Why he no act like mandarin?

Lovers of irony stand by for a wry chuckle.  Let me begin by introducing you to Mr. Gary Locke who sounds about as American as apple pie but is, in fact, half Chinese by ethnicity.  Other than that you could describe him as an example of the American Dream come true.  American-born, by dint of hard work Mr. Locke gained access to Yale University and then rose to be governor of the State of Washington.  He is a Dem0crat, albeit, one who runs by his own rules.  Despite that, President Obama chose him to be the new ambassador to China - and that is where the fun begins according to The Atlantic magazine. You see, in the People's Democracy of China, run under communist principles which insist that the rulers are in fact the servants of the people (do stop giggling, I'm trying to be serious here!), in fact, the rulers are the absolutely grandest Grand Panjandrums of the world who enjoy luxoury living, perfect security, first-class travel and the very best hotel suites on offer.  Thus, the behaviour of the new ambassador from the USA drove everyone crazy!  First of all he was reported in the Chinese media as carrying his own suitcases, driving around in a minivan instead of a limo, flying economy class despite being offered an upgrade and chatting politely to all and sundry.  The Chinese people, of course, being twitter-crazy passed this information round in an instant, comparing his easy going, low key style to that of the communist mandarins who lord it over them.  This in turn produced a Party backlash via the controlled media attacking Ambassador Locke:

[N]ewscaster Rui Chenggang, after directing a rude question to the ambassador at the WEF in Dalian a few weeks ago, wrote that the ambassador is "promoting American values," and only talking about what is good about the United States. The Guangming Daily warned the Chinese people not to be "seduced by Gary Locke's façade"...after all, who is to say that it "isn't the intention of the U.S. to use a Chinese to control the Chinese and incite political chaos in China." And most recently, the Global Times has joined the fray, arguing that it is "unbelievable that Locke's casual stroll through hutongs with his family could win so much praise." Moreover, a "U.S. ambassador should devote himself to the relationship between China and the U.S. rather than play a role in Chinese media. A U.S. ambassador becoming a political star in China cannot be interpreted as U.S. respect for China."

Well, if the Chinese don't like him, send him over here, we'd love him!

 

Comments

[Whyaxye]

Thanks for this - there is something delightful about this story. It is largely to do with the responses of the Chinese leadership that you quote. I'm sure something has been lost in translation, but how graceless, inept, and utterly shit these protestations are.

[David Duff]

Apparatchiks are the same the world over.