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Don't lose sleep over surveys

(China Daily)
Updated: 2008-12-12 07:43

It is not necessary for Chinese to bother about some Japanese people's bad opinion of China, says an article in China Youth Daily. The following is an excerpt:

The latest survey released by Japan's cabinet showed that the number of Japanese who have a good opinion of China dropped by 2.2 percentage points to 31.8 percent of the surveyed, reaching a record low since 1978. Those respondents who said they have no good opinion of China jumped by 3.1 percentage points to 66.6 percent, also creating a record high.

It is inappropriate for some Chinese media to regard the "no good opinion" as anti-China. The major backdrop is China's food safety issue. Starting from last year's toxic dumpling imported from China, Japanese have been thrown into a panic, deeply worrying about Chinese companies and their products. Then followed the toxic infant milk powder, which has further tarnished the image of China.

In fact, the goodwill exchanges between Chinese and Japanese have continued. During the massive earthquake this year, the rescue team from Japan was the first to enter the devastated quake zone and also the first international one to enter China since the founding of New China.

It is not necessary for Chinese to be outrageous about Japan's record-high percentage of "no good opinion" of China. The most important thing for us is to have our own things done well and build a better China.

(China Daily 12/12/2008 page8)