Watching the live footage of the Tianjin explosion truly
shocked me. It is an incident that should not have happened. The explosions
were absolutely cataclysmic- like none I’ve ever seen before on live mobile
footage. It is truly scary to see the power and destruction that is being safe
guarded by other members in society. So what could have led to these explosions
taking place in one of China’s most populated cities.
It is an annus horribilis for China’s incidents. A country
that more than any is so insecure of its image from outside its borders that it
meticulously screens any foreign content so that it portrays China in the most
positive light. This year The Middle Kingdom has made the front pages for all
the wrong reasons. As well as the Tianjin explosions, the up-turned boat on the
Yangtze river had coverage, as well as woman that disappeared down an elevator.
These events have had back-to-back worldwide coverage, and all share the
similar veined mystery of the reasons for this happening. How long can you
dismiss incidents like this as a freak occurrence.
Historically, in imperial China the Emperor was placed at the pivot between the cosmic
natural order and the human social order as the “the Son of Heaven”. The
Emperor’s good administration, leadership, led to order in the natural and
social world where his citizens lived. However in the same token if there were
deficiencies with the emperor, this led to disorder. This has led to instances
of the Emperor being overthrown by the popular movement deeming the Emperor
unfit to rule because of a bad crop. This led to a set of variables the Emperor
needed to meet to ensure himself legitimacy.
The Imperial
logic of legitimation involved securing domestic order, therefore stability
came first. Stability could be ensured
through the old values of Truth, Benevolence and Glory. These values have never
been conceded by the current CCP, rather stretched to accompany modernity to
encompass some new contents and meanings
The
legitimacy of the state is quite key here. Will it call this a intentional, callous act from a foreign party and use Glory to respond to it? Will it come out with
the Truth and reprimand the guilty party? Will it use acts of benevolence to
clear up this mess and support the families who have had to endure this
terrible tragedy?
I hope the truth comes out and nationalistic tendencies are quelled.
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