the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics which has in fact ‘triggered’ a discussion of intercultural mutual learning in the country. It is also interesting to notice the differences between students from two educational system at the time when there is discussions over the strength and weakness of the both educational systems.

Here is the full list of terms we got from the program given by students to describe China:

“Welcoming”, “Diverse”, “Voluminous”, “Intellectually stimulating”, “Many many stories”, “Spirited”, “Crowded”, “Honest”, “Cyclical”, “Inspiring”, and “Amazing opportunities”.

And here is the online version of the program: China in Your Own Words: U.S. President Award Winners.

“China in Your Own Words” is in fact a CCTV program, which, by their own words, invites people “to tell in your own words, in your own way, the China that you know or experienced, regardless of your age, nationalities, or any other background”. And through this report we know that the visit was sponsored by Wall Street English, the biggest foreign English training company in China specialized in business English programs.

Picture source: “China in Your Own Words“, CCTV

I heard this through a program on Phoenix TV today at about 18:50 Beijing time that Thomas L. Friedman, the author of The World is Flat, made some interesting remarks when he was watching the Opening Ceremony of Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics. According to the program, the winner of three times of Pulitzer Prize said: look at the strength of this country, and, we shall send our children to learn Chinese. I am not sure if the remarks were true, (I went to the website of the TV to try to find the online version of the program but did not find it), but the remarks remind me of his famous book. Just as what the article on Japan Times Online put down:

There’s probably a lot of truth to Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Thomas L. Friedman’s groundbreaking book “The World Is Flat,” an in-depth look at how technology and globalism have revolutionized education, employment, communication and the livelihood of billions. Not surprisingly, China is featured prominently in this thought-provoking book.

China, more than any other nation, will feel the effects (good and bad) of these changes for decades to come.

The Olympics is the biggest example of Friedman’s treatise to date, the true launching point of China’s arrival as a global force. And it has provided endless hours of contemplation for sociologists, political pundits and average citizens in all corners of the Earth.

In regard to the Games, it is true when some people say it is a defining moment in China’s modern history. In terms of intercultural learning, 2008 Beijing Olympics is in fact a valuable chance for China, particularly for Beijing and other co-host cities, to interact with other cultures in a massive and joyful way, and it is also a great chance for the country as a whole to display its own cultural uniqueness to the world.

新华网2008年5月18日发表题为大半个国务院入川 外报称中国式总理想学学不来的文章，转引新加坡《联合早报》18日刊登署名周兆呈的文章说，“中国的总理难为”，“中国式总理，无法复制，想学也学不来”。以下为文章摘要：

无论是2005年飓风“卡特里娜”袭击美国，还是2004年底印尼大海啸，世界其他国家很少有领导人会在灾难发生时，除赶到现场视察灾情、慰问群众之外，还要亲自担任救灾总指挥。毕竟前者属于政治职责，后者属于专业领域。

而在中国地震救灾的前四天里，温家宝几乎是把大半个国务院搬到了四川。他自己在震后仅仅几个小时就已经坐镇灾区，国务院秘书长马凯、公安部长孟建柱一直跟随身旁。副总理回良玉后来也赶到，5月15日晚间在四川列车上召开的国务院抗震救灾指挥部的会议上，也看到了教育部长周济、工业和信息化部部长李毅中等多位部长。

温家宝亲临一线，四处疲于奔命地指挥、调度、慰问。在中国的社会环境之下，总理的到场除了提高应变效率、争取黄金时间、督促地方官员、现场拍板解决问题之外，第一时间奔赴灾区，指挥救灾、慰问百姓，更是灾场和全国民心稳定的巨大精神力量。

中国总理这个职位，自周恩来时代开始，就被赋予了兢兢业业、克尽职守的形象，“周总理”三个字既是一代中国人对周恩来的永恒纪念，也是对继任者的道德标尺和衡量比照。

1966年3月8日，中国河北邢台地区发生6.8级强烈地震。周恩来于3月9日、3月10日、4月1日先后三次冒着余震亲临地震灾区，顶着寒风、踏着瓦砾、进窝棚、下地窖、慰问伤病员，站在木箱子上给父老乡亲喊话，还带领群众高呼口号：“自力更生、奋发图强、发展生产、重建家园”。

这是1960年代中共高层与民众在危机时刻的沟通渠道和方式，双方没有距离，充满信任。2008年的地震与之以及1976年的唐山地震相比，拯救能力变得更强、处理方式变得公开透明、舆论更为自由开放、举国救灾的机制更为有效，而总理与受灾民众沟通的语言、慰问的姿态、鼓励的方式，自三四十年前至今，仍是一以贯之，没有什么太大的差别。

当温家宝对着灾民喊“党和政府没有忘记你们”，当温家宝对着救援部队说“不怕牺牲、不怕疲劳”，当温家宝对着电视镜头向全国表示，“广大军民团结一致，众志成城，我们一定能够战胜这场特别重大的地震灾害”，正在灾区受苦受难的民众以及对痛苦感同身受的中国其他地方人民，从这样沙哑颤抖而坚定的声音中，都听出了其中的温情、决心和斗志，绝不是流于表面和形式的口号。

这些政治话语，一旦灾难来袭，政治领袖的喊话却有了强大的动员力量，这样非常具有“中国特色”的政治语言，能够发挥出巨大的鼓舞作用，让灾区民众焦虑、恐惧的心情得到缓和，对未来不会绝望；参与救灾的人员也能够被激发出战斗意志，团结拼下去。“人民生命高于一切”、“与汶川人民心连心”、“一方有难　八方支援”，这些在救灾、安置现场比比皆是的标语、横幅，看似套话，却有着强大的精神激励效果。

解放军和武警战士急行军数十公里奔赴灾区、没日没夜解救灾民的时候，除了人道精神，也有理想与光荣的信念追求，“军民一家”、“人民子弟兵”的词汇才如此令他们刻骨铭心；当温家宝哽咽着抚慰儿童说，“孩子，别哭，孩子”，“以人为本”的理念才不会是仅仅停留在会议公报和党报党刊上的文字。

中国总理作为执政党最高层领袖，除了管理日常事务之外，同时也需要成为政党理想和原则的贯彻者和执行者，或者是展示者，证明这些政治话语不是形式、不是套话，而是执政者坚持的信念。

中国式总理，无法复制，想学也学不来。

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