Chinese Happy with Country's Direction, Not Happy with Personal Life
Overwhelmingly, Chinese people think their country is popular abroad – roughly three-in-four (77%) believe people in other countries generally have favorable opinions of China...
3,212 adults in 8 major Chinese cities as well as some medium-sized towns and rural areas with coverage of 42% of the country's population were interviewed via personal face-to-face interviews between March 28 and April 21, 2008 by Pew Research Center’s Pew Global Attitudes Project. We conclude the findings of '2008 Pew Global Attitudes China Survey' as: Chinese show extraordinary levels of satisfaction with their roaring economy, at the same time they are struggling with its living costs. Regarding Beijing Olympics, Chinese have near universal optimism about it.
Graph 1: High Satisfaction with the Country’s Direction
Graph 2: Personal Lives vs. Country
Despite the dramatic increase in positive ratings of national conditions and the economy, Chinese show dissatisfaction with elements of personal life.
Chinese satisfaction with these aspects of life has improved only modestly over the past six years.
The relatively low Chinese personal contentment was in line with the still modest level of per-capita income there – looking across the 47 countries included in that poll, life satisfaction ratings in China fell about where one would predict based on the country’s wealth.
Graph 3: How Big of a Problem is
The new data suggest the Chinese people may be struggling with the consequences of economic growth. Notably,
concerns about inflation and environmental degradation are widespread.
Almost universally, the Chinese respondents surveyed complain about rising prices – 96% describe rising prices as a big
problem for the country, and 72% say they are a very big problem.
Graph 4-6: Olympic Optimism
Fully 96% believe China’s hosting of the games will be a success, and 56% say it will be very successful.
Despite the negative international publicity generated by these events, nearly all of those surveyed think the games will improve China’s global profile - a remarkably high 93% say the Olympics will help the country's image around the world.
Most Chinese not only see the Olympics as important for their country, they also feel a personal connection to the games. Roughly eight-in-ten (79%) say the Olympics are important to them personally, and 90% feel this way in the host city, Beijing.
Despite all the excitement, however, there are some signs of Olympic fatigue – 34% say too much attention is
being paid to the games, up from 25% in 2006. This view is especially common in Beijing, where nearly half (46%) believe the Olympics are receiving more attention than they should.
Graph 7-8: How China Sees Self Image and Other Countries
Overwhelmingly, the Chinese think their country is popular abroad – roughly three-in-four (77%) believe people in other countries generally have favorable opinions of China.
However, the polling highlights significant tensions between China and other rival powers. Views toward Japan are especially negative – 69% have an unfavorable opinion of Japan, and a significant number of Chinese (38%) consider Japan an enemy. Opinions of the United States also tend to be negative, and 34% describe the U.S. as an enemy, while just 13% say it is a partner of China. Views about India are mixed at best - 25% say India is a partner, while a similar number (24%) describe it as an enemy.
Graph 9: One-Child Policy
China’s “one-child policy” is overwhelmingly accepted. Roughly three-in-four (76%) approve of the policy, which restricts most couples to a single child.
Approval is particularly high among those with higher incomes (85%) and those who live in cities (84%). Individuals who have two or more children under the age of 18 living at home are less likely to support the policy,
Graph 10: Where to Go for a Good Life
There is no consensus about what countries one can emigrate to in order to lead a good life.
When respondents were asked to recommend a country where a young person could move to lead a good life, the most frequently cited countries are Australia (22%), Canada (17%), and the United States (15%). Several European countries make the list, including Britain (8%), France (8%) and Germany (3%). However, few recommend any of China’s Asian neighbors, such as Japan (3%), South Korea (1%) or Singapore (1%).
Graph 11: TV is Primary Source of National and International News
Television continues to be the primary source for national and international news for most Chinese (96% say it is one of their top two sources). Newspapers are a distant second (56%), and as in much of the world, readership is on the decline.
Despite one-in-three Chinese report using the internet (38%) and owning a computer (36%), there are only 13% of Chinese are going online for news, especially people with a college education and those under age 30.
Via Zonaeuropa from Pewglobal
Pew Research Center’s Pew Global Attitudes Project can be reached here (in .pdf)
