The reason why anti-Americanism exists anywhere in the world I believe has to a lot to do with the arrogance and lack of empathy that our government (and often our expatriots) shows toward others. Somehow, the vast majority of Americans often are incapable of thinking about things from the other guy’s perspective. It may have to do with our economic / military superiority or it’s that isolationist thing, who knows.

I think James’s point is perfectly valid from a Chinese perspective. Imagine yourself to be a Chinese who’s never left the country. You see something that is vastly more attractive than what’s produced by your own country, and after seeing it, you just know that it expresses the human condition in a much more free and honest way. As James said, western culture had set him “free”, as I’m sure it had also done for citizens of other repressed regimes.

Even from a purely “humanitarian” point of view, I believe that piracy of intellectual property around the world may not be such a “bad” thing in the end since it allows access to ideas for those who normally would not be able to afford them. Having shared values and a common underlying “cultural language” can go a long way in encouraging global partnership and avoiding conflicts. (Of course, when people can afford them they should pay for them, but that would come after the nations where they reside become stronger economically and are worthwhile markets for the IP holders to pursue.)

We can think of the intellectual properties that Americans are producing now as a sort of “language” that is helping to enable and unite the world in a sense. However, the actions that the United States takes are viewed separately from this “language”, and are seen as actions taken by any government. It will be indeed be judged negatively if it negatively impact the interests of other nations in this world. That can’t be avoided, and is much more understandable if we take the other countries’ perspective for a few minutes. (e.g. “protection of American interests” viewed from other countries’ perspectives are simply aggression, threats to sovereignty, and competition for resources, etc.)

So, as long as the US is able to project its power relatively unimpeded, it is just natural to expect a certain amount of antipathy from others.

American culture and intellectual properties, on the other hand, are sort of enabler/unifiers and I think can be seen as forces for “good”. Honestly, I think if software / IP piracy never existed, China would have been hugely affected and its growth would have very much been affected (just try and find a legitimate copy of Microsoft Office running on PCs here.)

Unnecessarily antagonizing a sizeable section of the urban middle class along with the businessmen involved in the production and sale of these items (not to mention the local authorities who also get their slice of the action) is not justified by the benefits of adhering to international agreements or retaining a tighter control over Chinese popular culture.

This may change. More forceful IPR protection is a useful card in the governments negotiating armory and also has the bonus advantage of bringing greater control over the average Chinese viewing habits. Certainly I don’t think it’s a case of ineffective government.

As regards to James Chiangs points about opening up US Society to the Chinese public how does he explain the rabid anti-americanism evident here?

Like your blog though – how’s the barbershop experience going? It’s not one of those ones that’s open late and comes with only one kind of light bulb? (red)

As a regular young Chinese guy, I am very thankful for pirated stuff, especially pirated American stuff. The legitimate copies are too expensive and scarce, whereas the pirated copies are cheap and easy to find. These pirated copies have allowed me to experience real American culture and customs. They have helped me to both expand my mind, and study English. Without them, my mind would not have been able to develop and be opened as it is with them. I would really be missing out. Without them would be like only studying Marx, Lenin, Mao, and Deng, only watching boring TV programs, making money every day, but not knowing any meaning behind life, and just doing my career for the sake of Communism.

In regards to the issue of piracy, I think the United States’ disadvantages are only in the short term. However, in the long run the US will be the winner. Widespread pirated DVD’s allow Chinese people to really appreciate the US, and has brought about many supporters of American culture. American culture has become so popular because there are so many American pirated products. For example, there are less pirated Japanese products, less pirated French products, and far less pirated Marx, Lenin, Mao, and Deng related products. The piracy problem eventually needs to be solved, but without copyright protection, China cannot even protect their own intellectual property rights. When China is richer, and people can buy the legitimate copies, people’s consciousness about intellectual property rights will be stronger. I believe China definitely is the US’s most important consumer of intellectual property.

Sometimes I think these pirated DVD’s are like missionaries. They change ancient China.