By MICHAEL CONNOLLY
While many Chinese expected this summer's Olympics in Beijing to make 2008 a year for celebrating their country's re-entry to the international community and its rising global status from three decades of economic and political reforms, the international furor over Beijing's policies on Tibet and Darfur instead is feeding a deepening disappointment.
Amid weekend demonstrations against French retailer Carrefour SA, involving thousands of people in several cities across China and a broader push for a boycott of the retailer, the protests and mutual recriminations between China and its foreign critics are exposing a stark disconnect between how China views itself and how many people abroad view China. As Jason Dean and Andrew Batson report, misunderstandings have multiplied as the opposing sides seem to consistently to talk past each other.
While foreign critics focus on issues like Tibet, many Chinese feel they ignore decades of broader economic and social progress in their country. Condemnation of Chinese government policies is being received in China as attacking the nation as a whole, arousing widespread public resentment. The most vocal responses are then seen with alarm overseas as government-sanctioned nationalism run amok, further reinforcing negative images of China.
Read Jason Dean and Andrew Batson's report from Beijing:
