Chinese youth independent and care for society

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-05-24 19:29

Whether the critics like it or not, Bi's generation has already won some approval from the public since last year, when a succession of events in China drew worldwide attention.

In the wake of the March 14 Lhasa riot, during which at least 18 innocent civilians and one policeman were killed, many young Chinese organized online autograph campaigns to denounce irresponsible and distorted media coverage on Tibet.

Rao Jin, a then 23-year-old graduate from Tsinghua Univeristy, soon set up a Web site called anti-cnn.com to especially point out the alleged media bias with reference to Tibet.

Right after a magnitude-8.0 earthquake shattered southwest China, thousands of college students across China donated their allowances to the quake-devastated region. There were also media reports about Internet addicts who beat their habits to volunteer in quake-stricken regions.

The upsurge of patriotism and responsible images of the Chinese youth almost took the public by surprise.

Zhang Jianguo, the editor-in-chief who has also been paying attention to young people's ideological thinking for more than 20 years, said China's remarkable achievements in economy, social affairs and sports was one of the reasons behind the success of this generation.

The achievements helped shape the pride of modern Chinese youth and make them feel more attached to their country, he said.

Some western media trends have stoked the young people's repulsion to the West and in turn aroused the patriotic passion of the young people, he said.

Yang Mei, a 21-year-old college student majoring in international economy and trade, said her generation could think for itself.

She said her generation was saturated with information, giving them the opportunity to make their own judgments.

Yu Kejie, a professor of ideological and contemporary history studies at CFAU, said today's Chinese college students have an "active mind" and "are politically sensitive."

Despite the improved image of the Chinese young people during events such as quake-relief and Olympics, there were unquestionably suspicions and doubts.

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