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Flame War: Novelist vs Fraud Buster

China Digital Times (CDT) — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 13:26:39 +0000

Danwei’s Joel Martinson chronicles the war of words between author-blogger-racing driver Han Han and merciless scientific fraud slayer Fang Zhouzi. Battle lines have been drawn, with writers, publishers, cartoonists and allegedly censors arrayed on one side or the other. The fight arose from an earlier skirmish between Han Han and tech entrepreneur Mai Tian, who had questioned the authorship of Han Han’s blog posts: Han Han’s early replies were entertaining in their earnestness and snarky vulgarity. He provided a straightforward account of his blog-writing habits to explain how he could post in between race events, and then flipped Mai Tian’s reasoning around to cast aspersions on his sexual prowess. He offered a 20 million yuan purse and the copyrights to his entire oeuvre as a reward anyone giving conclusive proof of having ghostwritten for him. And, perhaps unwisely, he took a few potshots at Fang Zhouzi (方舟子), who up until that point had needled Han Han for a few minor writing mistakes but had otherwise shown no great interest in the argument. Going up against Fang Zhouzi is a risky thing. A science writer better known for his work exposing academic fraud and intellectual dishonesty, Fang Zhouzi is a tenacious… Read more

On Vogel & Kissinger’s “Sino-Americana”

China Digital Times (CDT) — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 13:26:38 +0000

Science fiction author William Gibson has frequently argued that “novels set in imaginary futures are necessarily about the moment in which they are written“; that the real subject matter of ’1984′ was 1948. In the London Review of Books, Perry Anderson reviews three examples of what he calls “Sino-Americana”, a sub-genre whose ostensible focus is China, but which in fact offers a reflected view of its native United States. The three volumes under the magnifying glass are Ezra Vogel’s ‘Deng Xiaoping and the Transformation of China’, Henry Kissinger’s ‘On China’ and Jay Taylor’s ‘The Generalissimo: Chiang Kai-shek and the Struggle for Modern China’.Books about China, popular and scholarly, continue to pour off the presses. In this ever expanding literature, there is a subdivision that could be entitled ‘Under Western Eyes’. The larger part of it consists of works that appear to be about China, or some figure or topic from China, but whose real frame of reference, determining the optic, is the United States. Typically written by functionaries of the state, co-opted or career, they have as their underlying question: ‘China – what’s in it for us?’ Rather than Sinology proper, they are Sino-Americana. Ezra Vogel’s biography of Deng… Read more

Photo: Hong Kong February 2011, by Remko Tanis

China Digital Times (CDT) — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 08:04:24 +0000

China and Merkel do Diplomatic Euro Debt Dance

China Digital Times (CDT) — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 06:02:48 +0000

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is in China, sowing potentially advantageous diplomatic relations in the midst of the EU’s current economic situation. An article from NBC News’ Behind the Wall explains how, in addition to economic relief, Merkel addressed long contentious issues of domestic and international conduct. As the leader of the strongest economy in the European Union, the chancellor has called for more “Europe,” a stronger union as an answer to the Eurozone crisis. And China with its massive $3.2 trillion in foreign currency reserves is seen as a potential source of critical support for any European bailout program. [...]“I will advocate, that if Europe, for example, imposes sanctions (on Iran), that China still uses the influence it has to tell Iran that we do not need, and cannot allow, another power with nuclear weapons,” [Merkel] told the assembly at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. The German leader has raised a wide range of issues with the Chinese side, including human rights, intellectual property protection, and improved market access. The ABC piece cites a China Daily article, which discusses the possible intentions of visits by Merkel and her European counterparts: As a Chinese saying goes, one does not visit the temple for nothing. Public… Read more

China’s African Union HQ a Trojan Horse? (Updated)

China Digital Times (CDT) — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 00:43:55 +0000

China’s gift of a new $200 million African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa has generated a great deal of warmth among high-ranking officials, but many in both China and Africa feel decidedly chillier about the project. From The Globe and Mail:Col. Gadhafi, the Libyan dictator who was overthrown and killed last year, had been the biggest donor to Africa’s political alliance for years. But at its latest summit this weekend, the AU made it clear that Beijing is its new Libya. The 54-nation African organization is holding its summit in its gleaming new $200-million marble-and-glass headquarters, financed and built by the Chinese government on the site of a former maximum-security prison in Addis Ababa. It’s the tallest building in the country, and all of it – even the furniture in its spectacular 2500-seat Grand Hall – was supplied by China as a gift to the world’s poorest continent …. “The people of China and Africa are good friends, good partners and good brothers,” Mr. Jia told the summit. “Our friendship is as solid as the towering Mount Kilimanjaro and as vibrant as the Yangtze River and the Yellow River.”The continent, said Jia, “boasts a time-honoured history, rich natural… Read more

China’s Diplomacy 2.0 and Hu Xijin

China Digital Times (CDT) — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 00:43:55 +0000

When Global Times’ editor Hu Xijin went on Twitter he generated quite a buzz among foreign correspondents and activists in China. The Council on Foreign Relations looks at Hu’s tweeting as part of a new paradigm shift in Chinese politics and diplomacy:A very long discussion in the December 2011 issue of Foreign Affairs Review, the journal of the Foreign Affairs University, provides some context for what Hu’s tweeting might be about. The article, entitled “Global Politics in the Web 2.0 Era” is a discussion about how communication technologies are changing politics. The cases cited are the usual ones—the protests after the Iranian elections, the Arab Spring, SMS being used to organize protests against Philippine President Joseph Estrada, the Obama campaign’s use of Facebook and other social media—and political dynamics described are also now well known—web 2.0 empowers the individual to spread information, flattens hierarchies, and lowers the cost of mobilizing groups. Democratization and the growth of civil society are trends difficult to control, and as a result China must have a strategy for bringing about gradual change. Online expression by Chinese netizens, according to the article, can be “immature, aggressive, or empty.” But if China can develop an effective legal system… Read more

China Seeks Help on Kidnapped Workers

China Digital Times (CDT) — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 00:43:54 +0000

Twenty-nine Chinese workers who were kidnapped in Sudan earlier this week have not yet been released, and the Chinese government is considering its options, including appealing for help from South Sudan and possibly the African Union. From Reuters:A team of officials China sent to seek the release of the workers will conduct negotiations with South Sudan’s officials in the South Sudan capital of Juba, according to an “authoritative source” cited by the People’s Daily, the mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party. “At the same time, (the group will) go through the African Union and other third or fourth parties to mediate,” the report said. “The purpose is to ensure fully that the 29 compatriots will be able to come home safely.” China has sought to maintain good relations with both Khartoum, a long-time ally, and newly independent South Sudan, home to investments by state-owned Chinese oil giants China National Petroleum Corp and Sinopec. As the biggest investor in oilfields in South Sudan, Beijing could wield some clout in the negotiations. See more about the kidnapping via a previous CDT post. Also related, China’s gift of a new $200 million African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa has generated controversy.
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Vivid Memories of Nixon’s 1972 Visit to China

China Digital Times (CDT) — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 00:43:53 +0000

A new documentary produced by the USC US-China Institute and reported by Mike Chinoy looks at the history of foreign correspondents in China. The segment below focuses on the period surrounding President Nixon’s historic visit to Beijing in 1972:Watch also a discussion hosted by the Asia Society’s Orville Schell with Mike Chinoy, Richard Bernstein and Bruce Dunning about their experiences reporting from China in the early days after China allowed foreign correspondents to work from the country.

© Sophie Beach for China Digital Times (CDT), 2012. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.usPost tags: documentaries, foreign correspondents, PRC history, Richard Nixon, U.S. relations Download Tools to Circumvent the Great Firewall

Humor: Facebook & the “Four Ancient Civilizations”

China Digital Times (CDT) — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 00:43:53 +0000

Facebook’s pending IPO is a hot topic in Chinese cyberspace, even though (or maybe because) Facebook is blocked inside the country. The following conversations and comments are translated from Sina Weibo:- A female colleague just came back from a blind date. She is quite excited. She said to me, this man is quite accomplished. He is just over thirty and is already the Chief Manager of the China Office of the Facebook. I said to her: grab him, don’t miss this one. Following are some of the comments under this post:- We are in the same business then. I am the CEO of the China office of Youtube*. – I won’t tell you that I am the chief representative of the China office of Twitter*. – I am exactly 30 this year. My father is the Commander-in-Chief of Mongolia’s Navy. – Facebook’s prospectus has listed four countries which limited their citizens to visit their website: Syria, Iran, China, and North Korea. These are what in history books will be called the “four ancient civilizations.” – The acronym [of the "four ancient civilizations"] is SICK. – The sin of Facebook is that it lets people meet whom they want… Read more

Tibetan Protests Caught on Video

China Digital Times (CDT) — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 00:43:52 +0000

Radio Free Asia has posted video that reportedly shows a protest in Aba Prefecture, Sichuan, where large-scale demonstrations erupted last week, resulting in the shooting of one or more protesters by security officials. Read more about the protests on CDT. Tensions have been high in Tibet and Tibetan regions of Sichuan with numerous self-immolations by Tibetans protesting Beijing’s policies and an ongoing crackdown by security forces. Students for a Free Tibet have obtained an audio file that is reportedly a final statement by Lama Soepa, a spiritual teacher and community leader from Golok in the Kham region of Tibet, who died after setting himself on fire on January 8. Listen to the recording here. From SFFT’s translation:This is the twenty-first century, and this is the year in which so many Tibetan heroes have died. I am sacrificing my body both to stand in solidarity with them in flesh and blood, and to seek repentance through this highest tantric honor of offering one’s body. This is not to seek personal fame or glory.   I am giving away my body as an offering of light to chase away the darkness, to free all beings from suffering, and to lead them –… Read more

Photo: Chinese New Year Parade in New York Chinatown, by May S. Young

China Digital Times (CDT) — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 00:43:51 +0000

Weibo: Order to Detain Petitioner

China Digital Times (CDT) — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 00:43:51 +0000

Li Guosheng posted this to his Sina Weibo on January 8 with an image of the letter to the Kaifu Discipline and Inspection Commission. The message was reposted 420 times and received 98 comments. Li’s Weibo account no longer exists, but his Sina blog is still online (last updated November 18 2011). Read the original weibo here.

@Journalist Li Guosheng: Hunan Provincial Discipline and Inspection Commission Order to Detain Petitioner: Li Xiang is from Kaifu District in Changsha. In 2006, her village land was reclaimed and her house was demolished. She then began to petition. In July of 2011, she once again petitioned the Hunan Provincial Discipline and Inspection Commission. Shockingly, the provincial Discipline and Inspection Commission’s petitioning office sent the following letter to the Kaifu District Discipline and Inspection Commission: “If she goes to Beijing to petition, you may detain her.” After this news got on the web, the head of the petitioning office found Li Xiang and implored her to delete the post, saying, “I beg you as you are my grandpa and grandma.”

Translation by Harriet Xu.

Running Dogs and Locusts

China Digital Times (CDT) — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 00:43:50 +0000

A deep rift in cultural identity has come into the spotlight through public expressions of the tension that exists between residents of Hong Kong and those of the mainland. The Economist outlines the beginnings of the most recent series of events: On January 15th a young Mandarin-speaking girl dropped some dried noodles she had been nibbling on a Hong Kong underground train. Perhaps her family, from mainland China, did not know that eating and drinking is banned on the spotless metro. When a local Cantonese speaker objected to the noodle-eating in bad Mandarin, a quarrel erupted. The whole incident, recorded on a mobile phone, was soon viewed online by millions in Hong Kong and in China. “That’s what mainlanders are like,” was perhaps the nastiest thing said by any Hong Konger in the metro carriage.In a televised and characteristically nationalistic public admonishment of Hong Kongers, Peking University’s Kong Qingdong added fuel to the fire:Kong’s comments sent a shock of rage through many Hong Kongers, and led to the commissioning of a full page anti-mainland ad in a Hong Kong publication. The ad, which characterizes mainlanders as ‘locusts,’ is reposted and described in a Wall Street Journal blog post: The full-page ad, which shows a… Read more

Can Transparency Clean Up China’s Hazy Environment?

China Digital Times (CDT) — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 11:42:12 +0000

In response to public criticism, Beijing recently began releasing PM 2.5 readings of atmospheric particulates, while previously only PM 10 data was publicly available. The number in a particulate matter reading refers to the diameter of the particle in micrometers. While PM 10 is deemed unsafe by the World Health Organization and can settle in the lungs, the smaller PM 2.5 is even more menacing, as it can penetrate the lungs and impact other organs. According to The Economist, Chinese residents who do not live in the capital are still only able to access PM 10 data, but developments in atmospheric research may soon change that: Though pollution data are best collected near the ground, a plausible estimate may be made from the vantage-point of a satellite by measuring how much light is blocked by particles, and estimating from those particles’ chemical composition the likely distribution of their sizes. And a report prepared for The Economist by a team led by Angel Hsu of Yale University does just that, drawing on data from American satellites to map out PM2.5 pollution across the entire country. [...]This approach is not perfect. Satellites are not great at taking readings over bright surfaces like snow and… Read more

Photo: Repair, by Mark Hobbs

China Digital Times (CDT) — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 11:42:11 +0000

Best of the Worst: 2011 Music Video

China Digital Times (CDT) — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 11:42:10 +0000

“Oh, China! Slow down!” (祖国啊你慢些走) appeared on the overseas Chinese portal 6Park in August 2011. Minus the tragedies of Xiao Yueyue and the school bus crash, it packs in all of the major scandals of the previous year:

forced demolition
elderly not helped when they have fallen
chengguan brutality
ditch oil
Yao Jiaxin
China-Africa Hope Project
demolition of schools for children of migrant workers
boozing, womanizing cadres
Wenzhou train crash
collapsed bridge
“It’s not rape if you wear a condom“
Guo Meimei
Sinopec spending on luxury liquor

Click “CC” for English subtitles. (Translated by Harriet Xu)

© fionasmith for China Digital Times (CDT), 2012. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.usPost tags: 2011, chengguan. high-speed rail crash, guo meimei Download Tools to Circumvent the Great Firewall

School in China Is an Unlikely Wonder

China Digital Times (CDT) — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 11:42:10 +0000

Tensions between Tibetans and Chinese officials are escalating to dangerous heights in many areas. Among a host of issues raised by Tibetans in protest of their treatment at the hands of Beijing is the requirement that Tibetan children must learn Mandarin in school. The New York Times looks at a rare successful effort by Tibetans to preserve and teach their culture and language to their children, in an isolated mountain village in Qinghai:“Tibetan language is the key to our culture, and without it all our traditions will be locked away forever,” said Abo Degecairang, 25, a ruddy-cheeked monk who is among the inaugural class of young men enrolled at the school, the Anymachen Tibetan Culture Center, which opened in September here in southeastern Qinghai Province. More striking than its improbably isolated setting is the fact that the Chinese government allowed Rinpoche Tserin Lhagyal, 48, the school’s spiritual guide and soft-spoken founder, to set up an autonomous institution dedicated to promoting Tibetan culture and language. Although Tibetan areas of China are flecked with Buddhist monasteries, their mandate is to teach religious devotion through ancient texts and long hours of prayer. Nonreligious schooling is typically controlled by the state, most often… Read more

Beijing Says ‘No Need to Sweat’ Tibet

China Digital Times (CDT) — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 11:42:09 +0000

In the wake of extensive Western media coverage of protests and violent police action in Tibetan populated regions of western China, Global Times says there is “no need to sweat over minor unrest”: [...]As long as China remains stable as a whole, the specific problems in the border areas can be kept under control. We should have faith in this. We should also avoid being impatient. It is not us, but people like the aging Dalai Lama who should worry. As long as we accept the reality that some incidents are inevitable in parts of Chinese society, including Tibet and Xinjiang, much of the air attached to the Dalai Lama’s political power will be squeezed out. [...]The unrest that the world usually sees hides the firm foundation of stability in Chinese society. About 80 percent of urban households own their houses, and the social security system is expanding to rural areas. All these are foundations for national stability. Regardless of the Global Times article’s tranquil tone and characterization of “minor unrest” as inevitable, state-owned media has been pointing fingers in the usual direction to explain the situation. AFP offers summary and commentary on a recent China Daily report: China has blamed “trained separatists”… Read more