Blogs » Politics » China: Cultural Revolution Murder Trial Sparks Debate

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• China: Cultural Revolution Murder Trial Sparks Debate
• China: Guangzhou Police Detain Protesters
• Hackers Embed Virus in Mandiant Report
• Moving the Capital, or, The Unbearable Heaviness of Beijing
• Chinese General’s Angry Online Rant Has Japanese Laughing, And Many Chinese Cheering
• TV Documentaries to Need SARFT Pre-Approval
• Photo: Wall, by Mark Hobbs
• After Ang Lee's Oscar Win, China Imagines Cinema Beyond Censors
• China Uses Passports as Political Cudgel
• Ai Weiwei: Nothing to Hide, Always Under Watch
• Frustrated “Lower-class” Parent Calls Out Classism
• Outspoken General Loses First Weibo Battle
• Martians and Venetians
• The PLA Becomes More Involved in Myanmar?
• Blazing a New Path for China’s Intellectually Disabled: Amity Bakery Heats Up on Weibo
• China, Pollution and Cancer Villages
• Defying the Government, Chinese Families Resurrect Graves
• THE TRIBULATIONS OF BEING CHIEF EXECUTIVE
• Chinese General Luo Yuan's Battle on Weibo

China: Cultural Revolution Murder Trial Sparks Debate Posted: 25 Feb 2013 11:16 PM PST The trial of an elderly man named Qiu accused of murdering a doctor during the Cultural Revolution has generated discussions about the cultural revolution in China.China Media Project has translated the comments from Chinese social media and traditional media.   Written by Abby · comments (0) Share: Donate · facebook · twitter · reddit · StumbleUpon · delicious · Instapaper

China: Guangzhou Police Detain Protesters Posted: 25 Feb 2013 11:00 PM PST Authorities in Southern China's Guangzhou city have detained 10 activists who staged a protest over North Korean nuclear test. The news triggered  netizens' outrage. Radio Free Asia has more. Written by Abby · comments (0) Share: Donate · facebook · twitter · reddit · StumbleUpon · delicious · Instapaper

Hackers Embed Virus in Mandiant Report Posted: 25 Feb 2013 11:30 PM PST ZDNet's Eileen Yu reported on Monday that hackers have distributed virus-infected versions of a report released last week by security firm Mandiant which linked the Chinese army to cyberattacks on U.S. corporations: When downloaded, the tainted versions would allow hackers to remotely control infected computers after users attempted to read the report which was released last week by U.S. IT security vendor, Mandiant. A blog post by Symantec said hackers used the report as "bait", embedding a malware called, Trojan.Pidief, into fake reports which displayed a blank PDF document when opened. Unbeknownst to users, the tainted report would trigger the exploit code for Adobe Acrobat and Reader Remote Code Execution Vulnerability. Symantec highlighted an e-mail in Japanese purported to be from someone in the media industry which contained a PDF attachment of the fake Mandiant report. Cybersecurity has become a wedge in Sino-U.S. relations in recent years, and lately the two sides have traded accusations of hacking. The New York Times' David Sanger reported earlier this week that the Obama administration is more willing than ever to call out the Chinese directly over the hacking issue: Defining "enemies" in this case is not always an easy task. China is not an outright foe of the United States, the way the Soviet Union once was; rather, China is both an economic competitor and a crucial supplier and customer. The two countries traded $425 billion in goods last year, and China remains, despite many diplomatic tensions, a critical financier of American debt. As Hillary Rodham Clinton put it to Australia's prime minister in 2009 on her way to visit China for the first time as secretary of state, "How do you deal toughly with your banker?" In the case of the evidence that the People's Liberation Army is probably the force behind "Comment Crew," the biggest of roughly 20 hacking groups that American intelligence agencies follow, the answer is that the United States is being highly circumspect. Administration officials were perfectly happy to have Mandiant, a private security firm, issue the report tracing the cyberattacks to the door of China's cybercommand; American officials said privately that they had no problems with Mandiant's conclusions, but they did not want to say so on the record. … In the next few months, American officials say, there will be many private warnings delivered by Washington to Chinese leaders, including Xi Jinping, who will soon assume China's presidency. Both Tom Donilon, the national security adviser, and Mrs. Clinton's successor, John Kerry, have trips to China in the offing. Those private conversations are expected to make a case that the sheer size and sophistication of the attacks over the past few years threaten to erode support for China among the country's biggest allies in Washington, the American business community. "America's biggest global firms have been ballast in the relationship" with China, said Kurt M. Campbell, who recently resigned as assistant secretary of state for East Asia to start a consulting firm, the Asia Group, to manage the prickly commercial relationships. "And now they are the ones telling the Chinese that these pernicious attacks are undermining what has been built up over decades." Meanwhile, Ezra Klein of the Washington Post reports that Chinese hackers may be wrong to focus on the U.S. capital as much as they do: The Chinese look at Washington, and they think there must be some document somewhere, some flowchart saved on a computer in the basement of some think tank, that lays it all out. Because in China, there would be. In China, someone would be in charge. There would be a plan somewhere. It would probably last for many years. It would be at least partially followed. But that's not how it works in Washington. What the Chinese hackers are looking for is the great myth of Washington, what I call the myth of scheming. You see it all over. If you've been watching the series "House of Cards" on Netflix, it's all about the myth of scheming. Things happen because the Rep. Frank Underwood has planned for them to happen. And when they don't happen, it's because someone has counterplanned against him. … I almost feel bad for the Chinese hackers. Imagine the junior analysts tasked with picking through the terabytes of e-mails from every low-rent think tank in Washington, trying to figure out what matters and what doesn't, trying to make everything fit a pattern. Imagine all the spurious connections they're drawing, all the fundraising bluster they're taking as fact, all the black humor they're reading as straight description, all the mundane organizational chatter they're reading. They're missing our real strength, the real reason Washington fails day-to-day but has worked over years: It's because we don't stick too rigidly to plans or rely on some grand design. That way, when it all falls apart, as it always does and always will, we're okay. © Scott Greene for China Digital Times (CDT), 2013. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us Post tags: Barack Obama, cyber attack, cyber espionage, cyber security, hackers, hacking, Mandiant, People's Liberation Army, PLA, Washington Download Tools to Circumvent the Great Firewall

Moving the Capital, or, The Unbearable Heaviness of Beijing Posted: 25 Feb 2013 07:01 PM PST Government officials are planning to move the capital of China to Xinyang, a little city in Henan you've never heard of! I know this to be true because some guy on Weibo said it a couple of weeks ago. Tea Leaf Nation has a post up about the chatter. This isn't particularly new. Wang Ping, a professor at Capital University of Economics and Business, suggested relocating the capital in 1980, and there have been periodic stirrings of discussion ever since, generally following hard on the heels of dust storms, airpocalypses, floods, city-wide traffic jams, and other reminders that good feng-shui or no, there are real downsides to living in a smog basin at the edge of the Gobi Desert whose water table dropped about 10 meters over the past decade and whose post-1949 renovations could be used to teach urban planning courses in Hell. 1 Baidupedia says a group of 479 National People's Congress delegates submitted a proposal to move the capital in March 2006, about a month before a sandstorm that dumped 330,000 tons of sand on the city overnight — but there doesn't seem to be any record of this, and people don't submit proposals to the NPC here on Earth One. If it did exist, the proposal would have been one of 5,030 submitted for discussion that year, alongside proposals recommending more attractive Xinwen Lianbo anchors, body-weight limits for government officials, and a requirement that foreigners marrying Chinese nationals be able to guarantee the cost of a return ticket to China in the event of a divorce. In April 2006, the economist Hu Xingdou sent a proposal to the central government, the State Council, and the NPC urging that the capital be relocated to central China or the region south of the Yangtze. Action was swiftly not taken. Two years later, Hu co-authored the "Report on the Relocation of China's Capital" with Qin Fazhan. The report recommended a "one country, three capitals" strategy with Beijing as the cultural and technological capital of the nation, Shanghai as the economic capital, and some new city as the actual capital capital. Hu and Qin concluded that the Nanyang Basin in Henan and Hubei provinces would be the only sensible place to build a new capital; other commentators have suggested Xi'an, Luoyang, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chongqing, Nanjing, Zhengzhou, Lanzhou, Wuhan, Linxi, Xiangyang, Liaocheng, Kaifeng, Chengdu, Hanzhong, Haikou, Yueyang, Xinyang, Changsha, Jingmen, and Anyang, the last capital of the Shang dynasty, as more suitable locations than Beijing. Meanwhile, the Beijing urban planning office cannot even be arsed to move to the east Sixth Ring Road. Not that there wouldn't be recent precedent for a move. The Republic of China bounced back and fourth between four capitals (Nanjing to Beijing to Nanjing to Wuhan to Nanjing to Chongqing and back to Nanjing) during its brief stay on the mainland, and for 21 blissful years, Beijing — laying low and going by the name Beiping — was out of the limelight. When I read the Tea Leaf Nation post, I thought immediately of this passage from Qian Zhongshu's novella Cat (猫), a very thinly veiled roman a clef about the intellectuals who made the city their home during that time: …For in those last years before the war, Beiping — the Northern capital scorned by Tang Ruoshi, Xie Zaihang, and other literary worthies of the Ming and Qing dynasties as Peking, lowliest and filthiest of all cities — had become generally recognized as the most cultured, most beautiful city in all of China. Even the dust that lay three feet thick over Beiping on windless days had taken on the hue and fragrance of antiquity, as if it held the last traces of the Mongol, Ming, and Qing dynasties, and museums in the younger European and American countries sent specialists to collect vials of it for display. After the capital was moved south, Beiping lost the political function it had so long served, and became — in the way of all useless and outmoded things — a curiosity, an item of historical value. Take a dilapidated junk shop, call it a venerable antique store, and without the slightest change in the facts of the matter you will effect a marvelous transformation in the mind of the customer. Imagine the wretched embarrassment of having to pick through junk shops for cheap items! How different from the wealth, the zeal, the discernment of antique lovers! In the same way, people who would never stoop to visiting a junk shop now came to browse curios, and people who had had no choice but to browse junk shops now found themselves elevated to the dignity of antiquarians. Those living in Beiping could now count themselves worldly and cultured, could look down their noses at friends from Nanking or Shanghai as if the mere fact of their residence conferred rank and status. To claim that Shanghai or Nanking could produce art or culture would have been as ridiculous as averring that the hands, feet, and gut were capable of independent thought. The discovery of "Peking Man" at Zhoukoudian was further demonstration of the superiority of Beiping residents. Peking Man, in his day, had been the most advanced of all monkeys; so, today, was Beiping Man the most cultured of Chinese. The newspapers of the day heralded the rise of the "Peking Set," and the local intellectuals traced their spiritual lineage back to Peking Man — which was why they never called themselves the "Beiping Set," even though the name of the city had changed. The Peking Set were Southerners, almost to a man, and they were as proud of their newfound home as ever any Jews were of their adoptive countries. It was very nearly the only thing they ever spoke of. Since moving to Beiping, too, Mrs. Li's athlete's foot had cleared up — an unexpected side-benefit of living in the cultural center of the nation. So will the Chinese government actually move the capital, as Some Guy on Weibo says? Hey, from your lips to the NDRC's ears — but I wouldn't hold my breath. Not any more than I usually do in Beijing, anyway. The desire to burn Beijing to the ground and jump up and down on the ashes has at least -5000-years- 600 years of recent history, going back to the Ming, which set up a capital in Nanjing, sacked Khanbaliq, renamed it "Beiping," then changed their minds 30 years later and started building the whole thing over again, except moved a few feet to the left. The Yongle Emperor changed the name of the city back to "Beijing" in 1403 and made it the principal capital of the Ming empire in 1420. Come to think of it, this goes back even further: the Mongols who started building Khanbaliq/Dadu in 1264 did something of a number on the abandoned Jurchen Jin capital of Zhongdu (which lay more or less where the Xicheng and Fengtai districts of modern Beijing are) when they sacked it in 1215. On the subject of more recent depredations: Wang Jun's book 城记, now available in English as Beijing Record: A Physical and Political History of Planning Modern Beijing, is a great read for anyone interested in a history of some of the completely avoidable things that were done to Beijing after 1949. The sketches of the rejected Liang Sicheng/Chen Zhanxiang proposal — which would have kept the city walls as a public park — will break your heart. The only scrap of comfort is that things could always have been way worse. ↩

Chinese General’s Angry Online Rant Has Japanese Laughing, And Many Chinese Cheering Posted: 25 Feb 2013 03:57 PM PST Chinese soldiers stand at attention inside the Forbidden City. (Steve Webel/Flickr) People's Liberation Army Major General Luo Yuan debuted on Sina Weibo, China's Twitter, just as a true military man should—with a big blitz and an ensuing war-in-words. On February 20, Asahi Shimbun, a major Japanese newspaper, published an article headlined: "What Asahi-readers should know: The Truths of China. PLA Major General says 'Will Bomb Tokyo'." The subhead read: "If military conflict erupts, we will take the 130 thousand Japanese citizens in China as hostages." Feng Wei, a Japan specialist at Fudan University, posted a photo of the original Asahi article along with a Chinese translation on his own Weibo account. Feng also wrote, "Some people do not understand why I repeatedly criticize Luo Yuan and Zhang Zhaozhong [another PLA major general]. Japan's propaganda has partially answered this question. Try asking yourselves: what reactions would this type of opinion incite in the Japanese and international community?" Feng later added, "China is large—nothing is too bizarre. It's not inconceivable that lunatics like Luo Yuan and Dai Xu [a PLA Air Force Colonel known for his militarism] would appear. But even the most extremist, rightist, anti-China military personnel in Japan would not make crazy statements like 'Bomb Beijing' that would astonish the entire world." Luo lost no time in retaliating. The day after Feng posted his comment, Luo published a blog entry titled "A rumor repeated a hundred times is still a rumor" on his Sina Boke account (Sina Corp.'s blogging platform, sister site of Sina Weibo). The post was an ad hominem response with a nationalistic twist: "Feng Wei: when I did ever say such words as 'we will bomb Tokyo?'…You are a professor. When you speak, you need proof. Don't be a mouthpiece for Japan. I tell you: I have never said such a thing. Do you believe the Chinese people, or the Japanese?" Japanese netizens laugh Perhaps fortunately for regional stability, Japanese citizens are not exactly shrinking in fear of a possible Chinese-led bombardment. Whatever Luo Yuan's intent may have been in making his statement—if he did actually say it—he now has established himself as little more than a screeching hawk in the eyes of Japanese Web users. Luo certainly did not succeed intimidating Japanese citizens into submission. The now (in)famous Weibo page of Chinese General Luo Yuan. (Tea Leaf Nation) Users on Channel 2, a Japanese online discussion forum with over 11 million users, responded to Luo's threats with smirks and jeers. "As the saying goes: the weaker the dog, the louder it barks," wrote one user. "If China were serious about bombing Tokyo, they wouldn't do something as stupid as revealing their plans before the war even starts. Well, that is, if they are sane military men." Some questioned China's military capabilities: "You really think a missile would be able to fly freely across the Japan archipelago?" Yet others placed this issue in the context of international law and relations. "Do the Sina [derogatory Japanese slang for China] people not think about airspace rights?" posted one user. "Even if they were to succeed, do they not realize what the meaning behind bombing Tokyo—a city filled with embassies from around the world—is?" "Is China really going to turn various countries' embassies and UN organizations into enemies?" Barbs from home At home in China, many Web users showered stinging personal attacks on Luo Yuan as well. When he tweeted a paean to himself—"General Luo Yuan is a soldier as well as a scholar…His suggestions are extremely reasonable and brilliant. The military analysis he gives is the most popular on TV"—netizens exploded with laughing smiley faces. Li Kaifu, founding president of Google China and a popular micro-blogger with over 30 million Weibo followers, made a joke of this on his account: "Dr. Li Kaifu is a businessman as well as a scholar. His analysis of Weibo issues is very precise, his suggestions extremely reasonable, fair, and brilliant. The inspirational speeches he gives are the most popular among universities!" Sina Military, a seemingly government-backed Weibo account that transmits military-related news, swiftly posted a comment stating that Luo's account had been hacked. Unfortunately for Luo, this only prompted more jibes: "A country's security specialist—yet it seems he doesn't even know how to change his password," wrote @我爱燕莎. In China, mixed feelings Other reporting has cast Luo Yuan as a laughingstock among Chinese Web users. However, based on Tea Leaf Nation's research, this conclusion seems premature.  Despite previous attacks, Luo Yuan seems to have won over many netizens in his Weibo war against Feng Wei. There are indeed some Web users who rebuke Luo for his "Will Bomb Tokyo" statement. "Luo is a lunatic—but we already knew this," @托比亚斯小朋友 commented. "What, are you still living in the Qing dynasty? China has distorted you!" wrote @动感超哥-. However, many more netizens showed support for Luo Yuan's jingoism. "I support Major General Luo Yuan!" shouted @雨季中的红雨伞, adding a thumbs-up at the end of his post. "Hurray for Major General Luo Yuan! Major General Luo Yuan, how wise and farsighted!…those animals that attack [him] are imbeciles!" wrote @和中风景如霁. Others showered abuse upon Feng Wei, denouncing him as a traitor. "[Feng Wei] you dog, don't let me see you—if I ever see you I will hit you! You Japanese bastard! Your mother is a Japanese dog!" cursed @大树脚下的山鹰. @华英雄V牛B  wrote, "You scumbag, do you know what "homeland" means? …You're worse than dogs!" User @蛮仔 went as far as to say: "I look forward to the bombing of Tokyo. While you're at it, blow up these elite professors, too." As the Chinese say, "Peacetime is the biggest reward and the biggest threat for a soldier." But for mighty Luo Yuan, peace is no problem. He now has a new front in which to flex his muscles: Weibo.

TV Documentaries to Need SARFT Pre-Approval Posted: 25 Feb 2013 04:16 PM PST Chinese filmmakers and media experts have expressed skepticism about the practicality and motives of a new requirement for pre-approval of T.V. documentaries by the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television. From Liu Dong at Global Times: The new policy, which comes into effect immediately, stipulates that all television documentaries for public broadcast, produced by television stations, commercial studios and social organizations, should submit a content summary, cast list and shooting plan to SARFT before filming starts. SARFT will then review all the information and publish the approved list of documentaries to TV stations. According to the announcement, the purpose of the new policy is to avoid subjects overlapping and resources being wasted. […] "I don't know why they made this policy. Imagine the huge number of documentaries China produces each year, I doubt if they have enough manpower to fulfill this task. It's almost mission impossible to carry out this policy," Shu Haolun, professor at the School of Film and Television Arts of Shanghai University, told the Global Times. […] "Many documentaries involve sensitive topics which might upset the government. Now they can more easily reject such story ideas through this policy which I think harms our freedom of speech," the CEO of an independent film production, who asked not to be named, told the Global Times. The SARFT-unapproved but Oscar-shortlisted documentary Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry will be shown on P.B.S. tonight (Monday, February 25th). © Samuel Wade for China Digital Times (CDT), 2013. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us Post tags: censorship, documentaries, film censorship, SARFT, television, TV Download Tools to Circumvent the Great Firewall

Photo: Wall, by Mark Hobbs Posted: 25 Feb 2013 05:34 PM PST Wall © Samuel Wade for China Digital Times (CDT), 2013. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us Post tags: Download Tools to Circumvent the Great Firewall

After Ang Lee's Oscar Win, China Imagines Cinema Beyond Censors Posted: 25 Feb 2013 04:50 PM PST Looking to Taiwanese-born director Ang Lee's Oscar win for Best Director with pride and envy, mainland Chinese web users frustrated with the communist regime's tight grip on the film industry are wondering about their own country's cinematic potential. A search of Lee's name yields [zh] more than 70,886 results and 4,165,630 discussions, making it the second most searched term on popular Chinese microblogging site Sina Weibo as of the afternoon of February 25, 2013. This is the second Academy Award win for Lee, who thanked Taiwan during his acceptance speech for its cooperation in the making of "Life of Pi". In 2005, when he won the award for Best Director for his movie Brokeback Mountain, the Chinese media censored his acceptance speech, omitting any references to his native Taiwan or homosexuality. Lee concluded his acceptance speech this time around with a "thank you" in Mandarin, causing some Chinese viewers to swell with pride. But others warned not be get so excited about the cultural nod, emphasizing that Lee's win had nothing to do with China. Some Weibo users, such as "Qianzhe Yang Fang Lang" [zh], put emphasis on the word "hua ren", a term used to describe ethnic Chinese people living abroad, as opposed to "zhong guo ren", meaning Chinese citizens: Ang Lee picked up his second Best Director award at this year's Oscars. A screen shot of the ceremony from youku. 李安是个好的华人导演，但您有听到china吗？别太往自己脸上贴金 Ang Lee is a good "hua ren" director, did you hear the word "China" in it? Don't put feathers in your own cap. Another user wrote [zh]： 人家谢谢台湾又没感谢中国！ He expressed his gratitude to Taiwan, not China! Writer "Tianyou" wondered [zh] why some were drawing a connection between mainland China and Lee：  李安导演获最佳导演，有人狂欢，说这是中国人的骄傲。我很是奇怪。人家李安获奖是人家个人的事儿，即使值得骄傲，那也是台湾教育，美式教育的成功，跟某些人有鸟关系？ Ang Lee's win for Best Director made some people so excited, they said it's China's pride. However, I feel a bit strange, as it's his own business. Even when it comes to pride, it's due to education in Taiwan and the US. How does it have anything to do with us? However, Jiuzhouzhi magazine editor "Jiangnan Ricardo" disagreed [zh] that Lee's win meant nothing for China: 虽然有朋友觉得李安获奖是个人的事，但我还是觉得究其履历和思维方式李安是个有明显中国文化烙印的中国导演，从「卧虎藏龙」至今他的电影中常有中国式的思辨，包括「派的一生」。他用他的方式让各国的人多一个了解中国文化的渠道, 作为中国人很为他高兴。 Although some friends think Ang Lee's win is his own business, I think his thinking features Chinese culture, which can be seen in his movies such as "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" and "Life of Pi". He used his method to present Chinese culture to the world, being Chinese I'm happy for him. Many netizens attributed Lee's success to the free entertainment industries in Taiwan and the US. "Keguan Nvjia Yunchuang" commented [zh]： 他要是生活在大陆就肯定没戏！ If he were to live in mainland, he wouldn't have made it! User "Shouwangzhe" echoed [zh]： 李安为什么能够如此成功？答案很简单：因为他成长于台湾。 Why is he so successful? The answer is simple: because he grew up in Taiwan. Famous commentator "Zhu Qi" wrote [zh]: 中国的文艺复兴还是由台湾人先走一步，恭喜台湾！民国的国共战争失败了，但民国的文化传承和民主制度仍在强劲地发力！！ Taiwanese are ahead of us in terms of culture and arts. Congratulations to Taiwan. Although the they lost to the Communist Party during the Chinese Civil War, their culture and system still prevail! Ang Lee's win also served as a reminder of China's strict film censorship. User "Zantan Wuwei" pointed out that China is stifling creativity [zh]： 中国大陆至今无法问鼎奥斯卡，为什么？没有创造的自由，只有宣传的使命，这注定了文化的败落。一个把政治歌颂摆在比奥斯卡更高位置的社会，无法创造人类能够承传的文化。 No one from the mainland has won any Oscars. Why? Because there's no freedom in creativity and film production, only propaganda, which has lead to a decline of culture. In a society where political praise sings louder than Oscars, no one is able to create great art. The system impedes good directors, user "Hexie De Tianxia" wrote： 大师级别，其实中国也有，只是体制决定了你该拍何种电影而已！ There is no lack of good directors in China, but the system decides what movies you make! Just a few days' before Ang Lee's win, China's State Administration of Radio Film and Television (SARFT) announced that "from now on all televised documentaries in China need to be submitted to SARFT for review first." Wang Ran, CEO of China eCapital Corporation, a leading private investment bank in China commented [zh] to his 2.65 million fans on Weibo： 别人都是看看好莱坞的热闹而已，只有他们是在不断以实际行动帮助好莱坞永葆全球影坛的霸主地位。 Most people are just watching Hollywood for entertainment, but they [the Chinese government] are helping Hollywood to ensure its global empire status by doing this. Written by Abby · comments (0) Share: Donate · facebook · twitter · reddit · StumbleUpon · delicious · Instapaper

China Uses Passports as Political Cudgel Posted: 25 Feb 2013 04:18 PM PST The Chinese made a record 83 million trips abroad last year, reflecting the increasing prosperity of the country's growing middle class. But at least 14 million people, mostly Tibetans and Uyghurs, are denied the chance to leave China by apparently politically motivated rejections of passport applications. Others outside the country, meanwhile, are denied the right to return. From Andrew Jacobs at The New York Times: Sun Wenguang, a retired economics professor from Shandong Province, was not among those venturing overseas, however. And not by choice. An author whose books offer a critical assessment of Communist Party rule, Mr. Sun, 79, has been repeatedly denied a passport without explanation. "I'd love to visit my daughter in America and my 90-year-old brother in Taiwan, but the authorities have other ideas," he said. "I feel like I'm living in a cage." […] "It's just another way to punish people they don't like," said Wu Zeheng, a government critic and Buddhist spiritual leader from southern Guangdong Province whose failed entreaties to obtain a passport have prevented him from accepting at least a dozen speaking invitations in Europe and North America. China's passport restrictions extend to low-level military personnel, Tibetan monks and even the security personnel who process passport applications. "I feel so jealous when I see all my friends taking vacations in Singapore or Thailand but the only way I could join them is to quit my job," said a 28-year-old police detective in Beijing. Chen Guangcheng's brother and mother have both recently had passport applications rejected, according to Lin Jing at Radio Free Asia. Chen Guangfu and Wang Jinxiang still hope to be able to visit the legal activist in New York, where he went to study following his dramatic escape from illegal house arrest last April. "The authorities wouldn't accept our application, and of course we are very disappointed," Chen Guangfu said in an interview this week, after the family's request was rejected earlier this month. "My mother knows that she won't have many more opportunities to go and see her son in the U.S., and she wanted to go while her health still allowed it," he said. Chen Guangfu said the authorities had told the family that it was very hard to get visas to the United States, and that the family were unlikely to be issued a visa without an invitation letter. […] Beijing-based rights lawyer Jiang Tianyong said the reasons given by police, who must approve all applications for passports in the first instance, were ridiculous. […] "The reasons given by police were laughable…It's for U.S. consular officials to decide whether or not to issue a visa." See also an interview at The Atlantic with Columbia University's Robert Barnett on denial of passports to Tibetans, via CDT. © Samuel Wade for China Digital Times (CDT), 2013. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us Post tags: Chen Guangcheng, Jiang Tianyong, passports, Tibetans, travel, Uyghurs, wu'er kaixi Download Tools to Circumvent the Great Firewall

Ai Weiwei: Nothing to Hide, Always Under Watch Posted: 25 Feb 2013 03:16 PM PST Famed artist and activist Ai Weiwei was profiled in an acclaimed documentary, "Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry," which followed him as he documented the names of children killed in the 2008 Sichuan earthquake. The film, which has been honored at Sundance and made the Oscar shortlist, will be broadcast on PBS' Independent Lens tonight in the U.S. (Check listings here). Ahead of the televised screening, the New York Times talks to Ai about his continued activism and how it intersects with his artwork: Q. The movie shows you approaching state security surveillance agents assigned to tail you and trying to talk with them. Why do that? A. I always think we have nothing to hide, so I want them to know that. Normally people, when they are being followed, are being intimidated or they are scared. So I always say: "If you are looking for me, we can sit down to talk. You can even come to my office, I'll just give you a table. You'll see whoever I see, and if I travel, I will name you as my assistant, so whoever I meet, you will also meet. So tell your boss that this is an opportunity to get a close look at this very dangerous guy named as a subversive of state power." Q. Here in the West confrontations like that, just like everything else you do, are seen as a type of performance art. Is this an accurate assessment? A. I wouldn't say it's a form of performance art. It is expression, but not one designed for a show. It's dangerous, it's very frustrating, and it's real life. It's a way to survive, and it's a way to announce yourself to those people. Because you don't want them to look at you as scared. Most people would just give up, and that makes the power unshakably strong. I'm trying to tell the workers or the young people you can insist on your own rights. Q. So at this juncture do you consider yourself to be primarily an artist or a political activist? A. I'm not very conscious of or think about either position. I lead my life, which is quite dense, with all kinds of political and social concerns and a lot of so-called cultural or art activities. They integrate with each other, that's always kind of necessary for me. It's like when you walk, you breathe, but you're not necessarily concerned about breathing. But when you walk under difficult conditions, like climbing a mountain, then you realize you have to catch your breath. So my activities are more or less like that. Watch a trailer of the documentary: © Sophie Beach for China Digital Times (CDT), 2013. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us Post tags: 2008 Sichuan earthquake, activists, Ai Weiwei, documentaries Download Tools to Circumvent the Great Firewall

Frustrated “Lower-class” Parent Calls Out Classism Posted: 25 Feb 2013 02:00 PM PST After a child in Shanghai received detention at school for failing to turn in a notice for a health insurance program his or her family did not qualify for, one of the child's parents turned to the Internet to vent frustration with what the parent and many hukou-less residents of China's big cities have decried as institutionalized classism in society. The parent had a few choice words for the school, which he or she wrote on the insurance notice before sending it back in to the teacher. The parent posted a photo of the notice and a short description of the situation online under the title "We Live in a Country of Strict Hierarchy." CDT has provided a translation of the parent's story and photo below: We Live in a Country of Strict Hierarchy This morning, I was utterly irate over a notice my kid brought home from school. Yesterday, my child came home from school with a notice from the Shanghai Education Bureau about registering for Shanghai Residents Health Insurance at our own expense. It dictated that only three categories of people could register their kids. The first category was for kids with Shanghai hukou [residence permits]. The second was for children whose parents hold a Residential Permit A for nonnative talented individuals. The third was for kids whose parents hold a Residential Permit B for nonnative talented individuals–in other words, those with foreign citizenship. I threw the notice away immediately because we didn't belong to any of those three categories. As a consequence, my kid was held by his teacher after school, and we had to go pick him up. The reason was because my child did not return the health care program notice back to the teacher. This morning, I wrote several sentences on the notice and gave it to my child to turn in to the teacher. (image text, printed:) I) For those who will take part in the residential health insurance program, please check the box that corresponds to your circumstances: 1. Student is registered with a local residential permit. 2. Child's parents are "Nonnative Talents" (beginning with CW9) 3. Child's parents are "Nonnative Talents Type B" (beginning with CR, FR, etc) II) If not participating in the 2013 residential health insurance program, please specify the reasons below:   (handwritten text from image:) Ridiculous policy! This purposefully categorizes people into different classes. We are low-class people, none of the above. We are Chinese, but we aren't even qualified to have our kids registered for residential health insurance–not even at our own expense! How can this school still go about educating our kids to love the party and love our mother country? Via CDT Chinese. Translation by Mengyu Dong. © Little Bluegill for China Digital Times (CDT), 2013. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us Post tags: health insurance, household registration, hukou, urban life Download Tools to Circumvent the Great Firewall

Outspoken General Loses First Weibo Battle Posted: 25 Feb 2013 01:45 PM PST People's Liberation Army General Luo Yuan, who has gained a reputation as a blunt speaker on international affairs, has taken his views to Sina Weibo. There, he has been treated to a heavy dose of netizen skepticism and humor. From The Border Mail: Major General Luo Yuan, whose recent suggestions include turning the Japanese-administered Islands, known as Diaoyu in China and Senkaku in Japan, into a Chinese target range, entered the microblogging internet fray to debate a university professor who argued he was "crazy" to advocate bombing Tokyo. [...] In less than a week he has attracted 237,000 weibo followers and his first post alone has attracted more than 33,700 comments and been forwarded 37,800 times as of 2pm Sydney time. But efforts by propaganda authorities to delete negative comments could not hide that his foray has been a bruising one. "If weibo is the battlefield between pro-state voices and civil society, then it looks like General Luo has hopelessly lost his first encounter," said Xiao Qiang, an adjunct professor at the University of California, Berkeley, and founder of China Digital Times. Luo's appearance on Weibo was a surprise as usually military officers are discouraged from joining the microblogging service. But Luo reportedly gained permission first. From the New York Times blog: Mr. Luo also wrote in what appeared to be his first post Friday that he had received "permission" (Chinese media reported that it came from the People's Liberation Army) to set up the account. In the past, members of the military have been barred from opining online, reports said (though some do, including an air force colonel, Dai Xu, who has a microblog). Some person or persons, possibly high up in the security or propaganda system, seem to have had a change of heart about that general policy, and the man who reportedly said last September that China should cooperate with Taiwan's military in a "people's war at sea" — blasting the disputed Diaoyu, or Senkaku, islands "Monday, Wednesday, and Friday," while the Taiwanese could do it "Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday" — is back, and characteristically vocal. General Luo is believed to be close to the incoming Chinese president, Xi Jinping, and his father, Luo Qingchang, was an early member of the Communist Party and a senior official and intelligence officer, according to Chinese and overseas Web sites. But whoever granted him permission to join Weibo may now be regretting it, considering the response from netizens. Caixin reports: Other Weibo users asked whether it was appropriate for military officials to be involved in the country's internal affairs and whether the army should serve the Communist Party's interests first. Questions were also raised about Luo's family background and his relatives' businesses activities. Luo's father, Luo Qingchang, was a former deputy secretary general of the State Council, China's cabinet. Luo's Weibo account had a bit of a hiccup on February 24. A comment supporting him appeared on the account, but oddly referred to him in the third person. Afterward Sina, the company that operates Weibo, published a statement that said the account was briefly hacked, but was back to normal. The third-person "hacked" comment supporting Luo called him "a soldier and a scholar," a catchphrase that netizens quickly latched onto in mocking Luo. From Quartz: But this, too, may have backfired. First of all, a meme have have been born: Weibo users have already grabbed on to the "Luo Yuan is a soldier and a scholar" quote such that many are typing it into the comments sections of Luo's new posts. Then there's the larger problem with the hacking defense. As the Sydney Morning Herald pointed out, Kai-fu Lee—former head of Google China and major Weibo personality—summed it up this way: "If the national security professional can't even change his password then the people really should be worried." OffBeat China has more on netizens' reactions to Luo's posts: Instead of being excited about a top military officer showing up on Weibo and sharing views on possible strategies, Chinese netizens denounced Luo's attempt to get the hang of Weibo: "How, in a normal country, is an active military officer allowed to openly discuss politics?" Luo's choice of words has been the primary target of criticism. Netizen 徐昕, a law professional as his Weibo profile describes, asked: "General Luo, welcome to Weibo. Your willingness to communicate is worth some applause, but here are a few questions for you. 1. Is it "under the leadership of Xi", or "under the leadership of the Party led by Xi"? 2. Who are the country's traitors? Do you have a name list? We netizens are happy to help [if you don't]. 3. A military officer talking about fighting corruption. It may be effective, but how do you do it? Does this count as the military's interference in politics? 4. Why [you put] beloved people behind beloved country, beloved Party and beloved army?" This is just the beginning, the highlight is when netizens started to question Luo's credentials as a general and his family wealth. More netizens' comments on General Luo Yuan's posts are here on the CDT Chinese. © Sophie Beach for China Digital Times (CDT), 2013. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us Post tags: Luo Yuan, online public opinion, People's Liberation Army, sina weibo, weibo Download Tools to Circumvent the Great Firewall

Martians and Venetians Posted: 25 Feb 2013 09:21 AM PST Above is a very interesting survey conducted by a Chinese dating website. On the left are male's minimum expected income for female; on the right female's minimum expected income for male. Each gender is further divided into three age groups: those were born after 1990, 1980, and 1970. The left most column lists provinces in mainland China. For example, a 30 year old Shanghai man looks for a woman with minimum income of RMB 3,146 Yuan ($525) per month, while a similar age woman looks for a man with minimum income of RMB 8,562 Yuan ($1,430) per month. In other words, an ideal match between a man and a woman requires a 1:3 salary ratio. And it should be put into the context of the movement that men should do all the housework alone. Last night, 2 billion Chinese around the globe cheered Ang Lee's Oscar 'best directing' award for Life of Pi (2012). This is the second best director Academy Award after his 2005 Brokeback Mountain. Little had been said on Lee's life upon arrival in Hollywood. Lee remained unemployed for six years, during which time his wife Jane Lin, a molecular biologist was the sole breadwinner for the family of four. When Chinese intellectuals are reflecting how the communist rules are suffocating innovations in China, perhaps they can also mull on how the modern marriage settings are affecting the economy.

The PLA Becomes More Involved in Myanmar? Posted: 25 Feb 2013 10:11 AM PST Over the past decade, up until the beginning of Myanmar's reform period in 2010, China had appeared to consolidate its influence over the country. Without a doubt, China had become Myanmar's most important ally, diplomatic partner, and aid donor, and probably its largest trading partner, though the statistics were hard to keep. Yet China's policy toward Myanmar was always more complicated than it appeared. There were multiple Myanmar policies, driven by multiple actors: the Yunnan provincial government and investors from Yunnan; the central government in Beijing; and, the big Chinese resources companies. Not all of these actors were working in sync, and on several occasions the central government appeared to be displeased with Yunnan officials and businesspeople's activities in Myanmar. Now, as Myanmar has opened up, it certainly has become less reliant on China—though I do not agree that balancing China was the primary driver of Myanmar's opening, I do agree with many analysts that it was a factor. Yet China's Myanmar policy has, if anything, become even more complicated, as shown by a recent report in Xinhua and cited by the New York Times and many other sites. According to the report, Chinese troops in Yunnan have begun training in the hills near Kachin State, Myanmar in preparation for the war between the Myanmar army and the Kachin Independence Army spilling across the border into China.  Although there have been several cease-fires, and attempted Chinese mediation, a lasting cease-fire has not yet held. Although it is certainly natural for China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) to take preparations for a conflict spilling across its borders, both Chinese and Burmese officials have raised to me the concern that this development is also a sign of the PLA growing frustrated with the lack of resolution in the Kachin conflict, and taking a larger role in policy in general toward Myanmar. Several Burmese officials say that the continuing war in northern Myanmar has bolstered PLA hawks, and also has given credence to (credible) claims by many PLA officers and leaders that the army is ill-prepared to actually handle any insurgencies or other low-intensity warfare that crossed into China, whether from Myanmar or from other unstable neighbors of China. Although the New York Times notes that Xi Jinping has spoken of the need to strengthen the PLA, when it comes to policy toward Myanmar the greater presence of the PLA is only going to make it harder for Beijing to regain its influence. Some Yunnan policymakers and businesspeople resent the greater presence of the PLA in Myanmar policymaking, according to several Chinese sources. Meanwhile, the PLA deployment has worried both the Kachin Independence Army and some senior Myanmar officials.

Blazing a New Path for China’s Intellectually Disabled: Amity Bakery Heats Up on Weibo Posted: 25 Feb 2013 08:53 AM PST This image appears on Amity Bakery's page on Taobao, a Chinese buying site. It reads in part, "Committed to helping intellectually disabled persons find employment." (Via Taobao) "There is such a bakery in Nanjing: about one third of its employees are people with mental disabilities; it's called 'Ai De Bakery' [Amity Bakery in English]. They are han han"—the character for "han" means simple and naïve, but also straightforward and trustworthy—"with about a five or six years old's level of intelligence, but they are meticulous about everything…they have three stores in Nanjing already. There is bread and love here!" This comment, posted on micro-blogging platform Sina Weibo by Tao Ran (@陶然), Vice President of Alibaba Group, a Chinese Internet company, has attracted more than 20,000 reposts and 1,500 comments over just four days. Most of the comments have evinced support. User @西瓜妈PK西瓜妹 wrote: "Immediately went to Taobao and found [Amity's account] after reading the post, bought five kinds of cookies, all delicious…Charity is different from giving alms; teaching these kids to be self-reliant and live with dignity is a greater charity than giving money and gifts. Wish everyone could support them." Many other Weibo users commenting on Tao Ran's post also opened their wallets in support. Amity appeared a bit overwhelmed by its instant Internet fame. Two days after Tao Ran's post, the official Weibo account of the bakery (@爱德面包坊), wrote, "Because of this post, we saw a surge of orders on Taobao. We had not prepared for this, [and] all inventories of our regular stores are empty. All staff at the bakery are working overtime …. Thank you so much for all the love from old and new fans, we will work harder!" Amity clarified that their workers receive overtime pay and alternate days off. Amity's existence is not news. As early as in 2009, People's Daily's overseas edition reported on technical supervisor Kuang Zhenzhong, who teaches Amity employees how to bake. It was a typical state media hagiography that never attracted national attention. An English-language blog called China Philanthropy has also written about Amity Bakery. It says Amity Bakery was founded in 2007 by the Amity Foundation, a public foundation started in 1985 by Chinese Christians in Nanjing. Now, years later, Chinese social media has helped make Amity famous. The positive buzz surrounding Amity provides a refreshing contrast to years of accumulated public anger towards inhuman treatment of China's intellectually disabled. In 2010, eight intellectually disabled people were found in a chemical factory in the Western province of Xinjiang. Global Times then wrote that according to local official reports, those eight people had "allegedly been confined to the factory, toiling for at least three years without being paid or given any protective uniforms or equipment. And authorities said the workers were forced to live in shabby conditions, not given showers for years and fed the same food as the boss' dogs." In 2011, an undercover journalist posing as a disabled man found intellectually disabled men held as slave laborers in Chinese brick factories. That treatment is not only a moral outrage, but a waste of talent. Amity supervisor Kuang Zhenzhong said in a 2009 interview that his intellectually disabled employees were better at focusing and staying patient. Kuang said, "Say for stirring, a basic step of baking. If you assigned a healthy person to stir all day, he/she will basically get fed up with it. But [employees with mental illness] are different; they are very careful and devoted." Amity bakery says that their disabled employees work through a designed process, which dissects the whole production process and assigns each of the employees discrete parts. Some Weibo users praised Amity, but could not resist adding in an apparent jab at corrupt Chinese officials. Film director @舒浩仑 commented: "Having a lower IQ does not mean one can't do good deeds, they just learn more slowly. In fact they are much better than those with high IQs who do harm to the country and the people."

China, Pollution and Cancer Villages Posted: 25 Feb 2013 07:44 AM PST China's top Internet entrepreneur Ma Yun has warned that no amount of money can protect the rich from China's cancer-causing pollution. His comments resonated with web users, many of whom are already alarmed by the country's toxic combination of air and water contamination and food safety issues. During the 13th annual meeting of the Yabuli China Entrepreneurs Forum, the founder and CEO of leading Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba, bypassed business opportunities to address China's pollution-linked health problems in his speech. He predicted [zh] that cancer will trouble every Chinese family in 10 years. He also stressed that citizens should be more environmentally aware and should not rely on the government only: On Sina Weibo, Global Times shared a map of China's "cancer villages". 有多少人30年以前，有多少人知道我们边上谁谁谁有癌症，那个时候癌症是一个稀有的名词，今天癌症变成了一种常态。肝癌，可能是因为水；肺癌是因为我们的空气；胃癌，是我们的食物。特权阶级有特权的水，这次没有特供的空气了。我担心我们这么辛苦，最后所有挣的钱最后都是医药费。不管你挣多少钱，享受不到沐浴阳光，其实是很大的悲哀。 Thirty years ago, how many people knew somebody with cancer? Cancer was a rare word. Now it has become a common disease. Liver cancer may have something to do with [the polluted] water; lung cancer has something to do with our air; gastric cancer has something to do with our food. The privileged class has clean water, but they can't order clean air. I worry that we work so hard, and finally all we earn goes toward medical expenses. No matter how much money you make, if you can't enjoy the sunshine, it is really just a tragedy. His speech, shared [zh] on popular Chinese microblogging site Sina Weibo by Caijing News the day after, made waves among netizens, triggering over 99,136 reposts and 16,676 comments. One Weibo user "绿色传承生命 commented [zh]: 不需要十年，目前各地癌症村屡见不鲜、雾霾使北京癌病增长率是同期的67%。污染的灾难比我们估计来得更汹涌澎湃！ We don't need 10 years; at the moment, there are many "cancer villages". The smog in Beijing is making cancer rates increase by 67 percent. Pollution is a far greater disaster than we predicted. Another user "高歌一曲abc" wrote [zh]: 这就是我选择去探女的原因。希望每年都有机会换下食品质量、空气清新、阳光的普照，使自己健康点，长寿点。 That's why we choose to go visit our daughter [abroad] every year. We hope every year we get the chance to eat quality food for a change, and enjoy some fresh air and sunshine, so that we can be a bit healthier and live longer. Ma's comment about China's cancer problem is no exaggeration. On Sina Weibo, even communist party mouthpiece Global Times shared [zh] a horrific map of China's "cancer villages" on the same day as Ma Yun's speech: 据京华时报，不久前，环保部印发了《化学品环境风险防控"十二五"规划》，其中明确表示，因受有毒化学品污染，个别地区出现"癌症村"等严重的健康和社会问题。而据媒体人@邓飞 ，这些严重化学污染下所出现的"癌症村"，正在从中东部个别地区，向中西部转移。 According to the Beijing Times, the Ministry of Environmental Protection recently published the "12th Five-Year Plan for Prevention and Control of Environmental Risks from Chemicals", which clearly stated that due to chemical poisoning, "cancer villages" and other serious health problems have begun to emerge in some areas. According to journalist Deng Fei, these "cancer villages" are spreading from central Eastern China to central Western China. On February 23, Youth Times also shared [zh] a similar map, detailing the high frequency of different cancers in different areas of China. According to the map, eastern Chinese cities like Shanghai have a high frequency of gastric cancer, while the southeast has a high frequency of liver cancer. Moreover, six people are diagnosed with cancer and five people die from cancer every five minutes in China. According to the news, the high frequency of cancer has a lot to do with an unhealthy lifestyle, with the environment being one of the biggest threats to health. Written by Abby · comments (1) Share: Donate · facebook · twitter · reddit · StumbleUpon · delicious · Instapaper

Defying the Government, Chinese Families Resurrect Graves Posted: 25 Feb 2013 02:21 AM PST Scores of families have fought back against a controversial campaign in China's central Henan province to raze millions of graves for farmland and resurrected their ancestors' resting places during the Lunar New Year. In the latest pushback against the government's plans to free up land, local residents throughout the province restored about half of the dug-up graves, or about one million [zh], throughout February 2013, according to a local news report. The campaign, put forward by a communist party leader in Henan in the spring of 2012 and touted by supporters as a smart use of land, has touched a nerve in a country where respect for ancestors runs deep. Especially in the city of Zhoukou, where authorities have reportedly demolished more than two million graves, the campaign sparked public outrage over what many consider as a slap in the face of tradition. Rich in history, Zhoukou is considered one of the oldest cities in China, and the grave-clearing program was suspended there in November 2012 after more than 100 scholars signed a petition in protest. But the campaign continues in other parts of the province. During the Lunar New Year, local families openly defied the government's warnings that their efforts to restore the flattened plots were in vain, Zhou Keluo wrote [zh] on the popular Chinese microblogging site Sina Weibo: 这二天不断接到周口网友发给我的关于平坟事情，在除夕和初一传统上坟祭祖日，去年被强行平坟的老百姓们陆续将祖坟重新拢起，现在当地政府在各村广播里讲必须马上再平掉，否则罚款500-1000元不等，强行掘出。 I kept receiving updates from Zhoukou netizens about the grave-razing campaign. On the eve of Lunar New Year and first day of the New Year, local residents began to rebuild their ancestors' graves. However, local governments keep warning the villagers over loudspeakers that they must dig up the graves again or else they will be slapped with a fine of 500-1000 yuan [79-159 US dollars] and the government will forcibly dig up the grave. Some critics of the campaign have claimed that the land being reaped isn't even viable for agriculture. Weibo user Zhou Keluo (@赵克罗), who has been following the development of the grave-clearing campaign, called [zh] the endeavor a ploy to seize land not for farming, but for property development: 所谓＂平坟复耕＂仅是幌子，换取土地指标高价卖给开发商和搞所谓产业集聚区，进行真正的圈地运动，用老百姓的祖坟染红某些官员的顶子而已。周口市平坟运动若成功，河南其他地市必效之，河南平坟运动若成功，必波及全国。因背后巨大的经济和政治利益，地方官员必将前仆后继效之！百姓怎么办？ The so-called "grave clearing for agriculture" is just an excuse to get the land and sell it to developers for industrial purposes. The movement is de facto land encirclement. They use the graves of people's ancestors to decorate their hats. If the grave digging movement in Zhoukou city is successful, other cities in Henan will follow. Once it is successful in Henan, the movement will be extended to the whole country. There are huge economic and political interests involved and local government officials will be motivated to do so. What can people do? A group of young people from the Henan province channeled their frustration over the campaign into song. In a YouTube video below published on November 20, 2012, they parody the viral hit "Gangnam Style" dressed as zombies: The altered lyrics explain that opposition to the campaign not only stems from folk belief, but also from the deep social divide in China that separates the powerful, who live in luxurious houses, from the powerless, who do not have a place to live while alive nor a place to rest when dead: Photos showing how villagers in Henan province rebuild their ancestors' graves. From Weibo user @记者崔永利 幾千年清明節上墳是咱傳統文化 拍拍屁股平墳祖宗全部失去了家 挪到公墓開始水泥占地永久化 平墳復耕，騙鬼去吧 伏羲傻了嘿 你拿著鐵鍁開著推土機快傻了嘿 自己平獎一百別人平你就傻了嘿 講未來講科學霸王硬上弓傻了嘿 伏羲 傻眼了嘿 我不是老子，我不是女媧，我沒宮殿，我有國家。 那平等太遠，那幸福太假，因為平墳，心如刀紮。 誰為了私欲拼命平平平平 挖挖挖挖挖挖挖挖挖挖挖挖 我怕平墳style 哦~~~ 平墳style 我 我 我 我 我 我怕平墳style 哦~~~ 平墳style 我 我 我 我 我 我怕平墳style 哎~~~~活著蝸居 我 我 我 我 我 我怕平墳style 哎~~~~死了沒家 我 我 我 我 我 我怕平墳style For thousands of year, we have visited our ancestors' graves. This is our tradition. You wipe your ass, dig up our ancestors' graves, and they are homeless. They are moved to the public cemetery. Then you cover the land with cement and take away the land forever. Dig up the graves for agriculture, not a soul will believe this. Fu Xi [the creator of humankind in Chinese legend] is stunned. You use shovels to dig, move in the bulldozers, Fu Xi is stunned. Dig up your own grave with 100 yuan reward, or else others will dig it up for you, Fu Xi is stunned. Talk about the future and science, act like a tyrant, Fu Xi is stunned. Fu Xi is stunned. I am not Laozi, I am not Nuwa, I don't have palace, I have country. Too far from equality, happiness is fake. Destroying the graves is destroying our hearts. Who would dig up a grave for greed? I am scared of dig-grave style. op-op-op-op dig-grave style. op-op-op-op dig-grave style. Live in snail house when we are alive. I am scared of dig-grave style. Homeless when we die. I am scared of dig-grave style. 太昊伏羲陵十三陵他們墳頭最大 你的祖宗我的祖宗都是螻蟻爬蚱 生也難養死也難孝做兒女愧對爹媽 我心破碎 淚如雨下 伏羲傻了嘿 你網上罵街網下裝孫子快撒了嘿 叫你平你就平不平可不成撒了嘿 不折騰怎麽能行閑的蛋疼撒了嘿 伏羲 傻眼了嘿 我沒有烏紗，我沒有綠卡，我沒權利，我有國家。 那公墓太多，那空間太狹，永失耕地，誰是傻瓜。 沒事找事才能混的更好我擦我擦我擦擦擦擦擦擦擦擦擦擦 我怕平墳style 哦~~~ 平墳style 我 我 我 我 我 我怕平墳style 哦~~~ 平墳style 我 我 我 我 我 我怕平墳style 哎~~~~活著蝸居 我 我 我 我 我 我怕平墳style 哎~~~~死了沒家 我 我 我 我 我 我怕平墳style Their [the officials] graves are even bigger than Fu Xi's tomb and Ming Dynasty tombs. Their ancestors and our ancestors were the same kind. When they are alive, we can't give them a good life. When they die, we can't pay our piety. We can't face our parents. My heart is broken and tears keep falling down. Fu Xi is stunned. I am official, I don't have green card, I have no rights, I have a country. So many souls in the public graveyard, so little space. Lost our land forever. Who became the fool? Creating trouble out of nothing, that's the way to survive. I am scared of dig-grave style. op-op-op-op dig-grave style. op-op-op-op dig-grave style. Live in snail house when we are alive. I am scared of dig-grave style. Homeless when we die. I am scared of dig-grave style. Whether or not the campaign continues forward, the whole matter has become a public relations nightmare for the government, public affairs commentator Huang Quanwang pointed out: 周口市政府已经处于一个尴尬的境地，到底圆起的坟墓是否再次被推倒？如果继续推倒平掉，恐怕缺乏上头文件的支持，更不得民心，恐防激发早已对峙的民意，从而引发社会冲突；如果不推倒，保持原状，先前平坟的工夫白费，显然又是决策失误的典型案例。 Zhoukou city government is now in a very embarrassing situation. Should it dig up the erected graves again? If they insist to dig up the graves, they will probably need another set of approval documents and will definitely generate more confrontation and social conflict. If they give up on digging up the graves, all their efforts will be rendered useless and the whole campaign another typical policy mistake. Written by Oiwan Lam · comments (0) Share: Donate · facebook · twitter · reddit · StumbleUpon · delicious · Instapaper

THE TRIBULATIONS OF BEING CHIEF EXECUTIVE Posted: 25 Feb 2013 12:40 AM PST          No wonder Hong Kong's new Chief Executive flew off to England at the start of the Chinese Lunar New Year holiday and didn't return for 10 days.  He had to get away.  Anyone would.  Leung Chun-ying has not had a moment's peace since he was elected almost a year ago, on March 25, 2012.  Yet another new scandal was brewing as he flew away and it continues to percolate now that he has returned to yet more demands for yet more investigations into his conduct and character.   It might have been dismissed as an amusing holiday interlude … if only he had not overreacted to the latest provocation … and if only the legal and political implications were not so serious.         Besides CY Leung himself, the episode featured two principals:  pro-Beijing businessman Lew Mon-hung [ 劉夢熊 ] and Joseph Lian Yi-zheng [ 練乙錚 ], an economist by training and political commentator by inclination.  The only thing the two men have in common is their contribution to Leung's latest round of embarrassments. They also both hold Ph.D. degrees but Lian earned his whereas rumor has it that Lew did not.             Lew Mon-hung, who is nicknamed the "Dream Bear" because that's what his name means in Chinese, was until recently one of the Chief Executive's most enthusiastic fans.  Lew has now turned on his prospective benefactor with a vengeance accusing him:  of offering advantages in return for electoral support last year; of lying about his unauthorized home renovations; and of treating pan-democrats as mortal enemies.            Joseph Lian then picked up the story extrapolating, in his usual style, from the facts known and surmised about Lew's case.   The Chief Executive's problem, wrote Lian, is not so much about integrity …  a reference to the ongoing unauthorized home alterations saga …  but rather about political corruption with implied links to organized crime, known here as the Triad societies.  Lian compounded the accusations by suggesting that the Chief Executive probably deserved shuanggui [雙規 ], a mainland term used with reference to the procedure whereby communist party disciplinarians try to keep errant high ranking officials in line.  Those suspected of wrong-doing, whether or not they are party members, must when summoned submit to investigation and interrogation.  The term can be translated as "double designation", meaning suspects must make themselves available when and where instructed to do so, at the designated time and place. DREAM BEAR'S PREDICAMENT         Lew Mon-hung is easily the most colorful personality in the cast of Hong Kong's pro-Beijing political actors.  Traditional loyalists keep their opinions of him mostly to themselves, some others openly disdain the "spectacle" he makes of himself, outside observers think he might actually harbor liberal tendencies, and pan-democrats can scarcely contain their glee at his current legal predicament.  They are responsible for his English nickname because it sounds funnier in English than Chinese.          Officially, however, his rags-to-riches Hong Kong story began when he swam here from a nearby county in 1973.  Like many other Guangzhou middle school students he wanted to escape the life of a rusticated city youth assigned to work in the countryside.   Such arrivals then were illegal but they were allowed to stay.  Lew worked his way up from the factory floor to become a successful businessman (now executive director of the Pearl Oriental Oil Company) and vociferous patriot.  He has qualified in this latter respect by becoming a frequent contributor of opinion pieces to the pro-Beijing press where he likes to lambast pan-democrats such as Professor Sing Ming (Feb. 6, 2012 post), autonomy movement colonial flag bearers (Nov. 23, 2012 post), and so on.  For this and much else he was rewarded by being appointed one of Hong Kong's delegates to the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (honorary companion body of the National People's Congress).   But that was the previous CPPCC delegation.  The new team has just been appointed ahead of the first annual meetings next month of the 12th NPC/CPPCC.  Lew's name is conspicuously absent from the list.           In fact, Lew has only just emerged from an interrogation by Hong Kong's Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) where he was questioned for five hours and arrested on suspicion of "perverting the course of justice."  This charge resulted from his attempt, in effect, to blackmail the Chief Executive into interceding with the ICAC over another case, an attempt that led to the above dramatic accusations against the Chief Executive.        The first case concerned Lew's January 8 arrest on suspicion of corporate fraud related to insider trading of a listed company.  But then he did a really dumb thing, allegedly sending a letter the next day to Leung Chun-ying reminding him of his pre-election promises and threatening to let loose a "political bombshell" if Leung did not intercede on Lew's behalf with ICAC commissioner Simon Peh over the insider trading case.  As yet unverified copies of the January 9 letter have since been leaked to the press (Apple, Feb. 17, Ming Pao, Feb. 18).           Meanwhile, Lew had already set off his bombshell, although the circumstances surrounding its release were not known at the time.  Lew's January 9 threat was made good in the interview he gave to the Chinese-language weekly magazine iSun Affairs  (陽光時務週刊, no. 40, Jan. 24).  It was in this interview that he spelled out the above accusations, namely, that he had actively campaigned for Leung last year and had been promised in return a seat on his Executive Council cabinet if he won.  Such a promise might violate Hong Kong election law if made, but if it was the promise was not kept.  Lew also said he knew Leung's explanations about his household renovations were false.  And he declared that Leung regarded pan-democrats as political enemies.        These revelations made headlines only because one of Leung's most vociferous champions was the source.  Another of Leung's supporters, who did receive her cabinet appointment, laughed off the episode during a February 3rd television interview.  She said Lew's accusations were very "entertaining," that she had heard him say the same things before and thought they were "probably true."  The speaker was Regina Ip, famous for her role as a ranking civil servant in promoting the abortive 2003 Article 23 legislation and now a directly elected Legislative Councilor.         To date, then, Lew has not only lost all hope of official appointment but he has been arrested twice and had to post bail both times, once on January 8 for suspected insider trading and again on February 20 for attempted intimidation.  If convicted he is looking at some serious jail time.  As for the Chief Executive, the ICAC is also looking into the possibility that he may have violated the election ordinance … and then there is the inevitable problem of guilt by association, which is where Joseph Lian picked up the story. INFERENCES AND EXTRAPOLATIONS         Leung Chun-ying himself said little except for a "nothing new, nothing true" one-liner about Lew's allegations, which are now under formal investigation.  But Joseph Lian's affront was something else again and this time it was the Chief Executive who set off a bombshell compounding the negative impact many times over.  Joseph Lian is a respected essayist and man of many talents, currently commuting between Hong Kong and a university teaching assignment in Japan.  Before that he was an editor and columnist at the Chinese-language Hong Kong Economic Journal  [信報 ].  The cause of Leung's anger was a January 29 opinion piece in the paper discussing the implications of Lew's case.  The essay's title (roughly translated) said it all:  "Leung's integrity problem is not so bad, but involvement with Triads could deserve shuanggui."        If the Chief Executive had not asked his lawyers to send a threatening letter to the newspaper, Lian's article might have gone more-or-less unnoticed amid the rush of  Chinese New Year preparations.  It was even longer than his usual and he first mulled over the now familiar story of Beijing's support for the two candidates, Leung and Henry Tang, in last year's election contest.  But then Lian's narrative re-focused on Hong Kong with a  provocative comment about Leung's arrival as chief executive being the product of a "red father and a black mother" ….  red for communist, black for corruption.  Nor did he mean just any kind of ordinary corruption.  The essay concluded with a lengthy discussion of the question "Is Hong Kong society being Triad-ized   [黑道化]?             He first referred to the known fact of that famous campaign dinner organized last year in the New Territories by Lew Mon-hung.  A Triad society gangster … known in the area as Mr. Fixit … was included on the guest list (Mar. 21, 2012 post).   Lian went on to claim that Triads supported Leung's election "100%," and asked what might become of Hong Kong society after five years with such a man at the helm.  He concluded by suggesting that mainland leaders, however corrupt themselves, had ways of dealing with such officials.  Perhaps a spell of shuanggui would be able to ferret out the true extent of Liang's Triad connections and those of the people around him.          The essay was meant to be provocative and insulting.  But instead of just issuing a protest statement, Leung had his lawyers send a formal letter to the paper demanding a retraction.   Thereupon the episode changed dramatically into a freedom-of-the-press issue, reinforcing general fears about the dictatorial inclinations of Hong Kong's new "red" chief executive.          HKEJ editors naturally refused to retract but they did issue an apology of sorts, pointedly addressed to readers rather than to Leung.  The editors and author expressed regret for any false impression that might have been created since the article, they said, was only hypothetical meaning "if" Leung was involved with Triads, not that he actually already was (HKEJ, Feb. 7).  The only problem with the apology is that "if" was also only implied, as in the essay's title:   誠信問題已非要害  梁氏涉黑 實可雙規 。 suzpepper@gmail.com

Chinese General Luo Yuan's Battle on Weibo Posted: 24 Feb 2013 11:46 PM PST High-ranking Chinese military officer Luo Yuan opened a personal Weibo account on Feb 21. Since then, his pro-war comments on how to manage China's relationship with Japan and the recent nuclear test in North Korea have triggered sharp criticism from netizens. Offbeat recorded Luo Yuan's battle on Weibo. Written by Abby · comments (0) Share: Donate · facebook · twitter · reddit · StumbleUpon · delicious · Instapaper

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