Links » Cream » Shenzhou 9 Makes Triumphant Return

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• Shenzhou 9 Makes Triumphant Return
• Photo: Face of Kashgar, by iamuday
• Looking Ahead to the Next Shenzhou Mission: Expats in Space!
• Diao Si: New Internet Buzzword for “Loser”
• Documentary Captures Plight of China’s Fortune Tellers
• Machine Guns: Not Just for Soldiers Anymore
• Rebel Pepper: A New National Emblem
• Girl Power Up
• New York Times Launches Chinese News Site
• China Shows Force in Shaxi after Worker Riots
• The Daily Twit (@chinahearsay links) – 6/28/12
• Foxconn and Apple Aren’t the Only Ones With China Labor Problems
• The Committee of 100 Survey: A Snapshot of US-China Relations

Shenzhou 9 Makes Triumphant Return Posted: 29 Jun 2012 01:27 AM PDT The Shenzhou 9 capsule touched down in Inner Mongolia just after 10 a.m. local time on Friday, successfully completing a mission that saw China dock its first manned spacecraft since 2008 with the help of the country's first female astronaut. From Xinhua News: Medical staff entered the capsule and reported the astronauts were in good conditions. While in the capsule, the astronauts reported to the command center "We have returned, and we feel good." Jing Haipeng, commander of the Shenzhou-9 crew, was the first to come out of the return capsule, followed by Liu Wang and the country's first woman astronaut Liu Yang. The three will fly to Beijing after taking physical examinations in ambulance helicopters at the landing site. Xinhua also reported that Premier Wen Jiabao, Zhou Yongkang and other Chinese leaders watched the re-entry from the Beijing Aerospace Flight Control Center, and posted a number of video grabs (including the above and below photos) from Shenzhou 9′s return. Wen delivered a congratulatory address after China's manned space program chief delivered announced the mission's successful conclusion, according to Xinhua: The success of the docking mission also constitutes a new achievement in China's effort to build an innovation-driven country, a new significant step in China's scientific development, and an important contribution to human exploration of the outer space, said Wen. This is of major and far-reaching significance to boosting China's comprehensive national strength, invigorating the nation, and inspiring the whole nation to strive for new victories in building a moderately prosperous society in a all-around way and pushing forwad the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics, he added. The contributions of Chinese aerospace scientists and working staff will be remembered by the country and its people, he said. The pursuit of scientific progress is a never-ending journey, and there remains a long way to go in exploring outer space, he said, expressing hopes that more efforts will be made to boost the leapfrog development of China's space program. CNN's Kristie Lu Stout reflects on the week that was, and asks whether Shenzhou 9′s success will usher in a new age of adventure for China: According to Chinese explorer Wong How Man, the answer is an emphatic yes. "We're in space… not just making cellphones," he told CNN. As the President of the China Exploration and Research Society, Wong has been leading expeditions in China since he founded the group in 1986. In June 2005, he discovered the new source of the mighty Yangtze River. The veteran explorer said China's landmark journeys in recent years have shored up not only national pride but an individual desire to venture forth. "On a grassroots level, there's this huge urge to explore our own vast country," he said. © Scott Greene for China Digital Times (CDT), 2012. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us Post tags: Liu Yang, Shenzhou 9, space exploration, space program, Wen Jiabao, Zhou Yongkang Download Tools to Circumvent the Great Firewall

Photo: Face of Kashgar, by iamuday Posted: 29 Jun 2012 12:30 AM PDT © Scott Greene for China Digital Times (CDT), 2012. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us Post tags: Download Tools to Circumvent the Great Firewall

Looking Ahead to the Next Shenzhou Mission: Expats in Space! Posted: 28 Jun 2012 11:40 PM PDT Now that the Shenzhou spacecraft has returned safely to earth with China's first female taikonaut, we can feel free to think about what the future of China's space program might entail. An article in the state media from earlier in the week holds some intriguing possibilities: It is believed that China will be able to train foreign astronauts with its own space technology and send them to space by Shenzhou spacecraft someday, the spokeswoman of China's manned space program said Sunday. Wu Ping told a press conference in Beijing that she believed China's aerospace technology will become more and more mature along with the development of its manned space technology. China has completed limited number of space missions and will continue to conduct numerous manned space technological tests, she said. Whoa. Foreign astronauts. Yeah, I can see that happening. China has a long history of including hand-picked foreigners to fill special roles. Consider Edgar Snow, an American journalist who reported, quite favorably, on the rise of China's Communist Party. Snow was given special recognition later on when he was included on the dais next to Chairman Mao during the 1970 National Day celebrations. Or how about Da Shan (Canadian Mark Rowswell), who rose to fame because of his special combination of Chinese fluency and extraordinarily Caucasian appearance? For a few years there, Rowswell participated in just about every significant nationally-televised cultural event. And we can't forget about the Olympic torch relay in 2008. The search for suitable expats brought all the sycophants and China apologists out of the proverbial woodwork. Luckily the final cut was not made up entirely of lackeys. So what can we expect from a foreign astronaut who gets a ticket to ride Shenzhou? Well, conventional wisdom would say that the person will be a professional, a member of a foreign country's space program (e.g. Russian, maybe even Japanese). Doubtful that this person would be an expat, then. But you never know. And if, perhaps as a publicity stunt, China decided to send an expat to space (hopefully not as a deportation measure), I would suggest the following criteria to get the ball rolling: 1. Must have been on at least one CCTV-9 program at least three times. Preferably Dialogue on a weekday. 2. Must have written at least two columns in either China Daily or Global Times extolling the virtues of: Chinese food; the rustic peacefulness of Yangshuo; or the cultural oasis that is Beijing. Alternatively, a screed against Western trade protectionism. 3. Only foreign-looking expats may apply. ABCs or others of Asian ancestry will not be considered as the publicity photos would be rather underwhelming. Expats of mixed ethnicity, Asian or otherwise, will be considered on a case-by-case basis, with points awarded for general attractiveness and non-Asian features (e.g. Mariah Carey or Derek Jeter — yes; Charles Bronson or Olivia Munn (for different reasons) — no). 4. Chinese language skills must be good, but not so good that TV appearances cannot include a slightly-demeaning "Oh, your Chinese is so good! {giggle giggle}" 5. Residency in China between 18 months and five years is preferred. Shorter than that, the candidate will lack credibility. Longer than that, the cynicism kicks in and press interviews will be disastrous. All candidates who make the first cut will then be interviewed by Yang Rui (extended bio here), who will winnow the list down to three (if he can stomach talking to that many foreigners at one time). The final selection will be made via reality television show, unless SARFT bans it. Good luck, everyone! © Stan for China Hearsay, 2012. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us Post tags: expatriates, Shenzhou, space

Diao Si: New Internet Buzzword for “Loser” Posted: 28 Jun 2012 08:46 PM PDT Want China Times briefs English-speakers on a self-deprecating Chinese buzzword making waves on the internet this year: The term "diao si" (屌絲) has been a buzzword among China's internet community since the start of the year, with everyone from the hi-tech elite to white-collar workers and celebrities all referring to themselves by the word. So what does "diao si" mean and why has it become a cultural phenomenon? [...] the word "diao si" was first coined by single, young men who feel they lead dead-end lives. They call themselves "diao si" because they feel they are at the lowest echelon of society. Young Chinese have been trying to cope with the existential changes that their country's economic shift has brought. They have lost their ability to communicate, their lifestyle, their drive and their enthusiasm for life. Under these circumstances, "diao si" is an accurate term for self-mockery. Diao si is often contrasted with the "Rich, High, and Handsome" (高富帅), the winner figure who gets everything in life. © Wendy Qian for China Digital Times (CDT), 2012. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us Post tags: economic divide, Internet culture, youth culture Download Tools to Circumvent the Great Firewall

Documentary Captures Plight of China’s Fortune Tellers Posted: 28 Jun 2012 06:33 PM PDT Beijing director Xu Tong's  second feature-length documentary Fortune Teller (Suan Ming, with English subtitles, available on Youku) details the story of a Buddhist handicapped man, Li Baicheng (pseudonym), and his deaf, mute, mentally disabled wife, Pearl Shi. The documentary won the Jury Prize at the Chinese Documentary Festival, was selected among the Best Ten documentaries at the China Independent Film Festival, and was an official selection for the International Film Festival Rotterdam 2011. The documentary shows that Li's hard life stems from not only from his handicapped condition, but also the lack of government aid and his unsteady job as an independent fortune-teller in poor regions of Hebei province. Viewers learn from Li Baicheng that during the years of the Cultural Revolution, blind men would travel and tell stories in groups of two to three. Late in the night, they would start telling fortune undercover, but a few in the audience would sometimes report their activities. The blind men would then be pushed to join the labor force. "It was rough for blind people… It was miserable," Li recalled. "Even today, fortune-telling is the target of the 'crack downs' and lies in a legal gray area," Li Baicheng commented on the dire business in the documentary. Some local governments crack down on "superstition" along with anti-pornography and anti-crime raids. But Fengshui, a variation of East Asian Buddhist and Taoist mystical practices, fairs well in contrast to Baicheng's fortune-telling. In Singapore, a company named "New Trend Lifestyle Group" provides Fengshui services and plans to file for an IPO in London: [New Trend Lifestyle] earned pre-tax profits of £1.4m last year on revenues of £6.1m. Over the next three years, it plans to open 50 shops in China, where it already has one office and six distribution partnerships. "Feng shui is endemic in Chinese communities throughout the world and influences many aspects of personal, business and even government activities," said NTL, citing as example recent reports of Hong Kong authorities making payments to people living near construction sites as compensation for disturbing their feng shui. See also: Hard-pressed Documentary Makers Keep Rolling Chinese Documentaries Show Realities Missing from Chinese Films Xu Tong introduces his film Fortune Teller © Wendy Qian for China Digital Times (CDT), 2012. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us Post tags: documentary, fengshui, independent film, religion, urban rural divide, xu tong Download Tools to Circumvent the Great Firewall

Machine Guns: Not Just for Soldiers Anymore Posted: 28 Jun 2012 04:34 PM PDT While the world bites its nails over China's military growth, China itself has more internal concerns. 2012 marks the second year since national spending on "public security" has surpassed that of the military. This year's budget for jails, courts, police and various security and para-military forces is 701.8 billion yuan (US$110 bn), an 11.5% increase from 2011. By contrast, military spending went up 11.2% to 670 billion yuan (US$105 bn). Disaster relief and border patrol are just part of public security's purview. Police and para-military are often called in to control "mass incidents," public gatherings and protests. Armed police were dispatched to Lhasa after two monks self-immolated on May 27. Others have gone to the scene of riots in Zhongshan and Zuotan, Guangdong. The star of this year's China Police Expo at the Beijing International Convention Center was a 7.62 mm Gatling machine gun built by the Chongqing Jianshe Industry Group (pictured above). It can fire anywhere from 2500 to 6000 rounds per minute. To some Chinese netizens, it's a terrifying icon of public security. "This is a f***ing policeman's machine gun," writes the blog Fantastic Record. Weibo user WildhouseNEWS asks, "Who are the police going to mow down with this gun? The American imperialists or the Japanese devils? Who are they selling this thing to?" It's not clear which foreign police forces put their money on this gun, but netizens suspect it gets plenty of use at home. It looks like China is at war with itself. © Anne.Henochowicz for China Digital Times (CDT), 2012. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us Post tags: DSD, military spending, public security Download Tools to Circumvent the Great Firewall

Rebel Pepper: A New National Emblem Posted: 28 Jun 2012 04:16 PM PDT Cartoonist Rebel Pepper posted this reinvention of the Chinese national emblem on his Tencent Weibo. Crescents of bricks replace stalks of wheat; where stately curtains once hung now stand a bulldozer and excavator. In place of the gate tower leading to the Forbidden City is a house marked "demolish" 拆. This is Chaina, the torn-down land. Local governments can turn a quick profit by selling land to developers. No matter if that land is currently occupied. Forced eviction and demolition cause enormous domestic strife. It was the prime factor in the Wukan revolt last winter, and most recently of protest in another Guangdong village, Zuotan. © Anne.Henochowicz for China Digital Times (CDT), 2012. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us Post tags: forced demolition, forced demolitions, forced eviction, forced evictions, Wukan, Zuotan Download Tools to Circumvent the Great Firewall

Girl Power Up Posted: 28 Jun 2012 02:19 PM PDT The Economist's Analects blog reports on the present condition of women in China. The article focuses on urban women and their changing values on work and family: Kate Ba is in her late 20s and works at a public relations firm in Beijing. While men might still wield a lot of the power, says Ms Ba, more women are rising through the ranks and they are not afraid of pursuing their own career goals. "My generation are just now starting to become managers, and in the future I think we'll see more women as presidents and CEOs, far more than in my mother's generation." Yet, according to the article, women with successful careers have their worries as well: Those women who do want to start a family can find it difficult to break out of the newfound career track. Many women complain that the more successful and financially independent a woman becomes, the harder it can be to settle down. This prompts the fear of becoming a shengnü or "left-behind woman".  [...] Other, older problems are even more serious. Many women working in China experience sexual harassment and discrimination based on gender or marital status.  Retrograde attitudes clash with the desire of young women to be able to express themselves without being harassed. See also: - Amy Chua profiles Four Female Tycoons from China, via The Daily Beast - For China's Women, More Opportunities, More Pitfalls, via CDT. © Wendy Qian for China Digital Times (CDT), 2012. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us Post tags: Beijing, Shanghai, unmarried women, urban life, women, women's rights Download Tools to Circumvent the Great Firewall

New York Times Launches Chinese News Site Posted: 28 Jun 2012 02:06 PM PDT On Wednesday the New York Times launched a Chinese news website, containing both original content and translations of English New York Times' stories. From the paper's announcement: The site, which is called cn.nytimes.com and went live Thursday morning China time, is intended to draw readers from the country's growing middle class, what The Times in its news release called "educated, affluent, global citizens.'' The site will feature about 30 articles a day on national, foreign and arts topics, as well as editorials. Joseph Kahn, the paper's foreign editor, said that about two-thirds of the content would be translated from Times articles and one-third would be written by Chinese editors and local freelance journalists. The Times Company, which is well aware of the censorship issues that can come up in China, stressed that it would not become an official Chinese media company. The Times has set up its server outside China and the site will follow the paper's journalistic standards. Mr. Kahn said that while the Chinese government occasionally blocked certain articles from nytimes.com, he was hopeful that the Chinese government would be receptive to the Chinese-language project. Almost immediately upon its launch, netizens noticed that the Sina Weibo account associated with the website was taken offline. While many suspected censorship, the account was back up several hours later and now appears to be accessible. From the Washington Post: The paper's Chinese microblog accounts were activated Wednesday, attracting around 10,000 followers on Sina Weibo within a day and several thousand users on other sites. But on Thursday morning, the accounts hosted by Sina and Sohu.com appeared to have been taken down. The account on Tencent, another popular portal, remained active but functions such as commenting and forwarding posts were apparently disabled. By late afternoon, the Times' Sina microblog site was accessible again. The Times had no indication its microblogs went offline because of the company or its content, or if a technical problem occurred, Smith later said. Meanwhile, readers in China had trouble accessing Bloomberg News on Thursday, though access was later restored. © Sophie Beach for China Digital Times (CDT), 2012. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us Post tags: foreign media, new york times, online news Download Tools to Circumvent the Great Firewall

China Shows Force in Shaxi after Worker Riots Posted: 28 Jun 2012 01:38 PM PDT Following two nights of rioting after a fight between a migrant teenager and a local boy in Shaxi, Guangdong, riot police have been brought in to restore order. BBC reporters visited Shaxi: We kept a low profile on the streets of the town last night. To say the least, foreign journalists are not always welcome at what China calls "mass incidents". We saw hundreds of chanting, marching riot police, moving in formation through the streets, the black plastic of their helmets and shields reflecting the street lights. At one point, I found myself ducking behind a row of beanstalks in a tenement garden while about 80 police gathered outside, just one of dozens of such groups guarding government buildings, banks and petrol stations. It was an overwhelming show of force designed to send a clear message that the rioting and trouble of the previous two nights wouldn't be tolerated. Deutsche Welle provides some background on the current situation of migrant workers in China, which contributed to tensions that sparked this week's violence: Migrant workers in China have long been unhappy with their pay, inhumane treatment in factories and lack of equal education opportunities for their children. They are increasingly launching factory strikes and taking to the streets to protest. Or clashing with locals as a group of migrant workers did on Tuesday in the town of Shaxi in the Guangdong province, which is known as the "world's factory floor." Migration from the countryside has provided the cheap labor that has fueled China's economic boom. Today, more than half of the 14 million residents in Guangzhou are now migrants. And their numbers are swelling in other cities, too. The voluntary migration of workers in China – said to be the largest in human history – has not only created huge housing, healthcare and education obstacles for the big cities that have attracted them; it has also helped raise the expectations of those workers and their children who come from towns and villages where options are few. Meanwhile, the official China Daily acknowledges that reforms are needed to resolve issues that lead to unrest, including an inherent inequality between migrants and local residents: Zhu Lijia, a professor at the Chinese Academy of Governance, said he isn't surprised that mass incidents have broken out between permanent residents and migrant workers in the prosperous province that borders Hong Kong and Macao. "But local officials should really undergo special training to prepare them to properly deal with these incidents," Zhu said. He said the mass incidents were likely a result of Guangdong's rapid economic growth and the fact that migrants are not always treated the same as permanent residents. "Many migrant workers actually cannot enjoy the same social welfare benefits that other residents get," Zhu said. Read more about migrant workers and social unrest in China, via CDT. See much more about economic and social inequality in China today on our special page, "The Great Divide." © Sophie Beach for China Digital Times (CDT), 2012. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us Post tags: economic divide, migrant workers, social inequality, social unrest Download Tools to Circumvent the Great Firewall

The Daily Twit (@chinahearsay links) – 6/28/12 Posted: 28 Jun 2012 03:59 AM PDT Another rainy, somewhat depressing day here in Beijing as we contemplate the economic slowdown. Well, some folks are probably focused on their summer holidays, so it could be worse. I spent a few minutes today reading a public opinion survey from the Committee of 100, an influential Asian-American group. Nothing earth-shattering in there, but I did find a few items of interest to talk about. And the news marches on: Financial Times: Chinese econ stats: to doubt or not to doubt? — The New York Times started this debate off several days ago with the usual talk about suspect economic stats and adjustments using proxy stats like electricity usage. The Financial Times now reports on the expected pushback (i.e., "our stats aren't that bad"), just in case you're keeping score at home. China Daily: Bigger share of taxes proposed for local govts — The saga of China's flagging local governments and the difficult policy choices available to the central government. We saw the other day that Beijing thought the risks outweighed the benefits when it came to local government bond issuance. Here's an alternative. Bloomberg: China Local Government Finances Are Unsustainable, Auditor Says — If you're looking for some additional background on local governments' fiscal challenges, this Businessweek article on the report of the National Audit Office is a good place to start. Depressing, but informative. Minxin Pei: Why China Can't Pick Good Leaders — Pei is a consistently harsh critic of the government here, so no great surprise at the tack he takes here. In short, he's not thrilled at the current slate of national leaders. Tea Leaf Nation: How Africans Live, and Struggle, in Southern China — Let's face it, expats are treated very differently depending on the color of their skin. Yeah, I said it. This is an under-reported story, so I'm glad to see that Tea Leaf Nation went after it. Caixin: China's Power Gap — Why do powerful officials get away with misdeeds while the average Zhou gets screwed over? Not an unimportant topic. Global Times: Under fire Carrefour sets up Party branch in Beijing — It's tough being a big multinational in China, and Carrefour has had its share of problems over the years. I don't know if this latest move will make a difference or not, but hey, at least they're trying to go local. Wall Street Journal: Undervalued Currency Isn't Beijing's Only Export Trick — Report on how China "fiddles" with the value of tax rebates in order to keep its exports attractive. The Register: Tech giants on trial as report reveals more Chinese factory abuses — Yet another NGO report on poor labor conditions in Dongguan, this one targeting VTech, not Foxconn. Here's my response. The above report on VTech was issued by the Institute for Labour and Global Human Rights. However, Foxconn/Apple nemesis China Labor Watch made accusations of their own today. Read about it in Rights group says Apple suppliers in China breaking labor laws. Two labor NGOs going after different China factories at the same time? Woof. Finally, a tough commentary in the official People's Daily (here's an English article reporting on it) on US China bashing suggests that some folks here in Beijing have run out of patience with the nimrods running for office in the US of A. Sure, the government here knows that the anti-China rhetoric of guys like Mitt Romney is meaningless, but after a while, it must piss them off. I don't blame 'em. © Stan for China Hearsay, 2012. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us Post tags:

Foxconn and Apple Aren’t the Only Ones With China Labor Problems Posted: 28 Jun 2012 01:33 AM PDT I think we all already knew that Foxconn was not the only China manufacturer with tough labor conditions. Indeed, those of you with business experience over here know that Foxconn is nowhere near the worst employer. I wonder if Foxconn honcho Terry Gou is quietly chuckling to himself over the release of this latest labor rights investigation: First it was Apple and Foxconn, now Motorola, AT&T, Sony, Deutsche Telekom and others have come under the spotlight after a new report made shocking allegations of human and labour rights violations at the Chinese factories of technology supplier VTech. Not-for-profit the Institute for Labour and Global Human Rights said it commissioned a private research firm to gather evidence and interview staff from one of VTech's three factories in Dongguan City, Guangdong province, where around 10,000 workers produce cordless and corded phones, phone components and circuit boards. VTech products made at the factory and its two other plants in the city are sold all over the US by big name retailers such as Staples, Wal-Mart, Costco, Sears and Kmart. (The Register) Apple is probably also happy that the China-labor-issue pain is now being spread to others. That being said, though, what are the allegations here? The VTech Sweatshop in China report alleges widespread abuses which even manage to top some of those levelled at Apple and Foxconn, including forced and excessive overtime; exposure to harmful chemicals; sub-standard living conditions; violence and bullying towards staff; and below subsistence wages. Sounds rather familiar. Anything else? The most shocking allegations, though, involve treatment of staff and living conditions. Staff are forced to stand for 12 to 15 hours a day, minus an hour's lunch break where they are fed miserable looking victuals, and live in prison-like dorms with no curtains, air-conditioning or mattresses, according to the report. There are no showers and staff have to queue up to take sponge baths using buckets of water, it adds. There is a strict disciplinary system at the factory. Erring staff apparently run the risk of being handed an Employee Criminal Record which could lead to docked wages, while managers are rewarded for reporting others' mistakes, the report alleged. Also detailed are what the Institute claims are first person accounts from workers describing their miserable lives at the plant, including suicides by co-workers and physical abuse of staff by security guards, although most of these seem to date from 2010. Terrible? Perhaps. Shocking? Hardly. While these conditions are not at all pleasant, and some of the allegations might rise to the level of illegal, none of that is at all abnormal when it comes to factories in Dongguan. As far as exposés go, this one is a bit lacking in terms of news. But who knows, maybe Mike Daisey can come over here again and do some additional digging. You never know what he might come up with. © Stan for China Hearsay, 2012. | Permalink | 2 comments | Add to del.icio.us Post tags: labor, labor conditions

The Committee of 100 Survey: A Snapshot of US-China Relations Posted: 28 Jun 2012 01:07 AM PDT I can't vouch for the methodology or anything else about the latest public opinion survey (h/t the New York Times) commissioned by the Committee of 100, a prominent Asian-American group. Moreover, most of the results are rather bland or have been echoed in other recent polls conducted by Pew and other professional organizations. On the other hand, there are a few items that jumped out at me: 1. Trust — One of the major bilateral topics that is always discussed is mutual trust. Participants in the survey were asked to consider the following statements: A. The US accepts China's status as a rising power and wants a collaborative relationship. B. The US is trying to prevent China from becoming a great power. Sounds fairly non-controversial, and yet the responses in the US and China were starkly different. If you follow US-China relations regularly, you already know where this is going. The US general public supported Statement A over B by a margin of 72 to 24%, a larger gap from the 2007 results. In China, the numbers were 52 to 27% in favor of Statement B, which was also a larger gap than was the case in 2007. This suggests most Americans are OK with China as a rising power, although it is not at all clear that they believe their government is working cooperatively with China toward that end. A majority of Chinese, on the other hand, believe that the US is actively working to keep China down. 2. Worsening Relations — Although the survey results do not clearly show that folks in the US and China strongly think that bilateral relations are worsening, a question was nevertheless asked about who bears responsibility for such bilateral problems. Half of the general public respondents in the US and 66% in China placed the blame on the US government. I wonder if that is based on any policy matters, such as the US Asia pivot/containment policy. (The one question that addressed this issue directly elicited a rather muddled response.) 3. Bilateral Trade — On trade, even with all the demagoguery on the subject by US politicians, only 23% of the US general public and about 20% of Chinese believe that trade with the other nation is a bad thing. You wouldn't get that from listening to Mitt Romney, would you? The numbers are only a bit worse when the question is couched in terms of consumer benefit, as opposed to the nation as a whole. Interesting, since that is quite logical thinking from an economic standpoint. 4. Trade Imbalance — On the trade deficit itself, a very interesting response. Again, since China's trade and currency policies are consistently demonized by US politicians, a narrative that is facilitated by the media, I would have guessed that the general public would echo this sentiment. And yet, when asked which government was at fault for the trade deficit, a whopping 70% of the American public laid the blame at the feet of the US government. Wow. Did not see that coming. A majority of the Chinese public (51+%) also says the US government is at fault. 5. Made in China — Participants were asked whether product quality scandals have reduced their confidence in Chinese goods. Almost 80% of Americans said yes, while only about 43% of Chinese agreed, even though the latter have much more information on the subject and pay attention to food safety issues much more than Americans. I can only explain this response as patriotism in action. 6. Outsourcing — On outsourcing and job losses, 78% of Americans agree that "China causes job losses to the US," while only 25% of Chinese support the statement. This is an idiotic question of course. Even I would admit that outsourcing can cause job losses, but so what? Completely devoid of nuance, context, or related factors, the question is utterly useless. Amusingly, 80% of Americans said that companies should stop outsourcing to China, even if halting the practice resulted in higher consumer prices. Ha ha. I don't believe that for a second, do you? I think we can agree that the Chinese respondents from topic #5 and the Americans on outsourcing are both lying their asses off. 7. China and US Treasury Bills — There were a variety of investment-related questions, but the one that tickled me related to China's continuing purchases of US Treasuries. Only 13% of the Chinese public (and only 29% of "opinion leaders" and 36% of "business leaders") believe that T-bills are a safe investment! WTF? So in addition to folks lying (see #6 above), here we've got folks being ignorant. Then again, perhaps it depends on your definition of "safe." 8. Private Sector Concerns — Business leaders were asked about their biggest concerns. For Americans doing business in China, the top three issues cited were IP protection, corruption, and the legal system. Personally, this is music to my ears. The environment looks pretty good for foreign investment lawyers, huh? By the way, for China business leaders doing business domestically, they worry about corruption, the legal system, and bureaucratic interference. No surprises there. 9. Media — Finally, perceptions of the media. The basic takeaway here when it comes to the general public and media treatment of the other country: they don't trust the coverage. And what coverage are we talking about? In the US, 73% of the public gets its China news from English-language television, while in China, we're talking 85% from Chinese-language television. So when we talk about general public perception in each country, it's fair to focus on TV coverage. However, when you shift over to opinion leaders or policymakers, their sources of information are much different and include newspapers and the Internet. Of course, in each country, those sources are predominantly in their own language. Only among Chinese business leaders, who rely heavily on the Internet for information, do you see a significant language crossover (41% of their news about the US comes from English Net sources). 10. Media Trust, or Lack Thereof — Now, on to the trust issue. On the question of whether they thought the Chinese media accurately portrayed the US, only 17% of Americans said yes (then again, how would they know? — see above), and only 49% of Chinese agreed. Of "opinion leaders" in both countries, only 6% of Americans and 24% of Chinese trusted the Chinese media on US issues. Ouch. OK, if you flip this over to US media coverage of China, what are the results? Only 35% of Americans and 27% of Chinese trust that the reporting is accurate. Again, this sucks, and again, how would the Chinese folks know whether the US media coverage of China is accurate or not? An even larger problem, though, is that if you substituted the words "US/China coverage" with "Coverage on Topic X," you'd probably get the same results. I don't think Americans or Chinese trust the media all that much in general (in either country). Question: is China bashing in the US worthwhile or is Mitt Romney (and others like him) wasting his time? © Stan for China Hearsay, 2012. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us Post tags: public opinion surveys

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