Western liberalism has lost me.

When my plane landed in Sydney on 19 January 1989, I recited a tragic Chinese poem: Dangers lie ahead, I may not return alive. But I am fearless. 风萧萧兮易水寒，壮士一去兮不复还。

I had embraced western liberalism well before the People’s Bank of China sent me to Australia to study. Since then I, an economic refugee, have survived and arguably even thrived in Australia and Hong Kong.

I’ve written many articles for major outlets of western liberalism (incl. NYT, AWSJ, FT, Bloomberg, SCMP, Nikkei, AFR and Reuters). And a lot more in China’s publications, critical of China.

But western liberalism has lost me. I see that camp as full of bias, prejudice, lies and hostility. Everything China does must be wrong. Whenever China is in dispute with another country, it must be China that is in the wrong. Too many journalists and academics are in a full-time profession to damage China. To me, some are just instruments of western imperialism. They are on a mission: but not for the truth.

Their coverage of China and Hong Kong riots is often factually wrong. Double standards are commonplace. Even on economics I happen to know a little, many are less than honest.

#china