In Search of China`s Perception of Europe through the Tibet Incident

Issues & Studies'i) 46, no. I (March 2010): 123- 146.
In Search of China's Perception of
Europe through the Tibet Incident:
Memory, Complex, and Symptoms
TONY L EE
China-Europe relations have intensified in recent decades, but there
are still some awkward elements impeding the prog ress of bilateral relations. Tensions came to a head with the international reaction to the suppression of protests in Tib et in March 2008, through which China 's misperception of Europe appears to have deepened. In order to uncover th e
root cause of this misperception, the present article adopts a historical
and psychological approach in analyzing China's vie ws of Europe. The
author argues that historical trauma and psycholog ical causes are the
main underly ing reasons for the divergence between China and Europe.
KEYWORDS:
psyc hology; perception; memory; symptom; Tibet.
* * *
l e les eprouvais a la jois dans le moment acluel et dans un
moment eloigne, jusqu'a faire empieter le passe sur le
presenl, it me jaire htisiler ci savoir dans lequel des deux j e
me trouvais ...
Marcel Proust,
A la recherche du temps perdu
LEE: is a doctoral candidate at the Eco le des hautes etudes en sciences sociales
(EHESS) in Paris, specializing in cross-Strait relations, Sino- European relations, and
international political psychology. The author wou ld like to thank the three anonymous
reviewers of Issues & Studies for their valuable advice on improving this paper. Mr. Lee
can be reached at <[email protected]> .
TONY
©Institute of Internationa l Relations, National Chengchi University, Taipei , Taiwan (ROC).
March 2010
123