The Long March to Space

9 July 2010 - Chinese first astronaut Yang Liwei has published his autobiography The Long March to Space, and has admitted that he lied when ground control asked how he was feeling. "I feel fine", he had replied, which brought enormous joy and pride among millions of Chinese people. Yang admitted that he actually felt wretched, as he was suffering from something called inversion illusion, and needed all his willpower and strength to fight it. Was Yang allowed to lie? Some Chinese authorities have commented that his comments were white lies that harmed no one and were intended to benefit the hearer. In Chinese society it can be regarded as an act of personal sacrifice if they lie for their families or their country. It has little to do with communist propaganda, but has roots deep in traditional Confucuian culture. However, such "virtuous lies" have also led to disaster, like in the 1950s when the leadership lied that the country had harvested more crops than it could consume. More recently, officials and scholars played down the SARS epidemic, thinking lies could save China's image and prevent chaos.