A quote on Western MSM and hubris
quote by Eric Xun Li
An article that outines what Eric Xun Li, (founder of Guancha and prolific public speaker), stated was published in 2021.
Thinking about he said here:
“I think that the bad press is going to hurt the West more than it hurts China because it is blinding the Western public to what’s wrong with their own societies. And it’s portraying a China that’s so far from reality.”
This is spot on, more so, if you fast forward to 2023, the primal and lurid allegations still run wild in practically most of the Western MSM, now interwoven with the geopolitics of the conflict in Ukraine, along with sensationalised articles about spying or human right abuses, (especially the Chinese port gantries or the balloon incident, blown out of proportion), to get a glimpse of the sheer scale of "overly paranoid takes" that bounce around in Western MSM.
Of course, it has to be said that the Western MSM aren't taking the initiative of reporting in such a manner, since they routinely get a lending hand from unamed officials, government departments, thus reflecting the wider sense of both hubris and paranoia at government levels, especially in the U.S. In other words, they're become stenographers for governments and think tanks.
What is Western power?
The crux of the matter is essentially how the world ought to be viewed:
“What they really mean when they say ‘democracy’, is ‘liberal democracy’. What they really mean is that there is only one form of democracy,” Li
“Liberalism, of course, is about values, but on the ground, in practice, liberalism is about procedures. There is a set of procedures, and if you follow those procedures, liberal procedures, then by definition you are democratic - even if you’re starving to death.”
Eventually, all of these MSM narratives will be come home to roost and as Eric Xun Li said ultimately cause untold damage, not just to the societies but to global geopolitic relations. This is certainly the case now in the last couple of months, regarding China and the U.S. and also the EU. The recent change in tack, (to try a different method to deal with the same problem), by the Chinese government is revealing, in that it shows a high level of displeasure, that would have previously been only expressed behind closed doors. Chin is now overtly critical at the way that the West, principally the U.S., not only deals with China but also others countries.
Western MSM are eager cheerleaders for liberal democracy, with all of the baggage that it brings. Thus, there cannot be other versions tolerated and they cannot perceive or relate to other opinions. After all, of this is tied in closely to the Washington-led "rules-based order". As such any criticism levelled at the U.S. or the MSM is received very poorly, such is the level of hubris that permeates the political and media elites.
Western MSM are willing helpers in setting up the presets that shape geopolitical clashes, (just look at the collective MSM run up to the current conflict in Ukraine, with a handful of dissenting voices allowed). Regarding China, at the moment, it is a clash of words, economics and perceptions, but how long will it be when there is a violent clash of sorts?
Last thoughts, this time from an U.S. individual: