Beating incident solidifies Chinese view of ugly America

Last month Zhao Yan, a 37-year-old Chinese businesswoman, was beaten and doused with pepper spray by a homeland security inspector while on a tourist visit to Niagara Falls. The inspector later said he thought she was part of a drug deal and that she resisted arrest. What has followed in the wake of the assault is significant for further revealing the troubling disconnect between Chinese and American societies. In China, the state-controlled media bombarded the public for days with indignant reports decrying U.S. hypocrisy on human rights and the prevalence of racism in American society. Rounding out this coverage were sensational depictions of America as a police state in the aftermath of Sept. 11. Here in the United States, coverage of the incident has been practically non-existent. Most media outlets have ignored the event. [more]