history - Taipan's son on the boxer rebellion

When the sun of a Hong Kong Taipan takes the stage to talk about the boxer rebellion, there is only one questions possible.
This evening Adam Williams, currently group representative of Jardines in Beijing took the stage this evening at the Shanghai Foreign Correspondents Club to talk about his historical novel "The Palace of Heavenly Pleasure".
His novel plays against the background of the Boxer Rebellion, that was the reason - excuse says most now - for Western forces to rampage through China. Williams' family has been solidly connected with the Western view on the Rebellion and grew up with all the chilling stories about the killing of missionaries. So, the question how he thinks about the historical debate now was a very obvious one.
No hangups here, fortunately. Williams also describe the Western reaction on the killings "out of proportion" and saw the Boxers as misguided country boys that were being directed against the foreigners, so the ruling class itself could avoid their wrath.
Nationalism as a directive force by China's rulers, that has become of course a classical one.