Hard News by Russell Brown

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Hard News: Misquote Unquote

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  • Jeremy Eade,

    A lot to think about. Still thinking, takes me a sleep , but thanks for opening up some new ideas.

    auckland • Since Mar 2008 • 1112 posts Report Reply

  • Bob Munro,

    Badmouthing Beijing

    This article in the Guardian by Daniel Bell, professor of philosophy at Tsinghua University in Beijing. seeks to address these same issues.

    In China, it will come as no great surprise that the heavy hand of state censorship is the biggest problem.....

    ...In western countries, by contrast, the real threat comes from public opinion. Certain public prejudices make some stories more newsworthy than others, and those stories further reinforce those prejudices. Consider the way that China is demonised in the western press. A social critic beaten up by local thugs is bound to make the headlines in dozens of newspapers (one rarely hears about such occurrences in Uzbekistan, Eritrea, or India). I do not mean to suggest that such facts are unimportant. It's especially important for western reporters to write about them, since Chinese reporters can rarely do so. But if that's all people read (or want to read) about China, they will get a very skewed picture of what's happening in a country of 1.3 billion people that is undergoing the most rapid and comprehensive social transformation in the history of mankind.

    How many people in the west know that hundreds of millions of Chinese people have been lifted out of poverty? That the majority of Chinese citizens have personal freedoms almost unimaginable 30 years ago? That the Chinese government learned not to overreact to provocations from Taiwanese pro-independence forces, thus paving the way for better relations with Taiwan? That the party has implemented mechanisms for relatively smooth transitions of political power, including mandatory retirement ages for leaders? That European human rights groups are working with the Chinese authorities to reduce the incidence of torture in police investigations? That implementation of the death penalty has been substantially curtailed of late? Or that the official newspaper China Daily recently printed a photo of two young Chinese men in the throes of a passionate kiss in a pro-queer piece headlined Pride and Prejudice?

    Christchurch • Since Aug 2007 • 418 posts Report Reply

  • Neil Morrison,

    But if that's all people read (or want to read) about China, they will get a very skewed picture of what's happening in a country of 1.3 billion people that is undergoing the most rapid and comprehensive social transformation in the history of mankind.

    This assumes a great deal - I doubt whether there are many people who have such a black and white view of China.

    But it's slightly irrelevant anyway, those making the most noise about China's faults are Western governments and human rights groups who all have an in depth understanding of the complications involved.

    I don't buy the argument that China is the victim of ill-informed Western criticism.

    Since Nov 2006 • 932 posts Report Reply

  • mark taslov,

    I don't buy into the argument that after the imperialists relinquished the concessions, they completely gave up their desire to control China.

    Te Ika-a-Māui • Since Mar 2008 • 2281 posts Report Reply

  • Bob Munro,

    The Dalai Lama''s point of view is expressed by Lodi Gyaltsen Gyar, his chief representative in talks with Beijing, in this article in the International Herald Tribune. The full text is online at The International Campaign for Tibet.

    On more than one occasion during our six rounds of discussion with representatives of the Chinese government, I emphasized that Beijing's policies were driving Tibetans into a corner.

    We knew that the heavy-handed implementation of policies undermining Tibetans' distinct identity, combined with the influx of large numbers of Chinese migrants to the plateau, and in particular the virulent official denunciations of the Dalai Lama in recent times, meant that Tibetans were almost at breaking point.

    We are deeply concerned with the selective way in which the Chinese authorities are representing the crisis. The rifts that are developing between Tibetans and Chinese could last for generations and they could cause irrevocable harm to the harmonious relations between the two communities.

    The protests that we have seen among my Tibetan compatriots are not only a result of several years of hard-line policies by Beijing. They have deeper roots, arising from 50 years of Chinese misrule.

    Christchurch • Since Aug 2007 • 418 posts Report Reply

  • mark taslov,

    So The Dalai Lama's rep feels that their time under the Qing dynasty was ok? the deeper roots just arise from the last 50 years? But the qing dynasty were choosing the lama's too

    Te Ika-a-Māui • Since Mar 2008 • 2281 posts Report Reply

  • mark taslov,

    human rights campaigns concentrate on selected instances: the violence, sexually perverse, slavery, education.
    glamour trades

    generally nationalised in their 'call to arms'

    dealing in sensationalism often ignoring cutural tradition. the rights arbitrary, citizens in all countries bar none, people, are subject to abuses of human rights,

    the key 21st century 'solutions' seem to be, pressure governments to crack down on abuses and or send money.

    neither governmental pressure nor donations really touch upon - the lack of respect humans show towards one another's freewill. sister to brother, father to mother.

    the exponents of freedom, the organizations that bring our greatest freedom- free media!
    - isn't the essence of purified colonial imperialism. It's not persuasive instant morality.
    It's exponents aren't it's emissaries.

    Te Ika-a-Māui • Since Mar 2008 • 2281 posts Report Reply

  • Bob Munro,

    The New York Times has a long list of recent articles on a variety of China topics on the eve of the Olympics. I particularly enjoyed the one on the
    architectural merits of the Birds nest stadium.

    Christchurch • Since Aug 2007 • 418 posts Report Reply

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