CHINATION REPORT©

By Kevin Deluca

Source: http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/ci_10359098

With the Olympics over, I hope the Western sport of bashing China over Tibet might stop.

Working in Beijing during the Tibet riots and the preparations for the Olympics gave me a unique perspective. Growing up with Western media and Hollywood, I am used to our embrace of the Dalai Lama. Being in China, I saw the Chinese point of view.

Seeing both sides suggests the need to abandon simplistic political stances in favor of some self-reflection and historical context.

Although we should criticize China’s censored media, the Tibet riots revealed some troubling blindness among our own media. While the causes of Tibetan unrest are complex, it is clear that the March riots were started by Tibetan protesters and that they were quite violent. Indeed, they were violent enough to lead the Dalai Lama to threaten resignation if his followers did not stop the violence.

Since “violent Tibetan” does not fit our stereotype, our media fixed the news. While Chinese media showed extensive footage of violence and interviews with Chinese and Tibetan victims, Western media manipulated images and even showed footage from other countries (Nepal and India) in order to paint a picture of ruthless oppression by China’s government.

Chinese media exposed the Western media manipulations, forcing the BBC, N-TV and RTL-TV to apologize. Not surprisingly, the American media has yet to acknowledge
its bending of the truth. The point is that while the Chinese know their media is censored and do not trust it, we believe our news is objective and end up being righteous while misinformed.

If we had seen the violence of the Tibet riots, our condemnations may be more nuanced. Quite simply, no government, democratic or not, allows such violence within its own borders. Providing peace and stability, even by force if necessary, is what governments do.

Large and powerful countries tend to have regions that were not always part of the country. In America, we proudly call it Manifest Destiny and never trouble ourselves with how we got much of California and Texas from Mexico, never mind the rest of the country and our sordid history with Native Americans.

On the Chinese flag there are five stars commonly interpreted as representing the five major ethnic groups in China. One of those stars represents Tibetans. China’s claim to Tibet spans centuries and it is a claim that the United States and the rest of the world recognizes.

To Chinese people, removing one of those stars is akin to removing one of our states, such as Hawaii. Our history with the native people of Hawaii has been relatively brief and quite brutal and there exists a tenacious independence movement. Still, there is no talk in the mainstream media and among the Hollywood celebrity activist circuit of Hawaiian independence, not to mention Puerto Rican independence or the American Indian movement.

Government repression of these movements also escapes media scrutiny. Before we lecture China, we may want to tend to our own backyard.

Amid cries of “free Tibet” and calls for religious freedom, the question is what does freedom have to do with Tibet? Under the Dalai Lama, was there religious freedom? Was there any freedom? Actually, no.

We would recognize the Dalai Lama’s Tibet as a medieval religious theocracy with a small elite class served by a large and oppressed serf population. The Dalai Lama ruled a region with no religious freedom, no political freedom, indeed, no human rights of any kind. The rulers were ruthless. Torture and mutilation were widespread. Poverty and starvation were rampant. It was Shangri-La only in the West’s imagination.

Richard Gere, Sharon Stone and other Hollywood devotees may be surprised at their idol’s current positions. The Dalai Lama condemns abortion and homosexuality while accepting prostitution. For decades the Dalai Lama secured millions of dollars from the CIA and runs his government in exile like a monarch.

Despite its shortcomings, Chinese rule has provided the Tibetan region with infrastructure and public schooling and provides Tibetans with widespread opportunities and a degree of personal freedom unheard of under the feudal theocracy of the dalai lamas.

China is far from perfect and deserves honest scrutiny and criticism. To expect China not to act like a large and powerful country, however, and to throw stones from our glass house, proves nothing but our own ignorance.

KEVIN DELUCA is an associate professor of communications at the University of Utah and author of “Image Politics.”

Source: China Daily

A Chinese woman working at Germany’s DW-Radio has been suspended from her job following remarks she made in the media on human rights and other issues in China, the German press has reported.

Four days before the opening of the Beijing Olympics, Zhang Danhong, an editor with the German broadcaster’s Chinese program, reportedly said that “The Communist Party of China has more than any political force in the world implemented Article 3 of the Declaration of Human Rights”, referring to the Chinese authorities pulling more than 400 million people out of poverty.

Similarly, in a TV talk show in late July, Zhang reportedly said the Chinese government had done a lot to protect local culture in Tibet and criticized German Chancellor Angela Merkel for sapping relations with Beijing.

The German media is said to have reacted strongly to Zhang’s remarks.

On Aug 11, German magazine Focus attacked Zhang as someone who was “courting” China’s Communist Party. On Aug 20, the Berliner Zeitung newspaper quoted parliamentary representative Dieter Wiefelsputz as saying that Zhang’s performance was a “catastrophe”.

Two days later, the same newspaper confirmed Zhang’s suspension from work.

Zhang, 42, was born in Beijing, studied German in Peking University and in Cologne, Germany.

She became an editor of DW-Radio’s Chinese program in 1990 and was promoted deputy editorial director of the program in 2004, the broadcaster’s website read.

Many in China have voiced sympathy and concern for Zhang after the incident.

“The case proves that those who chant human rights and freedom of speech everyday in the West are so hypocritical,” a Chinese netizen wrote on major Chinese portal, Sina.com.
“The Cold War mentality, ideological biases, political prejudice, and sense of racial superiority these things are deeply rooted in some parts of the Western world. Luckily, China is not bothered by these,” wrote another netizen.

“I have noticed related information and I have read the reports Zhang had done,” China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said Thursday.

“We hold that the media should report under an objective and just principle.”

Zhang and DW-Radio were not available for comment at press time.

By: X. Gong

By now we all know that Sarah Palin has accepted John McCain’s pick as his vice presidential running mate. This is an extraordinary moment. As an ambitious professional woman and mother of two young children, I applaud her courage and bravery. She makes many women including myself proud.

After the initial excitement began to wind down, I felt a tiny bit of unease in my heart. My eyes caught the mention of Sarah’s lovely new born baby, Trig. Baby Trig was born with Down syndrome. Her choice of knowingly bringing Trig to life is truly noble and speaks louder of her values than any words. As a woman, I found myself often torn between the choice of climbing up the corporate ladder and keeping a balanced and happy family life. I must say, there is no success of any job in the world that could match the joy of having my two wonderful children.

Ms. Palin was reportedly back to work three days after little Trig was born. She is obviously a strong woman and she is much more capable than I could ever be. I also thought I had little doubt that, if elected, she could still be that responsible mother while working hard for the country.
Wait a minute! Really?

Source: http://www.citizensugar.com/1565605

Source: http://rhymeswithright.mu.nu/archives/images/trig4634_bg2%5B1%5D.jpg

How about that little innocent baby Trig that needs special care for the rest of his life? Is he happy that his mother made the choice to bring him to this wonderful world?  But would he still be happy if he knew how little he would see his mommy since she would be spending most of her time on the campaign trail in the next two months?  And if Ms. Palin and Senator McCain get elected, would little Trig understand the cause and the sacrifice of his mommy and support it?

- Senator Obama’s Other Brother Who Lives in China

A recent UK Times Online news headline reads: Barack Obama’s brother pushes Chinese imports on US 

Media in the US have focused on Barack Obama’s half brother living in Kenya. George Hussein Onyango Obama, Barack’s half-brother, is said to be living in poverty on a dollar a month in a Nairobi shantytown. This article is about Barack Obama’s other half-brother, Mark Ndesanjo, who lives in Shenzhen, a southern Chinese city bordering Hong Kong. While we believe the Times used such a headline to help attract readers, we wonder how those words relate to Mark’s real life in China. 

To clarify in readers’ minds the true subject of the story, Chinationreport editors translated an online article from the Mandarin, as it appeared in the South China Daily. The article was written based on interviews with Mark’s close friends and partners. Below is the English translation of this article:

Slim, healthy, vegetarian, over 6 feet tall, strongly built, short-cropped black hair, often seen with a baseball hat on, dark brown skin, black eyes with very clear facial features. This is Mark Ndesandjo, the half brother of Senator Obama, the US Democratic Party presidential nominee.  Mark has been living in Shenzhen in the past six years and wishes to continue to live in China. He is married to a Chinese woman from Henan province. Mark shares the same father with Senator Obama but carries his mother’s last name.   

The Nanfang Metropolitan Paper reports that - after Mark’s relationship with Senator Obama was revealed - he has gone underground, avoiding public attention. Mark is a pianist. 18-year-old Long Ben, who was raised in the Shenzhen Social Welfare Center Orphanage, is his piano student. On the evening of August 1st 2008,  Long Ben received a text message from Mark, saying: “I have a very urgent matter to take care of immediately. Very sorry that I couldn’t make the lesson that I promised last time. After I deal with this matter, I will try to call you. Okay?”

From the date of that text message until this edition of the paper hit the street, Mark hadn’t come to the Orphanage for classes, a period of three weeks. This is the first absence since Mark started teaching at the orphanage in 2002. Long Ben has no idea what the Mark’s ‘urgent matter’ was, however, he admits the media has recently taken an intense interest in Mark’s young student. “I don’t want to be interviewed, especially by those who would use me to learn something about Mark.”

From Sui Zheng Jun, Mark’s best Chinese friend in Shenzhen, who owns an online information service called Worldnexus, reporters worldwide are gradually learning more about Obama’s half brother Mark.

Since July 27th 2008, when Mark received the phone call from Times followed by the publishing of article, an outpouring of interview requests has interrupted his normal life. In Shenzhen, Mark’s relationship with Obama was exposed at the same time. While Senator Obama lives as a public figure, Mark prefers to lead a quiet, ordinary life in the big, bustling city of Shenzhen.  

After this ‘breaking’ news, reporters, including those from Hong Kong, were searching Shenzen for any possible clues about Mark. According to Sui,“Some of them found the company where Mark used to work. Several dozen reporters were waiting outside the building, collaring anyone they thought might know something about Mark for questioning. “What does Mark look like? How to find him?” were the questions, an old colleague of Mark recalled. “The reporters even found the bar Mark frequented.”

Interestingly, on March 18th, 4 months before the UK Times article appeared, there was a report on Xinhuanet indicating that The New York Times reported on the 17th that Obama’s younger brother is in China. Missing catchy headlines, both Xinhuanet’s piece and the original The New York Times article completely passed under the radar screen. 

In order to evade the irritating reporters, Mark and Sui Zheng Jun have chosen to leave Shenzhen. Sui still found it hard to believe that the media are trying everything to tie his friend of six years with now the very famous Obama.

Mark and  his six years of volunteer work at an Orphanage

Before the revelation of the relationship between Mark Ndesandjo and Barack Obama, the only media article found about Mark dates from March 2004. The Nanfangnet Daily’ English edition reported in an article entitled Not Just a Donation that Mark “…had successful experience in remote communications. He is also a self-taught musician.”

In the article, Mark is quoted as saying “Here the children have enough food. What they are lacking is art and music. Music unites humans in a spiritual level. It has a long and deep effect on children. So I decided to teach music here.”

Since 2002, Mark has been closely connected with Shenzhen. Ever since making their acquaintance Mark’s and Sui’s life in Shenzhen have been closely interconnected. Sui said, “Before coming to China, Mark had never taught school. He came as a member of a Sino-American culture exchange program. As part of this program, Mark worked in a Shenzhen foreign language school. During this period, he nurtured the idea of establishing a non-profit organization in China to help orphans.”

According to Sui, before coming to China, Mark tried contacting a lot of people, including some media and even Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. He sent them his proposal but nobody replied. Back in 2002, who knew the name Obama, let alone Ndesandjo? Finally, Mark got some donations from his MBA classmates in Emory to bring to China. When he first arrived in Shenzhen, he even didn’t know where the orphanage was located. He knew Sui through an English teacher in Shenzhen. Sui brought Mark to the orphanage. They brought milk, milk powder, DVDs, etc to the orphans.

Mark doesn’t have much money. His goal is to bring the art of music to the orphans. He believed an orphan’s life needs not only the essentials. The arts are needed, too. Mark began teaching piano lessons at the orphanage every week – at least until events of this year overtook him.

The orphanage workers were all moved by his persistence. He came almost every week. No other volunteers gave of themselves as much. Since 2002, Mark has taught several dozen piano students. Two of his students studied with him for more than two years, one is Xing Yun, who went on to college in Guangzhou. The other is Long Ben. 

So, who is this Mark? He is a very talented, self-taught musician The only printed material that can be found is on the sleeve of a compact disk which was sent as a gift to Long Ben in the Orphanage. It’s printed in black and white, titled Nightmoods and includes some Chopin pieces. On the dedication, it says, “To my most trustworthy and best friend Ruth Ndesandjo”

Ruth Ndesandjo is Mark’s mother, the third wife of Mark and Barack Obama’s late father. When Mark was very young, they divorced. An honor student from Harvard, Ruth runs an upscale daycare center in Nairobi, Kenya.

Within this CD, the short biography of the performer says: 

“Mark is a writer, painter and composer who spends most of his time in Asia and USA. He was born in Kenya. He studied at Brown and Stanford Universities. He published 3 CDs and one book. The book’s title is Observations in Africa and others. This (semi-autobiographical) book is about a young Kenyan man who immigrated to the US and lived in a metropolitan city there. He studied Communications and worked at Lucent Technologies and Notel Networks in high positions. His hobbies included sky diving, skiing and surfing.”

Mark’s friends know that he moved to the US after spending the first seven years of his life in Kenya. He graduated from Brown University with a mathematics and arts degree. Then, he attended Stanford University in Palo Alto, California for a Physics degree. After that, he received an MBA degree from Emory University. In 12 years, he worked for several companies in the US.

After playing a piece of Chopin, Long Ben revealed to the article’s reporter, “I have become a lot happier since I started taking piano lessons from Mark.” Long Ben was born in Shenzhen in 1990. He came to the orphanage at the age of three. After finishing middle school in 2006, Long Ben started to take piano lessons from Mark. Before Long Ben, Mark taught several other kids. But none of them continued for various reasons. Mark taught Long Ben every weekend, no matter how busy he was. He always seemed to be in a hurry. On the evening of August 1st, Long Ben received the short text message from Mark saying that he had something very important to deal with and he would call after he handled the urgent matter. At 10PM, Long Ben called Mark and chatted to him about his own small issues. At 1:19AM, Mark left another message saying: ‘Don’t worry. I support you. Try your best to practice piano.’  

Teachers at the orphanage noted that Long Ben has become confident and strong thanks to Mark’s help. Long Ben says he loves music, especially classical music, particularly Chopin to whom he feels emotionally connected. Long Ben says he received a lot of support from others and he will also try to help people in return. “I am happy and content with what I have.”

Mark’s real passion and life in China

Sui Zheng Jun said, “You will never guess what Mark imagined about China before arriving there!” Before 2002, Mark felt that China, though beautiful, was undeveloped. He thought that China was a very poor country with many orphans. He wanted to walk in the country with a backpack, getting to know China while helping them. After he settled in Shenzhen, he realized there was a big gap between his old perceptions and reality. It was a lot better than he had thought. He liked Shenzhen very much. More than one time he expressed his wish to live and work there. 

Not Just a Donation mentions that Mark wanted to organize a charity concert performed by foreign musicians in order to collect donations to buy musical instruments and equipment for the orphanage. To prepare, Mark and Sui strategized and planned for a long time. It did not happen for a variety of reasons. During this time, both of them cemented their friendship. They decided to continue to do something together.   

Sui used to be a branch manager of a bicycle company. When he met Mark, he was planning on getting his MBA and needed someone to help him improve his English. He was also making his next career move. He registered an information consulting company under the name Worldnexus. Sue was the owner. He appointed Mark chief consultant. “We are partners!”

Business was very tough. Day after day they worked hard but made no profit. Sui, Mark and other partners worked for free, receiving no salary. Each was using up savings. In the evenings, after an exhausting day, they got together to have a beer and barbeque from street vendors. Mark always ate dried tofu and potato chips. He is a vegetarian and always wondered why Chinese grilled tofu tasted so delicious. 

While dining, Sui came up with a plan: Instead of just consulting, why not also open a barbeque stand? This idea excited Mark a lot. He said he wanted to open such stands in Kenya to introduce grilled tofu and potato chips to his countrymen. While enjoying their beer and chips, they drew up a business plan on a piece of scrap paper. They even designed a menu. Mark insists that it has to be natural. He wanted a very simple, unpretentious hut instead of a fancy restaurant. They named the hut-restaurant Cabin BBQ. At the end of 2003, the first Cabin BBQ was opened in Shenzhen, adjacent to their existing information consulting office. ?
 As of today, Cabin BBQ has seven branches, including one in Yingchuan in the northwest of China, far away from Shenzhen. They are also planning on entering the Kenyan market with their next Cabin BBQ. Sui said, “From a simple joke out of desperation to a viable business, we feel like we’re in a dream!” Thanks to the opening of their first Cabin BBQ, which became a very successful, profitable business, they were able to pay themselves a salary while covering the overhead of the consulting firm, which is still not profitable.

In the beginning of 2006, Mark said he wanted to leave our team to start learning Chinese. Mark spent a whole year just studying Chinese at Shenzhen University. He is very capable of learning. After just more than one year, he started reading A Dream of Red Mansions, the most famous work of Chinese classical literature. Mark’s Chinese friends often tease him when they see him read the book (as reading this book is often considered old fashioned by the young generation -ed.). 

Although they are not working together any more, Mark and his Chinese friends get together often. They go hiking, swimming, and especially, all activities involving nature and Chinese tradition. Sui asked Mark to come back to work with him again. Mark promised that he would come back after 2008. Sui was pleased to hear that but had no clue why he needed to wait until after 2008. Sui felt that it was probably a personal issue. 

Regarding Mark’s personal life, Sui knows very little. He knew that some of Mark’s siblings are in the USA and some are in Kenya. Mark rarely spoke of his family. He only talked about his career, education etc. Sui learned more about Mark’s family only after his mother’s visit to Shenzhen.

Mark’s mother Ruth came to visit Mark about three years ago. She left Sui deeply impressed. She is a woman, but one almost has to borrow the word gentleman to describe her. She plays the piano beautifully. She was Mark’s first piano teacher. 

There is something in which Mark put Sui, a real Chinese, to shame. Mark started to become interested in Chinese calligraphy. Mark thought this was an authentic representation of Chinese culture. Once making up his mind, Mark soon found a teacher. He even learnt the Xing (cursive) style of calligraphy. Sui remarked, “I first thought he was just kidding. After he showed us his work, we were all shocked. I admit, although I am Chinese, his Chinese calligraphy is much better than mine.” 

Not long ago, Mark visited his brother Barack and gifted him with his Chinese calligraphy. “I saw Mark do the Chinese idiom in calligraphy. But I promised him to keep its content a secret. It is between him and his brother.” 

Mark’s friends did not find out about his relationship with Senator Obama through the media. Mark revealed it by himself after he had been exposed by Times. (Note: Although Mark’s Chinese friends did not read the story published by Times, Mark had to admit his identity to his friends to explain the foreign media’s intense pursuit of him. He feared that they would find out about it sooner or later – ed.) On July 27th, some friends invited Mark to go to an outdoor photography event. The organizer of the event was a Chinese-American, ‘Hua Jiang,’ (meaning a gardener) who had heard from Sui a few times about this American friend of Sui’s. What intrigued Sui and ‘Hua Jiang’ was that Mark was trying to avoid having pictures taken all day long. They all knew he was a passionate photographer, but he refused to pose as the subject before anyone else’s camera. 

Everyone was puzzled by Mark’s actions on that day and wondered what was wrong with him. On the way home, Mark started talking: “You know that I am from Kenya. You know that I have a brother in America. My brother is Barack Obama” Sui stopped breathing for a moment. “What? How come you never told us?” Mark explained that he never wanted to tell anyone, but now, referring to the news article from the United Kingdom, the cat’s out of the bag. Everyone stood there awestruck in mute silence.

On the same evening, some pictures from that day’s event got uploaded to the Internet. At midnight, Sui called ‘Hua Jiang’, asking him to delete all pictures containing Mark. Sui had to explain the real reason.
 Since then, Sui has not been left in peace. He gets hundreds of messages and phone calls daily. Everybody wishes to get information about Mark through him. He has even received girls’ love letters addressed to the married man. Mark’s Chinese friends all share the same view about Mark. He is intelligent and well educated - an intellectual with high class wishing to keep his modest, simple, anonymous life in a rented apartment in Shenzhen, a city with a population of millions. Mark’s Chinese friends also believe that Mark likes China, especially now, since he married a Chinese girl from Henan. 

Chinationreport is not responsible for the accuracy of the content of this article.
The original article in Chinese was posted on www.wenxuecity.com with credit to Nangfang Daily

by Virginia Hoge
August 27, 2008

I have been noticing the alarming amount of China-bashing going on in our media leading up to, during, and after the 2008 Beijing Olympics, but where are they getting their “information” from? This is the troubling question, one that has not been addressed by anyone in the country (that I know of), certainly not in the national headlines.

For instance, a recent article in Huffington Post was entitled “Mixed legacy likely as China’s Olympics conclude”. More of the same came from the New York Times whose headline read “After the Glow of Games, What Next for China?” (two blog columnists at the New York Times conspicuously have bashed China: Nicholas Kristoff and Mike Nizza).

Mixed legacy likely as China’s Olympics conclude? The “mixed legacy”, from what I can see, lies with the Media, more importantly with their sources, and nowhere else.

Almost ALL American media has jumped on the “China-bashing” bandwagon, and has been sounding off about “human rights abuses in China”, picking up information sourced by - and here is the point, WHO? Two groups mainly:

Human Rights Watch and Reporters Without Borders.

Yet Reporters Without Borders has been outed for years as nothing less than a U.S. State Department funded propaganda arm with links to Otto Reich (from Contra days) - see here http://www.counterpunch.org/barahona05172005.html.  I found literally thousands of press releases designed expressly for the Beijing Games, here: http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=25234

I first became aware of them when they mounted an obvious and ugly “media propaganda siege” against the Beijing float in the 2008 Rose Parade in my hometown of Pasadena, CA, Fall 2007. They displayed their “handcuff” graphic on a large billboard in town (a graphic photographed all over the world) and took over the local press (who were already openly sourcing a right-wing extremist, and therefore easy “prey”) barraging my city with more “information” than a 3rd year History of Human Rights Abuse in China PhD student could ever care about!! They also co-opted the the tiny Falun Gong club at Cal Tech.

One small moment of “poetic justice” occurred at the end of all this ugliness, when no one less than Diana Barahona (author of Reporters Without Borders Unmasked) was there, unintentionally, in the audience of the parade.

I wrote about it here, but only after ALL of the local press refused to address the issue: http://pasadenanewprogressive.blogspot.com/2008/01/reporter-without-borders-media-siege-of.html

Among other writings about this group, I wrote a recap of their anti-Olympic’s campaign. As a graphic designer, I could not help but notice their blatant use of propaganda, via clearly expensive and trendy graphics: http://pasadenanewprogressive.blogspot.com/2008/04/reporters-without-borders-anti-olympics.html.

More than anything I have discovered about this group, what is most alarming to me is their proliferation within our Media. They are used as an almost constant source for “news” on a daily basis. Yet, one finds right out there in the open, information coming from them, that is either biased or bogus.

Take their 2008 Annual Report “Freedom of the Press Worldwide” http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=25595.  Reporters Without Borders has built a reputation (and bank account) by outing censorship of journalists around the world - yet give this ridiculous 2008 assessment for the United States, which contains almost nothing more than:

ONE (count ‘em) Iraqi journalist detained in Guantanamo

ONE blogger, Josh Wolf, got three paragraphs detailing his plight

A big plug for the Shield Law

A plug for the Freedom of Information Act (an act that has become a tool for the Right to attack public institutions like public schools)

And that’s it! (come on!)

People around the world have called RWB out for giving out the wrong information, seemingly based on how tight they are with the U.S. - or not. Here, Hossein Derakhshan writes about their misleading “information” on Iran:
http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/postglobal/hossein_derakhshan/2006/12/reporters_without_borders_rsf.html

excerpt:
“Reporters Sans Frontier, sent out a press release announcing that Iran has blocked access to The New York Times, implying that the Islamic republic has expanded censorship to Western news websites and this is in line with the new anti-Western policies of president Ahmadinejad.

A few hours after that, through trusted journalists and friends in Tehran, I verified the report and realized that almost none of the websites mentioned in the report, including the New York Times were filtered.”

In Rwanda, they noticed some funky stuff going on as well: Rwanda: Reporters Without Borders Pulls a Scam Again
http://allafrica.com/stories/200802290947.html

This incredibly prolific spread of information (I would call it “dirt”) condemning other countries is super-alarming to me, because I often find it clearly politically motivated. Yes, the information exists, but what is not mentioned is how it has been selected and literally shoved down the throats of the entire nation, via the Media, via Reporters Without Borders and Human Rights Watch.

I wrote about the obvious benefits of all this to the Bush Administration here: http://pasadenanewprogressive.blogspot.com/2008/08/bush-gets-gold.html

Human Rights Watch is up for questioning as well.

For more information on Human Rights Watch, Read Paul Treanor’s excellent (and forgotten) article here:
Who is behind Human Rights Watch?
http://web.inter.nl.net/users/Paul.Treanor/HRW.html

Robin Kelley, professor of history and American studies and ethnicity at  USC, also noted in a recent lecture that Human Rights Watch does not currently address ANY human rights issues in the United States (unlike their past good work with prison abuse here).

I also noticed that they have “stepped in” as THE most-used source, replacing Reporters Without Borders during the Olympics. Could the fact that Human Rights Watch opened a headquarters in Paris last Fall have anything to do with that? How close are the two organizations?

I’m not saying this group is all bad, I am NOT saying that human rights are not important.

But both organization’s “work” in helping America’s media to condemn the Beijing Olympics, is nothing less than highly suspicious and needs to be looked into, if only to prevent something like this from happening again. These embarrassing media games, are below the dignity of our great country.

That said, the grace of the Chinese in ignoring this petty “media siege” and continuing on with their work producing the Games, is awe-inspiring.

What is wrong with this picture? answer - since when do protester's carry signs with corporate logos on them?

Monkey Business - this ridiculous and staged photograph illustrates exactly Who is wearing the handcuffs

Reporters Without Borders billboard erected in Pasadena, CA - just in time for the Rose Parade (note the channel 7 logo in the corner)

Same handcuff image was displayed all over the world (how much did this Graphic campaign cost? who paid for it?)

At the invitation of a Chinese friend currently living here in Australia, I have now visited China twice. My first visit in July 2007 was to the city of Shenzhen, described as the window of China’s opening up policy. Located adjacent to Hong Kong, Shenzhen offers a great introduction to China. It was established as a Special Economic Zone in 1980, and since that time has grown from a small fishing village into a major and economically significant city. A planned city, it features wide tree-lined boulevards, numerous parks and gardens, and striking architecture. Tourist attractions include fun and educational theme parks, historic sites, beaches and world-class shopping, dining and hotel accommodation. Shenzhen also looks forward to hosting the Universiade Shenzhen 2011 international games http://www.sz2011.org//eng/index.htm.

In Shenzhen I met my friend’s sister and some of her friends and work colleagues, and I was immediately struck by their friendliness. We dined with them at several excellent restaurants, and they gave great advice on shopping, attractions and city services and facilities. In appreciation of the great hospitality I received, I have established the website www.visitshenzhenchina.com (also accessible at www.visitshenzhen.org) to encourage other westerners to start their China experience with a visit to Shenzhen.

On the second trip in February this year I visited Henan province and also returned again to Shenzhen. In Henan we celebrated Lunar New Year in my friend’s home town of Xiangcheng and visited historic sites in Kaifeng and Luoyang. We had almost cancelled the trip because of the snowstorms that had severely impacted China in the previous few weeks, but fortunately we decided to still go ahead.  The weather was cold in Henan (maximums mostly not above 2 degrees Celsius) but we weren’t affected in any way by the snow which still covered the ground in many places.  Major government cleanup operations had ensured that roads and airports were clear and safe for travel.

Xiangcheng Henan is a rural and industrial city with a population of about 1 million people located in the south of Henan province. The city government website is http://www.xiangcheng.gov.cn/ (which can be translated with Google Translate http://translate.google.com/translate_t#). In contrast to Shenzhen, Xiangcheng is only at the start of the journey of opening up, with the city government commencing the modernisation of the city and seeking to attract new business and industry. It’s not currently a tourist city, although it does have some notable historic and cultural sites, and I would be one of the few westerners to have ever visited. While Xiangcheng is somewhat polluted, as is the case with many industrialised cities throughout the world, it is also the friendliest city I have ever visited and I found myself not wanting to leave. I spent many enjoyable hours with my friend’s extended family, who made me feel very welcome as one of the family, and many people I passed in the street who knew some English offered a friendly “hello”. The wellbeing of family and community is clearly very important to Chinese people.

Lunar New Year is part of the annual Spring Festival, which is one of a number of major traditional Chinese Festivals throughout the year (information on Chinese Festivals including the Spring Festival can be found at http://www.china.org.cn/english/features/Festivals/78131.htm). Lunar New Year is celebrated in the traditional way in Xiangcheng, with firecrackers and the use of traditional red decorations on homes and in the streets, and it was an incredible experience. The firecrackers are in long strings which are rolled up for sale, and each roll can have up to several thousand firecrackers. Firecrackers were set off across Xiangcheng on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, with the greatest intensity being at midnight to mark the start of the New Year. At this time an amazing cacophony of firecrackers echoed across the town, and also across many other towns and cities around China. Another Lunar New Year tradition is the making of dumplings by the family. I was invited to join in and taught how to make the dumplings, and after a time I had actually managed to make a few that my hosts said were not too bad.

Lunar New Year is only part of the Spring Festival, and I hope to return to China next year to experience more of the 2009 Spring Festival. There are local variations of the celebrations across China, and people are not permitted to let off fireworks in some of the larger cities, where instead there are organised public fireworks displays. It is traditional for Chinese people to travel back to their families for Spring Festival, so anyone planning to visit China for Lunar New Year should book travel and accommodation well in advance.

While in Xiangcheng we travelled to Kaifeng and Luoyang on a 2-day drive to look at historic sites. Kaifeng and Luoyang are in the north of Henan province, located east and west respectively of provincial capital Zhengzhou. The expressways are signposted in both Chinese and English, and numerous brown-and-white tourist feature signs are found on the expressways and also in the towns and cities. From the number of features shown on many signs, months could be spent taking in all of the attractions that Henan has to offer, let alone the rest of China.

In Kaifeng city we visited Xiangguo Temple, the Dragon Pavilion and the Iron Pagoda. In Kaifeng, development is restricted to protect historic streetscapes and buildings and also the ancient city below. Flooding from the Yellow River has repeatedly impacted on Kaifeng, with the original 12th century city now 8-9 metres below ground. Xiangguo Temple was first constructed in 555 AD and has played an important role in the development of Buddhism in China. The temple was rebuilt during the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD). The Dragon Pavilion is the former imperial palace of the Song Dynasty (960-1279 AD). It was extensively rebuilt in the Ch’ing Dynasty (1616-1911 AD) and is surrounded by two lakes, Pan Lake and Yang Lake, both frozen at the time of our visit. The Iron Pagoda is a Buddhist temple pagoda constructed in 1049 AD. The use of the word “Iron” in the name of the pagoda refers to its colour and not its construction material, the pagoda being built from brick and externally tiled.

In Luoyang we visited White Horse Temple and the Longmen Grottoes. With over 1900 years of history, White Horse Temple is described as the cradle of Buddhism in China. The World Heritage listed Longmen Grottoes were commenced around the year 493 AD when the capital was moved to Luoyang. They were continuously built during the subsequent 400 years until the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127 AD). Longmen Grottoes has over 1,300 caves, 2,300 holes and niches, and 100,000 buddhist statues.

My two visits to China have enabled me to experience Chinese traditions and history, to learn about China and the Chinese people, and to witness China’s progressive transformation as it opens up. I have greatly enjoyed my visits and look forward to returning to China again as soon as possible to continue my journey of experience and understanding.

Photographs from both of my China trips can be found at http://www.flickr.com/photos/bruce_boyes.

Bruce Boyes
www.bruceboyes.net or www.bruceboyes.org

DENVER, United States — Barack Obama has no intention to transform and challenge the one-China policy should he be elected as the US president, his senior foreign policy advisors said Monday.

Gregory B. Craig, a long-term advisor of Obama on foreign affairs, told a press conference that the Democratic presidential nominee to be would observe the one-China policy stipulated in a set of institution of understanding between China and the US.

US Democratic presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) speaks to supporters at a campaign event at the Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds in Davenport, Iowa, August 25, 2008. [Agencies]

The Illinois senator has made it clear that the relations with China is a very important and key one for the US, said Ambassador Wendy R. Sherman, a former aide for former US State Secretary Madeleine Albright, at a press conference during the Democratic National Convention here.

Obama will be officially nominated as the Democratic presidential candidate at the gathering. “People said that the 20th century is American century, and the 21th is Asian century,” she said.

She said that she has no doubt Obama would visit China in his early presidency if he is elected in November.

“We are economically interdependent on each other, and there are many places that we can work closely together as China becomes a more and more responsible stakeholder,” she said, citing the six-party talks as an example.

On the Taiwan issue, she said Obama’s policy will be the continuation of American presidents’ one-China stance and that he hopes to see the constructive relations between two sides.

By James Shen

I recently wrote an article “Mainstream Western media stages Blemishing China Marathon” which was posted on a number of blogs and websites. Many comments were received, most were generally supportive or partly positive, while a few readers expressed their criticisms especially over my observations on politics and problems in the US or the influence of the mainstream Western media.

Some Western readers felt the discomfort of being criticized by an supposedly “outsider” (BTW, I resent that idea because I am a Chinese American with 24 years of experience of studying, living and working in the West), but it is in fact an intended simulation exercise for them to get a taste of how it feels to be criticized by outsiders. Hopefully this will help some develop the skill set to see things from different perspectives.

There are also comments that urge me to write follow up articles either to continue criticisms on the Western media or to provide more balanced and less emotional observations on differences and problems of China and the West.

My first article was inspired by a total off-balance in the Western media coverage of Beijing Olympics, and the intention was to draw attention from people to this issue and urge Western media and their reporters to rekindle their much preached doctrines of objectivity and independence. It was the hope of the article to promote the Olympic spirits of mutual understanding and tolerance so that we can share “a better and peaceful world” in “these increasingly troubled times.”

The article also was not intended to invite or intensify arguments about different views people have about the world around them, be it religious freedom in China or racial tensions in the US.

I am neither motivated nor qualified to offer much observation on a wide range of issues and challenges facing both the West and China. I am an ordinary person who usually enjoys blog writing in Chinese about family, friends, food, fun and travel. I am or was a Christian who is now increasingly attracted by the fundamentals of Daoism and Buddhism. I am more interested in learning than offering at this point. So let this article be the final one from me about the issue of Western media coverage on China.

The party is finally over

2008 Olympics just closed in Beijing and the central scene of the closing ceremony was a grand party between the audience, volunteers, officials and athletes from 204 countries. It may not be as spectacular as the opening ceremony but the idea of harmony and friendship was nevertheless presented successfully.

Although I was hoping that the presentation from London would be more centered on old British traditions, double-deck bus and umbrellas did give us a unique and truthful image of London – the one I knew very well. Let’s wish London all the best with a hassle free Olympics in 2012. By the way, it was not my intention to encourage anyone to protest in London in 2012, and the Chinese is encouraged to show the world the wisdom of restraint and generosity not to retaliate with any law-breaking protests, biased coverage or vandalism in the 2012 London Olympics.

Time to clean up China’s own house

As for the Chinese, there are a lot to be concerned about after the grand party of 2008 Beijing Olympics is over. It is time to clean up the post-party mess in Beijing and start to refocus on domestic issues and various ongoing and pending reforms.

While the China coverage by mainstream Western media is often tainted by self-serving motives and tend to be unconstructive in many ways, many problems or symptoms pointed out by foreign papers are areas where China needs improvements. Without doubt, the contemporary challenges faced by China are much more extensive and complex than what the Western media can comprehend, and these needs to be tackled one at a time at a pace which does not upset the country’s stability so that the fruits of reform so far can be preserved and shared.

I applaud the Chinese government in making the country’s “stability” its top priority ahead of all other objectives. It is also a great relief to see this Chinese government put its emphasis on “social harmony”, “people-orientation”, “environmental conservation” and “high quality economic development”.

Granted, there is still a vast pool of problems facing the country, especially at the local levels and in less-economically developed areas. There are structural flaws in the Chinese political system, government organization, legal system and social-economic hierarchy that need to be reformed. Corruption is still rampant, environments are damaged, and the fruits of 30 years of reform are not shared equally by all Chinese people. On top of these, there are territorial, racial and religious issues which are deeply-rooted in China’s history.

How should the Chinese deal with these? Should these be resolved through direct confrontations between the people, interest groups and the government by means of protests, vandalism, movements, negative press coverage, pressure tactics or violence & riots? If these confrontational approaches don’t work, should the Chinese seek a regime change? Who is going to take over? Will the new regime be a better or a worse one? Will there be another cultural revolution, more turmoil or even an internal war?

The Chinese people already paid a dear price for following the revolution theory of Karl Marx which advocated for achieving society transformation and resolve class conflicts through violence? Enough is enough!

It was the fear of endless internal political turmoil and the cultural revolution, regardless whether they were started from top to bottom or from bottom to top, that drove me and many of my peers away from China. Should there be more turmoil in the country, China will suffer, the Chinese people will suffer, and, make no mistake about it, the whole world will suffer too. Imagine the disruptions to the global supply chain and the international financial market, destabilization of surrounding countries, massive legal or illegal immigration, to name just a few. So, think again now, does the West still want to see turmoil in China?

Learn from the West selectively and wisely

With reference to this topic, there are lessons to be drawn from the Chinese history. Faced with threats of colonization by Western powers in the 19th century, Li Hongzhang, a prime minister and a leading reformer of the Qing Dynasty, suggested that “take what is strong (from the West) to make up our weakness and pick what are good and suitable to follow” (取彼之长，益我之短，择善而从).

There is much to learn from the West by the Chinese government in areas such as the tactful handling and use of media (both domestic and international), public relations and creation of legal and peaceful venues for aggravated citizens to express their grief and opinions. There is also much to learn from the West by the Chinese people in areas such as taking advantage of peaceful and legal ways to express anger and grievances as well as government lobbying. Nevertheless, don’t learn from the illegal Western protestors and hooligans at Beijing Olympics – they are bad examples to be avoided.

At the end of the day, resolving China’s problems will depend on the wisdom of the Chinese people and leadership which are to be drawn mostly from the rich Chinese culture, traditions and heritage. Learning from the West should be selective without external pressures and any attempts to transplant other country’s success will most likely fail. A system with Chinese characteristics is definitely the way to go.

China does not need the approval of the West

Constructive suggestions from the West, whether from media, politicians, business people and friendly groups and citizens, should always be encouraged and heard with great respect. For those who are hostile or unfriendly, however, the best response to them is simply ignoring them. Arguing with those who have preconditioned mindset, questionable objectives and ill intentions is a waste of time.
“China doesn’t need the approval of the Western media” and “China has emerged as an economic power in the last twenty years without the blessing of the West,” a reader commented on my first article. Indeed, every Chinese has worked really hard to get to where the country is now, and the “mouth water” of the unfriendly Western media can not take it away or dampen China’s prospects.

Final suggestion

My final advice to the Western media – Try to be objective, constructive, respectful and gracious. Too much bad mouthing will only serve to further shrink its influence, creditability and relevance. Learn from many leading Western businesses in China which have both contributed to the country and thrived together with it.

My final suggestion to the Chinese people is borrowed from Dante Alighieri’s “The Divine Comedy” – “Go your own way; let others talk!”

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James Shen is a US-based independent business analyst supporting multinational companies that seek cohesive growth in China. He is a native of Beijing and a naturalized U.S. citizen. He studied in the UK in the 1980s and has lived in the US in the past 19 years.

Synopsis

This is a follow-up article of “Mainstream Western media stages Blemishing China Marathon”. With the Beijing Olympics closing successfully, the author calls China to clean up its own house and draw selectively from the West. However, China’s past economic success was not built on Western blessing and it does not need the approval of the West. Those who are hostile and ill-intentioned should simply be ignored and deemed irrelevant.

Source: Chinadaily.com.cn / 2008-08-25 09:02

‘TAIPEI - Taiwan is considering building a bridge linking Kinmen, one of its outlying islands, to Xiamen city in Fujian Province on the mainland, the Central News Agency said on Sunday, in a sign of improving cross-Straits ties.

“The idea, talked about by many Kinmen residents, of building a bridge between Kinmen and Xiamen in southeastern Fujian province could also be discussed,” the agency quoted Taiwan leader Ma Ying-jeou as saying.

The government will complete a proposal by the end of the year on whether constructing the bridge would be feasible, Ma was quoted as saying in Kinmen.

Ma, who was in Kinmen to mark the 50th anniversary of the 1958 artillery battle between Taiwan and the mainland, also said the island planned to offer landing visas or multiple visas to mainlanders visiting Kinmen, to boost tourism exchanges.

Ma has been unveiling a slew of policies to boost trade ties with the mainland, such as allowing more tourists to visit Taiwan and increasing direct flights.’

Chinationreport considers this news to be very significant for the future of Taiwan and China relationship.

According to Wikipedia/Kinmen:

Kinmen or Jinmen means literally “Golden Door” or “Golden Gate” in Mandarin. It is administered by Republic of China (ROC) government. But it is claimed as part of Fujian’s Quanzhou Prefecture by the People’s Republic of China. The island was the site of extensive shelling between PRC and ROC forces in the 1950s and 1960s and was a major issue in the 1960 United States Presidential Election between Kennedy and Nixon. In the 1950s, the United States threatened to use nuclear weapons against the PRC if it attacked the island.

Kinmen was originally a military preserve. However, the island was returned to the civilian government in the mid-1990s, and travel to and from Taiwan was allowed.

Kinmen witnesses history: ‘Retaking the mainland’

‘Wu Wang Zai Ju’ stone written by Chiang Kai Sek, photographed by seasurfer on 6.7.2005 in Kinmen.

中文: 蔣中正的毋忘在莒石碑 金門縣的莒光樓

English: Calligraphy by former President Chiang Kai-shek (Taiwan) etched on a rock in Kinmen reads, “Forget not that you’re in J?” - an allusion to the Warring States Period when the State of Qi, cornered into the City of Ju by the State of Yan, successfully counterattacked and retook its territory. This is intended as an analogy to the situation between the Republic of China and the People’s Republic of China. Other slogans alluding to “retaking the mainland” can still be found in Kinmen.

Xiamen is a coastal city in Fujian province, People’s Republic of China. It looks out to the Taiwan Strait and particulary Kinmen. Xiamen and the surrounding countryside are famous for being an ancestral home to overseas Chinese and one of China’s earliest Special Economic Zones in the 1980s. It covers an area of 1 565 km² with a local population of 5 million. It was recently named China’s 2nd most livable city.

View of Xiamen from Gulangyu Island’s mountain peak. Foreground: Gulangyu. Background: Xiamen
Taken 2008-06-15, picture released in public domain
Text source: Wikipedia.org/Xiamen

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Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jinmen