14 Do not enter the path of the wicked, and do not walk in the way of evildoers.
15 Avoid it; do not go on it; turn away from it and pass on.
16 For they cannot sleep unless they have done wrong; they are robbed of sleep unless they have made someone stumble.
17 For they eat the bread of wickedness and drink the wine of violence.
18 But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until full day.
19 The way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know what they stumble over.
23 Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.
24 Put away from you crooked speech, and put devious talk far from you.
25 Let your eyes look directly forward and your gaze be straight before you.
26 Keep straight the path of your feet, and all your ways will be sure.
27 Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your foot away from evil. [Proverbs 4: 14-19,23-27, NRSV]
CGTN, the English-language news channel of China Global Television Network, based in Beijing, uploaded a video titled “The Year of the Dragon: Chinese dragon soars despite West’s biased caricature.” It features George Galloway, a fearless, trustworthy, straight-talking political commentator of great oratorical skills, a rare breed from Britain. Currently the leader of the Workers Party, he also hosts the talk show “The Mother of All Talk Shows”. He is very knowledgeable about the illegal US invasion of Iraq and its intentional, inhuman devastation. His fury over the insane killing and destruction of a beautiful country by the conniving West remains untamed. That Bush and Blair have never even been charged with crimes against humanity in the International Criminal Court (ICC) for what they had done to the Iraqis, that Netanyahu is still not charged for what he is doing in Gaza, and yet an arrest warrant was issued against Putin practically at the outset of the Ukraine conflict, is testimony enough to a biased system at the bidding of Western powers. The rest of the world sees all this, knows what’s going on, is vigilant of this Western narrative, and is holding the West’s hypocrisy in contempt.
Galloway is adamant that the US foreign policy is a poison well for the world. The BBC episode on 26 Sept 2014 in which he turned on Jacqui Smith, a former member of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown’s cabinets and said, “You killed one million people in Iraq” and menacingly stopped her from spewing further nonsense, is something to watch!
On his current Year of the Dragon video, the editor of the First Voice of CGTN noted:
- The year 2024 marks the Year of the Dragon. Through the ages, the Western narrative has often portrayed the dragon as a fire-breathing creature. Conversely, in China, the dragon is seen as benevolent and even being emblematic of the nation. The contrasting portrayal of this mythical animal has contributed to the West having a skewed and adversarial depiction of China. So, what is the real Chinese dragon? George Galloway, former British MP, pulls off the facade of Western narrative regarding the Chinese dragon and presents us with the authentic essence of this majestic creature that transcends time and cultural nuances.
Make no mistake, the US-led Western propaganda machine is all about control over narrative-right (话语权). The world’s mega media outlets being overwhelmingly Western, their domestic and international audiences have been thoroughly indoctrinated and quite irreparably harmed. For instance, one analyst puts it plainly: “Americans are unable to understand why Putin invaded Ukraine.” Nor, we must add, can they understand why the Palestinians are resisting Israeli genocidal atrocities against them in their own homeland, Palestine. The rest of the world realizes this, and is consciously working on countering this extensive, protracted, and continuing damage. Able-speakers everywhere ought to be supported. Just and righteous analysts from the West ought to be appreciated and promoted. In small ways, we must help our people to open their eyes, and “know what’s going on.”
If you wish to watch George Galloway speaking, go to https://news.cgtn.com/news/2024-02-04/Unmasking-China-s-true-dragon-Beyond-Western-bias-1qVdf5bCvPa/p.html. The transcript is reproduced below. It makes for interesting reading and offers a fair picture of China, away from the run-of-the-mill negative caricature by the West.
The Chinese New Year on February 10 will see the dawn of the Year of the Loong – better known in the English-speaking world as the iconic Chinese dragon. And the dragon is a powerful thing.
The Western media often use the imagery of the fire-spewing dragon to project a hostile image of China. So don’t be surprised to see top Western media outlets resorting to similar “dragon” headlines and caricatures to perpetuate a biased narrative against Beijing in the Year of the Loong.
Why, we have already seen The Economist featuring on its cover a Chinese dragon breathing fire on the Earth with the title screaming “The World’s Worst Polluter.” This claim ignores the fact that the U.S. and European nations have historically been the biggest emitters since the industrial revolution and conveniently hides the per capita numbers, which puts Chinese emissions way below much of the developed West.
Meanwhile, there have also been lectures in the Western academic corridors with titles such as “The Chinese Dragon and the Yellow Peril,” reeking racist undertones. These prejudiced narratives involving the dragon caricature in the Western media and political-academic discourse contrast with China’s actual contributions and initiatives fostering global cooperation and development, in stark contradiction to the negative imagery associated with the dragon metaphor.
Many Western leaders have tried to stop the continuous rise of the dragon over the last 75 years, but all have failed.
Modern China with its mixed economy under Socialist leadership has swept all before it. The sun has risen in the east. In Rudyard Kipling’s words ‘like thunder, out of China across the bay.” And it has lit up not just the road to Mandalay.
China’s Belt and Road Initiative is paving the way to prosperity all over the world.
Roads, railways, and aviation are forging ahead in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and even in the Middle East. According to official figures, two-way investment between China and the over 130 countries that are involved in the BRI totalled more than $380 billion between 2013 and 2022, among which China’s outward direct investment exceeded $240 billion.
It is a new kind of Loong, or dragon, seeking neither dominion nor subjugation but cooperation and the philosophy of win-win. While China’s adversaries deliver lectures, orders, threats, and invasions, China delivers airports, high-speed rail links, six-lane highways, and rising prosperity.
While others foment war, sending the horsemen of the apocalypse to ride roughshod over millions of lives, China brokers peace, reconciliation and harmony.
The Chinese economy is set fair with rising life-expectancy, standards of health, and educational attainment, and stands atop all happiness indexes as her rivals sink into a slough of despond.
A good comparator is the United Kingdom which last year named China as its “biggest threat.” No government in the whole world is less popular with its own citizens than that of Britain. No developed economy perches more precariously on the precipice. No G7 country is more divided with national institutions, more hollowed out. Like Don Quixote, the British government tilts at foreign windmills which are a figment of its imagination. Whether through derangement or deliberate displacement activity, who can tell? But it makes no difference. The more China advances, the more the UK falls behind, and none can see it more clearly than the British people themselves.
The Loong aka Dragon is rising, leaping, bounding. And Rishi Sunak sure isn’t anybody’s idea of “St. George.”
Wishing you all a happy Spring Festival Lunar New Year break.
Copyright © Dr. Jeffrey & Angie Goh, February 2024. All rights reserved.
To comment, email jeffangiegoh@gmail.com.