I held discussion with John Cavanagh on a wide range of topics this afternoon. I was most impressed with this foreigner who was interested in politics and social problems.

First, he asked me what I think of CNN, especially its recent report on China. I said something unpleasant happened recently as a host from CNN made an unfair judgment of China. However, that was merely his personal points of view, which could not represent CNN, let alone American people. John said he agreed with me and that I was the first Chinese he met who made such comments.

We also talked about politics in both China and US. John said the political system in China was not so good, because it was not democratic. Most American people firmly believe the value of democracy, in other words, 99% of American people think democracy is a good thing. Moreover, he did not think that China was neither a communist country, nor a socialist one, but a capitalist country without democracy.

I said, as a college student in China, I also firmly believed that democracy is a good thing. However, China has different political philosophies. For example, for thousands of years, our rulers were not elected, but appointed and promoted by higher rank officials. In most conditions, those who got appointed and promoted should be morally and competent. Of course, there were many exceptions, too, as men were easily corrupted. Anyway, this tradition lasted for such a long period. It was not unshakeable yet still difficult to remove. We could call it a legacy of feudalism, which needed, step by step, efforts of generations to get rid of it, finally to elect our own leaders. At present, we should have freedom of speech and press, which could put pressure on the government to rule by law.

Then we talked about the social problems in China. John said some people lived a worse life, such as migrant workers, compared with some wealthy people who drove in a BMW, or even your university students. He wondered how the poor people could expect those wealthy people in power to care about them. I explained that in China, a leader who wanted his government to win the support from the masses, he should show his sympathy and care for them, and ensure a equal yet harmonious society. That's what the traditional Confucianism value required.

We also talked about other questions.

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