ABSTRACT
Harmony remains a political ideal in many countries today. In China, for example, President Hu Jintao made it clear that the top priority of China is not simply to make progress in economic development but to build a ‘harmonious society’. 1 Hu’s remarks reverberated throughout the country. According to a discourse analysis research report in a leading newspaper in Beijing in July 2005, the hottest expression in the spring and summer of that year in mainstream newspapers in China was the expression ‘harmonious society’ (hexie shehui 和諧社會) (Guangming Daily 19 July 2005; quoted in Zhu 2005: 258).
