| Want to Notarize a Phone Call in China? There’s an App for That Posted: 28 Nov 2012 11:00 PM PST I'm not sure what this says about how litigious Chinese society has become, but a telecom company in Hangzhou has developed a mobile phone application for making audio recordings of phone calls that can be later used as evidence in court. If you're not familiar with China's legal system, and particularly if you're from a Common Law country, the primary function of the notary office here is not to witness signatures on documents. Among their duties, notarial officials verify documents, including the content of such. If you want to introduce certain kinds of items in court, you need to gather this evidence in the proper manner, which often includes obtaining a notarial report.
I usually run across the notary office in IP enforcement cases, where the key piece of evidence is a purchase of the infringing product. It's not enough to buy the item and get a receipt; you need the notarial official along to witness the transaction. This can be quite difficult when you're dealing with suspicious counterfeiters, but that's life. It used to be that evidence like audio recordings, IM and SMS conversations, and emails were considered weak evidence. You could bring this stuff to court with you, but a judge probably wouldn't give it much weight since it was difficult to verify. In some instances, if you were really organized, you could take your electronic device to the notary office and have them verify the information. Big pain in the ass. But how many people want to schlep over to the notary office for stuff like that? And what about that abusive, threatening phone call that you want to use in your divorce case? Placing the call (not to mention receiving one) while you are in the notary office is not exactly convenient. There must be a better way, right? Enter the entrepreneurial spirit, alive and well down in Hangzhou. The company, China Tietong, developed an application that allows litigious-minded folks to make an audio recording of phone calls that they later want to use in court. At the beginning of the call, one connects to the service, and then the app can verify the details of the call. This was created in cooperation with one of Hangzhou's notary offices. The big (obvious) question here is whether a judge would actually accept this evidence as verified. I have my doubts, although if a real notary office is on board, that might mean a user can obtain a notarial certificate after using the application. If so, a judge would most likely treat the evidence the same as if a notarial official was standing right there when the call was recorded. Funky stuff. But I'd still like to know how many folks out there really need to record phone calls. That kind of paranoia kinda creeps me out.
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| Man sets himself on fire after marriage proposal refused Posted: 28 Nov 2012 01:30 PM PST 
A man set himself ablaze after his girlfriend rejected his marriage proposal in Qingdao city, Shangdong province on November 23, 2012. The 38-year-old man, surnamed Wu, from Nanchang city, Jiangxi province suffered serious 60% burns over his body surface, and is now still in critical condition. Wu met his girlfriend in Nanchang last year. But their relationship eventually came to a problem after being together for some while, and the girl left him for her hometown Qingdao and asked for a breakup. On November 22, Wu drove a BMW car to Qingdao from Nanchang, which is around 1,100 kilometers away. He brought with him betrothal gifts worth tens of thousands of yuan in order to propose the girl. The man also prepared for the worst by buying a barrel of gas on the road, in case his girlfriend refused him. At around 8 a.m. on Nov 23, Wu arrived at the girl's home. He proposed to her, but was refused directly. Wu threatened that he would not live if she did not marry him. The girl and her mother thought he was joking, but Wu poured the gas all over himself and ignited it. The terrified mother and daughter called 110 immediately and attempted to put out the fire. When the rescuers arrived, Wu has been seriously injured. He was sent to the municipal hospital of Qingdao immediately, and is taken care in the ICU now. |
| Woman spotted walking in street nude and barefoot in east China Posted: 28 Nov 2012 12:34 PM PST 
A woman was spotted walking down a street nude and barefoot in Suzhou city, Anhui Province, on November 27, 2012. She held clothes in her hands and shivered in the cold wind. Several kind-hearted passers by went up to stop her and persuaded her to put on clothes, when seeing that. It was unknown why the woman would strip herself naked and walked the streets in such a cold weather. 
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| Netizens Revel in People’s Daily-Onion Gaff Posted: 28 Nov 2012 07:44 PM PST  Yesterday, the state-run People's Daily Online ran the story Kim Jong-un Named The Onion's Sexiest Man Alive For 2012, embellishing it with a 55-photo slideshow of the North Korean leader. The American parody paper later pointed readers to the People's Daily pages, praising the "exemplary reportage" of their "Communist subsidiary." Not surprisingly, the People's Daily post has since been removed. (Korea Times also missed the humor and reported the Onion story as real news.) Weibo denizens didn't miss a beat:
OnionWeekly: Late in the evening, we learned that the Onion and People's Daily have conducted official communications, and People's Daily has received high praise from the Onion. We are somewhat please to announce that The Onion Weekly and the People's Daily represent the most authentic voice of China. 洋葱周刊：深夜获悉人民日报和洋葱新闻进行了业务交流，并获得得了洋葱新闻的高度赞赏，我们略感欣慰地表示，洋葱周刊和人民日报代表着中国最真实的声音。 JusticeProtectorTyrael: You really don't get it. The People's Daily Online is also a parody site! 正义守望者Tyrael：你真不懂啊。人民网也是专业恶搞的啊 Keluoyidu: Ironically, People's Daily Online just cannot fathom the existence of a fake news website on this earth. What is your State Administration of Radio, Film and Television doing?! 克洛伊杜：人民网无法想象这世界居然有假新闻网站，你们的广电管理局呢？！ TeacherHeJiong: Certainly, this mistake was committed by some temporary worker at @PeoplesDaily. It has nothing to do with the "newspaper of truth" @PeoplesDaily. 何囧老湿：这一定是@人民日报 临时工干的，与真理报@人民日报 无关。 HeiQiQideQi: So, in the eyes of the People's Daily, there can actually be "other media"? 黑柒柒的柒：人民网的眼中还能有"其它媒体"这个词？ SaltyRay: This because you are firewalled. You read English, but you are uncivilized. Man, that's gotta hurt. SaltyRay：让你防火墙 有英文没文化 内伤了吧 BetweenLight&Dark: You can see just how complacent the official Chinese media have become. 黑暗与光明之间: 可见中国官媒的固步自封到了什么程度 Durex_UnclePanda: I heard the editor of this article grew up on Party publications. 杜斯雷_Panda叔：据悉，该媒体编辑是读党报长大的。 YouYe: Re @2Badger: This is a problem of values. When they see the American imperialists experiencing a catastrophe, they gloat. When they see something good happen to Little Brother, they can't send their congratulations fast enough. As for authenticity… who cares? 悠野：回复@二獾:价值观的问题。看见美帝有啥灾祸就幸灾乐祸，看见小弟有啥喜事连忙道贺，至于新闻真实性，才不管呢。 Ivan: Seeing the People's Daily commit such a blunder, I can't help but worry about the intelligence of these "mouthpieces"… However, you really can't blame them. Nowadays, it's harder and harder to find great, glorious, and correct events. Stretched as they are for positive news, they would seize this opportunity like a fat kid on cake. I can understand if they were so happy that they forgot to judge its authenticity. 墨宇轩Ivan：看到人民网出这种糗，真的好替这些喉舌们的智商捉急…. 不过也难怪，现在一起走正路的伟光正形象越来越难找啦，捉襟见肘情形下，逮着一个如获至宝，都高兴的忘记去判断也可以理解 TooMuchTalent: I find this quite odd, as well. Chinese media mostly quote gossipy reporting from less authoritative foreign media organizations–especially reports that praise China. Could it be that the editors of our major domestic media outlets all got their jobs by going through the back door, too? 有才太有才了：我也很奇怪，国内媒体引用最多的都是国外的八卦小报，尤其是称赞中国的。难道国内大报社的编辑们也都是走后门进去的？ PretendInNY: The article is written like this: Although China has surpassed the United States in many ways, we still have the obvious upper hand when it comes to sarcasm and criticism. Because of this, the Onion–our main exporter of sarcasm and criticism–has successfully tricked the mouthpieces of Communist Party that Kim Jong-un is the sexiest man in the world. #andjustlikethatChinasaverageIQwaslowered# 假 装在纽约：文章是这样写的：中国也许已经在很多领域已经超过了美国，但是感谢上帝，我们在讽刺和批评这两件事上还有明显的优势。正因为如此，我们的洋葱新 闻——讽刺和批评的主要出口商——才能成功地让共产党的喉舌相信金正恩是世界上最性感的男人。#平均智商就是这样被人民日报拉低的# MuMuisHere: Perhaps according to the Party-media mentality, this occurrence is completely probable. In fact, in Mainland China, the concept of "black humor" isn't necessarily widespread — especially among the ranks of those within the system. 木木在这里：或者在党报的思维里，这件事是严肃的完全有可能发生的而且，在大陆，"黑色幽默"这个东西还不是普遍可以有，特别不是体制内的人有的东西。 GeLeixia: If the Party says he's sexy, he's sexy. 格蕾夏：party说他性感他就是性感
Via CDT Chinese. Translation by Little Bluegill.
© Anne.Henochowicz for China Digital Times (CDT), 2012. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: humor, Kim Jong-un, Netizen Voices, North Korea, people's daily, sina weibo, the onion, weibo
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| Behind China’s Green Wall: Special Report Posted: 28 Nov 2012 07:16 PM PST Lured by a potentially huge green technology market, Canadian and other foreign companies are struggling to navigate China's risky business environment. From Geoff Dembicki at The Tyee: Westport appears to be living the cleantech dream: sell big to Chinese markets, and help save the planet. Global economic power is shifting to the East. China is in the midst of a green revolution. Its market for environmental protection and energy savings technology will be worth US$473 billion by 2015, a China Merchants Securities report predicts. The Communist government sees the fight against climate change not as a burden on China's growth, but as the chance to transition to a high-tech economy. "By virtually every metric that matters, China is the place to be doing business in cleantech these days," said Dallas Kachan, managing partner of Kachan & Co., an international cleantech consultancy. Yet very few companies from Canada's $10.6-billion cleantech sector have followed Westport's lead. Many see a nightmare instead of a dream, where Chinese partners entice them overseas, steal their technology, and drive them nearly bankrupt. […] […] One horror story has gotten a lot of attention in cleantech circles. In March 2011, China's Sinovel, the world's second largest maker of wind turbines, abruptly cancelled a shipment of operating software from America's AMSC, a high-tech firm specializing in clean energy solutions. "We first thought that [the cancellation] was an inventory issue, and we were understanding," the firm's Jason Fredette told one reporter. But in China not long after, an AMSC employee discovered a Sinovel wind turbine running on expired AMSC software. The company got suspicious.
The article is the first in a series set to run throughout the week. See more on green technology via CDT.
© Mengyu Dong for China Digital Times (CDT), 2012. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: clean energy, environmental cooperation, foreign investment in China, green technology
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| Li Meets AIDS Activists as HIV Rates Rise Posted: 28 Nov 2012 06:58 PM PST China's Ministry of Health announced on Wednesday that HIV rates have risen through the first ten months of the year, according to Xinhua News: From January to October, 16,131 new cases of HIV infections among citizens over 50 were reported, marking a year-on-year increase of 20.2 percent. There were also 9,514 new cases of HIV reported among young people aged 15 to 24, up 12.8 percent year on year, according to figures from the Ministry of Health (MOH). The MOH said the HIV/AIDS epidemic is rampant in some locations and among certain groups of people. In total, China reported 492,191 cases of HIV/AIDS by the end of October, and 68,802 of these were new cases reported this year, according to the MOH.
Incoming Premier Li Keqiang presided over a meeting of the State Council commission on HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment on Monday, according to Xinhua News, and said that the government should spend more on anti-AIDS efforts. Reuters reports that he also met with non-governmental HIV/AIDS groups and promised to let them play a bigger role in fighting the epidemic: "You have a greater understanding of what sufferers want … the government will continue to offer support and pay even greater attention to and listen more closely to the voices of civil society groups and you will be given greater space to play your role," state television cited him as saying. It also showed pictures of Li shaking hands with sufferers, in a country where discrimination against people with HIV/AIDS is rampant, even in the health-care community.
The South China Morning Post also pointed out the sensitive link between the issue of HIV/AIDS and Li's career: The issue was also behind one of the biggest black marks on Li's career: efforts to cover up a massive HIV outbreak in Henan province in the late 1990s when Li was governor. Tens of thousands of farmers contracted HIV from tainted blood acquired through government blood-donation schemes in the early and mid-1990s. Although Li was not involved in the programme, his muzzling of the media and crackdowns on protests were controversial. "Now that he'll be the next premier, he's apparently aware of such a blemish in his résumé which subjects him to scrutiny," said Liu Yige, a legal specialist with the Aids activist group Love, Knowledge and Action. "He's also aware of the high expectation for him to become a reform-minded premier, so he needs to work on something to prove that to the world."
© Scott Greene for China Digital Times (CDT), 2012. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: epidemic, healthcare, HIV, HIV/AIDS, Li Keqiang, Ministry of Health, NGO
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| China Approves Series of Infrastructure Projects Posted: 28 Nov 2012 06:54 PM PST Aiming to boost its economy, China has recently approved huge budget allocations for railway and subway projects. From Reuters: China has approved construction of two city subway projects worth 49 billion yuan ($7.87 billion), adding to the list of recent railway project approvals aimed at boosting growth in the world's second biggest economy. The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) also approved a feasibility study on an inter-city rail line between Fuzhou and Pingtan, an island off the coast of Fujian, worth a further 26 billion yuan, Shanghai Securities News reported Tuesday. The projects appear to be aimed at shoring up growth in China's economy, which has slowed for seven consecutive quarters, most recently posting 7.4 percent annual growth for the third quarter. [...] Reuters estimated that a flurry of new project approvals announced in early September totaled $157 billion.
See more on railways in China via CDT.
© Mengyu Dong for China Digital Times (CDT), 2012. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: construction project, infrastructure projects, public transportation, railways, subway
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| New Leaders Rule Two Different Chinas Posted: 28 Nov 2012 06:26 PM PST Has China's recent leadership transition ushered in a period of solidarity? Eurasia Group president Ian Bremmer thinks so, as he notes the consolidation of power at the top of the Communist Party and makes some predictions about the challenges the incoming leaders will face. From Reuters: This new regime will govern a China that is increasingly two different countries. On the coast, the country is developed, with the amenities of a post-industrialized society. In the countryside, China is still a developing country, with hundreds of millions of people living in poverty. In 2010, according to Bloomberg Businessweek, there was a nearly threefold difference in per capita incomes between coastal China and inland China. Likewise, China now has more income inequality than the United States, making China 27th in the world overall. Those Chinas want different things from their leaders. People making $20,000 a year in prosperous cities don't need 8 percent growth. They need product safety, government accountability, transparency, clean air and water ‑ good government, in other words, without all the lies and the secret wealth. People in the interior, on the other hand, need growth and goods. Government transparency means less to those who live hand to mouth. This is what the 21st century economy has wrought, but China clings to its 20th century political system. Ten years ‑ the expected stint of the current Politburo members (though there will be room for halftime adjustments) ‑ is a long time to live with so fundamental a contradiction. Pressures will mount from within and without for China to modernize its political approach to match the economic reforms it must undertake. But those hoping for political reform are sure to be disappointed, no matter how much they pine for them on Weibo or in the halls of the United Nations. The leadership change, remember, was all about solidarity, both for the Communist Party and with the party's past efforts. Citizens on both ends of the spectrum may grumble, but the Chinese leadership will continue its slow and cautious approach ‑ and its focus, first and foremost, will be on consolidating power and eliminating threats to the party's hold on power. On the Politburo's list of priorities, political innovations will run a distant second.
Meanwhile, though little evidence remains of the 18th Party Congress which took place earlier this month, The New York Times' Amy Qin reports that nostalgia still lingers for some residents of Beijing: Liu Ji, 63, was one of the many sprightly retirees called upon by security officials this month to work as informal traffic cops, taking to the streets to keep unruly pedestrians and drivers in line. In a city with more than five million registered cars, it was not the most relaxing task. But Ms. Liu, a longtime Communist Party member, said it was an honor to play a role during the weeklong event, even if it meant tackling the city's nightmarish congestion equipped with only a red armband and a flag. "To help out even just a little is a glorious feeling," she said. But now, the heart of this ancient capital has returned to what passes for normal these days: hazy gray skies above the granite expanse; crowds of tourists, both Chinese and foreign, milling around and posing for photographs; and uniformed security officers watching them carefully in front of the Forbidden City. (Less familiar was the sight of some of those officers zipping around the square on two-wheeled, Segway-like vehicles as the ageless Mao Zedong gazed down from his portrait.) Elsewhere, pirated DVDs and English-language books on China have reappeared on shelves after having been relegated to storerooms in some shops. Several prominent activists who were asked to leave Beijing during the conclave have slowly found their way back to their homes.
© Scott Greene for China Digital Times (CDT), 2012. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: 18th party congress, Beijing, inequality, leadership transition, Politburo Standing Committee, reform
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| Spotlight on China's ‘Re-education Through Labour' Posted: 28 Nov 2012 03:36 PM PST Ren Jiayu, a 25-year-old former village official in Chongqing became the focus of the media again after he was released from a labor camp on November 19, 2012 just a few days after the leadership handover at the 18th Party Congress. Ren was sentenced to two years of "re-education through labour" in August 2011 after he posted messages on microblogs accusing former Chongqing party chief Bo Xilai of bringing the Cultural Revolution back to China with his "red songs" campaign. Ren's case triggered a campaign to end the "re-education through labour" system in Chinese social media. CCTV English channel even ran a panel discussion on reform of the labor re-education system. On his release, China's official media Global Times and People's Daily published commentaries criticizing the unconstitutional system, calling for more freedom of speech. Global Times called Ren's release "an essential step toward more freedom of speech". People's Daily mentioned that the reform of the "re-education through labor" system is currently under discussion by the government. Following his release, a CCTV documentary programme ran an interview with Ren Jianyu. During the interview, Ren described how the police arrested him and his life in the labor camp: Thousands of people are posting complains about the government on microblogs everyday, there's no reason to arrest me for this. I will not withdraw my lawsuits against the re-education through labor committee, I want them to restore my reputation.
In another interview with Beijing news, Ren explained that his confidence in the reform comes from the 18th Party Congress: I studied the 18th Party Congress report, I found the fifth chapter particularly relevant to me, it says: Promoting political restructuring, promoting governance in accordance with the rule of law and further establishing and completing a system to monitor and supervise power. I was sent to the labor camp without trial mainly because there was no monitoring system to supervise power.
 Screen grab from CCTV documentary programme "face to face" which ran an interview with Ren Jiayu. News of Ren's release together with the CCTV interview went viral on Weibo, China's version of Twitter, with over 1,578,125 comments. Netizens wonder if Ren's release indicates the potential for a more free and just society. The abolition of the "labor re-education" system? Commentator Zhu Wei [zh]wrote: 朱巍：希望这不仅是他"个人的胜利"。希望该案能成为一个转折点，此类有疑问的案件都能很快得到复查，还无辜当事人以自由，对责任方予以追究。同时也希望，任建宇们所付出的代价，能对劳教制度的改革有所推动。
I hope the release is not only his own victory, but also brings the release of other innocent people. Those decision-makers should be responsible for all of these people. I hope that the case will push substantial reform of the system.
Veteran journalist Fu Jianfeng [zh] responded: 傅剑锋1984: 人民日报此文非同一般，第一次看到人民日报批劳教制度，这是废除劳教恶法的前奏吗？希望是！
The piece from the People's Daily is a break from formality. It's the first time I've seen the People's Daily criticizing the system. Is this a prelude to the abolishment of this nasty law allowing re-education through labor? I hope it is!
"Zhangwen's article" echoed [zh]: 章文的文章：习-李-体-制开始，任建宇案会否成为劳-教-制-度-被废的契机呢？我相信，聪明的政治人物一定不会放过这一大好机会。让我们拭目以待吧！
Could the new leadership bring the abolition of the "labor re-education" system? Smart politicians wouldn't miss this chance, let's wait and see!
More freedom of speech? Guole Yudan [zh], lecturer at Nankai University, wrote: 国乐于丹：央视采访任建宇，敢接触比较敏感的时事，可能是新闻工作本色的回归，也可能是因为在重庆重组的时候，百无禁忌。让双方都说话，是一个亮点，新闻媒体不是法官，你做判断，解读，不如把双方观点都呈现给大家。但愿这只是个开始和前奏，而不是昙花一现。
CCTV's interview with Ren indicates their boldness in reporting sensitive news, which might bring real journalism to China. However, maybe it also has something to do with the current restructuring of Chongqing's top officials. The dialogue format makes a good platform for the audience themselves to judge and to think. I hope it's just the beginning of good journalism, not a flash in the pan.
Langlang Jianghu [zh] echoed: 郎郎江湖: 任建宇居然上了《面对面》，这是个令人欣喜的信号吗？CCTV也有正义的一面，言者无罪的时代真会到来吗？
Ren Jianyu is on CCTV, isn't it a nice surprise? Looks like CCTV has shown some integrity, is the age of free speech really coming?
Laoma Shitu [zh] was also optimistic: 老马迷途1：近一段,因言获罚的任建宇释放了,说是处理不当;因跪访总理而获拘的农妇释放了,警方道歉;李庄的申诉历经曲折,最高检受理了…这确实让人对新政充满想象与期待。
Ren was released due to an 'improper charge'; a farmer was released after being arrested for kneeling to visit Prime Minister, and the police apologized; the news makes us full of hope for the new leadership.
While Ren's release brings joy and hope for most netizens in China, some netizens remain skeptical. Xiaokai wrote: 凯菲教育-小凯：刚看完中午的新闻，关于任建宇的。看样子，他现在又成了一枚棋子。政客太可怕了。
I just saw the news about Ren Jianyu. It looks like he has been 'harmonized' by the government, just like a chess piece on the politician's chess table. How scary!
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| The Lives of Hui Muslims in China Posted: 28 Nov 2012 03:35 PM PST |
| 87th Self-Immolation, Death of Earlier Protester Reported Posted: 28 Nov 2012 05:01 PM PST Dharamsala-based Phayul.com reports the 25th self-immolation case this month and news of one of the five Tibetans who set fire to themselves on November 7th, on the eve of China's 18th Party Congress. The man is said to have died in police custody on November 18th after allegedly being refused treatment for his burns. The total now stands at 87 cases since 2009, excluding four cases in India, one in Nepal, and two unconfirmed cases in Sichuan. "Sangay Tashi, 18, set himself on fire at around 12 midnight Tuesday, November 27 in Sangkhog town," an exiled Tibetan monk Sonam told Phayul citing contacts in the region. "He passed away at the site of his protest." […] Sangay Tashi arrived in Sangkhog town earlier that day with his friends. Before setting himself on fire, he reportedly called one of his relatives and told him that he had decided to set himself on fire for the cause of Tibet. Before his relative could carry on the conversation, Sangay Tashi hung up the phone and switched it off. By the time Sangay Tashi's family members arrived in Sangkhog, he had already carried out his self-immolation protest. Sonam, an exile Tibetan living in Switzerland, told Phayul that Tsegyu set himself ablaze at around 7pm (local time) on November 7, in Tingser village of Bekar town in Driru (Ch: Biru) region of Nagchu, in an apparent protest against China's continued occupation of Tibet. […] Confirming the reports, Dharamshala based rights group Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy in a release today said Tsegyu received no medical treatment while in detention at a local police station in Nagchu. "For less than two weeks, from November 7 to 18, Tsegyal received no treatment for his burns while being held at the local police station in Nagchu town," TCHRD said citing sources. "Tsegyal died in the evening of November 18 in police custody." Heavy restrictions on journalists in Tibetan areas make independent verification of these reports difficult or impossible. As Kristin Jones wrote at the Committee to Protect Journalists in February, "by preventing reporters from doing their jobs, Chinese officials all but guarantee that activists are the ones reporting the news." The Associated Press' Christopher Bodeen examined the protests' tactics and escalation, and Beijing's uncertain response. "I think the problem will just escalate over time. The government shows no inclination to respond positively to recommendations for reform from the outside or Tibetans," said Michael Davis, a law professor and expert on Tibet at the University of Hong Kong. […] The surge in self-immolations represents an awareness of the impact they are having among the Tibetan community and internationally, said Robbie Barnett, a Tibet expert at New York's Columbia University. That would likely inspire further protests, increasing the numbers of Tibetans willing to take their lives for the sake of their community, he said. […] While local authorities have cracked down hard following the self-immolations and other protests, authorities in Beijing have said relatively little other than to issue routine denunciations of the Dalai Lama and his followers. That indicates they are uncertain how to respond in a way that would bolster their authority and prevent the acts of defiance snow-balling into a full-blown protest movement, Barnett said. U.S. ambassador to China Gary Locke discussed the self-immolations with CNN's Christiane Amanpour on Tuesday: Christiane Amanpour: We want to know from your perspective whether the new leader Xi Jinping will be any different on Tibet, for instance, because there have been many burnings by ethnic Tibetans, another four reported just today in China; I know you've met with some ethnic Tibetans. What do you think is the prospect for any different kind of relationship, Ambassador? Gary Locke: Well, we're just going to have to wait and see, but obviously the United States is very concerned about the situation, the heightened tensions in the Tibetan areas, the deplorable self-immolations and of course just the policies of the Chinese government at all levels. And we're publicly and privately constantly urging the Chinese to re-examine some of their policies that threaten the linguistic identity, cultural identity, and religious identity of the Tibetan people. See also 'Tibet Self-Immolations Moving to "New Phase"; 86th Reported' and previous posts on the protests at CDT.
© Samuel Wade for China Digital Times (CDT), 2012. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Dharamsala, Gary Locke, Robert Barnett, self-immolations, Tibet, Tibetan exiles, Tibetan protests, United States
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| Photo: Untitled, by Marco Barbieri Posted: 28 Nov 2012 02:26 PM PST |
| Does Hu Xijin Favor Free Speech? Posted: 28 Nov 2012 01:23 PM PST  Incriminating? T-shirt proclaiming "Give me liberty or give me death." Netizens were dumbstruck by Global Times Chief Editor Hu Xijin's November 21 weibo in favor of free speech:
HuXijin: I hope the long-term impact of the Ren Jianyu case in today's Internet age is the establishment of precedent that will end the political and cultural tradition of the "criminalization of speech." Political speech and the propagation of [other's] speech which does not infringe upon the rights of others and does not precipitate concrete action should not be criminalized. In other words, if "comment deletion" must continue for a time, then a resolute end should come to the "criminalization of comment posting." This is a key pathway to achieving a higher level of free speech. 胡锡进：希望任建宇案在互联网时代产生判例的长远影响，终结"因言获罪"的政治和文化传统。不涉及侵权和无任何实际行动的政治性言论和言论传播应获得绝对不 被治罪的权利，换句话说，如果"删贴"还不得不维持一段的话，那么各种"因帖治罪"应彻底结束了。这应是通往更高言论自由的一个关键性台阶。
Ren Jianyu, a young village official in Chongqing, was sentenced to two years of re-education through labor last August for reposting critiques of Chongqing officials on Weibo. This was just months before Chongqing Party Secretary Bo Xilai's protracted fall from grace. Authorities claimed that T-shirts found in Ren's apartment emblazoned with the slogan "Give me liberty or give me death" (不自由，毋宁死) proved his intent to stage a coup. Ren was released early from detention on November 19. Hu Xijin, known as a Party apologist, has been notably outspoken in defense of Ren. He wrote a weibo in this vein in October, before Ren's appeal court hearing (translated by Tea Leaf Nation):
HuXijin: The appeal hearing of Pengshui University student village official Ren Jianyu's sentencing to re-education through labor for Weibo retweets has begun. I believe he'll win. Because [what he did] didn't harm any individual person, and it was pure speech that didn't create any social conflicts–the era when these kinds of commentary could be punished for being 'against the Party [or] against socialism' needs to come to a thorough conclusion. I hope that when this case is rectified, it will [cut down] the last straw of a thousand-year political tradition of criminalized speech. China needs to move forward." 胡锡进：重庆彭水县大学生村官任建宇转发微博被劳教申诉案开审。我相信他能赢。因为不带来个人伤害、也不带来社会冲击的的纯言论——无它这些言论多么"反党反社会 主义"——而被治罪的时代该彻底结束了。希望这个案子的纠正成为压倒"因言获罪"千年政治传统的最后一根稻草。中国要往前走。
But netizens shouldn't get too excited about this about-face. As @waynebabywang (@韦恩卑鄙) points out, Hu still supports censorship through deletion of offending posts. Could it be that Hu thinks this is necessary in a slow move towards real freedom of speech, or merely that he opposes violent punishment for speech "crimes"? Even if Hu does advocate for eventual freedom of speech, he won't touch the core problem. @yrjang says it right, " If there is no check on power, sooner or later we'll backtrack." Indeed, just one week before Ren's release, another netizen was arrested for his activity on Twitter, beyond the Great Firewall but not the reach of the police. CDT Chinese has collected some of the comments Hu received: HowToThank: Whoa! The harmonious society has begun, eh? 谢怎么：哟，和谐社会开始了是吗 WhiteRiverFishForMen: Is Chief Hu experiencing temporary consciousness? Regardless, you have to give him credit for this one. 白河钓叟：胡总临时性清醒？无论如何要赞一个![[赞]](http://img.t.sinajs.cn/t35/style/images/common/face/ext/normal/d0/z2_org.gif "[赞]") yrjang: Keep dreaming. If there is no check on power, sooner or later we'll backtrack. yrjang：做梦，权力不受制约，迟早还得倒退。 kejinjin: Certainly, I must have opened up my weibo incorrectly or something. This can't be Hu Xijin, right? His account must have been compromised. 肥羊高翔 ：![[吃惊]](http://img.t.sinajs.cn/t35/style/images/common/face/ext/normal/f4/cj_org.gif "[吃惊]") 一定是我打开微博的方式不对![[黑线]](http://img.t.sinajs.cn/t35/style/images/common/face/ext/normal/91/h_org.gif "[黑线]") 这货不是胡锡进，一定是被盗号了 BlueDanube01: Heh heh, you can see which way the wind is blowing from Editor Hu's weibo. 蓝色多瑙河01：呵呵，从胡编滴微博可以看看风往哪边吹。 UnoilyRapeseed: I support this! Re-education through labor must be abandoned! 菜籽不油：支持! 勞教惡法必須廢! EternalFatLegEra: Editor Hu, what happened to you? Could it be that political reform is actually on its way? 永远是大腿时代：胡编你肿么了？莫非真要政改了？ HappilyTravelHorizon: I applaud Chief Hu this time. Freedom of speech is a legal right of all citizens, given to us by the constitution. It's written down on paper. 逍遥天涯行：这一次赞扬胡总。言论自由是公民的法定权利，宪法赋予的，写在纸上的。 FishWantsPotatoesNBeef: Why can't our government earn international respect? Because our government hasn't respected its own people. 想吃土豆烧牛肉的青鱼：为什么我们政府得不到国际的尊重？是因为我们政府没有尊重自己的人民。 Cadenza: I bet the central authorities had you test water for them, right? 華彩_Cadenza：是中央让你来放口风的吗？ Silentcnm: Did he give his password to someone else????? 沉默cnm：密码给别人了?????? HappyEarthlyPerson: Now this is a humane thought! Reposting. Could it be that Chief Editor Hu is a moral bisexual? 逍遥地人：这条像点人话！要转。难不成胡主编是人格上的双性？ MESSIAH-: He's moving faster than the higher-ups. Isn't he afraid of being criticized? MESSIAH-：步调比上面快了，不怕挨批吗？ waynebabywang: He's just kissing ass in a new way. He still mentioned that comments will continue to be deleted, and there's nothing you can do about it. 韦恩卑鄙：舔菊新方向而已，着重表示删帖继续，你们管不着 Westernwuhuapiao: A Nobel Peace Laureate is still in prison 西部五花膘：那还关着一个诺贝尔奖获得者
Read more comments here. Translation by Little Bluegill.
© Anne.Henochowicz for China Digital Times (CDT), 2012. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: censorship, Chongqing, freedom of speech, Global Times, Hu xijin, Internet censorship, Netizen Voices, netizens, political reform, re-education through labor, Ren Jianyu, sina weibo, weibo
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| Word of the Week: Hair Removal Posted: 28 Nov 2012 12:00 PM PST Editor's Note: The CDT Grass-Mud Horse Lexicon is 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. The Word of the Week features Lexicon entries old, new and timely. 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. 去毛 (qù máo): hair removal  Mao excised from the 100 yuan bill. While most search results for this term are for sites selling shaving creams and razors, it also has a political meaning. Mao Zedong's surname (毛) literally means "hair." Therefore, to "de-hair" can also mean to de-Mao; 去毛化 (qù máo huà) means "de-Mao-ification," or the minimization of Mao Zedong thought and Mao's role in history.
© Anne.Henochowicz for China Digital Times (CDT), 2012. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: censorship, grass-mud horse lexicon, Mao Zedong, Mao Zedong Thought, netizens
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| State Meddling Stifles China’s Film Industry Posted: 28 Nov 2012 10:01 AM PST In the International Herald Tribune, Didi Kirsten Tatlow writes about the delayed opening of a recent movie, The Last Supper, and how government control over the film industry is impacting filmmakers' creativity as well as their profits: The delay points to a central quandary regarding culture in China today. Officials want to impress the world with its richness, but they also want to manage it as they have managed the economy, and this constant meddling leaves culture in a deeply uncomfortable place, suspended between genuine creativity and political correctness, between greatness and mediocrity. In film, weak ideas, often because of political restraints and bowdlerized scripts, and delayed openings because of lengthy censorship are weakening the ability of Chinese directors to attract audiences. As foreign imports increase, people are voting with their feet and domestic movies are slipping financially. [...] To try to change that, film bureaucrats said last week that the National Film Development Fund would return its 5 percent cut of box office takings to theaters that show more domestic films, in a kind of reward. Yet in a sign of what officials really intend, at the same news conference, Sun Zhijun, deputy head of the party's Propaganda Department, said: "Some media organizations and people believe that deepening the cultural reform is for the purposes of making the culture an industry and wholly market-based. This is not true."
In an accompanying blog post, Tatlow writes about the difficulties of parsing out why censors choose to restrict one film over another. For more on how State Administration on Radio, Film, and Television censors films, see the text of a decision to censor the 2000 film Devils on the Doorstep, via CDT.
© Sophie Beach for China Digital Times (CDT), 2012. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: art censorship, film censorship, film industry, SARFT
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| Censorship Vault: Beijing Internet Instructions Series (21) Posted: 28 Nov 2012 09:42 AM PST In partnership with the China Copyright and Media blog, CDT is adding the "Beijing Internet Instructions" series to the Censorship Vault. These directives were originally published on Canyu.org (Participate) and date from 2005 to 2007. According to Canyu, the directives were issued by the Beijing Municipal Network Propaganda Management Office and the State Council Internet management departments and provided to to Canyu by insiders. China Copyright and Media has not verified the source. The translations are by Rogier Creemers of China Copyright and Media. 21 June 2006, 8:59, Fan Tao If the comment article "Changes in the Final Structure of the Allocation of Our National Income, Tilted Towards Government" from the Shanghai Securities Daily appears on any website, please speedily delete it! Please acknowledge receipt! 22 June 2006, 9:00, Chen Hua Search for, comb out and shield "Summary of the Xishan Meeting" and corresponding content; concerning the matter of a female student being killed in a collision on the campus of Guangdong Agricultural University, do not report or discuss it. 22 June 2006, 11:32, Chen Hua I: (1) Concerning "Removing Officials and Bringing Down the Cabinet," "The Nasty Case of the Son-In-Law of Chen Shui-bian" and other matters on Taiwan, only report it, do not comment or guess on it, it is not permitted to use foreign media commentary. (2) The development of the main reporting on the state of affairs, must be subject to quantity control of news reports in this regard, about 100 articles. (3) Do not make netizens' posts or blogged articles into official news for transmission, where forum, tracker or blog discussions become extreme, irrational or not beneficial to the grand scheme of achieving national unification, where discussions seize the opportunity to attack our policies towards Taiwan or attack our social system, or where there is unlawful or harmful information, this must be timely deleted. (4) For reports concerning the situation on Taiwan, only reprint Xinhua copy, it is not permitted to edit and translate foreign media information. (5) For major sudden incidents, propaganda discipline must be strictly obeyed, only transmit Xinhua copy, it is not permitted to gather or edit information by oneself, it is not permitted to publish comments without authorization, it is not permitted to edit and release foreign media information, articles or comments. II: Some media reported that the "Pioneer" group president Liu Xiaoguang is under investigation of the Central Discipline Inspection Committee and that the Hong Kong traded company "Pioneer Enterprises" has been removed from the stock market in Hong Kong, on the basis of reports from the Beijing side, the above information does not conform to the facts, websites are not to reprint it without exception, existing information must be immediately removed, forums and blogs are also not to post this. 22 June 2006, 11:54, Wu Haihong (On the basis of telephone content records, 1, 2 and 4 are titles, 3 is the corresponding event, there is no title.) I: Female Student Dies on Some Guangdong University Campus After Being Hit by Military Vehicle II: Power Outage at Some Sichuan University Incited Student Riot III: Delete all reports concerning the student riot in Zhengzhou University (there is no title). IV: Riots at Shanxi Zhongbei University Because of Dormitory Move. 22 June 2006, 12:48, Chen Hua Urgent. Please rapidly screen out the matter of a large-scale student riot at Zhengzhou University Economy and Trade Faculty, rapidly screen out, search for and block this, do not report anything influences stability at Beijing higher education institutes, notify educational channels and blogs. 22 June 2006, 17:17, Fan Tao Search for and delete non-Xinhua copy concerning the "incident of the Fujian Industry and Commerce Bureau Director Zhou Jinhui fleeing abroad" published on websites, strengthen supervision and control. 26 June 2006, 10:23, Fan Tao Original notice text: All websites are to speedily delete "Female China International Economy and Trade Arbitration Commission Deputy Section Director Murdered." 27 June 2006, 18:45, Network Management Office, Duty manager (1) The special subject of the 85th anniversary of the Party's founding is to be put in one line with running the web in a civilized manner and red memories, on a red background. When there are important remembrance activities and important speeches by central leaders, the World Cup special subject must make room at the large header position. Persist in preventing the playing up of negative news, and create a positive and upward online public opinion atmosphere for remembrance activities. Strengthen management over forums, blogs and news trackers, rumours, attacks, distortions and all other sorts of harmful information must be firmly and timely deleted. (2) If there is information on "Chinese Navy Ship 774 Sinks after Collision" on forums, speedily delete it, and strengthen blocking. (3) Concerning the matter of "CCTV Statement on Cancelling the Evening Broadcast of the National Anthem after Revision," websites are no longer to reprint matters, report this or comment on this, existing news is to be pushed to the back stage, management over forums and blogs must be strengthened, timely delete attacks, abuses and other harmful information. Please earnestly implement the above requirements!! 28 June 2006, 10:09, Network Management Office, Duty manager Everyone, today in the afternoon, the Ministry of Information Industry and the State Council Information Office convened the teleconference on "Soundly Move Running the Web in a Civilized Manner and Using the Web in a Civilized Manner Activities Forward, Deeply Launch the 'Sunlight and Green Network Project,'" all websites are requested to transmit the conference press releases published on People's Daily Net and Xinhua Net on the main page of their website in the important news section, as well as the speech of director Cai Wu and Minister Wang Xudong, and leave them there for 24 hours. Put it in the section on running the web in a civilized manner, replace the special subject with the title. 28 June 2006, 10:56, Network Management Office, Duty manager All websites, close all trackers without exception for articles concerning the 85th anniversary of the Party. It is reiterated again that when there are large remembrance activities and speeches by central leaders, they must be put on the header of the main page of websites on a read background, and the header of the news center, the World Cup must make way. This must be implemented. 28 June 2006, 14:56, Network Management Office, Duty manager All websites are requested to continue to delete content related to Chen Qiuhua (airplane crash expert). 28 June 2006, 18:38 All websites are requested to reprint the report about the teleconference convened today in the afternoon by the Ministry of Information Industry and the State Council Information Office on the main page of websites and the important news section of news centers. The article link is: http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2006-06/28/content_4762266.htm. This article must be maintained on the main page for at least 24 hours. 28 June 2006, 18:40, Chen Hua To report the gas explosion accident at the Wulong Colliery of the Liaoning Fuxin Mining Group, websites are only to use Xinhua copy and news conference copy from Liaoning province, do not set up news trackers; concerning the matter of deliberating the "Sudden Incident Response Law" (Draft), websites are only to use Xinhua copy or corresponding copy from the People's Daily, must strengthen management over news trackers, forums and blogs, and timely delete attacks, abuses and other harmful information; for articles related to income allocation and other problems, only use copy from main central news work units, this may not be played up, also don't do online surveys. Management over forums, trackers, blogs, etc. must be strengthened, timely block misrepresentations, attacks, extremes and other harmful discourse. 29 June 2006, 9:30, Fan Tao The "Sudden Incident Response Law" (Draft) has been submitted to the 22nd Meeting of the 10th National People's Congress Standing Committee for deliberation a few days ago. In order to guarantee that corresponding work proceeds smoothly, concerning the matter of deliberating the "Sudden Incident Response Law" (Draft), websites are only to use Xinhua copy and corresponding People's Daily comments, must strengthen management over news trackers, forums and blogs, and timely delete attacks, misrepresentations and other harmful information. 29 June 2006, 17:17, Fan Tao Recently, posts about a mass incident at the Qingdao Feiyang Professional and Technical College in Shandong emerged on a number of websites and forums, and some people seized the opportunity to stir up things. In order to maintain stability, websites are not to disseminate information related to the mass incident at the Qingdao Feiyang Professional and Technical College without exception, must strengthen management over forums and blogs, and timely delete relevant information. 2006年6月北京网管办发出的禁令（三） 2006年6月21日08时59分 范 涛 各网如发现有《上海证券报》的评论文章"我国国民收入分配最终格局的变化 正向政府倾斜"请迅速删除！收到请回复！ 2006年6月22日09时00分 陈华 搜索、清查、屏蔽"西山会议纪要"及相关内容；关于广东农业大学校园内一女生被撞死一事，不报导、不讨论。 2006年6月22日11时32分 陈华 一： 1、对岛内"罢免和倒阁"及"陈水扁女婿涉弊案"等事件，只报道不评论、不猜测，不得引用境外媒体评论。 2、主要报道事态的发展，这方面新闻报道跟帖要控制数量，100条左右。 3、不得将网民帖文、博客文章作正式新闻稿转发，对论坛、跟贴、博客中过激的、非理性的、不利于祖国统一大业的言论，对借机攻击我对台方针政策、攻击我社会制度的言论，对违法有害信息要及时删除。 4、关于岛内局势的报道只转发新华社稿件，不得编译境外媒体消息。 5、重大突发事件，要严格遵守宣传纪律，只转新华社通稿，不得自采、自编消息，不得擅自发表评论，不得编发境外媒体消息、文章、评论。 二： 有媒体报道"首创"集团总经理刘晓光被中纪委调查以及香港上市公司"首创置业"在港停牌的消息，据北京方面告，上述消息均与事实不符，网站一律不转发，已有的要立即撤除，论坛、博客也不贴发。 2006年6月22日11时54分 吴海红 （根据电话内容记录，一，二，四为标题，三是相关事件，无标题）
请删除以下新闻： 一；广州某大学女生被军车在校园内撞死 二；四川某大学因停电引发学生骚乱 三：删除所有关于郑州大学学生骚乱的报道（没有标题） 四：山西中北大学因宿舍搬迁引发骚乱 2006年6月22日12时48分 陈华 急。请速清查郑州大学达经贸学院发生大规模学生骚乱一事 速各自清查 搜索屏蔽 影响北京高校稳定的不报道 通知教育频道 博客 2006年6月22日17时17分 范 涛 搜索并删除站内发布的关于"福建工商局长周金伙外逃事件"的非新华社稿，加强监控。 2006年6月26日10时23分范 涛 通知原文: 各网速删《中国国际经贸仲裁委员会女副处长遭劫杀》 2006年6月27日18时45分网管办值班 1、建党85周年的纪念专题与文明办网、红色记忆放在一行，套红摆放。有重要纪念活动和中央领导的重要讲话时，世界杯专题必须让出大头条位置。坚决 制止负面新闻炒作，为纪念活动营造积极向上的网上舆论氛围。加强对论坛、博客和新闻跟帖的管理，对造谣、攻击、歪曲等各类有害信息必须坚决、及时删除。 2、论坛中如有"中国海军774舰被撞沉"的消息，迅速删除，并加强封堵； 3、有关"央视就改版后取消晚间国歌播放声明"事，网站不再转载、报道、评论，已有新闻压至后台，要加强对论坛、博客跟帖的管理，及时删除攻击、谩骂等有害信息。 以上要求请认真执行！！ 2006年6月28日10时09分 网管办值班 各位，今天下午信息产业部和国务院新闻办将联合召开"扎实推进文明办网 文明上网活动 深入开展'阳光·绿色网络工程'"电视电话会议，请各网站在首页要闻区突出转发好人民网、新华网登载的会议新闻稿，以及蔡武主任、王旭东部长在会上的讲 话，并保留24小时。放在文明办网位置上，以标题带专题。 2006年6月28日10时56分 网管办值班 各网：关于建党85周年的稿件，一律关闭跟帖。再次强调，有大的纪念活动和中央领导讲话时，必须套红放网站首页头条，新闻中心面头条，世界杯必须让路。务必执行。 2006年6月28日14时56分 网管办值班 各网请继续清除有关陈秋华（坠机事件中的专家）的内容 2006年6月28日18时38分 请各网在网站首页、新闻中心要闻区位置转发今天下午信息产业部、国新办联合召开的电视电话会议的报道。 文章链接为：http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2006-06/28/content_4762266.htm 此文章至少要在首页保留24小时。 2006年6月28日18时40分 陈华 有关辽宁阜新矿业集团五龙煤矿瓦斯爆炸事故的报道，网站只使用新华社通稿和辽宁省新闻发布会稿件，不设新闻跟帖；有关审议《突发事件应对法》（草 案）事，网站只使用新华社通稿和人民日报相关评论，要加强对新闻跟帖、论坛、博客的管理，及时删除攻击、歪曲等有害信息；收入分配等问题有关文章只使用中 央主要新闻单位稿件，不得炒作，也不搞网上调查。要加强对论坛、跟帖、博客等的管理，及时封堵删除歪曲、攻击、偏激等有害言论。 2006年6月29日09时30分 范 涛 《突发事件应对法》（草案）已于日前提交十届全国人大常委会第二十二次会议审议。为保证相关工作顺利进行，有关审议《突发事件应对法》（草案）事，网站只使用新华社通稿和人民日报相关评论，要加强对新闻跟帖、论坛、博客的管理，及时删除攻击、歪曲等有害信息。 2006年6月29日17时17分 范 涛 近日，一些网站论坛出现山东青岛飞洋职业技术学院群体性事件帖文，一些人借机煽动。为维护稳定，网站一律不传播有关青岛飞洋职业技术学院群体性事件的消息，要加强对论坛、博客的管理，及时删除有关信息。
These translated directives were first posted by Rogier Creemers on China Copyright and Media on November 28, 2012 (here).
© Anne.Henochowicz for China Digital Times (CDT), 2012. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Beijing, Beijing Internet Instructions, Cai Wu, Canyu, CCTV, censorship, Censorship Vault, Chen Hua, Chen Shui-bian, China Copyright and Media, civilized Web, Directives from the Ministry of Truth, Fan Tao, Guangdong, Hong Kong, Internet censorship, Jufian, Liaoning, Liu Xiaoguang, mining accidents, Ministry of Information Industry, Ministry of Truth, netizens, people's daily, propoganda, Qingdao, riots, Shandong, Shanghai, Shanxi, Sichuan, State Council Information Office, student protests, sudden incidents, Taiwan, World Cup, Wu Haihong, Xinhua, Zhengzhou
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| “Stand Up, Citizens!” One Chinese Web User’s Viral “Civics Lesson” Posted: 28 Nov 2012 08:41 AM PST  (The COM Library/Creative Commons License) It's proof positive that China's Internet remains a vibrant place. Despite widespread and increasingly multifarious online censorship behind China's "Great Firewall," Web users are still writing about political reform–and getting away with it. Take "Alice," or @向莉alice, a user on Sina Weibo, China's pre-eminent micro-blogging platform. On August 17, she shared a long-form document (shown below this article) which at first appears to carry the audacious title, "Constitution of The People's Republic of China." Alice then follows with a subtitle, "civics class" [公民课], that provides plausible deniability as to whether she is in fact re-imagining China's Constitution, or simply providing a quick refresher on the meaning of citizenship. Alice is wise to hedge. After all, China already has a constitution. The latest (and fourth) version (in English here) was written in 1982, and it has been revised four times since. It provides for, among other things, "freedom of speech, of the press, of assembly, of association, of procession and of demonstration." Unlike the United States Constitution, however, the Chinese version is not a founding document that binds the nation's rulers. Instead, it was written by the Communist Party, for the Communist Party, and the core freedoms it confers are often not respected in practice. It's telling that the first operational paragraph in the Chinese constitution states that China "is a socialist state under the people's democratic dictatorship led by the working class and based on the alliance of workers and peasants. … Sabotage of the socialist system by any organization or individual is prohibited." Contrast this with Alice's rhetoric. Her opening (or is that a preamble?) reads, "Taxpayer money is what nourishes the government, [so] government should listen to [taxpayer] demands, and be happy when they are happy. When I put money into a vending machine and my beverage comes out I don't need to be [impressed]; if it comes out slowly, they need to fix the machine. Say it loudly: We are citizens!" Twenty-three clauses follow, alternately praising and chastising Chinese citizens. The first three: Say "citizen," not "ren min" [the latter being the Communist government's preferred term for China's inhabitants]
Marx was the first in human history to openly say that some groups of people needed dictators [sic]. It was [Chairman] Mao that brought up the concept of two warring groups of enemies. Citizens don't have stature, no one knows who the "ren min" are, so there's just the residents and the subjects. Here I'd suggest that we use 'citizen' instead of 'ren min.' 'Citizen' implies equality, peace, rule of law, tolerance, unity, the individual at the center. Patriotism
Patriotism in fact refers to a deep and profound feeling, forged over thousands of years, toward one's motherland. The powers that be can change, but a nation is relatively stable. The Han, Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties have all vanished, but China still exists, Chinese still deeply love their mother country. Let's remember what Mark Twain said: My loyalty is to my country, and not to any law or to any bureaucrat. Modern citizens have a strong sense of their own rights
Citizens have their country's nationality, the right to speak on public matters within that country, and the right to participate. Rights are held by the citizens, granted by the constitution, [and] the state has the right to protect these things. The constitution holds that every citizen is born equal, every citizen has certain basic rights, with corresponding political and civil rights. If you have the consciousness and rights of a citizen, then you are a citizen.
Alice has made amply clear that citizenship and servility to China's ruling Party are not the same. In some ways, in fact, a citizen is like a customer, who has a right to get angry when they've been jilted. But like China's actual constitution, Alice's document conceives of citizens as having both rights and duties. She segues into describing the "basic qualities of a citizen," or at least the basic qualities which she believes a citizen should possess. They include: An independent approach: The government must let information flow freely, citizens have the right to all the facts. Respect for the individual: No one should impose their values on others. Possesses a just heart: When another citizen comes upon a threat, or [their home] is forcibly demolished, or they die in vain …when public power is abused…please come out and condemn the evil power, please extend a hand in help, please supervise public power. Full of love: Please become every kind of volunteer, please get involved in every kind of NGO activity. [And, in bold:] Worships freedom.
Alice's document ends with a list of complaints couched as suggestions. Together, they are a thoroughly modern litany, marrying the idealism and impatience that characterize many Chinese reformists. Alice sees the Chinese citizen as a taxpayer (and thus a consumer), a well-meaning critic, and a private citizen, one who has to be taught to push back against government incursion: Be vigilant against [those] selling out our country; strike against corruption
A good citizen is loyal to [his/her] motherland and is constructive toward their country, not destructive. If the government makes an error, and you severely criticize the government in hopes that it will improve, that is constructive. … If we continue to tolerate corrupt behavior and allow corrupt officials to send their earnings abroad, this is selling out our country, and that is a crime. Every citizen is a taxpayer, the government is nourished by tax revenue
If we want to buy goods, we are responsible for paying the sales tax. The government's military expenditures and its salaries for public officials come from the treasury, and the treasury [funds] come from taxpayers. Taxpayers should feel within their rights in overseeing how [authorities] spend our money. China needs a spirit of contract
The spirit of contract is a kind of freedom, equality, trust … a spirit of private contract spurs economic development … and has important meaning for realizing human rights. Study Hong Kong; establish an independent judiciary
Judicial powers must be separated from administrative and legislative powers, and only be exercised independently by the judiciary (the courts), and allow judges to adjudicate independently serving nothing but the law without prejudice. Independent personalities
Having an independent personality means having an independent will, the ability to make decisions for oneself, rich in creativity. Traits include: … a recognition of one's own value … and no fear of being opposed by others. … Because of many years of brainwashing, at present there are many people with servile personalities. This means that spreading common sense and recovering our ability to think and make judgments are the most pressing tasks.
Alice's hard work has not gone unnoticed. Her constitution–more accurately described as a manifesto–is long and freewheeling. But its sheer moxie and punch save it from the jaws of what an American Web user might call "TL;DR"-dom (i.e. "too long; didn't read"). Instead, the document has been retweeted over 33,000 times and drawn over 3,500 comments, most of them encouraging, if pessimistic about the chances for reform and impatient with Chinese people as a whole. @天崖一飘客-长沙陈文凯's comment evinced this ambivalence: "The Chinese people have been paying their taxes for thousands of years, and this has not given birth to a feeling of citizenship or rights consciousness, only feelings of imperial privilege and servility. Should [we] not reflect?" @刘彦辉Tony shared a personal story. "Starting when I was young, my mom inculcated this concept in me: 'Pay your [imperial] taxes with the fruits of your land, care for your bride in order to have children!' The Chinese concept of infinite royal graciousness will be hard to snuff out [when Chinese] are unable to stand with chests out from the time they are born." For others like @葡萄酒小皮, acquiescence reflected not servility but simple realism: "Not only don't our vending machines give us our beverages, they take our money! But you can't even kick them, you can just say 'f*** your mother' in a low voice." Of course, no matter how loud one's online voice, most Chinese won't hear it. @未得糊涂 wrote, "The saddest thing is: The people who most need to see this won't be able to." Chinese Web users now constitute about 40% of the Chinese population, with Boston Consulting Group expecting that number to rise to over 50% by 2015. That still means that hundreds of millions of poor and rural Chinese–the ones most in need of constitutional protections–are unlikely ever to see or hear of Alice's effort. Undeterred–perhaps even encouraged that censors have stayed their hands for months–Alice continues to promote her work. As recently as November 25, she wrote on her Weibo account, "Some people say, you've really got guts, writing more than 100 'citizen posts.' I tell them that I study the constitution every day and my posts are written according to constitutional law, what do I need to be afraid of! It's those who are violating the constitution that should be afraid! There are too many timid people in China, too many who grovel, so other people think you are servile and try every trick to push you around. When everyone understands their rights and stands up, the hand holding the whip will tremble. Stand up, citizens!" 
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| Red Dawn Really Brings Out the Idiots Posted: 27 Nov 2012 10:43 PM PST Well, the Red Dawn remake has finally been released, and it's fucking terrible. Seriously, at just 11% on Rotten Tomatos, it apparently ranks among the worst films in recent memory. I say "apparently" because I haven't actually seen it; don't worry though, I'm still capable of discussing it more intelligently than any of the people we're about to examine. First up is "Red Dawn shows nostalgia for Cold War mindset," which features the classic Global Times trademark (garbled regurgitation and a total lack of self-awareness) mixed with a twinge of bipolar insanity. Let's watch: The 1984 cult classic Red Dawn did not stint in its demonization of Soviets, which was prevalent during the Cold War era. But two decades later, Hollywood is still stuck in the clichéd storytelling of beautifying itself and oversimplifying the world. Hollywood filmmakers never seem to tire of telling stories of the US saving the world from the brink of collapse, while the opponents are wicked villains, be they Chinese or North Koreas. In Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, good and evil are also in sharp contrast: A US agent desperately endeavors to save the world, while a Russian lunatic uses every means to instigate a nuclear purging of the Earth. The Avengers probably reaches the peak in this regard: A long list of US heroes is assembled in the movie to kill evil and save Earth. Apparently, Hollywood blockbusters have a profound impact on the US audience, given their huge box office takings. The thread bare plots in a world divided between devils and angels reinforce how audiences look at the world. It's hard to know where to even start here, but I guess crushing irony is as good a place as any. Hollywood is certainly guilty of pushing out gluts of oversimplified action films with black-and-white good vs. evil plots, but if any other nation's cinema is more guilty of this, it's probably China. There are exceptions, of course, but the vast majority of films and television programs China produces about its own history are so black-and-white (figuratively) that its a wonder they even bother to film in color at all. Zing! OK, that wasn't as clever as I had been hoping it was. But any Chinese language student who has grudgingly worked their way through almost any TV series about the Sino-Japanese war (for example) would laugh out loud at the idea that China's entertainment is any more nuanced than Hollywood's. In this instance, the figurative pot and kettle are both jet black. It's also odd that the Global Times picked these three films in particular to indicate how American filmgoers apparently eat up this dumbed-down shlock. But are Americans really eating these films up? "Huge box office takings"? Red Dawn is getting absolutely shit on in the box offices, despite this past weekend being its opening weekend. It's even losing out to a boring costume drama about Lincoln that has, like, no explosions. It's also losing to Life of Pi, the Twilight movie, Skyfall, Wreck-it Ralph (which has been out for a month already), and some movie called Rise of the Guardians that I've never even heard of. So far, Red Dawn is the 2,576th best-selling movie in America. (Unless you adjust the box office numbers for inflation, in which case it's way lower). The Mission Impossible film, admittedly, did much better in the US, but it did nearly as well in China too, grossing more than $100 million. Not too shabby for a foreign-language film! And while Avengers is one of the top-grossing films ever, it's a superhero film; the whole point is that they're good vs. evil. Oh, and they made over $100 million in China on that one, too. So if Hollywood stupidity is making US audiences stupid, apparently it's doing the same thing to China. Actually, many of the US's top grossing films, while still simplistic, aren't really good vs. evil. Avatar, which holds the number one spot, certainly isn't the kind of good vs. evil nationalism the Global Times is complaining about since the film was probably inspired by American colonists' violent battles with Native Americans. And Titanic isn't much of a good vs. evil story either, unless you consider the iceberg evil. Many film critics believe that the Cold War has made a comeback to Hollywood movies in recent years. In real politics, it is not uncommon for Americans to demonstrate their tendency to see the world from a rigid ideological perspective. When the Global Times is criticizing other people for "seeing the world from a rigid ideological perspective," it's difficult to keep your head from exploding with the irony. But strap your dome down with duct tape because we're about to go deeper. Not to be outdone by some guy whose name is Chen Chenchen (they're running out of ways to disguise the fact that the editorial staff is writing the op-eds over there too, eh?), in steps the Global Times editorial team, featuring a Hu Xijin who is fresh off his disappointing number 9 finish on the rankings of 2012′s most horrible people and looking to stake a higher spot on the list for next year. He really knocks it out of the park in "Elton John's outburst met with indifference", which is about the Elton John concert and is pretty damn crazy. At the end, though, for some reason the subject shifts to Red Dawn. And miraculously, just a day later, Red Dawn has now become a shining example of Sino-US friendship and indicative of a positive worldwide trend in Sino-global relations! To please Chinese audiences, Hollywood movie Red Dawn changed some parts which could have harmed China's image. This incident caused a sensation in the West while the news caused by Elton John was only fleeting, as the former can better represent the general trend of the relationship between China and other countries. It's hard to know what I should think about Red Dawn, then — come on, Global Times, is it a sickening example of American nationalism or a shining example of American willingness to cooperate when millions of box-office dollars are at stake? Also, why is the film even getting so much attention in the Chinese press at all given that it's no longer about China and that it is, as I mentioned before, a terrible, terrible film. But let's stop giving the Global Times Opinion pages grief and turn our attention to the other side of the globe. By and large, Americans have been doing their country proud by going out and not seeing Red Dawn in droves. But unfortunately, some people did see Red Dawn, and some of those people are racist idiots. It's hard to even know what to say about the people quoted in that story. No, not because it's a complex feeling that's difficult to verbalize; it's just that it's difficult to type while smashing one's head repeatedly and savagely against a wall. Is it un-American of me to suggest that these people ought to be loaded into a cannon and fired directly into the sun? Probably. But if NASA were to begin work on a Sun Cannon, I certainly wouldn't be opposed, and Twitter racists would make excellent test candidates. Perhaps we could even bounce a few off the moon first to see if a ricochet shot would be — what's the scientific term again? — awesome. I'm no astrophysicist, but I hypothesize that it would. VN:F [1.9.10_1130] Rating: 0.0/10 (0 votes cast) Tags: Red dawn  |
| China: Top 10 horrible figures of 2012? Posted: 28 Nov 2012 01:43 AM PST |
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