Japan's NHK General TV aired the documentary: Great Railway Journeys across China by Tomohiro Sekiguchi, and hereby offered the Japanese audience a unique glimpse into contemporary China and the colorful life led by Chinese citizens. The low-brow, grass-roots culture emphasized in the program has attracted a tremendous amount of Japanese viewers; and the program has seen its highest ratings ever.
Unlike popular travel programs, the documentary not only reveals breathtaking scenery along the railway journeys, but also captures the smiles and tears of ordinary Chinese people.
Many viewers were touched and expressed feelings in the NHK Blogs after watching the program,; and claimed their misconceptions and misunderstandings about Chinese conventions and values have more or less diminished, if not completely vanished.
One viewer commented: Modesty has long been regarded as an oriental virtue; particularly in Japan. We like to preface our remarks with "it's nothing": a habitual utterance in Japanese. For example, if congratulated by others on a promotion, we typically reply by saying, "it's nothing." This betrays something disguised in modesty; and conveys to others a sense of self-gratification. Comparatively speaking, ordinary Chinese on TV sound more sincere because neither do they have to prove anything, nor do they have to pretend. They can bluntly boast about their achievements and show off their outstanding capabilities.
He added that the program also revealed another side of Chinese people. They are so hospitable that they accommodate the language needs of those foreigners for whom the Chinese language still poses a barrier. People living in underdeveloped areas are so content with their simple – maybe even bitter life – that they remain so in the face of others' luck and good fortune.
The program is a hint to Chinese-Japanese relations that it is necessary to build "people-to-people" diplomacy between China and Japan, and to solidify bilateral ties.
At the annual conference of the Chinese-Japanese Friendship Committee, geared for the 21st century, the attendees reiterated the "three basics" for healthy China- Japan relations, underscoring the principle that the people of both nations are the true foundation for bilateral ties.
When Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao met with visiting Japanese Prime Minister Fukuda at the end of 2007, he said: "the real foundation lies in the people. People of the two nations shall promote mutual respect and understanding and treat each other equally."
If economic and trade cooperation represents today's friendship with immediate profits, exchanges between the two peoples will generate long-term benefits and influence the future.
The year 2007 marked the 35th anniversary of the restoration of Chinese-Japanese diplomatic relations, and the days to come will witness and test this strategic friendship. Media from both sides need to bridge the gap between the two cultures by releasing more objective and positive information.
Information exchange between people is the kind of diplomacy powerful enough to thaw the ice during a chilly political winter.
By People's Daily OnlineAuthor：China Others Time：2008-05-24 From：china daily
