WASHINGTON, D.C. —
When China Branch Chief Sasha Gong posted a thought-provoking observation on a Chinese micro-blog recently, she had no idea it would go viral and get more than 16 million views. But it did.
Gong’s post, about the differences between the “American Dream” and the “Chinese Dream,” has also been reposted more than 140-thousand times.
The comment was written in response to Chinese Premier Xi Jinping’s March 17th inaugural speech about his “dreams for the Chinese nation.”
Gong wrote, “The ‘Chinese Dream’ was a collective dream with a single color, while the ‘American Dream’ was an individual’s dream with a multitude of colors. I had been dreaming of free speech since I was a child, but only in America did I find a huge microphone for myself.”
The post went viral shortly after singer-songwriter Gao Xiaosong, who has nearly 800,000 followers on the Chinese micro-blog, shared it with his followers.
Some VOA journalists expressed surprise that the question triggered such a response, especially in light of Chinese censorship of VOA broadcasts.
VOA Director for East Asia and the Pacific William Baum said, “For whatever reason, the Chinese government didn’t censor the widespread exchange that stemmed from Sasha’s blog post. There’s a very active dialogue going on between us and them, which is exactly where we want to be.”
The post has since grown into a special page entitled, “The Difference between Chinese Dream and American Dream.”
Gong’s post, about the differences between the “American Dream” and the “Chinese Dream,” has also been reposted more than 140-thousand times.
The comment was written in response to Chinese Premier Xi Jinping’s March 17th inaugural speech about his “dreams for the Chinese nation.”
Gong wrote, “The ‘Chinese Dream’ was a collective dream with a single color, while the ‘American Dream’ was an individual’s dream with a multitude of colors. I had been dreaming of free speech since I was a child, but only in America did I find a huge microphone for myself.”
The post went viral shortly after singer-songwriter Gao Xiaosong, who has nearly 800,000 followers on the Chinese micro-blog, shared it with his followers.
Some VOA journalists expressed surprise that the question triggered such a response, especially in light of Chinese censorship of VOA broadcasts.
VOA Director for East Asia and the Pacific William Baum said, “For whatever reason, the Chinese government didn’t censor the widespread exchange that stemmed from Sasha’s blog post. There’s a very active dialogue going on between us and them, which is exactly where we want to be.”
The post has since grown into a special page entitled, “The Difference between Chinese Dream and American Dream.”
