The rise of China is inevitable. They already passed the 50 gold medal mark.
It's also the reason why I'm doing a thesis entitled 西方媒体是否在北京申奥成功后企图干预中国的民主建设――以2008年北京奥运为个案分析.
Bah!
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Monday, August 18, 2008
What BBC has to say on China
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7327886.stm
The challenges of reporting in China
Last week thousands of Chinese found they were able to access the BBC News website for the first time, after years of strict censorship. They e-mailed to tell us what they thought, and many were critical of our coverage.
Here the BBC's Asia bureau chief Paul Danahar, who is based in Beijing, responds to this criticism and looks at the challenges of reporting in China.
It is a pleasant surprise to be criticised by your readers when you work as a journalist in China.
Most of you viewing this page are unknowingly taking for granted a luxury that those of us living behind the "Great Firewall" have to do without.
We are in a bit of a vacuum, cut off from normal access to the outside world.
My TV blacks out when someone says the magic words Tibet or Tiananmen protests; my daily paper is an unsophisticated propaganda tool for the Chinese Communist Party and half the websites I want to read are blocked including, until recently, this one.
But when suddenly the English language edition of the BBC News website (the Chinese one is still blocked by the government) became accessible in China, some readers here, but by no means all, took exception to what they saw.
People like Xie Huai from Zhengzhou e-mailed the site saying: "I often find that stories about China diverge from the truth. Why?"
The answer to the question lies in the word "truth". Only now are many Chinese getting the chance to debate the "truth" of foreign media publications (and only those not in Chinese) because only now are they getting a point of view on some important topics at odds with the one provided by the state-controlled media.
There is, of course, enormous debate on the internet in China about all sorts of controversial issues ranging from politics to sex.
But writing about things like Tibet, Falun Gong and the Tiananmen Square protests can land you in jail.
Tibet tensions
The story that raised concerns for some of our new Chinese readers was the rioting last month in Tibet.
The foreign media was accused of misreporting the scale and nature of the trouble there.
In fact, during the BBC's total coverage of the disturbances, we managed to upset both sides of the debate.
We were the first foreign broadcasters to obtain pictures, filmed by a Chinese camera crew showing the ethnic violence against Han Chinese by Tibetans in Lhasa; events which were verified by the only (non-BBC) Western journalist in Lhasa at the time.
The Dalai Lama then said at a press conference that because of the pictures he had seen on the BBC, he was calling for an end to the violence.
However he wondered aloud if we showed them because we were biased towards the Chinese.
The next day we were the first international broadcaster to show images filmed by a Canadian crew showing the Chinese flag being torn apart and replaced with a free Tibet flag by protestors in nearby Gansu province.
That report sent the chap who presses the black-out button for my TV into overdrive all day.
People who criticise the media for their coverage in Tibet should acknowledge that we were and still are banned from reporting there.
When we tried to report on disturbances outside Tibet that did not require a special permit, we were turned back at armed checkpoints.
And only a select group, not including the BBC, were eventually invited on a strictly controlled visit to Lhasa after the rioting had ended.
"It is ironic that China, a country that does not allow the operation of a free press, should accuse the Western media of bias in its coverage of the dramatic events in Tibet, including the use of double standards" - not the words of a Western journalist but of Frank Ching writing this week in the South China Morning Post.
Disagreement and debate
It is not only the BBC that has suddenly became available. Wikipedia has now been partially unblocked by the Chinese.
But consider the next sentence, which I have reproduced exactly as it appears on the Wikipedia website (including the grammatical errors).
"The Dalai Lama, whom in the past was funded by CIA [21] , originally pushed for independence for Tibet, which was a slavery feudal society prior taken over by the P.R.C. government."
You can read this page in full but as soon as you click on the links of words like independence or Tibet, the connection drops off and you have to reload Wikipedia all over again.
This does not happen when you search the site for anything else.
We welcome comments from our readers and particularly those new ones in China, because they help inform what we do.
Journalists do make mistakes and when we do we have a responsibility to admit them.
"I would sooner have you hate me for telling you the truth than adore me for telling you lies."
Those are the words of satirist and serial complainer Pietro Aretino, who annoyed the great and not so good of the 16th Century with a flurry of public correspondence to the editors of his age.
It is a sentiment that should always go both ways.
(Do read the readers' comments at the end. It's always good to know that moderates do exist.)
The challenges of reporting in China
Last week thousands of Chinese found they were able to access the BBC News website for the first time, after years of strict censorship. They e-mailed to tell us what they thought, and many were critical of our coverage.
Here the BBC's Asia bureau chief Paul Danahar, who is based in Beijing, responds to this criticism and looks at the challenges of reporting in China.
It is a pleasant surprise to be criticised by your readers when you work as a journalist in China.
Most of you viewing this page are unknowingly taking for granted a luxury that those of us living behind the "Great Firewall" have to do without.
We are in a bit of a vacuum, cut off from normal access to the outside world.
My TV blacks out when someone says the magic words Tibet or Tiananmen protests; my daily paper is an unsophisticated propaganda tool for the Chinese Communist Party and half the websites I want to read are blocked including, until recently, this one.
But when suddenly the English language edition of the BBC News website (the Chinese one is still blocked by the government) became accessible in China, some readers here, but by no means all, took exception to what they saw.
People like Xie Huai from Zhengzhou e-mailed the site saying: "I often find that stories about China diverge from the truth. Why?"
The answer to the question lies in the word "truth". Only now are many Chinese getting the chance to debate the "truth" of foreign media publications (and only those not in Chinese) because only now are they getting a point of view on some important topics at odds with the one provided by the state-controlled media.
There is, of course, enormous debate on the internet in China about all sorts of controversial issues ranging from politics to sex.
But writing about things like Tibet, Falun Gong and the Tiananmen Square protests can land you in jail.
Tibet tensions
The story that raised concerns for some of our new Chinese readers was the rioting last month in Tibet.
The foreign media was accused of misreporting the scale and nature of the trouble there.
In fact, during the BBC's total coverage of the disturbances, we managed to upset both sides of the debate.
We were the first foreign broadcasters to obtain pictures, filmed by a Chinese camera crew showing the ethnic violence against Han Chinese by Tibetans in Lhasa; events which were verified by the only (non-BBC) Western journalist in Lhasa at the time.
The Dalai Lama then said at a press conference that because of the pictures he had seen on the BBC, he was calling for an end to the violence.
However he wondered aloud if we showed them because we were biased towards the Chinese.
The next day we were the first international broadcaster to show images filmed by a Canadian crew showing the Chinese flag being torn apart and replaced with a free Tibet flag by protestors in nearby Gansu province.
That report sent the chap who presses the black-out button for my TV into overdrive all day.
People who criticise the media for their coverage in Tibet should acknowledge that we were and still are banned from reporting there.
When we tried to report on disturbances outside Tibet that did not require a special permit, we were turned back at armed checkpoints.
And only a select group, not including the BBC, were eventually invited on a strictly controlled visit to Lhasa after the rioting had ended.
"It is ironic that China, a country that does not allow the operation of a free press, should accuse the Western media of bias in its coverage of the dramatic events in Tibet, including the use of double standards" - not the words of a Western journalist but of Frank Ching writing this week in the South China Morning Post.
Disagreement and debate
It is not only the BBC that has suddenly became available. Wikipedia has now been partially unblocked by the Chinese.
But consider the next sentence, which I have reproduced exactly as it appears on the Wikipedia website (including the grammatical errors).
"The Dalai Lama, whom in the past was funded by CIA [21] , originally pushed for independence for Tibet, which was a slavery feudal society prior taken over by the P.R.C. government."
You can read this page in full but as soon as you click on the links of words like independence or Tibet, the connection drops off and you have to reload Wikipedia all over again.
This does not happen when you search the site for anything else.
We welcome comments from our readers and particularly those new ones in China, because they help inform what we do.
Journalists do make mistakes and when we do we have a responsibility to admit them.
"I would sooner have you hate me for telling you the truth than adore me for telling you lies."
Those are the words of satirist and serial complainer Pietro Aretino, who annoyed the great and not so good of the 16th Century with a flurry of public correspondence to the editors of his age.
It is a sentiment that should always go both ways.
(Do read the readers' comments at the end. It's always good to know that moderates do exist.)
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Of democracy and human rights
Some people in China are furious with the Westerners for clamping hard on China on flowery issues like democracy and human rights. However, these Westerners who talk about human rights (looking at it optimistically) actually care for the well-being of the common Chinese people under CCP leadership, so the Chinese people should actually be grateful for the concern shown by these Westerners.
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Where I Belong (based on the passport I'm holding)
(Ignore my lame attempt at spicing up the entry title if you wish to.) The best NDP song ever. Wishing Singapore peace and prosperity (despite the downturn of the American economy)!
Most of the other NDP songs are overated, overplayed (eg. Home, Count On Me Singapore) or far from nice (Stefanie's 03 attempt, Stars and Crescent, the Taufik and Rui En one, and the 07 one). Let's have Tanya again!
Most of the other NDP songs are overated, overplayed (eg. Home, Count On Me Singapore) or far from nice (Stefanie's 03 attempt, Stars and Crescent, the Taufik and Rui En one, and the 07 one). Let's have Tanya again!
Saturday, August 2, 2008
Being of Chinese descent
I will be laughing my head off if I see an athlete of CHinese descent(who represents another country) that is very anti-China, to win 1st place over a Chinese athlete (of the PRC) in the upcoming Olympics.
XXXX
http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/04/09/chinese-americans-divided-over-olympic-protests/
April 9, 2008, 5:49 pm
Chinese-Americans Divided Over Olympic Protests
By Jennifer 8. Lee
As the most-high profile Olympics in a generation approaches, just four months away, the world has simultaneously cast one eye toward the violent Tibetan clashes in China and the other toward the roving (and lately also violent) path of the Olympic torch, which has drawn the ire of protesters.
In New York City, home to a broad range of Chinese immigrants and their children, the attitudes of Chinese-Americans toward the conflicts are as diverse as the people themselves, depending upon how they feel about the government of China, the sense of an uber-Chinese identity, and the mixing of politics and sports. Attitudes range from indifference to patriotism to harsh criticism of the Chinese government.
Many people echoed the ideal that sports should be separate from global politics (though that did not stop the Americans from boycotting the Moscow Olympics in 1980 or the Soviet Union from reciprocally boycotting the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984).
“It’s like a wedding,” said Grace Zhong, 35, a Chinatown herbalist who came from Guangdong Province 15 years ago. “Think about it. Even if you hate the person, you don’t have to choose that day to ruin it for the bride and for guests.”
“If you want to work at it,” she said, “you choose the moment to say you have to change.”
The Olympics serve as a beacon of pride for those in greater China (otherwise known as places that China thinks of as China). “For so many years, it is the first time it makes me proud to be Chinese,” said Nienwen Lee, 38, a flight attendant for China Airlines who was visiting from Taiwan. “I’m so sorry about the violence between Tibet and China. I feel sorry for both sides, because we are all Chinese. The problem could be resolved, but it needs to take some time and more wisdom.”
Others may contest the idea of whether Tibetans are actually Chinese in the same way that the dominant Han majority is Chinese. “I don’t want the Olympics there,” said Lobsang Choedon, who was born in Tibet but has lived in the United States since 2000.
“I hope we have some chance of independence,” said Ms. Choedon, who was in Flushing, Queens. “It’s terrible in Lhasa. I called Tibet. My cousin told me that the Chinese government goes door to door in the night to shoot people.”
Other Han Chinese echo the criticism of the Chinese government. “I feel like the Olympics shouldn’t be in China because of Tibet,” said Kim Chen, 25, a sales clerk in an electronics store in Flushing who came from Fujian Province more than a decade ago. “I feel the protesters should be protesting.”
But the conduct of the protesters themselves also drew criticism. “They’re full of it,” said Paul Tong, 87, who came to the United States in 1934 from Guangzhou.
“It’s propaganda from the human rights people that makes them do it,” said Mr. Tong, a World War II veteran who was on his way to the American Legion office on Canal Street. He noted that the Chinese government had built a railroad to the Tibetan plateau to improve economic conditions.
And then there are those who could not be more indifferent on international relations, be it in the realm of sports or sovereignty.
Philip Ang, 22, a mortgage consultant born in the United States to parents from Taiwan, said, “I’m not too big on Chinese people, not too big on Asia or the Olympics.”
When asked about Tibet and the Olympics, Mr. Ang, who was in Flushing, asked blankly, “What does Tibet have to do with it?”
XXXX
http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/04/09/chinese-americans-divided-over-olympic-protests/
April 9, 2008, 5:49 pm
Chinese-Americans Divided Over Olympic Protests
By Jennifer 8. Lee
As the most-high profile Olympics in a generation approaches, just four months away, the world has simultaneously cast one eye toward the violent Tibetan clashes in China and the other toward the roving (and lately also violent) path of the Olympic torch, which has drawn the ire of protesters.
In New York City, home to a broad range of Chinese immigrants and their children, the attitudes of Chinese-Americans toward the conflicts are as diverse as the people themselves, depending upon how they feel about the government of China, the sense of an uber-Chinese identity, and the mixing of politics and sports. Attitudes range from indifference to patriotism to harsh criticism of the Chinese government.
Many people echoed the ideal that sports should be separate from global politics (though that did not stop the Americans from boycotting the Moscow Olympics in 1980 or the Soviet Union from reciprocally boycotting the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984).
“It’s like a wedding,” said Grace Zhong, 35, a Chinatown herbalist who came from Guangdong Province 15 years ago. “Think about it. Even if you hate the person, you don’t have to choose that day to ruin it for the bride and for guests.”
“If you want to work at it,” she said, “you choose the moment to say you have to change.”
The Olympics serve as a beacon of pride for those in greater China (otherwise known as places that China thinks of as China). “For so many years, it is the first time it makes me proud to be Chinese,” said Nienwen Lee, 38, a flight attendant for China Airlines who was visiting from Taiwan. “I’m so sorry about the violence between Tibet and China. I feel sorry for both sides, because we are all Chinese. The problem could be resolved, but it needs to take some time and more wisdom.”
Others may contest the idea of whether Tibetans are actually Chinese in the same way that the dominant Han majority is Chinese. “I don’t want the Olympics there,” said Lobsang Choedon, who was born in Tibet but has lived in the United States since 2000.
“I hope we have some chance of independence,” said Ms. Choedon, who was in Flushing, Queens. “It’s terrible in Lhasa. I called Tibet. My cousin told me that the Chinese government goes door to door in the night to shoot people.”
Other Han Chinese echo the criticism of the Chinese government. “I feel like the Olympics shouldn’t be in China because of Tibet,” said Kim Chen, 25, a sales clerk in an electronics store in Flushing who came from Fujian Province more than a decade ago. “I feel the protesters should be protesting.”
But the conduct of the protesters themselves also drew criticism. “They’re full of it,” said Paul Tong, 87, who came to the United States in 1934 from Guangzhou.
“It’s propaganda from the human rights people that makes them do it,” said Mr. Tong, a World War II veteran who was on his way to the American Legion office on Canal Street. He noted that the Chinese government had built a railroad to the Tibetan plateau to improve economic conditions.
And then there are those who could not be more indifferent on international relations, be it in the realm of sports or sovereignty.
Philip Ang, 22, a mortgage consultant born in the United States to parents from Taiwan, said, “I’m not too big on Chinese people, not too big on Asia or the Olympics.”
When asked about Tibet and the Olympics, Mr. Ang, who was in Flushing, asked blankly, “What does Tibet have to do with it?”
Friday, August 1, 2008
Straight or bent
There are some kinds of situation where you can choose the straight or the bent way, and decide what works best for you. Other times, you cannot, coz it's how you really feel.
And this is Matchbox Twenty's best song, Bent. Frankly I hate Rob Thomas' long and unkempt hair.
And this is Matchbox Twenty's best song, Bent. Frankly I hate Rob Thomas' long and unkempt hair.
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