The search for a Chinese-Indian relationship takes us to Agra. The city of the Taj Mahal, which is said to be the world's most magnificent building. The white marble structure was built by a Mogul king as a mausoleum for his wife. A symbol of profound love.
The governments of China and India declared 2007 to be the "Year of friendship through tourism". It is one of the ways in which the two countries are trying to warm up relations between their people. Every year, 17 million Chinese travel abroad. The Taj Mahal is India's biggest tourist attraction, but where are India's new Chinese friends? We see Koreans, Japanese, Cambodians, Taiwanese, but no Chinese.
Early days
Alice Wang is the deputy head of the Chinese Tourism Bureau in Delhi that opened last year. Its early days for friendship links through tourism, she concludes. Every year 500,000 Indians travel to China. Only 50,000 Chinese come to India. And only a small proportion of either group is actually made up of tourists.
So China is ten times more attractive to Indians than vice versa. That's because Indian business people come to China to pick up raw materials and other goods. Also because China is an attractive country to visit, full of good hotels for all budgets, with a good infrastructure.
Meanwhile the Chinese in India have to pay at least two hundred dollars for a good hotel room, says Alice Wang. Another thing is that they have to eat at the hotel or in an expensive restaurant, because hygiene in other restaurants is poor.
Rubbish
On top of all that, as soon as the Chinese tourist sets foot outside, he finds himself standing in a pile of Indian rubbish. There are no pavements, rubbish is everywhere, and it's hot and smelly. People answer the call of nature wherever they feel like it.
"The Chinese are not like Europeans,who like the adventure of travelling around. The Chinese are like Americans. They want good standards and value for money."
Nevertheless, she has noticed that the Chinese are becoming curious about India, now that the two countries are often named in the same breath as Asia's emerging economies.
"They know that India is poor and think it's interesting that there are also very rich people here, and they want to see with their own eyes what freedom and democracy is."
Freedom
Alice Wang has her own ideas on the subject. "What kind of freedom do you call that?" she asks her Indian colleagues. With the caste system? Do you think an arranged marriage is freedom? Do you call it freedom when people are so lazy that teachers don't turn up to lessons? When everyone throws rubbish onto the streets?...
..The government here is too weak. That is why good plans are not implemented." India to catch up
Her Indian colleagues often agree with her that the failing government is getting in the way of progress. At the same time, several people are optimistic that India will eventually catch up with China. Development here may be better and more stable because it is based on democracy and freedom.
*RNW Translation (nc)
Tags:
China,
democracy,
freedom,
India,
Taj Mahal
JOHN Evans,
05-01-2009
- USA
Alice Wang's assertion that more Indians visit China than Chinese in India is absolutely correct. That is because Indians are richer and wealther than their Chinese counterparts. Indians have a significantly larger purchasing power than the Indians. Therefore, logic dictates that more Indian can afford to visit China.
MICHAEL,
23-12-2008
- UK
India does not need China's approval. China is a third world, poor country and India does not need lecturers from China.
USA, UK, Australia and Europe are very impressed with India's progress and development. India is a self sufficient country, 8th largest industralised country, Space, Nuclear and Military superpower, IT hub for the world's organisations, highly educated and intelligent population. It is expected that China feels threatened by India as it is seen a competitor and an adversary to stop China's aspirations and ambitions to be the sole superpower in Asia. India will not allow that. India is in fact a rope around the Chinese sweating necks :) No doubt Chinese insecurities and inferior complex will result in Chinese taking a negative and anti Indian position.
Jigish Parikh,
22-05-2008
- USA
This author is clearly a Xinhua writer, who writes "as been asked".....almost sure he/she has never travelled to India and hence would never know how it is to write a neutral article under the air of freedom....We Indians have the balls to accept where we lag and where we need to improve...When was China ever showing that sort of spirit ??? Instead they are killing the ozone layer and doing their best to destroy mother nature and human kind.
jasmin,
22-05-2008
- India
Nice debate about India!
As an Indian, I am equally proud of its heritage and equally embarrassed about the civic sense of some of us. Democracy is the best thing we have but it is being misused by the politicians who are incharge of the civic bodies, who govern the cleanliness of a city. And the other reason is the population, which is the direct effect of a benevolent Indian government who has allowed most of our neighbours as refugees. Though, they are our guests but they abuse the freedom by making slums, indulging in beggary, criminal activities and being terrorists. Recent Jaipur bombings are an example.Some of the sects in India don't follow the programme of family planning and living in harmony with others, as responsible citizens of India. Being too lenient, is causing most of the problems here.Nevertheless, I am proud of India as it is: a queer mixture of old and new. You can love India or hate India but surely, you can never ignore India. We love those who love us for what we are and welcome those, who hate us, to discover India. Have a first hand look of India, interact with the Indians, live here for a while.I bet, you won't notice the piles of rubbish and broken roads.Our affection compensates for all. We will come out of the dirt-rut, give us some time to grow.Thanks and love to all, who find India disconcerting but still love the Indians for who they are.
Dor,
22-05-2008
-
Which is better: strong government + less freedom, or weak government + freedom? The democracy system provides all politicians just speech skill instead of administration capability, people under such a system pay for their freedom.
Gerald,
22-05-2008
- Australia
Democracy and freedom are those entities which let you demonstrate against the government and topple the government, which lets those students learn about the Tienanmen square incident through internet whose teachers don't turn up for the classes. Cleanliness is the last thing that should come out of a Chinese mouth, Beijing, for your information, is the most polluted city in the whole world. Democracy is something which lets the media fight against the government that does not help the needy and poor, most of all it does let you migrate to cities unlike China, it allows people to fight against the government when their houses are brought down in the name of development. We don't have to listen to a biased view of any government run channel.
Boss,
sam_basu1@rediffmail.com,
22-05-2008
-
Woud you please take Yonlan to visit Taj Mahal someday?
