Now the IMF/World Bank roadshow has moved on, Singapore's continued attempts to clamp down on foreign media not to its liking reach a new low. While the domestic media appropriately cowed and under control, the paranoid Singaporean government has required all foreign publications distributed there to appoint a legal representative and pay a bond of about US$125,000. The FEER is, to date, the only publication to refuse to go along with this, putting principle above profit. The editor, Hugo Restall, says on the FEER blog:
The Singaporean government today announced that it has banned the Far Eastern Economic Review from the country. It has explicitly warned that not only is the Review Publishing Company forbidden from importing or distributing the Hong Kong-based monthly, but Singaporeans will also commit a criminal offense if they import or reproduce the magazine for distribution...We regret that this action infringes on the fundamental rights of our Singaporean subscribers and further restricts the already narrow scope of free expression in Singapore.
Mr Restall is also being sued by Prime Minister Lee Hsein Loong and Lee Kuan Yew. This makes a marked contrast to some other august publications that quickly caved when threatened by the Singapore government. The Chinese are learning a thing or two on media control from them Singapore.
Clearly for many media types, all the blather about principles and integrity stops at the bottom line. Good on the FEER.
Debate: Is this Asian values, or rich assholes who fear the ''under'' class and popular dissent?
Posted by bean counter at September 29, 2006 02:26 PM
"The Chinese are learning a thing or two on media control from them Singapore."
The chinese are learning from the CHINESE on media control in Singapore. Just a case of the diasporic imperiums of the chinese herd sharing p2p info.
Why do you think they harp on bringing back chinese culture in singapore at the expense of multi-racial harmony? It's a culture that creates subservience and which, in turn, makes 'control' a thing of the past as the human and humane mind is relieved of those aspects that can feel the pressure of 'control'.
I think what wonderer is referring to (correct me if I'm wrong) is the deep-rooted subservient character of ordinary folks embedded in the Chinese culture, as a result of thousands of years of imperial rule and feudalism in an agricultural society, which basically consists of two classes: the rulers and the subjects. As long as the subjects regard themselves as such, which they do, even in today's Chinese societies, there's little need to "control" them. It is this cultural characteristic that makes it so difficult for the notion of democracy to penetrate Chinese societies (including Hong Kong).
However, please also remember that Singapore is a *rich* third-world country/city-state ruled by a lunatic ar*ehole and his offspring.
If you research enough, you will find a genetic link between Lee Kwan Yew (the Singapore chimpanzee) and Kim Jong-il (the North Korean monkey).
Even Mainland China citizens (the real Chinese) protest against the dubious policies of their communist rulers. But Singapore Chinese are impotent hybrids who dare not say anything against or to their dictator(s).
BTW, after having said all of the above, the fact is that Singapore Airlines' girls are pretty and sexy. They should bonk around to enrich their failing genetic pool.
Indeed, the tide appears to be turning at long last, thanks to the internet and globalization. The question is: when will the tipping point be reached - when will true democracy find its footing within Asian countries with ethnic Chinese societies? Do Chinese people really want democracy, or they just want benevolent rulers (wishful thinking)?
i very much doubt what happens in China has anything to do with globalisation and the internet, except in the sense in which global capitalism has created greater inequality. These assertions about Chinese cultural deference really don't get borne out by Chinese history.
I often ponder over the reasons why Sun Yat Sen was not able to convince the Chinese to believe in democracy, and why the Chinese people chose to adore Mao and regard him as an emperor. Doesn't that have anything to do with inborn submissiveness, based on historic cultural values? Chip Tao blamed it on the Chinese DNA. I would regard it as a result of historic and circumstantial factors. History definitely has played a part in forming the people's attitudes towards politics and cultural values.
I'm always a little confused at where this notion of submissiveness in the Chinese body politic came from. China has probably had more rebellions, civil wars, and insurrections than any other nation around.
I think it's something that westerners conjure up to explain why they dont' see huge insurrections and fights to the death over democracy.
Posted by bean counter at October 4, 2006 09:26 AM
The submissiveness in Chinese culture comes from the Confucian concept of filial piety. It comes from the entire society being told to respect the elders and leaders. The entire Chinese education system from 300 BC onward was setup to drill respect elders and parents, hardwork, be humble, respect elders and parents, work hard, be humble, respect elders and parents.
Additionally Taoism and Buddhism both contain rather strong strains of fatalism. Reincarnation means you get what you deserve based upon a prior life. So if you deserve it you cannot complain.
I would not put Lee Quan Yu in the same class as Kim Jong Ill. I would certainly live in Singapore rather than North KOrea if I had the choice. Indeed, I don't see Singapore as being any more repressive than the UK.
Re: Bull's comments "But Singapore Chinese are impotent hybrids who dare not say anything against or to their dictator(s)."
Who are you to comment about Singapore Chinese if they choose to live within a system that you disagree with? By voting for the 'dictator(s)', it does not mean they are impotent. They have exercised their right for a system they want.
Trust me, it's not necessarily all fear-driven: that's only something the Western media and liberal critics would like to believe.
Speak only when you yourself have personally stood up to the failings of your own government, whichever it is.
Fai Mao, thank you for your elaboration on Chinese history and culture. Most Westerners think they understand the Chinese people but in fact they don't.
I would question that Fai Mao knows anyting about Chinese culture?
reincarnation means ''Fatalism?'' What a poor understanding of an Eastern philosophy. Sounds like a westerner repeating half of what he or she read during a sleepy all-nighter in the college library in Akron, Ohio. Not at all accurate. Reincarnation is the opposite of fatalism.
Posted by bean counter at October 6, 2006 10:38 AM
at the FEER party tonight, Hugo Restall quoted Lee Kuan Yew as saying that democracy can't survive without a free press.
''This was probably when he was still the opposition,'' said our fair noble editor.
now back to improving Hong Kong-US-Taiwan-Malaysian relations
This is off topic- sorry. I got this address from someone posting on forumosa.com- a taiwan site started by expats. I would like comment on the following: HK polls taken over several years (sorry I don't know how to link, but I'll try to get an address if you don't know which one I'm talking about) basically show that HKers seem satisfied with 'one country two systems', yet there are still well attended democracy protests in HK every year. How can I reconcile this?
errr...exactly what needs clarifying? The two are perfectly compatible.
Don't think its chineseness as much as it is a population starved of information. If there was ever clear evidence of a need for free speech and open exchange of environment, it's here in the comments section of this post about Andy Xie.
The Singapore Leaders could sue if they believe their reputation is tarnished.
Hey, its all the same throughout the world!
But Singapore Laws have little power in Hongkong. If Hongkong ignores Singapore, then relations could be worse? No? But its Hongkong's right.
So at best Singapore Government could just ban FEER in Singapore!
But if FEER puts a joke such as Chee (I am ashamed to say he is my fellow Singaporean)in even a little good light, FEER's reputation could be seriously damaged.
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The Standard continues its rapid slide towards becoming the People's Daily for suits. Today "Zhong Ming" ("a nom de plume...a senior journalist in Beijing) explains why China's new media curbs are good for business but omits to say that it's good for Xinhua's business (CDT has details of the new restrictions). The Standard prints this propaganda piece on a light blue background to make sure it gets noticed in the midsts of PR puff pieces and corporate notices.
The piece itself is idiotic. Try the final two paragraphs:
It is generally accepted that China's new regulations on acquisitions and policy adjustment will create a better investment climate in the long term.
Though, superficially, scrutiny of acquisitions by foreign firms will be more intense with a view towards relatively tighter control, the new rules have clarified ambiguous concepts and will serve to ward off foreign investment frauds and stimulate acquisition deals.
"Generally accepted"? Anyone seen an opinion poll to back that up? The final paragraph sets a record for contradicting itself in the fewest words possible. Either the reviews are superficial or they are intense, but they can't be both. If it leads to tighter controls then by definition that has to restrict deals, not stimulate them.
Meanwhile the SCMP generates itself a front page story by ringing Milton Friedman, age 94, and asking him what he thinks of Donald Tsang's word games.:
Nobel Prize-winning economist Milton Friedman, who once lauded Hong Kong as the perfect model of a free-market economy, said he was disappointed - though not surprised - to see the city had moved away from a laissez-faire economic policy...Dr Friedman noted there had been strong pressure in Hong Kong to move away from positive non-interventionism since China's resumption of sovereignty.
"Ever since Hong Kong shifted from being a colony of Britain to being a subsidiary of China there has been strong pressure for Hong Kong to move away from laissez-faire," Dr Friedman said. "It is not surprising, but it is disappointing, to see Hong Kong move in that direction. The future of both [mainland] China and Hong Kong depends on whether Chinese policies move towards Hong Kong's or vice versa. I believe it is a move in the wrong direction. Hong Kong flourished with a policy of nearly complete laissez-faire and that it seems to me is the appropriate policy not only for Hong Kong, but for all countries."
Hong Kong's economy has been many things, but laissez-faire it wasn't and isn't. Donald Tsang didn't change that.
It must have been a slow news day in Hong Kong yesterday, but at least the SCMP got the respected Dr. Friedman as filler, rather than The Standard's disgrace.
Simon, it was and is laissez-faire, for the property cartel! For Milton Friedman and other American free-market fanatics, they are in Cloud 9 as far as Hong Kong's land system and property market structure is concerned and how this impacts the economy.
The SCMP reveals that more than one in four Hong Kongers blog...
Two million bloggers in Hong Kong will be able to use copyrighted creative content legally and free on their personal blog or webpage when an online content database is launched by the creative industry later this year.
That count includes George Adams. It pays to at least try and think about these things before putting finger to keyboard.
An old, poor, sick, and lonely man lives in Stanley area of Hong Kong.
It is nighttime. But his house is dark. He has switched off the lights. For he is afraid that the black limousine parked on the street across his house is full of triads, who are more than willing to beat the crap out of him.
Little does he know that black Mercedes Benz and rough looking Chinese men are omnipresent in Hong Kong. Poor Georgie! Should he suffer and keep awake throughout the night just cuz he is paranoid?
Oh God! If you exist and are out there somewhere, please do help dear Georgie.
Auf Wiedersehen!
PS: And since people claim I am Nude King, well, Ciao!
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Und, zer is nothing like missing your medicashion!
Things may be a bit light here for a while...I will be travelling to Melbourne this weekend to watch the mighty Sydney Swans defend their premiership from last year.
Justin Mitchell recounts the thoughts of Iran's new consul to Hong Kong. Who knew the Iranians can justify a consulate here? But even in our tiny corner of the geopolitical landscape, absurdities abound:
When asked why a country with so much oil and gas feels a pressing need for a nuclear program (which President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has claimed is strictly for peaceful purposes and about which Iran is in conflict with the United Nations) Nekounam said nuclear power is preferable to fossil fuels because it "is cost effective ... it makes the most of resources at a minimum cost."
You'll be interested to know that petrol in Iran costs 9 American cents per litre, which makes a marked contrast to Hong Kong's US$1.70 a litre. Remarkably, the Iranians still import oil because they don't have refining capacity and because of the massively subsidised petrol price.
Instead of spending billions on nuclear energy and causing angst for their "peaceful" program, it turns out Iran could save itself a fortune by taking a couple of lessons in high school economics. Perhaps the consul could send a cable back to Tehran?
Hm, from the tone of this post you are quite condescending, especially in light of clearly not conceptualising sharia economics. Just because your paradigm is not willing to accept a different method of development from what you are accustomed to, does not mean that Iran is not developing... and it really doesnt matter to Iranians what you think of their development just the same as it really doesnt matter to you what interpretation someone makes of you from your blog. So why do you get have an opinion on there being an Iranian consulate in Hong Kong? Surely an Australian in finance would be open to more oppertunities for capital than pigeonholing potential clients?
Posted by Frederich at September 25, 2006 03:27 PM
I'm not a fan of Iran and think their nuclear desires are very suspicious. That said, it's worth pointing out that oil is generally used for cars and other vehicles, while nuclear energy is used for electricity. Just because they have oil doesn't mean they have coal, or even big multi-gorge rivers they can dam. ;)
Posted by Derek SCruggs at September 26, 2006 12:55 AM
I would be interested to see a clear conceptualization of sharia economics. Please edify, post haste.
Turns out James Tien's visit to Beijing, with it's typical quota of sycophants and whinging, didn't go so well, according to the SCMP:
Top Beijing officials have told the Liberal Party to forget about joining a governing coalition, because that would violate the principles of the Basic Law, party sources said.
The officials also apparently gave the party a slap on the wrist for its recent testy relationship with the chief executive, and called on the Liberals to be a "model for fostering harmony" and to get behind Donald Tsang Yam-kuen, the sources said.
Tsang forced the review of the GST to force Henry Tang from ever trying to challenge him in the run for chief executive. James Tien was forced to go to China nad get a dressing down to avoid ever challening Tsang in the run for chief executive. Anson Chan got a phone call or two from Beijing to avoid ever challening Tsang in the run for Chief executive.
discuss...
Posted by pooty tang at September 23, 2006 11:31 PM
3. Teh-wei Hu has the most interesting article of the lot with a look at the economics of tobacco control in China. It looks at tobacco farming, cigarette manufacturing and the public health problems of tobacco and how this impacts China's tobacco tax policy and the need for China to establish an overall tobacco policy.
I think the Thai coup may have introduced an element of uncertainty at present in Sino-Thai relations, but I think it will be fleeting. The "custodial" coups in Thailand do not generally result in any major changes in policy. I think the situation is very likely going to be meet the new boss, same as the old boss.
P.S. Anyone notice that not only Thaksin, but also the head of the opposition party in Thailand is also ethnic Chinese? His name is still Chinese too, unlike Thaksin who's father I believed changed his surname to a Thai one.
He,he,he...I just finished watching the MAJ video on You Tube, his "Message to Richard of the Peking Duck". You can find it at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=70P2PwB-2JA
Posted by The Iliad at September 22, 2006 10:13 PM
Thanks for the link on the economics of tobacco control in China. My company never inspected a tobacco factory. Seems really interesting, though. I'll try a post on this.
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It's the biggest thing since Bus Uncle...yes, the SCMP.com site is due for an overhaul. It will only happen next year, but you get to hear about this exciting development NOW! Even better, all you have to do as a paid-up subscriber is login and update your personal profile. Amongst the compulsary questions are how much you earn and other gross invasions of privacy, but this is Hong Kong's press we're talking about. And what will it get you?
As a valued subscriber of scmp.com, you are among the earliest to be told of this good news. Early next year we will be unveiling a revamped scmp.com — with more powerful features and services, extended news content, greater flexibility and enhanced navigation.
It could hardly be worse than the existing site, where the idea of an "update" is to paste two or three stories, often from wire services on the page so long as it is between 10am and 4pm on a weekday. Not to mention the inability to link to stories on the website, the crowded layout, difficult navigation and incredibly annoying flashing advertisements.
Meanwhile the competition at The Standard continues to slip at an worrying pace. The paper has reverted to mimicking the Chinese press, plastering drab financial news articles, again typically pasted from news wires, on to the front pages and burying the good Metro section (you know, what actually happens in the city) 15 pages back. They at least had the good sense to put the sport on the back, but does anyone really care so much about American baseball and football so that it dominates that section? Finally the sub-editors need to work on their spell checkers...."Mitsubishi" department store isn't closing down, but Mitsukoshi is (in the first paragraph).
It's a shame because until Mark Clifford left The Standard was starting to rival the SCMP. Now Clifford's at the SCMP and both of them are seemingly slipping backwards.
...Doug's absolutely right about no one working there.
I did find the plug for the Metro section a bit heartening but unfortunately that staff is dwindling as well with no replacements in sight. And the two Metro editors increasingly base what passes for their "news judgement" on govt and corporate press releases coupled with Sing Tao rewrites.
And dammit, I care about baseball and NFL football. Denver Broncos Rule! The editor, Roger runs a fine sports operation, though his sub staff has been reduced of late, as have his pages.
All in all a dark, bleak vista there, though.
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In newspapers the old adage says that "Dog bites man" isn't news but "Man bites dog" is. Apparently "Man bites panda" always qualifies. And lest you still think it a good idea to have a cuddle, remember:
A lawyer contacted by the reporter said that the Beijing Zoo bears no liability for the accident because a warning sign in front of the panda's playground informed tourists of the potential danger and Zhang is responsible for his own medical bills.
it was said the panda was under shock and didn't eat for a while. however, the panda was not hurt, so either the guy was exaggerating about his biting back or his teeth was quite weak.
here is the picture for you to assess the wound of the moron.
Thailand has its traditional coup d'etat but some hardy souls are bravely dealing with the dangerous situation:
The coup went largely unnoticed in Thailand's popular tourist districts, where foreigners packed beer bars and cabarets oblivious to the activity about three kilometers away.
But word raced among street vendors hawking T-shirts, who packed up their carts and started heading home.
Be strong, you visitors of Patpong. They shall not overcome.
Ha, Simon,you beat me to it! I was going to create a post called "Calling for Thai takeout" about the corrupt telecoms tycoon that whose interest in mobile capital (that is, selling Shin to the Singaporeans) brought on this coup d'etat.
While it is always regrettable that constitutional checks and balances are overrun, the corruption that prevented the legitimate impeachment proocess to take place was hardly the high road...
I think this is an adjustment rather than a coup. I am suspicious as they say that tanks were lined up outside the government palace and everyone knows there is no way a tank could get through Bangkok traffic
Thaksin won several fair elections in a row, and has been predicted by many to continue that trend. Just because you don't like someone winning elections doesn't mean that you should remove them by force.
After all, Bill Clinton was unfaithful, yet the public judged him worthy.
Who are people to complain that he is corrupt is a MAJORITY of people still vote him in?
So what happens next time Thaksin supporters don't like the government? After all, there are still the majority in the countryside. Launch they own coup? What would people be saying to that? That it is undemocratic?
I'm with BX on this. It's the same problem people face with Hamas - if a democracy elects someone, that's who you've got to deal with until the next election. Sure the current guy had his problems, but he followed due process whereas his opponents subverted it (boycotts, pressure on courts etc.) to the point that it made a coup possible. Dave is also right but Thaskin in genuinely popular and has the majority. Just because Bangkok doesn't like doesn't make it right to oust him by coup.
But the problem is quite dissimilar to Hamas. The Thai people elected Thakskin years ago. His involvement in securing the sale of the Thai national phone carrier to S'poreans through his families own stake in the company brought about huge dissaproval from the Thai population. This dissaproval sent him into creating the snap election (tv) show, in which the opposition refused to take part. After this, because there was nobody in control of the country briefly he was asked to come back and take charge of the interim government that eventually many people feared was never going to let go of power. Thakskin also dismissed the General that is presently waging the coup for the ridiculous reason of trying to disrupt due political process by asking (haha) that the election be sped up so cohesiveness would return to Thai politics. There are many more incidents of Thakskin corruption which would make this post too long for the financial readers of your world, suffice my friend in Bangkok who is just a student at Thaamasat U, (an arts student no less) is much more in favor of the General than he is of Thakskin and he tells me that this is a common feeling.
"I'm with BX on this. It's the same problem people face with Hamas - if a democracy elects someone, that's who you've got to deal with until the next election. "
This logic may apply to Palestinians. But I am at loss why other governments are supposed to be obliged to deal with them and send them truckloads of money, just because they have been elected. I deal with whom I want to deal with. There is no obligation on my part to deal with those I don't want to deal with. I am not arguing that they should be removed by force, unless they attack others.
It is a ridiculous situation when Israel is pressured into talking to Hamas which doesn't recognised its existence, and scrapped all the previous agreements. It is also interesting that Hamas apparently want to talk to someone who, in their view, does not exist.
There's been much ado about nothing in the past week in Hong Kong over Donald Tsang's suggestion that "positive non-interventionism" is no longer the guiding force for the government's economic policy. While refreshing to hear the government has an economic policy, the term "positive non-interventionism" is one of those terms only a civil servant could have invented and one only the chattering classes could get worked up about. Today the Don has issued his response to the confusion via his usual outlets: the Hong Kong newspapers. Our fair city's equivalents of Pravda and People's Daily dutifully reprint the Don explaining the policy is now the far less obtuse "big market, small government". This from the government that rigs the property market, makes a habit of white elephants (Cyberport, Disneyland, West Kowloon....hey, what ever happened to West Kowloon anyway?) and protects cartels at the expense of the population. There's plenty of variations on the theme:
Different financial secretaries have used different labels for their economic principles.
When I was financial secretary, I emphasized "maximum support, minimum intervention and fiscal prudence." Antony Leung Kam-chung saw the government's role as "a proactive market enabler." Our current Financial Secretary Henry Tang Ying-yen upholds the principle of "market leads, government facilitates."
A special prize to anyone who can spot the difference.
But admist all the fuss, I have a couple of questions. Op-ed pieces get paid between HK$1-2 per word. Does the Don get a cheque from the newspapers every time he allows them to publish his 885 words of wisdom? If so, where does that money go? Or is this what "big market, small government" really means?
Try to read this without laughing, for this is what passes for a leading political party in Hong Kong these days. The SCMP reports:
Despite being the head of a political party that counts many of Hong Kong's rich business leaders among its members, Mr (James) Tien said he felt ashamed after touring the [Communist Party's Central] School.
Mr Tien said he realised that the Liberals could never match the mainland's ruling party in either resources or ideology to create a machine capable of turning party members into loyal and disciplined cadres.
He must have been joking...I hope. My advice is to be very careful what "corporate training" you attend.
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James Tien's Liberal Party have gone to Beijing to complain that Uncle Donald isn't being nice to them, says the SCMP:
The Liberal Party told Beijing yesterday it wanted to play a bigger role in Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen's government but denied allegations it was attempting to seize power...Party chairman James Tien Pei-chun said: "We have expressed that although our relations with the government are improving continuously, there is room for further advancement if we are consulted before government policies are made.
"This is not a demand to share power - we only want to help the chief executive to implement his strong governance by forming a ruling coalition. We didn't want to seize power or even share power with the government."
"Sieze power" is a rather alarmist way of putting it. As a reminder, James Tien quit as an Exco member of Tung Che-wa's administration back in July 2003 after the Article 23 protests and now he's trying to find a way back in. But...
The government has long complained that the support of the Liberals in the legislature cannot be guaranteed despite the party's claims to support the administration. But the pro-business party has said its voters' interests cannot be adequately represented under the existing system.
So Tien can't get into bed with Don on his own terms, so he has to go to Beijing to ask them to force Don. And Beijing will politely listen and ignore him.
What a fun thing it is to be a Hong Kong politician.
in a village in clearwater bay, someone has drawn a Hitler moustache on James Tien's face. That's the new poster. The previous poster had the same symbology, and that was torn down.
It's strange that given all of Tien's whingeing, he's the only party that got what they wanted in the Tamar deal.
The DAB (and their increasingly restive FTU friends) got stiffed on Tamar. They've gotten stiffed on the minimum wage/maximum hours as well, much to the delight of Tien's friends.
The whingeing sounds more like verbal political maneuvering to appear to have distance and not just be a bunch of toadies, while not having to take any substantive action that would run counter to being a toadie.
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yes, i felt the earth move. i was in a ninth floor cafeteria when the brief shaking occurred. being from new york city, my first instinct was, "That was a subway train." but there is no MTR line underneath the building. it was a very light tremor, but it was noticeable.
Didn't feel anything (Im in London for the moment) -)
But no news from the shenzen office.
Posted by the chief at September 15, 2006 12:21 AM
i felt it in my HKU classroom on the fifth floor. it felt like a wave went through the building and lasted no more than 2 seconds. we didn't know what it was! i didn't even know HK had earthquakes! did i move to california!??!
I felt it. I was sitting on the steps leading to my bedroom, tying my shoe, and I felt the same thing that eswn felt. I thought, ''Oh, shit. I Just moved in here, and I don't want to have to feel the MTR trains moving all the time.''
But about three seconds later, I thought: ''wait, that's more like a wave. that's an earthquake.''
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In today's Standard, Professor Michael DeGolyer is inspired by Al Gore's visit to the Big Lychee into a flight of fantasy:
George W Bush described his war as the decisive ideological struggle of the 21st century, the calling of our generation. Prospects for peace during the remaining 94 years of this century appear bleak.
That's an incredibly bold assertion. Prospects for a peaceful century were looking pretty high in 1900, and look what happened in that century. Who's to say a century that begins in way need end that way too?
I can't help wondering how different things might be if the Supreme Court had decided since more voters nationally preferred Gore over Bush, the essentially tied, hopelessly confused vote in Florida would be set aside for the clearly expressed will of the majority of Americans. But democracy in the sense of the will of the majority was trumped by something a majority of five justices considered more important than the votes of the majority of voters...If Americans could have directly elected their president by majority vote of all citizens in 2000, things would be different today.
But we may see such a democratic direct election of our chief executive before they will.
America has one of the longest running and most robust democracies in the world. The very same system that the Professor implies "robbed" Al Gore of victory is the same one that's been in place for more than 200 years. The rules are well established and strike a balance between majority rule and preserving states rights. They prevent the smaller states being completely railroaded by a few big, populous states. It may not be perfect, but no system is. It is works and everyone accepts it. The Supreme Court is the final arbiter and it decided in George W's favour after Gore and Bush both hired the best lawyers in the land to argue the toss. While what happened in Florida was a debacle, the aftermath was in fact beautiful to watch - the system working. By way of comparison, take a look at Mexico at the moment. Furthermore, if majority of votes decided elections in the US, then Bill Clinton wouldn't have won the first time round thanks to Ross Perot. Can't have it both ways, Professor.
But wait, there's more:
How might a Gore administration have reacted to September 11? Repeatedly, Bush has spurned principles and policies previous presidents followed only again and again to be forced back to adopting them. Bush denounced the United Nations and spurned the very notion of nation- building. The principle of mutual security, invented by President Woodrow Wilson after one world war and embodied in the UN by President Franklin Roosevelt after a second, was the mainstay of American foreign policy until Bush declared a unilateral right to declare pre-emptive war.
Nation-building - helping poor developing countries to strengthen their governmental and economic institutions and infrastructures and which is one of the UN's key functions - Bush ridiculed as not his thing. He ended up pleading for UN help when his Iraq war ground down US armed forces. He has spent more by far on nation-building than any previous president.
Gore would not have spurned the Kyoto Accords. Only recently has the Bush administration even acknowledged global warming as fact. They still dispute humans are causing it.
Journalist James Fallows of The Atlantic magazine argues that the real strategic threat from al-Qaeda is its ability to provoke us toward actions that hurt us in the long run, such as Iraq.
Gore, who witnessed the Vietnam War as a journalist and knew the lessons of a century of American foreign policy, would never have plunged the world into an open-ended war. He would never have unilaterally invaded Iraq.
Bush's prosecution of the war in Iraq has been a mess and incomptent. But how can the Professor speculate what a President Gore would have done in similar circumstances? Has he got a crystal ball (and if so can I borrow it for tonight's Mark 6 draw)? How is Iraqn an open-ended war? All the talk, especially from the left, is about withdrawal from Iraq. Even Bush has a timetable to get out. That doesn't sound very open-ended. As for "unilateral invasion", the good Professor should really do some research: "The United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, South Korea, Italy and Poland supplied the vast majority of the invading forces, in co-operation with Kurdish forces. Many others supplied smaller troop contributions. Other nations also participated in part of a coalition force to help with the operation by providing equipment, services and security as well as Special Forces." Not very unilateral at all, then.
Simon, I quite agree it is hard to say what a President Gore might have done. But I do enjoy thinking about how, contrary to popular belief, America and the World might have not declared an endless war on terror in the wake of 9/11 and also invaded what has since proven to be an unrelated country for that reason.
It is important to remember that the War on Terror as prosecuted by Bush was not an inevitable consequence of 9/11, if only because we need to find a way to undo the damage done to so many relationships between civilizations since that time (not all of which are due to Bush, of course). We can't turn back the clock, but I think it's always good to remember there are many ways to approach seemingly intractable problems.
I'm trying to get through this comment without my usual vitriol for GWB...so we can save details for another time!:)
I doubt Gore would have attacked Afghanistan, much less Iraq. Perhaps he would have sighed heavily at them. Bush did not steal the election in 2000, unless the Supreme Court can steal an election. Wars on abstract nouns never work. Invading Iraq made no sense. Bush will edge out Harding as the worst president in US history.
"If Americans could have directly elected their president by majority vote of all citizens in 2000, things would be different today."
You made some great points on why we have the electoral college, but it's also important to note that, under the rule of law, it would not acceptable for the Supreme Court to change the rules AFTER the race had been run. Both candidates planned their strategies given the current laws. It's one thing to say that we should go through the established process to change the Constitution to eliminate the Electoral College, and it's quite another to say that the Supreme Court should wait until the election is over and then decide whether or not to change the rules in order to 'improve' on the choices of the voters.
And this part is sheer nonsense:
"Gore would not have spurned the Kyoto Accords."
What exactly would Gore have done? Under Clinton, the Senate voted 96 to 0 against ratifying the Kyoto treaty. Clinton negotiated a deal that he knew had no chance of being approved in the US, and he never even really tried to get it through. It was pure show, to make it look like he cared. "I feel your warmth."
Think about that vote: 96 to nothing, under Clinton! If Slick Willie couldn't get it through, how could Gore? If Clinton had genuinely wanted to get somewhere on the issue, he would have negotiated a treaty that could be approved, and then he would have fought for it. He didn't, and if Gore had been President, he would have been stuck with Clinton's window-dressing.
Letter writer John Dainton should have kept his comments about HSBC executive Mimi Monica Wong to himself ("Ballroom follies appal", September 9). I'm not a fan of any kind of dancing, but how one chooses to spend one's wealth is strictly a matter of personal choice. Questioning Ms Wong's professional capability highlights an intolerance and bias that is becoming increasingly pervasive in our society. It's her life and her money, after all.
Besides, I doubt Ms Wong asked for media coverage. If Mr Dainton wants to blame anyone for this bad reality TV show, as he puts it, he should blame himself as much as the media. He's under no obligation to watch it.
Which is 100% true. But there's a broader truth here which no-one seems to have hit upon. Ms. Wong is perfectly entitled to spend HK$120 million on ballroom dancing lessons - as Mr. Wong points out, it's her money. But in an era where the richest in the world are falling over themselves to give it away to charity it becomes a matter of proportionality. Rich people have all sorts of follies and fancies in which they openly and not-so-openly indulge. But Ms. Wong's spending is simply disproportionate to the activity at stake. Again, as a supporter of free markets, I'm not saying there should be any interfering in her decision. But what I do question is the moral compass of a society that sees someone spending that money on dancing lessons, when the same amount given to charity could do far more good that getting the applause of 50 geriatrics at a Causeway Bay restaurant. In such an age, who's lost perspective - me or Ms. Wong?
What's the comparison of Mimi's indulgence? She didn't spend as much as wine connoisseurs or John Travolta on his jet and she won contests. How much did Lance Bass spend for spaceship lessons that he never used? Do you know how much money gets spent on jewels in this world?
I take it Mimi bought the best. Have you seen her legs? I don't bother to think about how much she spent because I would have to think from a perspective of her degree of wealth and I can't be bothered. If you think about the percentage of income that gets donated to charity, maybe most super richies don't measure up to more modest earners although there are HK moguls who have left everything to charity. I bet she's getting heat for being a single Chinese 61 year old who is very rich and for what she spent her money on.
Simon, I would like to take this opportunity to comment on this post.
When talking about a moral compass, one has to ask what is the ultimate standard of value, attributed to that compass. Is it serving other people, or holding one's own life as the ultimate standard of value?
Dancing is of great value to Mimi Wong. It makes her life happier. The alternative is to ask Miss Wong to give up some of that happiness for the sake of people she has never met.
Free markets ultimately derive from a morality, that says each person is a sovereign individual, with their own life as the standard of value. Sacrifice as such, is inconsistent with free markets, and leads to other, crueler systems, those that force sacrifice as a way of life.
I don't begrudge her money, nor do I begrudge her right to do what she likes with it. But I don't go all the way on the libertarian path - sure her dancing lessons make her happy. The same amount could also make many people substantially happier - for example with the Mimi Wong wing of a hospital. Is 8 years of ballroom dancing really worth that much? That's what my problem is - the value she placed on the lessons and the opportunity cost of what that money could achieve. And yes, there are many other examples of such conspicuous consumption.
With due respect to Hong Kong Capitalist, while I can't argue with Miss Wong's (or anyone else's) exercising her (his) basic freedom to do whatever she (he) whimsically pleases with her(his)own money, I would respectfully submit that a crucial flaw in capitalism is the over-emphasis of the word "self". There's nothing wrong with self-serving, but extreme self-indulgence as exemplified by conspicuous consumption with no compassion for the less fortunate (it usually follows) surely isn't something one should be proud of. If all wealthy and influential people could and would willingly follow the good examples of people like Warren Buffet, Bill Gates, Bill Clinton etc. in returning wealth or benefit to society, then, and only then, can capitalism claim to be serving societies well. The hard fact is: by far more capitalists only know how to take from society (and pass on to their next generation) and never think about giving back. Look at the U.S., where capitalism and free market are deemed sacrosanct, aren't they struggling with monopolies, oligopolies and wealth inequalities? On this issue, I would recommend people to read John Kenneth Galbraith's "The Affluent Society".
I think if you look at the common thread here among the last three entries, it reflects a common belief today; that the individual sacrifice (at least some of) his values to those of others - especially where others see it as conspicuous consumption.
However this is letting other people select a person's values - saying that person should sacrifice their values for others. One has to remember, that Miss Wong (or her family) chose what goals to pursue, she reached those goals, and got rewarded for reaching those goals. She then decided how to spend this money. Ayn Rand answers J Gailbraith quite well. Her book The Virtue of Selfishness is a good start. She explains why (rational) selfishness is good.
We can all say that she can spend her money however she likes, as long as she isn't in a (J S Mill sense) hurting anyone else. I guess Simon's point, which seems fair, is that she is hurting other people by not spending it on the needy when she clearly has loads lying around.
I don't think this is about the fact that she's a 61-year old single woman at all. If she was a 40 year old man instead we'd think it was weird too. Regardless of the fact that she can do whatever she likes with her money, it's that it is sooooo far off from what we would do with our dough if we had that much that makes it so wacky.
I think it is because very few of us can relate to spending that much on dancing (whereas we could perhaps better understand a trip into space, or something of that ilk, or even a really amazing lover) that makes it so strange and disturbing. Capitalism does not trump communal values, and if the vast majority of people can't relate to such conspicuous consumption, they will face opprobrium, like it or not. That's human nature.
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There's three observations I have to make about Korea:
1. Everyone and everything smells of garlic.
2. At lunch today I delicately brought up the topic of North Korea, especially given it is about 4 minutes missle time from downtown Seoul. My Korean counterpart told me that most South Koreans aren't worried about the North doing anything "stupid" because that "wouldn't make sense", "why would they ruin something so successful as here" and finally that "Koreans don't hurt Koreans". When I pointed out that plenty of Koreans (and Chinese) hurt plenty of Koreans (and Americans) and vice versa, that was batted away with "it's just not logical for the North to do anything to the South. They don't like America, not us." I asked if this implied that Kim Jong Il is rational and logical? My friend simply smiled and repeated that it wouldn't happen. I don't want to extrapolate one person's view to an entire country - I wonder if this is a popular viewpoint in Korea? And if so, what the hell are they smoking here?
3. Eagle FM, the US armed forces radio network, had a station break where I think I heard the announcer say "It doesn't matter if you're Navy, Air Force, Marine or Army, sometimes civilians have to realise we can blast the f#ck out of them." I'm really hoping I didn't hear that properly.
I am not surprised at, and do not think it is irrational about, the comments from your Korean friends. Call it nationalism, or pure kinship trust, I think your Korean friend are also mostly likely right.
You may not hear this from the American-in-Korea, as many of them would also fail to understand this, others might be so frustrated about the SK that they are going to deny this.
Insanity of KJI has nothing to do with this. As I could probably convince you, one cannot classify people into sane vs insane, i.e. there are many gray areas and many different types of insanity. KJI would be insane enough to test missile, test nukes, or even assasinate some SK. But he will not nuke SK or kill SK in large scale with missile, i.e., he might launch an attack like in 1950, but not something like Israel's non-strategy to Lebanon.
If you ask any Chinese, if they support armed action against Taiwan when the inevitable happens, maybe 60-80% will. But if you ask if they (oe CCP govt) will use nuke or missiles targeting civilian (a la Israel/Lebanon), I can assure you that 90%+ would say no.
I believe this is essentially what your Korean friend is saying. His choosing not to answer your KJI Insanity question also shows what he think about the over-simplification of the NK problem by the western media. He thought it is hard to explain but he didn't want to ruin a friendship with something "not so important".
I think a lot of details and subtleties went unmentioned in your brief conversation. e.g.
SK do not worry about the missile because, as was said, the missile did not make any difference for Seoul, which is within the range of short-range Katusha's.
As we know, the missiles are for
1) sales to iran/etc
2) bargaining chip when negotiate with US (at least that is what NK think)
3) retaliate in the case of Iraqification of NK (i.e. US invasion)
4) may retaliate on Japan in case of (3) (at least that is what Japan think)
Therefore, it is reasonable to think that the missile are not targetting SK (which explain the non-issue reaction in SK).
Hey I was in Korea too last week... though in Jeju, not Seoul.
1. Everyone and everything smells of garlic.
They believe garlic is "good for your manhood." Especially when fresh and uncooked.
Posted by spacehunt at September 14, 2006 12:26 PM
I agree with R J Tilley. How can anyone argue that Koreans don't hurt Koreans, and that Kim Jong Il is rational and wouldn't do anything stupid, when Kim Jong Il has already killed off close to 10% of the North Koreans that were around when he took over?
Maybe South Koreans have decided that Kim is working for them. Reunification is probably inevitable, sooner or later, and it will be expensive for South Korea to absorb all those poor Northerners. But the longer Kim Jong Il is in power, the fewer North Koreans will be left. The problem will solve itself if we just give them enough time.
Sun Bin, you are obviously an experienced Korean hand. As a Korean who spent his early childhood and then the years 1995-2004 working in Seoul, I agree with you 100%. The media is as much responsible for the Cold War mentality on the Korean peninsula as the US government. The Sunshine Policy has done more to open up North Korea than America's hardline stance. That's what you get when you leave warmongers like Bush to come up with a strategy for a cornered mouse like "Great Leader" Kim.
The greatest story I heard while in South Korea was from a US client who negotiated for three years to acquire a major company in Korea which at the time was in bankruptcy and kept alive with handouts from the government. He said that the decision to buy was decided by both sides in the first few months. The next two years was spent posturing for the sake of the public and figuring out an face-saving exit strategy for the South Korean government who had invested millions into this failing company. Once they figured that out how to break the news to the nationalistic audience that a foreigner was taking over the company, the deal was announced.
Back to the original post, not only does everything in Korea smell of garlic, but according to my gweilo friend, every soup or stew tastes like kkotchujang (hot red pepper paste)....
In my nine adult years in Seoul, I never once listed to Eagle FM. Now I know why. I guess it helps to be a jarhead to understand that kind of humor on the public airwaves.
Mini-mogul David Tang opened a cigar shop in a Macau casino, and neatly divined one of Hong Kong's major problems in the process, according to the SCMP:
"You can't have a vibrant and competitive economy without intense competition," he said. "Stanley Ho's a very good friend of mine ... but he's so rich he doesn't need to work for 10 more lives. Nobody needs to shed a tear for Mr Ho.
"We read about Hong Kong being the freest economy in the world but when was the last time a foreigner actually invested money in Hong Kong? Why? Because Hong Kong is controlled by five people."
I am a supporter of universal suffrage in Hong Kong.
But one wonders, when the machinery of democracy is put in place, will Hong Kong not simply just become one of the most corrupt cities in the world? Or might it be that, with the wealth so concentrated in this city, that the corruption would be far more efficiently allocated? (tongue firmly in cheek here)
I suspect that their wealth will allow for a fairly seamless transition to special interest democracy. But there will be more stakeholders that will need to be satisfied.
Isn't it ironical that they (Cato Institute & Fraser Institute) keep applauding Hong Kong as the freest economy in the world? They must be missing something big or they have ulterior motives!
It's a bumper edition of the China Brief from the Jamestown Foundation.
Yitzhak Shichor looks at China's voting behaviour in the UN Security Council, noting China has only twice used its veto and uses abstaining as a tactic. The article concludes with a look at how China may act as Iran comes up before the Security Council:
Contrary to the media’s assertions that China would block UN Security Council resolutions to impose sanctions against Iran—not to mention the use of force—Iran is unlikely to provide an exception to China's time-honored behavior in the Security Council. Knowing very well that they would not veto such resolutions at the Security Council, from the very beginning the Chinese have preferred to settle this issue outside of the Security Council and preferably by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Yet, Tehran's intransigence and inflexibility pushed the dispute to the Security Council and forced Beijing to take a stand...Although the Chinese have insisted from the very beginning that they would not support "the arbitrary use of sanctions" nor "approve the use of force" against Iran, China has never claimed that it would oppose or prevent them from being imposed. Beijing has never promised Iran's Ahamadinejad—nor Iraq's Saddam Hussein before him—that it will use its veto power.
It's worth noting that using abstentions as a tactic is indicative of China's attitude to foreign affairs. It's also worth asking whether the world really wants a more assertive China in world affairs if it may lead to vetos of resolutions over issues like Iran?
Willy Lam looks at President Hu's efforts to strengthen his grip on power, especially in light of Jiang Zemin's newly published works. He sees Hu in the ascendency with Jiang being buttered up with flattery but nothing in the way of real power. Lam's conclusion:
Hu’s tendency to put political expediency before ideological and political liberalization, however, may mean that even after consolidating power at the 17th Congress, he will be very reluctant to implement genuine reforms.
Chinese officials remain suspicious of the Bush administration, believing that it aspires to implement its liberty doctrine in China through regime change and is trying to constrain Chinese military power at least until then. Likewise, U.S. leaders remain apprehensive over China’s military buildup and its aspirations for regional hegemony. Nevertheless, the endemic distrust between both governments does not present an insuperable obstacle to a fruitful Sino-American military dialogue...Already, China and the United States have shown that they can cooperate on economic and regional security issues, without extensive military ties. It is precisely because Beijing and Washington are neither outright allies nor active adversaries that a military dialogue and other modest exchanges are both possible and prudent.
The marketing of Hong Kong property developments is a fascinating field, worthy of top flight study. The general rule is to avoid showing the flats themselves because they tend to be tiny rabbit-hutches, even the most high-end of developments. Instead you either focus on the view, the facilities, the exterior and/or get a celebrity to hawk it. As a case in point, Henderson's Grand Waterfront in Kowloon has been smothering the city with advertisements featuring Jennifer Hawkins, an Australian Miss Universe. The marketing people have shots of Miss Hawkins dressed in the appropriately glamourous style (albeit in the same dress in all the ads) and saying things like "As the new icon of 21st century luxury living dominating Victoria Harbour, Grand Waterfront captures the most majestic sea views" and "Being crowned Miss Universe before a worldwide audience of 800 million was a life-changing moment. I am honoured to be the face of Grand Waterfront, the new icon of 21st century luxury living" and "10 for perfection! The luxuriously-appointed Club@Harbour in Grand Waterfront with 10 exciting theme zones is a realm of indulgence perfectly tailored just for you and me."
Henderson are offering a free shuttle bus to take potential buyers to the developement. Naturally such an event requires luxury catering to go along with the luxury development...right? In the fine print of today's ad:
Premium catering from Starbucks and McDonald's available for show flat visitors tomorrow and on Sunday.
Who knew Macca's had a premium catering division? Do you fries with that?
If Miss Hawkins comes with the flat, then perhaps it's still worth the trip and the Big Mac.
Update
Albeit in a different context, Hemlock today talks about a similar topic:
Yet there is one life form even more pitiable than the miserable wretches who will hand over wealth in exchange for the right to view a drab man with poor dress sense plod around a field trying to hit a ball into a hole. And that is – the Hong Kong, English-language advertising copywriter working on some tacky, overpriced consumer goods account. Like the forsaken and pathetic specimen responsible for making me want to be seen wearing the astoundingly ugly Zenith Defy Xtreme or Defy Classic…I would sooner gouge my own eyes out than run the risk of opening the newspaper and thinking, “that was my work.” The only consolation for the sorry copywriter must be that there is always someone worse off than yourself. Can the human race produce anything more heartbreaking than the person who looks at this ad and decides to buy one?
A fairly short, provocative article in the Asia Times about American trade pressure being exerted on Southeast Asian economies. I don't entirely agree in the broader picture with Editor Crispin's cynical view of the US-ASEAN trade relationship, but it's definitely worth reading.
Actually, in an earlier era Chinese nationals would not have served in an observer mission in Lebanon, and the People’s Republic would have taken a pass on the whole subject. But China now aspires to play an active role on the global stage, which is why it sends skilled diplomats like Wang Guangya to the U.N. That’s the good news. The bad news is that China’s view of “the international order” is very different from that of the United States, or of the West, and has led it to frustrate much of the agenda that makes the U.N. worth caring about. The People’s Republic has used its position as a permanent, veto-bearing member of the Security Council to protect abusive regimes with which it is on friendly terms, including those of Sudan, Zimbabwe, Eritrea, Myanmar and North Korea. And in the showdown with Iran that is now consuming the Security Council, and indeed the West itself, China is prepared to play the role of spoiler, blocking attempts to levy sanctions against the intransigent regime in Tehran.
Shortly after midnight Wednesday Tang, 88, found himself locked up in the washroom of a a fast-food restaurant next to City Hall in Central. "The man had gone to the washroom after a concert, but restaurant staff, unaware that someone was still inside, switched off the lights and locked him in," police said.
The man was trapped inside for about an hour and, in a desperate attempt to free himself, burned the toilet paper to attract attention by setting off a fire alarm. The smoke filtered into City Hall, which alerted security guards who subsequently put out the fire.
The guards called the police who rescued the man. The octogenarian was questioned by police before being released.
Move over MacGuyver and Jackie Chan, there's a grumpy old hero in town.
In an age where terrorism is never far from the headlines, people's perceptions of safety have changed. The idea of being "safe", at least according to the media, is under attack. But at least one knows that there's one place you can truly be safe...Beijing's bomb-proof toilet:
The construction of a bullet proof public lavatory in the capital, worth up to 800,000 yuan (about US$100,600), is under fire citing a misuse of public funds, reports the Huaxia Times.
Quite frankly, that's money well spent. Who would dare invade a country that has such technology? The report fails to mention if the toilet also has one of those Japanese-style bidets built in. And in the run-up to the Beijing Olympics, add this toilet to the list of tourist sites in China's capital. They're only following the lead of Hong Kong, home of the golden toilet.
I don't know about you...but I know I'll sleep much better tonight knowing that Prez Hu will be able to have a good thought...and some warm water shot up his bum...without the threat of getting blasted out of the seat.
Hong Kong Disneyland is approaching its official one year anniversary*, with 5 million people trudging through the turnstiles of the park. That's well short of what was originally estimated from a park that has cost Hong Kong taxpayers billions.
One of the highlights of a visit to the magic kingdom is the street parade, where various characters cavort to Disney's greatest hits. It's a high visibility, high pressure job, and inevitably it leads to...
Four Filipino male performers have been dismissed from Hong Kong Disneyland for allegedly taking part in sexually explicit acts. Last month's incident, which happened in front of other staff, was filmed by a co-worker who anonymously passed it on to Disney...The cast members dismissed were involved in acts of a sexually indecent nature that were offensive to, or at least disturbing for, other employees," vice-president of public affairs Lo Bing-chung said. "We believe that any reasonable employer in Hong Kong would have acted the way we did."...
The four, lead performers in the daily parade, allegedly engaged in sexually explicit acts in the changing room after the parade. Three have returned to the Philippines and one is taking legal action.
That's from the SCMP. What's really amazing is the video isn't yet on YouTube. Mind you, this is the city where sex is all over the papers these days...also from the SCMP:
A 75-year-old woman who said she could not get by on her welfare payments was put on a good behaviour bond yesterday after she admitted providing sex services to a man 15 years her junior for HK$20.
There's no word if the proposed GST would have applied.
* Today also marks the 3rd anniversary of this web site. Happy birthday to it.
In case you missed it, the spirit of Mao and his -ism is well and truly dead in today's Chinese Communist Party, according to the SCMP:
Leaders should eliminate the ideology of class struggle and not look on the masses as an enemy when dealing with the increasing number of conflicts between officials and citizens, a party school official said...In his article, Mr Wang said cadres dealing with mass gatherings should give up the ideology of "class struggle" - the friction between members or groups from different social classes. The concept was expanded by Mao Zedong , sparked off the Cultural Revolution, and was used as a powerful tool to eliminate those whose political views contradicted the government's...
Liu Xutao , a political scientist with the National School of Administration in Beijing, said the article was aimed at persuading grass-roots officials in rural areas to abandon the ideological relics of the Cultural Revolution.
"In rural areas, some officials still believe they reign supreme and take on the villagers as class-struggle targets when conflicts break out," Professor Liu said. "As building a harmonious society is the main theme of President Hu Jintao, it's necessary to dispel this wrong thinking."
Maoism's dead, long live...umm, whatever the CCP stand for these days.
The putrid aroma of hypocrisy hangs heavily over the furor generated by publication of compromising photos of the Twins star Gillian Chung Yan-tung in Easy Finder magazine.
Where were all those solemn media personalities clad in black to be found when far more intrusive and damaging media reports dragged the families of suicidal teenagers into the public domain? Where were their heart-rending protests against truly disgusting pictures of murder and assault victims?
If there was the smallest indication that any of these people were genuinely interested in the very real issue of invasion of privacy, it is strange that we had to wait for it to be manifest on the matter of Chung's change of clothes during a concert in Malaysia.
It's also going to be interesting to see how the Government can square the circle of a "right to privacy" only a couple of weeks after they rammed through a pervasive and invasive snooping law. Or will we now see a "rights of the week" campaign?
Worst of all, the front pages of the press will continue to show grotesque photos of car accident or murder victims. Let's see where the celebrities are then.
A Chinese blogger brought up this (unverified because I have not seen it) morsel of information about the origins of Easy Finder. Back in 1997, Easy Finder put a photo of Governor Chris Patton's youngest daughter on the front page with a detailed contemplation of her breasts. As the blogger said, nobody was complaining then; after all, it was the perfect revenge by the Chinese against the Brits.
Unfortunately no link, but from a brief newslet in The Standard:
A Shanghai court has rejected a woman's claims for compensation for her sex life, which was ruined when her husband hit his genitals on the corner of some audio equipment at a shopping center [ouch - Ed.]. Wei Suying, 31, whose husband has suffered from erectile dysfunction since the 2003 workplace accident, filed suit in a court asked for 220,000 yuan.
Posted by amit varma at September 1, 2006 10:26 PM
Hi. Do you know about “ English teacher in Shanghai”
There is have a blog called Sex in Shanghai in which a Western guy tells about all his exploits with Chinese women here in Shanghai. (That blog is still #1 on the “hottest blogs” list on the CBL, but it now seems to be inaccessible.) Since then, the Chinese have found out about the blog, and they are (understandably) pissed.
The 3 Kissel children have filed legal actions against Nancy Kissel. Articles below the jump.
SCMP: Kissel children sue mother over murder
Nancy Kissel's three children have filed a claim against her for the wrongful death of their father, almost one year from the day she was sentenced to life for his murder. Another writ was also lodged in the High Court on Wednesday by the family lawyer on behalf of Robert Kissel's estate.
The Kissel trial was one of Hong Kong's most sensational, featuring accusations by Nancy that Robert, a high-flying Merrill Lynch banker, was a frequent cocaine and alcohol user who subjected her to regular beatings. She was accused of drugging her husband with a "milkshake" of sedatives before slamming him over the head with an ornament in November 2003. While admitting to the crime, she claimed she was only acting in self-defence. The prosecution alleged Kissel wanted to remove her husband so she could run away with her TV repairman lover, Michael Del Priore.
Kissel has apparently been working with her lawyers on her appeal against the sentence, which is due later this year. Her lawyers did not return calls to confirm how close the appeal was from court.
Kissel's friends say she is putting on a brave face in the wake of the latest twist in the saga. A friend of Nancy's, who also knew Robert, said she felt strongly that her trial was a "travesty of justice". A friend said she felt the press coverage of her trial was "badly biased" towards the opinions of her husband's father, William. "She feels that in the April 2006 death of Robert's older brother Andrew, there are clues to the true character of her late husband," the friend said. "She suggests this is not a story of a bad brother and a good brother ... but an evil brother and a slightly less evil younger one."
Andrew, 46, was found dead in the basement of his home two days before he was due to appear in a US court to plead guilty to a multimillion-dollar embezzlement.
According to Robert Kissel's high school sweetheart, Carol Horton, his sister Jane Clayton and her husband recently bought a bigger house to accommodate their enlarged family, which now includes the Kissel children, whom they were granted custody of last year. But Mrs Clayton has no access to her brother's estate, she said.
"The kids are doing really well. They have settled in and made lots of friends in their new schools. The eldest daughter, Elaine, has taken up a job as a babysitter on the weekends. They are all involved in after-school activities, sports and dance," Mrs Horton said.
Kissel family patriarch William, who lives in Florida, visited his daughter in Seattle often, Mrs Horton said, but was still having a hard time coping with the loss of both his sons. A former colleague of Robert Kissel hopes the writs never make it to court "for the children's sake".
"They are going to want to put this behind them as much as they possibly can," he said.
SCMP: Legal action taken to beat deadline
The two writs lodged yesterday were not supposed to be acted on straight away, according to a partner at law firm Haldanes.
Rather, they were aimed at staving off a looming deadline for the commencement of legal action, said David Hoare, solicitor for the family of Robert Kissel.
Under Hong Kong law, civil proceedings must be launched within three years of a person's death. "Basically these are protection writs," Mr Hoare said, adding they allowed parties to sue later.
"My instructions are not to progress the claims any further at this stage while [Nancy Kissel's] appeals are yet to be finalised." The writ on behalf of the children, Elaine, Hannah and Reis, was filed by their aunt Jane Kissel Clayton and seeks damages under the Fatal Accidents Ordinance. That law allows the dependants of a dead person to sue the person responsible for their death.
The second writ was filed under Robert Kissel's name because an executor has yet to be appointed to his estate in Hong Kong.
That writ was filed in order to preserve the claim over the late banker's estate, thought to be worth many millions.
Nancy Kissel is back in the news, with three of her children suing her for damages through their aunt, Jane Clayton, the sister of murdered banker Robert Kissel.
Nancy Kissel is serving a life sentence for the murder of her husband in 2003. Last year her trial gripped Hong Kong for months and commanded strong media attention with its lurid details of drugs, sex, bizarre behavior and brutality. The verdict was delivered, and Kissel sentenced, in September.
This week's civil lawsuit was filed in the High Court Wednesday and made available to the public Thursday.
Through Clayton, Nancy and Robert Kissel's five-year-old son Reis and their two daughters, eight-year-old June and 11-year-old Elaine, are seeking damages under the Fatal Accidents Ordinance.
Under that law, if death is caused by a wrongful act, "an action for damages may be brought for the benefit of the dependents of the deceased against the person who would have been liable" - that is, their mother Nancy Kissel.
A second lawsuit, also filed Wednesday, seeks damages against Kissel on behalf of her murdered husband.
On November 3, 2003, Kissel served her husband a sedative-laced milkshake before bludgeoning him to death and wrapping his body in a carpet to hide in a storage room.
Kissel, who is serving her sentence at the Tai Lam Center for Women in the New Territories, has 14 days to contest the claim.
According to the writ, Jane Clayton lives in Washington state in the United States.