If 9/11 happened in China: Excerpts from my students' essay responses

I teach Chinese middle school students social studies. Last week, we talked about the 10th anniversary of 9/11. I asked the students to answer the following questions: "How would you feel if 9/11 happened in China?"  and "How do you think China's government would respond if 9/11 happened in China?"

Below are some excerpts of some students' responses. Some selfish, some selfless. Some ignorant, some wise. Some funny. Some unexpected.Overall, I was surprised how many students said that if 9/11 happened in China, it must mean China was doing something wrong in the realm of foreign relations, and that if China wanted to solve the root problem of 9/11 it must do more to forge peaceful ties with other countries.

*Note I edited many of these excerpts for grammar and other mistakes to make them easier for you to read. But the ideas and content of the students' responses I left intact without modification.

How would you feel if 9/11 happened in China?

We would be very surprised because China is a friendly country, which gives money, food, and skills to other countries, and has never harmed any other country.

I would go to the countryside and pick fruit, because it's safe and comfortable, and watch TV.

People who don't like China should confront China face to face to talk about their grievances instead of using terrorists.

The most important thing is not why or how it happened, but how to solve it.

The first time is by accident. The second time is attacking. The third time is the beginning of the war. It would make many Chinese sad, because it would lead to a war. I think we should resolve the problem with means other than war, but if the terrorists persist we must go to war.

If 9/11 happened in China, maybe it means China did something extreme to provoke the terrorists to anger. Maybe it means China was promoting hegemony. I don't think it is right, but it is normal. Because the more powerful you are, the greater success you will get.

In my opinion, the terrorists are very bad guys. They just want to kill people. They don't know anything about the country. And because they are foolish, they behave just like animals and have no mind.

The Chinese government is corrupt. They always exploit the people. They don't know how to make China better, they don't know how to make the people's lives better. If 9/11 happened in China, this is a proper punishment for the government's bad behavior.

I think maybe it's because someone hates the government. So the government must check themselves and correct their mistakes.

I would be very surprised, because I never would have expected the Chinese government  could make other countries so angry at us. I think the Chinese government is one of the best governments in the world. And if this happened, that would mean the Chinese government is bad, and that Chinese people or people in other countries disagree with the Chinese government.

If this happened I would worry that China's relations with other countries aren't very good. Maybe we should do more to further globalization and development, help other countries, be more friendly, and make a more peaceful world.

For example, if the attacks were done by the French, I would boycott French products. I wouldn't go to the French supermarket any more. I wouldn't buy French products anymore. I hope the international policemen would catch the terrorists quickly.

I would feel interested. I would feel relaxed. I would feel happy. I would feel a little sad.

I would feel very sad, because many Chinese would pass away. Also,  China would lose a lot of money.

China has a larger population than America. So if 9/11 happened in China, more people would die.

This would give us warning. We need a peaceful world. We need to make fair laws. And we need to listen to other peoples' ideas.


How do you think China's government would respond if 9/11 happened in China?

UN, NATO, and the KGB would help China's intelligence agency track down and kill the terrorists.

I would volunteer to help the victims of the attacks, especially homeless children. I would help them rebuild their homeland.

China's government would look for the reason, and force the perpetrators to apologize and compensate for their actions.

China would tell the terrorists: "don't do that" and if the terrorists persist, China would be very angry. Maybe China's leaders would talk to the terrorists and ask them to stop their attacks.

Chinese people should trust the government, not have riots, and make the society stable.

First, I would want to help people. This is not because I'm Chinese, but because I'm human.

If this happened, maybe it's because we're moving so fast, so other countries' people feel so envious.

The government would declare "We aren't a weak country! We will find the evil backstage manipulator and make him face the consequences!"

In fact, I think China's government wouldn't do things the right way. As we know, Japan hijacked a Chinese fisherman, but China's government just issued a statement and did nothing. Maybe the Communist part thinks China is a developing country, and if it launched a war, it would poorly influence China's development. As for the Chinese people, they would be sad and angry, and destroy the terrorists country's supermarkets. They would also go on the internet and do human flesh searched. You know, China has many people, and they can protect their country by themselves.

The government needs to tell us what happened and why. But maybe we should just know a little bit about what happened, because the government doesn't want people to think China is a dangerous place.