China is seen as somehow lacking on the subject of democracy while the West has been glorified by this one word. Your correspondent argues that “doing great” is not the same as “doing right” in her letter (“The Chinese Communist Party has done great. Is it the same as doing right?”, December 31). However, many Western scholars, journalists and politicians also argue that their “democracy” model does not necessarily produce great or the right results.
Look at the dilapidated public services and breakdown of social order in the United States. Take, for example, the infamous January 6 insurrection on Capitol Hill, the homeless living in tents along stretches in ritzy neighbourhoods in major cities, the “smash and grab” mobs looting shops on Black Friday this year.
On the subject of freedom of speech, your chief news editor Yonden Lhatoo rightly points out the hypocrisy that is so obvious for anyone to see – Julian Assange, who has been exposing American war crimes and other crimes for years, is now facing a grim future thanks to Western countries’ actions.
Statistics lie and hide. While China is being accused of producing the world’s largest amount of greenhouse gas emissions, no one mentions that about one-third of the world’s manufactured goods are produced in that country. The per capita carbon emissions of the United States, Canada and Australia are far more than China’s.
We are not fine with the one-phrase condemnation. We are not fine with receiving lectures from Western countries which need a lecture themselves.
Philip S.K. Leung, Pok Fu Lam
https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3162519/living-covid-or-zero-covid-can-world-agree-standard-approach