Profwssor Kerry Brown: The West is Hypocritical Towards China.

Professor Kerry Brown | This House Believes the West is Hypocritical Towards China | Cambridge Union Cambridge Union 154K subscribers Subscribe 384 Share Download 11,476 views Jan 12, 2025 CAMBRIDGE UNION Professor Kerry brown speaks as the third proposition for the motion in the Debating Chamber on Thursday 5th December 2024. With tensions rising between the West and China, this debate examines their relationship in greater detail. China’s increasing position on the global stage has led to much criticism from Western nations; however, given Europe’s colonial past, some feel that these criticisms ring hollow. ............................................................................................................................ Cambridge Union Society Debate Info: In The Chair: Sammy McDonald (Incoming President) Taking the Minutes: Leonas Pausch The Debate Motion title is always preceded in context by the phrase “This House Would”, “This Would Believes”, or simply “This House”. The Debate motion is typically phrased in Proposition of the argument prior to any votes or speeches, regardless of controversial nature. Six 10 minute speeches are given, alternating between each Proposition & Opposition speaker of the Debate Motion. The Chair governs authority over interjections, time limits, and any discretions/arrangements agreed between speakers and/or CUS. There are two ways interjections can be made by audience members; a Point of Information (upon acceptance from the speaker) or a Floor Speech. (Interjections are not to be interpreted as Audience Questions and can be denied or ignored at discretion of the Speaker or Chair) Points of Interest cannot be made during the first & last minutes of any speech, they also must be under 30 seconds and maintain relevance. (As a result it is impractical to provide microphones for Points of Interest and apologise for any issues with audibility) Floor speeches are made by audience members at intervals during the Debate discussing support for Proposition, Opposition or Abstention. (The Union rarely publishes Floor Speeches due to Release Form arrangements within membership contracts) At the end of the Debate, all Speakers and audience members cast their vote as they leave the Debating Chamber through doors labelled “AYES” & “NOES”, with the central door exit representing Abstentions. The Chair calls an announcement shortly after the Debate to confirm the votes. Full Debate: • This House Believes the West is Hypoc... ............................................................................................................................ Thumbnail Photographer: Nordin Catic ............................................................................................................................ PROFESSOR KERRY BROWN Professor Kerry Brown is Professor of Chinese Studies and director of the Lau China Institute at King’s College London. He has previously worked as Senior Fellow and Head of the Asia Programme at Chatham House. From 1998-2005, he worked at the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office, including as First Secretary at the British Embassy in Beijing. ............................................................................................................................ SUBSCRIBE for more speakers: / @cambridgeunionsoc1815 ............................................................................................................................ Connect with us on: Facebook: / thecambridgeunion Instagram: / cambridgeunion Twitter: / cambridgeunion LinkedIn: / cambridge-union-society Transcript Follow along using the transcript. Show transcript Cambridge Union 154K subscribers Videos About Facebook Instagram Twitter LinkedIn 133 Comments Eng Lam Yeo Add a comment... @michaelpattison8543 15 hours ago Hypocritical? It’s more like hysterical hubris. China is not our enemy. 116 Reply 6 replies @MichaelEthanChen 8 hours ago (edited) I find it interesting when the West criticized China on Human Rights when... -Gaza -How are Native Americans treated in the past and today in America? -How are Aboriginal Australians treated in the past and today? -How were the Muslims treated during the War on Terror? (Guantanamo Bay and Diego Garcia). -Did the people of Hong Kong have the right to vote during British rule? Anyhow, stop using Human Rights when the West does not grant any Rights or selective Rights when it suits them. 60 Reply @johnhopkins494 8 hours ago I can never understand those who expected China to become the west. For thousands of years the Chinese have debated how to live a good life and how to govern their country. From Taoism to Chinese Legalism there exists a huge range of extremely sophisticated philosophical and governance systems going back, in most cases, to the Warring States period. If you want to know what China will do you in the future and how it will develop you need to look at its history and ideas, not those of the west. 72 Reply 4 replies @meimiaolin2581 16 hours ago Is it not hypocritical to accuse China of human rights issues when there is an ongoing genocide in Gaza? 101 Reply 1 reply @robertng2398 13 hours ago At least this man tells the truth and is honest about it. Thank you.. 46 Reply @maun123a 1 day ago Keep in mind. Chine is at the early stage of industrilization. Chinese labors have better rights than English labors when Great braintan was at the early stage of industrilization. Chinese labors have fairer education opportunities, they are mostly covered with public healthcare, unemployment benefits, and retirement benefits. The Chinese government has been working on to extending the benefits to more Chinese people. 92 Reply @robintan502 7 hours ago Also observe and study the disaster relief efforts and national spirit that is happening now in Tibet, while contrasting this with the disaster happening in LA. Common destiny, common prosperity vs all man for themselves 32 Reply @flyingsnow1228 13 hours ago Excellent points raised! I particularly agree with two key ideas 1. Western countries do not provide a viable model for China to learn from that aligns with its unique history, culture, and complexity. Attempting to replicate such models risks failure, as seen in the case of Russia 2.The Western narrative about “China’s way” is primarily driven by self-interest, rather than any genuine concern for the well-being or interests of the Chinese people, so totally hypocritical. 44 Reply @philostreet781 8 hours ago (edited) What UK really wanted was an international caste system where China and other non-western nations remain at the lowest rung! Isn’t it? 7:50 27 Reply 2 replies @WalkOverHotCoal 9 hours ago Incredible to watch Professor Kerry Brown speaks for the entire 11 minutes without cue-cards. While I don't wish to wheel out "racism" to simply the argument, I do believe that the west is so used to be the top dog that it resents seeing the underdog becomes successful. I shall use a domestic situation to put my point across. You can argue for all you like, the men ate still the king of the castle in a marriage. Have you ever wondered why men choose to marry someone who is less educated, earning less, and has a less assertive personality? If you understand my point, then you know what I am talking about in relation to the often rocky relationship between the west and China. And the west would dearly want China to be that in that "female" submissive role. The west became enlightened during the 17th and 18th centuries. Technologies and notable inventions helped the west to stream ahead of the rest of the world. However, we must not forget that capitalism is NOT invented by the west. Remember the Silk Route? Well, China was a fine example of a capitalist. The mastery of silk trades made China rich and powerful, but not powerful like what we know how the west is. China didn't set out to conquer territories. Instead, it used trades to dominate the nations on the Silk Route. Sound familiar> Well, the Belt and Road Initiative is a bit like that. The British Empire grew rich and powerful at the expense of China. The most disgusting part of the British Empire was the use of Opium to poison and to subdue a large part of the Chinese population. So that is ugly capitalism in anyone's book. If we know a little about the British Empire, then we should know about how Hong Kong became the crown jewel of the British Empire. And Hong Kong is the perfect example to explain the relationship between the modern day China and the west. The British and the west still believes that the current day China can be corralled and cajoled by means of the democracy excuses. So essentially Hong Kong was the last stance the British Empire against the Chinese people....and the British and the west lost ! 24 Reply @chew5461-l7f 7 hours ago @6:27 Why must China follow or adopt the Western system of government??? What have the Western leaders done for their citizens? Have these Western leaders/politicians listened to their citizens or they listened only to their own bank accounts?? Look at the weekly street protests against G in US/UK/EU, has any Western leaders listened?? China leaders listen to their citizens and Pres Xi has done so much to uplift the well being of the Chinese people ... as well as help the poorer developing countries outside China. 24 Reply @hongqi5734 4 hours ago (edited) China has been reforming ever since its inception in 1949, and is still reforming but at its own pace and direction. And definitely not the Western System which is not compatible with the Chinese Culture. 9 Reply 2 replies @Dapicomp 17 hours ago the greatest difference b2n western style democracy and the Chinese system is that in the former, the leader is concerned about being judged by his contemporaries, but in the latter, the leader is concerned about being judged by history, often revised by ppl generations later. that's what having a 4000 year history ingraines in your soul. as an example, if you go to the west lake in hangzhou, zhejiang, you'll see two iron figures kneeling in front of a temple. they're a man and his wife. the man was a prime minister in the Song dynasty, 800 years ago, and he was the most notorious traitor in Chinese history. the figures were made so they would forever kneel down for their treason and till this day visitors from all over the country spit on them. 23 Reply 1 reply @wahlumng5192 6 hours ago Prof Kerry is a fair man when he analyses the achievement of China. When all of us are like him there is no need for animosity. 7 Reply @freemanol 4 hours ago I hope this forum continues. There's a high chance the government will eventually mark these speeches as threat to national security 9 Reply 1 reply @Marie-Hélène-p3f 6 hours ago Strange that noted British scientists like Joseph Needham have for decades been doing intense researches and publishing their findings on China, yet very little of that got through to the general public, especially the younger generations. 7 Reply @samsun01 1 hour ago When Nancy Pelosi said "Beautiful sight to behold" when HK was on fire, this is not how a leader should behave. So, the L.A. Fire is, technically a "Beautiful Sight to Behold", at least according to Nancy Pelosi. 1 Reply @chekim2 2 hours ago This speaker pretends to do some introspection (with some honesty we should say) but at the same time spit out the usual racist commentary. - No labor law: try to run a company in China and he'll learn the laws - Terrible human right: yeah right, dare him compare to what the UK, EU and US did over the centuries, and still today in the Middle-East? Why the premise that China must learn from the West that earned its supremacy from collective violence, cultural looting, mass genocide, steal land, trade slaves? He is a despicable intellectual who is publishing books that continue to spread racist viewpoints and naive assumptions. Poor UK. 3 Reply @kshen7485 1 day ago Pirates never have value. 14 Reply 1 reply @kshen7485 1 day ago No matter how correct, great and glorious you would be before, you doomed to fail unless you continue to reform or modify yourself. There is no "The end of history" in our human evolution process. 12 Reply @altamontchin15 1 day ago The guy with the red hair in bored wishing he was somewhere else 17 Reply 3 replies @胡 3 hours ago The fourth point is the most fundamental, which encompasses the first three, that the West’s system is nothing to be regarded as worth copying. I’d like to add that many so-called rights that my country is supposed to be violating are just called rights, but there are two things to remember. First, calling something rights doesn’t automatically prove it’s worthiness (gun? unregulated speech which is just another kind of gun?). Second, banning something as rights doesn’t mean making it automatic punishable, rather, at least in China, often means not readily provided by default, as a means to contain the potential. Practically you can do anything in China as a Japanese can in his country. Reply @yxingo7368 2 hours ago I just curious about how can Adrian Zenz get his Phd in Cambridge, by simply just making things up in China. Reply @nigelralphmurphy2852 5 hours ago EVERY nation's foreign policy is based on self interest. 3 Reply @nigelralphmurphy2852 5 hours ago Village democracy (sic) lasted about as long as it takes to break wind. It was a joke and just a huge insult to anyone with any degree of intelligence and decency. 2 Reply @GenghisX999 1 hour ago Listening to this good Professor speak about China, the Chinese realize how absolutely ignorant the west is about China, its history and its intentions and goals for the future.. Reply @richardhuang1194 9 hours ago The chair boy looks weird 3 Reply @JW-rx7ul 1 hour ago That sounded like a pretty honest assessment. What's the conclusion? What should the west, in particular the UK, do differently going forward? Reply @FrancoiseYoung-c1m 8 hours ago U are a beautiful & honest human being . Love u more 👍🇨🇳❤️ 3 Reply @Stta-p5q 15 hours ago Is the CU president auditioning for the next Joker's role? 4 Reply 1 reply @chengsweelim2765 3 hours ago Good analysis of Western hypocrisy Reply @oraclebone2633 3 hours ago (edited) From 1:00 on, just notice what the one person sitting on the chair's seat was doing ... The chairman was deeply stirred by Professor's words, which clearly upset or went against his beliefs... Reply @pavedmaloney1157 3 hours ago what a bunch of HYPOCRITES Reply @nigelralphmurphy2852 5 hours ago ALL the money Robert Hart made from his running of the Customs Department went to the Chinese Qing state. Hart was an employee of the Chinese state and the money he made for China from the Customs Department was the largest source of income the Qing received from both internal and external taxes and tariffs. How does he not know that simple fact? Hart was one of the best servants China has ever had. 2 Reply @wwbren 3 hours ago i thought they have truly repented but it's just a debate. Reply @grouchypatch9185 1 hour ago Human rights abuse? Aptly described west foreign policies towards the developing world. Reply @steveschimleck7148 2 hours ago And I member, Reply @hehe-mq2bk 35 minutes ago who is the guy on the chair? he's distracting? Reply @nigelralphmurphy2852 5 hours ago He's not talking about the West. He's talking about America. AMERICA IS NOT THE WEST!! 1 Reply 1 reply @nigelralphmurphy2852 5 hours ago China does capitalism 'better' than us because it is not restrained by rules that generations of labour rights activists, human rights activists, socialists and trade unionists have fought and died for. Chinese capitalism 'works better' because it doesn't give a fig about its people. 'Terror capitalism' indeed. The major flaw with this 'the west is hypocritical with China' is that our flaws and weaknesses and hypocrisies DO NOT mean China's problems suddenly melt away. To argue that is to commit one of the most egregious examples of tu quoque-whataboutisms possible. Reply 1 reply @nigelralphmurphy2852 5 hours ago When you're one of the poorest nations on earth due to the suicidal policies of your own government then increasing your wealth x 4 is not a particularly notable achievement. In fact it's hardly worth mentioning. Reply 1 reply @nigelralphmurphy2852 5 hours ago Strangely, every single Chinese who lives outside of China believes in human rights, freedom of expression, govt accountability, free elections, multi-party states, rule of law, and democracy. And of the two states dominated by Chinese people (Taiwan and Singapore) outside of China, both are run on these principles. (HK used to the same but has had the enormous misfortune to be incorporated into the gigantic prison called the PRC) The vast majority of overseas Chinese HATE the CCP and its political system. So, it's not 'China' or 'the Chinese' that prefer to live in a totalitarian state with no inherent freedoms, it's the CCP, and only the CCP! The CCP IS China. The Chinese people are nothing. They do not politically exist as far as the CCP is concerned. So, regardless how long Prof Brown has lived in China he seems to not understand that basic fact of life. That fact certainly seriously undermines anything that he argues in this debate. Reply 4 replies @ascoaptwwasmqx2840 18 hours ago Western democracy is still superior since despite its chaos, the western nations remain stable. China progress just show political system is just a minor factor in nation building, something else is more important.