The Bush administration seems to think that when
people start killing other people as another circle downwards in the spiral of middle-east killing, it's an opportunity.
Russert confronted Rice with the criticism of former Bush administration official, Richard Haass, who he said, laughed at the president's public optimism. "An opportunity?" Russert quoted Haass as saying, "If this is an opportunity, what's Iraq? A once-in-a-lifetime chance?'"
"You know, Tim," Rice countered, "the Chinese have a character for crisis. It's weiji-danger and opportunity. I think they have it right. Every crisis has within it danger, but every crisis also has within it opportunity. And this president is determined to seize opportunities, to bring about a different kind of Middle East"
Oh, one problem here Condi: the Chinese character means no such thing. From the excellent essay by Dr. Victor H. Mair of the University of Pennsylvania which you can read in its entirety here.
There is a widespread public misperception, particularly among the New Age sector, that the Chinese word for "crisis" is composed of elements that signify "danger" and "opportunity." I first encountered this curious specimen of oriental wisdom about ten years ago at an altitude of 35,000 feet sitting next to an American executive. He was intently studying a bound volume that had adopted this notorious formulation as the basic premise of its method for making increased profits even when the market is falling. At that moment, I didn't have the heart to disappoint my gullible neighbor who was blissfully imbibing what he assumed were the gems of Far Eastern sagacity enshrined within the pages of his workbook. Now, however, the damage from this kind of pseudo-profundity has reached such gross proportions that I feel obliged, as a responsible Sinologist, to take counteraction.
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[bulk of article omitted, please read original!]
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Those who purvey the doctrine that the Chinese word for "crisis" is composed of elements meaning "danger" and "opportunity" are engaging in a type of muddled thinking that is a danger to society, for it lulls people into welcoming crises as unstable situations from which they can benefit. Adopting a feel-good attitude toward adversity may not be the most rational, realistic approach to its solution.
Finally, to those who would persist in disseminating the potentially perilous, fundamentally fallacious theory that "crisis" = "danger" + "opportunity," please don't blame it on Chinese!