Several Chinese students studying at the Royal College of Art in London used red paint to spray the 12 Chinese words of socialist core values on the graffiti wall in Brick Lane, London, on the weekend, sparking heated discussions. These 12 words were created by spraying red paint on the graffiti wall after it was painted white and covered the original art on the wall. Currently, a group of opponents have re-graffitied these 12 words, and the original work has been completely changed.
This objectively became a collision. As a Chinese person, it is hard for me not to think that the Chinese students did this out of good intentions. The repercussions of this incident are very complex, and the students could not have predicted the situation that followed. Considering that they are art students, their initial consideration of the matter was likely more from an artistic perspective, but the matter was brought to the public opinion arena, and the controversy it sparked was almost entirely political.
▲ Graffiti by several Chinese students. (Source: Social media)
Once art encounters politics, it becomes very fragile. Street graffiti cannot escape this logic either. It is said that the 12 words of socialist core values can also stand up in the Western world. Democracy, freedom, the rule of law, patriotism, etc., these words are familiar to everyone in the world, and they do not even belong to “politics”, but are human common values. The mainstream population in the Western world should be able to maintain an open attitude towards China’s socialist core values if they do not have special prejudices.
In my opinion, there are a lot of commonalities between the core socialist values of China and the values of Western society in terms of original values and morality, but some political interpretations have set them against each other. In other words, Chinese and Western societies are more in political conflict than in value conflict. The West says “universal values”, and China says “human common values”. The underlying conflicts and stalemate mainly touch upon different political backgrounds and extensions.
▲ On June 9, 2021, Xinhua News Agency published an article titled “‘American Trap’ Part Three: Fake ‘Universal Values’ True ‘Double Standard Lighthouse'”. The article stated that for a long time, the United States has spared no effort to impose so-called “universal values” on other countries, claiming that this represents the common values of mankind. (Source: Xinhua News Agency)
The original intention of these students to create this street art was probably to show the value elements of Chinese socialism to the West and test the true scale of Western “freedom of speech”. I do not agree with thinking of their original intentions in a more complex way. A more intense controversy and collision occurred. This work could not be tolerated on the graffiti wall in London. This result is regrettable, but it is not worth making a fuss about.
▲ Statement released by the graffiti planner. (Source: Social media)
It seems that everywhere in the world we live in is quite sensitive, and friction is inevitable. Lao Hu’s proposition is that, sensitive as it may be, let our society have more tolerance for various frictions, and let our collective psychology be more open and more resilient. The Western environment cannot tolerate the display of Chinese socialist core values. We know this. We don’t have to be overly entangled in the process of the collision. Especially, don’t be discouraged.
We should continue to be confident in our own socialist core values, and at the same time, we should believe that: the values of different human societies are not as far apart as this incident gives people the impression. The basic values of the East and West, as well as China and foreign countries, are actually interconnected, and commonality far outweighs differences. This is the basis for all mankind to unite, rather than unrestrained opposition and conflict.
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