Learn from India: ex-PLA officer
23.05.12
China should learn from India by encouraging religious beliefs and promoting democratic values, a retired official of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) has said in a commentary that has stirred debate in Chinese cyberspace.
China also needed to follow India's example in strategic affairs, devoting more attention to its navy to project power across the oceans and being steadfast in enforcing its territorial claims — as India was over Arunachal Pradesh — wrote Song Zhongping, a retired military instructor at the PLA's influential Second Artillery Force and now a widely-followed military strategist.
His article, titled “China should be humble and learn from India”, has sparked debate in China's thriving online community, receiving more than 250,000 views within just two days of being posted on the news website of Hong Kong-based Phoenix television.
“We should not only learn from the West, but India as well,” Mr. Song argued, pointing to five specific areas where he felt China could learn from India. Most Chinese, he said, tended to “look down upon India”, showing “contempt for a poor, democratic country” when they saw images such as huge crowds on trains that often circulated on Chinese blogs.
Source: The Hindu