Links » Cream » Photo: Teamwork, by Michael Steverson

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• Photo: Teamwork, by Michael Steverson
• Apple-Samsung: MOFCOM Gets Into the Patent Business?
• “Acceptable” Gender Discrimination in Chinese Universities
• The “Disneyfication of Tibet”
• Clinton to Visit Amid South China Sea Dispute
• China’s Battle For Drug Safety
• Word of the Week: Half-Hearted Suicide
• Unnamed Protesters: Kill All Japanese
• The Daily Twit – 8/29/12: Oh Yeah, the Economy Still Sucks, and so Does Romney’s China Bashing
• Ministry of Truth: Hush on Maoming Corruption
• Air China Flight Turns Back After Threat
• Does “NBA” Belong in Chinese Dictionaries?
• Culturally Sensitive Hollywood Doesn’t Want to Hurt the Feelings of the Chinese People

Photo: Teamwork, by Michael Steverson Posted: 29 Aug 2012 07:36 PM PDT Teamwork © Samuel Wade for China Digital Times (CDT), 2012. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us Post tags: Download Tools to Circumvent the Great Firewall

Apple-Samsung: MOFCOM Gets Into the Patent Business? Posted: 29 Aug 2012 07:19 PM PDT Patent disputes between smartphone giants Apple and Samsung Electronics have not yet entered China, a senior commerce official said Wednesday. Chong Quan, deputy China international trade representative with the Ministry of Commerce, told Xinhua that the ministry had not yet received any probe applications from Apple or Samsung to investigate products involved in an alleged patent infringement case in China. (Xinhua) It could be the lack of sleep talking, but someone needs to explain that quote to me. I don't understand it. The official is a trade guy at MOFCOM, yet he's suggesting that since the ministry hadn't received any complaints from Apple or Samsung, nothing is going on here with the dispute. Pardon my ignorance, if that's where the fault lies. I do a lot of IP work and even teach IP law, but I certainly don't know everything. However, it was my understanding that patent infringement actions were generally handled by SIPO (actually, their local offices) on the administrative side, and the courts on the judicial side. Trade issues would be dealt with by Customs, although usually only when the patent holder has filed a registration. MOFCOM? I'm drawing a blank here. If this was the U.S., I'd say yes, the ITC handles trade-related cases of patent infringement (i.e., imports). But in China, Customs would deal with the seizure, and the courts would hear the infringement action. No 337 analog here that I know of. Am I missing something? What the heck was that guy talking about? © Stan for China Hearsay, 2012. | Permalink | 2 comments | Add to del.icio.us Post tags:

“Acceptable” Gender Discrimination in Chinese Universities Posted: 29 Aug 2012 06:55 PM PDT When is gender discrimination acceptable for university admissions? Never, rarely, sometimes, always? My knee-jerk reaction was "never," but then I thought that there might be some programs, for example, that feed graduates into male-only military positions, so put me on the far side of the "rarely" column. This issue is not, pardon the phrasing, academic. This sort of discrimination is actually being practiced by a number of Chinese universities, as was reported this week by the Beijing Times following a letter sent to the Ministry of Education by a Chinese NGO. The MOE has now weighed in: The Ministry of Education cited "national interests" as it defended a policy that makes it more difficult for female students to enroll in some colleges, amid accusations that the regulation was discriminative in nature, reports said. "A number of majors at some universities" adjust the ratio of male to female students by raising threshold scores for female candidates at the national college entrance examination, the Beijing Times reported Wednesday. Sounds like they're not going to dodge this but defend it. I suppose there must be a really good explanation as to why gender discrimination is acceptable. In the letter, the NGO stated that the MOE allows schools to adjust admission requirements according to gender "to fulfill the demand for special talents for special posts." OK, that sounds superficially like what I noted above as an acceptable type of discrimination. But I was thinking about a scenario where a specific type of military program only allowed males. It would therefore make sense to only admit male students. In this case, however, we're not talking about a blanket ban on female students for military slots that are closed off to that gender. Instead, you have a situation here where "test score thresholds are lowered for male applicants." That means that females are not barred from these programs; it suggests that whatever positions for which they are being trained are not, in fact, closed to females. So what the hell is going on here? The Global Times took a look into this and found several programs that discriminate according to gender. Some were directly or indirectly related to the military, and since GT did not provide additional information, I can't comment on those. However, there was this: According to the website of the Beijing Foreign Studies University, the minimum score required for girls in Beijing in 2011 to be enrolled as an Arabic major at the university was 598, while for boys the requirement was 564. "We're inclined to enroll boys considering their vocational advantage, as it is much more convenient for boys to work with people in Arab countries as boys can find it easier to get a job," a professor with the School of Arabic at the university, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told the Global Times. The professor said that the ratio of male to female students in their school is now six to one. If this is indicative of the type of gender discrimination going on at universities, then this is bullshit. Look, it may be true that women may not be able to work in certain jobs overseas, particularly in countries like Saudi Arabia. But there are a lot of other jobs out there that require Arabic where that isn't a problem.  Moreover, is it really the school's job to be a gender gatekeeper? Perhaps an academic adviser can let female applicants know that some jobs that require Arabic are closed to women, but if they really want to study the language, the school should let them. Shit, I know foreigners who take classes in Chinese law but will never be able to take the bar exam here. Should those classes be off limits to them? The excuse from the MOE that "national interests" take precedence is not very persuasive. I'm sure that some higher-ups somewhere in MOE think that the government should micromanage admissions in line with China's economic development policy or something, but that's a damn weak justification. Besides, how does the Chinese economy benefit from a 6 to 1 ratio in an Arabic language program? I'm not buying what they're selling, folks. Perhaps this can be justified, but I don't see how. The policy smacks of paternalism and control, and perhaps some good old fashioned irrational stereotyping and misogyny. I wonder if there are any programs that skew the other way, with females getting the advantage? Somehow I doubt it. I'll leave you with this very odd quote from the conclusion of the GT article: Geng Shen, a researcher at the Beijing Academy of Educational Sciences, said the different thresholds aim to select the most talented students. "Some universities would raise the threshold for girls to choose those that can be competent enough after they graduate," Geng said. Perhaps this is poor translating. I honestly am not sure what it means, but it almost sounds like this guy is suggesting that in some cases, the male students are simply more talented, I assume just by being male. Huh? I have heard worse things said by misogynistic Chinese men, but this is pretty bad. Why would it be necessary to raise thresholds for girls to weed out the incompetent ones, but not do so for the boys? I reiterate what I said above. This is bullshit. © Stan for China Hearsay, 2012. | Permalink | 2 comments | Add to del.icio.us Post tags: education, gender discrimination

The “Disneyfication of Tibet” Posted: 29 Aug 2012 04:23 PM PDT As China's inbound international tourism continues to grow along with the numbers of potential domestic ticket buyers, China is experiencing an amusement park boom, and is expected to have more theme parks than the USA by 2020. Last month, it was reported that the construction of a $4.7 million theme park on the outskirts of the Tibetan capital of Lhasa had begun. The Princess Wencheng Theme Park (named after the Tang Dynasty princess who married a Tibetan king with peace as her dowry) will emphasize historical ties between China and Tibet, and is part of a government strategy to increase tourism in the area. In July, Xinhua reported on the upcoming park, its theme, and its goals to enhance tourism: The park, with a planned area of 800 hectares 2 km from downtown Lhasa, is expected to be completed in three to five years, said Ma Xinming, deputy mayor of Lhasa city, as the building project launched on Sunday. The park is designed to improve Tibet's tourism credentials and be a landmark of its cultural industry, Ma said. [...]The culture and tourism park will also include an "Art City", home to displays of Tibetan handicrafts and medicine, and a "Folk City", where tourists can get a taste of local life and buyfolk goods. Cultural innovation, business and residential districts will also be incorporated into the project. Construction of the park surely occurs to the chagrin of some local ethnic Tibetans, 51 of whom have protested Chinese rule by self-immolation since 2009 - the latest two cases in this drastic wave of protests occurred just yesterday. Voice of America asked Free Tibet activists and a scholar of Tibet to comment on the park's construction: Tenzin Dorjee, Executive Director of Students for a Free Tibet in New York, is not impressed, noting that the project comes as Tibetan activists continue to protest Chinese dominance of their homeland. "They are spending these billions of dollars in building a theme park in Tibet at a time when Tibetans are setting themselves on fire for freedom," Tenzin said. "And this is China's way of not addressing the problem, not addressing any grievances." [...]Stephanie Brigden, director of the London-based Free Tibet campaign, is another critic of the Chinese project. "When you look at the proposed scale of the theme park, it's vast and it's … a strategy of 'Disneyfication' of Tibet," Brigden said. "It's not one of sharing and celebrating Tibetan culture." [...]Tom Grunfeld, professor of Central and East Asian Studies at the State University of New York, acknowledged that the project probably would create jobs for Tibetans, but that it was still self-serving. "Most of the Tibetan economy is funded by the … central government of China," he said, "So anything that can boost the economy is going to help the central government."[...] The VOA report cites an op-ed published last month in the Global Times, which offers academic references to counter Western media critique of the project: Such criticism, almost made instinctively, make it doubtful whether the commentators have really been to Tibet themselves. Otherwise, why do they keep voicing a clichéd perspective no matter what changes have taken place in reality? Ingo Nemwig, a German sinologist and ethnologist who conducted field studies in Tibet, saw why it's ludicrous to assert Tibetans are being assimilated by Han immigrants. Just take a look at the local population structure. In a prefecture Nemwig visited in 2002, some 20 Han people lived among about 50,000 Tibetans. In fact, Tibetans remain the overwhelming majority in the autonomous region. Latest official statistics show that Tibetans make up 90.48 percent of the local population, while Han only 8.17 percent. As Nemwig pointed out, the constant hyping of "cultural genocide theory" is actually related to the intentions of a few Tibetan politicians in exile, who try to gain influence in the name of anti-assimilation. For more on ethnic tourism in China, see "China's Han Flock to Theme Parks Featuring Minorities," via CDT. Also see prior CDT coverage of Tibet, Tibetan culture, tourism, and amusement parks. © josh rudolph for China Digital Times (CDT), 2012. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us Post tags: amusement parks, ethnic tourism, lhasa, theme, Tibet, Tibet tourism, tourism, travel Download Tools to Circumvent the Great Firewall

Clinton to Visit Amid South China Sea Dispute Posted: 29 Aug 2012 02:55 PM PDT The Associated Press reports that U.S. Secretary  of State Hillary Clinton is to visit China next week, amid an ongoing territorial dispute over parts of the South China Sea: The Chinese Foreign Ministry says Clinton will be in China Sept. 4-5. The United States said two weeks ago that China should not use bilateral talks to attempt to "divide and conquer" nations with competing territorial claims. That was after Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi visited Malaysia and Brunei, two such countries.   For more on US attitudes over the South China Sea dispute, see US Voices Concern Over South China Sea Rows, via CDT. © Mengyu Dong for China Digital Times (CDT), 2012. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us Post tags: diplomacy, foreign policy, Hillary Clinton, South China Sea, U.S. relations Download Tools to Circumvent the Great Firewall

China’s Battle For Drug Safety Posted: 29 Aug 2012 01:56 PM PDT Earlier this month, $180 million worth of counterfeit pharmaceuticals were seized and nearly 2,000 people were arrested by Chinese authorities, part of an ongoing government pledge to enhance drug safety and crackdown on counterfeiting after tainted Chinese-made medicine killed users across the globe in 2007 and 2008. A post from SecuringPharma.com summarizes a report from China's Ministry of Public Security outlining their progress in cleaning-up counterfeit food and drugs over the past year: According to newly released figures from the Chinese Ministry of Public Security police have shut down 147,000 sites involved in the fake food and drug trade since August 2011. Over the same period the police have reportedly resolved 185,000 criminal cases linked to counterfeiting. Information from the public played a big role in the anti-counterfeiting cases. The Ministry says the police paid 12,000 informants $4.4m for helping to identify and solve cases of fake food and drugs. [...]Data on the success of anti-counterfeiting efforts comes as China tries to show publicly that it is taking control of the situation. From October the State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) will blacklist manufacturers of fake drugs as part of the intensified anti-counterfeiting push. Xinhua relays a drug safety supervisor's forecast on what's to come in Beijing's campaign for drug safety: In the latter half of this year, the SFDA will step up joint actions with other law enforcement agencies and government departments to curb counterfeit medicines, he [Yin Li, director of the SFDA] said. Efforts will be made to improve the coordination among drug safety agencies from different regions as well as cooperation between the government and enterprises, he said. In addition, the SFDA will start an inspection on the production of medicines listed as the national essential medicines in the next four months. Despite Beijing's recent efforts, China is still rife with counterfeit and contaminated drugs, and lacks the controls to keep them off the global market, according to a special report published by Reuters yesterday: Four years ago, Beijing promised to clean up its act following the deaths of at least 149 Americans who received contaminated Chinese supplies of the blood-thinner heparin. But an examination by Reuters has found that unregulated Chinese chemical companies making active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) are still selling their products on the open market with few or no checks. Interviews with more than a dozen API producers and brokers indicate drug ingredients are entering the global supply chain after being made with no oversight from China's State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA), and with no Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) certification, an internationally recognised standard of quality assurance. [...]The export of unregulated drug ingredients may be putting lives at risk, particularly in poor countries where local pharmaceutical controls are minimal. Medicines containing faulty active ingredients or the wrong dose do not work properly and can contribute to the emergence of drug-resistant strains of dangerous diseases, such as malaria. [...]China's dominant position in the global market for pharmaceutical ingredients makes the issue both pressing and hard to tackle.[...] The Reuters report follows the investigations of Philippe Andre, a "Detective in the murky world of Chinese pharmaceuticals" (i.e. pharmaceutical auditor based in Tianjin). A slideshow of Andre's, outlining the "supervision of Chinese-made drug substances", can be found via PEW Health Group. Also see prior CDT coverage of the 2008 herapin scandal, counterfeit medicine, drug safety, and other tainted exports. © josh rudolph for China Digital Times (CDT), 2012. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us Post tags: contaminated drugs, counterfeit drugs, counterfeit medicine, drugs, pharmaceuticals, public health, public safety Download Tools to Circumvent the Great Firewall

Word of the Week: Half-Hearted Suicide Posted: 29 Aug 2012 12:00 PM PDT Editor's Note: The Word of the Week comes from China Digital Space's Grass-Mud Horse Lexicon, a glossary of terms created by Chinese netizens and frequently encountered in online political discussions. These are the words of China's online "resistance discourse," used to mock and subvert the official language around censorship and political correctness.  If you are interested in participating in this project by submitting and/or translating terms, please contact the CDT editors at CDT [at] chinadigitaltimes [dot] net. 试探性自杀 (shìtànxìng zìshā): half-hearted suicide attempt Graphic showing the locations of Mr. Xie's stab wounds. On August 27, 2011, the body of Xie Yexin (谢业新) was found in his office with 11 stab wounds. Mr. Xie was a government official in Hubei Province and a member of the disciplinary committee. The month before his death he had investigated the local deputy secretary for corruption. The official cause of his death was ruled suicide, the explanation being that the initial stab wounds were "half-hearted suicide attempts," followed by a final successful attempt. Netizens and Mr. Xie's family were deeply skeptical of this official account. © Anne.Henochowicz for China Digital Times (CDT), 2012. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us Post tags: GMH Lexicon, grass-mud horse lexicon, Hubei, suicide, word of the week, Xie Yexin Download Tools to Circumvent the Great Firewall

Unnamed Protesters: Kill All Japanese Posted: 29 Aug 2012 09:01 AM PDT Every so often, something cranks up the heat on Chinese hatred for Japan. In the mid-2000s, it was Japanese textbooks glossing over the Nanjing Massacre; the Japanese prime minister's annual visit to the Yasukuni Shrine never fails to rankle mainlanders. To many Chinese nationalists, World War II is still a fresh wound. The ongoing dispute over the Diaoyu Islands, known as the Senkaku in Japanese, also feeds the flames. Uninhabited and without any known natural resources, the Diaoyu controversy is nonetheless a cause célèbre. Two weeks ago, Japan arrested Hong Kong activists on Diaoyu, leading to protests in China. The Tokyo governor's calls to purchase the islands have further stoked tensions. On Monday, the Japanese ambassador's car was attacked in Beijing. Chinese protesters are taking none of this lighty, overturning cars and crying for blood: corndog: This photo is from an anti-Japanese protest in Western China today. To protect the place from repercussions, the name of the city is not visible. The red banner in the bottom image reads, "Even if China is filled with graves, we must still kill all Japanese; Even if no grass grows on the mainland, we must still recover Diaoyu." I'm concerned about these people's IQs. (August 18, 2012) 性感玉米：图为今天中国西边某城市的反日游行情况。为防地域攻击，隐去城市名。"哪怕华夏遍地坟，也要杀光日本人；宁可大陆不长草，也要收复钓鱼岛"，这标语，智商捉急。 The novelist Wang Shuo has harsh words for the protesters on Weibo, saying "The same kind of people who are called fascists in Japan and Nazis in Germany are called patriots in China" (有这么一群人，在日本叫法西斯，在德国叫纳粹，在中国叫爱国者). Read more about the online reaction to the anti-Japan protests from CDT. Via SneezeBloid. Thanks to @dujuan99 for translating the Wang Shuo post. © Anne.Henochowicz for China Digital Times (CDT), 2012. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us Post tags: anti-Japan protests, diaoyu islands, Japan, SneezeBloid, Wang Shuo, World War II Download Tools to Circumvent the Great Firewall

The Daily Twit – 8/29/12: Oh Yeah, the Economy Still Sucks, and so Does Romney’s China Bashing Posted: 29 Aug 2012 08:09 AM PDT Back to the basics. How bad is China's economic slowdown? Is it crashing like Gordon Chang says (see yesterday's Daily Twit) or do we all just need to take a deep breath? Certainly there are problems out there to which one could point: Xinhua: Farm produce prices rise for sixth week — I've been bitching about food inflation for years now. With higher meat prices and now vegetables, I'm stuck eating bread, water and tofu. Actually, that's not a bad meal. Global Times: Reckless banks rigging deposit figures — Sounds familiar. Get those deposits on the books during audit time, and then move them somewhere more productive (and risky) until next time. Scamtastic. East Asia Forum: Chinese investment: new kid on the block learning the rules — Before you get too excited about all that overseas direct investment by Chinese companies, read this. Also Sprach Analyst: Local governments in China sell land plots while foreign investors turn cautious — Not only is real estate a mixed bag these days, but local governments are still desperate for cash. Wall Street Journal: Glut Means Gloom for China's Once-Sunny Commercial Property Sector — Did I say real estate was a mixed bag? Commercial property is in the "negative" column. Guardian: Western tales of China's imminent collapse are a bit rich — Before you get too depressed, read this for a different perspective. This seems like a direct response to Gordon Chang's Forbes column. And some non-economic news: China Daily: Movie makers seek to please Chinese — Mercenary yes, but seeking to please? I doubt it. My response: Culturally Sensitive Hollywood Doesn't Want to Hurt the Feelings of the Chinese People. China Law & Policy: Why Was There a Trial When Gu Kailai Confessed – China's "Plea Bargaining" — This question had occurred to me, believe it or not. I love it when someone else does research that I was too lazy to do myself. Stephen Walt: Inflating the China threat — After all the talk about missiles and missile defense these past few days, which was mind numbing and, ultimately, depressing, this was a breath of fresh air. My favorite column on the topic thus far. Wall Street Journal: Report: China's Health Care System Deeply Sick — Title says it all. Despite lots of investment, huge problems persist, and some are getting worse. In a country which is getting richer, older and fatter (I can relate to 2 out of 3), this shouldn't surprise anyone. Caixin: 22 U.S.-listed Companies Announce Buyback Plans This Year — The great exodus continues, and it's all the fault of those pesky short sellers and has nothing to do with fraud and other illegalities. Right? AFP: China media slams Romney — A Xinhua (i.e., official) Op/Ed against the GOP candidate and his aggressive foreign policy. Forbes: Beijing's Big Fat Judas Kiss for Barack Obama — But what does it mean? Is China really trying to help Romney by criticizing him? Xinhua: Commentary: High time for Romney to drop "blame-China game" (this is the Op/Ed itself) © Stan for China Hearsay, 2012. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us Post tags:

Ministry of Truth: Hush on Maoming Corruption Posted: 29 Aug 2012 08:07 AM PDT The following example of censorship instructions, issued to the media and/or Internet companies by various central (and sometimes local) government authorities, has been leaked and distributed online. Chinese journalists and bloggers often refer to those instructions as "Directives from the Ministry of Truth." CDT has collected the selections we translate here from a variety of sources and has checked them against official Chinese media reports to confirm their implementation. Guangdong Provincial Department of Propaganda: All media must strictly comply with the notice previously issued by the provincial Department of Propaganda not to report on the series of corruption cases in Maoming. (August 28, 2012) 广东省委宣传部：各媒体要严格落实省委宣传部此前下发的通知要求，不得报道茂名系列腐败案。 The city of Maoming has been under provincial scrutiny since May for years of rent-seeking behavior on the part of local officials. According to a May 24 Duowei report [zh], 24 provincial cadres and 218 county-level cadres are implicated for bribery and corruption. © Anne.Henochowicz for China Digital Times (CDT), 2012. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us Post tags: censorship, Directives from the Ministry of Truth, Guangdong, Maoming, Ministry of Truth, propaganda Download Tools to Circumvent the Great Firewall

Air China Flight Turns Back After Threat Posted: 29 Aug 2012 07:17 AM PDT Chinese state media is reporting that an Air China flight to New York had to return to Beijing following a threat, according to AFP: Air China flight 981 returned to the Beijing Capital International Airport, the report quoted China's flag carrier as saying but gave no details about the nature of the threat or how far into its journey the flight was. The flight is scheduled to take off again at 11:55 pm (1555 GMT), the report added, quoting the airport.   © Scott Greene for China Digital Times (CDT), 2012. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us Post tags: Air China, air safety, air travel, Beijing, New York Download Tools to Circumvent the Great Firewall

Does “NBA” Belong in Chinese Dictionaries? Posted: 29 Aug 2012 05:05 AM PDT More than 100 Chinese scholars have signed a letter of complaint over the inclusion of English words in the new sixth edition of Contemporary Chinese Dictionary. The scholars believe the inclusion of 239 English words in the dictionary, including NBA and the PM2.5 measurement for air pollution, violates regulations regarding standards for the Chinese language. The words take up 15 pages in the dictionary, which was published by the Commercial Press this year, the Beijing Evening News reported on Aug 28. Li Minsheng, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said at an academic symposium on Aug 27 that the dictionary plays an important role in setting the standard for the Chinese language. Li said that if English words replace Chinese characters in the dictionary, it would damage the Chinese language. I'm a big supporter of languages raping and pillaging. You know, dynamism and all that. English, of course, is an old pro at this sort of thing. A friend of mine, who teaches English Lit in the U.S., has this in his email signature: English doesn't borrow from other languages.  English follows other languages down dark alleys, knocks them over and rummages through their pockets for loose grammar. Indeed. So I'm cool with putting foreign words in Chinese dictionaries if they are now part of common usage. However, there must be standards. I have a problem, for example, with "PM 2.5." Yes, a big topic of conversation, but the thing is, it isn't a word. How can it be in the dictionary if it isn't even a damn word? Similarly, "NBA" isn't a word either. It's an acronym. Now, I'm touchy when it comes to acronyms, and I've had a long-running battle with young lawyers over the past decade or so who don't think that it's a big deal to use acronyms in professional writing. {Sigh} For blogs, fine. For formal stuff, no way, not until you've introduced what the acronym stands for to your reader. Curious, I looked up "NBA" on dictionary.com and was disappointed to see it there. It included several definitions, including the National Basketball Association and National Boxing Association. But I think that proves my point. There are probably a lot of other "NBA"s out there that didn't make the cut. How fair is that? Granted, in China, "NBA" only means one thing, so there's no confusion. But it's still not a word. I grow despondent. © Stan for China Hearsay, 2012. | Permalink | 4 comments | Add to del.icio.us Post tags:

Culturally Sensitive Hollywood Doesn’t Want to Hurt the Feelings of the Chinese People Posted: 29 Aug 2012 04:37 AM PDT Today's China Daily contains an article gushing about how much Hollywood wants to please Chinese moviegoers. I'm not so sure about that. The article starts off as a very straightforward piece about Hollywood studios coming to China, a topic that has been flogged to death in the past few months: Not too long ago, Western movie audiences' idea of a Chinese character was Fu Manchu — an evil mastermind who plotted to take over the world in the 1969 film The Castle of Fu Manchu. But eight decades later, Hollywood and the silver screens of the West are acknowledging the growing importance of the film market in a country that is also rising in influence on the global stage. Fair enough, and certainly accurate. The China film market is growing rapidly, and Hollywood is lusting after a new market to exploit. Been there, done that. After reading that bit, I was ready to move on to more exciting fare from my Inbox. But then this passage caught my eye: But the Western film industry is now aware that "there's this sort of virgin territory in China, millions of people could be exposed to the Hollywood product. So they can't really denigrate or demean people using those old stereotypes. "Hollywood is being very careful about how Chinese people are portrayed because they don't want to lose a potential audience", Jurkiewicz said. Guy Aoki, founding president of Media Action Network for Asian Americans, an organization that monitors how Asian Americans are portrayed in US movies, TV and the media, said movie roles are actually being altered to avoid provoking or angering Chinese audiences. OK, allow me to pause for a second while I cough and mutter "bullshit" under my breath. I'm sure that Hollywood considers itself culturally sensitive, but let's get real. Hollywood is conservative, boring, and loves to exploit stereotypical roles, usually decades after audiences no longer respond favorably to them. If they changed the formula too often, the Script-O-Matic 3000 Screenwriterbot would throw a piston or something. American television is no better. In the past fifty years, TV has made such incredible "progress" with Asian characters that we've merely put John Cho is all those "Generic Asian" roles that used to go to stalwarts Soon Teck Oh and Mako back in the old days. Impressive! (Female actors don't count. There's always room for a hot Asian chick in a supporting role.) Is China truly "virgin territory" for Hollywood? Of course it isn't. I've been watching Hollywood movies in China since 1998, and the big issue back then, as it is now, has nothing to do with introducing moviegoers to what Hollywood has to offer. No, it's all about access to the market. Did James Cameron have to put Asian characters on the Titanic to make it palatable in the Middle Kingdom? I don't recall this scene: First Mate: Captain, I think we've hit an iceberg! Captain: 哎呀! Were you drinking baijiu on duty again? First Mate: 对不起. I have lost face in the eyes of my coworkers. Perhaps I'm not giving Cameron enough credit. He could have done it in a more subtle fashion, like he did with Avatar, which was a huge success here because of scenes like this: Jake: Holy crap! My body is huge and blue, and I'm hung like a mule. This is awesome! Dr. Augustine: Calm the fuck down, Jake. It's not like you look Chinese. Big and blue is merely an acceptable second choice. The point is that Hollywood does just fine, thank you, with the crap it turns out already. While it is moving into more locally produced scripts that have China settings and characters, the big money remains with securing a quota slot for the next CGI-heavy actiongasm. It's just business, and Hollywood's strategy seems obvious. If you're not convinced about what's really going on, read up on foreign co-productions here. The China Daily article uses the example of the cinemabortion called Red Dawn, whose China-invades-U.S. storyline was changed midflight to the even more laughable North-Korea-invades-U.S. And no, the movie was not intended to be a sketch comedy. In June 2010, release of Red Dawn was delayed because of financial difficulties and amid growing controversy in China after excerpts of the script were leaked onto the Internet. Chinese media sharply criticized the film, with headlines such as "US reshoots Cold War movie to demonize China". Did they really change Red Dawn because they were worried about hurting the feelings of the Chinese people? Ha! (Shit, I just got Diet Coke up my nose laughing so hard.) Hollywood could give a shit about angering or provoking Chinese audiences. They certainly don't care about pissing off American audiences, so why should they care about folks over here? Hell, just making a movie like Red Dawn is a slap in the face of everything humanity holds dear. They changed "China" to "DPRK" in the script because they were told that there was no freaking way they would get the China bashing version imported and distributed here. They weren't kissing the ass of Chinese moviegoers, but the rep at China Film Group who told them that the original story had to go. (Do they really think they can now distribute that drek here? That seems wildly optimistic.) Hollywood. Being culturally sensitive. The same guys that brought us Bagger Vance, Long Duk Dong, and are developing a Lone Ranger nostalgiapic with Johnny Depp as Tonto? Let's keep it real. © Stan for China Hearsay, 2012. | Permalink | 3 comments | Add to del.icio.us Post tags: film production, Hollywood, movies, race, racism

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