Canadian Newspapers Eye on China's Rise
This past weekend, all major newspapers across Canada, be it at national level or city level, were seen with special reports on China.
Among them, the Globe and Mail is the most comphrehensive, covering all major topics from business, economy, politics to language, culture, society and environment.
Edward Greenspon, Editor-in-Chief of the Globe and Mail wrote:
Make no mistake about it. China is rising. Nothing will so define the world tomorrow as how this nation of 1.3 billion expresses its ambition. Li Zhaoxing, the country's Foreign Minister, told The Globe and Mail's Geoffrey York this week that the Chinese government is encouraging state enterprises to invest in Canada, particularly in the natural resources sector. The proposed purchase of mining giant Noranda is not a singular event, but part of a much larger process - one that is already sparking debate in Canada.
Today's Globe and Mail, in the largest single undertaking in our history, reflects our own ambition. Three dozen Globe journalists toiled over several months to put together a comphrehensive and readable portrait of contemporary China.
Our attention to the rise of China is no passing fad. We've operated a bureau there since 1959, the longest stretch of any Western newspaper. The story keeps getting bigger, and so does our ambition to tell it.
Most of the stories are not new to those who have followed China news closely. What I find interesting were its reports on society, whether the Chinese language would dominate the world and a piece on architecture in Beijing. Its editorial also makes an interesting read: "If Chinese are getting freer and richer, why do they need democracy?" (via China News Digest) The short answer is, you don't want to end up like Indonesia.
Fons said that such special attention on China is part of a major trend that will make waves in the coming months. We shall see.
