In my first entry, I showed an interesting link to a former CNN bureau chief which detailed some disturbing examples of either (optimistically) incompetence or (pessimistically) media hopes of another Tiananmen, giving easy fodder for accusations of media bias.
In my second entry, I'll detail a story which highlights some of the unintended consequences I've been bringing up. In the Western media, the dominant story is that the protests along the torch route are successfully embarrassing the CCP and lending help to Chinese reformers and Tibetans inside China.
It seems that this is may not be the case. These current protests are actually hurting the cause of reforms in China. This is from a blog by Richard Spencer, The Daily Telegraph's China Correspondent (a UK newspaper).
quote: It is now almost a universally accepted truth among well-meaning people, on both sides of the debate about Tibet, that the protests in London and Paris this week have backfired, at least in terms of winning round the Chinese people to their cause.
As Roland at ESWN argues, persuasively, the Chinese Communist Party couldn't have arranged a better act of propaganda to unite the nation around its cause than have a pro-Tibet demonstrator try to grapple the torch out of the hands of a one-legged woman athlete in a wheelchair.
(And he means that literally, and he is right: the Party is indeed incapable of organising anything so brilliantly symbolic of all it says about how the rest of the world bullies poor harmless China). ... From the more rarefied world of the Economist, their blogsite records these anonymous thoughts about how, if anyone thinks that these protests will help bring democracy to China or freedom to Tibet, they are much mistaken. Rather, they have entrenched nationalist feeling, possibly dangerously.
I couldn't have put it better myself, I thought, particularly as I had myself bridled at descriptions of China as totalitarian, including in my own newspaper. I think this is very wrong - China is an authoritarian self-confessed dictatorship, with very nasty dark corners, but to call it totalitarian is an insult to victims of and witnesses to Stalin's Soviet Union, Mao's China and the Kims' Korea, and I have interviewed a few of all of them in my time.
The story to which he is preferring to is the story of Jin Jang, which is very thoroughly covered in the post to which he links:
quote: Specifically, you can read the story here of the Chinese paralympian fencer Jin Jing carrying the Olympic torch in Paris. The following includes the photos, the report in <Liberation Daily>, forum posts by eyewitnesses (including the photographer of that famous photo of the assault on Jin Jing) and western media reports. Millions of Chinese readers probably cried their hearts out after reading the stuff. And this public relations show was not even scripted by the Chinese Communists, who are unlikely to ever accomplish this level of success no matter how hard they try. Faced with the beautiful heroine with one leg, how is any liberal dissidence on behalf of Tibet independence going to work inside China? This was a bonanza handed to the Chinese Communists by the pro-Tibet protestors.
I've come across a few pieces of interesting commentary from various people.
Liu Xiaobo, a human rights activist, focusing issues of freedom of expression and publication, who lived through the Tiananmen Square protests and spent more than four years in various types of jail gave an interview. Some quotes:
quote: PEIGEL: Does the government respond to pressure form the outside world?
Liu: Yes. If it didn't, the human rights situation would be much worse.
SPIEGEL: What would happen if the Games were boycotted?
Liu: That wouldn't be a good way to punish China. If the Games fail, human rights will suffer. The government would stop paying any attention to the rest of the world. I personally think: We want the Games and we want human rights to be respected.
Helen Zia, the author of "Asian American Dreams: The Emergence of an American People" writes:
quote: ... Unfortunately, the calls to boycott the Olympics and to label everything about China as evil can only serve to isolate China and the United States from each other. China is not a monolith, and blanket condemnations of China and its people are as simplistic as blaming all Americans for the U.S. human-rights violations at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay. Such rhetoric, however, is driving many Chinese bloggers into a nationalistic response.
Attitudes such as these hark back to the Cold War days, when the United States and China were completely shut off from each other. A recent survey conducted by the Committee of 100 on American and Chinese attitudes found that both countries have significant fears about the other and believe that news coverage about their country is distorted by the other. It is worth remembering that during the Cold War, fear and ignorance of the "evil enemy other" was used to suppress internal political dissent, in the United States with the McCarthy Red scares and in China, through several of Mao's "anti" campaigns. ...
posted
Interesting interviews, both of them. I'm starting to lean towards not boycotting even the opening ceremonies, but I am still undecided. What should be done about all this is maddening.
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posted
To be honest I don't know what to do either. While reading various links, blogs, and the like I constantly swing from being depressed about human nature to being mildly optimistic and back.
I do find it very interesting because I have never seen this type of Internet activity in, out, and about China. I also see some of the issues and reactions as somewhat of a harbinger for how North Americans will treat their citizens of Chinese dissent as China goes forward, a litmus test if you will.
I also find it interesting to trace various discussions between Chinese netizens and people in the West. A few examples, that anti-cnn site is mostly in English to pursuade English speaking readers, this is a cartoon representing the ferocity of debates between conservative Chinese at china.com and liberal Chinese at the Southern Metropolis Daily, there are also discussions about clashes between free-tibet and pro-china groups in the US.
In a way, its almost heartening, despite disagreeing with many of the things that are being said, a lot of Chinese are getting experience learning how to debate, to examine media biases, and communicate with Westerners (note: it is very possible that more Chinese are engaging Westerners in English, than Westerners are engaging Chinese in Chinese).
As long as there is not another breath-takingly stupid action by free-tibet groups to attack another handicapped Chinese athlete, this may yet have positive results.
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I've been keeping up with this situation, reading a rather large variety of blogs and other articles, as the Western media has somewhat let coverage slide as the interesting events shift to inside China rather than outside China (sigh).
Anyways, I'll try to highlight some events of interest, if there are any questions I'll try to point people to appropriate sources since I don't remember all that has been interesting these past two weeks.
So, an overview:
To start, something amusing, Jackie Chan (an Olympics Ambassador) makes the following succinct but rather good observation in his usual English delivery:
quote: However, Chan insists anyone trying to protest on his watch can expect short shrift, warning: 'Demonstrators better not get anywhere near me.'
And the 54-year-old, speaking at the launch of latest movie Forbidden Kingdom, claimed many of the protestors are simply publicity seekers.
'They are doing it for no reason. They just want to show off on the TV,' he said. 'They know, "if I can get the torch, I can go on the TV for the world news".'
Ironically, its a rather succinctly and clear point, with a viewpoint that has considerable popularity. Regardless of whether the torch protestors think they're doing something for a good cause, the consequences are hardly helpful. The torch rally IS a media circus and really, what good is snatching a torch going to do for Tibetans, meanwhile, the main message that is resonating in China from the protests is the assault on Jin Jing.
It is important to note, that even though Jackie Chan is not in fact outside of the common consensus. Hong Kong, though you would expect it to be the most sympathetic part of China is in fact, quite not. Consider this poll
quote: Q6. Other people think that the Beijing Olympics is a good opportunity to apply pressure on Beijing to improve human rights conditions in China as well as the Tibet issue. Do you agree? 18.4%: Extremely disagree 51.6%: Disagree 19.5%: Agree 2.0%: Extremely agree 8.6%: Don't know/hard to say
Q7. Some foreign groups are proposing to boycott the Beijing Olympics in order to pressure Beijing to improve human rights conditions in China as well as the Tibet issue. Do you agree? 27.6%: Extremely disagree 59.6%: Disagree 6.7%: Agree 0.8%: Extremely agree 5.4%: Don't know/hard to say
Another big story in China is the continuing backlash against both the foreign media and Carrefour as a proxy for the French.
The Carrefour situation is in part a (somewhat unfair) response to the Jin Jing situation and the revelation that the company has donated money to the Dalai Lama.
Nonetheless, grassroots protests around several of their locations have been going on and the intensity, well, somewhat reminds me (and exceeds) of the 'Freedom Fries' craze a few years back. It looks like the French ... are the new French. The best coverage I have seen of this situation is from the EastSouthWestNorth blog from April 11-20 (although, the situation is ongoing) Here is an example in Hebei. http://www.zonaeuropa.com/20080426_1.htm
Interestingly, the authorities seem to be somewhat discouraging the protests, going to the extreme of parking construction vehicles in front of some stores to block protestors Some figures have also spoken out against the protests, examples are The former Chinese ambassador to France http://www.blackandwhitecat.org/2008/04/28/the-dont-boycott-carrefour-campaign/ a group of Chinese journalists http://www.zonaeuropa.com/200804b.brief.htm#016 , and even a televised debate on the issue. Its all rather amusing.
As of yet, there surprisingly has been no violence, despite one rumour of an isolated incident, circulated by one blog and squashed by the same blog.
quote: Last weekend, I spoke to a group of journalism students about the mainland Chinese media operation model and reform. I asked them about their overall impression about China and they said: "one party dictatorship," "rule of law is inadequate," "but the economy is growing rapidly," "Hong Kong relies on mainland China on many things" ... such were their answers. Then I asked the second question: "Where did you get that impression?" They said: "From reading the newspapers and watching television news." My third question was: "Do you watch CCTV or read the mainland newspapers?" Answers: "Very rarely" and "Those are government propaganda." I asked next: "What do you think of the latest popular mainland catchphrase 'Do not be too CNN'?" These students replied: "CNN is biased against China" and "news reporting ought to be objective." These future news workers of Hong Kong remembered the most basic principle of journalism. ... When China opened up thirty years ago, a countless number of Chinese people reached for VOA and BBC. Through these western media, the Chinese people (especially the young people) expanded their vistas and found out that media were not just propaganda tools but can actually serve as watchdog over the government. As China opened up further and technology improved, the Chinese people came into contact with more western media. Among these, CNN stood out because it had 24/7 news coverage as well as bringing live coverage right from the scene. Through CNN, the common folks as well as national leaders can understand what was happening around the world. CNN made it impossible for the authorities to shut down information. CNN caused the official Chinese media to open up their eyes and imitate how to become quicker and better. Although the mainstream western media are still not freely available inside China, the Internet age has made the names of CNN, BBC, ABC and CBS familiar to the Chinese people. Many people (especially the young people) regard these as important sources for the latest information.
Of course, more and more Chinese people (including journalists) have adopted the value that the media should be watchdogs as opposed to mouthpieces. They agree that news reporting should be fair and objective. But then all of a sudden now, they found out that mainstream western media such as CNN which had embraced freedom of press and objectivity/fairness were in fact cropping/editing news photos, mislabelling photos and making prejudicial commentary. Rather than saying that the Chinese are angry, it is more appropriate to say that they feel cheated.
Actually, there is no such thing as absolute freedom of press in the world and there is no absolutely objective news reporting. Journalists have their unique backgrounds and education which form their ideas and positions. The key is whether a journalist can make a fair and balanced report irrespective of personal position. ... After "Don't be too CNN" became the most fashionable phrase in China of the moment, do western media such as CNN recognize that the young China people who used to be more receptive to the western viewpoints have now become the major force in opposing the inaccurate western media coverage and any Olympic boycott? This should be something that the western media and certain politicians to think about.
CNN and other western media have 're-educated' the Chinese people. The Chinese people (especially the young people) no longer believe blindly in the western media. That was an unexpected windfall for the Hu Jintao-Wen Jiabao administration and it was definitely not the intention of the western media. ...
That entry makes a reference to the "Don't be too CNN" which has become somewhat of a catch-phrase among the Chinese youth, spawning T-shirts and the like.
quote: I am sure it is possible to be cynical, and say it's just playing for time: keep the foreign governments happy, ensure they'll come to the Games ceremonies, fob everyone off with a new round of meaningless talks, and in the meantime keep up the patriotic education in Tibet itself in the vain hope that that'll see the situation all right.
There's a good chance - what, 80, 90 per cent? - that that's exactly what will happen.
But I have been thinking some more about nationalism, and the unity of the Chinese people in the face of western attacks on Beijing over Tibet and on the Olympic torch. As I wrote before, this unity of feeling has led some to say that the pro-Tibet protests backfired.
But as I did then, I wonder.
People have compared the current wave of anti-French (and anti-foreign media) activism to the anti-Japanese protests in 2005: in the same way, the government then seemed to encourage, then cool down, the nationalistic sentiments.
But note: in Japan's case this was followed by a warming of ties. This was helped by a new Japanese prime minister, but it was also fed by Beijing, where the politburo went from being very uptight, cancelling visits, to being bosom buddies of Tokyo (well, almost) in a few months.
I have a pop psychology explanation for the political machinations at work here.
The CCP has a long history of hitting with the right before hitting with the left (or vice versa) - it will feint one way, to satisfy one wing of the party, before actually enacting policies that lean the other way.
...
To my mind, the sudden outburst of nationalism as regards Japan was not particularly dictated by outside events, but was a reflection of the Party wanting to engender a sense of national unity among the people before it led out a new policy. No matter that the new policy seemed to contradict the spirit of the people, the point was that once they had this feeling of solidarity, the people could be sold a new idea by a government behind which they had united.
I do not know if the same thinking is at work here: indeed, the whole idea may be very fanciful. Yet I feel the government is now well set to moderate its policies to the Dalai Lama, and to the Tibetan people more generally, should it choose to do so. It has stirred up some considerable support for itself, as the legitimate embodiment of the Chinese people, along with a sense of "something must be done". Controversially, I would say it has also provoked (and perhaps even this might be a little bit deliberate, at least among some of the more reform-minded people) a genuine sense among many thinking people that beneath the rhetoric previous policies must be admitted to have failed, and that there is more to the Tibet situation than previously met the eye.
The Party is now in a position where it can, if it chooses, move to offer genuine compromise while appearing to be magnanimous.
Interesting speculation.
If anyone has questions, or wants more information on particular events mentioned here, I'll try to provide answers or useful links Posts: 7593 | Registered: Sep 2006
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posted
It's hard to tell if Richard Spencer hit the nail on the head, or if he put the hammer in the hands of the CCP and is holding the nail himself for them to hit.
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quote: Bin Laden says: “China is the only country in the world where you absolutely cannot cause trouble! That’s because al-Qaeda once sent seven terrorists to launch a surprise attack on China, and the result was this:
When the first terrorist went to blow up a grade splitting bridge for road traffic [where one road goes on top and the other below], he got dizzy and fell over;
When the second terrorist went to blow up a bus, he couldn’t get on because it was too crowded;
When the third terrorist went to blow up a supermarket, he found that his remote detonation device had been pick-pocketed;
When the fourth terrorist went to blow a government building, he was beaten madly to pieces by security guards, who exclaimed: “We’ll teach you to demand wages and appeal to the authorities for help!”;
The fifth terrorist successfully blew up a mine and killed and injured several hundred people, yet after his clandestine return to al-Qaeda, not a single news report about the incident appeared in the media for six months, so al-Qaeda punished him for the “crime of spreading lies”;
The sixth terrorist attempted to blow up Guangzhou, yet when he exited the train station, his explosive material was forcibly stolen by the “Galloping Band” (feiche dang) of motorcycle thieves, which left him traumatized for quite some time;
The seventh terrorist went to blow up Tieling - the base of China’s steel industry - yet the sad appeals of Zhao Benshan [famous actor and comedian from northeast China] discouraged him.
Recently, a female terrorist was sent to blow up Henan, but she was hoodwinked and made a prostitute!
On May 1st, don’t go to Carrefour! Let the world know that China can’t be messed with! Happy Holidays!
Background commentary:
quote: ... More intriguing, however, is the growing popularity of satirical text messages. These texts crystallize the power of the vox populi: the age-old craft of catchy verse, combined with the earthy humor of the disempowered cynic. Two messages circulated widely in recent weeks illustrate this point.
Circulated on May 1st, the first message sets out to prove that “nobody can mess with China”. It concludes with an appeal to boycott Carrefour over the May 1st holidays. Yet the bulk of the text reads more like a scathing satire of Chinese society (original Chinese at bottom of post):
...
It is hard to tell whether the author is truly proud of China and in support of the boycott, or is in fact ridiculing patriotic fervor because it obscures domestic issues, such as poor infrastructure, rampant crime, and strong-armed governance. The satire genre leaves plenty of room for interpretation.
posted
Some observations on the response to the Chinese earthquake:
quote: In Wenchuan county, one of the most severely affected regions, the Communist Party secretary, Wang Bin, made a widely reported appeal over a satellite telephone for immediate airdrops of food, medicine and tents on Tuesday. He said the aid was needed to care for what he estimated were 30,000 people left homeless by the destruction in Wenchuan town, the county seat. "We are in urgent need of supplies, especially doctors," he said.
Helicopters dispatched to bring help to destroyed villages in the mountainous terrain near the Wolong panda reserve were forced to turn back because of heavy clouds and driving rain, the New China News Agency reported. Similarly, paratroopers who had planned to parachute in called off their mission because of the weather.
...
Premier Wen Jiabao, who was in the region directing rescue efforts, was seen bowing three times in a ritual of respect for the dead before the ruins of the collapsed school in Dujiangyan, the official agency said. Wen declared that the soldiers, police and other rescuers should make clearing roads to reach those pinned under the rubble their top priority.
Wen, who flew in from Beijing soon after the scale of the disaster became known, has been photographed and televised repeatedly directing rescue workers and shouting encouragement to victims. His display of concern, and its wide reporting by the official media, was in marked contrast to the secretive way the Communist Party has handled emergencies in the past.
...
Zhang Jian, director of the committee's project management department, stressed to reporters in the capital that the quake area is a long way from Beijing and would have no effect on the Games.
Still, officials said China is scaling back celebrations along the route of the Olympic torch out of respect for earthquake victims and will observe a minute of silence each morning before the torch relay proceeds.
Donation boxes will also be set up along the relay route to help provide relief for victims of the quake, a statement said.
quote: On his race from Beijing to reach the epicentre of the deadliest earthquake to rock China in more than three decades, Mr Wen made sure that his first public comments hinted at the gravity of the tragedy.
The response of China’s rulers highlights the lessons that they have learnt from the mishandling of several crises in the past few years. This time there is little sign, at least so far, of an attempt at a cover-up as there was during the Sars outbreak in 2003, when secrecy triggered rumour and panic. And there has been none of the delay and confusion that drew criticism after the late winter snowstorms brought south China to a halt.
State television has interrupted normal programming to run live updates of the earthquake in southwestern Sichuan province. The usual evening soap operas have been replaced by interviews with residents and survivors.
On the internet, official news agencies have issued report after report to provide the latest death toll. Details of rescue operations, of missing children and damaged hospitals have not been concealed.
...
Mr Wen does not want to see China come in for criticism for its slow or secretive handling of this disaster – criticisms levelled against neighbouring Burma as it struggles to deliver aid to 1.5 million people affected by Cyclone Nargis. Further secrecy about China’s latest challenge, after effectively cutting off restive Tibet from contact with the outside world in the past few weeks, would serve only to fuel controversy.
China’s rulers have on many occasions in the past chosen to hide details of natural disasters, anxious that casualties could be perceived as a sign of failure. But the leadership, aware that its people have access to increasing amounts of information on the internet, is becoming less defensive.
The party knows that the main risks from such a disaster are a tardy response and a cover-up. Leaders with the media-savvy of Mr Wen – who made sure he was photographed poring over papers with his advisers on the flight from Beijing to the scene – differ hugely from the secretive junta in Burma. Mr Wen may be burnishing his image as a man of the people. But past performance would show that he – and several of his Politburo colleagues – care about the sorrows of China’s people. And not only because to care will help them to retain power.
Some food for thought for those that may be a little *too* cynical that China is not changing and on the role of international pressure. I think the connection with the Olympics is a bit tenuous, but it is still an interesting observation.
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posted
China's Premier Wen Jiabao graduated with a major of geological structure from the Beijing Institute of Geology. He undertook postgraduate study and now is an engineer. 1960-1965: Student majoring in geological surveying and prospecting of the No. 1 Department of Geology and Minerals at Beijing Institute of Geology. 1965-1968: Postgraduate majoring in geological structure at Beijing Institute of Geology. 1968-1978: Technician and political instructor of the Geomechanics Survey Team under Gansu Provincial Geological Bureau and head of its political section. 1978-1979: Member of the Standing Committee of the Party Committee of the Geomechanics Survey Team under Gansu Provincial Geological Bureau and deputy head of the team. 1979-1981: Deputy section head and engineer of Gansu Provincial Geological Bureau. 1981-1982: Deputy director-general of Gansu Provincial Geological Bureau. 1982-1983: Director of the Policy and Law Research Office of the Ministry of Geology and Mineral Resources and member of its Leading Party Member Group. 1983-1985: Vice-minister of Geology and Mineral Resources, member and deputy secretary of its Leading Party Member Group and director of its Political Department.
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posted
I abhor China for a lot of reasons including Tibet and Taiwan, but I'll still watch the Olympics. Back when they were first announced, I even thought that it might be a good time to visit the fatherland, but I haven't made any concrete plan that would bring that to fruition.
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The ReliefWeb map of the WenchuanEarthquake in Sichuan Province. Note that the initial earthquake propagated northeastward along the fault-line from the epicenter in WenchuanCounty through Beichuan to the aftershock epicenter.
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posted
You may or may not find this thread interesting. I kept the (mostly) quake related posts there, while leaving the political post about the quake here.
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I think some of this is also applicable to more affluent/cosmopolitan Chinese citizens on the mainland and to overseas Chinese such as myself.
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posted
I'm taiwanese and that's not racist in any way...even if "taiwanese" were a race (because, well, it's like, a nationality). Taiwan has enough of its own issues (as people stopped caring about it and few countries even recognize it) to be worried about Tibetan affairs. And does anyone think it's a tad worse that China is both funding AND arming the Sudanese in Darfur? that's not getting so much media play. hmmm...I wonder why?
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Blayne Bradley
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posted
Firstly what 2 soveriegn nations trade to each other is not immediately of note.
Secondly, the situation in Darfur is not black and white.
Thirdly, 87% of Sudans weapons come from Russia with only 8% from China.
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