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Jul 17

Images from a mass incident in Huizhou

Written by: Buxi | Filed under:News | Tags:, , ,
64 Comments » newest

There appears to have been a clash involving riot police in Huizhou. I will provide these images and early hearsay reports, but I want to remind everyone: be careful with any unconfirmed reports. As the Weng’an riots proved, rumors are not only often wrong, they are also potentially very dangerous. As soon as we have credible media reports (and I expect that we will), I will make sure they are included in this story.

UPDATE: About 12 hours after this post first went up, the Chinese media is delivering the first official version of events, see here.  This version is different from the initial rumor in one specific detail: local police confirm the driver died, but insist it was in an accident.  Very similar to the Weng’an riots in that sense.  I trust we’ll see a thorough investigation from the province; Wang Yang, the party secretary for Guangdong, is known for his liberal take on government and politics.

Huizhou is a city in Guangdong province. The rumors (连接) tell us traffic police blocked a private minivan-bus, and asked for 100 RMB in toll. The driver refused to give any, and a confrontation followed, leading to the driver’s death. Rumors say local police offered private compensation to the victim’s family, but they refused and are demanding public investigation. Subsequently, a group from the driver’s home village in Hunan province, including alleged organized criminal gangs from Hunan, arrived in Huizhou. There are rumors of two police officers killed, in addition to the property damage seen below:

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Jul 17

minipost-Why the Beijing Olympics are already a success

Written by: Buxi | Filed under:-mini-posts, General, News | Tags:,
41 Comments » newest

Despite all of the predictions of doom and concern, I believe the Olympics are already a success.  The WSJ reports world and business leaders are crowding China’s red carpet in an unprecedented way:

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Jul 17

minipost-Another statistic

Written by: DJ | Filed under:-mini-posts | Tags:,
8 Comments » newest

Anton Lee Wishik II wrote about an interesting statistic while discussing polling in China: Continue reading »

Jul 17

minipost-I know China has a lot of good food, but …

Written by: DJ | Filed under:-mini-posts | Tags:,
7 Comments » newest

Tim Johnson dished out an interesting statistic of Beijing’s preparation for English speaking Olympics visitors: Continue reading »

Jul 16

Lee Kuan Yew lashes out at critical human rights groups

Written by: DJ | Filed under:News | Tags:, ,
74 Comments » newest

Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore has never been shy in defending Singapore’s political system or his own legacy. During the recent Economic Society of Singapore’s annual dinner, Lee gave a stern rebuke to some human rights organizations that frequently picked on Singapore for not being a liberal democracy.

Mr. Lee charged such criticisms as “a conspiracy to do [Singapore] in” because Singapore was viewed a threat by those critics.

Explaining why these groups regarded Singapore as a threat, he said it was because they saw that the Russians and Chinese have been coming and studying Singapore’s success story and picking up pointers.

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Jul 16

(Letter) Chinese and American Culture

Written by: guest | Filed under:-guest-posts, culture | Tags:,
20 Comments » newest

Culture, Society and Business

The principles of business transactions are based on cultural values. To define culture we must first know where culture comes from. Culture comes from a mutual interaction between individuals, groups, subcultures and societies. Values, ideas and ideology are passed down from one generation to the next. Gradually over time they adapt to change and outside influences.

A more sociological technical definition of culture is as follows: “the total, generally organized way of life, including values, norms, institutions, and artifacts, that is passed on from generation to generation by learning alone”. Thus culture includes tangible and non-tangible things where are passed down through the years.

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Jul 16

minipost-(Letter) The people´s republic of capitalism

Written by: guest | Filed under:-guest-posts, -mini-posts, media | Tags:,
6 Comments » newest

This is an excerpt from Inside-Out China blog. Which again is an excerpt from Ted Kopple’s 4-hour documentary, “The People’s Republic of Capitalism.”
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Jul 16

Guiyang party secretary selection has a democratic flavor

Written by: Buxi | Filed under:News | Tags:, ,
19 Comments » newest

Southwestern Guizhou province is again in the news, but this time for a good reason. Roland at ESWN translates a Xinhua article on China’s on-going experimentation with political reform as seen in the city of Guiyang. Guiyang is trying to appoint party secretaries to four districts and counties, and chose to do so in a more transparent, democratic way.

What exactly is the experiment? It’s not Western democracy, but it’s also not business as usual. A CCTV report (video below) explains the process:

  • 82 candidates were publicly nominated for the four positions; 81 of them passed the initial screening process.
  • a conference made up of “responsible figures” in the Guiyang city government, and Party representatives from different industries select five candidates for each position, 20 candidates in all.
  • these 20 candidates appeared at a public conference, widely broadcast via TV and internet, and were graded for their performance. The candidates gave speeches, debated, and answered questions posed by the public.
  • the 8 candidates (two per district) with the highest grades were selected to go on. The grading is broken down this way: “democratic nomination” (20%), “research report” (20%), “public speech and debate” (20%), “public opinion” (30%), “estimate of leadership capability” (10%).
  • the final selection between these two candidates per district is made by the local People’s Congress.

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Jul 16

minipost-(Letter) Cultural differences: Let’s be brutally honest…

Written by: guest | Filed under:-guest-posts, -mini-posts, culture | Tags:, , ,
59 Comments » newest

Let’s be brutally honest… it’ll be both funny and enlightening!

The reality of culture stress applies to any kind of foreigner anywhere, though obviously different people have different experiences. I have no doubt that Mainlanders in North America are just as easily annoyed by Western culture as Westerns living in China sometimes are by Chinese culture. I assume they could easily whip up a list based on their own experiences of how culturally annoying different things are, and provide lots of personal examples. In fact, that’s what I’m hoping some of our Chinese readers will do.

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Jul 16

“You are quite Americanized.”

Written by: bianxiangbianqiao | Filed under:culture | Tags:
 68 Comments » newest

I am thinking about writing a piece on “searching for a Chinese identity”, not just at the individual level, but also at a collective cultural level. The heart of the controversies surrounding the Beijing Olympics is the building of a collective Chinese identity, who we are, what we stand for, how we present ourselves to the outside. There are a lot of confusions in this aspect.

Here is a case of individual experience with cultural identity for Chinese living in the West. After years living and working in the environment, you acquire the language, behavior structures and subtle mannerism of the people you work with, simply out of necessity. In my line of work, you can’t survive a week if the students do not understand what you are talking about; they tear you apart limb by limb. Many Chinese individuals in America have encountered this type of situation. Your acquaintance looks at you and gives you a compliment: “you are quite Americanized.” My reaction depends on the way he or she puts it. Most of my acquaintances deliver this compliment out of innocence. I just have a vacant feeling of irrelevance and let it pass. Once in a while someone gives me this compliment in a patronizing and condescending manner, awarding me an alien identity that is supposed to be better than my original. Then I am quite pissy about it. As a Chinese, how would you react if an American tells you that you are “quite Americanized”?

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Jul 16

Mark of a gentleman – the calligraphy of Chinese leaders

Written by: Buxi | Filed under:culture | Tags:, ,
34 Comments » newest

Although some aspects of Chinese culture has been severely neglected and abused over the 20th century, other aspects remain eternal in Chinese society. One enduring trait is appreciation for traditional calligraphy.

While no Chinese political leader can point to penmanship as being the source of power, it’s no exaggeration to say cultivated writing attracts attention and admiration, while poor writing form invites suspicion and scorn. Here is a collection of calligraphy from notable Chinese leaders of the 20th (and now 21st) century, in chronological order:

Sun Zhongshan, founder of the Chinese republic (here with his earlier name, Sun Wen). “Everything for the public.”

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Jul 16

Fool’s mountain now accepts open submission

Written by: admin | Filed under:Letters | Tags:, ,
28 Comments » newest

As I have stated before, one of the objective of our blog is to build bridges between China and the West, to facilitate communication and understandings between Chinese and non-Chinese. Obviously, a bridge is not fully functional if all lanes on it are one-way. That’s why I think an interactive blog is such a wonderful tool. It offers a platform for us to speak out, but it also provides a channel for us to listen.

It is often said that we have one mouth and two ears for a reason, which is we should listen twice as much as we talk. It is great that our first ear is working well (we have got over 4,000 comments so far), but we want more feedback from our readers. Moreover, sometimes readers may have topics they want to discuss but we have not covered. So, in order to become better listeners and to let readers speak out more, we just added our second ear to this blog-Open submission for everyone.

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Jul 15

minipost-Chalk it up to the list of toxic exports from the U.S.

Written by: DJ | Filed under:-mini-posts | Tags:, ,
31 Comments » newest

Rebecca MacKinnon concluded her blog entry on Chinese media control following the Weng’An riot with the following line:
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Jul 15

The Chinese Olympic Journey

Written by: bianxiangbianqiao | Filed under:Analysis | Tags:
 45 Comments » newest

“We went out to swim in the big pond, but ended up finding ourselves. The ocean did not drawn us, just made us wiser and better”. This was a bit of sentimentality I shared with an undergraduate classmate who also came to the United States for graduate school and spent years trying to “make it” out here. The same sentiment parallels the Chinese experience with the Olympics in particular and their transactions with the world in general, since Deng Xiaoping opened the window on the world (allowing the flies to come in, along with some good stuff).

Two recent Western comments on the Chinese preparation for the Beijing Olympics caught my eye. 1. According to James Fallows, the Chinese authorities’ tightening of control over the situation was defeating their own purpose of impressing their audience – the West, especially its media. 2. Meanwhile, Richard Spencer at the Daily Times started to wonder aloud over his fish pond in his Hutong residence who the games’ intended audience really was. Could it be that the Olympics were designed as a reward for the hardworking Chinese, instead of a “coming out party” to entertain foreigners? My first reaction was Spencer had a more astute grasp on the Chinese psyche. Then I realized both comments could be right, but apply to different stages of the Chinese experience with the Olympics.
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Jul 15

A freak of nature – the savior stone

Written by: Buxi | Filed under:culture | Tags:, , ,
15 Comments » newest

I don’t really know what to say about this. So, I’ll just jump right to the pictures:

In 2002, this rock formation was found in Pintang county, in Guizhou province. This rock face is apparently one half of a larger boulder that split about 500 years ago. The local government began to insist that the formation, itself approximately 270 million years old, reads “Chinese Communist Party” (中国共产党). If you believe local press reports, local villagers have started calling the stone the “Savior’s Stone” (救星石). Conveniently, it has become a tourist destination in Guizhou province. (See promotional video.)

Ironically, it’s not the Communist Party or the mainland press that focuses on the “savior stone” these days. Even though Guizhou, also the site of the recent Weng’an riots, is one of the poorest, most backward regions in China… I think the mainland public is way too sophisticated for this kind of nonsense.

Instead, it’s the Falun Gong that finds the topic most interesting. Why? Because with completely seriousness, it insists the rock formation actually has another character to the right: “dies” (亡). See FLG-produced video for the full, comical story.

Jul 14

The art of PR: lying without technical falsehood

Written by: DJ | Filed under:Analysis, News | Tags:, , ,
40 Comments » newest

Reacting to reactions to a campaign that went too far, Amnesty International put the following disclaimer on its home page:

Amnesty International would like to make clear that it was not involved in the dissemination of a series of images that have been circulating on the web in relation to the Beijing Olympics. Amnesty International’s global website address is www.amnesty.org

The statement is not untrue per se. But some details were conveniently left out:

  • Amnesty International commissioned TBWA\Paris to produce those photos
  • It further granted permission to TBWA\Paris to run the ads once and enter them in the Cannes
  • The visuals were not final versions, and Amnesty International knew the wrong web address was a minor error
Jul 14

Try to view Amnesty International calmly (translated)

Written by: Buxi | Filed under:culture, News | Tags:, , , , ,
198 Comments » newest

An advertising campaign commissioned by the human rights group Amnesty International has raised flames of anger throughout China. For previous discussions, see ESWN and Danwei.

Wall Street Journal has more details on the backlash, reporting:

Weeks before the Olympics put Beijing and the Games’ corporate backers on the world stage, an advertising heavyweight has stumbled over the divide between how some view China and how the nation views itself…. Word of the human-rights campaign is now spreading through China, and TBWA and Amnesty International are disavowing the ads.

Chinese bloggers, spurred by a report in state-run media of the Amnesty campaign last week, are now calling for a boycott of all TBWA ads, among other measures.

And many in China are indeed very angry. But there are other voices as well; below is a translated internet post from Xinmin Net: (原文):

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Jul 13

In Taiwan, DPP politicians get more familiar with the mainland

Written by: Buxi | Filed under:culture, News | Tags:, ,
25 Comments » newest

Tourists from mainland China aren’t the only ones taking advantage of direct cross-strait flights.  Taiwanese politicians from the DPP, known for its traditional insistence on Taiwanese independence, are also beginning to take trips to the mainland.  Yunlin county commissioner Su Zhifen, a member of the DPP, is leading a trade commission to Beijing. 

This article from the Southern Metropolis Daily (连接) gives us more.  Partial translation is below:

“I’m going to the mainland in my role as a county commissioner.  So, my perspective is anything that benefits the interests of the people in my county, then I will do it.  If I complicate my thoughts on this issue too much, then many things won’t get done.” 

Ma Yingjiu’s defeat of Xie Changting’s was critical in allowing the Mainland Affairs Commission to change policies towards the mainland.  On July 3rd, the law was revised relaxing restrictions on Taiwanese county commissioners and mayors visiting the mainland.  Su Zhifen will be the first DPP member to take advantage.  (Ed: KMT mayor of Taizhong, Jason Hu, has also been to Xiamen following this change in law.)

Today (July 12th), Yunlin county commissioner Su Zhifen will lead a delegation aboard a cross-strait weekend charter flight, headed to Beijing.  They are going to “find a route for Yunlin county’s farmers”, pushing quality agricultural products.  Su Zhifen will be the first DPP county or city head to visit the mainland since 2000.  Although this trip is based on economic needs, everyone has noticed the change in political path implied by the trip.

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Jul 13

minipost-Can smog be used as a smokescreen?

Written by: DJ | Filed under:-mini-posts | Tags:, , ,
41 Comments » newest

Claire Fox is rather perceptive in her blog entry “Beijing Olympics: China’s green critics should get a grip“: Continue reading »

Jul 12

Speaking about the Three Self Patriotic Chinese Christian

Written by: snow | Filed under:Analysis, culture, q&a, religion | Tags:, ,
16 Comments » newest

In response to Marc (who wrote in #189 “What Does It Mean to Chinese”)

“However, the reason that I brought up house church vs. Three-Self church initially has a lot to do with nationalism. You see, Three-Self church was started by some nationalistic Chinese Christians in the early 1900’s (way before communist took over power in China). Hence they called themselves Three-Self (meaning self-governing, self teaching, self supporting). They hated Western Christians in China then. They teamed up with communist government later in the 1950’s to start persecuting other Chinese Christians who didn’t see things their way. That’s when house church Christians started to emerge. Anyway, the whole conflict started out with nationalism.”

I am glad that you put Christianity in China in historical perspectives, but your interpretion of important, complicated historical events is a bit oversimplified and biased. Still, you are right, the Three-Self Patriotic Movement was initiated by patriotic Chinese Christians and endorsed by the government, not “created” by the government as the PBS article claims to be (http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/stories/china_705/history/china.html, a companion piece to Frontline/World Jesus in China).

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Jul 12

愚公移山-为中华而博成了多语博客了！

Written by: admin | Filed under:-chinese-posts | Tags:,
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[原贴 Original Post]

嗯，不完全是。我知道有 “翻译服务器错误” (Translator Server Error) 的危险，但是机器翻译实在是个方便的解决语言障碍的工具。现在我们支持12种机器翻译的语言。当然了，我们期望有一天这里将成为真正的多语博客。我们真诚的邀请各位熟悉多种语言的朋友们加入我们，帮我们实现这个梦想！

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