Having been in contact with China on and off for over 20 years, I have witnessed the transformation and changes that have taken place here.

When I first arrived in 1986, the area at the Third Ring road in Beijing where my language school was located was still a village with pigs running around in the street.

There was an old lady who used to sell very greasy but delicious xianbing, Chinese fried pancakes, in front of our school entrance.

Color TV at that time was a rare luxury item and housing conditions were very poor. There were bicycles everywhere and I had a big "Yongjiu" bike which I liked to ride all across the city.

When I returned to Beijing again in 1992, Beijing had already changed much. There were a lot more cars, and the bicycle lanes had become much smaller. Today, the top shopping malls in Beijing are no different from the ones in the West in terms of quality.

For many people in China, living standards have improved significantly and faster than in other countries I know. Moreover, the government is taking effective measures to address environmental issues.

We see a growing middle class in China with strong purchasing power, and incentives to work hard to better one's lifestyle have become the driving force of economic growth.

I have been to a few ethnic minority regions in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region and Sichuan province. The culture and traditions there are well preserved.

I've also seen many churches and mosques in China, including the Yonghe Lama Temple in Beijing, and I did not feel that religious practice in these places was being obstructed in any way.

The minorities in China have more rights than the Han Chinese do. For example, there are no restrictions on the number of children they want to have, which is different from the case with the Han Chinese. People outside China aren't necessarily aware of these things.

The Western media reports about Tibetans' human rights created a negative image of China but these did not reflect the complexity of the issues or the many improvements in people's living conditions and the efforts made to improve them further.

The fact that the central government makes substantial contributions to the economy of Tibet does not get much coverage either.

One of the reasons for this might be that in the West, the media are also businesses that have to generate profits. Negative stories tend to generate more attention and sell better, and therefore there are more of those published.

Nevertheless, if someone were to see only the recent Tibet-centric coverage of China, he or she would form a very negative opinion about China, which clearly is unfair.

The Tibet issue is highly politicized and it is conceivable that China sees the idea of Tibet's autonomy as a threat to its territorial integrity, even though only "the middle way of genuine cultural and political autonomy" was proposed, instead of full independence.

However, how should such autonomy work in practice? People should of course be granted religious freedom but religious freedom also implies that their religion cannot be imposed on others. Demands for political changes made in the name of religion should be examined carefully for the same reason.

Western-style democracy isn't the only path to follow and for China perhaps not even the best one at this stage of its development.

For a country of such a huge population and socio-ethnic diversity, the tasks of maintaining political stability and social harmony are of paramount importance. These are difficult to accomplish, especially in the absence of a history and education in the democratic processes.

China is trying hard to improve life for its citizens and to balance the needs of different groups of society. Just to cope with the logistical challenges of providing food and shelter for 1.3 billion people while dealing with the transition from a planned economy to a market economy is not an easy job for any government.

I find it sad that some people use the publicity surrounding the Olympics in order to push their political agenda. The idea behind the Olympic is to get people closer and to overcome differences through sports. But the way the Tibet issue has been addressed in this context resulted in a major embarrassment for the host country of the upcoming Olympics.

Right now, there are people on both sides calling to boycott each other - some in the West call for a boycott of the Olympics, and some in China ask for Western products to be boycotted.

This may be understandable to some extent but the effects certainly cannot be healthy. A boycott closes doors and prevents communication, exactly the opposite of what should be done.

I believe more communication would be the best way to overcome the current challenges.

The Olympics is certainly a good opportunity for China to increase the world's awareness of its situation. There will be lots of people - not just politicians and businessmen but also many ordinary people from around the world - coming to China as tourists.

They will see with their own eyes what it's really like in China and hopefully walk away with a more balanced view. Travel broadens one's horizons - at least that's what I have experienced with my friends from back home.

The ones that work internationally and travel to many countries usually are more willing to look at different viewpoints, whereas those who do not venture out of their home towns all their lives tend to be more influenced by media reports.

It is part of the media's responsibility to disseminate knowledge among people so that they can form more balanced views of current topics and events.

The author is CEO of the Wealth Index Capital Group based in Beijing
(China Daily 04/25/2008 page9)

（以下翻译仅供参考，翻译：amy.liu）

　　在与中国联系断断续续有20 年的时间里，我见证了中国这些年的变革和发展。

　　当我1986年第一次到达中国的时候，我就读于三环边的北京语言学院，那时候座落在一个猪牛到处乱跑的小村庄。

　　曾经在我们学校门口的前面，有一位老妇人经常会卖非常油腻但可口的馅饼，一种中国油煎的薄煎饼。

　　那时候，彩电是一个罕见的奢侈品，居住条件也是非常恶劣的。到处都是自行车，就连我也有一辆大“永久”牌自行车，我喜欢骑着它满世界跑。

　　当我1992年再次回到北京的时候，北京已经发生了很多的变化。到处都是汽车, 而且自行车车道变得更小。今天，北京的商场、购物中心跟西方相比质量上也没什么区别。

　　许多中国人的生活水平提高了，比我知道的其他国家有更显著和快速的改善。而且, 政府也针对环境问题采取了一系列有效措施。

　　我们看到增长的中产阶级在中国有很强的购买力, 并通过艰苦努力来改善人们的生活，这一切成为了中国经济增长的驱动力。

　　我去过广西壮族自治区和四川的几个少数民族地区。文化和传统在那里得到了很好的保存。
　　我也在中国看过很多教堂和清真寺，包括北京的雍和宫。我觉得在这些寺庙里的祷告活动并没有被政府以任何形式干涉。

　　其实，中国少数民族人民的权利比汉族人还多。不像汉族人，政府规定少数民族在生育人数上没有限制。这些也许是不为外国人所知的。

　　西方媒体的不实报道中有关西藏的人权问题，造成了一些对中国的消极印象。但这些并没有影响到中国政府在对西藏人民生活环境的改善及基础设施建设方面做出努力。

　　事实上中国中央政府对西藏的经济发展作出了不可磨灭的贡献。

　　这其中的一个原因可能是因为在西方, 媒体是一种盈利企业，丑闻及消极新闻会引起更多关注，更有卖点，所以导致他们制造更多这样的新闻。

　　然而, 如果人们只盯着中国最近的西藏问题，就会形成一个对中国非常消极的观点，这样很明显是不合理的。

　　西藏问题是一个政治问题，可以想像，中国是把西藏独立作为威胁中国领土完整的重大事件，即使仅仅以 "文化和政治自治权的中等自制" 的提议, 来代替充分的独立。

　　但是, 这样的自治权要怎么去运用到实践上呢? 人们确实应当拥有宗教自由，但宗教自由并不意味着去强迫其他人采用其宗教习惯和想法。我们应该对打着宗教名义影响中国政治的做法进行更细致的检验。

　　西方形式的民主不是我们遵循的唯一方针，它并不适合中国发展时期的需求。

　　在这样一个拥有巨大的人口和多种民族的国家里，维护政治稳定和社会和谐的任务是至高无上的，然而这些也是很难完成的，特别是在一个没有民主的历史和教育成长的国家里。

　　中国政府正在努力设法改善人民的生活水平并且平衡社会各个群体的利益。为巨大的13亿人口提供食品和住房就是其中一个非常严峻的考验，与此同时中华人民共和国也在经历着从计划经济到市场经济过渡的阶段，对任何国家的政府来讲，这都不是一件容易的事情。

让我感到遗憾的是，我发现某些反动分子想利用奥运的机会来推进他们的政治议程。奥运的精神是为了通过体育盛会让全世界的人们更加靠近，更加团结。但西藏问题在这里为即将来临的奥林匹克运动会的主办国中国造成了非常的窘态。

　　现在, 有的人提出应该双方互相抵制- 一些西方国家提出抵制奥运会，而这些国家的产品也相应地被中国人所抵制。

　　这些做法在某种程度上也许是可以被理解的，但造成的影响一定是不健康的。抵制，闭关，自守，以及拒绝交流，对双方来讲都非常的不利。

　　我相信更多交流将会是克服目前问题的最佳方式。

　　奥运会一定会成为一个让世界更好了解中国的最好契机。将有很多人- 不仅是政客和商人，甚至是许多来自世界各地的普通游人将会陆续来到中国。

　　他们将用自己的眼睛真实地看到中国是一个什么样子，并且有望他们能够对中国有一个更加公正的看法。

旅行扩大眼界- 至少我和我们国家的朋友是这样认为的。

　　那些拥有国际化职业并且经常到世界各地旅行的人将更愿意参考不同的观点，而那些只待在他们自己国家的人则会被媒体的报道所左右。

　　媒体将要对这些负责，在传播知识的同时形成对事件更加公正的看法。

　　文章作者为：财富指数资本集团首席执行官

　　（中国日报　２００８年４月２５日第９版）