china

I was in discussions this week with Chinese media experts who predicted that Carrefour could be run completely out of China by protestors/boycotters. And it was certainly a shock to me to hear the CEO of a major ISP/portal actually supported the boycott.

It appears that Carrefour is now to pay for the transgressions of the west’s long-held fascination with all news that is negative regarding China. As a Chinese executive told me:”It is time we show the west we can and will fight back.”

As learned through the recent incidents in Tibet, behavioral contagion is powerful; Ordinarily peaceful people, spurred on by emotionally charged crowds, might commit acts they would ordinarily abhor.

I have long been a believer in peaceful civil disobedience as an answer to oppression of any kind. I draw the line when it becomes violent on either side.

The arsonists and murderers in Tibet should be held accountable for what they did. The boycott supporters who move beyond making an economic statement of solidarity and go on to hurt innocent foreigners should be brought to justice as well.

Shanghaiist: Attack on an American volunteer by anti-Carrefour mob in Zhuzhou, Hunan