1. Curzon from CA has posted an incredible travelogue of his journey from Vietnam, through China and onto Japan. It's an excellent combination of photos, commentary, history, thoughts and even sounds. It also demonstrates the difference between travelling and a journey.
Thanks Simon, for alerting me to Curzon's travelogue.
I enjoyed reading his travelogue, and I loved his photos – just beautiful. I have lots of China travel photos on my site too, though my site isn't as beautifully presented.
Curzon's travelogue, as Jing commented, is a little light and “crispy”, but it is his overall assessments of China that arouses my interested the most, for they are both provocative and insightful. Curzon writes: “Regarding political freedoms, I think Robert D. Kaplan is right when he says that [today’s] Chinese Communist Party has done more to raise living standards than any other ruling elite in any society in the modern world. Had a dysfunctional democracy arisen out of Tiananmen Square in 1989, China would not be as rich as it is today. Human rights must be viewed in context, and the right to an education, to eat, to work, and to raise a family are far more important than the right to vote.”
I couldn’t agree more with this, though in the past I have often been dismissed as a “CCP apologist” for expressing this exact same opinion. It’s refreshing to find others who have similar assessments. The British journalist, Kieth Sinclair, shares in this view too, but he is among the few that I have come across.
I’m sceptical of Curzon's assertion though, that the Vietnamese poor are “poorer” than their Chinese counterparts. How has he measured and compared the two, I wonder? I have travelled throughout Vietnam too, and although extremes in wealth are certainly not as sharp in Vietnam as they are here in China, the poverty I saw there was no “better” than what I have come across here in China.
Thanx for the tons of pics! Seems you enjoyed a lot. Visiting these unknown places would be much easier now, since everythings are so detailed and informative. No more crap about travelling, food and accomodation.
"60% plagiarism rate" is quite not surprising. I can tell you recruiting skilled inspectors to visit factories is not that easy. And the chinese job market is so flexible that it is hard to have the right pressure on employees to garantee trust and honesty from candidates.
Thank you for your blogger about football,I’d like to exchange message with you:
Motto of different country FIFA2006 world cup team
1.We are football >Germany
2.orange on the road to gold Netherlands
3.Liberte,Egalite,Jules Rimet >France
4.Never-ending legend,united Korea
5.2006,It's Swiss o'clock
6.A passion to win and a thirst to succeed
7.angola lead the way,our team is our people
8.get up,argentina are on the move
9.australia's socceroos-bound for glory
10.vehicle monitored by 180 million brazilian heart
11.our army is the team,our weapon is the ball,let's get to germany and give it our all Costarica
12.ecuador my life,football my passion,the cup my goal
13.come on the elephants!win the cup in style
14.one nation,one trophy,eleven lions ENGLAND
15.go black stars,the stars of our world > Ghana
16.stars of Persia
17.blue pride,italy in our hearts
18.light up your samurai spirit Japan
19.to the finals with fire in our hearts "> Croatia
20.aztec passion across the world
21.from the heart of america...this is the guarani spirit
22.white and red,dangerous and brave >Poland
23.with a flag in the window and a nation on the pitch,forca Portugal
24.the green hawks cannot be stopped > Saudi Arabia
25.fight!show spirit!come on!you have the support of everyone >Sweden
26.for the love of the game
27.spain,one country,one goal
28 with our support,ukraine cannot fail to win
29.here come the soca warriors-the fighting spirit of the Caribbean
30.belief and a lion's strength,for victory and our fans > Czech
31.the carthage eagles...higher and stronger than ever
32.united we play,united we win>UNITED STATE
Dr Han (Super football fans) content fromwww.fifaworldcup-yahoo.co.uk
PAIN IN BRISTOL-- www.backachetherapy.co.uk
"Yahoo Chairman and Chief Executive Terry Semel, speaking at an event, said it had no choice but to comply with local laws and did not have the power to change Chinese policy."
This of course is complete bollux because it was Yahoo! Hong Kong that handed information across the border to a jurisdiction that had no legal claim on it.
Not all is bad - Apparently the Chinese government has compensated a family for the loss of their son after he was arrested and beaten to death by police during the 1989 demonstrations.
According to a poll conducted by the Global Times two in three Chinese like Americans, while one in five dislikes them? Is that like saying three out of four people make up 75% of the population?
Hong Kong blogger and almost America's previous top model Elyse Sewell has a new book out, and today's SCMP (which is publishing the book) has an article on Ms. Sewell. Where's my book deal?
Simon here (I was going to complain about being at work on a holiday, but after seeing this, it doesn't seem important), with a few pieces that have recently caught my eye:
In absence of Simon's Daily Linklets as well as my own lack of time to contribute anything lately, I've decided to throw a few links of my own to some of the posts I've been reading around the Asian blogosphere.
I thought navigating through the immigration process in America was a pain in the arse - I'm just glad my wife and I didn't have any children in China.
The approach of Chinese New Year sees a rapid rise in the foreign jounralists commenting on the "greatest annual human migration in, like, forever". But what of the reality? For example, the demand for adult diapers.
ESWN summarises reports on the latest clash between villagers and government over land requisition, this time in Zhongshan. Some murderous monster said to rule China you need the farmers on your side...
The astute will have noticed the daily linklets have been on hiatus for the past few weeks. Chances are the linklets are not likely to be daily, at least for the foreseeable future. Thus a name change to just linklets. There's an ever-increasing and incrediblely diverse amount of China and East Asia blogging going on and it is outstripping my ability to keep up. I will continue to link to noteworthy posts as and when I can; I also encourage you to click the blogs on the sidebar and read them yourself. They are the cream of the crop.
Guilty until proven innocent -gullible laowai's, Qi Gong, a confused Taoist and a great story with an unsurprising moral.
Running Dog posts infrequently, but when the posts come they are all worth reading. Try caves, pigs, toilets shock for a summary of the China stories in 2005 you might have missed.
Where the hell is train freak Kim Jong-Il and is it a co-incidence he's gone walkabout just as Iran cranks up its nuclear program again.
see that Jones has posted another essay in China Daily attacking Peking Duck Richard Berger asnd China bloggers as immoral. Inerting read though, that Talk to CHina forum of CHina Daily. Seems it was sparked this time by comment of Richard's about blocking of anti's site which I love.
Xinhua gives you the official top 10 news stories in China in 2005. Incredibly, there's no mention of Super Girl, the Taishi riots or the anti-Japan protests.
An opinion piece on why some are nostalgic for Mao. Some in Russia are nostalgic for the days of Stalin, which goes to show they don't make nostalgia like they used to.
ugh, that Abiola guy at Foreign dispatches is such a blow hard. Takes himself way too seriously and gets ape-shit when someone even offers an alternative hypothesis. Remind me not to visit his blog again.
Asiapundit rounds up The Economist's articles on China's sex toy industry, Japanese humanised robots and after the Dalai Lama.
Japan's population starts shrinking. There's an obvious solution to this demographic time-bomb...it's called immigration. Yes, it's really as simple as that.
Err, I wouldn't say that at all - though Will and I do have opinions about the "transportation claim." There is a lot of shoddy and pay-for-good-press journalism here, but I've met some pretty solid Chinese reporters as well. On the pay for coverage stuff, judging from a weekend conversation, that may be the case at some expat- oriented and staffed magazines as well.
Let's not just single out Chinese journos, either. Recent American media history has given us plenty of examples of dubious journalistic ethics in the home of the free and land of the brave.
ICG discusses North East Asia's undercurrents of conflict. They've even compiled a list of recommendations for the governments of China, USA, Japan and South Koera, but curiously none for the North Koreans.
A Catholic priest re-created a Vietnamese village in Houston but now is losing control of it.
Thoughts on the East Asia Summit and American-less Asian future. As much as China and Malaysia can't face it, America is and will be a strong part of Asia's future for a long time to come.
Below the jump I've posed Statfor's piece on the Shanwei shootings and China's situation, including a map of some of the major recent protests in China. Also Sam Crane on the importance of reciting names and Dongzhou. And related is the Chinese government's struggles with property rights protests.
It's always easy to say kids in today's push-button, video-gamed, internet-addicted world are a lost cause...but behold the patience taken to make this. Apparently even some kids have too much time on their hands.
Today's NSFW site of the day: Yenx publishes and translates fliers from Japanese call girl services (via JP). Proof you really can find anything on the interweb.
The Shanwei Shootings and China's Situation
By George Friedman
Last week, a group of Chinese villagers staged a demonstration against a wind-power project near Shanwei, a town in Guangdong province about 100 miles from Hong Kong. In the first incident, protesters blocked access to the site of the wind-power generation project. The next day, Dec. 6, demonstrators returned. According to Chinese official reports, they were led by three men -- Huang Xijun, Lin Hanru and Huang Xirang -- and were armed with knives, steel spears, sticks, dynamite and Molotov cocktails. Members of the local People's Armed Police fired tear gas at the crowd, hoping to break things up, but the three leaders rallied the crowd to continue what, depending on who was telling the story, was either a protest or attack. According to the description of events given by the Chinese government, the demonstrators started to throw explosives at the police as night fell. The police opened fire. Official reports said that three people were killed, eight wounded.
The protests in Shanwei had gone on for quite a while before coming to a head last week. The land for the power project was confiscated a few years ago. The farmers who worked the land were never compensated for their dislocation. They formally petitioned for their money in 2004 but were ignored. Public demonstrations began in August 2005, continuing intermittently. With no compensation forthcoming, the protests escalated and then exploded, with last week's incident marking the first reported shootings of demonstrators in China by official security forces since Tiananmen Square in 1989.
The shooting is new. The pattern is not. There has been intensifying unrest in China over the past year -- frequently, as in this case, over issues that have been simmering for years. This has been particularly true for peasants who have seen their land confiscated by the government for industrial projects. Money is issued to local officials by state-owned enterprises and other investment groups to cover the cost of the land. That money passes through the regional and local bureaucracies. By the time it should reach the owners, there often is nothing left; it has been stolen by officials at various levels. No one denies the farmers' claims to the land, but no one acts to compensate them. The laborers go from being small farmers to being destitute.
This is a critical process at the heart of Chinese industrialization. The purchase of land, including forced sale, is considered necessary for Chinese economic development. However, Chinese economic development is driven as much by corruption as by land. The government in Beijing has no particular desire to see the farmers dispossessed; on the contrary, the money is made available for delivery to the farmers. But the diversion of funds is hard-wired into the process. It is one of the primary means for capital formation in China.
One of the paths to entrepreneurship in China is to become a government official who can use one's public office for personal savings and networking -- accumulating enough money and useful contacts to move into business later. With massive expropriations of land over the past decade designed to facilitate economic growth, the opportunities -- and compulsion -- to steal money intended for farmers is powerful. In order to hold onto his job, a government official must maintain a system of relationships with superiors, colleagues and subordinates. These relationships are based on money. If the official doesn't find the money to hold his place in the bureaucracy, he will lose it. Therefore, the diversion of funds is built into the system.
The Chinese government wants it both ways. On the one hand, it does not want unrest among farmers. On the other hand, the Communist Party elite in Beijing live by patronage. They have risen through the system because of the web of relationships that makes Chinese industrialization possible. They can, in very specific cases, take action against cases of corruption. However, a systematic attack on the causes of corruption is impossible, without a systematic attack on their own infrastructure.
This is particularly true in rapidly developing provinces like Guangdong. The interface between the new economy and the old has become a battlefield. The old economy was land-based: Mao created a peasant economy that was overlaid by attempts to industrialize. The new economy regards land as an input into the industrial machine. However, given the nature of the Chinese political system, the farmers are not simply bought out -- they are forced off the land. And that can lead to social explosions.
The recent events in Shanwei are unique only in that they resulted in gunfire and death, and because they were brought to light by the anti-Communist media. After these reports were picked up and widely circulated by the international media, the government in Beijing acknowledged what had occurred, adding details that appeared to show that the demonstrators forced the police into shooting. But later, the government announced that the head of the police unit involved had been arrested -- which seems to imply that the story as originally told by the Chinese wasn't altogether accurate. Why arrest the cop if explosives were being hurled at police?
The specifics of what happened, of course, have no geopolitical consequence. What is important is that tensions in China have been rising steadily. Thousands of demonstrations (74,000, according to figures released last year by the government) have taken place -- some reportedly violent, if not fatal. In one case earlier this year, residents protesting corruption related to land seizures took control of their town, forcing the police out. The Chinese government appeared to capitulate to the demonstrators, giving into their demands -- but weeks later, those who had participated in the rising were quietly arrested. In another incident, which also turned deadly, brute squads believed to have been hired by local officials and businesses attacked protesters. There are numerous other examples to draw from.
Beneath the surface, a number of things are taking place. The Chinese economy has been growing at a frantic pace. This is not necessarily because the economy is so healthy, nor because many of these industrial projects make economic sense. In fact, the government in Beijing has been very clear that the new projects frequently don't make a great deal of economic sense, and has been trying to curb them (though it does not necessarily command obedience in every case from provincial or local governments). On the other hand, China needs to run very hard to stay in place. Within what we will call the entrepreneurial bureaucracy -- with pyramiding, undercapitalized, highly leveraged projects being piled one on top of the other -- new investment projects are needed in order to generate cash that stabilizes older, failing projects. Slowing down and consolidating is not easy when there are bank loans coming due and when money has to be spread around in order to maintain one's position in the system.
That means that aggressive economic growth is needed. It also means that massive social dislocation -- including theft of land -- is embedded in the Chinese system. The flashpoint is the interface between the rapidly spreading industrial plants and the farmers who own the land. The bureaucratic entrepreneurs need not only the land, but also the money that legally is due to the farmers.
China is a mass of dispossessed farmers, urban workers forced into unemployment by the failure of state-owned enterprises, and party officials who are urgently working to cash in on their position. It is a country where the banking system has been saved from collapse by spinning off bad debts -- at least $600 billion worth, or nearly half the GDP of China -- into holding companies. This maneuver cleaned up the banks' books and allowed Western banks to purchase shares in them, shoring them up. But it also left a huge amount of debt that is owed internally to people who will never see the funds. Imagine the U.S. savings-and-loan scandal growing to a size that was nearly half of the national GDP. As it happened, in the United States the federal government swallowed a great deal of the S&L bad loans -- but in China, these bad loans would just about wipe out the country's currency reserves, assuming that the numbers provided by the government are valid.
Under such circumstances, it is no surprise that Chinese money is leaving the country, flowing into the safe havens of U.S. T-Bills or offshore mineral deposits. Moreover, it is not clear that China's economy is continuing to grow. China's imports of oil have topped out and, by some reports, have started to decline -- yet the Chinese are continuing to report unabated growth rates. How can the economy be growing rapidly while oil imports decline? The country lacks sufficient energy reserves to fuel such growth, nor can that level of growth be coming from service industries. At any rate, growth rates do not by themselves connote economic health. The rate of return on capital is the ultimate measure of economic success. Anyone prepared to lose money can generate rapid revenue growth. And anyone facing cash-flow crises due to debt burden knows how easy it is to slip into revenue-growth obsession. The Chinese certainly have.
There is, therefore, a tremendous tension within China's new economy. The root problem is simple: Capital allocation has been driven by political and social considerations more than by economic ones. Who gets loans, and at what rates, frequently has been decided by the borrower's relation to the bureaucracy, not by the economic merits of the case. As a result, China, as a nation, has made terrible investments and is trying to make up for it with rapid growth. That is where things get difficult: As before with Japan and East Asia, the economy is thrown into a frenzy of growth in efforts to stabilize the system, but that growth throws off cash that cannot easily be capitalized and therefore is invested abroad. Meanwhile, bad debts -- stemming from continued investment into nonviable or unprofitable businesses, for social or political reasons -- surge, and the government tries to come up with ways to shuffle the debt around. In other words, the origin of the problem is simple -- but the evolution of the problem becomes dizzyingly complex.
This leads to stresses within the advanced economic sector. In China's case, these manifest as competition between different political factions for access to the funds needed to maintain their enterprises. But that is nothing compared to the tension between the new economy and farmers and the unemployed. As the system tries to stabilize itself, it seeks both to grow and to become more efficient. As it grows, the farmers are forced to give up their land. And as it seeks efficiency, industrial workers lose their jobs.
This is an explosive mix in any country, but particularly so in China, which has a tradition of revolution and unrest. The idea that the farmers will simply walk away from their land or that the unemployed will just head back to the countryside is simplistic. There are massive social movements in play that combine the two most powerful forces in China: workers and peasants. Mao did a lot of work with these two groups. Their interests are now converging. The decisions of the bureaucratic entrepreneurs are now causing serious pain, which is becoming evident in increasing social unrest. At Shanwei, that unrest broke into the open, complete with casualties.
The important thing to note is that both the quantity and intensity of these confrontations is increasing. While the Western media focus on the outer shell of China's economic growth -- the side that is visible in Western hotels throughout major cities -- the Chinese masses are experiencing simultaneously both the costs of industrialization and the costs of economic failure. The sum of this equation is unrest. The question is how far the unrest will go.
At the moment, there does not appear to be any national organization that speaks for the farmers or unemployed workers. The risings are local, driven by particular issues, and are not coordinated on any national scale. The one group that tried to create a national resistance, Falun Gong, has been marginalized by the Chinese government. China's security forces are capable, growing and effective. They have prevented the emergence of any nationalized opposition thus far.
At the same time, the growth and intensification of unrest is there for anyone to exploit. It won't go away, because the underlying economic processes cannot readily be brought under control. In China, as elsewhere, the leadership cadre of any mass movement has been made up of intellectuals. But between Tiananmen Square and jobs in Westernized industries, the Chinese intellectuals have been either cowed or hired. China is now working hard to keep these flashpoint issues local and to placate localities that reach the boiling point -- at least until later, when arrests can be made. That is what they are doing in Shanwei. The process is working. But as the economy continues to simultaneously grow and worsen, the social unrest will have to spread.
The discussion about China used to be about "hard" and "soft" landings -- terms that were confined to economics. The events in Shanwei raise the same question in another domain, the political. Police shooting down demonstrators is not an everyday event in China or anywhere else. But it has happened, and this event didn't just come from nowhere. The question of soft and hard landings now must be considered more literally than before.
And in China, hard landings over the past couple of centuries have been bloody affairs indeed.
the EAS article linked by Marmot's is a pretty old one. it makes a mistake about the NE Asia meeting - which has nothing to do with EAS, but just a side meeting taking advantage of the logistics.
the people's daily article it refers to is here
http://english.people.com(DOT)cn/200512/07/eng20051207_226350.html
Imagethief has a knowning and thoughtful reflection on the Singaporean hanging of an Australian and executions as public communication. The exact same applies to China.
China is officially not a currency manipulator. It might be convenient for certain America politicians, but the yuan's level is a major contributing factor behind America's trade deficit. Logan Wright tells us this finding is Bush and Snow flexing anti-protectionist muscles.
Today's quote of the day: A woman's vagina is built so that a baby's head with a 10-centimeter diameter can get out. No matter how meaty you think your penis is, it's never going to be bigger than a baby's head. From an article on Japanese penis size (via Japundit).
Jackie Chan: hypocrite. American culture is bad unless it pays you US$15 million a time.
(18:10) Another contender for quote of the day: ...the next time a PAP politician trots out the tired old "Confucian gentleman" line, just tell him to go to Legalist hell. - Dr. Sam Crane on the most un-Confucian Singaporean Government.
An incredible piece on the changing thoughts of Liu Guogong, a former Central Committee member and top ideologue on what's gone wrong with Chinese capitalism (via CDT).
Michael Turton and Andrew Meyer trade thoughts on the impact of cross-straits relations on Taiwanese and Chinese political culture. Proof again that much of the best and most interesting thinking is there for you, for free, in the blogosphere.
I finally got to the swap calculation, and found that there is no meaning or implication for the swap contract. well, there is one, the banks and PBoC expect RMB to stay at exactly 8.08 after 12 months. (but most likely they are wrong)
Hong Kong in 1938 as the Japanese Imperial Army marched through China: ...sometimes reality is so hard to contemplate, illusions, fantasy and the suspension of reason are the only way for people to get on with life. says Dave. Potentially there are parallels with today's war on terror and especially how "safe" we feel in China.
Following on from yesterday's linklets, Anti has translated the piece by Zheng Bijian on the direction of the Chinese Communist Party in the 21 century. It clearly demonstrates both the fears and logic that drives the current leadership. When is Anti going to team up with ESWN?
A first hand review of Hong Kong Disneyland concludes ...yes, there are plenty of great ways to spend HK$1,000 in Hong Kong â“ and none of them involve Mickey Mouse.
"The Communist Party of China is a party that seeks peace, harmony and reconciliation, unlike the Communist Party of the former Soviet Union" - Zheng Bijian says Chinese Communists will not go the way of Soviet Communists. Who was it that talked about historical inevitability? It brings out into the open how the collapse of the USSR and Communists there still worries Beijing today.
Ah well, it was a cool idea for a post. As for blogger responsible for that erroneous story on East Asia Watch, well, 'Shinkansen' it back to Japan.
Ugggh...bad pun. But Simon thanks for appreciating my little diatribe about government monopolies...:) When are we going to get that beer? I am leaving Friday for Singapore but will be back Tuesday.
New rules on reporting bird flu in China. By reporting, it doesn't mean the press, but rather to Beijing. Press reporting on bird flu is still tightly controlled. What it implies is Beijing is still not confident it has a firm handle on information on bird flu from the provinces.
More on the China copper trading scandal. After the previous scandal involving oil trading by a Chinese company in Singapore, surely someone in China's leadership is going to notice a pattern emerging?
China's Panamian moves. By way of contrast, what is China doing in the Straits of Malacca? Related is China's growing ties with Africa. Not having a moral dimension to your foreign policy let's you develop ties with everybody!
It's that time of year again: the Weblog Awards 2005 have begun, and there's a Best Asian Blog category. Which means we need to start talking about the Asian Blog Awards for this year.
If you click one link today, make it this one: robotic relief. A reminder that Japan is the world's second biggest economy. Along the same lines, China's official purveyor of skin is going great guns.
Regarding the ESWN story.
I'd like to make a public apology to Roland for the errors edited into the story (not major, but irritating and done without my knowledge or input) and to anyone else quoted who may wonder why what they said or sent me got slightly mangled or awkwardly worded.
The irony is that I used to labor on The Standard's copy editing desk and made a few editing errors myself.
Sometimes it's a B-grade hell on both sides of the line is all I can say.
The (mis)-rule of Disney law in Hong Kong. And on the Mouse that Could (with Government help), I paid HK$25 billion and all I got was this lousy theme park. It begins Leptospirosis, or Weilâs disease, is a water-borne disease found in ratâs urine. One of its many unpleasant side effects is that sufferers are sometimes struck blind. The Hong Kong government may have contracted a case, because itâs apparently been blinded by a piss-taking rodent. Yep, it's today's must read.
A conference on new media and social transformation in Hong Kong, preparing citizen journalists (a term that reminds me of citizen arrests) for the upcoming WTO meeting.
No sex please, we're Japanese, or Singaporean, or Indian, or Indonesian, or Hong Kongers, or the Chinese etc. Given Asians take up the bottom 9 places in this survey, one could question the survey's methodology, especially in allowing for cultural norms when responding to surveys on your sex life.
Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara stirs the pot on US-China policy and relations, with such gems as if thrust into a war with China, "the US, which reveres human life, would surely lose."...China, unlike the human-rights-valuing US, would not fear the loss of large numbers of human lives. Meanwhile Dr. Sam Crane asks I Ching about Sino-Japanese relations. The answer is good.
For a far more interesting and nuanced view of Sino-US relations, try Thomas Wiegand's piece on why America and China need each other.
Counting China: the plethora of statistical yearbooks at every level of government. Unfortunately often those numbers are derived by the same cadres who are measured by them, and typically the numbers don't reconcile between one level and the next. That aside, there can be interesting nuggets in the deluge of numbers.
Rebecca MacKinnon has more thoughts from the CBC, saying "everybody is somebody", which is kind of meaningless and only applies if everybody has a modem, an ability to write and something to say that somebody else reads. But I get what she means and there is a great summary of the key points from the conference.
wow, thomas barnett, how did he managed to know that without setting his foot in china?
i was told in many occasions how powerful these companies are.
the mayors relies on tax revenue, and various economic figures (GDP growth, etc) for their careers.
each year they would even hold a meeting to assign tax responsibilities with the major companies (and the amount of 'tax refund' to compensate for over-reported revenue/profit)
then they are at the mercy of these corporate heads. changhong is responsible for perhaps 80% of mianyang's GDP.
they could be all legal (although there may also be corruption), for this to happen (but recently tax refund was forbidden)
Actually Sun Bin, Barnett has been to China several times for his professional work and has had access to both academics and cadres. I believe he even adopted a girl from China about 2 years ago.
Yakov is a Russian expat comedian who was famous for jokes that involved the phrase "In Soviet Russia..." or somesuch. (e.g. "In America, you check books out of library. In Soviet Union, library checks you out.")
Posted by Matt McIntosh at November 3, 2005 10:56 PM
Well, I'm very surprised that it has taken this long, especially considering all of the ongoing campaigning that Mrs Amanda Liu has been engaged in to get it blocked since last July. Blog-city was blocked not too long after my China Daily article drew her attention to The Horse's Mouth, the Angry Chinese Blogger and Keving in Pudong, though she had been campaigning before then to get Dave's ESL Cafe blocked - she was outraged by that site's open forum. She claims that Dave Sperling made changes to the accessability of his forum only after my China Daily article was published, though his decision has to be seen in the context that he was already under constant pressure from Mrs Liu and her lobby group. He stood to lose an enormous amount of revenue if his site were to be blocked on the mainland, as mainland educational institutions now make up his biggest market after South Korea.
When I wrote my China Daily article (which I stand by), it wasn't my intention to help get any of these sites blocked, mind you! I need to stress that I think. Having said that though, I can't help but to feel as though Richard has got his just desserts. I know I will be crucified for having said that, but... Look at it this way: Richard was receiving complaints about the length of my comments to his site, and because he is so concerned about maintaining site traffic, he seized on the first opportunity he got to drive me away - when KLS mentioned that I had been copying and pasting without always acknowledging my sources. I apologised for that, but Richard proceeded to instigate and to encourage a witch hunt (which KLS himself was critical of). This, mind you, came only days after I had offered to assist Richard financially on his arrival to Shenzhen, in response to his open request.
When I mentioned his full name once in my China Daily article, he claimed that I was being malicious, saying that he didn't want his full identity associated with his Peking Duck site. Well, that's odd, because I first discovered his site via the evworld site, and on this site Richard was openly promoting his Peking Duck under his full name! He simply wanted to paint me out to be Mr Evil incarnate, and what's more, he then spread a rumour that I had written a letter or an email to his past employer, revealing him to be a homosexual. This is an outright vicious lie.
So I can't help but to feel as though he has got his just desserts really - having his site blocked on the mainland will probably make it difficult for him to continue to attract new readers in the same numbers that he was previously able to do - and that is what he appears to want most, because he is out to make money from advertising revenue. As he himself recently wrote, "Show me a blog that is objective, and I'll show you a site with no traffic, no comments, etc." Well, that just about sums up what the Peking Duck is really all about then, doesn't it? It's not about being fair, balanced, objective. It's about giving people want they want - a daily dose of China-bashing dribble to get off on, so that he can make a little money through advertising.
MAJ - it's not about money. I also accept advertising in order to defray the costs in running this site. Trust me when I say the revenues are not significant enough to make a difference either way.
As for the banning, I don't believe it's a major issue. The blog is in English, and those reading from the mainland are likely already adept at using proxy servers and the like.
As for the biases of blogs, Richard's right. No blog I know of pretends to be a neutral, objective news source. It's all about opinions.
Well, the money isn't much I know, and I'm not saying that there is anything fundamentally wrong with him trying to make money from his site - my point is, he wants to use his site to make money, even if it is just a little, and that means maintaining decent traffic. I suspect that he drove me away because he was worried that my lengthy comments were scaring away too many readers. He actually said that to me, in fact, that he had received many complaint emails about the length of my comments.
If he is going to operate a blog, which occupies a public space, then he has to be prepared to accept criticisms of both his ideas and opinions, as well as his blog. When I wrote a reasonable criticism (without making any personal attacks) which China Daily published, he responded by launching into a smear campaign against me, and he also tried bullying you and Bingfeng into not giving me a space to express my views. His behaviour at that time was outrageous.
I have published all sorts of personal details about myself online - even my address and phone number! If somebody finds it, and advertises it elsewhere online, then that is my problem! I have to take responsibility for that - if I make such details public by putting them online, on a public space, then I have to accept that this information is public, and was made public by me. The same applies to Richard. He promotes his site under his own full name on one site, so he has no right whatsoever to criticise me and to demonise me for citing that information elsewhere online. Period. No rational personal could possibly argue otherwise! Numerous other sites also mentioned him by his full name - including this one.
It is a perfectly reasonable criticism to make - that his blog is biased and ethnocentric, that it is lacking in objectivity. If he can't handle that, then he shouldn't run a blog, should he?
Not everybody will be able to access his blog from the mainland - not everybody will be bothered, and not everybody knows how to set up and to use proxy servers. And not all proxies work - I cannot access TPD using a proxy server from here in Shenzhen, yet I can access blog-city sites using proxies. Another person on some other site has mentioned that they too cannot access it from Beijing, even when using a proxy.
I'm sorry if I seem a little harsh, though you are right, it is no big deal that his juvenile hate site has been blocked here on the mianland of China - some will miss it, most will not.
The first comment I ever posted on TPD was deleted almost immediately - why? Richard mistook me for somebody else. That somebody else, who has kept in contact with me ever since, and who resides in Shanghai, will be meeting me for the first time this weekend at a pub in Wan Cai. We plan to celebrate over a few beers! Maybe Mrs Amanda Liu, who is from Guangzhou, would care to join us, if she has a Hong Kong pass.
Last July I wrote an article which was published by The China Daily on what I see as the disappointing ethnocentrism of many English-language China blogs. The article excited a heated response from many readers, and soon afterwards, three of the four blog sites that I had criticised were blocked: The Horse’s Mouth, the Angry Chinese Blogger and Kevin In Pudong. All three of these were hosted by blog-city.
A few days ago the other site that I focused on, The Peking Duck, also fell victim to the mainland’s censors.
What is my position on this?
The question of China’s internet censorship is a problematic one, but I believe that China’s internet censorship practices need to be viewed in the wider international context.
All countries have internet censorship policies. Since at least 1995, most governments around the world have been addressing the problems of material on the internet that is illegal under their offline laws, and in most cases, have concerned the issues of political speech, the promotion of or incitement to racial hatred, and pornographic material.
Different countries have to date experimented with a variety of means when censoring the internet. In the United Kingdom and Canada for example, government policy has been largely to encourage self-regulation within the internet industry.
In Australian Commonwealth law, we see instead the government mandated blocking of access to content deemed unsuitable for adults. This has been the case in Australia since January 2000. The ABA (Australian Broadcasting Authority) has the power to monitor the internet, investigate complaints and to require that Internet Service Providers block or remove internet sites anywhere in the world deemed offensive. Web sites, newsgroups and databases are all subject to censorship, as are personal emails. This approach is also the one used here in China, as well as in Saudi Arabia, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates and Vietnam. Some of these countries require internet access providers to block material while others only allow restricted access to the internet through government controlled access points.
China currently operates the most extensive, technologically sophisticated, and broad-reaching system of internet filtering in the world. According to a study conducted by OpenNet Initiative, which is a partnership between the Citizen Lab at the Munk Centre for International Studies, University of Toronto, the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard Law School, and the Advanced Network Research Group at the Cambridge Security Programme at Cambridge University, China’s legal regulation of the internet is extraordinarily complex: “The legal regime comprises requirements and prohibitions issued by multiple bodies and administrative agencies [and there are] at least a dozen entities [which] have authority over internet access and content in some form. These rules frequently overlap and restate prior provisions. Conforming to these requirements is made more difficult by the broad, sweeping definitions that many regulations employ. Overall, China’s legal controls over the internet have expanded greatly since 2000, indicating increased attention to this medium of communication.
Moreover, the number of regulatory bodies with a role in internet control has increased. This may indicate intra-governmental competition for a voice in shaping a medium viewed as vital to China’s economic growth and political stability.”
Content control in China then, occurs through informal as well as formal measures. Thus, the Internet Society of China pressures content and access providers to agree to a “Public Pledge of Self-Regulation and Professional Ethics.” Companies often accede; Yahoo! agreed to the pledge in 2002, and filters content available to users at its Chinese language portal. Internet regulation in China is based on the philosophy that “one is responsible for what one publishes.” Thus, Internet companies in China practice a high degree of self-censorship. Internet Service Providers perform self-censorship, including using employees who lead teams of volunteers to monitor and moderate chat rooms and bulletin boards. China can thus filter content through voluntary, informal measures, as well as via formal legal or technological means.
Users, in effect, act as an additional regulatory mechanism, and many citizens view internet regulation as necessary, and monitor Web sites, chat rooms, and bulletin boards for inappropriate content, reporting violations to the authorities.
One such citizen is Mrs Amanda Liu, who heads a lobby group based in Guangzhou, and who responded on the pages of The China Daily to my article. She wrote, on the 25th of July:
"You raise two very good questions to which I would like to answer with things I have read in the writings of the late Chief Justice of the United States, Oliver Wendell Holmes.
No one has the right to cry fire in a crowded theater anywhere. No one has the right to provoke a panic, nor to excessively disturb the established order. That is not Chinese thinking - that is American jurisprudence.
1. Are those who host websites responsible for the content displayed therein in the Modern Age?
Absolutely yes. A website is a tool. It can be a tool for good; it can be a tool for evil. If it fosters hate, warmongering, criminal elements, extreme political views whose sole purpose is to perturb the established order, then yes, it should be shut down. And the keeper of the website should either be sent to jail or should be fined.
If the website, on the other hand, provides a forum for reasonable, intelligent provocative discussion in a non-threatening and non-bellicose manner, then no, the website should not be challenged, provided, however, it does not violate any of the laws, rules, nor regulations of the country in which it resides or in which it is read.
3. A case in point from which I began my entire campaign for website responsibility from Westerns, particularly Americans, resident in China and living off the public purse.
As I have said now three times, on Dave's www.eslcafe.com, in the Off-Topic China Forum, there was a seven-page posting on how American should wage nuclear war on China and how it should destroy our cities.
That posting is completely beyond the pale of what is acceptable. And there were many other others.
So thus it became necessary to wage a campaign to restrict that website, and with the help of all of my friends in Guangzhou, we were successful.
David Sperling, the owner of the website who resides in California (sperling@eslcafe.com) was forced to make all of the obscene, violent, extremely China-bashing forums private. He perfectly understood that he risked having his entire site banned for hate mongering, etc.
So to answer your question in a few words: Intelligent discussion, even simple discussion is welcome on any BBS provided it does not violate nor flaunt the established norms of the country either in which it is viewed or in which is it hosted.
As demonstrated, in the case of Dave's Web Site, which actively discussed maiming and killing Chinese citizens and destroying our country, that is simply ultra hatred. And thus it had to be restricted.
And frankly, we are still working to have the entire site shut down. It has gone too far."
Mrs Liu corresponded with me several times by email, pledging to not only continue with her campaign to have Dave’s ESL Café blocked, but also the four English-language China blogs that I discussed in my article.
Whether or not Mrs Liu and her friends were justified in their efforts to get such sites blocked depends on the following two questions: (1). What kind of internet materials should China have a moral right to block? And (2), do the blogs in question fall into this category of being socially unacceptable?
China’s State Council Order No. 292, promulgated in September 2000, established formal content restrictions for Internet Content Providers, with its Article 15 specifying nine restricted, relatively vague categories of information that cannot be produced, copied, published, or disseminated, comprising data
1. Which are against the principles prescribed in the Constitution;
2. Which endanger the security of the State, divulge the secrets of the State, overthrow the government, or damage the unification of the state;
3. Which harm the dignity and interests of the State;
4. Which instigate hatred, discrimination among the ethnic groups, or destroy the unity of nationalities;
5. Which break the religious policy of the State, spread evil cults or feudal superstition;
6. Which spread rumors, disturb the social order, and damage the social stability;
7. Which spread pornography, sex, gambling, violence, murder, terrorism or abetment;
8. Which insult or slander others and thus infringe upon others' lawful rights and interests; or
9. Which involve other contents prohibited by the laws and administrative rules.
All societies need to strike their own balance when it comes to protecting the rights of individuals and the rights of the wider community. Freedom of speech for example, is indeed negotiable, even in Western societies, where various forms of censorship are also practiced in the interests of protecting the wider community. Apart from defamation laws, television and film ratings and internet censorship laws, racial vilification laws also exist in most Western countries. These racial vilification laws differ slightly from country to country, but let us take Australia's racial vilification laws as an example. The law there forbids the public airing (including the use of websites) of any messages that can be shown to cause "insult, humiliation or distress" to an individual or group of individuals based on their ethnicity, nationality or religious affiliation. This is how a "hate" site is defined. Hate sites do not necessarily need to incite hatred - they need only to cause "insult, humiliation or distress" to be classified as a "hate" site.
The racial vilification laws of New Zealand, Canada, and most Western Europeans countries are almost the same in this regard. And these laws are often put into practice. In 2002, an Australian man by the name of Frederick Toben for example, was ordered by the Australian Government to shut down his website which claimed that the Nazi holocaust did not occur because it caused some Jewish Australians considerable "distress".
China has every right to formulate its own laws, and it has every right, just like every other country, to ban websites and other publications that cause its own citizens "insult, humiliation or distress," or to censor information in the interests of maintaining social cohesion and stability. It's not difficult to charge many Western critics of China with a failure to see human rights problems in Chinese terms. This is not to say, of course, that Chinese society ought not to be open to criticism by foreigners and Chinese nationals alike, but rather, that such criticisms need to be based on empirically verifiable research, and that any conclusions drawn need to be fair and balanced, and that the people of China ought to be judged in their own terms, not according to the values of Westerners. The right balance struck in protecting the rights of the individual against the rights of the wider community in one country, may not necessarily represent an appropriate balance for another. You can often borrow ideas, but you can't borrow situations.
So in answer to the first question, I have to say that I believe China, like all other societies, does indeed have a right to censor internet sites as outlined in Article 15 of the State Council Order No.292. The criteria used in fact, is very similar to those used by most Western countries.
If you accept this, as I do, then the blocking of The Peking Duck and The Horse’s Mouth, etc., all hinges on whether or not these sites can be reasonably classified and regarded as “hate” sites – and here is where the real controversy I think, lies.
Readers familiar with the sites in question will of course be able to make judgments for themselves, but for those of you who are interested in knowing my view on this matter, you can scroll down to the first two articles posted on the “China Articles” page of my blog, where I have already discussed the question of whether or not they constitute as “hate’ sites in some considerable detail.
MAJ, I've got numerous problems with what you've said, but time does not permit me to go into detail now (although I will tomorrow).
But there's one glaring fault in your logic: in all those other countries, the people get to elect those that make the decisions. What China does is legal under its own legal processes. So was the processes followed by Stalin and Hitler in their states at their times. Being legal does not mean being right. There is a vast difference between screaming fire in a crowded room and blogs, even if they are considered offensive or out of order. I've never seen someone's life threatened due to what they read in a blog. If China's process was an open one, subject to widespread debate in the media and public, your arguement might hold water. But when imposed from above to protect those in power, it falls over.
Not to mention one other key difference - with blogs you have a choice to not read them. There's no compulsion. With the "Fire" example, there is no choice in the matter to reacting to the comment.
Yet again, that word "choice". It's a massive difference.
Interesting response Simon, and I appreciate your views, but as I have argued in detail already in an article I wrote on my blog, the CCP does have a legitimate right to govern - it does, contrary to what you may like to hink, have a strong mandate. This is painfully obvious - the vast majority of mainland citizens continually express general satisfaction with the present status quo, and the overwhelming majority say they do not want multi-party elections at this stage in China's development. Now look, I'm not merely parroting CCP propaganda when I point this out - independent U.S., Taiwanese and European researchers have all reached the same conclusions from their own studies, some of which have been conducted on vast, national scales. The academic world accept these findings - the last such study that I am aware of was presented in Taipei at last year's 32nd Sino-American Conference on Contemporary China. It's conclusions were accepted. Anyone who lives on the mainland knows very well that the vast majority support the right of the CCP to govern - purely by the strength of anecdotal evidence. You only have to teach here, or talk to people you meet, to gain such insights.
So the first fault you talk about I reject. The empirically verifiable evidence shows that the CCP does have a popular mandate to govern, and to legislate and enforce its laws, as does the anecdotal evidence.
Your second objection is interesting: you say that people have a choice not to read them. Well, in Europe and Australia, this line of reasoning has been rejected several times already in law. It was raised in particular during the Frederick Toben case in Adelaide. The Australian courts rejected this very argument, and ordered his site to be closed down. Toben's lawyers argued that his site was an academic history site, and that people have a choice whether of not they read it. His main argument was that the Nazi holocaust didn't occur. The courts rejected his defence on the grounds that many people will indeed be directed to his site, not knowing what to expect, and once they open it and begin reading it, they may find the contents disturbing, offensive, humiliating, etc. The mere knowledge that such a site exists then continues to haunt.
And those who do "choose" to read hate sites can have their world views distorted (especially those who are young and impressionable) - and this, of course, can influence not only attitudes but also social behaviours. This is EXACTLY why hate sites are defined in law, and why most countries outlaw them. If this logic of yours was reasonable and flawless, then there would be no such need for vilification laws that outlaw published materials - be they books, magazines, online sites, films, etc.
If the CCP are so comfortable with their popularity and mandate, why don't they allow elections? Clearly they'd win if your polling is correct. Of course they may need to release the press to be truly free, stop co-ercing those they rule with threats and promises and seperate the party from the state, but they'd still win hands down.
I find your second line of reasoning ironic. You are applying the logic and court ruling of a liberal democracy (Australia) and using it to justify the blocking of "hate" sites in authoritarian China. The key difference is in australia Mr Tobin had a chance to represent and defend himself in a court of law, against a law that was passed by a freely elected parliament, that was widely debated in the press and community.
I understand where you are coming from, but I think you are missing the whole point here. It is not relevant whether or not the CCP are comfortable with the idea of introducng multi-party elections - of course they do not want to compete for the right to govern. The point too, isn't whether people like you and me feel as though the two-party system is better than the one-party system. What matters is what most Chinese themselves think, and the reality is that at the moment the overwhelming majority are satisfied with the one-party system, and are either in no hurry or have little interest in adopting a system based on multi-party elections. What matters only is that at present, the majority are satisfied with the present system. The CCP, at present, therefore have a popular mandate to govern and to introduce laws. Period. Whether you personally like China's system or not isn't relevant, is it?
You might not like the idea of authoritarian systems of governance, be it the Chinese model, or the Singaporean model, or whatever. So what? I prefer the system we have in Australia too! But what you and I think is not relevant here. What matters is that most Chinese mainlanders are comfortable with authoritarian systems of governance, they believe in it, and they are satisfied with it - at present at least.
The crucial point that I am making is this: the CCP has a popular mandate, it therefore has a legitimate right to legislate laws and to enforce them. The rest of the world needs to respect that. We may not agree with all of those laws, but the majority of mainland Chinese do. Period.
The American Conservative has an article titled Superpower Showdown, with the frustrating byline America needs a new strategy for dealing with China, a country we canât contain and canât afford to fight. Why does it need containing or fighting in the first place?
Toronto's Globe and Mail asks "Are we Missing the Boat?" for its second massive survey on China. Ian has a roundup of the G & M's articles.
Translation of a Chinese blogger's view on "sensitive words":
http://www.danwei.org/archives/002273.html
"Let's suppose you write the following sentence on any blog host that has senstive word controls: "The viewership rating of CCTV's (中央电视台) recent TV series Passing Scenes of Beijing has reached 6.4%". You would not be able to publish this sentence on Blogcn and other such blog hosts because it contains senstive words [i.e. 'central' 中央 which is an abbbreviation for the Central Government]."
Just when you think you've heard it all, Japan comes up with a buttock slasher.
Rumours Wikipedia will be unblocked in China this week, and some interesting information on how to get sites unblocked. The other obvious solution - get bought by Google and let them lobby for you!
Howard W. French's review of Mao: The Untold Story. He concludes: Historians will find much to quibble about in this voluminous but jaunty work. Chang and Halliday's word is far from the last, and yet for anyone who reads it there is no way to mistake Mao's smiling countenance for anything like benevolence again.
Last week East Asia was declared the hardest place in the world to be a reporter. But let's get more specific. It's not easy even covering the traffic beat in Taizhou, where the police are the vigilantes!
Beijing says it would shut its borders to stop bird flu. No idea of exactly how long after the bird flu is identified before they got around to closing the border, but they'll do it eventually.
I hope you were being sarcastic when citing the People's Daily as giving the "true figure." Forgive my skepticism, but I'm more inclined to believe the DOD, RAND, etc.
I just posted on this whole thing with my take on it all. Thoughts?
Posted by MeiZhongTai at October 22, 2005 12:24 AM
The Big Boss briefs the morning meeting, reading from his Government-issued Line-to-Take, which is designed to counter pro-democratsâ claims that the proposals are insultingly lame. âOn the subject of a timetable,â our pro-Donald Chairman intones, âitâs basically a matter of timing.â He looks up to survey the bemused faces of his senior management team. What the hell does that mean? âWe first have to create favourable conditions and have all the building blocks in place,â he goes on, âlike grooming political talent and umâ¦â He looks down at the sheet of paper again and skips a couple of bullet points. âOh yes â“ we canât exclude appointed District Councillors from all of this because they have the same responsibilities as elected ones, and it would be unfair to discriminate against them.â He looks up again, as if to plead for understanding. He didnât think this stuff up. âAnd, um, these proposals are firmly grounded on public views,â he reads out, âand represent a major step towards the ultimate aim of universal suffrage.â He shrugs slightly as he puts the paper down. âYouâd have though they could come up with better arguments,â he admits.
The problem, it occurs to me, is that the most effective arguments would provoke opposition from the other side of the political spectrum, and maybe even to our north. The logic of the proposals is that the days of the small-circle functional constituencies are drawing to a close. Ship owners, dentists, employers, construction firms and other groups demanding a rotten borough in the legislature were snubbed. The new functional constituencies will be elected â“ albeit indirectly â“ by the people, diluting the influence of the corporate electors. Chris Patten would probably approve. But the Government canât stress this, because it needs a two-thirds majority in Legco â“ the votes of odious Liberal Party boss James Tien and his cartel representative friends â“ to get the package through. In order to get the turkeys to vote for Christmas, the Government canât talk up Christmas, leaving the pro-democrats looking at the gloomy side of the festival.
Rummy questions China's intentions and is upset about China's secret budgets for its military. It's not like the USA hides some of its military and intelligence budget, is it?
An amusing piece on a potential Chinese pre-Olympic Taiwan invasion. I'm ready to bet money that there will be no Chinese invasion of Taiwan before the Opening Ceremony of the 2008 Olympics. Any takers?
Summer saw cool biz, so winter begets warm biz. This has potential in Hong Kong - it gives everyone an excuse to wear their winter outfits for longer than the 15 seconds it stays cold here.
Mark Thoma links to a paper on the effect of communism on people's preferences. The context is East German, but it has interesting implications for post-Communist China and the recent push from Beijing's leadership for redistribution towards rural areas.
A good read: Paul Wolfowitz speaks to the China Daily on poverty, how China fits in the World Bank's strategy, Chinese students, democracy and development and more.
Novellist and former Red Guard punching bag Ba Jin passed away, aged 101. The saying's right: what doesn't kill obviously makes you stronger, or at least live longer.
Simon does a wonderful, and incredibly painstaking, job of linking to all blogs Asian. I have always thought, though, that he didn't report enough from the dark side of the moon, the lunatic fringe, the countries too poor and censored to have blogs. So little information comes from these places, that it's just bound to lead to misperceptions, slick generalizations, and outright abuse. In short, perfect material for the blogosphere!
Fortunately, The New Republic's T.A.Frank, and his Today in Despotism column (subscription-required), is not bound by the blogoshere's rigid, majoritarian code of conduct. North Korea and Burma are such wacky places, and since I can't access the KCNA in South Korea, I appreciate the chance to subvert the censors, with and without a proxy.
First of all, the 15th volume of the Dear Leader's Collected Works is due soon. God, Kim is a phenom, ain't he? Why doesn't he just blog? Oh well, some of us get Blogger and others become despots!
This week's KCNA bashed Japan and its pretensions to world-leader status. According to a column quote,
Japan's attempt to buy a responsible position at the UN is little short of a clumsy bid of an illiterate country peddler bereft of any reason and people's mindset. Japan would be well advised to properly know where it stands and liquidate its crime-woven past as early as possible so as to be trusted by the international community.
the KCNA's version of legal behavior stops at ofensive militarism, as opposed to the nukes, drugs, and counterfeiting Pyongyang markets. No mealy-mouthed diplomatic-speak about imperialism and expansionism; Japan is a crook! Speaking of Allied revanchist policies at Versailles, J.M. Keynes, in "The Capacity of Germany to Repay Reparations" (1919), argued, "In the great events of man's history, in the unwinding of the complex fates of nations Justice is not so simple. And, if it were, nations are not authorized, by religion or natural morals, to visit on the children of their enemies the misdoings of parents or of rulers." It's a long time past just to get over the Japan WW2 reparations issue. Millions of North Koreans will be thankful for the precedent when, after unification, vengeful South Koreans, hunt down ideological foes and property-holders to settle generations-old scores.
In Burma (Myanmar, whatever), there's a real need for spare parts and poets. And, just to punctuate how some governments feel about the IAEA's new Peace Prize, there's this ditty by Byan Hlwar:
The bestowing of the Peace Prize
Is not the granting of licence
To scheme to interfere
In enclaves and communities of others
Or to act untowardly.
The possession of that Nobel Peace Prize
Is not to be interpreted
As whatever the receipient does
To be accepted by the world as all fair.
If receipients of the Nobel Peace Prize
Are discovered as working to destroy a
nation
And clearly discerned by Alfred
He surely will turn in his grave
Remorseful that what he had
Initiated and established
Had gone wrong
He would only lament regretfully.
I will be in a blissfully communication-free locale from Monday for a week. Next week sees a selection of excellent guest bloggers for your edification and reading pleasure. Enjoy.
Time puts Super Girl on the cover and stirs up a hornet's nest. But that's the point. You can understand the fuss: if the cover was "America's heroes" and had Brittney or the latest Idol winner on it, you'd never hear the end of it.
While on official irony, the same paper reports on the internet being part of Chinese people's life. That's the official filtered and sanitised internet with Chinese characteristics version (or what I like to call Web 0.1)
Starting today I will try to mark with a * any blog likely to be blocked in China.
Thanks for alerting me to this Simon - I must be sure to visit Macau's "Fisherman's Wharf" theme park when it opens, as I have a keen interest in mass culture studies, and I have written already on similar theme parks here in Shenzhen - the Windows of the World, Folk Culture Villages, Splendid China, etc.
I think this kind of kitsch (the commodity aesthetic) is, for good or bad, China's new face. Hong Kong Disneyland is another example.
For those who are interested, incidentally, I have written at length about Shenzhen's theme parks in the "Shenzhen Life" section of my blog, at:
f r e e w e b s . c o m / f l o w i n g w a t e r s
I am also conducting an online readers' poll on these theme parks, if anybody would care to participate.
Hong Kong's PCCW is leading the world with its Now Broadband TV service. Chris notes IPTV may be teleco dinosaurs' saviours and why content providers prefer the broadband TV service over cable or satellite.
Just a few weeks ago, China said death tolls from natural disasters were no longer state secrets. Which makes the press clampdown over the recent typhoon in Fujian, sweeping away a military base, curious to say the least.
China and Japan are tussling over potential gas deposits in the East China Sea. Asia Times also looks at the China/Japan tussle in Indochina.
Jonathan Dresner is calling up for submissions and hosts of a Carnvial of Asian History. An excellent idea and I'm looking forward to the first edition. Please help spread the word.
Pundita takes issue with Spengler's piece on demographics and Chinese democracy.
Mark Thoma reproduces Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Macfalane's thoughts on global trade imbalances and states the problem is not caused by the USA but rather an Asian savings glut (although these days that glut extends to the oil exporters of the Middle East).
The SCMP reports Seoul is looking at opening a Disneyland. In the meantime, there's its Erotic Art Museum. On a related note, Japundit links to porn of the past (that link's safe, the one on JP isn't).
Well, I have to say this must-read contains nothing but the same-old. Chinese may not be ready for a national level democracy. But democracy also need a constant exercise especially for Chinese who have no history, experience, and knowledge for democracy. If CCP will fall in 50 years, it is very important to start the small scale democracy exercise now, no matter from the bottom or upper level! The exercise may also start from elites, farmers, merchants, workers, residents or shanghaiese, hongkonger...may last for 20 years, 40 years, 60 years....may change according the responses....may stop while waiting for the independent judicial systems....may discontinue because of big mistakes....may take a slightly different style for different regions.....but whatever, we must start! when CCP still have power to control everything, and when we still have a little time to survive from the mistakes.
We can risk our nation by burying our heads in the sand praying that one day people will suddenly have the faith, have the experience in operating a whole new system, have the ability to accept the loss... have everything that is essential for a working democracy.
It will never happen without the work-out! And this work-out must be exercising democracy itself instead of just becoming city residents, becoming a high school graduate, becoming a regilious believer or something else... And this work out takes time!
I am not sure if HU is an ostrich or not, but I hope not...I hope he is not too stupid to be fooled by the fools. I hope he is not too timid to be scared by those bullies. As an engineer, he should immediately start experimenting ideas for the future massive democracy project of China.
about car pooling, i guess it is the pressure from taxi industry. (i could trace the source to oil price that pressed the taxi drivers, but i would rather not stretch it:) )
but note that in HK, it is illegal to share a taxi with a stranger as well. (Honger call it "Fishing" -- Diao-ni-mang/Due-nai-marn) the taxi driver will be fined if caught.
what these people do not realize is that allowing car and taxi pooling is exactly what would help to solve the problem created by further increase of oil price (get rid of price control).
It is illegal to share taxis in Hong Kong, just as it's illegal to negotiate fares...but it still happens.
They will struggle to ban car pooling - who's going to dob in the car poolers? It's if the car poolers start charging for the ride, effectively becoming taxis themselves, that will bring trouble.
And yet for anyone that's ridden a Chinese taxi, anything has to be an improvement.
An excellent site (with the exception of the advert for the execrable Capitalist Solutions)!
As an expat gweilo with interest in HK/Taiwan/China politics and culture, I really appreciate your comprehensive coverage, user-friendly links, and often astute commentary.
Harry Hutton live blogs today's Jetblue plane crash so you don't have to. Listening to CNBC, the anchor was visibly disappointed with the safe landing and asked the ACME expert "but what if it had gone wrong?" Not that the media are disaster merchants or anything. Has the pilot got a book and movie deal yet?
Zhuan Jia: if anyone tells me in future how much China is developing and "opening up", I will have to tell them that it still has a long way to get near to what we take for granted.
Billmon on appeasing North Korea: A nuclear breakout (and the warheads it's added to North Korea's arsenal) is a pretty expensive way for a president to learn that sometimes you have to call people "Mr." -- even if they are spoiled pygmy tyrants.
Actually, you m ight be on to something. Or on something.
Posted by doug crets at September 22, 2005 06:04 PM
That "blogger's handbook" sounds like a publicity stunt. It was commented that it can't be downloaded in China, so who is it aimed at? A bit like the Germans passing the Enigma machine to Bletchley Park.
After a hard fought agreement, China already sees the North Koreans backsliding on the nuclear deal...and begs everyone (read North Korea) to live up to their promises. What's the betting that when the NK negotiators spoke with their superiors in Pyongyang, they got told they'd screwed up? China Hand talks about the talks, asking if they are a fiasco, business as usual or both? Oranckay wonders if the latest flap is the result of mistranslation. Andrew Sullivan says it was the Americans that blinked.
Thanks, as always for the links Simon. Yesterday's Linklets were the best ever in my opinion.
Congratulations also, on the UK Guardian newsblog link. It was funny, last night I was actually reading the Guardian newsblog, came across the Starbucks/Great Wall post and then realised that that the story had come from Simonworld. Could have knocked me down with a feather!
Thanks Martyn - yesterday's linklets did seem a particularly "heavy" edition.
As for the Guardian link, it was worth a few hits and it's always nice to get noticed by such places. Clearly no patch on your Instalanche...but I'll take it.
Unfortunatey, Insta-lanches happen but once in blue moon but I'm pleased that I was fortunate enough for it to happen to me once. When they do come around, it a makes for a hell of a time sitting watching 600-700 hits per hour come in.
I think we China people do well to have such a great blogasphere. I just wish all those Blogspot and Blog-City people would move to a non-blocked-in-China blog host.
After all, if I was a Chinese censor looking at the list of all the China-related blogs on Blogspot and Blog-City, I'd be feeling very pleased with myself.
You can't tell me that those blog hosting sites are way and above better than the hundreds of the blog hosting services.
Sorry, glad I got that off my chest. It's a bit of a pet peeve I have.
A Macanese bank is linked to North Korea and undergoes a run, losing 10% of deposits. Naturally one of its branches is in the Casino Lisbao. I was in Macau on the weekend and I didn't see one North Korean, but there was a brisk trade in matresses.
I really ''identify'' with what that blogger pointed out in his account of the NYT interview. I just want to summarize and go over the interview process. Basically, journalists don't just call you up to hound you into giving answers you don't want to give. It's usually a conversation, from what I can see.
Posted by doug crets at September 16, 2005 03:45 PM
Fair point, Doug. But that blogger felt he'd been boxed into a corner and was subtly moved into becoming the reporter's mouthpiece. It's like lawyers: they don't ask questions without knowing the answers.
Thanks for the kind comments. The reason why the RSS feed doesn't work is that I am now blocked in China, and have to go through a cumbersome proxy kind of procedure to post articles.. Updating the RSS feed is even more difficult.
Posted by Running Dog at September 17, 2005 12:33 AM
Bloggers are used to being called non-mainstream media (indeed many revel in that description). Now Hong Kong's Government has labelled magazines as non-mainstream media as well. We're in good company.
Cultural preservation or xenophobia in Chinese real estate? A rose is a rose is a rose is a rose, and a crappy development name is the same in any language.
Richard deals with the internet as bringing of freedom myth, saying China is well in control of the net. So instead of democracy we get Baywatch. If we're comparing Pamela Anderson and the Hodd with most politicians, it's no contest anywhere in the world.
Singapore Ink has a major problem with Thomas Friedman's piece on Singapore and Katrina...and that's aside from the op-ed being crap. Sure there's "good governance" in Singapore, in that one-party autocratic we-know-what's-best kind of way. Friedman's thesis is essentially this: if you're prepared to sacrifice freedom of speech, independent courts and a plurality if views in politics, your disaster recovery efforts will be great. Funniest of all, the NYT intends to charge to read Friedman and friends...which leads to this Barbra Streisand analogy.
The uproar over the charging of 2 Singaporean bloggers with sedition for racist comments continues unabated. Singapore Angle has great coverage: part 1, part 2, part 3. It returns to a question that continues cropping up for bloggers - they are subject to their local laws, even if they are on the internet. An easy rule of thumb is if you wouldn't publish it in a newspaper, don't put it on a blog.
Today's must read is Eswar Prasad's Next Steps for China in the IMF's magazine which argues that broader financial sector reform is crucial for China's long term growth (via New Economist). I've previously looked at studies of China's progress against poverty as part of its economic development. One of the conclusions was the much of China's early rapid growth has come from the "low-hanging fruit" (i.e. easy pickings) such as de-collectivisation, the institution of partial property rights and giving individuals responsibility. China is entering the next phase of its development - the harder yards of making a working market economy where price matters more than connections. The Government has already bailed out its banks once with huge recapitalisation efforts, yet there are fears that the non-performing loan pipeline is rapidly growing again. Until loans are made and priced on credit risk, the cycle will continue and China will quickly find itself at a growth bottleneck or worse...just as Japan has faced for 15 years.
I'm pleased to note Mark Anthony Jones has taken my advice and started a blog: Flowing Waters Never Stale.
Dan Drezner scores it China 1, Yahoo 0. Following eBay's purchase of Skype and the banning of VoIP services in China you could also score China Telecom 1, eBay 0, Chinese phone consumers -1.
Pollution sparks riots in China - as China grows wealthier, its citizens will care more about the environment. But this story is as much about Government authorities ignoring people at their peril.
Simon,
Breaking news: Google has introduced blog search.
URL: http://google.com/blogsearch
Related news: http://searchenginewatch.com/searchday/article.php/3548411
I'm still not sure if this is a hoax, but the attempt at oursourced blogging took another leap forward with the discovery of employees using IM. Who would have thought that those you talk to on IM might not be who they say they are?
Curzon quotes Japan's thumpingly re-elected PM Koizumi: "I rule". The irony is the poor performance of the DPJ opposition will create another virtual monopoly in Japanese politics - a loss for democracy and for the competition in ideas that has driven Japan to a point of reform. Gaijin Biker notes the Japanese babe theory in action. Japundit says you can tune out those who say Japanese nails get hammered in.
Big protests in South Korea over a statue of Douglas MacArthur. The Nomad has some photos which the State Department PR people should file under "Allies who may not like us despite fighting a war and stationing 30,000 troops there".
Indian winners from the EU-China bra wars. The Economist this week also notes that since the start of this year, when textile quotas were abolished, textile exports from Asian countries have risen. A bigger pie for all....just as expected.
Not that this means anything but that post ESWN wrote a blog entry about, with its 223,000 views and 4,000 comments, is not the most popular forum post ever. Not even close.
There's a thread on post.baidu.com which started on 9 June, 2004. As of today, it has collected 2,845,438 views and 53,816 comments.
It's a novel based on a Japanese anime written by a user of baidu.
(16:41) Hong Kong again tops the Cato's Economic Freedom poll, one seemingly designed to make small Asian city-states perpetual winners, despite those cities being dominated by oligopolies and the Government. Dan Drezner notes an intriguing finding about the relationship between economic and other freedoms.
(17:59) You too can download your very own Chinese official secret document...the same one journalist Shi Tao just got 10 years for, courtesy of Yahoo.
I found Dave's comments about the new Hong Kong Disneyland and its relationship with globalisation to be very interesting, as this is a topic that I myself have been looking at for quite some time now - only I have concentrated on the mainland's various Disney-type theme parks, particularly those to be found here in Shenzhen, where I live and work.
Those who are interesting in the topic of "hypereality" might also be interested in reading my own thoughts about China's new plethora of theme parks. Below is a piece I wrote about Shenzhen's Diwang Building, which is billed as the "first high-rise theme sightseeing and entertainment scenic spot in Asia." Your critical comments will be much appreciated!
KITSCH CITY III
In recognition of her hard work and loyalty, Gao Ying’s employer provided her with two free tickets to visit the Meridian View Centre, located on the 69th floor of the green-coloured Diwang Commercial Building, which towers up to 384 metres off Shenzhen’s main thoroughfare of Shennan Lu; the city’s most easily recognisable building, its main architectural symbol.
Our tickets were torn, and as we passed through the turnstile we were each handed a promotional brochure, bilingual, and which I wasted no time in reading. “Standing at the Meridian View Centre,” it said, “which is the first high-rise theme sightseeing and entertainment scenic spot in Asia, you can easily see just about any sight within Shenzhen city and parts of Hong Kong.”
“With the unique location and amazing view,” it continued, “it is the best place to witness the epoch-making policy one country-two systems and the great change of Shenzhen city from a small fishing village of late twenty years.”
I was quite keen to view the city from these heights, but before Gao Ying and I were able to make it to a window we were briskly ushered into a small cinema, where we were shown to a seat, and asked to wait patiently. Decked out like a ship’s cabin, the cinema resembled the sort a set one might expect to find at a Warner Bros. Movie World theme park. Within minutes the cinema was full, the lights turned down, and the show begun: the Pirate’s Legend, it was called.
Based on an old legend about a pirate named Zhang Baozai, who thrived in this area during the 19th century, this multi-media show was an attempt at simulacra, with its combination of video footage and holographic images all shown in synchronicity with the sounds of wind and rain and lashing waves that, when combined with the hidden high-powered fans that blew hurling gusts of wind onto the audience, were meant to simulate conditions out at sea. At one stage during the show, images of cute fury rats were shown scrambling about the ship’s lower decks, whilst my calf muscles were tickled by a moving “rat’s tail” hidden somewhere beneath my seat.
According to the Window of Shenzhen website, Zheng Baozai was not only a Robin Hood type character who robbed from the rich to give to the poor, but he also “successfully drove away the foreign invaders” from the Pearl River delta area, making him an ideal patriot; a folk hero to celebrate.
Of course, the reality of Zheng Baozai’s life wasn’t half as glamorous as it was made out to be by this kitschy presentation, with all of its treasure chests and shining swords and Disney-type imagery. For starters, Zheng didn’t succeed in “driving away” any foreign invaders at all – though the pirate Confederacy did inflict significant damage on the Qing navy. Piracy in fact was so out of control at the time, that the Chinese authorities actually sought the help of foreign fleets to help tackle the problem. Six Portuguese ships were hired for six months to work on pirate control, and it was with the help of a Portuguese official from Macau, Miguel de Arriaga, that Zheng was able to negotiate his surrender in 1810 to the Qing navy. Not only this, but pirate ships, including those of Zheng Baozai’s Red Fleet, seldom even attacked European ships except when known that they were very weak or poorly manned. He wasn’t quite the brave, fearless swashbuckling repeller of foreign invaders that he has so often been made out to be.
Zheng Baozai was certainly no Robin Hood either. Mr Glasspoole, an officer with the East India Company ship, Marquis of Ely, was actually captured with seven other men by Zheng’s fleet in 1809, and was held captive for eleven weeks until eventually being exchanged for a ransom of over $7,500, as well as for two chests of opium, two casks of gunpowder, and a telescope. After his release, Glasspoole wrote a report describing the activities of Zheng and his pirates, noting that they spent most of their energies plundering small coastal villages, and that in doing so, they behaved very barbarously. They regularly collected protection money, and villagers were often kidnapped and then ransomed for either food or for money. Many entire villages were burnt to the ground, and female captives were often forced into sexual slavery, usually sold for around $40 each, and those prisoners who attempted to escape were normally tortured or killed. A favourite method of torture, said Glasspoole, was to nail the feet to the deck for several hours.
Being a pirate in Zheng’s fleet was hardly glamorous. As Glasspoole noted, the ships were infested with rats, which were sometimes added to the human diet – a diet which normally consisted of little more than coarse red rice and fish. According to Glasspoole, at one time during his captivity they lived on only rice and caterpillars for three weeks. “Feast or famine,” he said, “was the normal lot on pirate ships.”
The Meridian View Centre’s entertainment certainly did distort the city’s past and present, in the way that it presented a nationalist cause centred on economic development and the country’s One-China Policy, and by its glorification of past anti-imperialist struggles, pitted against successive waves of foreign invaders by hero-pirates. It masked reality, with its claim that “the cultures, the style and features of both Shenzhen and Hong Kong have merged here beautifully,” and that both Shenzhen and Hong Kong share histories as “one continuous line, nurtured by the long Shenzhen River” whose “people have grown up on both sides” – whose common cause and whose shared destinies had been interrupted only briefly, by the colonial exploits of a foreign power. The fact that the Qing navy’s ability to resist foreign fleets had been seriously weakened by their own struggles with homegrown pirates, whose numbers are thought to have exceeded forty thousand, had simply been left out of the picture, omitted from the entertainment. The ambivalence that most of today’s Hong Kong residents feel towards Beijing’s political leadership was likewise, ignored.
What I also found interesting about the Pirate’s Legend show was the way that it distorted China’s sexual history, by presenting the past as though everybody had, in the 19th century, cherished the same sexual practices and morals that are now espoused by China’s mainstream today. The show made a big deal of the fact that Zheng Baozai married, that he was therefore not too far removed from society’s conventions. The fact that the woman he married was his boss, that it was a female pirate who led the entire Confederation, was simply left out of the presentation. The idea that a woman could be a leader, could wield so much power, just doesn’t sit very comfortably with the patriarchal attitudes of today’s business and financial leaders.
The inherent bisexuality of all human beings, if we accept Freud’s view, was also, perhaps not surprisingly, denied by the View Centre’s pirate legend. In ancient China, homosexuality was never regarded as a sin, and bisexuality was considered almost a norm. One thing which is rarely ever discussed by the Chinese today, is the fact that even the founder of the Chinese nation, China’s first Emperor, Qin Shihuang-di, had young male lovers. The scholar Pan Guangdan has even reached the conclusion that almost every emperor during the Han Dynasty had at least one male lover - a practice which was also common throughout the Song, Ming and Qing dynasties.
Early Western observers in China, such as the Jesuit Matthew Ricci for example, noted the acceptance of homosexuality in China, but could do little to change it. One British official, writing in 1806, reported that among the Chinese “the commission of this detestable and unnatural act is attended with so little sense of shame, or feelings of delicacy that many of the first officers of the state seemed to make no hesitation in publicly avowing it. Each of these officers is constantly attended by his pipe-bearer, who is generally a handsome boy, from fourteen to eighteen years of age, and is always well dressed.”
J.L. Turner, a British captive of Zheng Baozai’s Red Fleet in 1807, said that each pirate vessel carried eight to ten kidnapped women who were “intended to please all the society indiscriminately and to do the work of their sex,” yet it seemed to him that the “greater part of the crew were satisfied without them” because they instead were in the habit of committing “almost publicly crimes against nature.” Glasspoole, during his captivity, also noted that the most prized captives of the pirates were young boys.
The fact that Zheng Baozai himself was kidnapped by pirates at the age of fourteen was also omitted from the entertainment. Cheng I, the infamous leader of the pirate Confederacy, owed much of his success to the organisational and diplomatic skills of his wife, Cheng I Sao. It was they who kidnapped Zheng Baozai, whom they adopted as their son. Cheng I and Zheng Baozai soon became lovers, though Cheng I’s wife didn’t seem to resent this relationship. Indeed, Cheng I also maintained numerous other male lovers, including the commander of the Black Fleet, Kuo Po-o-Tai. When Cheng I died during a battle in Vietnam in 1807, aged 42, his wife, Cheng I Sao took over the command of the Confederacy, and appointed Zheng Baozai (her husband’s favourite) as her chief lieutenant – putting him in charge of the Red Fleet. Zheng himself was said to be a flamboyant young rogue, who often dressed in a purple silk robe and a black turban.
Zheng Baozai and Cheng I Sao did eventually marry one another, sometime after their surrender in 1810. The Governor-General of Canton had offered them both an amnesty in exchange for giving up their piracy, allowing Cheng I Sao to set up a very profitable gambling house and brothel in Canton, while Zheng Baozai went on to become a colonel in the Qing army.
Zheng is remembered and celebrated more than his superior though, simply because his leader was a woman, and women aren’t supposed to be leaders, let alone pirates - though his relationship with the “Queen of Pirates” has certainly been retained, packaged as a romantic Hollywood-type love story that had blossomed amidst all of the swashbuckling drama of the high seas. Disney films are now even making a sequel to Pirates of the Caribbean, starring the popular Hong Kong actor Chow Yun-Fat as Zheng Baozai. It will be interesting to see whether or not Cheng I Sao will also be featured as a character in the film, and if so, how. One thing that we can all be sure of though is this: Zheng’s bisexuality will be completely omitted from the script.
As Jean Baudrillard has argued, the postmodern world is a world whose signs have made a fundamental break from referring to "reality." In The Precession of Simulacra, Baudrillard wrote that simulation “is no longer that of a territory, a referential being, or a substance,” but rather “the generation by models of a real without origin or reality.” It is, he asserted, “no longer a question of imitation, nor duplication, nor even parody” but instead the substituting of “the signs of the real for the real." Primary examples he said, include psychosomatic illness, Disneyland, and Watergate. Fredric Jameson provided a similar definition: the simulacrum's "peculiar function lies in what Sartre would have called the derealisation of the whole surrounding world of everyday reality."
Even human sexuality it would seem, our own nature as human beings, has been derealised – substituted instead by a discourse that “naturalises” monogamous heterosexual relationships bound legally by marriage as the only “normal” practice of sexual behaviour and instinct – a discourse which is purely ideological and historical, but which is instead presented as being fundamentally inherent to our collective natures, and therefore unbroken by time. The simulacrum functions not only to entertain, but also to create and to maintain societal amnesia.
The imagery used to describe the various scenes one can enjoy from the View Centre’s windows provide yet another example of how the real is replaced by the beyond real, for they were clearly designed to give the impression that all of Shenzhen’s economic development had somehow been preordained by nature, that both Shenzhen and Hong Kong had been “nurtured” by the one mother. I wandered over to the viewing area, to one of the windows facing north, where I noticed a placard telling me that all of the “modern high-storey residences” that I could see had “grown up with plenty of vigour like the Wutong Mountain.”
So here in Shenzhen, towers of concrete and glass rise up out of the landscape as naturally as mountains do, “revealing the new look of the Shenzhen Economic Special Zone” for locals and visitors alike.
I turned again to my brochure, which, rather interestingly I thought, advised me that it was here that I could enjoy “a panoramic view of the real metropolitan scenes of Shenzhen and Hong Kong.” The word “real” is what aroused my curiosity, is what provoked me into ploughing deeper into analysis, for it seemed to me to be an admission that everything else here was merely fake. On offer were “life-like simulated flights in the air, a splendid high altitude web site, a robot guide, some colourful shopping space, a quiet and romantic café and so on.”
The café itself, facing south, not only offered its patrons a view, but also the “charm of old Hong Kong”, decorated as it was with a few street lamps and sign posts, faked in a 60s style, all there to give the café a look reminiscent of the type of scenes depicted in Wong Kar-Wai’s In the Mood for Love.
In his Travels in Hyperreality, the Italian writer and literary critic Umberto Eco, described a tour he once made of America, where he travelled to in order to gain a firsthand look at the imitations and replicas that were on display in that nation's many wax museums and theme parks. He found in them a metaphor for what he regarded as the “inauthenticity of American society.” The same, I believe, can be said about Shenzhen, as well as for many other parts of China, and indeed, the world.
The Meridian View Centre, like Shenzhen’s various theme parks as well as Hong Kong’s new Disneyland, offers little more than a simulated “paradise”, a distraction from the bleakness or blandness of everyday life, and of course, all for a price. Gao Ying and I may have had our tickets given to us for free, but printed on those tickets was an entry fee of 60 RMB.
Behind the façade, as always, there lurked a sales pitch. We had merely been sold something billed as being better than real – something which, in actuality, was little more than a fake reality, a conceptual and mythologised model of reality, but with no connection to reality, and with no origin in reality - marketable precisely because it was able to claim itself as being something more exciting and pleasant than reality. The panoramic view overlooking the “real” Shenzhen that one is able to enjoy from this building’s great height is simply not inspiring enough in itself, it would seem. The reality of Shenzhen’s cityscape is that it looks no different from all other Chinese cities of similar size. It is nothing special, nothing most people would be willing to pay 60 RMB to catch a glimpse of. The view from the Meridian View Centre is only marketable if the city’s history of economic development itself is mythologised, and if it is packaged together with other “attractions” – a “high-rise theme sightseeing and entertainment scenic spot,” as my brochure proclaimed.
Before leaving this hyperreality, Gao Ying and I paused to examine the wax replicas of Deng Xiaoping and Margaret Thatcher, both of whom were seated in discussion on red armchairs, in simulation of their historic 1982 meeting in Beijing to discuss the eventual handover of Hong Kong.
“Look at his watch,” observed Gao Ying. “It’s still ticking!”
Indeed it was ticking, and it even kept an accurate time. But of course, it was never Deng’s watch in the first place, not in actuality.
“What do you mean, it’s still ticking?” I smiled. “It was never actually worn by Deng, I’m sure.”
Gao Ying, suddenly realising her naivety, smiled with embarrassment. She had been momentarily fooled, seduced into this world of hyperreality, unable to recognise the difference between the real, and the beyond real. For her, this watch looked like the real watch that Deng had actually worn during his 1982 meeting with Thatcher, and so for her, it therefore was real, and its link to the real Deng Xiaoping it seemed, had remained unbroken by the years that had passed, with its hands still ticking, still keeping an accurate time. The authenticity claimed by this watch was not historical, but visual.
For me though, all of these “attractions,” including the wax models, were just far too kitsch to be convincing, to be capable of being construed in any way as reality.
Kitsch is more than just bad taste. It is bad taste precisely because it is false, because it is cheaply faked. It is, essentially, a commodity aesthetic, which is why kitsch is the new face of China - and nowhere perhaps is it more evident on the mainland than here in Shenzhen, where plastic coconut palm trees grow ubiquitously from street corners, and where many shops and schools and even some homes are designed to look like Disney castles, its massage parlours like Roman temples.
All of this hyperreality of course, imploded the moment we stepped back out onto the busy streets below, where we were confronted by the true reality of Shenzhen’s economic development, by all the inequalities it had produced, by the sight of the city’s nouve riche strolling along with shopping bags in hand, their clothes labelled with “brands” that signified their new power as consumers, elevating them to ever greater heights in social status. Wandering about from store to store, from “attraction” to “attraction”, these middle class slaves to fashion, with gods now reified as either money or things, inadvertently rubbed shoulders with the city’s beggars, with the city’s underclass – with people living out of rubbish bins, with people whose reality denied them access to such entertainment for distraction or denial, whose pockets were too empty to consume art for consolation, and whose life’s struggles they played out against the surreal backdrop that is Shenzhen kitsch.
This, although very long, was well worth me reading. Your analysis is both insightful and thought-provoking, and I think that your structuralist argument works better here than in your other article on blogs sites, mainly because you have grounded your argument historically, and therefore empirically, this time.
I especially enjoyed learning about Chinese pirates, and the homosexual history of China.
As an American myself, I appreciate just how embarrassing the Disneyfication of the world really is. The entire world, as you say, is painting itself in kitsch.
Mr. Jones,
Your analysis is both insightful and thought-provoking, and I think that your structuralist argument works better here than in your other article on blogs sites, mainly because you have grounded your argument historically, and therefore empirically, this time.
Then, in the Sept. 7 linklet comments, "Helen" writes:
Mr Jones,
A truly thorough and fascinating structuralist critique of China blogs. I'll never be able to read sites like TPD and this one again, without baring your analysis in mind.
Simon, how does it feel to be used like this? Are you proud of yourself, providing a platform for squatters who use your space to harass and stalk others? I really hope this happens to you one day. No, I can't actually say that because I like you and respect your intelligence. But I do hope that one day you know, at least for a moment, the kind of grief and harm someone like this can cause. And it cheapens your site and calls into question your integrity. Hiding behind your "Comments Policy" won't fly, because the issue transcends such artificial creations and boils down to what is right and what is wrong. And I know you know this.
By the way, Jones posted the exact same tedious comment on Flying Chair, always fishing for attention for himself at the expense of others.
Richard - what the hell is your problem? There is nothing wrong with this comment, and if you are accusing me of being Stan and/or Helen, then where the hell is your proof? Put up, or shut up! It is ironic that you are always accusing me of being a "stalker" (which is hyperbolic nonsense) when it is you and your Thought Police (like Martyn) who continually stalk me!
And Richard - if I post my comments on other peoples' blogs so what? Please tell me what is fundamentally wrong with that? Nothing! Another blogger (a regular reader of Simon World) has even emailed me wanting my permission to "publish" both my previous and my latest China Daily articles on his own blog. So is thnere anything wrong with that - that my writings my appear on multiple blogs? Grow up will you!
Well, in keeping with Simon's open comments policy where anything goes no matter how destructive or deranged, let me put up my own post so people here can see exactly what's going on. Then decide who's believable. I would usually never do this, but Simon feels whoever wants to use his comments for whatver ends is free to do so. Thus, I need to defend myself from everyone's favorite stalker.
This is from my own blog, posted July 11, 2005: THE FANTABULIST
I will let readers draw their own conclusions about this rather intriguing bit of research started by commenter KLS about fellow commenter MAJ in the last open thread:
MAJ why are you just copying and pasting other people's work?
for example, your really long comment above, starting "Dear Simon and Conrad, The value of the dollar vs the euro is directly related to..."
this is word-for-word copied from elsewhere.
I took a random line and googled it. the line was: "the US effectively controls the world oil-market as the"
via google I discovered two websites where a long essay has been posted about euros and dollars and oil. you copied and pasted over 700 words direct from that!
the only thing you changed was to insert intros such as "Simon, Conrad - also remember that..." at the beginning of one or two of the paragraphs.
or take your next long comment, starting: "Dear Conrad,
The other argument put forward by political analysists"
you directly copied and pasted 500 words that appear on this website:
see http://tinyurl.com/6ywnq
wouldn't it have been good manners to acknowledge that these words are not your own? and, rather than filling up a thread, to have provided links to these websites instead?
Posted by KLS at July 11, 2005 11:54 AM .
Oh dear, this is an intriguing development indeed. I was so impressed, I started doing my own investigation.
More than four-fifths of all foreign exchange transactions and half of all the world exports are denominated in dollars and US currency accounts for about two-thirds of all official exchange reserves. The fact that billions of dollars worth of oil is priced in dollars ensures the world domination of the dollar. It allows the US to act as the world's central bank, printing currency acceptable everywhere. The dollar has become an oil-backed, not gold-backed, currency.
More than four-fifths of all foreign exchange transactions and half of all the world exports are denominated in dollars and U.S. currency accounts for about two-thirds of all official exchange reserves. The fact that billions of dollars worth of oil is priced in dollars ensures the world domination of the dollar. It allows the U.S. to act as the world’s central bank, printing currency acceptable everywhere. The dollar has become an oil-backed, not gold-backed, currency.
Well, well. What are the odds of that being a pure coincidence? And what would the good Dr. Anne Meyers have to say about someone so insecure and eager for attention and approval that he would resort to such nasty tricks, a la Jayson Blair?
A few days earlier, our friend was caught doing the same thing and, as usual, had a sorta-kinda excuse akin to a dog eating one's homework; that excuse, where he said he had made reference to his source and was rapidly cutting and pasting and blah blah blah - that excuse won't fly this time because there's no attribution. Zero. It is literally an act of deception, in which MAJ consciously and consistently led us all to believe he himself was the author. And that is a very serious offense.
Again, I like MAJ. But when you blog, what you write is there for everyone to see, and if you get caught BS'ing, your crediblity is gone for good. This is a matter of lying. Deception. Fraud. And he's a repeat offender. And not even the good "Dr." Anne Myers can get him out of this mess. Sorry if this causes you a tad of embarrassment, Mark, but you left yourself wide open. I invite readers to comb the archives and find other instances of MAJ's creative cut & paste capabilities. There's a lot more where these few examples came from.
And whatever you do, don't miss the comments to that post, where Jones admits to impersonating an elderly female doctor and requesting photos pf the penises of male readers of Peking Duck. And he says Martyn and I should be ashamed.
Richard - I know the issues you have with MAJ. However it is wrong to characterise my comments as a place "where anything goes no matter how destructive or deranged". As I've stated previously, MAJ has done nothing on these pages to breach the rules of decency or respect that I expect people to abide by. You are within your rights to reply as you have, pointing out MAJ's past. But keep this civil.
Richard - all I can say is that I really do hope that readers take the time to carefully read through the Fantabulist thread, so that they can see for themselves (a) how entertaining that entire episode was, (b) how malicious you are being in claiming that I was after photos of other peoples' penises because as I said in my comment above, that is a serious distortion of the truth.
At any rate, nothing in the Fantabulist thread invalidates any of the arguments I have presented above, does it?
Your behaviour on this site says more about you than it does about me Richard.
We need to keep the perspective. It is important to remember this starts with this on Peking Duck Blog, if you read all comments thenyou will know all the story of Mr Jones:
http://pekingduck.org/archives/002656.php
Let's go on a walk to take a look in these comments. Here is what Mr Jones wrote on Peking Duck:
"This is just one last confirmation for you that my creator (the writer formally known as Mark Anthony Jones, Dr Myers, Bryce, Steve.L, etc, and who is now temporarily writing as me, Mark Anthony James, has decided to put to rest all of the above mentioned cyber characters, including me, Mark Anthony James. None of the above mentioned cyber characters will be contributing to Peking Duck from this moment on. Their email addresses have all been closed, and my email address, this one that I am using now, will also be closed a little later in the day - as I too am about to be put to death.
My creator wishes to assure you that he/she bares little and in most cases no resemblance to any of the above cyber characters, though he/she does take full responsibility for his/her creations, and apologises to you and to all of your readers for any loss of face, humiliation or offense caused by their appearances on your site.
My creator's use of your Peking Duck site for his/her experiments into the way people interact with one another on blog sites has now formally reached its conclusion, and so he/she wishes to assure you that he/she has no intentions of ever introducing other cyber characters onto your site at any time in the foreseeable future.
My creator often makes up stories to test his creativty, so I apologize for the fabrications and what some may see as "lies" I wrote on Peking Duck. Rest assured these "lies" were written with the best of intentions and helped me to carry put important research on the blogging behaviour of my fellow netizens. And really, why shouldnt I lie? Isn't the Intenet full of lies? I like to role play. It is fun to do at the university where I often get paid only to sit around. Lying is easy and it fills the time.
My creator has indeed, through his/her careful observations, been able to detect various patterns and regularities in behaviour, thus enabling him/her to formulate some tentative hypotheses, which he/she will need to further explore at a later date, but this, my creator would like to assure you, will be carried out using new cyber characters, and on a different blog site. My lies and false identities were the tools that made this possible.
Finally, my creator would like to assure you his experiements are over and we plan to gop into hibernation for severalmonths. You will not be seeing us anymore, and that is one promise I can assure you I will stand behind.
Respectfully yours,
Mark Anthony James
(writing on behalf of the writer formally known as Mark Anthony Jones, Dr. Myers, Bryce, Steven L., etc.)"
Everyone now know your mental illnesses and you say you are not real, but invention of a "creator." And this is the man complains about other people, if you really are a man, you said you were a woman in earlier posts. No one knows. Remember you also ask men rteaders to sen you pictures of their private parts when you pretend to be an old woman doctor. And people here listen to you as serious thinker. Ha ha ha.
I wouldn't normally mind the type of comment above (I'm thick skinned) but the problem here, as with the comment on the September 7 linklet that Richard just posted, is that I did not write it. It paraphrases me in places, yes, but I did not produce this comment. Somebody posted it in the comments section of the China Daily under my name - rather vindictive!
China's six challenges in the 21st Century. In short they are population/demographics; natural resource consumption; the environment; urbanisation; narrowing regional gaps and problems in rural areas.
Rusty looks at Jihad in China and says China is America's natural ally in the war on terror. By the same token, however, China uses the war on terror as a cover for some disgraceful human rights abuses, particularly in Xinjiang.
Tom, I'm not calling you a moonbat...this time. I'm referring to the collection of Korean farmers, Levis wearing uni students and motley crew of anarchists, commies and others who will no doubt be visiting the Big Lychee in early December.
And people defending their livelihoods against negotiations based upon which trading bloc can wield the most diplomatic/economic power are moonbats? *geesh*
If the WTO were half as much about "free trade" as the "pro-globalisation" faction waxes poetically about, it might not be so farcical.
The fate of the WTO negotiations in Cancun proved that they had nothing to do with free trade and all about the US and EU trying to pry economic concessions out of other countries while refusing to create a level playing field going the opposite direction.
So this time it's opening up banking and securities markets to huge multi-nationals while refusing to budge on agricultural subsidies rather than opium and tea, but the negotiations still aren't about "free trade".
What is the WTO about if it's not about free trade? The problem at Cancun was the developing economies, lead by Brazil and India, would not make any concessions on their trade barriers unless the EU, Japan and US dismantled all of theirs. Fair enough, except the previous WTO/GATT rounds have required little from developing countries but huge concessions from the big economies. This time the big ones said it was time for the developing countries to make some of their own concessions, which they weren't prepared to do.
Don't get me wrong: the EU, Japan and US all have some horrible trade policies. But the blame can be fairly shared over Cancun. They won't budge on agriculture unless developing countries move. I'd have though that's fair.
Let's leave this pettty idea that this all about the US and EU exploiting poor countries. It's nothing of the sort.
As some of you no doubt already know, I have an interest in deconstructing English-language China blogs, as well as those characters who contribute to them. In order to deconstruct bloggers, I have at times written under the guise of various personas, and I have also at times provoked bloggers and blog hosts in order to test their responses, to see how blog communities behave towards dissidents, to see whether the "tribal mind" also exists in cyberspace, and if so, how it manifests itself through acts of online loyalty and aggression towards the "Other".
Some time ago now, I also wrote an article on the ethnocentrism of English-language China blogs for the China Daily as part of my efforts to deconstruct, and I have now been asked to write a follow-up to this. What follows below is a draft only, and I would like to invite readers of Simon's World to comment critically on it, as I may wish to revise it before submitting it.
Regards,
Mark Anthony Jones
“Regimes of truth” – how Westerners imagine China
My earlier article on the pages of the China Daily, which focussed on the disappointing ethnocentrism of English-language China blogs, provoked quite a lengthy and heated response among readers, with many dismissing it as merely the revengeful product of a man “with an axe to grind” or as the discourse of a “CCP apologist” wilfully blind to the “obvious”.
It was the product of neither.
Rather, it was simply a critical comment made by me on the prevalent discourse pushed by many English-language China blogs. What I would like to do now is to place these blog sites into a wider context in order to further explore their validity or lack thereof, and in order to do this, I shall draw heavily from the theories of Michel Foucault and the late Edward Said.
Let us begin with Foucault, who argued that knowledge or “truth” is in effect a function of power, and that those who hold power can and do use it to further their own interests. Foucault described this “regime of truth” as being “linked in a circular relation with systems of power which produce and sustain it, and to effects of power which it induces and which extend it.” According to this theory then, images of China would tend to become a bulwark for a particular set of policies towards that country, or even for a more general policy. Information would be carefully selected and propagated to justify that policy or set of policies. The relationship between knowledge and reality would dwindle in importance beside that between knowledge and power.
The other theory I shall use is that of Edward Said, who argued that Western scholars misrepresent and produce distorted accounts of Eastern civilisations because of their ethnocentric attitudes. In particular, Said criticised Western commentators for their frequent failure and inability to examine Asian societies in their own terms.
Let me begin by examining whether or not Foucault’s theory of power and knowledge can be applied to Western images of China, and whether or not English-language China blogs like The Peking Duck reflect a wider discourse.
Colin Mackerras, in his book Western Images of China, believes that the dominant images the West has had of China, both past and present, “accord with, rather than oppose, the interests of the main Western authorities or governments of the day.” Mackerras’s study shows quite clearly that there has indeed been a “regime of truth” concerning China, which has effected and raised “the status of those who are charged with saying what counts as true” about that country. Having carried out both thorough qualitative and quantitative research, Mackerras reaches the conclusion that the period following the Beijing [incident] to the present represents the most complicated period since Roman times in terms of Western images of China:
“What is striking about this period is that the preoccupation of Western images with matters concerned with human rights and dissidents gained an added emphasis at just the same time that the general standard of livelihood of the Chinese people rose to an extent unprecedented in China’s history. This is not to deny the existence of human rights issues, but the focus they received in the Western media was both ironic and unwarranted by comparison with the improvements.”
I couldn’t agree more, and this is the issue I have not only with the corporate media of the West, but also with the English-language China blogs that I criticised in my earlier article, whose lack of fairness and balance I would suggest simply mirrors the “regime of truth” propagated by Western governments, who of course formulate foreign policies designed to service the needs of a particular social class.
The “regime of truth” I speak about is quite different from that which existed in previous times throughout history, and as Mackerras has observed, that’s because today “its source is only partly within the governments of Western countries, and rests to some extent with vocal groups within society that are preoccupied with particular issues and have the ways and means to project their views and exert an influence on society out of proportion to their size.” Where I disagree with Mackerras is in how to account for this phenomenon. While he sees this as an indication of the “growing power of [grassroots] democratic institutions” in the West, I see it more as reflecting the diverging interests of capital – a split which we see exposed by the current disputes that are taking place in both Europe and the U.S. over quotas imposed in the textiles trade. Western manufacturers often have conflicting interests with retailers and consumers, and lobbying groups from both sides continually seek to influence government policy when it comes to trade relations with China. Usually it is the retailers and distributors who praise China’s development and place in the world, while the manufacturers are the ones who, not surprisingly, draw attention to human rights issues as a means to justify trade barriers and other policies of protectionism. Even the smallest of grassroots political movements can manage to exert a huge influence on society when their message is exploited by politicians representing the more powerful sectors of the economy.
Like much of the corporate media in the West, blog sites like The Peking Duck focus largely on China’s human rights issues, but offer only a one-sided view. Sure, individual bloggers are free to express diverging views in the comments section of each thread, but those brave enough to do so are often swamped by personal insults and are dismissed as “CCP apologists” before being effectively ostracised. Even at the level of the individual blog site, there exists a “regime of truth”.
One issue which often crops up in both the Western media and therefore on China blogs, is that of Tibet, and the images produced are almost always strongly negative. Hollywood films like Seven Years in Tibet have helped to popularise images among Westerners of China as an evil, murderous monolith, not too dissimilar to Nazi Germany. One only has to visit Tibet, as I have, to see that the claims made against China are exaggerated – sometimes wildly. While genuine human rights issues do exist in Tibet, and throughout China more widely (as they do in all countries), the notion that Tibetans are being “swamped” by Han Chinese in their own “country” is simply not true, for the Han population in Tibet outside of Lhasa remains relatively very small – though of course this image does not get very much of a hearing in the West.
The argument that Tibetan culture is being “destroyed” is as equally fictitious. Anybody who visits Tibet today (including the Kham region, where Han influence is at its strongest) will encounter a thriving Tibetan culture, though in the major cities and tourist destinations such culture exists to some extent in a commodified form, with retailers who are often Han. But in this sense, the fate of Tibetan culture is no different from that of all other minority and indigenous cultures throughout the world – all of which now rely to some extent at least on commercialism to help keep them maintained or revived. Tibetan Buddhism is no exception - widely practiced still throughout Tibet, and evidently quite freely, it is nevertheless becoming increasingly commercialised – a response largely to the growth in a Tibetan tourist industry which draws from both Chinese domestic and foreign markets. It is not only Han entrepreneurs who benefit from the commercialisation of Tibetan Buddhism, but so too do many Tibetan Buddhists themselves, and foreign publishers and filmmakers are also in the habit of cashing in on it, even turning the Dalai Lama himself into a commodity, whose plethora of forewords and postscripts are frequently used to market other peoples’ books on topics ranging from the strictly spiritual to the overtly political.
Another theme which frequently pops up in the Western media, and therefore also on the pages of English-language China blogs, is this idea that China’s rapid economic development somehow poses a threat to the Western world. It is a theme more commonly explored by Americans than anyone else, which no doubt reflects a deeply ingrained American fear for its “imagined community’s” future position as global hegemon. There are many in the United States who worry that China may one day eventually surpass them in terms of world influence, and while many, if not most, may wish for good general relations with China, in particular in economic terms, they may not always be too keen to assist in China’s rise. This deeply ingrained fear I think is tamed more often than not through comfort, in that the trend among professional journalists and bloggers alike is to belittle China by dismissing it as dysfunctional, as hopelessly backward, as a society whose political system is incapable of managing effectively the country’s many social and environmental challenges – all of which are constantly entertained as being the possible root causes of a possible future breakdown. Predictions of China’s impending collapse represent little more than wishing thinking, fantasies for those who feel threatened to seek comfort in.
Examples of such “comfort-thinking” can be found regularly on the pages of The Peking Duck blog, but perhaps no better example can be found there than the report detailing John Pomfret’s address on China, to be found in The Peking Duck’s November 14 archive. Pomfret, who was former bureau chief of the Washington Post's Beijing office, reportedly argued in a speech he gave in the U.S. “that there is no need for the West to fear China becoming a global superpower along the lines of the USA” because, says Pomfret, “not all of China’s dreams [can] be achieved because hard-wired into their DNA are serious constraints that will keep China from becoming what it aspires to. Most of China is a third-, fourth- and fifth-world country" under constant threat from unimaginable poverty, so many people to employ, AIDS, a devastated environment, etc.
Richard, the owner and host of The Peking Duck, was of course enthusiastic in his endorsement of Pomfret’s views, comfortable perhaps with the thought that China is unlikely to ever become a “global superpower” capable of surpassing the “imagined community” that he is so emotionally bonded to – that of the United States.
Pomfret’s use of the “DNA” metaphor to bolster his argument that China is simply not capable of ever rising to the status of a superpower is interesting in itself, for its implicit racism, and it is onto issues of racism and ethnocentrism that I shall now turn to.
Have corporate image-makers in the West distorted their audience’s image of China with ethnocentric biases, by a failure to judge China on its own terms? Once again, the observations of Colin Mackerras are worth considering:
“The controversy over human rights…[is] based at least in part on whether it is appropriate to give priority to the rights of the individual or the community, with critical images of China based largely on an emphasis on the universality of individual rights.”
Of course, all societies need to strike a balance when it comes to protecting the rights of individuals and the rights of the wider community. Freedom of speech for example, is indeed negotiable, even in Western societies, where various forms of censorship are practiced in the interests of protecting the wider community. Apart from defamation laws, racial vilification laws exist in most Western countries. These racial vilification laws differ slightly from country to country, but let us take Australia's racial vilification laws as an example. The law there forbids the public airing (including the use of websites) of any messages that can be shown to cause "insult, humiliation or distress" to an individual or group of individuals based on their ethnicity, nationality or religious affiliation. This is how a "hate" site is defined. Hate sites do not necessarily need to incite hatred - they need only to cause "insult, humiliation or distress" to be classified as a "hate" site.
The racial vilification laws of New Zealand, Canada, and most Western Europeans countries are almost the same in this regard. And these laws are often put into practice. In 2002, an Australian man by the name of Frederick Toben for example, was ordered by the Australian Government to shut down his website which claimed that the Nazi holocaust did not occur because it caused some Jewish Australians considerable "distress".
China has every right to formulate its own laws, and it has every right, just like every other country, to ban websites and other publications that cause its own citizens "insult, humiliation or distress," or to censor information in the interests of maintaining social cohesion and stability. It’s not difficult to charge many Western critics of China with a failure to see human rights problems in Chinese terms. This is not to say, of course, that Chinese society ought not to be open to criticism by foreigners and Chinese nationals alike, but rather, that such criticisms need to be based on empirically verifiable research, and that any conclusions drawn need to be fair and balanced, and that the people of China ought to be judged in their own terms, not according to the values of Westerners. The right balance struck in protecting the rights of the individual against the rights of the wider community in one country, may not necessarily represent an appropriate balance for another. You can often borrow ideas, but you can’t borrow situations.
The hosts of most blog sites simply copy and paste other peoples’ articles, often with the corporate media as the source, in order to generate discussion. Here, I once again draw upon Foucault’s theory of power and knowledge: the U.S. government only has to feed information into a giant international mass media machine to put its own views over to the Western world, and when it comes to managing foreign relations, information is always carefully selected and propagated in order to justify the government policies of the day. My argument here is that many blog hosts, like Richard the host of The Peking Duck for example, merely help to further reinforce such dominant images, negative images that reflect a political discourse, because it is he who normally does all of the selecting – it is he who decides which China-related articles are introduced to his readers for critical discussion. And when it comes to choosing, Richard to date has proven to be rather selective, in that over 80 percent of all of his China-related articles view China through negative eyes, with most of them having been selected from U.S. corporate media sources. He has every right to choose which articles he wants to introduce to his readers of course, after all, it is his site. But thanks to his biased selection, the relationship between the “knowledge” he presents and the realities of China dwindles in importance when compared to the “knowledge” he presents and the exercising of corporate power, since it is predominantly the “knowledge” produced by corporate power that he draws most heavily from when making his selections.
Finally, I acknowledge that the relationship between images and realities is an enormously complex and problematic one. But as Colin Mackerras has so rightly pointed out, the fact is, “China has been over the centuries, and remains, a country so diverse that misery and joy, poverty and prosperity have all been and are all completely real….[but] different observers attach distinct scales of importance to the same phenomena because each may differ sharply from the others in knowledge, experience, skills, and assumptions.”
Even China “specialists” find it difficult to fit together images and realities, and so one might imagine how much more difficult it is for the great majority who make no pretence to knowledge about China and who, if interested, seek guidance in the formulation of their own images. Those who seek such guidance from the plethora of existing English-language China blogs should thus read them with some considerable caution, and should avoid being swept up by the harsh storms of China-bashing vindictiveness that are more often than not brewed in what are essentially little more than teacups, sometimes filled to the brim with thick and poisonous bile, poured from the mouths of hate-filled bloggers whose insults to both China and to people like me are cathartic, though the release of such aggression signifies, arguably, failures on their part to attain sublimated forms of enjoyment in a foreign country that does not always, depending on where exactly they reside, provide them with the same levels of immediate gratification that they may have been accustomed to in their home countries. Release then, I would argue, for some at least, often takes the form of an unarticulated ethnocentrism.
One of the other things that makes The Peking Duck site so interesting and worthy of study, is that almost as much space is dedicated to U.S. politics, and here we can see the same kind of trend - a clear bias in the types of American-related articles Richard chooses to select for reader discussion. The vast majority of his American-related articles focus on the political, with almost every single article expressing "truth" through Democtratic Party lenses. In this sense, The Peking Duck also mirrors the sharp divisions in U.S. society, especially when readers like Conrad write in to defend the Republican viewpoint. The Peking Duck can perhaps be seen as a microcosm of U.S. society, although by carefully selecting articles that reflect a clear bias, Richard the owner and host has effectively produced a political platform to promote Democratic Party views and agendas.
Through his biased selection of both China-related and American-related articles from the U.S. corporate media, Richard effectively represents the interests of certains corporate sectors in the U.S. and global economies.
What are you smokin' by making those claims about Cancun? *geesh* The developing nations weren't asking for dismantling all of anything. *geesh*
And the notion of trying to run an equivalency of trade barriers between developed and developing countries is lunacy at best. The history of the US and its financial sector to produce these mature multi-national financial institutions is fraught with political favours and quid pro quo.
And as you point out the WTO meetings are about states trying to procure trade advantages for "their" companies, ie friends and campaign contributors, while surrendering as few trade concessions as possible, especially for your friends and campaign contributors.
Sounds more like the British East India Company and the Crown's mercantilism opening trade markets wrapped in "Free Trade" vocabulary (what did you write about the marketing of the Dark Side of the Force?) rather than anything having to do with comparative advantage as defined by Adam Smith.
{Or are you going to tell me that all of those political contributions and lobbying from large US based multi-national financial services corporations are altruistic and not about trying to increase their profits by state meddling in the marketplace?}
Please get your own blog. That is the most appropriate forum for posting articles like this.
Naturally I disagree with much of what you said. Said's criticisms are essentially circular - no Westerner can comment on Asian societies because they are Western. That's complete nonsense. In a free market of ideas, anyone can comment on any society they like. The validity of those views is re-enforced by their popularity. As for ethnocentrism, people are always going to view things through the prism of their own experiences and background. To expect otherwise is to expect us to not be human.
I understand the point on human rights vs economic development in viewing China. However these days you can hardly open a paper without seeing another "China miracle" article, so I'm not sure that point holds true any more. I also agree with you that China is more nuanced than often given credit for. However your point that each country has the right to forumate its own laws founders because China's people have not chosen their leaders and laws, but had them imposed upon them.
But coming back to the main point. Of course particular blog sites reflect the biases of their author. Peking Duck makes no attempts to hide his bias, his views and his feelings. He only posts "one-sided articles" because that's his perogative. Just as individual countries have the right to make laws as they see fit, individual site owners have the right to post whatever they like.
That's why I encourage you to get your own site. You obviously have your own views, and are free to express them (a right, I note, many in China do not have). The ethnocentrism or otherwise of other sites is their perogative. Until you have your own site where you state your own views and stand to defend them, your criticisms ring hollow.
I have been away travelling for work all day today, but I will address all of your criticisms tomorrow.
Until then, thanks for your comments. The China Daily free talk forum (where I have also posted this draft) has also stimulated a number of interesting responses (around 6 or 7 so far).
(1). You say that Edward Said's theory is "circular" in that it implies that no Westerner can ever be qualified to make critical observations of Asian societies. This is a fair comment, but I think that you have perhaps misunderstood Said's theory here - because that's certainly not the conclusion that he himself drew. It is possible for Westerners, said Said, "not to be blind to human reality". Of course us Westerners are capable, if we are careful enough, if we have the right attitude, to view other cultures in their own terms. There was, for example, little of the ethnocentrist in Marco Polo, despite the threat the Mongols had appeared to present to Europe not long before his time. What is striking is how fair he was, the extent to which he was prepared to see and judge China in its own terms - especially as far as the Emperor and political system were concerned. One can hardly charge a man like Du Halde with ethnocentrism either, when his work on China was so defensive about it, and both Voltaire and Quesnay praised China in order to criticise their own country - the precise antithesis of ethnocentrism.
It wasn't really until the 19th century when Europe had begun its Industrial Revolution that such strong ethnocentric views towards Asia began to surface heavily and strongly. Confidence in its own superiority was at a peak for Europeans, and this occured just at the time when China's civilisation was in sharp decline. So it is not surprising that the overwhelming majority of images presented at that time reflected feelings of superiority in a sharply ethnocentrist way.
Simon, it is curious to me that you speak of a "free market" of ideas, and that you then go on to judge the validity of such ideas by how popular they are! Can we say then, to take your logic to its extreme, that Nazi ideas of race were valid and ethical? These ideas, after all, were held by the fair majority of Germans back in the late 1930s and early 1940s. The inherent superiority of the German people was a popular idea among Germans themselves for a while. Surely we cannot say that ideas are valid simply by how popular they are! You treat ideas as though they were merely free-floating commodities.
(2) Your argument that China is almost daily viewed by the Western corporate media as being an economic miracle is a valid one, but then look, I did, in my article above, point out the fact that the bourgeoisie of the West are split in their attitudes towards China - that Western images of China are thus now more complex and ambiguous than ever - than since Roman times. As I said, many manufacturers feel threatened by China's rise - they don't like the competition, and hence they exploit and exaggerate human rights issues as a tool to help lobby governments into imposing trade restrictions, etc. Other industries, like the education industry, as well as the retailers and distributors of consumer goods - they usually praise China's place in the world, as they stand to benefit from having easy access to China's markets, and from being able to import cheap goods from China.
My argument here, is that the overwhelming majority of images selected by Richard reflect the interests of those sectors in the U.S. economy who feel threatened by China's economic rise - hence the heavy focus on human rigthts issues.
(3) You argue that the CCP does not have a right to formulate laws on the basis that they were never elected into power, and that they therefore do not have the mandate to formulate laws. This seems to me like a rather silly argument really. Where, for starters, is your evidence to show that the majority of Chinese mainlanders don't support the CCP? You only have to talk to people here to discover that attitudes towards CCP rule vary greatly, and that such attidues are always very complex. On the one hand, we have the overwhelming majority of middle class mainlanders (which has now grown to over 11 million) who generally support the CCP, because they can see very clearly that life in China's urban coastal areas has improved greatly over the last 20 years. Deng Xiaoping is especially enormously popular here in Shenzhen - not surprisingly perhaps, since he chose Shenzhen as the country's first SEZ - and Shenzhen is now officially the mainland's third most developed city: Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen, and Guangzhou comes in at fourth.
Such popular sentiments among the middle classes here are mirrored by the country's celebrities - everyone from Zhang Ziyi to Yao Ming praise the CCP as having, on balance, a positive legacy.
I have also met many who are ambivalent towards the CCP, and a few who have expressed strong criticisms of it - and openly so. Anecdotal evidence on my part, I know, but this is the strong impression that I have gained after having lived and worked here for almost four years - and I spent my first two years here in a small provincial town in the middle of Jiangsu - most people I spoke to there also praised the CCP, though critically.
Life in China's more remote villages is far more compex though, but even in villages that have engaged in open conflicts with authority over land thefts, corruption issues, etc., you will find that the majority continue to view the CCP in positive terms, and that they often appeal to the law and to the law courts as a way of fighting local authorities - often successfully too I might add. In other words, they don't usually blame the CCP for their problems, but rather, corrupt individuals at the local level. Clearly, even the most oppressed and economically disadvantaged here on the mainland place a high use-value and regard for the laws of the land - laws which you claim the CCP has no mandate to introduce and to enforce.
Most Chinese here will also tell you that capitalism here, and the growing liberalism this has given expression to, was only made possible by the fact that the CCP, under Mao, had brought about the necessary stability to enable economic growth and developemnt to have occured. This is also the dominant view among most Western scholars too by the way. That is not to say that Mao didn't have his many serious faults, but rather, that his overall legacy as leader of the CCP has been a historically important and progressive one.
Your views towards democracy issues and the CCP reflect (it would seem) an unwillingness on your part to view the CCP and the attitudes of the Chinese in their own terms. For you, China can only progress into something truly admirable if it adopts the political culture of the West. Many will disagree with you on this - including many Westerners. Democracy does not always lead to stability and peace for starters - it can in some societies create more problems than it solves, and I shall be more than happy to discuss this with you in more detail if you are interested.
(4) I agree that blog hosts (like Richard for example) have every right to select whatever articles they like to introduce to their readers. I have NEVER suggested otherwise, and I made this very clear in my draft article above. My purpose in writing this article is to deconstruct - to examine the nature of such English-language China blogs. My conclusion is that they reflect the corporate interests of a particular section of the ruling classes of the U.S. and the Western "democracies" in general - and that's becasue the overwhelming majority of the articles selected for use by such blog hosts have the corporate media as their source, though even here, articles are carefully selected, so that in effect they mirror the interests not of retailers and importers, but rather, of the "old" economy - the textiles industry, car manufacturers, etc.
(5) I don't see the logic in arguing that one has to have a blog of his/her own in order to me able to make valid criticisms of other peoples' blogs. Please explain, in philosophical terms, why you think so.
Mr Jones,
A truly thorough and fascinating structuralist critique of China blogs. I'll never be able to read sites like TPD and this one again, without baring your analysis in mind.
I'm not sure about your take on Tibet though - but then I guess your analysis of what has taken place there doesn't really detract in any way from your overall argument.
1. This whole point boils down to one thing: in your view the only valid way to view a culture or society is through their own eyes. Marco Polo was inevitably influenced by his own background, regardless of the empathy he showed for the cultures he met. There is nothing wrong with "going native", but it is not the only legitimate method of discussing societies and cultures.
2. I put to you a different view - that TPD's views represent his heartfelt concerns for the rights of a people he cares deeply about. That it may co-incide with corporate interests is irrelevant. I see correlation but not causation. You seem to suggest Richard is a tool of these corporate interests, but that is not the only nor correct explaination.
3. You've miscontrued my point. The CCP are the governing party of China, of course they can make laws. They can only continue to govern via fear/control and/or benevloent dictatorship. This has been the case for some time. If the CCP are as widely popular as your anecdotal evidence suggests, they should be comfortable subjecting themselves to a popular democratic mandate. However I also would note that freedom of expression is not a widely known part of modern Chinese discource - as you well know, criticising the CCP is still a fraught business for Mainlanders. I have given the CCP credit perviously for their achievements - bringing order to a chaotic state, and since Deng's reforms bringing literally millions out of poverty. But it has come at a very high price.
You also perpetuate the fallacy that democracy is a "Western" value. It is no such thing. I advocate the people need to have impartial courts, corruption free government, freedom to express themselves via the press and assembly, and the ability to vote for those who govern them. It is the model adopted by the West and it has proved successful in creating peaceful, prosperous societies. China is trying a different model to create a peaceful, prosperous society. I do not think it can last, whereas the USA has lasted 300 years and English democracy even longer. They've got runs on the board, so to speak.
4. I'm missing your point here. The point of a blog is that the owner can post whatever takes their fancy. As I said above, if that co-incides with corporate interests, that means nothing in itself. As for relying on corporate media, most bloggers are individuals without the resources of major media corporations. We have to rely on them. What bloggers do (often) is de-construct those stories, or use them to highlight their politics, or to emphasise a point. TPD acknowledges a love for China and the Chinese people. It's the Government he has a problem with.
5. I am imploring you to get your own site for several reasons:
a. Clearly you have a lot to say, and while I'm happy to debate in my comments section, you could open this up to a wider audience again via your own site.
b. Call it the stones/greenhouse effect - until you have your own, your comments might be valid but lack conviction.
c. Your own "ethnocentrism" point should apply to yourself, no? If you cannot view a blog from a blogger's perspective, you are guilty of exactly what you are accusing TPD.
d. An analogy: a book reviewer can come from any background, but the best reviews usually come from authors (see George Orwell for one example).
Thanks again for your spirited arguments. I shall not address all of your points, as I am busy right now, but firstly let me say that I agree with you that Richard's blog correlates with the interests of a particular section of the U.S. ruling class, but that like you, I see no causation in this. But then, I was not suggesting that there was any causation, other than Richard's own political bias, which can most clearly be seen reflected in his American-related posts. What Richard is guilty of though, is in presenting to his readers a lack of balance, and I think that that is a reasonable criticism for me to make.
I am not challenging his right to push a particular discourse - I am merely alerting readers to the fact that he does push a discourse, and this discourse reflects those of particular class interests.
I have no doubt that Richard's interest in the Chinese people is heartfelt and sincere - but then, I have never argued otherwise. His criticms of the CCP, while in many cases are valid and reasonable, nevertheless, on the whole, reflect a lack of balance and fairness. This has always been my main problem with his site, and with others like it.
Finally, I have never suggested that "democracy" is a Western value only - but you need to define what you mean by "democracy". I do not agree that the Westminster system is necessarily well suited to all other countries and cultures, nor do I think that the Westminster system is particularly "democratic".
China's model is still in its infancy, and is still evolving. I think it is way too soon to make judgements - the jury is still out on that one!
And I don't see how I can be judged to be lacking in conviction, simply because my comments are placed on somebody else's blog, instead of on a blog of my own!
Also, being able to view a blog from the blogger's perspective hardly equates to "ethnocentrism", does it? My imagination is indeed good enough to be able to empathise with a blogger, and to view a blog from the blogger's point of view. But my task here is to deconstruct the blog, not to empathise with it or its owner. It is possible to deconstruct another society, another culture, and to still avoid viewing it ethnocentrically. It's a matter of looking at a society, or at the key players and shapers of a society, and then determining what they are out to achieve, and why they choose the methods they do. That is, to view that society and its people and culture in its own terms, and to measure its successes or failures in it own terms. To do this fairly, doesn't mean that one has to avoid being critical.
I might add that our narcissistic freak friend has now learned the use of proxy servers. He's recently appeared on TPD in various guises praising his own article here on simonworld and providing details of how other readers can find it. What a fool. Must have been quite a revelation to learn about proxy servers - something that all China expats have known for years.
Simon: a rabid dog is still a rabid dog, even if it allows you to pet it sometimes. I'm numbed that you are willingly engaging the freak even knowing what he is and what he has done.
I'd like to respectfully point out, perhaps you've also noticed Simon, how the freak never bothers to comment on your posts or ever engage you on anything that you have to say. Where are his comments? After all, you allow him to post freely here, unlike TPD which bans his posts immediately. No, he only comments on HIS OWN posts as above because narcissists only care about themselves and their own views.
Despite this, you engage him point-for-point. as if he is a normal person.
If anyone wants to read the the truth about Mark Anthony Jones impersonating women, asking other TPD commenters to send him photos of their penis, assuming many, many aliases in order to praise and support his own cut+pasted comments, explaining that he trolls China-related websites for "fun and selfish entertainment". Then please, please go and read that above link that I provided.
Trust me, once you've read that, you'll think twice before engaging, or even reading the words of MArk Anthony Jones.
Martyn, is there really any need for you to be this rude and aggressive towards others? I read the link you mentioned above on the Fantabulist, and I encourage others to do so as well because the entire episode really is quite amusing. I really don't understand why you have such a chip on your shoulder.
Besides, Mr. Jones' article here on this site ought to be read and judged for what it says. What Mr. Jones has written elsewhere in the past is irrelevant.
And Mr.Jones, one request. Please bring back Dr.Anne Myers - her cheeky analyses were wonderfully entertaining and amusing.
Well, I'd never! I'd never have imagined that I would one day have a comment of mine deleted from a blog site, but that's exactly what happened to me earlier today over at the Peking Duck.
Did I use any expletives? No. Did I insult anybody? No. So what was my crime? I was accused by somebody called Other Lisa of having a writing style similar or identical to that of Mr.Jones, and within minutes the host of that site deleted my comment.
My comment, incidentally, voiced criticism over this very behaviour. The night before, I and at least two others were accused of being Mr. Jones. Today, another writer named Math was also accused of being Mr.Jones (though everybody else's comments have yet to be deleted - only mine). I find it very sad that everytime somebody expresses a dissenting view over there that they are immediately written off and dismissed as being Mr.Jones.
I have come to the awful conclusion that the Peking Duck not only "mirrors" Western "regimes of truth" (as Mr. Jones argues in his article above), but that the Peking Duck is itself a regime of truth. The site is managed like the Ministry of Truth depicted in Orwell's novel. They not only delete comments they don't like, but they justify doing so by accusing their victims of being somebody they're not. Dissenters are smeared and insulted and deleted.
I shall never read the Peking Duck again. I've deleted it from my reading list!
Simon, do you really want your site to become the receptacle for this kind of trash? Don't you see what you're setting yourself up for? It's a true disgrace.
What's disgraceful Richard, is that people like you and Martyn are trying to prevent me from having a reasonable discussion with people like Simon himself and others on this site. The conversation here was progressing along quite intelligently until Martyn surfaced to do nothing other than to insult me. Well Martyn, "sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me" - I mean, how about behaving like adults for once.
You can block me from making comments on your site Richard, and you can delete others who you suspect are really me, that's fine. That's you right to do so, but by doing so you merely detract from the integrity of your own site.
My article posted here is perfectly reasonable in what it says Richard. If you disagree with my arguments then why not challenge the arguments themselves, instead of trying to smear me or to bully other blog hosts into also censoring my views?
The way that certain blog hosts attempt to smear and to dismiss those whose views they strongly oppose is a subject that in itself is worth examining more closely, and which I think I will write about in my next article.
Just take one of today's posts on the Peking Duck for example: the one titled: "Karen Hughes: Ambassador of Truth". Richard doesn't like her political affiliations and views, which is fine. I don't either. But just take a good look at how he attempts to marginalise her views and to discredit her! He does so by calling into question her very humanity, and by attacking her sexual morality. He writes, "Hughes is the kind of whore who gives PR people a very bad name. She is not human, she is a talking-points robot, a string of sound bites laid end to end."
Very nice of you Richard, to label this woman a "whore" simply because you strongly oppose her views politically. You may not have meant "whore" literally, but your choice of word carries with it certain derogatory implications, and it is in fact a common tactic by men to discredit women by calling them "whores" or "sluts" etc.
George Orwell wrote an entire essay on how such language is used to smear and to distort and to empower.
"Helen" = Mark. It's pretty obvious from the use of language and the way it's structured.
Posted by Other Lisa at September 10, 2005 03:02 PM
Everyone:
I've always been clear in my comments policy. To date MAJ has not breached any of those rules. He has something to say and while I may completely disagree with much of it, he is within his rights to say it. It's my definition of freedom of speech. I would hope those that read this site can respect my decisions in how I moderate comments.
That said, MAJ you are sailing close to the wind. Your past history on this and other sites has been to use multiple identities, as Other Lisa has mentioned. I have already told you to get your own blog if you want a soapbox for your thoughts. However to date at this site you have stayed within the bounds I've set, so I have no particular reason to ban you. Nor do I envisage I will have such reason unless you break the rules, and that includes plagarising without citing sources, continually use of multiple personalities, libeluous attacks and so on.
To those who disagree with how I am treating MAJ, I'm sorry but this is my site. Richard runs his how he chooses, and I run this how I choose. I believe in freedom of speach and I believe in practicising what I preach. I fully understand Richard's reasons for banning MAJ from his site and believe they are justified. But MAJ has not justified banning from here...yet.
MAJ - I'll reply to your rebuttal, but only on Monday. If you are using mutliple names for comments, please stop. If you've got something to say, use your own name only.
I hope you can all respect that. If you've got an issue with it or good reasons why I'm wrong, I'm all ears. But the burden of proof is on those making the accusations until MAJ crosses the line. I know Richard and others will disagree with this, but I trust you can respect me and my integrity enough to believe that I will deal with this properly.
It wasn't only Richard's decision to ban MAJ from TPD - EVERY SINGLE COMMENTER - turned against MAJ for his stupidity, lies, multiple aliases (like "Helen" above), cut+pasted comments and general narcissistic obsession with himself.
As I said, if you want to allow this narcisstic freak to use and abuse your site to pedal his mentally-disturbed and ignorant views as a ruse for attacking TPD and its owner, fine - it's your site - as you keep reminding us. That, however, is the only excuse you have mate.
You believe in freedom of speech? What the hell has that got to do with anything? The man MAJ is a proven and self-admitted pathological liar, a self-admitted schizophrenic, someone who spams the comments of blogs for his own selfish pleasure and mindless entertainment.
The above article mentions TPD multiple times. Do you think it is any coincidence that this was the same site where, by his own stupid actions, he was exposed and totally humiliated as both a liar and a cheat?
The China blogasphere is a thriving community where news+views are put forward and exchanged. I'm proud to be a member of this community and you are also a huge part of it. However, MAJ has been a shit-stain on this very same communitiy that I love.
We don't need puerile self-obsessed fools like MAJ spewing out his revenge-filled, psuedo-intellectual crap - anywhere.
If I was guest-blogging on TPD and some commenter came on with lengthy diatribes that included slagging off "Simon" and "Simonworld" multiple times, then I would delete it without a second's hesitation.
Unfortunately you blab on about 'your rules' and bloody 'freedom of speech'. It just doesn't wash with me mate. Doesn't wash at all.
Perhaps when/if MAJ gets to know your surname and writes to YOUR boss accusing you of running a hate-site and telling him/her that he is involved in some stupid "experiment" and hopes that he can correspond nand find out more about you, THEN you might not be so inclined to crap on about 'your site rules' and 'freedom of speech'.
I sincerely hope that doesn't happen Simon mate, trust me, I sincerely hope it doesn't as I wouldn't wish that kind of crap on anyone...but MAJ has a history, he has done exactly that before -- that same history that you are so keen to dismiss and regard as irrelevant as long as he doesn't break your precious site rules.
As long as dupes like yourself allow this idiot to use and abuse your site as a vehicle for his self-obsessed crap and personal vendetta against TPD then he will continue to spew it out.
I thought you were one of us. Unfortunately you're not.
Take a good look at yourself mate and tell me with a clear conscience that you consider that what you're doing is right. Tell me that your soul-searching has told you that it's okay to allow MAJ to post his crap on Simonworld.
You are, as usual, behaving in an outrageous manner - you are guilty here of all the things you accuse me of, and more. For starters, I am not a "self-admitted schizophrenic" and I have never written to Richard's former employers! Never! Where is all the proof for these allegations that you make? You are just being ridiculous and outright malicious. I have made NO personal attacks against Richard in either of my articles. None. But all you do is to make personal attacks, and you are, quite frankly, the biggest liar I have ever encountered in cyberspace. I have no intentions of engaging with you anymore. Keep attacking me if you like, but rteally you ought to be ashamed of yourself.
And Richard and Martyn- if I post my comments on other peoples' blogs so what? Please tell me what is fundamentally wrong with that? Nothing! Another blogger (a regular reader of Simon World) has even emailed me wanting my permission to "publish" both my previous and my latest China Daily articles on his own blog. So is there anything wrong with that - that my writings may appear on multiple blogs? Grow up will you, and be reasonable.
And why insult Simon, calling him a "dupe" etc.? My article above is perfectly reasonable. I have not insulted anybody in it. I have not made personal attacks against anybody. Why are you being so spiteful and vindictive? And why are you twisting the truth so much? For example, you claim that I requested other readers to email me photos of their penis. You know damn well that this is not true! Another writer suggested, and jokingly, that Dr Myers will be asking Conrad to send her a photo of his penis next. Dr Myers later responded (obviously not seriously) to this by doing just that. So stop painting me out to be the sexual pervert that I am not. You are just being plain malicious. Period.
Well, in keeping with Simon's open comments policy where anything goes no matter how destructive or deranged, let me put up my own post so people here can see exactly what's going on. Then decide who's believable. I would usually never do this, but Simon feels whoever wants to use his comments for whatver ends is free to do so. Thus, I need to defend myself from everyone's favorite stalker.
This is from my own blog, posted July 11, 2005: THE FANTABULIST
I will let readers draw their own conclusions about this rather intriguing bit of research started by commenter KLS about fellow commenter MAJ in the last open thread:
MAJ why are you just copying and pasting other people's work?
for example, your really long comment above, starting "Dear Simon and Conrad, The value of the dollar vs the euro is directly related to..."
this is word-for-word copied from elsewhere.
I took a random line and googled it. the line was: "the US effectively controls the world oil-market as the"
via google I discovered two websites where a long essay has been posted about euros and dollars and oil. you copied and pasted over 700 words direct from that!
the only thing you changed was to insert intros such as "Simon, Conrad - also remember that..." at the beginning of one or two of the paragraphs.
or take your next long comment, starting: "Dear Conrad,
The other argument put forward by political analysists"
you directly copied and pasted 500 words that appear on this website:
see http://tinyurl.com/6ywnq
wouldn't it have been good manners to acknowledge that these words are not your own? and, rather than filling up a thread, to have provided links to these websites instead?
Posted by KLS at July 11, 2005 11:54 AM .
Oh dear, this is an intriguing development indeed. I was so impressed, I started doing my own investigation.
More than four-fifths of all foreign exchange transactions and half of all the world exports are denominated in dollars and US currency accounts for about two-thirds of all official exchange reserves. The fact that billions of dollars worth of oil is priced in dollars ensures the world domination of the dollar. It allows the US to act as the world's central bank, printing currency acceptable everywhere. The dollar has become an oil-backed, not gold-backed, currency.
More than four-fifths of all foreign exchange transactions and half of all the world exports are denominated in dollars and U.S. currency accounts for about two-thirds of all official exchange reserves. The fact that billions of dollars worth of oil is priced in dollars ensures the world domination of the dollar. It allows the U.S. to act as the world’s central bank, printing currency acceptable everywhere. The dollar has become an oil-backed, not gold-backed, currency.
Well, well. What are the odds of that being a pure coincidence? And what would the good Dr. Anne Meyers have to say about someone so insecure and eager for attention and approval that he would resort to such nasty tricks, a la Jayson Blair?
A few days earlier, our friend was caught doing the same thing and, as usual, had a sorta-kinda excuse akin to a dog eating one's homework; that excuse, where he said he had made reference to his source and was rapidly cutting and pasting and blah blah blah - that excuse won't fly this time because there's no attribution. Zero. It is literally an act of deception, in which MAJ consciously and consistently led us all to believe he himself was the author. And that is a very serious offense.
Again, I like MAJ. But when you blog, what you write is there for everyone to see, and if you get caught BS'ing, your crediblity is gone for good. This is a matter of lying. Deception. Fraud. And he's a repeat offender. And not even the good "Dr." Anne Myers can get him out of this mess. Sorry if this causes you a tad of embarrassment, Mark, but you left yourself wide open. I invite readers to comb the archives and find other instances of MAJ's creative cut & paste capabilities. There's a lot more where these few examples came from.
And whatever you do, don't miss the comments to that post, where Jones admits to impersonating an elderly female doctor and requesting photos of the penises of male readers of Peking Duck. And he says Martyn and I should be ashamed.
Richard - all I can say is that I really do hope that readers take the time to carefully read through the Fantabulist thread, so that they can see for themselves (a) how entertaining that entire episode was, (b) how malicious you are being in claiming that I was after photos of other peoples' penises because as I said in my comment above, that is a serious distortion of the truth.
At any rate, nothing in the Fantabulist thread invalidates any of the arguments I have presented above, does it?
Your behaviour on this site says more about you than it does about me Richard.
[NOTE - Mark maintains he did not post this comment on the CD forum]
Then there was Jones' confession on China Daily, which should be required reading.
Let us move on from the present tit-fot-tat nonsense.
I admit that it is bad practice to copy and paste significant passages from other peoples' articles without acknowledging the source. What I do really, is little different from what any journalist or academic writer does when they're putting together an essay or a polemic, except that I do not take the time and the care to acknowledge my sources. And why should I? I have far better things to do. It really makes no difference.
I'm not the big fraud that Richard makes me out to be. I believe most bloggers and even most commenters here cut and paste most of their material, which is written by someone else. Everyone does it.
O.K. I accept the criticism though. It is bad practice. And I cannot hide the fact that I adopted various and disparate personas for my posting on Peking Duck, as I explained in Richard's post "The Fantabulist." My strategy was to present myself merely as a creation, as a persona, no different from Dr Myers. Well, I did create Dr Myers, and the Mark Anthony Jones that I present on Peking Duck is in many ways not the Mark Anthony Jones that I present to my friends and colleagues, who is altogether different again from the Mark Anthony Jones that I present to say, my grandparents for example. We all alter our behavioural patterns quite automatically, depending on the social scene we're in. So what's wrong with pretending to be different people and having a little fun along the way? Don't we all have multiple personalities?
So why did I create Dr Myers, and why has the Mark Anthony Jones Peking Duck persona changed over time? Well, that really is an easy question to answer. I'm bored!
I work as the Academic Director for GAC, a Chinese company licensed to manage training centres that deliver a university foundations program. I'm paid adequately, but we have no training centres open yet, and I have been here in this job for just over one year. This is my fourth year in China though.
So basically, for the last 13 months, I have been paid to sit in a nice air conditioned luxury office, in front of this computer, but with absolutely no work to do! I'm not exaggerating when I say that. I sit here from 9 to 5 each week day, in front of this computer. I'm the only foreigner here in this office, and normally the only other person here is the secretary. So reading Peking Duck is one of the ways I entertain myself while at work.
So, in my boredom, I decided to experiment on Richard and his readers, who would be unknowing guineau pigs as I tried to manipulate and predict their reactions. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it did not. I was surprised, frankly, that Richard never posted photographs of me that I sent him unsolicited. I predicted he would try to embarrass me with them, and it was an interesting test. I also admit I may have gone a bit far, dwelling on the private parts of several male commenters while I was being Dr Myers and even requesting photos of their genitalia. But what of it? I was bored and it offered me amusement.
There is no need to smear me as a cutter and paster or as an adopter of various personas. I freely admit these things. But these were very small matters and they have been blown out of all proportion by the Peking Duck henchmen. So let us move on and discuss my article itself and its documented complaints against Peking Duck, Horse's Mouth and their commenters. Let us stay on subject and focus on the matter at hand, and not unimportant and irrelevant aspects of my personal life. Thank you all, and I look forward to your comments on the China-bashing blogs in English.
Richard - I know the issues you have with MAJ. However it is wrong to characterise my comments as a place "where anything goes no matter how destructive or deranged". As I've stated previously, MAJ has done nothing on these pages to breach the rules of decency or respect that I expect people to abide by. You are within your rights to reply as you have, pointing out MAJ's past. But keep this civil.
MAJ - this applies to you as well. You're right in saying let's move on.
Debate the matters at hand (where I disagree on many levels with MAJ). I find it amazing that the Kissel case, where there are many heated emotions and in a real case of life and death, has managed to remain civil over the course of 250+ comments. We're all adults here. Let's behave like it.
I respectfully request that you delete the above comment, as I did not write it. Somebody else wrote that comment, and pasted it under my name on the China Daily forum. It paraphrases me in parts, but I did not produce this comment. Richard is what, close to [edit] years of age, and this is how he behaves? And he and Martyn both accuse me of being a "freak"!
I am not going to comment any further to anybody who launches into vicious personal attacks - only to those comments which focus critically on the arguments I express in my article above.
Simon I'll engage with you, not Dr. Meyers or whoever the other fellow is. You saw how he invented new "personas" (to use his own words) to congratulate himself for comments here. Yet you permit it. You allow him to post diatribes thinly veiled to take potshots at me. So please, get used to it: I will also avail myself of your infinite generosity and tolerance and defend myself. Jones is trying to destroy me. I've tried to tell you that. His comments have nothing to do with your linklets, he's just getting free space to spread his poison. And you allow it, ducking behind your comments policy which, I'm afraid, gives anyone the right to do whatever he or she damn chooses here, even if it hurts the lives of others. So enjoy the increased number of comments, but realize it will destroy your blog and drive away readers, as it did to me. You know what Jones is and what he is doing. But you allow it because it's in line with your "policy." Fine. Now you can have the honor of being the Madge blog, a receptacle for trash and slander and phony comments cooing about the genius of his "structuralist" brilliance. Remember how you had to delete his comments and close down the thread because he kept using your comments to hurt me? Remember? Now he's being a bit more subtle, but his intentions are plain to the naked eye. It's your choice to harbor his brand of cyber-terrorism. Just realize that it is poison, and it will infect your entire blog. Your choice.
I just received an email from a regular reader of both TPD and Simon World - the one I referred to earlier, from the peroson wo wanting my permission to publish both my origianl China Daily article, and my recent one, printed above. My initial response was to say yes, though I warned the person in question that by publishing my articles on his blog, he will likely be inviting for himself considerable trouble. Below is his response:
"Dear Mr Jones,
Thank you very much for your permission. I undertake to handle your article as requested. I will publish it by the end of this month.
I have noted the angry remarks made by "Richard and friends". But my policy is simple: either one's article is worth publishing or it is not. The fact that one's internet behaviour might be not agreeable is neither here nor there."
Finally! Somebody decent-minded, and with intelligence!
Richard - how am I trying to "destroy" you? You're being absolutely bloody ridiculous. There is nothing in my article above which says anything malicious about you. You're being way over the top - way over-sensitive.
You're the one who is clearly behaving maliciously here. How is my article "hurting" your "life"? Where is the "poison" that you speak of?
Re-read the Fantabulist, Simon, and tell me how anyone can believe a single word our friend says? Dr. Meyers, Stephen Bryce and at least four other "personas," all telling us how smart he is.
Richard, I'm not a fool. I'm well aware of the history behind this. But so far MAJ has played within the rules on this site. He hasn't attacked you personally, although he has attacked your blog and views. I've told MAJ to desist from using multiple personalities and find it a great irony that he has been a victim of the same problem in the China Daily thread. People can judge him on the comments he makes, and they are now well versed on his history thanks to your postings. Readers will attach whatever credence they choose based on the information.
I am not doing this to encourage comments. I have already likely lost readers for allowing MAJ to post here. That's a shame but it is a choice readers can make for themselves. I hope they can see past a comment thread and enjoy the huge variety of comment on these pages.
Should he repeat the previous episode where his attacks became personal, I will ban him. But he has followed the code so far and I see no legitimate reason to ban him. You call that him being "more subtle". I like to think he has learnt from his mistakes.
MAJ has not yet abused my tolerance or the rules of this site. Until such time as he does, he's free to post comments here. The second he steps over the line, he'll be banned, as will anyone else. I hope everyone can respect my judgement and integrity enough in moderating these comments.
Okay Simon. You know I wouldn't get upset like this if I didn't honestly fear for my future. I know what this person is capable of, and I'm sure you saw his China Daily post where he casually reveals my last name, knowing I wish to keep it private. That says so much. No person with a conscience does something like that. And he's done so much worse than that, and when you give him a platform, it aids and abets his very devious intentions. I would stop this in an instant if he would show the maturity and decency to simply agree not to keep referencing my blog, and to stop referring to my age and last name (although he is wrong on my age - still, you know he's using this because he believes it can hurt me). I'm stuck, and I was silent for days, and finally I just had to say something. He sends me emails, he posts on my site, he contacts my employer - and I have begged him to give me just this simple courtesy: Please Mark, just leave me alone. But he can't, whether it's due to some personality disorder or loneliness or...I just don't know. I have always thought of you and I as friends and still look back on our meeting in Singapore as one of the high points of my sojourn there. To see you letting him snipe at me simply breaks my heart, because it's not you and it's not what your blog is about. Follow your conscience, do what you feel is appropriate. I am willing to stop this right now. All I ask is that MAJ respect my right to privacy and to a life, and stop going onto other blogs to take shots at me. Is that really so much? I am willing to be extend the olive branch and end this all. But whenever I do, I am shocked to see Mark only ramp up the campaign. I don't understand it, and I just want it to sop. Please?
Richard - I have NEVER contacted your employer! Stop lying!
And what are these "devious" intentions of mine that you claim I have? You're being ridiculous. I didn't say that you were [edit]. I said almost. So what? How is that supposed to "hurt" you?
I saw what MAJ wrote to my employer. It is a matter of fact, not conjecture. He also denied being "Dr. Anne Meyers" until the proof was presented. Then he cavalierly dismissed id it -- he was bored at GAC, so it was okay. This is called sociopathic behavior, having no qualms at all about lying and hurting anyone in your path. And all readers of the Fantabulist know this; Madge has admitted doing these things. He cannot deny this. It's all there, in how own words, try as he might to back-pedal now.
If I wish to keep my name and age private,that is my right. Anyone who intentionally sets out to reveal such private information is behaving in an inappropriate manner. Everyone with a conscience realizes this.
Simon, how would you feel to have someone go to various blogs and to China Daily revealing details of your life that, for whatever reason, you choose to keep private? Information about your wife, your children? Is this acceptable? Is it a sign of maturity and politeness? Or of a harrassment mentality, a person bent on needling and upsetting another human being for nothing but sadistic pleasure? I think we all know the answer. That we even have to argue about it is so strange, so sad.
Richard - you may very well have seen whatever it was that somebody else sent to your employer, but it was most certainly NOT sent by me - and I think you know that. Where is your proof that it was me who sent your employer this letter?
Richard, I understand your position and I've stood up for you both here and behind the scenes, as you well know. I appreciate the hurt and anger you feel. However I cannot ban MAJ from here because of what he may or may not have done somewhere else. You're right, I wouldn't like someone revealing private details of my life, but I also know that publishing a blog potentially exposes me to that risk.
If what MAJ is says is true (and I understand his credibility is not necessarily high) then it seems there are far more sinister undertones than anyone has been aware. Let's all work together and get to the bottom of it. Who knows, we may all end up getting along well at the end of this and being able to debate the issues again.
Thank you Simon, for being so reasonable. Neither my original China Daily article nor the one above makes any personal attacks whatsoever against Richard (unless you consider me mentioning his surname as an attack, which I maintain is silly - I did, after all, discover his surname from this very site!) I wish that Richard would stop harrassing me. Every time I post a critical analysis of his site on blogs other than his own, he launches himself into a vicious smear campaign. My article on the September 8 linklet didn't even mention him or his blog, and yet he still saw fit to post nasty and malicious comments about me on that thread.
We may all indeed end up getting along if we can focus on debating issues, and I sincerely hope that this is what eventuates. But I have every right to deconstruct Richard's blog. If he can't accept criticisms of it, then perhaps he shouldn't host a blog at all. There really is no need for him to attack me personally each time I deconstruct his blog. He can attack my views, sure, but to conclude that I must be a deranged psychopath stalking him is just plain ridiculous., and to accuse me of writing letters to his employers is just incredibly vicious.
Other blog hosts want to publish my articles from the China Daily on their sites, and yes, they have read the Fantabulist, etc., and they can judge the episode for what it was, not for what Richard has been trying to make it out to be.
I look forward to discussing the arguments raised, rather than having to waste so much of my time defending myself against every charge under the sun.
It is interesting that each of those who have injected their thoughts into this subject have their own confined level or stream of observation. That summarizes the big picture of the problem. Most people find their area of comfort and tend to remain in that area.
Western governments find their truths in frail agendas that promote their own needs. Those who find their governments to be of complete and total authority follow along with the promoted information. Others who regard government to be less than honest determine their own truths by other sources of information that may or may not be accurate.
Then there are the adventurers. They seek out their truth by discovery and yet, they only learn that which they have discovered by restricting their adventure to safe boundries.
I find this to be "human nature" in view of the diverse opinions found in the west as well as those diverse Chinese mis-conceptions of the west!
In the end, things seem equal in the mystery of east and west. Each provence is a world within a country of diverse worlds just as you would find in the U.S. To apply a blanket statement to one culture by another is to ignore the many other truths that exist. Life in Yunnan is totally different from life in Shanghai as you would find Montana being totally different from New York.
These opinions, wide and diverse as they are, only apply to a narrow stream of individuals who see the world through similar eyes. We all must remember the uneducated laborer, the dreamers, the adventurers and all those who are part of our complicated cultures within cultures.
Each set of individuals represent an individual stream of ideas which flow next to a totally different stream which in turn is part of an infinite number of streams of ideas.
Posted by spiritrace at September 12, 2005 02:53 PM
It is interesting that each of those who have injected their thoughts into this subject have their own confined level or stream of observation. That summarizes the big picture of the problem. Most people find their area of comfort and tend to remain in that area.
Western governments find their truths in frail agendas that promote their own needs. Those who find their governments to be of complete and total authority follow along with the promoted information. Others who regard government to be less than honest determine their own truths by other sources of information that may or may not be accurate.
Then there are the adventurers. They seek out their truth by discovery and yet, they only learn that which they have discovered by restricting their adventure to safe boundries.
I find this to be "human nature" in view of the diverse opinions found in the west as well as those diverse Chinese mis-conceptions of the west!
In the end, things seem equal in the mystery of east and west. Each provence is a world within a country of diverse worlds just as you would find in the U.S. To apply a blanket statement to one culture by another is to ignore the many other truths that exist. Life in Yunnan is totally different from life in Shanghai as you would find Montana being totally different from New York.
These opinions, wide and diverse as they are, only apply to a narrow stream of individuals who see the world through similar eyes. We all must remember the uneducated laborer, the dreamers, the adventurers and all those who are part of our complicated cultures within cultures.
Each set of individuals represent an individual stream of ideas which flow next to a totally different stream which in turn is part of an infinite number of streams of ideas.
Posted by spiritrace at September 12, 2005 02:57 PM
If what MAJ is says is true (and I understand his credibility is not necessarily high) then it seems there are far more sinister undertones than anyone has been aware. Let's all work together and get to the bottom of it. Who knows, we may all end up getting along well at the end of this and being able to debate the issues again.
Yes, Simon, thanks for being so reasonable. Look at Mark's admitted lies in the Fantabulist, especially his own commentsa, where he first denies and then admits being a 65-year-old woman, and tell me he is in any way a valid source and a sincere dispense of insight. Tell me you honestly believe that, and we'll let it go. Also, you assured me earier you would remove any of Madge's references to my age (whatever he mnay imagine it to be). I would appreciate your sticking to your word.
I've edited as per your request. You've also hit the nail on the head: MAJ's past has been clearly laid out, and everyone can judge the validity of his comments and views based on that.
Of all the China Daily comments, this one certainly gave me the most chuckles:
Yes, congratulations to my dear friend with the intriguingly shaped member, M.A. Jones! And congratulations to Mopy, who is also M.A. Jones, for doing such a fine job congratulating himself for his own genius. Oh what a fine thread! In my 44 years of service as a psychotherapist and analologist, I've rarely seen anything like it. M.A. Jones and his throbbing member has squirted a new load of sper...um, I mean life into the CD threads! What does it matter that he calls himself Mopy or Stephen or Mark or Dr. Myles - what matters is, he is having fun! And when M.A. Jones has fun we all have fun! Here's to this thread going on and on forever in a glorious atomic chain reaction that makes Hiroshima look like a Chinese sparkler. Here's to M.A. Jones' member, and all the smegma dripping and stinking on it! Here's to Mopy's used tampon! Oh, praise God, praise Mao for this glorious thread! As M.A. Jones' personal proctologist, I can assure you he's been exiting rich, technicolor bricks ever since he posted his piece de resistance. Come on, M.A. Jones, we all breathlessly await your next impersonation telling us all how brilliant you are! Don't leave us in suspence -- more, more, more! And since you said your school is well aware of this thread, I hope they too can join in the fun and praise you and your droppings. I hope they appreciate our love of you and the creative characters you've created, and the stories that have flowed out of your ars, um, your febrile imagination! Keep it up, M.A. Jones. Way, way up, firm, erect and proud, with a bit of liquid oozing out of the tip, and veins pulsing and protruding in proud Marxist form!
Oh, what fun it's been! The thread that will last forever! A tribute to M.A. Jones, my adored patient, and all he stands for, integrity, wisdom and honesty. Let us all kowtow to my patient. Let me snap on my latex glove and show him how deep my appreciation goes! Oh, wait a minute, I think he might have just a spot of diarreah....
No, I didn't write it. But whoever did is damnned smart.
You might also like to delete the comment Richard posted above, beginning, "Then there was Jones'..." as I did not write this at all. Somebody posted it under my name on the China Daily site.
The Fantabulist episode surely doesn't invalidate my arguments above? Are you saying Richard, that that one episode invalidates all that I say for the rest of my life, and that other blog hosts therefore shouldn't allow me to post on their blogs? Surely you're not that unreasonable, are you?
If you disagree with my analysis, fine, say why? But please don't continue to smear me, or to bully other blog hosts into deleting my comments on the basis of the Fantabulist episode.
I would actually like Simon to delete the entire thread. That's fine with me. I mean Madge no harm, and said I wanted a peace, where he would simply respect my privacy and leave me alone. Notice it took about 40 seconds for him to respond to my last comment to Simon, so he is obviously waiting here, living from one comment to the next. Simon, what I'm trying to get you to realize is that this is his life. All these invented people who never commented on your site or my site before who suddennly show up and make comments about Madge's brilliance -- you don't see this as a red flag? He stated, in so many words (in earlier comments), that this is his life, because he doesn't have enough work to do. Again, see his own comments explaining why he "created" Dr Meyers. See his own comments where se said he does this to get a rise out of people because he is bored. It's okay, you can have your comments policy and keep him on as a mascot here. I have to bear the brunt of it, not you, so I guess you're happy. But I suggest you limit him to this now old and unread thread. Once this spreads to the top, that's the end of this blog, as no one wants to read this crap. And no one will have any respect for you.
Okay, thanks for editing Simon. As I've said before, I am willing to stop this nonsense and declare a complkete truce any time. I even wrote a post about it, and then deleted it from my site because Madge needs to be contained and there was no reason to prod him on to do yet more damage. But you will discover something - Madge always has to have the last word. And it will go on and on until you close the thread, and the next one he infects.
Shenzhen's oil shortage is set to ease with the delivery of new supplies, Vice-Mayor Zhang Siping said yesterday. "We have successfully received more supplies to supplement our depots and that will ease the fuel crisis soon," Mr Zhang was quoted as saying by Shenzhen media.
Cities across Guangdong have been hit by an oil and petrol shortage. Service stations have been forced to limit supplies, or close. Mr Zhang said Shenzhen's supplies of diesel reached 41,500 tonnes on Monday and it had 23,500 tonnes of petrol after the arrival of nine oil tankers from Sinopec and PetroChina.
"More supplies will arrive by the end of the month if there is no typhoon coming," he added.
Mr Zhang said a series of measures would be taken to ensure sufficient supplies in service stations. He said priority would be given to taxis, buses and emergency vehicles. Police also would step up efforts to preserve public order at petrol stations.
The Shenzhen government called on commuters to use public transport instead of private cars and urged government officials to reduce the use of cars. People also were asked to report speculators trying to profit from the fuel shortage.
A seemingly impossible task, but I notice that the Linklets just keep getting better.
Indeed, the Howard French article is definitely today's must-read.
Historically, The Middle Kingdom has never treated other countries on an equal basis. Asian countries were to be subjugated or cajoled into a tribute relationship and foreign barbarians were dismissed as, er, foreign barbarians.
Chris Patten, the original "Tango Dancer" in the excellent "East Meets West" mentions this very topic several times. During negotiations with the mainlanders, he recalls how they would throw fits on an almost hourly basis if he even hinted at Britain's status to be on par with the great Celestial Empire!
The Great Firewall expands to include blogcity. The Blogcity people are working on ways around it, and Gordon has found a work-around. Please email me if you would like to get in touch with Gordon for the work-around. Richard has a Blogcity thread running.
Laugh of the day: Australian International University, established in 2005, we are a two hundred year old university institution based in Australia.
The work-around loophole that I've discovered was actually something I set up a couple of months ago when I encountered a brief ban that only lasted a few hours. After it was lifted I quickly put a couple of other measures into place that would allow me to continue updating my blog, though in limited form.
I also have a mirror site that I establishd after that incident. I will probably start posting to it later today, until the ban has been lifted.
I may even try temporarily removing the post about Taiwan being a possesion of the United States (according to international law) to see if that helps.
As you probably know by now, I was fortunate to land my hands on some very worthwile technology that has enabled me to resume blogging on The Horse's Mouth. It also allows me to completely bypass the the Great Firewall to read any and everything I want.
As for the CHinese censors and the net police..I fart in their general direction!
Congratulations Simon! Perhaps you may upgrade your “Everything you wanted to know about blogging but were afraid to ask” to “How to be the Feedster 500”.
Yes, congratulations for making it to #408, great work. You put a lot of hard work and thought into this blog because it shows on as daily basis. Therfore, it's nice to see that persistence recognised.
Apart from Simonworld, I noticed Wangjianshuos (sp?) blog, Winds of Change and something called The China Stock Blog to be the only China-related sites in the top 500.
It's nice to see one of our own in the top 500. Again, well done. Throughly deserved.
Thanks. I'm flattered to be one of the few "China" ones to make it, but really such a list should also contain Peking Duck and ESWN at a minimum, not to mention Danwei.
Spengler examines the hypothesis behind Jared Diamond's Collapse and ponders why nations die. I'm part way through Diamond's book and find it incredible - I've found something to disagree with on every single page I've read so far, and that includes the Table of Contents! If I can gather the energy I'll review it once I'm finished, which could be a while as (a) the book needs to stand constant wall throwing & (b) I left it in Australia. John Ziemba also talks about the collapse of Collapse.
It might be a hot summer, but steer clear of Chinese ice creams. (16:23) A commenter points to what happened to Hageen-Daaz back in June, from an insider at Shenzhen Daily.
South Korea prepares to take control in the North (via Thomas Barnett). They'd be remiss if they hadn't at least started already. It's only prudent and no doubt China has done the same, which is why the Chinese are desperate to keep propping up North Korea.
Well, I was going to read the Diamond book, but maybe I'll wait for your review...especially since you "left it Australia"... I'm sure, given your characterization, it was an accident, really...
Truthfully, I forgot it in Oz. But it is one of those books driven by an ideology to fit facts to a thesis.
The review might be a while - I'm not expecting to read it for a few months now (when family visit from Oz). but I'd be interested if you read it what your thoughts might be.
Taiwan is legally American. An incredible article that outlines why Taiwan should be considered an American possession. Elsewhere interesting thoughts on liberty, democracy and Tiananmen in the wake of KMT chair Ma Yingjiu's recent statement.
Joe Katzman is moving to America and downgrading his role at Winds of Change. I nominate him for the Blogosphere Medal of Service, given he's helped innumerable bloggers (including myself) and created one of the best examples of the power of this new medium with WoC.
The bubble bubble: internet bubble oozes over to China. China is the reverse of the USA, with a property bubble first and the net bubble second. Another example of China's revolutionary impact on economies.
In order for a title deed to stay valid, territorial acquisition had to be effective on the ground within a reasonable period. In effect, it had to be completed by effective possession (modus adquisitionis). The holder of the legal title had to confirm its sovereignty by effectively exercising it. The US may have a claim of title deed (the treaty with Japan), which in itself is highly contestable, but it had neither effective possession nor active administration over Taiwan. It does not have modus adquisitionis.
But the US can certainly try to establish modus adquisitionis. I'm sure the PRC would be just itching to try out their new weapons from Russia.
Online collaborators have translated the latest Harry Potter to Chinese, well before the official version. All the excessive secrecy over the manuscript means foreign language publisherers are always at a disadvantage, especially in online times.
Putting some numbers on Chinese crime, although we know official Chinese stats are rarely reliable.
Happy Chinese Valentine's Day, with a bit of history to boot. China beat Hallmark by centuries.
Buddhist MP3s. Is there anything you can't find on the net?
I've seen Lee Kuan Yew talk and he's impressive for an aged authoritarian. John has extracts from an interview between LKY and Der Speigel where he talks about China's military modernisation, North Korea, Asian vs European values and so on. Meanwhile on the ground its cops vs military in Singapore, the land of the 4 person riot.
US Fed member Richard Fisher talks about big and little China and rightly opines the Middle Kingdom is not the economic ogre many think. This is today's must read (via CDT).
(15:00) The peanuts for peace strategy. But Maximum Leader is thinking too small - trade peanuts with the insurgents in Iraq? A nut for a nut, if you will.
As always, great links. I particularly enjoyed the top two. "China's Economic Growth" by Richard Fisher is one of few superb economny articles published recently.
I was relieved that Mr. Fisher mentioned purchasing-power-parity as you'd have gone to America and spanked him had he not.
Two "Little China" statistics jumped off the page for me: the U.S. has 19,497 airports; China, just 126 and on a straight U.S. dollar basis (not adjusted for purchasing power parity), their economy is roughly the size of California’s, 1/30 of US PER CAPITA GDP.
A bit of perspective always helps. The difference is China's growth rate is more than double that of the US, but it is going off a much, much lower base.
Japundit covers the Japan Post privitisation story, what it is about and why it matters. Part one and part two (via Infidel). Why should you care? It's caused Japan's snap general election, could see the fall of semi-reformist Koizumi, is the result of a battle royale between old and new generations of politicians and is over the world's largest financial institution. How large? 400,000 employees and US$2 trillion (yes, trillion) in assets, equal to the deposits at Japan's four largest banks combined. Start caring, people.
Bird flu is so last year. Now it's pig flu. I was wondering why the community service obligation ads are on about washing your hands when handling pork.
The Don is feeling confident enough to finally trot out the Government's newest white elephant: the Tamar Government offices. That Tamar was the site of Harbourfest and the occassional fun-fair is a complete co-incidence.
Many thanks for linking my guest post "The Good, The Bad and The Chinese Compnaies" on the Horse's Mouth Sir. It made my day again. That's 2 out of 2 for me, oh yes.
Re Bingfeng's Teahouse, I wouldn't respond if I were you. At least he's included Richard's explanation now. A hell of an improvement on the original post.
But but I did Victoria's Secret in China last week...with links to gratuitous shots from Agent Provocateur in HK...and I even included a link to the Pink Panty P0ker site! Surely no blog post about Victoria's Secret would be complete without the Pink Panty P0ker Site!
(13:20) Interesting new "bridge blogger", Weekly Zeitgeist, who intends to translate what's happening in the Chinese blogosphere. Here's the report for July 17th. (via GVO)
There's no doubt he was sacked, as others have been. The question is whether it is all about censorship or contractual disagreements. As usual, it's likely a mixture of the two.
More on the MAD Chinese nuclear threats. Glittering Eye comments on the Chinese first-strike threat. Zenpundit responds with China's Khrushchev moment, writ small and has an intereting discussion in the comments. I fully agree with Tigerhawk's rationality of irrational Chinese sabre-rattling, which basically says being crazy can lead to stability (as I said, Dr Strangelove, anyone?). The other possibility is this is a rogue General, speaking out of turn. Still not a comforting thought. Winston Marshall takes a long look and concludes it is likely to be an individual hawk trying to further his own personal and policy aims.
China again intends to waste millions doing what the Americans and Russians did 50 years ago. But before that, Fumier reports they are sending pig sperm into space first.
It's not getting much press, but the East China Sea gas dispute between Japan and China is potentially explosive.
I know the linklets have been getting longer at times. I am actively trying to cut down on the number of links in each edition, trying to make it a "best of" rather than an all in link fest. However sometimes there's just far too much interesting stuff being written out there to ignore. Don't blame me, blame those linked.
This entry of mine is very off topic, I know, but it may interest all those who share a concern for the issues of free speech and of cyber censorship, as well as those interested in the study of ethnocentrism, and in the ways that Westerners view countries like China though ethnocentric eyes.
It is addressed to KLS, a contributor to Richard's Peking Duck site:
Dear KLS,
I have just finished reading the comments on the weekend thread of Peking Duck, and noticed that you are unhappy with the type of site that Richard runs.
Let me begin here, by stating, for the record, that I do not hold any animosity towards you for "exposing" on Peking Duck the fact that I frequently copy and paste from other peoples' articles without always acknowledging the source. It was never a secret though. I openly discussed this practice of mine with Lirelou way back as far a last November or December - and on the pages of Peking Duck. I discussed this again with Conrad more recently. The way that Richard presented this habit of mine though was, as far as I am concerned, clearly way over the top. He invited his readers to join in on a witch hunt, and his copying and pasting of a baby photo from somewhere was clearly designed to humiliate me.
I admit that it is bad practice to copy and paste significant passages from other peoples' articles without acknowledging the source - but what Richard fails to appreciate is that I normally copy and paste from a variety of sources - sometimes from a dozen in one entry - in order to present an argument of my own. I produce a collage, in effect. Sometimes I place what I paste in quotation marks and acknowledge the source or the author, sometimes I don't. It depends largely on how much of a hurry I'm in, or on how lazy I'm feeling at the time. What I do really, is little different from what any journalist or academic writer does when they're putting together an essay or a polemic, except that I do not take the time and the care to properly acknowledge all of my sources. I should, I know, but Peking Duck is only a blog site for Christ's sake - I'm not writing for publication, or anything like that. I simply push a particular discourse, to test its strength. Usually, the discourse reflects roughly what I myself actually believe. I'm not the big fraud that Richard makes me out to be.
O.K. I accept the criticism though. It is bad practice, and I have already apologised to his readers for not taking the trouble and the care to always acknowledge all of my sources.
My response to this situation, as you would know, was to present myself merely as a creation, as a persona, no different from Dr Myers. This, to some extent, is true. I did create Dr Myers, and the Mark Anthony Jones that I present on Peking Duck is in many ways not the Mark Anthony Jones that I present to my friends and colleagues, who is different again from the Mark Anthony Jones that I present to say, my grandparents for example. We all, I think it is fair to say, alter our behavioural patterns quite automatically, depending on the social scene we're in.
So why did I create Dr Myers, and why has the Mark Anthony Jones Peking Duck persona changed over time? Well, that really is an easy question to answer. I'm bored!
I work as the Academic Director for a Chinese company licensed to manage training centres that deliver a university foundations program. I'm paid very well, but we have no training centres open yet, and I have been here in this job for just over one year. This is my fourth year in China though.
So basically, for the last 13 months, I have been paid to sit in a nice air conditioned luxury office, in front of this computer, but with absolutely no work to do! I'm not exaggerating when I say that. I sit here from 9 to 5 each week day, in front of this computer. I'm the only foreigner here in this office, and normally the only other person here is the secretary. So reading Peking Duck is one of the ways I entertain myself while at work. I am often busy here though, but not with work. I correspond with many friends, family members too, and I also contribute to other blogs (not China blogs).
Now, why has the Mark Anthony Jones persona changed over the last 13 months? Well, not merely because I am bored, that I seek entertainment. The change also reflects my changing attitude towards Peking Duck. I simply don't take the site seriously. I don't take Richard seriously either.
For the first three months, I seriously thought that Richard Burger was somebody aged in his early to mid twenties. I got this impression from his writings - from his hysterical rants, etc. From the way he interacted with me, often in ways I found to be irrational and juvenile. It came as a real surprise to discover, after doing some research on him online, that he is aged about [edit]. He may even be [edit].
He is definitely lacking in the maturity one might expect from a man of his age - he is emotionally volatile, and is prone to hysteria. For example, he once banned me from his site because I described one of his ideas as "ridiculous". That's right! I kid you not! I was always polite to him, I never used expletives, not towards anybody. I described one of his ideas as "ridiculous" and that one adjective was enough to get me banned. He sent me an email saying "I'm offended. You're banned." I had, at the time, absolutely no idea why I had been banned, what it was that I had done to offend him. He deleted the offending sentence, and banned me! And yet, he can trivialise me as a "sad Marxist", label me an "American basher" and distort my views, and that's quite acceptable behaviour!
On another occasion, Richard baked a photo of a grossly overweight woman sitting at a park bench, with her panties showing beneath her dress. The woman clearly wasn't aware of this. Richard wrote beneath the photo something to the effect that: "Just what I want to see on a lovely spring day!" In other words, he was inviting his readers to enter comments that make fun of this woman. And of course, they did. "She makes me feel like vomiting" wrote one commentator. You can imagine the rest: the comments were sexist and misogynistic. I of course, launched into a massive attack against both Richard and all of his other commentators, accusing them all of being misogynists, and questioning the maturity and ethics of such puerile behaviour.
Richard's response: he deleted the entire thread - photo as well as every comment. He was clearly embarrassed by the entire episode. All traces were deleted!
And then there was the SARS debate - I argued that SARS was a storm in a teacup, and that the Western media exploited the scare to push a particular discourse - that China is inferior, incapable of coping with crises of this nature, etc. Well, Richard accused me of taking an immoral stand, completely twisted and distorted my entire argument, and then closed the thread, preventing me from being able to make a reply! I stopped contributing for about two or three months out of protest. I admit here too, that I was so pissed off at the time that I rather irrationally and immaturely threatened him with a lawsuit for defaming me, and I am embarrassed about that. But still, his behaviour was outrageous.
When I resumed, I did so on the grounds that I was merely going to play around, to provoke a little, to stir things up a little, to entertain myself. O.K. Juvenile of me, I know - creating Dr Myers, Steve L, and Bryce. I even turned myself, Mark Anthony Jones, into more of a persona, and at times engaged in a little self-parody.
Peking Duck does attract some intelligent readers and contributors, true, and sometimes some really interesting conversations do develop. I really did appreciate the debate I had with Conrad about the legality of the US base on Guantanamo, for example. I pushed a discourse (that pushed by members of Cuban Solidarity groups, and yes, I did paste a slab from such a website, but I also on that occasion acknowledged the author of those views, and once again, my comments took the form of a collage. The point is, Conrad engaged meaningfully with me on that one, and he successfully destroyed two of my three arguments. I really did benefit from that exchange, because now I have a clearer understanding of the legal issues of that case. He wasn't able to completely destroy the argument that I presented, but he smashed two thirds of it.
But in my opinion, Peking Duck isn't much better than most of the other China blog sites. They're all pretty disappointing as far as I am concerned. Gordon's site, The Horses' Mouth, would have to be the most puerile, spiteful outpouring of bile that I have ever come across. It's just utter crap. Most of these people know little about China, most of them are not fluent in Chinese, and they seriously lack balance. They produce hate sites! I've said that to Richard before, and he was mortified by it, but I stand by the claim. It's a hate site, and one which encourages a pack mentality. If somebody addresses any of the positive legacies of the CCP, then they are labelled as CCP operatives and are then promptly gang raped and bashed.
And the Chinese, more generally, are viewed through ethnocentric eyes, which explains the condescending nature of many of the more "China-friendly" comments.
Filthy Stinking No.9, who supposedly has a PhD in history, projects a typically ethnocentric world view, his comments about the French and the Chinese are sometimes bigoted and chauvinistic, and yet he tends to be one of the more level-headed among the regulars. He has had the hide to accuse me on several occasions of being “anti-American” – well, I have NEVER said anything ever that is inherently anti-American, but he always labels me as such on the basis that I am very critical of US foreign policy. I have actually praised certain US foreign policies on Peking Duck – like certain aspects of the Bush administration’s Taiwan policies, but that is overlooked. FSN.9 though, by contrast, does say things that are fundamentally inherently anti-another nation. He said, in an earlier thread for example, quite explicitly, that “The French are scum.” So FSN9 is quite a French-basher, quite a racist bigot, it would seem, yet he presents himself as a scholar, as an academic, a China authority worth listening to.
Martyn can call me a "sad fu*k", a "sad shit" and tell me to "fu*k off", and another commentator here got away with telling American Man to go "fu*k himself and his dog" - and this was quite acceptable. But I got banned, about six or seven months ago, for politely suggesting that one of Richard's arguments was "ridiculous".
As I said, I do not take this site seriously. Eight months ago a guy named Greg wrote his first comment on Peking Duck, in which he argued that there is some reasonable cause for optimism about China's ability to adequately address its environmental problems. Richard responded by viciously attacking not only his views, but him personally - "you know nothing about China" said Richard. Greg responded by asking Richard why he responded to his first comments on the Duck in such a condescending manner. Richard's response to this was to ban Greg immediately – though Greg, I believe, also behaved provocatively BUT NOT initially!
A lawyer named Kevin, who currently resides in Shanghai, on another occasion, posted a comment accusing Peking Duck of being a hate site that spews out little more than “puerile bile” though he also acknowledged some of its strengths and potential. No expletives were used, yet Kevin's comment was deleted as soon as it was discovered, and Kevin was banned.
Greg, Kevin and I are by no means the only people to have been the victim of Richard’s censorship practices either. Sam from Shenzhen Ren has written about his run-in with Richard, and how he was banned, and if you log onto the following site “The Peril and Agony of Free Speech” (www.urielw.com/bosco1.htm) who can read all the details about Richard’s censorship of Uriel.
So here we have Richard, who constantly criticises the CCP for its censorship, also censoring almost everybody who criticises his views or his site. He can allow some people to make personal attacks against others, using the most foul of language, and that's O.K. That's entertainment. But one single polite adjective like "ridiculous" is totally unacceptable, if it is used to describe one of Richard's own ideas.
Just take a look at today’s open thread - if you’re honest with yourself, you will appreciate why I think Peking Duck is hardly a site to be taken seriously. We have two conversations going on, both of which are ridiculous: one is condescending, rude, disrespectful and outright ethnocentric, in that it takes an incident in which a mother allegedly allowed her child to sh*t on somebody’s floor, and then proceeds to belittle the Chinese. Gordon, rather typically, joins the rant, saying that it reminds him of the post where he “ranted about the woman letting her dog sh*t on the floor in front of the elevator.” Simon then joins in by telling American Man that if he “had taken a photo, it could've become like that Korean chick with her dog sh*tting on the train” and then Gordon, once again, in his usual rude and spiteful manner, seeks to humiliate Binfeng by saying to him, “Bingfeng, did your parents let you sh*t on the floor when you were a baby?” Quality reading, right? And such maturity too!
The other conversation taking place on this thread revolves around the ridiculous question of whether or not China may go to war with the US, and here we get commentators like American Man belittling the Chinese yet again, saying that they all “still live in caves west of Xi’an”. This of course, will be seen as humourous by the majority of Richard’s regulars, and probably by Richard himself – but of course, this is not a hate site. It doesn’t mock and belittle the Chinese people, it merely serves as an anti-CCP platform, right? Yeah, sure? Anybody capable of reading will know the subtext.
And so entered Dr Myers, to mock and to parody, but without the need to resort to any expletives. I had fun with her, while it lasted, as juvenile as the entire exercise may have been. And being Mark Anthony Jones was fun too. Together, they helped to expose the worst in Richard and many of his other regulars. Cyberspace, as I discovered through what really did, towards the end, develop into a deliberate conscious social experiment, resembles very closely the schoolyard! Blog communities can indeed, when not supervised by mature adults, degenerate into the kind of situation explored by William Golding in Lord of the Flies. Richard is a little like the character Jack, telling his readers what they want to hear about China, and instigating attacks and smear campaigns against those who dare to challenge the orthodoxy of his views. And as for his readers, for his flies, well, they provide yet further evidence to support Golding's view that people will always band together to single out others as scapegoats, especially when directed to do so by their perceived leaders. Richard is a little Hitler, or another Mao! (O.K. So I'm unfairly exaggerating perhaps, but you get my point!)
I’m tempted to post this letter onto his site, just for a stir! But I will refrain from doing so - I'm trying to behave like the 35 year old that I am!
Or maybe…? Well, maybe I will post it on the Duck after all. I mean, to do so would be no less puerile than harping on about how uncivilized the Chinese allegedly are for allowing their babies to shit on somebody’s floor. My above comments might be dismissed by many as the product of sour grapes, but that’s fine. It will nevertheless hardly detract anything from the overall “quality” of this site. And if everybody else can behave like an adolescent in cyberspace, than so too can I. Peking Duck, thanks to Richard, has given us all such a license!
Your beef is primarily with Richard. If you want to take it further, set up your own site and go for it. You certainly have the time.
I'm happy to leave your comment here despite you engaging in the very personal attacks you pretend disgust you on TPD. You've always had the right not to read Richard's site, yet you choose to anyway. It is Richard's site, not yours. He can delete your comments and block you (and others) if he sees fit. That's up to him.
Sometimes the threads at Richard's site are frivilous. That's not a crime. If you don't like it, or find it juvenile, skip it. There's plenty of other posts and sites.
Your accusations of ethnocentrism are correct. But who doesn't view a place through their own ethnocentric eyes? You have cultural biases, whether you recognise them as such. For example you dismiss your plagarism because it was only done on a blog, in your words. For many others, stealing words without accreditation is wrong on blogs as much as it is in academic papers or in the media. Again, you always have the choice to not read those comments. The internet is a big place. You can go and find someone "mature" enough for you to spend your idle days.
What you say is fair enough, but surely it is also reasonable for a person to politely criticise others for practicsing censorship - especially when they devote an entire blog site to criticising the CCP for doing just that - for censorship.
These personal attacks are constructive criticisms - nowhere do I call people names or use expletives. I do criticise people's sites and their behaviours and attitudes, but surely this is reasonable.
Richard can censor the opinions of those he doesn't like - he is indeed free to do that. I am simply questioning the ethics of it.
Surely it is not unreasonable for me to raise these concerns publically on blog forums such as this?
I acknowledge the criticisms of me in regards to my [past] habit of copying and pasting - and I have apologised for this. Still, this practice of mine was never a secret, and his response was nevertheless over the top, was it not?
Richard's response was his own and he's explained himself elsewhere.
I understand your point re censorship, but my point remains: it is his site. You are welcome to set up your own. It is his soap box, his rules, his ideas of "reasonable". There's no question of ethics. You want a soapbox? Get one of your own.
You're hardly the person to be lecturing anyone on ethics and as far as personal attacks go, you made several of them under the guise of Dr. Anne Myers.
Peking Duck is Richard's soap box, and yes, I agree, if he wants to censor people's ideas and criticisms, then that is entirely up to him. But surely readers and commentators alike are not unreasonable to draw attention to it, or to comment on the hypocrisy of it, or to draw attention to his inconsistent standards. That's all I'm doing here. I'm not arguing that he is legally obliged to refrain from censoring people. He has every right to do so. The question is, how seriously can we take his claim to be against censorship? How seriously can we view his criticisms of the CCP, when he himself behaves in ways that are quite similar? Uriel also points this out, in the link I provide in my comments above.
Dear Gordon,
I take your point that I too launched into attacks under the guise of Dr Myers - though I never employed the use of expletives, and initially, "her" criticisms were mild, more in the form of parody. But yes, I did, in later posts, go over board. I have no legitimate excuse for that, agreed, though once again, I was, by this stage, merely entertaining myself, merely seeking to provoke, to see how people respond as a pack. It didn't start off as an experiment, but it certainly did turn into one.
But I accept your criticism, and I have already, openly, on the pages of Peking Duck, sincerely apologised for any offense that I may have caused people.
Richard runs a website, who is supposed to represent.... um, no one.
The CCP is a government, who is supposed to look after the lives and well-being of over 1.2 billion people. Censorship in the two cases is very different, and although I do take your point, Richard *IS* free to do as he pleases, whereas the CCP, as a bastion of the Chinese self-interest, isn't really, or not if they want to be a helpful and respectful government. Now, you may argue that they are being helpful and respectful of their citizens, and others will argue differently. Regardless, the CCP has civic duty towards its denizens, and Richard does not.
Simon also makes an excellent point about your plaigarism. Some find it acceptible, some do not. The current system in the academy would have hung you out to dry, and it would have been the end of your career.
You say you've sincerely apologized, when every few minutes I get emails like this:
Richard - I am speaking here as Hillary's creator now, not as Hillary. Gordon's comment has just come to my attention, and so I want you to know that I am most certainly not stalking you. I am writing this particular email reluctantly in fact, and only because I certainly don't want you to panic, or for your imagination to run wild with anxiety. I said a few days ago that I have no intentions of contributing to your site ever again, in accordance with your wishes, using any of my cyber creations. I conveyed to you earlier today, through the words of Hillary, the fact that, should others post comments on your site under the names of any of my cyber creations, which appears to have occured on the new open thread this morning, then please ban the culprit/s if possible. I don't want you or your readers to think that I have broken my word, and that I am playing further havoc with your site. All of the characters of mine who ever contributed to your site have now all been put to death - none of them exist anymore, and their email accounts have all been closed - though each of these will continue to receive emails for 30 days, even though I can no loger access them in the case of yahoo accounts, and in order to do so for the hotmail accounts, I would need to do so by reactivating them within the next 28 days. Yahoo accounts, unlike hotmail, cannot be reactivated once closed.
I don't mind you posting Hillar's lemail to you, but I, as her creator, would appreciate it if you would fix her surname name, which is Anthony-Johnson, not Anthony Jones.
And this:
Richard:
This is just one last confirmation for you that my creator (the writer formally known as Mark Anthony Jones, Dr Myers, Bryce, Steve.L, etc, and who is now temporarily writing as me, Mark Anthony James, has decided to put to rest all of the above mentioned cyber characters, including me, Mark Anthony James. None of the above mentioned cyber characters will be contributing to Peking Duck from this moment on. Their email addresses have all been closed, and my email address, this one that I am using now, will also be closed a little later in the day - as I too am about to be put to death.
My creator wishes to assure you that he/she bares little and in most cases no resemblance to any of the above cyber characters, though he/she does take full responsibility for his/her creations, and apologises to you and to all of your readers for any loss of face, humiliation or offense caused by their appearances on your site.
My creator's use of your Peking Duck site for his/her experiments into the way people interact with one another on blog sites has now formally reached its conclusion, and so he/she wishes to assure you that he/she has no intentions of ever introducing other cyber characters onto your site at any time in the foreseeable future.
My creator would also like to thank you for your overall toleranace over the past nine months, which was sometimes deliberately pushed to test its limits, and would like to acknowledge his/her appreciation to you for providing for him/her with a public forum in which to carry out his/her inductive research into the various ways that people interact with one another in cyberspace, when blogging.
My creator has indeed, through his/her careful observations, been able to detect various patterns and regularities in behaviour, thus enabling him/her to formulate some tentative hypotheses, which he/she will need to further explore at a later date, but this, my creator would like to assure you, will be carried out using new cyber characters, and on a different blog site.
And this:
Dear Richard,
I have decided to cease, in accordance with your wishes, posting contributions on your Peking Duck website. I enjoyed the entertainment, while it lasted, but my last post, addressed to Sam will be my last.
I would like to assure you though, that, depite July's findings regarding Dr. Myer's similar copying and pasting of material, that I am not Dr. Myers. I have not been writing under her name. Conrad can thus feel assured that it was not me who was interested in accessing photos of his penis! Perhaps you might like to pass on this assurance to him on my behalf. I would appreciate that, in fact.
I understand the reality though, that many commentators on your site will most probably continue to surmise on this matter - on the question of Dr Myers' identity - and that they will enjoy imagining that it was me merely writing under her name, and that jokes will continue to be made at my expense on this subject. I accept that. That's fine. I'm a big boy - not the cry baby that you imagine me to be!
Simon, I'm glad you find this amusing. If you were in my position, you might find it less so, though it's been educational.
Of course, a few minutes later he admitted he was indeed "Dr. Anne Meyers." A great and reliable source for information and opinion, dontcha think? Can you imagine what kind of person does this? So don;t take my word as to the veracity of MAJ; his own words are all you need.
Anyone with questions about exactly who we're dealing with should see the comments to this post and join the fun!
Simon, MAJ's antics have passed from merely crazy to something bordering on stalking/personal vendetta.
I really didn't expect you of all people to offer this great site as a platform for this lunatic. By engaging him, you're only encouraging him and allowing him to vent even more spleen.
I sincerely hope that he doesn't one day turn his "boredom" onto you mate and move his crosshairs over to simonworld and Simon.
It's your site and you have the right to keep or delete as you see fit mate but giving this lunatic bandwidth is a mistake in my opinion. Thanks.
Hey Simon, thanks for the shout out on my new HK edition. Look forward to reading more of your site (i'll be honest, I don't gaze upon HK blogs enough..) and maybe we can meet up in the future.
I'm pretty ambivalent about all this excitement, being a forgive and forget, live and let live kinda KLS, but shall register my displeasure at reading an essay-full of MAJ squabbling masquerading as a letter addressed to me. don't rope me into this bemusing feuding. all the best now.
Everyone else - believe it or not, MAJ is welcome to comment here. The only commenters to get banned here are spammers and those that step over the line. Where's the line? In the end, that's up to me, but I'm pretty tolerant and broad minded. As long as we avoid defamatory and personal attacks, racism and panda pron, anything goes...within reason. As my disclaimer says, if you say it, you need to stand by it. It only reflects on you, not me.
As always, I reserve the right to change my mind with or without reason or explanation.
After further research on this entire fiasco, I'm going to recant on my previous comments encouraging Simon to allow MAJs' letter to remain in public view.
Instead of impersonating a psychologist, he needs to go see one.
I must take issue with you I'm afraid, when you try to justify Richard's censorship on the grounds that he is representing nobody but himself, whereas the CCP are responsible for an entire nation. I mean really Laowai, that is surely obvious, isn't it?
The question isn't whether Richard's practice of censorship is more harmful or significant than that of the CCP's. Of course, it goes without saying that when the state censors its citizens, that that is far more serious in its impacts and implications than the censoring of blog commentators by the owner of a blog site. Perhaps you are just trying to be disagreeably facetious?
The problem with Richard is that he publically claims to be appalled by the CCP's use of censorship, presumably because he regards censorship as being socially irresponsible, undemocratic, and morally wrong. If he is to be taken seriously, if he is sincere, then surely he ought to set a good example? Surely his own behaviour ought to be consistent with the principles he claims to espouse and to value? Otherwsie, how can anybody take him or his site or his criticisms of the CCP seriously?
And if you want yet another example of how spiteful and childish Richard can be, he has, since yesterday I have noticed, removed his link to Binfeng's blog, the Binfeng Teahouse, as a punishment to Binfeng for posting my criticisms on his site - yet he has not removed his link to Simon World.
This brings me to another problem with Richard's behaviour - he is not fair on his contributors. In order to be seen as being fair, one must ACTUALLY be fair - and to be fair, one must ALWAYS be consistent. Well I'm sorry, but Richard is everything but consistent. He censors and bans those who mildly and politely criticise some of his views, while allowing others to make personal attacks on other readers using the most foul of language. Bellevue was banned for using bad language when insulting others, but it is quite acceptable for Martyn or Sam or American Man to use such language - in fact, when they employ the use of expletives to personal insult others, it is excused as humour.
And now, today, we have Binfeng punished for posting my comments, but Simon left untouched.
Simon, he posted the same comment on at least five different blogs. That means he went from blog to blog posting the identical message to meet a need (be it attention, or whatever). That is what spam is. Isn't it? If not, tell me, an I welcome to duplicate all my posts here? Would you like that? But of course, I would never do that. Normal people don't do that sort of thing. Sorry if I sound annoyed, but I am disappointed.
All - If there is more going here than meets the eye, then let me know. Until such time, there is nothing MAJ has said that is outside the bounds of acceptable commenting at this site.
Matryn - I'm sorry you feel that way. You are always free to skip the comments section.
Richard - I understand where you are coming from. MAJ has posted the same comment in several places, partly because it was deleted under pressure from other sites. As I've said, there is nothing in his comments as they appear here that are out of line. If there are other issues, let me know so I can make an informed decision. Until that time, his comments stand.
MAJ - to some extent you are right. But you miss the point. Richard's or any site is the properitors' property, with which they can do as they like. You may find it hypocritical. As I've said several times, go and start your own site and create your own content and comments policy.
Look, my behaviour over at Richard's Peking Duck blog has been explained. I explained my bizarre behaviour in my comments above, and whether I am insane or not is hardly a significant issue for most people.
I have simply raised what I see are a few legitimate problems with Richard's Peking Duck site regarding censorship issues. Richard has responded by pressuring those blog owners who have allowed me the space to raise my views by removing links to their sites, and now we once again see the pack mentality in action, with some of his supporters (followers) stating their intentions to boycott sites.
Well, I may behave immaturely at times, yes. I'm the first to plead guilty on that one. But I'm hardly alone, it would seem!
Simon - we may disagree on many issues, like Iraq, but I do admire and respect both you and Binfeng for not caving in to pressure by those who cannot bare to tolerate criticism from others. I noticed that Uriel, in the link I provided in my comments above, also acknowledged respect for you for refusing to give in to pressure from Richard over a similar issue.
I don't think that I have missed the point here, as I have already acknowledged the fact that Richard has every right to censor as he pleases.
I am merely questioning the wisdom of this. Once again, the question I raise is over whether of not Richard can be taken seriously when he criticises the CCP for censorship, when he himself practices censorship. How sincere is he, when he argues that the CCP's use of censorship is undemocratic and "evil"? If he does not practice what he preaches, then how can he and his site be taken serioulsy? That's ALL I'm saying. Richard, I think, needs to think about this - he needs to engage in a little self-criticism, perhaps?
And if he wants to be seen as being a fair-minded person, then he needs to formulate some very clear rules, and he then needs to follow them very consistently.
Now look, if he doesn't want to be seen as being fair, if he doesn't mind being seen as a hypocrite, if he doesn't mind not being taken too seriously, then fine! He has, as you say, every right to continue running his site as he has been.
I have just noticed that Richard, being the mature [edit] man that he is, has also now removed his link to Simon World as a punishment for giving me a voice in cyberspace.
I was not expecting him to punish other blog owners in this way, and it is not in my interests to damage your site in any way. I will not, therefore, be too upset if you remove my comments - though if you do decide to remove them, I would appreciate it very much if you would let it be known that you did so at my invitation.
richard is not always fair, nobody is always fair, i had violent debates with richard and compared with commentators who stood with his views, i was treated not fairly enough (like some name callings towards me not handled properly), but as simon adn others indicated, peking duck is richard's kingdom, he has the right to do things good or bad in his kingdom, we could complain and protest but we couldn't force it to change, you just can't force a person to become "mature". many of your points do make sense, but distibuting letters like this one doesn't solve the problem, if you believe many commentators in peking duck are not balanced enough, tehn why don't you make your contributions there or establish your own blog? i have posted your letter at teahouse and won't remove it, now may i suggest you to do something more constructive - like making intelligent comments here in simon world. if you don't like peking duck, just ignore it and move on ... as for richard's removing the teahouse link, it's fine with me, i'm pretty sure he is now as emotional as you but still he understands simon world is much more influential than teahouse, calling it racism or pragmatism, it shows richard somehow trying to control his emotion ...
and again, MAJ, you can make very intelligent comments when your energy is directed towards more constructive topics
What Richard does on his site is his perogative, as what I do on this site is mine. If he chooses to link or not to my site, it's up to him. I won't lie - it's disappointing. But it's his decision.
OK, it's fair to say this topic is spent. Let's move on.
Allow me to have the last word - sorry, some old habits I'm afraid, do die hard :)
Once again, I acknowledge and understand that Richard has every right to run his site the way he wants to. I have NEVER suggested otherwise! I am merely commenting about the way he runs it, critically, yes, but my criticisms I beleive are valid ones.
I agree with the both of you, that it is time for me to move on, and to find alternative blogs sites to contribute to. I do already contribute to other sites, but not China-related ones. Because I live in China though, I do have an interest in continuing with a China blog, and so perhaps I will frequent Simon World and Binfeng Teahouse instead from now on - and I will certainly take more care to ensure that I acknowledge all of my sources from now on - I have learnt a lesson in this respect! Even though I may only be making blog comments, there is still a need to take greater care when using sources. O.K. I can appreciate that more clearly now. I had my fingers burnt, and have since been very sensitive to the touch, though they are now almost healed.
Thanks again to the both of you for taking such an honourable stand in not allowing Richard and his henchmen to pressure you into censoring my comments.
Well, Richard has put Simon World back up as a link, but not Binfeng Teahouse - even though both have now removed all references to his age and surname. Why the inconsistent treatment, I wonder?
Guys, my blogroll is a very personal thing. I link to sites I respect and read. If I stop reading them, I stop linking. I am reading Simon and I link to him. I am no longer reading BF's site so I don't link to it. Peace to all of you, and I hope that those here who think for themselves can see what MAJ is up to. It is not normal and it's not healthy. Look at how he's done here what he did at my site - turned the comments into a forum all about himself. He himself acknowledged his comments were a game to see the kinds of reactions he could ignite. So, I have to admit that right now I am acting as his pawn, as are the rest of us. So let me go. Meanwhile, I am relieved he will make this his new home. Simon, he's all yours.
Who are you kidding Richard? Yesterday Binfeng Teahouse was included in your list of links. He posts my comments, and the very following day the site is removed from the list, and shortly afterwards, Simon World is also removed, and because Simon had commited the same crime.
You then put Simon's site back up, but not the Binfeng Teahouse - and you expect everybody to believe that you deleted it from your list simply because you personally no longer read it! A little childish and irrational, don't you think?
No, you have it all wrong. After BF hosted your bizarre post about me, divulging aspects of my personal life, I stopped reading his site, and therefore stopped linking to it. It's that simple. If I stop reading it, I stop linking. But why are we here discussing my blogroll? Is it of that much interest to you? Is it also of such interest to dig up personal information on me and paste it wherever you can to embarrass me? Is it the best use of your time? I realize someone who says he is a 64-year-old female doctor one day and someone named Bryce the next and the someone named Steve L. has to be going through some confusion. But really, just tell us: Why are you doing this? Do you think this makes you look good? Admirable? Noble? What's up?
Rich, you are delighting Simon. Look at how many comments are here because of you! This is a goldmine for Simon, and you are playing into Jones' hands by responsing to him. Nip it here. Most of us know psychosis when we see it, and Jones has no credibility anymore. And engaging him does you no favors. You can't win when you are dealing with a psychopath. Email me later; some of us have some great ideas about how to handle Jones.
Look Richard - I am not out to embarrass you by mentioning your age or name. How is your surname an embarrassment to you anyway? I came across it by accident - it is mentioned elsewhere on Simon World, in Uriel's posts (the link to one of them is above), and elswhere. There is even a nice photograph of you on the web.
I acknowledge and accept most of your criticisms of me, of my recent behaviour. I am simply raising a few criticisms of my own, and I think they are valid and reasonable criticisms. I am not being over the top here am I, surely?
It's O.K. for you to launch into a vicious anti-MAJ campaign, even days after I posted a comment into your first initial help thread, offering you financial assistence in the event that you ever visit Shenzhen! You quickly deleted the thread, not wanting anybody to see that I had behaved so warmly towards you, and you then, a few days later, encouraged all of your readers to join in on a witch hunt. And I'm the psychopathic vindictive sadist, and you're not, right? We seem to have an awful lot in common with one another, don't we Richard?
And Boo, you and all of Richard's other henchmen can gather together to see what you can do to prevent me from expressing my views on other people's blog sites - that's fine. I have nothing to hide. I even met up with Sam from Shenzhen a few days ago for a drink. My identity is no secret, nor is my address or the company I work for. And my age and surname is no secret either!
Boo - this might surprise you, but I'm not doing anything here. MAJ posted, others have responded. It is how my comment section works. I'm not sure how you are able to guage my emotions, my "delight" or otherwise at this thread. That said, you hit the nail on the head. Everyone's comments are open for all to see. People can draw their own conclusions.
MAJ, just like most things richard's site has plenty of merits and also some demerits. but the fact that you deliberately wound everyone up there means you have no credible platform on which to denounce the demerits.
yes, he doesn't like certain criticism. and he gives free rein to certain commenteers who I became allergic to.
but it's not like he's a public figure or anything, so why take your campaign into other people's blogs? as has been mentioned repeatedly, if people don't like the site, they leave the site.
speaking of sites, where else has MAJ's "letter" been published? as the addressee I feel I have an interest.
final though, MAJ may be a moron, but you've got to enjoy sentences like this:
"and whether I am insane or not is hardly a significant issue for most people"!!!
Dear Gaijin Biker - wise saying you have there. I agree, when I'm arguing with a fool like Richard, he is doing the same thing. And when he argues with a fool like me, I too, likewise, am doing the same. I don't pretend otherwise - I have already acknowledged and accepted Richard's criticisms of my behaviour. But I think some of my criticisms about his lack of consistency, and about his use of censorship, are fair and valid nevertheless.
in no matter what circumstances, disclosing other's real name, age, IP address, etc. without getting approval is an unacceptable behavior.
as i said before, you have made some good points, and for those who have the capability of self-reflecting, they will learn soemthing from your comments. that's enough. you don't have to degenerate it into a nasty personal war to make your points more persuasive.
pls relax, have some beer and do some sports, then setup your own blog, maybe?
I think it must be clear by now that I am deliberately acting the part of "moron" - and I'm enjoying it. Why should I have to be sensible and level-headed all the time? Cyberspace can be quite liberating!
I have posted my criticisms on the Binfeng Teahouse site and on Paper Tiger, though the Other Lisa deleted the Paper Tiger entry. So as far as I am aware, it exists only on this site, and on Binfeng's site.
As far as your other question goes, well, why take any campaign anywhere? What is fundamentally wrong with me stimulating some conversation on this site about the issues of censorship, using Peking Duck as the vehicle, or stimulus, if you like?
With all respect, I don't think that I am being in any way "nasty" towards Richard by making a few valid cricisms about his use of censorship. I agree with most of his criticisms of me and my behaviour, and I am simply making a few criticisms of my own - and I have phrased my criticisms in a polite, friendly language.
I take your point about me mentioning his age and surname, but this information is already available on the net - it is hardly much of a secret. His name is mentioned elsewhere on Simon World, on Uriel's sites, etc.
And as for disclosing people's IP addresses - I have NEVER done that. Richard, on the otherhand, has disclosed my IP address on his Peking Duck site, and on this site as well.
Richard has revealed, both on his own site and on this one, my personal IP address. Nobody attacks him for this.
I refer to him by his full name, and I mention his age, and I am attacked for revealing "personal" information without his permission.
But look, I have Not revealed anything about Richard which he himself and others have not already revealed on the web. Richard himself also happily reveals his age on the following web site, for ALL the world to see: [deleted]
Now look - HE (NOT ME) has revealed his age and his surname, on the WEB for all the world to see! And Simon World, and Uriel have both referred to Richard's full name in the past, once again, on the web, for all to see. See Uriel's site, for example, which also details Richard's practice of censorship. It's titled "The Perils and Agonies of Free Speech" (at www.urielw.com/bosco1.htm)
I have NOT revealed anything about Richard that he himself and others have not already revealed on the web. He however, has revealed my IP addresses!
MAJ and others, I will say this only once more. Richard has requested and I have agreed to NOT post his full name or age. You will respect my decision and you will NOT post his full name or age on this site.
This is the last warning. I've allowed this discussion MAJ, but you need to respect my rules. It may be you can find this information through other means, but not through here.
The accupuncturist, his wife, a business book and an advice site.
North Korea is worried about the internet spreading South Korean popular culture: If theyâre so worried about decadent and bizarre fashions, how come the country is being run by a guy with teased, bouffant hair who wears high heels and those thoroughly butch work overalls?
(13:30) A Chinese general mentions the nuclear option over Taiwan. As in the good old days of the Cold War, the only way to generate Mutually Assured Destruction is to form a credible threat that you will use your nukes in your enemy's mind, thus forcing a stalemate so long as you think your enemy is as mad as you. Dr Strangelove is laughing. Jing naturally has some interesting thoughts on the matter. If you read what the general says, his statements are crazy. That's what MAD relies upon. Will wants to know the Chinese for "loose cannon".
Did you see that article "Foreign investment slips on rising costs" in the China section of today's Weekend Standard? It sort of adds to The Coming China Crunch post you had yesterday.
Thanks Martyn. There's also a linklet today about China's slowing economy. It's all happening, but people haven't woken up to it yet. The nail in the coffin, so to speak, will be a summer revaluation of the yuan, just as growth slows and when it's least needed. But the revaluation has never been about economics.
Bryan Caplan's never met a Hong Kong libertarian and notes a survey saying the city has paid only lip service to being laissez-faire (although in a followup post he gets a couple of pointers). He says the lack of democracy under British rule was a key component in Hong Kong's ascent. It might also be that the world's "free-est" economy is anything but. There are libertarians here, but they are a tiny minority. One problem with Caplan's theory - people vote on far more than just economic issues. Indeed economic issues have rarely been a bone of contention in recent Hong Kong politics. Hopefully I'll come back to this one.
Simon, it behooves me to regretfully inform you that Sina has not quite outdone Xinhua on the flesh factor quite yet. As I mentioned at the Peking Duck, the woman on the picture isn't quite a woman. Thats a transgendered man. :)
A Korean march for peace that wasn't. Local papers reported the militant Korean Peasants' League is planning on sending 1,000 members to Hong Kong in December for the WTO meeting. At the 2003 meeting in Mexico, one of their number stabbed himself to death shouting "The WTO kills farmers". It would seem knives kill farmers, too.
Demographics mean more are living longer, and in Asian societies the burden of caring for the elderly falls to their offspring. But these households have the newly added burden of coping with their adult children.
Not once, not twice, not even thrice. Danny Way jumped the Great Wall 4 times in one of the most pointless displays in history. If only the Ming builders had considered the potential "skateboard attack" from the Mongols.
I have to say Simon, I am a bit surprised and nonplussed that you linked to DJ Mcguire. Reading his entry, I had to resist the urge to put on my tinfoil beanie. Apparently his reputable sources consist the Worldnetdaily and Newsmax. Even further accounting for the tone of his commentors,
"You are so right that the world will have no peace until Communist China is terminated. I only hope Fox News has the guts to invite you for a discussion on your book."
"As soon as I heard about the bombings i knew that this was a CCP attack to take the spotlight off them at this time. Never the less they will fall and the world will know the truth ."
The entire thing seems like fruitcake central. I've seen their type time and time again at the Free Republic. People who are so paranoid and conspiracy ridden they can't see facts written on the walls. (refer to the comments on this thread for proof. http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1350794/posts) I wouldn't put it past them to be one of the whole "sino-soviet schism is a communist myth/Soviet Union's demise is a ruse to deceive the US and they will strike when the guard is down" believers.
Jing, I was very wary of linking to that piece, but I figured I'd link it and people could draw their own conclusions. Oh, and I had my tin foil hat on at the time.
China's asset management companies, created to deal with the bad loan problems of the banks, are becoming a liability.
Where gluttony meets sport. Why not add it to the 2012 Olympics...perhaps because as Pete says: anything you can do as well or better while drunk is not a sport, and binge eating certainly falls into that category (as do bowling, darts, billiards, cards, dogsled racing, and golf).
While on things Olympic, you'll get very generous odds on Taiwan 2020.
Singapore's blogging convention, Bloggers.SG 2005, is being held next weekend. Somehow they got Microsoft to buy them drinks.
Naturally Arroyo's troubles in the Philippines are a front for another American takeover of its 'neo-colony'. While George W. gets blamed for a lot of stuff, and with no disrespect to the Philippines, why the hell would the US want the place? Leftists need to decide if its all about oil or if its all about something else. In the meantime, please send tin-foil hats to Dr E San Juan and Asia Times.
Hong Kong could well have been Chusan, and Shanghainese rather than Cantonese. At least then we wouldn't have to keep hearing how Shanghai is going to overtake Hong Kong.
Polynesians might be Taiwanese. In which case the PRC's going to be going after a much larger chunk of the Pacific than we first thought.
Where did almost half of the world's fatal or wounding terrorist attacks take place last year? No, not Iraq. India.
Live8 turned out just great for at least one minority: record companies.
Billmon takes a look at the latest bout of China Syndrome in Washington and finds there are some things money can't buy, like xenophobia. As others have noted, if Congress is worried about China buying American assets, then I hope they haven't looked at Chinese holdings of US Treasury securities lately.
Boys and girls between 14 and 20 in urban China have their first sexual experience at the average age of 17.4, nearly 9 years earlier than their grandparents when they were young.
I'd say you're right about the US not wanting the Philippines, but if you look at it from the Navy War College article about Taiwan and Melos you linked to today, there's a map of the region. It may illustrate a grain of truth. If China indeed becomes the ultimate enemy in American strategic thinking, Clark and Subic are going to start looking mighty good again...:)
Giving up Subic Bay was a massive mistake by the Americans. It would have been clear even then how strategic and potentially useful such a base could have been in the future to contain a growing China. The Americans now have to rely on Guam.
At the same time, having military bases does not imply neo-colonialism. Look at Japan and South Korea for a couple of Asian examples.
Have to agree with you. That guy was off his rocker, and a dependencia holdover from the 1970s. Even the great exponent of that theory, Cardoso, ended up becoming a market-driven leader of Brazil!
By the way, I have a hard time believing, even in 1930s China, that the average age of first sexual experience was 26! Maybe I've just read too much about Shanghai in that era...
That's the age people admit to having their first experience. It probably reflects as much a change in morality and attitudes to sex as it does the age people really did it. Funnily enough back in earlier times, by 16 you were expected to be producing kids already...that's why Shakespeare's Juliet is a 15 year old.
Trivia of the day: unusual currency symbols. Of course you knew that only the American dollar sign has two lines through it, whereas the Australian and other dollars have one...
The state of China's environment. Unsurprisingly, it's not good. But countries need to be rich enough to afford a good environment - like it or not, feeding and housing people comes first.
Brad DeLong on the problem with "realists" and why wars don't pay anymore. It's on the back of Duck of Minerva's reaction to Brad's look at democracatising China in the long run (naturally an economist thinks in the long run). His thesis: the world will be safer if the Chinese in time see the U.S. as having aided, rather than hampered, their economic development. Hear, hear. The always excellent Daniel Starr weighs in with China's war odds and negotiation theory. He says the easiest way to prevent war with China may be simply to keep China's leaders confident in the political payoffs of a China at peace. So much sense, but is anyone listening?
Just in case you are curious Simon, but the link about Chinese game farmers contains a lot of BS. I have personal experience with much of what is described in the CGW article and can say with some confidance that a lot of it is sensationalized rubbish. For one thing, the secondary market for digital medium isn't nearly as large as described nor is anyone really pulling consistant 6 digit incomes from it. Most of the secondary market is not handled by professional farmers but rather by ad hoc personal sales between individuals via ebay or some other similar site. Simply because there is no business overhead and most resalers happen to be just getting rid of an account or inventory they are no longer using. The simple fact is although PC gamer demographics are fairly diverse, those who have the most time and effort to devote to MMORPG's universally have little purchasing power and potential customers are limited. The most critical factor that prevents the long-term viability of digital gaming markets is simple economics. Most mmorpg's have a limited shelf-life and eventually after a year start bleeding subscribers who are otherwise potential customers. Also of course is the in-game economic system. There is a simple truth, the addictive factor of MMORPG gaming is the accumulation of capital and (digital) power, this formula keeps players coming back and playing when otherwise boredom would set in and people would stop playing. To retain players, the players must be able to retain whatever they gain to have a sense of progress, unfortunately this is against the natural flow of economics since to keep player satisfaction such games forgo continuous expense (food, rent, clothing, etc in laymen's terms). What this results in is immediate and rapid inflation as the currency continues accrueing but it is not leaving the game economy fast enough. While the in game professional farmers can create millions of the artificial currency, the more they create and the more time that progresses makes it worth less and less. Eventually games reach a saturation point where there is so much currency in the game and the price of the digital currency is so low as to be fairly ridiculous. By this time the incentive to buy digital currency with actual money is nearly gone because those most attached to the game have already plateued (maximal capital and power accretion). This is why digital currency sellers have to operate in so many in games because after a given amount of time, depending of the popularity of the game in the first place it simply ceases becoming profitable. You simply cannot make a consistant living and those mysterious people claiming 6 digit salaries are more than likely either one of a kind or flat out lieing. The farmers create more artificial currency than they actually sell and will attempt in game currency manipulation to keep the dollar value of their digital assets stable. This is however a sysphean task because their work is constantly being devalued. In addition their financial security is at the complete total mercy of game administrators. Despite the convoluted descriptions of digital money laundering, the sources, accounts, etc of farmed currency can readily be tracked since all the information is stored in server databases and an occassional sweep will wipe out a number of mule accounts.
Thanks Simon for making my blogging debut such a happy one! This has made my day, it really has.
Interesting to see that The China Herald also picked up on the Japanese Ministry of Trade and Industry's white paper as well. I thought it was only me that thought it interesting.
You see, I'm not as boring as everyone seems to think!!
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CSR Asia - Corporate Social Responsibility in Asia links with: No time for sex
June 30, 2005
Daily linklets 30th June
Before we dive in, two things. Firstly I've added a section to the left sidebar with a link to the Daily Linklets category, so you can trawl your way back through past links. Secondly, last night the Sitemeter ticked over 300,000. Thank you.
Last year ESWN did detailed analysis of the number of July 1st marchers in Hong Kong, yet the accepted wisdom is still much higher. He intends to repeat the exercise this year. The numbers will be well down, given even Bishop Zen is 'tired' of the marches. As usual, Hemlock neatly sums it up:
âWhat did we shout two years ago?â I ask her. ââTung Chee-hwa stand downâ. What did we shout last year? âTung Chee-hwa stand downâ. What are we supposed to shout this year? âThanks and bye-byeâ?â
China's top blogger at the moment is Furong Jiejie, a sex blogger following the path of Mu Zimei. Jeremy also lists the top 10 personalities searched for on Baidu.
While on pop culture, one band has 44 singles in the Japanese top 100 at the moment. And I'm not talking about women.
Naturally ESWN has plenty of photos and reports from the riots in Chizhou, Anhui. While the growing unrest is a sign of the tensions rapidly developing China, ESWN's article reveals two interesting pieces of information: why the police took so long to respond, and that the rioters themselves are no angels. His final sentence is a telling one.
(13:04) If you've got nothing better to do, on July 7th a Kiwi Law professor is going to explain everything that's wrong with free trade at HK Poly. Please don't ask why a law professor is the NZ expert on free trade and economics - clearly the anti-globalisation groupies don't want expertise to get in the way of a good rant.
While everyone's focussing on the anniversary of Trafalgar, this week sees a far more important British naval anniversary: the first contact between Britain and China. Amongst other things, this was the first time a Brit tried tea. It lead to the expression "not for all the tea in China".
Glad to hear you enjoy the post Simon! You'll be interested to know the reason the British subsequently called tea "tea" instead of "cha" like everyone else up to the gates of Constantinople. As Austin Coates writes in "Macao and the British", "...when tea-drinking was first introduced to Europe, in the second half of the seventeenth century, the French and the British were in touch with the great tea-producing province of Fukien, where the same Chinese word cha is pronounced teh... The French thus introduced the into Europe, the English their own native version, tea, originally pronounced much the same as in French."
The big risks of China's looming power shortages. The relevant point is when energy, like any good, is allocated by fiat rather than by markets, you get a literal mis-allocation of resources. Howard French links an IHT article that points out that both China and US need to deal with cheap money to ensure the commercial entente's survival.
Imagethief tells everyone to get over CNOOC's bid and includes a helpful "yellow peril" scorecard, with a few solutions to American worries about shadowy Chinese bureaucrats controlling the US economy. China Hand notes this is America's chance to turn China away from dealing with rogue states in its quest for energy security...something for the anti-China crowd to keep in mind.
The second in their series on US-China relations, In Defense of Ambiguity, is up at LGM. This post looks into the Taiwan problem and the likelihood of conflict. The proposed solution is both the best and most likely one.
Well, thanks for the heavy linkage today. On the Xinhua penis item I was disappointed that Jeremy didn't realize that it was well behind the curve. XiaXue did that ages ago.
The field notes from a reporter on the violence at Shengyou Village have been put on the internet, offering a glimpse (likely soon to be slammed shut) of how the reporter gathered his information.
"Not sure how I stumbled across it, but a content analysis of Xinhua should prove an interesting project" - I suspect it may have been me; I linked to it again on Saturday, interesting site.
I'd like to get in on the Pundita-Simon dialogue here. I enjoyed Eric T. Miller's article. If his perspective pans out, then there's no cause for concern. Both China and America will grow their economies into higher levels of symbiosis and efficiency, and China's rise will be smooth.
But, what about Japan? As the #2 economy, will it just get better, too? Somewhere between nw and the happy ending are military considerations due to rivalry and resources.
Which leads me to conservatives' fear of the Chinese military. Obviously someone at Defense wants to heat up the debate over China, but:
1. Is this overreacting
2. Does America really do need to get stoked about its economy, and maybe a little fear is good for it across the board?
3. Does Japan need a little of the same constructive fear?
The Asianosphere has really improved since my hiatus. Thanks, Simon!
Re Infidel's question - Please don't get me started on talking about what America needs to be doing to re-tool for the 21st Century, or we'll be here for two days! Yes, a little fear would probably be a help -- but politics, politics -- Dems & GOP going round and round. The joys of a two-party democratic system.
Simon, a special thanks for the link you gave to Pundita essay about rural democracy and technology. Simedh Mungee's points merit serious consideration.
Well, there so many interesting links on your site I better leave now before I spend the rest of the afternoon reading! Thanks for all the great info and leads. Now I go to peek at Japan blogs you mentioned....
Richard has done that before, and I suspect will do it again. He operates under the legitimate mantra that it is his site and he can moderate comments as he likes. I do find it interesting he continually deletes comments but at the same time declares them open and free. Can't have it both ways. Having read the relevant comments I'm not sure why Richard deleted them. I'm sure he has his reasons.
Welcome back, Infidel. As to your questions, there is room for Japan, but both the US and Japanese are working out how to deal with the new Chinese economic and geopolitical power. It won't be an easy process, but Japan and US have made it clear they are firm allies...for now. Eventually I can see their interests diverging over China.
Simon, please... next time you know someone travelling to NK to talk about food, tell him there's an italian guy who wants to buy his ticket (no matter the cost). Ah, of course, I don't think I would describe the wonderful NK restaurants. Sorry.
If local governments in the US can now forcibly seize people's homes to build malls and hotels for tax revenue, where will the patrons and employees all live? (Plenty Kelo reaction).
I'm a big fan of Wikipedia, and I edit it quite often, but the more you use it the more you are aware of its possible faults. I think it's fine for browsing and stuff, and there's a lot of interesting things in there that would be hard to find otherwise, but there's no way I'd cite it in any academic setting.
But edit wars happen mostly either on something controversial, or when someone gets anal about a topic. In either case it's likely that someone will step in and slap a 'disputed' label, and an admin would freeze editing if it got out of hand. It's not perfect, but at least it's honest.
But then one should always be skeptical on pretty much anything one reads nowadays.
Daniel Starr on the best elections money can buy in China, an optimistic view of the chances for democracy in the Middle Kingdom. The point I diverge with Daniel is in the comparison with Russia. If anything the recent Russian experience (flirtation with democracy before rapidly sliding into elected dictatorship) seems more likely for China, partly because both countries have little democratic tradition and a long authoritarian one.
HONG KONG University Medical School alumni are still whining about the proposed re-naming of their alma mater to recognize tycoon Li Ka-shingâs offer to donate a billion Hong Kong dollars to the institution. It is surely a measure of how vastly overpaid our cityâs doctors are that they see this sum of money as a gift horse to be subjected to a contemptuous oral examination and turned away. If Li offered me that sort of money, Iâd change my name by deed poll to The Barbarella Queen of the Fairies Genito-Urinary Diseases Clinic â“ in a second. If thatâs what he wanted. No problem. Iâll give him a call.
Mao, the false god, a call to drop the diefication of Mao from the CCP's legacy. It won't happen any time soon, but it should. It will take a senior leader of the CCP to publicly renounce Mao and his true history, and that isn't going to happen.
One of the biggest lies taught in university finance courses is discounted cashflow valuations. It's great because it means there are opportunities for investors with a firmer grip on reality. It turns out even in the stock market the long term is 5 years.
Pun of the day: Skinhua by Jeremy on the one Chinese news agency allowed to display pictures like this Carmen Electra portfolio (not safe for work or marriages).
Let me elaborate a little more on my problem with discounted cashflows. The theory is there is a time value of money...you can think of this as how much would that money earn if it was stuck in the bank instead of that investment. The problem with it is the discounting is such that cash flows further into the future are virtually worthless (the exact point depends upon the interest rate used). Now if you're planning to drill an oil well that will last for 50 years, it is plainly ridiculous that the cash generated by the field in the last ten years is valued at very little. Discounted cashflow valuations work well on projects that have a short-ish life span (say less than ten years) and/or a comparitively low discounting rate. There's actually plenty of other problems with the method, such as determining an appropriate discount rate and dealing with changing inflation.
But so long as it's the dominant method taught in finance, that' what the vast majority are stuck with. Like all models it may give a good first cut but then you need to use your noodle. And people who do that are in short supply.
ESWN discusses income inequality in China. He echoes my point: The trickle-down theory will work as long as everyone is doing better, even if some people do better than others. The big bomb will come on the day when some people do a lot of better while others do a lot worse. China's Premier is very aware of the rural problem, but what are they doing about it?
I'm going to come back to this one: Richard notes and sides with the rise of China's new left. It seems Communism didn't work, but whereas capitalism has lead to hundreds of millions experiencing rising living standards and leaving poverty behind, some Chinese intellectuals are lamenting a reversion to 19th Century laissez-faire style capitalism and plead for "a third way". There is so much wrong with this it will have to be a new post some time later this week.
ESWN discusses Donald Rumsfeld, what China's media does not (or cannot) report and ponders the choices "free media" makes. The potential of blogging is it makes the choices of a mainstream media editor irrelevant. Information wants to be free and the internet is the (too?) perfect medium for it.
Wretchard says the lack of public demonstrations in the Philippines is out of respect for the constitutional process...but they will be forced to because Philippine institutions cannot remove venal officials, [so] people take to the streets to oust them directly thereby weakening the institutions still further.
You knew McDonalds was bad for you, but did you know a Big Mac can strangle, at least in Japan (Note: don't tell me about differences about correlation and causation. It ruins quirky jokes).
Thomas Barnett thinks China will become a world leader in pollution control and abatement within a generation and is desperately racing not against America, but itself in order to convert its "literate peasants" into an urban middle class. That's the problem with the "China threat" theory - China's got far too many domestic issues to deal with to worry too much about the rest of the world...with the always important exception of Taiwan.
To find latest news stories about Nancy Kissel or anything else (like chocolate couture) through google, use news-dot-google-dot-com (comments section doesn't let me type out the address)
(13:56) Three years ago, I received the most outlandish of all corporate grants: for three months I would get paid to live in Beijing and play punk rock. My benefactor was a stationery corporation that manufactured address labels, file dividers... (via Shanghai Slide)
To me it is indisputable that those democratic demands raised, possibly naively and with not much understanding of the costs they would entail, in Tiananmen Square in 1989 relate to real inalienable democratic rights that are currently enjoyed by real people all over the world, and which do not exist in China. The most important of those right now is the right to a genuinely independent free press. Only in this way can the Chinese people learn from the mistakes of the past and learn from them who not to trust. Is it ethnocentric and culturally insensitive to demand a free press? Only if we believe that countries such as China, Zimbabwe, Burma and North Korea have some deep cultural connection which means that their people, unlike ourselves, must be permanently kept in the dark about what has happened, what is happening and what could happen in their own and in other countries.
Keep an eye on this site.
* (16:47) Oxblog takes on Kissinger's China op-ed and as an alternative offers China is the one that's going to decide what kind of relationship we have with it. We should speak out on behalf of democracy and human rights but never pretend that our expressions of interest can change the course of Chinese politics...Strengthen our alliance with Japan and other allies in the Pacific. And, if at all possible, avoid indulging ourselves in the willful naivete of the realists. I'm puzzled as to why being realistic is being willfully naive about China. It seems a contradiction in terms.
simon - i think you missed the big story of the day - the thrashing of the australian cricket team last night back in blighty. i'm sure it was just an oversight and look forward to your thoughts on the result in the no doubt imminent update to this post.
Hi Simon, I'm a relative newcomer to the China blogging scene but I've now built up quite a few things on my site. Would you be interested in providing a reciprocal link?
First of all, thank you very much for linking my blog, I am most honoured, as most englishmen would say.
However, there are a few amendments on the title I think you should make, regarding to your description of my blog I wrote:
1) I'm applying British law of copyright on this matter, although it can be said that British laws and HK laws are very similar in essence, I don't want to take any bet on it, because I know nothing of law ad probably make a mickey out of myself by doing so already.
2) It's not really 'thorough', because I have only been reading those acts for half a day, and with no case studies to work on. However, I will try to update that blog whenever I managed to get some information out of those acts, or even consulted some lawyers.
That's it really, and thanks again for linking my blog! It's nice to see that you've done a good job providing nutritious reads. Thank you again.
One last thing - can I link your blog to mine as well? :)
"I'm puzzled as to why being realistic is being willfully naive about China. It seems a contradiction in terms".
There's no contradiction. Kissinger description of China doesn't match with reality.
"Realist" school of thinking today is realist only in name.
Very bad article and very good fisking by Oxblog.
Hi, Simon.
The article on NK restaurants is an insult to the intelligence, common sense and NK starving people (without considering all the inaccuracies and absurdities it presents). A proof that not everything is blogged is worth our time.
Do you remember when European and American intellectuals visited Stalin Gulag and everything they were able to describe was the happiness of sovietic farmers? Now, we have Kim Jong Il restaurants.
I think that when one day we'll look at the eyes of NK people we'll have a lot to explain to them.
China is moving to stop the trading of human organs. But why stop it? If a consenting adult agrees then why restrict their rights to trade? In many ways the same arguements apply to prostitution.
An American in Singapore reflects on liberty and democracy in the Lion City. Once George Bush has finished bringing democracy to the Middle East, do you think he could have a go at Asia?
Nokia and Motorola are fighting back against Chinese mobile phone makers. While so many are worried about Chinese firms dominating the world, the truth remains world-beating companies can effectively compete in China.
China is abandoning its Go West program and Chris sees it as another step in Hu Jintao's dismantling of Jiang Zemin's legacy.
(16:22) Rebecca MacKinnon thoroughly summarises the Digital Silk Road conference on the internet in China. It asks how is the net changing in China and how is China changing the net. Worth a read.
Beingfeng Teahouse reports a Dell is facing a PR disaster in China. As a commenter there says: Wouldn't that be a nice add: "Don't buy at Walmart, with every dollar you spend there you are supporting the Chinese government!"
Tim Worstall catches the European Commission lying over crucial data in the China textile quota war. What the EU also fails to acknowledge is while its producers are suffering, its consumers are benefitting from cheaper textiles. But since when has the EU been about consumer welfare?
David Webb discusses the adjustments to Hong Kong's currency arrangements: Yam's Thick Peg. A "gratuitous job support" scheme for bankers? More interesting is the gradual move away from a currency board system and towards a more typical central bank system. Slowly Yam's HKMA is grabbing back control of monetary policy (and naturally power for itself). Will he do better than a system that has served HK well for over 20 years?
On the subject of the EU constitution, he is adamant. "Non! How can we compete with China?" Even in this remote region, every little village has a zone industrielle, an apparently abandoned enclave of prefabricated units in which - were it not for the evil forces of globalization - hundreds of highly productive French workers on 50,000 Euros a year, 35-hour weeks and two months' annual paid holidays would churn out huge quantities of world-beating textiles and electronic goods, leaving Shenzhen's workshops in the manufacturing dust.
The unlikely diplomacy of Saaya Irie - a 11 year old Japanese girl being exploited but helping to calm Sino-Japanese tensions. If that's the way to calm tensions, I'd prefer to leave them be.
Bill Rice says rising nationalism will be China's undoing and he's asking for thoughts on China's short and long term diplomatic goals. I can give you the simple answer: all their diplomacy is aimed at keeping the CCP in power. To do that they need a growing economy with access to markets and resources, rising living standards, spreading wealth and a dash of nationalism now that Chinese Communism doesn't mean anything any more.
The Pentagon is preparing a report on the growing "China threat". They'd be remiss if they hadn't already prepared such a report. But as the excellent Robert Kagan article above points out, if you treat China as a threat it will become that threat.
Brad Setser's 5 myths about China's currency. Scroll down to the comments by DOR and also note Setser continues to omit any reference to the main culprit in this economic game of poker: Japan.
The CCP has 69.6 million members, up 1.37 million from last year. Now let's wait for the Epoch Times' inevitable "CCP losing millions of members". The truth is out there...
Many blame China for high oil prices. So do falling gas prices in Beijing herald the end of the oil price rally? And will China start importing American SUVs, thus reversing the trade imbalance at the same time? Talk about win-win.
Today's NSFW link: "progressive education" for Party members. Sign me up for classes!
On the CCP membership article in Xinhua.
The net growth was 1.37 million.
The number of new members was 2.42 million.
Therefore, 1.05 million was lost, due to death, disappearance, expulsion, resignation, etc.
I later discovered that article to have been a hoax, so I removed it from my site. However, after I discovered that you had linked to it I put it back up with an update to notify others that it was a hoax.
Japan: The Tokyo Metropolitan Government's Transport Authority lets a "man" in a women-only train car. Read the story to know why "man" is in quotation marks.
Simon, congrats on your trip! Thanks for the updates on Indochine and Nancy Kissel. I'd love to hear your impressions of Cambodia. It and Burma have to be the least-heard-from nations from South East Asia in the American press. How fares the Kingdom?
I'll keep blogging until Monday, but all are relieved that the Maestro has returned. :)
I moved to South Dakota from Iowa today. I am quite tired. I am having trouble comprehending simple articles. So my only entries are links to Zen Pundit, Coming Anarchy, and some projects created by my students (who approved public distribution).
This time tomorrow I will be moved back to South Dakota. It's a good movie, but I'm kind of melancholy about it. I like this town, this job, this apartment. But upwards and onwards....
The Mrs and I are heading for a week long, kid free holiday in deepest Indochina. The guest blogging duties will be taken up by the same excellent crew as last time. But before I go, a final few links for the week...
Phil looks at Hong Kong's next big concrete elephant. Given the 40,000 seat stadium in Causeway Bay is full for exactly 3 days a year, it's hard to see why Hong Kong needs a 70,000 seat stadium at Kai Tak.
Drug addicts: register with the cops or you'll be forced to register.
The Eastern tunnel story refuses to die. Although the SCMP finally got its traffic disaster story...except it was chaos caused by storms, not the Cross-Harbour tunnel. Update Both Tom and Hemlock take issue with the lashing out at the Government due to the traffic chaos caused by the weather. Clearly in these godless times, Government has become the new God - that which is blamed for the unexplainable.
The SCMP reports Japan has translated its controversial history textbook into Chinese to prove it is "factual", with English and Korean versions to follow. It is available from the Japenese Soceity for History Textbook Reform website. Talk about adding fuel to an almost extinguished fire. Update: ESWN looks at the changes between the 2001 and 2005 editions of the textbook.
Cicero discusses a Guardian article about Huanxi, the scene of riots last month. Within my previous coverage I had linked to a Chinanews piece titled Huaxi Village: China's richest village written in December 2004. It does seem amazing that the Guardian's coverage is an echo of that previous piece, without mentioning the riots of last month at all. Especially when Jonathan Watts was the reporter on both pieces. It doesn't add up.
there are in fact two famous different villages named huaxi.
one of them is in jiangsu province, and is a famous economic model village.
the other is in zhejiang province,
and is the scene of the riot.
you can google them separately by adding the name of the province.
I think Bill Rice has jumped the geo-political gun so to speak on the Malaysia peice. I read the article he was quoting from closely, and nowhere does it mention that a U.S. military presence will be patrolling the Malacca strait. The news article only states that Robert Zoellick offered security aid and that the Malasyian defence minister made cooeing diplomatic noises as opposed to the usual rebuffs made (see Japan's recent overtures). The article doesn't mention at all whether or not Malaysia has accepted the U.S. offer and it is almost certain that it hasn't.
In any case, while the defense minister appears to be receptive, others in the Malaysian government are not. The New Straits Times reports that,
" Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar said the ministerial-level meeting among the littoral states was crucial in ensuring their sovereignty as well as security of the waters.
Commenting on reports that the United States had offered to help Indonesia and Singapore with navy patrols, he said this was also vital in keeping away foreign mercenaries.
"We cannot allow mercenaries, civilians or armed guards to operate in the area. That is the responsibility of littoral states. Otherwise, they will be taking over the role of the navy and maritime agencies."
Simon. . . no offence, but I see there's a link at this end of this entry, after the " Posted by Simon at 12:23" part. If you don't know what I mean, I've saved the screen shot in my photobucket account and you can check it out at http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y11/angechrissy/screen.jpg
I've just clicked on the link and it directs me to a Japanese XXX site.
Despite numerous predictions overwise, China's currency was not revalued last week. May 18 looms at the next target date. Bear in mind the forwards imply interest rates as high as -28% at the moment - it ain't cheap betting against the yuan. Dinocrat also ponders a potential renminbi float.
Last week Hong Kong highest court freed 8 Falun Gong prisoners accused of assaulting police in a 2002 protest. As Riding Sun asks, will Beijing be able to resist interfering when it comes to the dreaded Falun Gong?
Yet few bloggers pretend to represent the region, because few bloggers seem to be consciously trying to write "Asian" blogs. Instead, each blogger writes about his or her piece of Asia. The region comes out through the writing choices these bloggers make: in the locales from which they write, the dialects they use and the cultural icons they represent. Even while seeking their individual stamp, collectively, they are making choices that influence what comes to mind when others think of Asia.
Hong Kong's school debate championships covered the apt topic "The UN should admit Japan as a permanent member of the Security Council". ESWN covers the debate and what it shows about Hong Kong's attitude to Japan, freedom of speech and some debating tips.
Sunday is my birthday. It's also Mother's Day, so SF has got your Mother's Day needs covered.
Fons says not all guanxi are created equal. Connections do matter in Chinese business, but at the same timeit is easy for desperate Western businesses to be taken for a ride by frauds.
Faye Wong is not getting married...yet. Who do we thank for this news? Li Ya-peng's mother: the actor was forced to break his silence after his mother confronted him on whether he had secretly married the Beijing-born, Hong Kong-based singer.
(11:02) Hong Kong can forget about the West Kowloon Cultural District - we've got the Wan Chai artistic hub.
Odell shows me his Disney business card. Chief Guest Behavior Management Artist. He canât hide his enthusiasm. âIâll have a tall blonde girl as an assistant and these seven midgets with beards. The rules for visitors are simple. If they spit, they have to get on their hands and knees and wipe it up. If they smoke, they have to kneel on broken glass wearing a dunceâs cap. And if they push or shove or cut into a line â“ and itâs just hard-wired into some of these guys â“ they get a taste of the electric cattle prod and have to write a self-confession.â Iâm impressed, but not totally surprised. Disney runs a tight ship. Look how methodically Mickey and Donald ate Western civilization. And now â“ whoâs next? âExactly,â agrees Odell. âThatâs the motto on our T-shirts â“ âDonât fuck with The Mouseâ. In simplified characters.â
(13:33) Today is election day in the UK. In the midsts of the campaign, the Armed Services Minister took some time out to answer Harry's concerns on swearing in the military. Nice to see British taxpayers' money at work.
Economics is called the dismal science for a reason. Tyler Cowen uses game theory on how to deal with torture. He misses the most obvious course of avoiding torture: subject your captors to a lecture on game theory.
The real meaning of laowai (via TPD). This past weekend I was discussing the word gweilo, a similarly pejorative term. But like many other such terms when those so labelled claim the term for themselves it loses its old sting and renders it neutral. An example of this is queer.
New Hong Kong blog: Blog the talk. By the gents behind Walk the Talk, it covers history, architecture, identity and collective memory in urban spaces in Hong Kong and Macau. For example for May Day they take a look at Communists in Hong Kong. A site to watch.
While on Hong Kong blogs, it's good to have Phil of Flying Chair back in action.
Michael Auslin of Yale writes in IHT on the recent anti-Japan riots and says the current squabbles are a reflection of growing competition amongst emerging Asian powers. These powers (Japan, Korea, China) are working out how to relate to each other in this "new world order". Sooner or later they will realise they have more in common than they first suppose. For example it is in China's longer term interest for Japan to join it in the Security Council.
Bruce notes the KMT and Communists have finally made peace. It is remarkable. At the same time, however, it is also remarkable that an opposition party to be making contacts with an effective enemy of the state, undermining the duly democratically elected Government. In a very real sense it is subversive. While the aim of peace and reconciliation is laudable it seems to me the KMT is deliberately undermining President Chen. But that's the point.
Had dinner last week with Mr Brown, Miyagi, Cowboy Caleb and James Seng. Good beer, good satay and a good discussion. Singapore's blogosphere have their act together and are going through some exciting times - Tomorrow has been a great success.
Hong Kong's birth rate is the lowest in the world. I hope The Don's 3 child policy implements immediate tax breaks for those of us with 3 kids already.
MM has an interview from US Air Force Lt. Col. Mark Stokes, who was the USA's Defence country director for Taiwan for 7 years. He has some alarmist views on China's threat to Taiwan. Of course Taiwan is considering a massive purchase of US arms...
(12:39) Hong Kong's blogosphere proves the local mainstream media wrong when they try and cover the local blogging scene. Also Glutter tells the details of a TV interview she had that was severely edited. She intends to post the uncut version soon.
(14:05) Singapore uses defamation as an effective tool to supress free speech. A Singaporean blogger has closed their blog (one I regularly read) after facing threats of legal action. Naturally plenty of bloggers have been commenting and reacting, saying it is a sad day for Singaporean blogs. Sadly it has become another excuse to attack "big shot" Singapore bloggers for not being serious enough. And that misses the point entirely. The blogosphere is big enough to have many different voices. The whole point is those concerned with the "serious" can talk about it. Those who aren't can talk about whatever else they like. There's no point being judgemental. You can choose to visit or not visit any site you like. It's their website, their effort, their money that goes into it. If you are concerned, go write your own blog. Hell, some of those big shot blogs will likely link you soon enough.
Miyagi introduces the latest blogging tool: Graffiti.
Danwei has a good collection of China related links including fake management books, the Chinese cost myth and the origins of ice cream. They also note Mark Steyn is with me in the quietly optimistic camp on China.
A Chinese journalist, Shi Tai, was sentenced to 10 years in prison for illegally providing state secrets. ESWN looks into what were the "state secrets" involved.
Daily Linket Update: Remember the linklet on sexism in The Economist? Well, that stately British "newspaper" managed to throw in Triste est omne animal post coitum in an article on international farm subsidies. Wow.
The information provided for the battle of Talas has a couple of important errors. Mainly that Talas did not in anyway lead to An Lushan's rebellion nor were its ramifications significant at all. The only real significance to the battle is the diffusion of paper technology, and of course the trivia information that this was the only clash between Chinese and Arab armies. The revolt wasn't at all caused by the defeat at Talas, but rather Tang military overstretch, along with a decline in bureaucratic control which led to increasingly decentralized military power.
On the lighter side, Peter Payne writes an epic post on Japan. Topcs include the low (1.38 children / couple) birthrate, Japanese writing systems, karaoke, and stuff he's shilling.
Great site ! I'll have to add Simonworld to the blogroll.
Putin, so far, is a guy whose conservative bark is a lot worse than his bite - or the bite of his potential rivals.
It would be nice if Yabloko had not badly alienated the populace in Yeltsin's day and that the liberals were strong and vigorous but unfortunately, they aren't.
They have a few years to get it together to be on par with the neo-Communists and the rightist crackpots so when Putin's successor is chosen, the democrats are a force to be reckoned with. They need the time - badly. I hope they use it.
A couple days ago, they led a protest in front of the
South Korean mission to the U.N. Next week, I'll be
joining them at a protest at the Chinese Embassy in
Washington. These people, the majority of them young,
are not primarily from either political party.
They're just trying to influence nations in Asia and
elsewhere to treat the people of North Korea as
international human rights law requires.
Despite 3 years of German in high school and another 3 semesters of it in college, my apptitude for the language still sucks and I don't want to spend 2 hours translating it. I guess its a matter of how much you apply yourself in studying it and now im kicking myself for not doing so earlier.
Curzon at Coming Anarchy discovers that Japan is popular among the Taiwanese (95%!) its old Axis ally Thailand (96%), and plucky Singapore (94%). These countries are looking for a peaceful Japan to export security to their regions.
Not that Nihon always looked favorably on democracies. Two of the first Asian republics, the Republic of Ezo and the Democratic Republic of Taiwan, were united under the Emperor
The Acorn reports that many East Asians are worried about a new cycle of Japanese aggression, and other concerns in the Western Pacific. The greatest winner of trouble times? The answer: India?
Meanwhile, Danieru at Huge Entity finds that the safest places in the world are... North Korea. Maybe fighting a bitter war against freedom is the surest ticket to safety?
One of China's big four banks, ICBC, is getting a US$15 billion bail-out from the Government. It's a no-brainer: it puts China's massive US dollar holdings to use, reduces the bad loans problem (ICBC has 19.5% nonperforming loans in its portfolio) and prepares the bank for a public listing down the track. Combined with the US$45 billion already spent on BoC and CCB, it totals US$60 billion to date spent out bailing its banks. It also highlights a problem with a revaluation of the yuan: these banks are given the money in US dollars and are not permitted to convert it to yuan. A revaluation reduces the value of these bail-outs. And while China's busy sorting out its banks, it also has a stock market problem too - despite the boom its stock market is at six year lows, primarily because of poor accounts, a massive overhang of Government stock and appalling corporate governance.
A look at the CCP's manipulation of Chinese history which concludes brilliantly:
If one can sketch out a paradigm from the aforementioned examples and China's recent spats with Japan, it is that a crime against humanity is only a crime when it is done by someone other than a leader of the Party, and if a Party leader is involved, then said crime is only a "mistake." Richard has Ross Terrill's thoughts and notes the disparity between the Chinese and Western view of the riots.
(15:15) ESWN posts a translation of an essay from a Hong Kong pro-Beijinger, giving us a taste of the other side of the equation.
New blogger Plunge discusses the Japanese colonisation of Korea and says I have come to the conclusion that little good came of the colonization of Korea by Japan and that it has had little impact on the success of Korea in modern times. I am NOT saying it had no positive impact, but that the amount was insufficient to warrant any praise over the condemnation they so rightly deserve for the brutal conditions Koreans had to endure. A comprehensive and thought-provoking piece.
Xinhua: when it is not being an official mouthpiece, it's mega babefest.
Koizumi to apologise again as part of fence mending measures with China, putting the ball back in China's court.
(17:47) Malaysia Airlines new cabin uniforms...putting the burka back into Boeings.
A debate amongst Hong Kongers over the causes of the Nanking Massacre. These debates can happen in Hong Kong, but need to also happen on the Mainland. While ESWN uses this to demonstrate that even amongst Chinese people there are different interpretations of history, I am not sure that is true on the mainland - at least in public forums.
Larry Kudlow also examines the China mess, saying America's China policies aren't helping the current tensions. He also notes the lack of a clear or strong China policy as US foreign policy is otherwise distracted.
Huichieh reflects on the power of blogging after the Singapore CZ affair and has proposed running web symposiums, which sounds very much like the various Carnivals that float around.
(13:38) Even Hong Kong's police are getting into the outsourcing game. If we can get mainland police to work here, think how much the Government could save!
Christ is back and she's Chinese. From the SCMP:
Eastern Lightning, sometimes called the Church of Almighty God, is a fast-growing cult that is believed to have attracted up to a million followers in rural areas across the mainland. Its teachings, which include asking followers to worship a middle-aged woman surnamed Deng as the female Christ, was banned on the mainland along with the Falun Gong in 1999...Its beliefs mix elements of Chinese nationalism with religion, claiming God has been reincarnated among Chinese people and will conquer the west.
Eastern Lightning believes the apocalypse is at hand and the "final Christ" is here to judge the world.
Some let Benedict XVI know, quick! They sound like a charming mob. Also a report from Time back in November 2001 - who I note stole my headline.
It could've been a general munu block you know. But then, you're probably the nail in munu that sticks out most prominently, so yah, I guess they are gunnning after you. Congratulations. ;)
That depends, Fabian. I seem to recall the Little Brother at the head of the rebellion at the end was engaging in orgies and drinking himself stupid. It only took about 20 million deaths along the way.
Macau, population 460,000, have 8 Chinese and 3 Portuguese daily papers. How do they all survive? The old fashioned way: with Government subsidies.
Australia and China are to start free trade talks. China has been granted market economy status, making anti-dumping actions harder. At the same time Australia has demanded agriculture be included in the agreement. That implies Australia feels it has a competitive advantage in agriculture. Australia, with its high wages and far more expensive costs, is a lower cost producer of agricultural goods than low wage, cheap China. Anyone from the anti-offshoring crowd listening?
Hemlock on the Singapore casino announcement: Who will be the first politician in Hong Kong retarded enough to demand that the Big Lychee follow suit in casino-building âin order to remain competitiveâ with Lee Kwan-yewâs pathetic experiment in Confucio-socialism? I give my crystal ball a quick polish and stare into it. The slimy, unprincipled, economically illiterate visage of Liberal Party boss James Tien shimmers in the glassy orb.
Thank you to everyone who responded to my plea for feedback and guest bloggers. The feedback has been invaluable and will be incorporated in the weeks to come. For those who offered to guest blog I have or will be in touch with details.
"Singapore has one of the most fair and transparent legal systems in the world. We do not require a foreigner to tell Singapore and Singaporeans how our criminal justice system should function,'' a Home Affairs Ministry spokeswoman said on customary condition of anonymity on Sunday.
"Customary" indeed. No word if she was laughing as she said it. It is true Singapore's legal system is amongst the best in a region that contains Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia, Malaysia, China and others. It says a lot about the region's legal system.
Could an anti-trust law finally be on the way for Hong Kong? It won't be before The Don assumes his throne but would he have the nerve to face down the tycoons when he only has a 2 year term?
This is a daily collection of links, some with commentary, to news stories and interesting blog posts. It will be updated throughout the day with a new timestamp for the updates.
Hong Kong Disneyland watch: you might not be able to buy tickets from the turnstiles. Ostensibly it is to prevent overcrowding but commissions for travel agents are more likely the reason.
US prosecutors will release court documents in the failed case against Katrina Leung, the FBI's erstwhile Chinese informant accused of being a double agent.
This is a daily collection of links, some with commentary, to news stories and interesting blog posts. It will be updated throughout the day with a new timestamp for the updates.
iTunes is coming to Japan (although still no sign here in Honkers). It was held up by the major labels and their worries over copyright. When will they realise it's their business model they're protecting, not copyright?
China released its now annual human rights white paper. No word how many in slave labour camps were used to compile the report.
Brad DeLong points to an FT article again heralding the end of China's fixed exchange rate. A thought: if China liberalises the exchange rate before it liberalises the capital account it will only hurt its export sector, which has been driving growth. If it liberalises the capital account fully, its just as likely the exchange rate will fall as China's domestic savings and capital leave the country for better investment opportunities and returns. The false assumption often made is the yuan is undervalued. That's not so obvious.
Trying to solve China's piracy problem. Perhaps the US should welcome piracy. If American culture and software can create the means to subvert further the rule of the CCP, wouldn't that be a good thing? And that's only going to happen if these goods stay cheap enough for ordinary Chinese people can afford them. Han has a very comprehensive look at the piracy strawman.
The topic of Myanmar's chairmanship of ASEAN next year is so poisonous ASEAN could only talk about it during a coffee break so their comments couldn't be recorded. It pits ASEAN's principles of non-interference against, well, if they had other principles...
Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer on New Zealand's plan to sign the non-aggression treaty with ASEAN:
"Australia is a proud and independent country, we're able to beat New Zealand at rugby, we thrash them at cricket and there is no reason why we should always do what New Zealand does. We're a more confident country than that."
Blasphemous but plenty of potential. Paula would be her usual self and add nothing of value, except to mock applaud and say condensendingly "I'm so proud of you". Randy would use dude four times, wolf like a dog, use the word "pitchy" and finish saying "It was alright, man, it was alright", which could mean anything from it sucked to it rocked. Simon is the voice of reason. Shaky's right - this thing has legs.
This is a daily collection of links, some with commentary, to news stories and interesting blog posts. It will be updated throughout the day with a new timestamp for the updates.
The bald facts: the SCMP reports a survey has found 60% of men would give up two years of life in return for a full head of hair. It found 57% would pay HK$100,000 or more for hair-loss treatment! But help is at hand. The first prize, won by Koji Tanaka, in a Japanese contest for the finest head of new/regrown hair was HK$216,000. Mr Tanaka was considering using the money to buy more treatments.
Australian Wenhao Zhao was arrested yesterday outside Washington's Capitol building. He had two suitcases with him and had asked to see President Bush. The suitcases contained a CD player and some music. Clearly he thought the President needed help with his playlist.
Ironically, the bigger the Chinese economy becomes, the more vulnerable it grows to US countermeasures. And because any US-Chinese confrontation would be economically catastrophic for both countries, and to Japan and South Korea besides, Taiwan's real guarantee against invasion is that it is a poisoned pawn. It would cost China everything it worked for in the last two decades to swallow.
I couldn't agree more.
The Commisar brings the Carnival of the Coward, a continuing expose of Paul from Wizbang. Also check out Michele's thoughts on something I've often said - extremism outweighs moderation in the blogging world (not to mention the echo chamber the encourages extremism). Zombyboy is also hankering for a return to blogging's better days. There seems to be a growing groundswell of readership and bloggers looking for a return to moderation (perhaps a reflection of post-election politics), or is it just nostalgia? I hope the former but fear it's the latter.
This is a daily collection of links, some with commentary, to news stories and interesting blog posts. It will be updated throughout the day with a new timestamp for the updates.
Scroll down for today's other posts.
We have a dog, so I can feel for Eugene Oh and Grace Chin, who lost their dog in an attack by some neighbour's dogs. But HK$20mm in damages? Post-traumatic stress disorder? Perspective, people. Perspecitve.
Hong Kong's Government House will be renovated, reports the SCMP, so the next Chief Executive can use it if he so chooses. The Government refused to disclose how much was being spent or if the new CE will live in the house. Tung Che-hwa would not move into the house due to bad feng shui...which makes me wonder how much worse things could have been if he had lived there.
This is a daily collection of links, some with commentary, to news stories and interesting blog posts. It will be updated throughout the day with a new timestamp for the updates.
Scroll down for today's other posts.
In 1962 China and India went to war over their border. A historic settlement of the Sino-Indian border is to be signed today. Changing times. Also India is more efficient than China in using capital. That post finishes with this comment on China's economic boom: one common characteristic of bubbles is that they never feel that way when you are in them. Just ask Alan Greenspan. Also Tyler Cowen notes China's compartively poor use of energy in generating GDP. The China economic machine is awesome, but not surprisingly it is also not very efficient. But why would a quasi-Communist economy with plenty of state owned companies ever be economically efficient? That said at least some Chinese businesses are damn good negotiators.
In retaliation for the anti-secession law, Taiwan has expelled the reporters from Xinhua and People's Daily. Strike a blow for press freedom in Taiwan.
This is a daily collection of links, some with commentary, to news stories and interesting blog posts. It will be updated throughout the day with a new timestamp for the updates.
Why Hong Kong needs a competition law part 294: the SCMP reports "a cartel of 11 driving schools and instructor unions will stnadardise fees today at the 1997 level to halt cutthroat competition in the shrinking industry." Remember Hong Kong has suffered deflation since 1997, so those prices are higher than current ones. The cartel had the chutzpah to ask the media to disseminate the new fixed prices. The Standard has another example of anti-competitive practices in market stalls. Remember this next time you read about the world's free-est economy.
The SCMP also reports: A stubborn leech took three doctors and five medical examinations to be removed from the nostrils of a 55-year-old woman hiker, a month after it invaded her nose. Another reason not to go hiking in Hong Kong.
Starting Monday I will be participating in SimTerror '05.
Former high flying internet analyst Henry Blodget went to Shanghai where it rained, he checked out some fakes and an exhibition before catching the train to Beijing. People actually get paid for writing fluff like this?
Dinocrat asks how concerntrated and leveraged is China's wealth, to which I'd answer very and not much (China's saving ratio is around 40%). He also points to a show town in Shandong and wonders what the others like.
While Korea is encouraging outward bound investment to offset its large foreign exchange reserves, China is restricting individual outbound investment. It seems a backward step in closing the capital account when Chinese policy has been a gradual opening of the capital account to allow for a free® float of the yuan.
The woman went to see a private doctor, who treated her blocked nosebleed with anti-bacterial medicine. But it didn't get any better for obvious reasons.
Eventually she went to a hospital and while being examined, the doctor the leech creep out. But the doctor wasn't quick enough to snatch it. Now that they knew what it was, they put her (and her leech) under with anaesthetics, and then extracted the leech with instruments. Such as the gory details ...
This is a daily collection of links, some with commentary, to news stories and interesting blog posts. It will be updated throughout the day with a new timestamp for the updates.
Scroll down for today's other posts.
Asia's already pushing its candidate for next UN Secretary General. You'd have thought they'd be fighting over who won't have to do it.
China's laying the groundwork to block reform of the UN Security Council. They are asking for no time limit on reform (ie it can be postponed indefinately) and consensus from the 191 member General Assembly. That gives every member effective veto power over the reforms. It is death by bureacracy.
The fueding continues between Japan and both China and South Korea. What's most interesting is the differing methods of protest. In China there have been boycotts, protests and online petitions. After yesterday officially telling the media to stop reporting anti-Japan protests, today it emerges China has banned books pleading for greater Sino-Japanese understanding. ESWN has some translations of the banned author's work so you can judge for yourself. Also just to remind you why people in China feel so strongly about this issues, read ESWN's account of the Japanese history textbook revisions.
(17:33) The GaijinBiker points out an interesting angle on the Japan textbook affair. Some well made points. The only problem I have is that history, especially this history, is not necessarily an internal matter. For another take, Laowiseass blames the current anti-Japan feeling on Chinese self-loathing.
It's a small blogosphere. I recently came across John & Belle have a blog, I think via Brad DeLong. A well written philosophy/liberal site with a side of Martha Stewart (pre-incarceration), it turns out John and Belle live in Singapore. Interesting.
How cool is that, to have a famous blogger so close to home? (he's a co-blogger on Crooked Timber)
I don't study at NUS myself, but I've got friends who were taught by him. Quite possibly the first person in Singapore to use blogs as a teaching tool.
This is a daily collection of links, some with commentary, to news stories and interesting blog posts. It will be updated throughout the day with a new timestamp for the updates.
The lifting of quotas on textiles would inevitably be a case of free trade working too well, I said last month. Now the USA has pre-emptively begun cases against China to determine if quotas should be re-imposed. Two interesting things here. Firstly the Bush Administration has done this before being asked (officially) by the US textile makers. Secondly while supposedly free trade America panics, the protectionist EU is standing pat. What will be most interesting is to see the reaction and lobbying of American textile importers, such as Wal-Mart, and consumer groups. When the Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements looks at "safeguard procedings", you wonder who are they protecting? They are defending a small group of costly domestic producers at the cost of more expensive goods for literally millions.
SCMP goof of the day: front page main story headlined "Fresh fury over Japan's distorted history book". The by-line: Agencies in Tokyo and Beiing and Chan Siu-sin in Islamabad. Islamabad is in Pakistan. I've heard of outsourcing but putting reporters there to cover events in Japan, Korea and China?
Did the Earth move for you? China will relocate 400,000 people as part of its newest white elephant, the North-South Water Canal.
(16:21) Brad DeLong reflected on the value of books and how they make sure you can always be in the right place at the right time. He then has a follow-up where a curator of rare book's from MIT writes in a short history of personal libraries, and Brad finishes with:
The wonderful and awesome thing is not just that there is someone somewhere on the earth who can answer pretty much any question I might ask, but that so many of them read my weblog. I am truly fortunate.
I'll take that one step further. Set aside the politics, we weblog readers are truly fortunate we are able to read sites by people such as Mr. DeLong and plenty of others who are intelligent experts, doing interesting work they are passionate about and are happy to share it all with the world for free. The democratisation of knowledge continues apace. There is a direct link between effects of Gutenberg's printing machine and of blogs (along with such efforts as Google's online library). Lucky us.
To clarify, I don't think that James Soong decided to visit the mainland on a sudden whim. This was obviously planned well in advance, but the KMT visit's not-too-bad reception back in Taiwan probably accelerated the process. Still, the PFP strategists really should've asked the other organs of the party to keep their mouths shut, since they were (in retrospect) so close to an visit agreement.
I feel so badly for those folks up there in North Korea. They don't stand a chance. If the virus gets started, it will certainly wipe out any population center it encounters.
This is a daily collection of links, some with commentary, to news stories and interesting blog posts. It will be updated throughout the day with a new timestamp for the updates.
Scroll down for today's other posts.
Strategypage alleges China is preparing an "out-of-the-blue" attack on Taiwan, under the cover of a military exercise. But curiously for such an important piece of news there is no attribution or source. Even more curious is the alleged timing: China/Taiwan relations have been thawing somewhat in the last few weeks with the KMT's visit and overtures on talks. Glenn Reynolds links to the piece and says:
Macchiavellian plan: Give nukes to Taiwan. Have Taiwan explode one in the Pacific as a "test." Have Taiwan announce that it got them from North Korea and Iran and will acquire more. Watch China deal with both countries...
I know he's joking. What worries me are those who read and think it a good idea. I note Richard is saying the same thing. Update: Nitin has pointed out a story where China's Prime Minister has hlped secure the release of Taiwanese fisherman in Pakistan. It's good China's leadership can take time out from invasion plans to do things like this.
It had to happen. A legal challenge to the new Chief Executive's term was launched yesterday by the "Grassroots Democratic Society". It's a quiotic quest: the NPC will overrule any decision it doesn't like. Today's conspiracy theory: what if someone is bankrolling this quest to force the NPC's hand?
The world's biggest financial institution, Japan Post, is moving closer to privitisation. How big is it? Japanese postal savings accounts total US$1.9 trillion, or between 1/3 and 1/2 of all Japanese savings.
Now you can karaoke anywhere, anytime, without disturbing anyone. How long before someone attaches a phone to it?
In these busy times there are few places where one can have a few minutes of peace and privacy, away from the hussle and bussle and the technological madness of progress. The toilet, that oasis, that serene cistern. But I fear the clever comodes. With the current drive to link everything to the internet, can the iToilet (in your choice of fashionable colours) be far off?
I saw Ming Pao covering Okinotori for a while, and I'd never imagine that the Japanese photos would actually look less island-like than the ones in Ming Pao.
I'm hoping in the decades to come, China will become more like Tiawan and the whole reunification thing will become a moot case as Tiawain asks to become a member state.
This is a daily collection of links, some with commentary, to news stories and interesting blog posts. It will be updated throughout the day with a new timestamp for the updates.
Could the passing of China's anti-secession law marked the high point of tensions and belligerence over Taiwan? Now China is renewing its (highly conditional) offer for talks with the DPP following the visit of KMT officials and offering to help Taiwan join the WHO.
After 27 years Hong Kong's bun scramble has been revived. What has not been announced is the HK Government will be sending "slope engineers" to concrete the towers and prevent slippage.
China's car firms suffer over-capacity, a slowing market and increased competition. So why not go and buy a British dog instead?
Look out for Typhoon Cindy Wind...and you can name your own destructive natural force as well. I wonder if Typhoon James Tien is on the radar?
I've been told Hong Kong Disneyland is going to open in September no matter what. That's despite most of the rides not being ready; a lack of air conditioning and shade due to budget constraints and a lack of adequately trained staff. Disney head office is sending lots of key staff into HK at the moment to bring it up to scratch. Update: ESWN has a look at HK Disneyland's recruitment drive.
Gary Becker argues China might not become the leading nation of the 21st Century. Co-blogger Richard Posner asks if China will overtake the USA but finds too many factors cloud the picture. Posner's is an "on-the-one-hand on-the-other" fence sitting exercise that adds little to the debate. Becker's longer piece rightly tempers the current enthusiasm for all things China, pointing out similar hype about Japan and Germany "overtaking" the US. There's much to be bullish about on China, but it is not inevitable that China's economy smoothly and quickly dominate.
Of the 22 million signatures on the petition circulating China demanding a block to Japan's permanent UN Security Council seat, there's been some interesting names. But the protests are still very real: violent protests in Chengdu.
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Quite frankly we are witnessing an incredible historical event and it is going largely unnoticed. 55 years after the Chinese Civil War ended, the two opponents are now openly embracing each other. The visit is seen as a welcome thaw in frosty cross-Straits relations. Thanks should be given to the DPP for bringing together the Communists and KMT. And perhaps the pessimistis on the Taiwan question will realise it's not all doom and gloom and that China has a carrot and stick approach...not just a stick approach.
Mrs M. kindly bought me a copy of Blink by Malcolm Gladwell. It's a good read, linking together anecdotes and research and in an easy to read style. It comes down to a simple rule my high school science teacher once told me: go with your gut instinct. What is illuminating is the unconscious influences and prejudices on our decisions. As I said, worth a read.
Triads in Hong Kong are learning that upsetting the status quo with the cops doesn't pay. Since a police raid last weekend in Kowloon turned ugly, police have raided well-known Triad owned premises nightly, despite major Triad leaders apologising to the police and telling their young "brothers" to pull their heads in. Some might wonder why it has taken such an event to get the police to launch these raids. But in Hong Kong that's how it works: there is an unwritten understanding between police and Triads which keeps Hong Kong largely free of petty crime.
Sobering times for Korean bankers. Sell your Korean beer shares now. I can categorically state there are no harder drinkers in the world than Koreans.
It's not easy being a woman in China. Besides being vastly outnumbered by men, 71% are sexually harassed.
(13:20) Virgin have announced they have finalised details of commerical space flight and the first trip will be in 30 months. Instead of a mile high club there will now be the 100 mile high club. Problems of squeezing pass trolleys in aisles are eliminated as you can now float over the top. Leg space issues in economy class disappear. But what does a spacecraft do if there are no landing slots on its return?
The SCMP Group reported an annual profit of HK$317.5 million on turnover of HK$1.37 billion! That's a 23% profit margin! I gotta start me a newspaper. Maybe they could spare a few dollars and send some reporters to Hunan Normal University's class on sensationilising news.
DEL points to a NYT article discussing the current massive petition in China against Japan's bid for a UN Security Council permanent seat. I mentioned this yesterday and note in passing that what both the SMH and NYT have seen fit to print remains absent from the South China Morning Post. Joseph Kahn points out this petition will force China's Government to take a stronger diplomatic line with Japan and re-inforces my view that China's public opinion is more hawkish than the Government's on Japan. But will the rest of the world allow this to disrupt a much needed and desired reform of the UNSC? I doubt it. In the end the most likely is China will abstain on Japan's entry to the Council and cop a huge amount of domestic flak for it. It's not easy being a dictatorship. Thomas Barnett points to several other interesting China related articles today and rightly deals with them.
I don't see how the PRC's position on Nepal is “tortured” from its position on Taiwan. If Taiwan fell after 1949 and there never was a standoff at the Straits, I'd imagine the PRC government would still say the exact same thing and not feel anything out of place.
Hehe read enough Angry Chinese Blogger and you'll know that the Chinese public opinion is to force every human being in Japan into one spot, then nuke said spot repeatedly (saving just enough for Taiwan, if we have to obliterate it to keep it ours, and deterrents against India and America). :P
And therefore, we are talking about a LOT of domestic flak. Like, seriously, if Japan makes it into the UNSC permanently, the Politburo is probably going to cross its fingers that nothing controversial happens in the next two years, at least. At least, that's the gut feeling that I get from it.
I think Chinese responses to a security council seat for Japan will revolve around what kind of position Japan will get. If it's a non-vetoing position akin to the present 10 non-permanent member seats then they may very well tolerate it. If Japan's security council position comes with a subsequent veto that matches the present 5 permanent security council positions, I'm fairly sure China would never allow that. Frankly, I'm pretty sure Russia would also move to block that as well and the only real support Japan would have is from the United States.
I should also point out that South Korea has openly come out against Japan's security council bid.
[SEOUL — South Korea has decided to work to block Japan's bid to win permanent membership in the U.N. Security Council, the country's envoy to United Nations said Thursday, according to a Yonhap News Agency dispatch from New York.
Ambassador Kim Sam Hoon said: "There are difficulties for a country that does not have the trust of its neighboring countries because of its lack of reflection on the past to play the role of a world leader. We do not think Japan has the qualifications to become a U.N. Security Council member, and we will try to make sure it does not become one."]
Come to think of it, are there any Asian countries that are particularly enthusastic about Japan's security council bid? As far as I am aware, its only the U.S. that has any interests involved in the matter.
I can't read that article...do you mind sending me the text.
Japan should get a seat if they decide to expand the Council. But China has lit a fire that it cannot control. A compromise will be reached but I'm sure whatever it is it won't be enough to satisfy the Chinese public.
This is a daily collection of links, some with commentary, to news stories and interesting blog posts. It will be updated throughout the day with a new timestamp for the updates.
The Standard: "Beijing gave a warm welcome to a leader of Taiwan's opposition Kuomintang...Chiang Pin-kung, vice-chairman of the KMT, arrived in Beijing Wednesday on the third leg of an official visit, the KMT's first since 1949." What would Chiang Kai-Shek say? Hemlock:
Muttering âmy enemyâs enemy is my friendâ, a senior Kuomintang delegation visits the Mainland for the first time since 1949. Given the Chinese Communist Party banditsâ origins within the KMT, the two sides have much in common to discuss. The ditching of Leninist principles. Dictatorship. Corruption. Massacres. The co-option of business and gangsters. Being on the losing side of history...
More than 19 million people, mostly Chinese, are reported to have signed internet petitions opposing Japan's campaign to join the ranks of permanent members of the world's great power club, the United Nations Security Council. Launched only a week ago, the petitions are being carried on the three main Chinese internet portals - sina.com, 163.com and sohu.com - with the blessing of Chinese authorities.
The internet campaign also risks charges of hypocrisy, given that China's 80 million web users are unlikely to be given a chance to express opinions on other questions, such as China's support for North Korea.
But not a word about it in the South China Morning Post.
(16:32) Thanks to Publius Pundit for marking me at number 10 in his top 20 bloggers list. And thank you to Bill for letting me know.
Usually the p0rn industry leads the way in new technology. So the outsourcing trend was only a matter of time.
Results as at 17:20 on March 31st, 2005. Check out the link for an explanation of what the indicies mean.
Total sentences 834
Total words 8,284
Average words per Sentence 9.93
Words with 1 Syllable 5,403
Words with 2 Syllables 1,843
Words with 3 Syllables 731
Words with 4 or more Syllables 307
Percentage of word with three or more syllables 12.53%
Average Syllables per Word 1.51%
Gunning Fog Index 8.99
Flesch Reading Ease 69.00
Flesch-Kincaid Grade 6.10
FYI Please be advised that Dareecha.com aka dareecha.blogspot.com is reported to the internet domain registry for domain name theft(www.icann.org) for the domain name that is a registered entity in U.S. and Pakistan. Mr Malik Aqdas Malik of HANKEN (Swedish School of Economics and Business Administration) in Helsinki, Finland is the occupant.
No action is expected/required from you. Display of this message demonstrates your impartiality to this case.
This is a daily collection of links, some with commentary, to news stories and interesting blog posts. It will be updated throughout the day with a new timestamp for the updates.
Hungry Chinese countrysiders are moving for better food sources. It's not easy being a panda.
I don't want to say I told you so back in June last year, but Cathay Pacific limits the number of trips its staff makes direct from Hong Kong to New York. Do you think they'll get around to warning passengers sometime soon?
Hong Kong's public broadcaster, RTHK, is under fire from the Oriental Group in a Hong Kong media war. ESWN says the war is a distraction. My problem is broader and something I've discussed before: why is Government involved in public broadacasting at all, at least in places with a free and open press?
(16:46) My Olive Tree seems to be a blog covernig all things Macau.
simon, good point about the cathay pacific flights, but it seems to me that a lot of people knew this already as common knowledge.
they should make some kind of statement, although the last time I took that flight, i do seem to remember I wrote about the cosmic radiation thing on my blog.
of course, the SCMP doesn't read my blog, and my blog no longer exists, but... still.
seems, also, the flight attendants were very aware of it, and were talking to people openly about it in the cabin.
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Disaster: Hong Kong can expect fewer typhoons than normal this year. Remember typhoon = day off work. I hope the Government will create some new public holidays to compensate.
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Strategypage comments on Chinese blogs, saying: It's estimated that about a million Chinese are now running blogs (web logs.) This, for Chinese security officials, is worse than chat rooms and bulletin boards. That would explain why there have been days of protests over the crackdown on university BBS, whereas the crackdown on Chinese blogs passed relatively quietly. Chinese security officials are worried about free expression online. But all this blog boosterism gets in the way of the reality - in China it is the chat rooms and bulliten boards are most worried about. Glenn Reynolds needs help with the tricks of Chinese bloggers, just in case. Let's get a bunch of mainland bloggers together and put out a book.
It's nice to have friends. China and North Korea's Premiers got together and China offered help in promoting North Korea's economy and improving living standards "in terms of both spirit and material". Curiously there was no mention of nuclear weapons.
(10:16) It seems Danwei has been co-opted by Xinhua, China's official news outlet. While most of the blogosphere is over up in arms over Google's news sources it's good to see the monolithic Chinese media machine using bloggers. Even if they didn't ask permission. It looked like China was cracking down on journalists and threatening severe penalties for those impersonating them. Now it looks like they are outsourcing to blogs.
So this whole affair should not be considered as a one-dimensional crackdown on democratic aspirations for political freedom. According to the first excerpt, free speech was never really there before. According to the second excerpt, some people don't really care about democracy or any such, but only wanted a public forum to interact with the outside world on academic research. There must surely be other points of view as well. So what was the whole crackdown about? It was more about the idea that the BBS's pose a potential problem, and it was better to nip in the bud. This is counterproductive because the BBS's had been serving productive functions and the information flow will continue through other channels anyway.
He also notes a similar situation happening in downtown Yonkers, as reported by the NYT, and the disgusting racist postings on one popular Chinese BBS after Condi Rice's visit. As ESWN, where's the great net nanny when you need it?
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The New Blog Carnival is up at Jim's place. It's a great way to find new and interesting voices.
Rich Kuslan continues his look at Chinese management style. If you thought your boss was bad, read this.
In his typically lucid style, David Webb explains the tangled world of IPOs in Hong Kong, including what to watch for and when to invest in the IPOs. David Webb is truly one of Hong Kong's greatest resources. If only the media could learn from him.
From Philip Bowring in the IHT on Condi Rice's trip to Asia: The proposed appointment of Paul Wolfowitz to the World Bank also irritates developing Asia as much as Europe. You see Philip knows the minds of every Asian government without having to provide proof. It is because he says it is.
Meanwhile, the epic term-of-office charade slowly unfolds, as pro-Beijing dinosaurs spit out threats of Basic Law interpretation should any treacherous wretch have the audacity to prompt Hong Kong courts to challenge the will of the Central Peopleâs Government. Out of seven million people, thereâs bound to be a treacherous wretch. Maybe two.
As part of the team planning to prepare public opinion for this eventuality, Winky is having a slight crisis of conscience. âLooks like reinterpretation of the Basic Law is a done deal,â she says, trying to sound relaxed and positive. âThe community will have to understand â“ the only alternative is potential chaos.â But first, I suspect, she needs to understand it herself. I gently point out other alternatives. The Government could simply obey the law as written. Or the part of the Basic Law that Beijing wonât obey could be amended. She rolls her eyes and tells me Iâm not being funny.
It gets worse. She leans forward and lowers her voice. âThereâs a feeling that a third interpretation will help make the procedure seem more ânormalâ. So when it happens the fourth time and a fifth time, people will just acceptâ¦â I bang my chopstick against her bowl and cut in. What fourth time? She winces slightly. âThereâs a court case⦠A certain, um, class of people are claiming permanent residency.â I whip out my ID card and point to the wording saying I have right of abode. âDonât be silly,â she snaps. âIt doesnât affect gwailos.â Maybe theyâre saving that for the fifth time.
(15:57) A key difference between China and Japan. In China, they steal manhole covers and sell them for scrap. In Japan, they have manhole cover websites.
The SCMP group have won the contract for China's version of In Style magazine. This could be a win-win situation. Just shift half their staff from the newspaper and viola.
(17:07) BD reports the EU is postponing plans to lift is arms embargo on China. I understand that American pressure has helped. But I'm puzzled by this: European nations have been shaken by the recent adoption of legislation by the Chinese National People's Congress authorizing the use of force to stop Taiwan from seceding. The Chinese action, they said, jolted France and undercut its moves to end the embargo before June. The anti-secession law had been flagged for months before its enactment. The drafting was announced in December 2004. The final text contained no surprises and if anything was slightly milder than feared. If the EU has been surprised by the very predictable reaction their diplomats are oblivious to the world around them. It begs the question - what is the EU actually for? Or in clearer terms - does its benefits outweigh its costs (and not just monetary)?
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Now it's Hong Kong asking Beijing for a re-interpretation of the Basic Law. The entire transition from Tung to Donald Tsang has been a complete mess. It doesn't bode well and shows just how hasty the whole process has been. The NYT looks at the longer term impact the undermining of law in Hong Kong will have.
Hong Kong's newest pro-Beijing party, the People's Party, which ESWN analyses in depth. It isn't obvious there is a gap for this party to fill. What does constantly amaze me is how much talk about "class" there is in Hong Kong politics. Is this osmosis from Communist China? Classes exist as convenient labels, nothing more or less.
The support continues to pour in for China's anti-secession law. Cuba and Tajikistan (thanks MM) have joined in.
Hong Kong's boys in blue have nabbed the park trail robbers. ESWN points out two very different versions of how the cops got their men.
On Friday Ocean Park, Hong Kong's other Government owned theme park, released details of its revamp to compete against the Government's other park. At a mere HK$5.5 billion, it's a fraction of the cost of Hong Kong Disneyland. OP Chairman Allan Zeman: "We are not trying to 'outdo Disney' but compliment it. Disney doesn't have animals." Someone tell Mickey.
(10:51) Currently if you search for Hong Kong Disneyland on Google my post "Build it and they will come", which details the costs and expenses to HK taxpayers of this park, is around 12th, on the second page. If others link it may help boost the post's ranking and push it onto the front page, so when people search for Hong Kong Disneyland they can know something of the true costs of the project. Please use the words "Hong Kong Disneyland" in the link.
Here's your chance to tell the People's Daily what you really think. Do they honestly want to know what people think of their content?
The Singaporean ST Interactive is going to a paid subscription model. At the moment less than 1% of registered users have paid up. Their first article could be titled: how to lose 99% of your readers in one easy step.
As per your note, I have just blogged a bit about Disneyland with a link back to your article. And while I normally title all my posts with song names, in this case the title is "Hong Kong Disneyland." I share your feeling that this needs to be more widely publicized and hope my tiny contribution helps.
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Yesterday I discussed the proposed increase in demerit points and fines for running red lights in Hong Kong. Today the SCMP reports bus drivers are threatening industrial action, claiming the move will cause them stress and increase risks to pedestrians. The risk is from those that run red lights, not from stressed bus drivers. Here's a handy stress-reduction technique for bus drivers: obey the law. Let's hope the Government has enough backbone to stand up to them.
The Government is considering nationalising the two privately owned cross-Harbour tunnels. That's right, in the world's "free-est" economy. The idea would be if the Government owned them all it would magically free up congestion at the Central tunnel. As I said on Monday, Hong Kong doesn't need another price fixing cartel. The cost of buying both tunnels is HK$11 billion, at which rate the tolls wouldn't even cover the interest. Luckily the major shareholder in both the Eastern and Western tunnels has said they are not for sale. However Citic Pacific did offer to take the Central tunnel off the Government's hands instead. Congestion occurs because the Central tunnel is cheaper and in the best location. It's just a different cost of using it.
The Hong Kong Tourism Board is getting HK$9 million to rework its website, says the SCMP. Sure it could use sprucing up, but $9 million? I'm going to apply for Government funds to revamp this site.
More support for China's anti-secession law: Jordan and Palestine (some interesting parallels there).
Heh. There are two solutions to the current fuss over a 2 year term for the next Chief Executive. Either the NPC re-interprets the Basic Law, which has the beauty of eliminating any possible legal challenge and constitutional crisis; or each candidate declares they will only serve for 2 years. The latter saves face for China and removes the legal threat, all while earning massive brownie points for the candidate. In fact China is having a great demonstration that democracy and its trappings are NOT a threat. Despite Hong Kong's free press, limited autonomy and partial elections, China is still in control. The new doctrine of legislative intent means that even the written word need not mean what it appears - it is the interntion of the law's framers that matter, not what they wrote. Friends, this is legal history in the making.
(14:49) How deals get done. China releases a key dissident, America drops its traditional censure of China's human rights. Realpolitik in action.
A troubling story about bullying in Hong Kong schools. Almost as troubling is the poor job the English language press does in this town. There exists a major market gap for a group effort to translate and post articles such as this reported in the Chinese language media in English. Any interest?
That is indeed a sad story regarding the victim of school bullies; what is especially troubling is that the bullies were able to exploit the educational system to further torment the poor kid.
I believe that cases like this are more widespread in Hong Kong. For example, recorded footage of such blatant and apalling classroom bullying has been posted on the internet.
It seems that these students lack the confidence to stand up to their tormentors and become targets of opportunity for the more ruthless among them. Maybe these are just typical childhood experiences of growing up in the school of hard knocks. Or is there something else going on in Hong Kong's school system?
see "Asian Prep School Thugs",
http://www.fugly.com/frameset.html?http://www.fugly.com/media/view.php?cat=MOVIES&id=2528~mainFrame
or
http://www.muchosucko.com/link1334.html
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Hong Kong Disneyland, a partly state funded venture, and Ocean Park are to receive a free boost to their marketing efforts, thanks to the Hong Kong taxpayer. I propose all Hong Kong taxpayers get free tickets to both parks. Interestingly HK Disneyland came in for questioning over its option on adjacent land to its current site.
Hong Kong is proposing raising demerit points for jumping red lights. The Government proposed raising the penalty from 3 to 8 points (a total of 15 costs your licence). Professional drivers were outraged, saying it will cause them stress and loss of livelihood. The Transport Department backed down, reducing it to 5. WTF? If red lights cause professional drivers stress, that's good. They should be careful about running red lights. It's illegal for a good reason. And there are plenty of relatives and loved ones of those killed by runners of red lights who have far better claim on stress and outrage. Why does Hong Kong's Government always pander to special interests? Oh, that's right, because it's made up of them.
It's been somewhat topical here in the last few days. Bill Roggio has an indepth look at what prevents China invading Taiwan (via WoC), continuing the themes I started on yesterday. Good article. Go read. I'll wait.
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Brian Dunn states the Chinese will invade Taiwan. (via IP). His proof? China's military modernisation program, the newly passed anti-secession law and an article in the Taipei Times. Pretty flimsy. China's been preparing to invade Taiwan since the split in the 1940s. The PLA's military modernisation program has been going on for years. They make no secret that their main intention is to prepare for a Taiwan invasion. It's why the PLA couldn't offer much logistical help after the tsunami. The anti-secession law codifies what has been policy for 50 years. In some respects it shows restraint from previous policy positions. Mr Dunn says I would really like it if the Chinese evolved some sanity and became a normal, civilize [sic] country without territorial objectives to be achieved at others [sic]expense. You'd think China would recognize it has enough problems 360 degrees without driving us [the USA] into the enemy camp. The American Civil War was fought over a bunch of territories trying to secede from the Union. In a more modern context if California announced it was going Communist and leaving the USA, would the rest of America accept that blindly? Before shooting from the hip it pays to know at least a little about what you speak. Where's Thomas Barnett? Update: Is this reader of IP delusional? On one hand China's the baddy because they have such a large trade balance with the USA; on the other its part of an evil plot to distract the US and flood the world with US dollars? China holds US$600 billion in reserves and America is its largest trading partner. China wants Taiwan but fears America's reaction. They're not stupid. Nor need they be America's rivals...unless Americans want them to be. Second update: Giving Taiwan nukes as an answer? Maybe the good Professor is also losing the plot. At a time when the world is trying to de-nuclearise North Korea and Iran, adding more nukes to the Taiwan question is a recipie for disaster. Update 3: From the Jamestown Foundation (see below): The PRC's defense industry: reform without improvement. They're running to stand still. That's why I'm sceptical about China's "military modernisation program".
Could Collins be returning to blogging? Will it fill the void left by Bill formerly of BV?
Dan Drezner picks up on The Epoch Times story saying 200,000 Chinese have quit the CCP. As many of the commenters hint, The Epoch Times is owned and bankrolled by the Falun Gong movement. Along the Journey noted the same story and found a website listing those supposedly quitting the CCP. This likely isn't getting wider airing because it hasn't been corroborated by independent sources.
The SCMP reports a planned three way merger between Dragonair, Cathay Pacific and Air China. What a great test for Hong Kong's new Government. Would they prefer a national champion that dominates or even monopolises key routes? Or will they stick to their current policy of aviation competition? I'll wager the former.
China's economy is still booming, despite the central Government's best efforts. Industrial output is up 17% and fixed asset investment up 24.5% on a year earlier. The inflation genie is also creeping out of its bottle. The world might be relying on China to be the economic growth engine, but it is close to being out of control.
(12:17) How to beat Wal-Mart and its "Always low prices".
I'm not an iPod fanatic. But if you have been claimed by the iPod cult, here's the loo for you.
I don't think it's really the same with Taiwan and California. California has been a part of the US for over 160 years. Taiwan was an official part of China for 8 years in the 19th century (1887-1895) and 4 years in the 20th century (1945-1949). That's 12 years total. In contrast, Taiwan was a part of Japan for 50 (1895-1945) years and Okinawa was part of the United States for 28 years (1945-1973).
The argument is more that Taiwan's people are chinese and that the Taiwanese government was the Chinese government, right? The claim is more political than territorial I think. I'd be like if US democrats ran to Cuba and the main Republican US started saying that Cuba is a part of the US. Well, it once was in the late 19th century, and the government would be founded by Americans...
Andrew is spot on. Another valid point is that the People's Republic of China has never ruled Taiwan, so the US Civil War analogy is quite mistaken, no matter how hard the CPC tries to make it fit.
Andrew Mcmanama-smith is playing with his facts. Taiwan "province" existed for those 8 years during Qing China. However prior to that, Taiwan province did not exist and was a prefectural level entity that was part of Fujian province. To say that Taiwan was only part of China for 8 years by the 19th century is beyond a misinterpretation but rather what I would qualify as a deliberate and disingenous attempt to manipulate history to support separatism. Taiwan prefecture was incorporated into Fujian province in 1683. In 1875 Taiwan prefecture was further subdivided into a north and south administrative regions. In 1887, the date that China "allegedly" acquired Taiwan was in reality the date of another bureaucratic shuffle when Taiwan prefecture(s) were administratively removed from Fujian province and made a province in and of itself.
As for the anology comparing the Taiwan situation to a theoretical seccession by California from the Union, this is of course a rather limited relationship that is only superficially similar. However, this kind of reasoning would be missing the point entirely. The position of the mainland vis-a-vis Taiwan is that Taiwan is part of China, thus any attempts to declare an independent polity from either the PRC or ROC would be regarded as separatism. This is where the analogy holds true, the United States would in the same vein not look favourably upon states entertaining the idea of seccession and would in likelyhood use force to oppose it. Whether or not China can correctly regard Taiwan as part of China, is of course up to interpretation.
Well, Jing is completely wrong: It wasn't until 1684 that Taiwan was made part of Fujian :)
Of course, this date is at the other extreme to Andrew's; it's equally dubious to say Taiwan suddenly became a fundamental part of China then. Qing attitudes to Taiwan were pretty ambivalent at first (Han Chinese were forcibly repatriated from Taiwan to China, immigration to Taiwan was illegal for a long time, and only the Western parts of Taiwan were under Qing control). However, my rule of thumb is that about the start of the 19th century you could say Taiwan was fully part of China (by then Han outnumbered aborigine, there was more effort to develop and expand control on the island, and immigration was allowed).
That aside, I agree that Simon's analogies are waaay of the mark (I'd have though a better one for Simon would be Australia getting rid of the Queen).
The original article of course contains a lot of opinion; I wouldn't agree with it's conclusion, but only a fool would discount the possibility of war. I would also agree with its main conclusion that Taiwan needs to take its own defense a bit more seriously ...
My analogies are only to highlight a point - why does China feel so strongly about Taiwan? It's historically difficult to argue that Taiwan was only a part of China for a short period. Beside the reasons above, also note that the Nationalists and the CCP fought the civil war over who would rule all of China, including Taiwan.
David is right - Taiwan does need to look more closely at their defense. But a Chinese invasion of Taiwan is not viable in the near future.
I noticed the extra word you added to your arguement that was not part of my original response David. I never claimed that Taiwan was a "fundamental" part of China (mileage may vary depending on PRC propaganda). I merely stated that contrary to what Mr. Mcnanama-smith wrote, Taiwan was officially a part of China in 1683 no matter how one may slice the facts. Another analogy with America I believe would be appropriate in this case. Taiwan in some ways parallels the developement of the American frontier. Although technically claimed by the government, presence of settlers was sporadic and the extent of central authority was limited. That however did not stop the government from claiming those territories nor does it signify that those territories which would eventually become states were somehow not part of the Union even at that time.
If you'll forgive me for being so anal retentive about this issue, but it has become quite formulaic for fabrications and distortions to be repeated ad-infinitum and unchallenged by pro-separatist forces in the Taiwan debate. (framing them as separatists is admittedly an open bias on my part).
One final comment not related to Taiwan, at least not directly. In response to your update regarding Instapundit readers, many Instapundit readers might be delusional and most commenters certainly are. They keep good company with the chief puppy himself. I know you are a conservative blogger but you appear to be the exception to the rule(perhaps because you are a Kiwi), but I have found that the conservative blogging circuit to be generally obnoxious, borderline paranoid, detached from reality, and pitifully ignorant when it concerns asia-pacific affairs. Prone to leaps in logic and judgement and erratic to the extreme. Perhaps I am reciting simply an indictment of the fallacies of man, but after reading so much worthless commentary from quite a number of blogs and not to mention the Free Republic I feel rather compelled to get it all out in the open. Case in point, Instapundits solution to this perceived dastardly machiavellian Chinese plan is to simply nuclearize the crisis.
Ironically my father earned his doctoral degree from UTK (The university where Reynold's teaches)and I have memories of his colleagues who seemed to be very rational people, but then again, they were biologists not law professors.
Oh p.s. I find your blog quite an enjoyable read and broad in scope. I'm sure you get a lot of this but keep up the good work.
Thanks Jing. Minor point - I'm an Aussie. It's almost like calling a mainlander a Taiwanese!
Unfortunately you're right when it comes to Asia-Pacific issues and the response from many in the USA. Nuclearising Taiwan would make a bad situation worse, and is ironic given the efforts to denuclearise both NK and Iran.
I would contend it's not just on the right. Ignorance of the region and its issues is widespread but not surprising. That's our job - to demystify and hopefully shed a little light.
Jing - I wasn't trying to put words into your mouth; apologies if you felt i was. I was merely trying to add a clarification. After all, you might notice that fabrications and distortions are not limited to one side of this argument (again, not directed at you) :)
Personally, I don't think the 'instapundit crowd' does subtlety or nuance particularly well, and that is something which is required in this area. Also, there's a tendency to look at things primarily from a military perspective.
Simon the Kiwi - heh. How do we make that name stick?
In my defense... I guess I was wrong about the dates there. I wasn't intentionally distorting facts, those are just the facts as they were taught to me. And I am not pro-separationist or a China-basher. I believe that Taiwan will eventually be part of China and that's the way it should be. I just wasn't sure about the analogy.
Oh and those IP readers are delusional and more than a little bit scary.
This is a daily collection of links, some with commentary, to news stories and interesting blog posts. It will be updated throughout the day with a new timestamp for the updates.
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The New Blog Carnival is up at Multiple Mentality, where they're done a great job. Check it out.
The SCMP reports Zhang Enzhao, chairman of China Construction Bank, has been sacked and is being investigated for corruption. He was the head of one of the Big Four, a bank the received $22.5 billion in capital back in late 2003 to help prepare it for a stockmarket listing. No word on the state of the listing now.
First there was the Little Red Book. Now it's the Little Red Pencil (via SCMP).
ESWN looks at group polarisation in the blogosphere, with contrasting examples from America and Hong Kong. His thoughts on HK's blogosphere are exactly right:
At this time, all that exists in the political blogosphere of Hong Kong is a bunch of commentators (including the person who is typing these words) who are marginalized and have no meaningful impact on the flow of events.
In time that will change, but there are significant differences between blogging in the US and in Asia. It's something I will soon look at in more detail.
(11:43) An example of the power of blogs in marketing. Shaky doesn't like the Motorola V3 RAZR; I respect Shaky's opinion on all things tech; ergo I won't be buying one even though I was considering it.
(18:00) Joel looks at three key WW2 events of 60 years ago: the Tokyo and Dresden fire-bombings and the battle of Iwo Jima. Sean looks in much more detail at the Tokyo fire bombing.
This is a daily collection of links, some with commentary, to news stories and interesting blog posts. It will be updated throughout the day with a new timestamp for the updates.
To fight piracy Warner Brothers is selling DVDs cheaply in China. They are selling DVDs such as Harry Potter for 22-28 yuan when the going rate for pirate DVDs is 5 - 8 yuan. Of course this also exposes what a rip-off DVDs and CDs are in the first place.
China is preparing to release a genetically modified rice to help boost yields and rural incomes. Don't expect many Chinese farmers to join in anti-GM rallies.
China's banking system has seen more than 4,000 officials steal US$50 billion in cash. This exceeds the US$45 billion injected into BoC and CCB to recapitalise them in 2003. It's an extra-ordinary amount of money to take out of a developing economy's banking system. It also highlights why China's banking reform is so urgent.
The WaPo reports on two books on China's leaders, one by American investment banker which is being heavily promoted and the other by a CCP member that is banned. The first book is The Man Who Changed China, a biography of Jiang Zemi; the other "Political Struggles in China's Reform Era" is a new look at the era of the late Zhao Ziyang.
(14:15) Long-time favourite blog ESWN in undergoing a revamp after suffering from Simon's First Law of Blogging: the more popular the blog, the more it costs the blogger (in both time and money). It is a real shame as ESWN is a superb and unique blog. I only hope he continues to post regularly as promised. If you're not reading ESWN, you should.
(16:09) While mostly symbolic, America's planned Advance Democracy bill does little but antagonise countries such as China. The aim of advancing democracy is laudable but this isn't the way to do it. If anything it sets the cause back by giving opposing Governments propaganda opportunities. Talk softly and carry a big stick.
Regarding your tidbit on WB DVDs in China and the line "Of course this also exposes what a rip-off DVDs and CDs are in the first place." Um, no. This price is only possible because all associated costs are at a "China level". That includes staff salaries, local replication, warehousing and logistics, marketing and merchandising, special arrangements made on royalties, and a business plan that assume operating at a loss for 5 years.
Fair points but I thought the major cost of such products was the "intellectual capital" i.e. the cost of producing the content. Harry Potter isn't a Chinese boy.
Well, it's certainly one component, but far from the only one. You have the cost of digital mastering of the DVD, preparation of the bonus materials, the box and artwork, dubbing and subtitling, marketing and merchandising and promotion, the entire supply chain of getting the disc from the replicator to the warehouse to the store, assorted overhead (financial accounting, MIS systems, legal, etc.), taxes, royalties to the owner of the DVD copyright, royalties to Dolby labs and some profit too, of course. Probably the biggest chunk of change goes to the retailer, who on average adds a 20-30% mark-up to the wholesale cost. (HMV in HK marks up everything 35% across the board.)
DVD prices probably could come down in places like the US and UK but it is impossible to replicate the kind of pricing you get in China throughout the entire supply chain.
On the other hand - in the U.S., you can generally buy a 2 disc DVD set of a current hot movie for under $20 - a movie that on average cost $100 million to make (the creative element) and a similar amount to market. And you pay almost the exact same price for a single music CD, something that usually costs under $10 million to make and $10 million to market.
Many of us in the home video business also shake our heads in disbelieve at CD pricing.
This is a daily collection of links, some with commentary, to news stories and interesting blog posts. It will be updated throughout the day with a new timestamp for the updates.
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The Dalai Lama again says Tibet is part of China. That must make it awkward for the 'Free Tibet' crowd.
I've been remiss in not linking to this earlier: Asia Business Intelligence has been reborn. A great site for anyone interested in Chinese and Asian business affairs.
(15:06) Bloggers are making onto the op-ed page of the SCMP. Todd Crowell of the interesting Asia Cable (for example, his take on Taiwan's need to wake up to reality) has written the most sensible and best of three reflections on Tung's resignation.
It may be that he [Tung] was a little too decent for the position he was thrust into...In his governing style Mr Tung never could strike the happy balance between being a Mandarin, which was probably his natural bent, and a western-style politician...In the longer term, Mr Tung will not be judged on how he handled bird flu, SARS or the civil service, or whether he was too beholden to local property tycoons. His historic mission was to guide Hong Kong through the stormy early years of "one country, two systems". Judged from that perspective, he has not done badly.
I would quibble with Tung having the position "thrust" upon him. Mr Crowell has taken the same tone as Jake van der Kamp a few days back in praising Tung's handling of HK in the transition from British to Chinese rule. I think that overstates the case, especially as the Basic Law has been shown to be practically worthless in the face of Chinese "re-interpretations". Tung's record was mixed, as are all politicians' records. But he got more wrong than he got right.
Thomas Barnett on China's Hu Doctrine and its similarity to another. As I explained in an earlier discussion For discussion: what are the similarities and differences in the China/Taiwan situation and the Canda/Quebec one?
This is a daily collection of links, some with commentary, to news stories and interesting blog posts. It will be updated throughout the day with a new timestamp for the updates.
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The BBC's "breakthrough" broadcast of the political show Question Time from Shanghai today has generated a lot of excitement. It will be widely watched everywhere, except in China where it naturally has been banned.
A nice site covering everything you wanted to know about the proposed Pearl River bridge.
(10:42) Hong Kong Disneyland already has over 10,000 hotel bookings. The SCMP reports Disney may even invite charity groups to be amongst the first to attend the park during its soft opening in August before the official opening in September. Could this be the answer the Poverty Commission has been searching for - renting out HK's masses? It could even prove a clever way to recoup some of the massive investment Government investment in Hong Kong Disneyland.
(12:54) Jim has finally had his talent recognised and had a story published online. Read it - it's a good one.
(13:14) Thankfully the anti-climax today reaches its peak (if such a thing can happen) and Tung Che-hwa will finally resign, allowing Donald Tsang to assume the caretaker Government role and carry on exactly as before. Never has so much fuss been made over so little change. The SCMP reports James Tien of the Liberals would prefer CFO Henry Tang in the job. A delightful prospect awaits Hong Kong: we get to watch "The Donald" and "The Henry" try and out-do each other in getting furthest up Beijing's posterior.
AN EMAIL from Hong Kongâs favourite corporate governance activist corrects me. Longhair, he points out, is not the only member of LegCo who can say âwhen I was in prisonâ¦â There is also the esteemed representative of our selfless stockbrokers, the Honourable Chim Pui Chung. This means one in 30 of our lawmakers has done time in the slammer. So much for the USAâs claim to have the worldâs highest incarceration rate, with a measly one in 37.
This is a daily collection of links, some with commentary, to news stories and interesting blog posts. It will be updated throughout the day with a new timestamp for the updates.
A Hong Kong company is suing Apple over patent violations over the iPod and iTunes digital rights management system. They're aiming for 12% of gross revenues from both.
The fuss continues over China's new anti-secsssion law. The problem is, as was mentioned yesterday in the linklets, the law is a fig-leaf that means nothing. Geo-politics doesn't work based on laws. This law is just formalising what has been policy for years.
This is a daily collection of links, some with commentary, to news stories and interesting blog posts. It will be updated throughout the day with a new timestamp for the updates.
(9:47) China is enacting its anti-seccession law. The law will be a "domestic" one, reports the SCMP to allay fears in Hong Kong that it would be used to muzzle dissenting voices in the city. Which means Hong Kong can seccede but Taiwan can't. The best comment on the law goes to Johnny Lau Yui-sui of Hong Kong: "In the case of wars, laws are just 'wrappings'. Laws are usually put aside and it's the political situations that decide [whether to resort to force]."
(11:24) Bill from Dawn's Early Light and I have been emailing on US-China relations. Join in! Also thanks to Publius Pundit for the kind words. If blogging wasn't such an egotistical pursuit, I'd blush.
(16:25) BBC News gears up for it's China Week with a central site with lots of interesting links and background. For example an article looking at the intolerance to political dissent.
(19:01) The next edition of the New Blog Showcase Carnival is up at Fistful of Fortnights. Lots of good new blogs up there.
This is a daily collection of links, some with commentary, to news stories and interesting blog posts. It will be updated throughout the day with a new timestamp for the updates.
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One quarter of Hong Kong's mobile phone owners are under 13. The Sunday Morning Post reports the number of Hong Kongers being treated for brain cancer has tripled over the past decade. The link hasn't been proved and advances in detection may explain the rise. But it's an interesting correlation.
A deputy at the current NPC session, Ma Bomin, wants to "draft a culture law with Chinese socialist characteristics, to out-law lip-syncing." China would never go in for mouthpieces shouting lines off a pre-recorded track...unless they are politicians.
The BBC's political programme Question Time is due to brodcast from Shanghai on Thursday night. The BBC has let the Foreign Ministry select 25 of the audience members. The panel will inlcude former HK Governor Chris Patten, Shanghai Tang owner David Tang, China expert Isabel Hilten, Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao and Long Yongtu, China's Goodwill ambassador to the UN. The show will be broadcast in English.
One of the world's oldest taxes, the China farm tax, is due to be scrapped in 2006.
(15:55) Why are all movie tickets the same price? I'd like to see movies priced like discount airlines do it: the earlier you book, the cheaper the seat with seats allocated by queueing.
The New York Times Magazine has a major piece ("A Rebel in the Emperor's Court") on Leung Kwok-hung, better known in Hong Kong as Cheung Mo, or ''Long Hair" , a member of Hong Kong's Legislative Council, or Legco, since September 2004.
This is a daily collection of links, some with commentary, to news stories and interesting blog posts. It will be updated throughout the day with a new timestamp for the updates.
If the America ends up regulating blogs (via CT), I can humbly offer Hong Kong as a haven for hosting. Alternatively if the FEC needs some help in cracking down on the internet, China can lend a hand. Ed Morrissey (via IP) points out that finally this a political issue all sides of the blogosphere can agree upon. Michelle Malkin has plenty more links. Jeff Jarvis wonders about the slippery slope. More on the China crackdown below (15:59 update)
(15:59) Howard French looks at the China internet clampdown ahead of the NPC. Fons points out that those arrested in China already a reputation for getting into trouble now include the internet in the ways to tell about their viewpoint.
This is a daily collection of links, some with commentary, to news stories and interesting blog posts. It will be updated throughout the day with a new timestamp for the updates.
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* Did anyone stop to think why something so fun is always followed by 9 month later consequences?
* American Idol is being shown on Star World here in HK on a slight delay...but why wait? Ann Althouse is in on the act as well.
This is a daily collection of links, some with commentary, to news stories and interesting blog posts. It will be updated throughout the day with a new timestamp for the updates.
This is a daily collection of links, some with commentary, to news stories and interesting blog posts. It will be updated throughout the day with a new timestamp for the updates.
I've done this. Even better is to stare at the others in the lift with you, counting them on your hand. Another is to enter a lift with a friend and ask loudly, "Is it contagious?"
Voting time in a contest where everyone's a winner.
This is a daily collection of links, some with commentary, to news stories and interesting blog posts. It will be updated throughout the day with a new timestamp for the updates.
This is a daily collection of links, some with commentary, to news stories and interesting blog posts. It will be updated throughout the day with a new timestamp for the updates.
(18:17) Not a landslide. 136 people in Indonesia have died in a garbageslide. A shanty town built on the edge of a massive rubbish tip and after strong rains the rubbish slides over the houses. A complete tragedy.
Several years back over 150 people (mostly kids) died in a similar situation. Except that the children were there to scavange for scraps to eat, sell, etc.
That too was tragic. It seems that So. Asia markets have never really recovered since '98.
This is a daily collection of links, some with commentary, to news stories and interesting blog posts. It will be updated throughout the day with a new timestamp for the updates.
HK reports a record 268 HIV infections in 2004, while infection rates from AIDS are rising in South Africa. A CUHK team has found a potential treatment for hepatitis B. And a quarter of all HK mobiles are owned by kids under 13.
Top Shelf blogger Jeff from Protein Wisdom is raising money for a new PC. If you ever gave to Andrew Sullivan, you've got no excuse. For the cost of a couple of movie tickets you get daily entertainment. It's a bargain.
Australian police are getting closer to their Chinese counterparts.
Interesting new book from noted Korea watcher Andrei Lankov.