Confucian Ethics and Chinese Kindness

I read a couple of interesting opinion pieces in the Straits Times today. One was by Chris Patten, Chancellor of Oxford University and former governor of Hong Kong, who wrote on the positive role of religion in society. He closed by saying "we should listen to the core messages of all these great religions, above all the Confucian golden rule that we should never do to others what we would not like to be done to us."

I find that Westerners regularly prefer to elevate the morals of non-Western societies and religions above the dominant religions and cultural norms of the West. It was curious to me that Patten chose to elevate the Confucian "golden rule" above every other religious teaching. And it struck me that the message boiled down to the Google motto of "Do no harm."

In contrast to the Confucian teaching, the Christian "golden rule" taught by Jesus in the Bible is to "Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you."

Also in the Straits Times today was an article by Ho Ai Li entitled "Hard to be kind in China," in which she talks about the Chinese cultural norm of not offering help to people in public, even to those who are injured. She contrasts this with the American preference for volunteering to help strangers in need.

How do her observations relate to the Confucian and Christian teachings in their societies? Whereas the Confucian teaching is a matter of restraint, not acting in a certain way, the Christian teaching is a matter of activism, acting in a certain way. Christians, and the societies with strong Christian influences, are taught to actively reach out to do good to people, especially people in need. That emphasis is not as strong in societies with Confucian influences, which tend to emphasize minding your own business and not getting involved in other peoples' (or countries') affairs. We can see this in Chinese versus Western foreign policy as well as in individuals' social behavior.

I wonder if Chris Patten sees a correlation, and would prefer above all that individuals and societies stay out of others' lives?