I was in China this summer. I was asked this exact rhetorical question many times by some well-educated Chinese friends. I think you should try to find the answer to this question yourself. Just be open minded. I trust you will understand it someday. To me, nationalism stinks. So does patriotism.

Politicians love to foster patriotism as a way to get people to support them. They also love nationalism so that they can pitch one nation against another in time of crisis, which is probably induced by their incompetent or corrupt governance. Their ultimate goal is to divert people’s attention away from the crisis, whether it’s extreme poverty, unemployment, stale economy or a potential overthrown of their power thereof.

You probably don’t want to say things like “…I indeed support communism.” Most people from non-Communist countries will be shocked and turned off by such a bold declaration. Even if you do, don’t say it out loud. Bad PR.

@ Alan: “Under group pressure, some very smart, even successful Chinese folks here would sometimes do some really stupid things.”

Believe me … that’s not just an Asian trait. It’s called the “Herd” or “Lemming” effect which (read Charles McKay’s classic book called, ” Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds”) which can sway both Nobel laureates and your ordinary Joe/Joan. Just look at the past stock market & real estate “bubbles” over the century …

“today have this nationalism problem, but you probably don’t even realize it”
You are probably right stating that many Chinese do not realise the extent of their national pride, and the naive support for the bad things that come with this. Yet, let me ask you again (not just a rhetorical question!)- why is it “nationalism” if Chinese do it? Couldn’t it be “patriotism”? And what would be wrong with that? I do love my country, the people, the rich culture, beautiful landscape, and I indeed support communism. But all that should not lead you to think that I am in favour of everything implemented in this country. I’m not blind, but optimistic.
And some people who keep harping on about Chinese nationalism are just darn scared.

“Westerners are much more open minded than Chinese by any measure.” There are quite a few who are not too fond of China in the first place. I didn’t want to generalise. My point is, they cannot completely shed their preconceptions either while they claim to be able to! The information they get can be just as tainted by an agenda as ours is. I have lived abroad, had an unfiltered view. Media in general is very effective at shaping the minds of people. That’s not necessarily negative and perhaps it’s even necessary. But we shouldn’t pretend to be exempt from its influence.

“When a Westerner criticizes China or Chinese culture, it doesn’t mean s/he is closed minded or China bashing.” I wasn’t implying that. However, quite frankly, I’m sick of westerners hailing their particular democracy, or rather, their feeling superior (to ALL other countries) because of their cultural/ideological achievements.
What I hope is that they do not only look at China and try to “improve it”, but rather take the knowledge they have gained in China and apply it to the situations they are more familiar with. The result can be surprising.:-P And it’s exactly what’s expected by them of us, in reverse.

“You should continue to read blogs written by foreigners.” Be assured that I will.

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@chrisvaugh
“all cultures are group-oriented and at their base, tribal.”
That’s absolutely correct. The difference is which aspect is emphasised, the community or the individual. China might have overdone the former (that’s why the current generation is so egoistic. ), but capitalistic societies are by default doing the latter. And that distinction is what strikes you as weird in China. What you do doesn’t matter so much, rather why you do it. To take the “adolescents attending a concert” example: It matters whether you think that you are showing conformity within a subgroup that allows you to express you individual taste – or whether the group is an essential element and you want to support that group because it expresses something you can agree on. I’m not convinced it managed to convey this subtle but crucial difference adequately.
This being part of a larger group is what makes Asians more prone to sacrifice which is in fact the most indiviual thing a human being can do. This effect sets in during war influencing the decisions of the soldiers who feel for their brothers and sisters in arms and are therefore willing to disregard their individual interests. At the same time, this knowledge makes it likely for commanders to decide to sacrifice a squad for the sake of the whole plan and it also explains the attitude of factory owners. (…o.O…)

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Regarding the kind of family this advert portrays: I have found that western commercials do that as well, expecially concerning the role of women. That is still quite obvious. The persuasive power of “ideal persons” is quite strong, but subliminal. (If you don’t see large families, you’re less likely to aspire to having one. You won’t consciously say “Big families are bad.”)

One thing you have to bear in mind is that China is changing rapidly. The official propaganda (and the older values) are not nearly as effective as the shining “foreign” world. It’s almost like tilting at windmills now. The people in charge have realised that and are therefore so touchy, trying to shield China from undesired stuff. Plus: I have yet to meet a person whose idol is Lei Feng or Xiang Xiuli instead of a musician or celebrity.

I feel a bit stupid rambling so incoherently, please accept my apology.

Also, making any comparisons (in China they do this and in the US they do that) can be difficult to do because probably due to their national pride, many of the people I met would immediately become defensive when you just make an observation with no implications of which way is better or worse involved. This perception of persecution where there often is none seems to be very ingrained into the Chinese mindset, though not without reason given the way the western media is lately.

@ Zhang Lihua
I think you were right to ask “why imply that our model is backwards?” and I agree with many of your points but I believe you are somewhat guilty of what I wrote above when you mentioned patriotism, you seemed to me to be defensive and immediately compared it to the US. We weren’t discussing patriotism itself (or whether or not it’s justified) so much as what it has to do with an anti-smoking campaign. As was previously discussed in the west the anti-smoking campaigns appeal to your personal health and in China they appeal to you to improve your community so it’s difficult for us to relate not smoking, which to us means personal health, with patriotism.