During his visit to the United States in April, President Hu Jintao devoted a large part of his speech at Yale University to the topic of Chinese culture.

This is perhaps the first time in modern Chinese history that one of the nation's top leaders has addressed an elite audience in an advanced Western country on this subject.

This was truly significant, as it was a clear indication of China's progress. In that process, the country is gradually regaining its self-confidence and taking another look at its heritage.

China is a great nation, but it struggled to survive after being attacked by Western powers and reduced to a semi-colonial status in the latter part of the 19th century. In that process, we did a lot of painful soul-searching. One of the conclusions we arrived at was that we had to learn from the West, with the only difference being on whether we did it in a wholesale or selective manner.

In the end, we did not have much choice, as the country was being caught up with successive conflicts, civil wars, famines and hyperinflation. Stark reality forced us to adopt and adapt, improvising with whatever that came along. All the time we had to admit that we were backward, poor and ignorant, although we knew deep in our hearts that the descendants of the dragon could not be that bad.

For a whole century, the proud people of this great country suffered from a great shame and agony that few outsiders could possibly understand. In October 1949, when Chairman Mao Zedong announced the establishment of the People's Republic of China and proclaimed to the world that "the Chinese people have stood up," this declaration accurately captured the mood of the country. We had been knocked down several times, but we refused to give in, and were now making a comeback. Nevertheless, we still had to wait for another 30 years for the launch of the reform and opening up policy under late leader Deng Xiaoping to seriously start to fulfil this collective aspiration.

In the subsequent quarter of a century, China has broken one development record after another. Never in human history have so many people enjoyed such a period of uninterrupted progress. During this period, China has been growing at an average annual rate of 9 per cent, and nearly 300 million people equivalent to the population of the United States have been single-handedly lifted out of poverty. The Chinese model of development, popularly known as the "Beijing consensus," is now recognized as being superior to the "Washington consensus," the model proposed by the United States to Latin America.

China remains a developing country. Our economy is the world's fourth-largest, and is predicted to be number one in about 20 years' time. But on a per capita basis, China will remain in the middle-income bracket. Bearing in mind the fact that on the eve of the Opium War in 1840, which started the nation's downward spiral, China used to account for one-third of global GDP, this is nothing to boast about. Nevertheless, we have already gone so far, we have somewhat vindicated ourselves.

At one time, many Chinese people worshipped Western culture as a symbol of modernity. We now have a renewed confidence in our own cultural identity, but remain firmly committed to the cause of modernization.

The Chinese people are now perhaps the most inquisitive in the world. Lacking any traditional burdens and inhibitions, we are free to sample all the goodies, and are also prepared to throw out those we do not like, no matter whether they are local or imported. Now we can understand the situation a little better, and can put it into a proper perspective. We can sort out fact from fiction, and we tend not to over-generalize and mystify.

With that, we gradually establish our own perspectives, a healthy, open and balanced one. We can now face any country in the world as equals, and more importantly, we can also face our ancestors and look at them straight in the eye. There is in fact nothing wrong with Chinese culture. Like any other culture on the planet, it grew out of necessity and habit handed down from one generation to another. Like it or not, we are being surrounded and moulded by our culture, and there is no way we can cut ourselves off from it.

With that also comes the realization that the blind Westernization of the recent past has done us great damage. The adoption of a high-protein diet has resulted, just like what is happening in the West, in a high incidence of obesity, hypertension, diabetes and cancer. The emulation of an automobile society is now bringing us havoc and pollution. We have determined to find our own way, taking reference from experience around the world.

The world is rich with cultural diversity, and we are proud to maintain our own idiosyncrasies. Slanted eyes are equally as beautiful as round ones.

Currently, it is fashionable for middle-class people to celebrate Western festivals. Many send cards at Christmas and flowers on Valentine's Day, forgetting that Lunar New Year is our day of family reunions. We also have our Lovers' Day, with equally, if not more, romantic legends behind it. Some members of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) are now advocating making major traditional festivals public holidays. The chances are that they will succeed.

China is beginning to send instructors all over the world to teach people our language, one that is the mother tongue of over 20 per cent of humankind, and that is fast becoming the second language in increasing number of countries and schools. Very soon, there will be 100 Confucius Institutes around the world. Some say this is the projection of China's "soft power." We do not see it this way. We have never wanted to dominate the world, and we have never sought power. We are China, and we are proud of our identity.

The author is a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference from Hong Kong.

(China Daily 07/07/2006 page4)