So you’re a pragmatist?

Actually, many people think I’m more of an idealist. I still think China needs democracy, that it needs to change. I really oppose several arguments [that are commonly made] about why China can’t have democracy, such as the argument that China is unique—that Chinese people need to wait because their “quality” [a Chinese term, suzhi, that implies everything from educational level to manners] isn’t high enough and other ridiculous things like that. Some people said that democracy wasn’t part of Chinese culture, and then Taiwan became democratic. Then they said that Taiwan was a special case. Now look at Wukan. They had their own elections. People say it’s special, but in fact Wukan is really typically Chinese. It’s a Chinese town but they organized everything. So what argument are you left with? If Wukan can have democracy so can other parts of China.

I’m not saying that China should have western-style democracy. In fact, there’s not a single western model. What do they mean? Germany didn’t copy America and America didn’t copy Britain. The issue isn’t copying. It’s do you or don’t you want democracy? Of course democracy has a lot of problems but it’s a way forward.

Since the 1980s, Chinese have been pragmatic. The question since the Cultural Revolution has been: can it work? This was Deng Xiaoping’s biggest influence on Chinese people. They ask if it’ll work or not. Now China has the world’s second-largest economy and could overtake the US. So in terms of market economics it’s been successful and I support this. What we lack is justice. There is no justice in the current system. It’s a practical issue. We need justice. Democracy is a way to bring justice. This is why democracy is necessary.

Read more by and about Chang Ping via CDT, including a translation of his blog post, “I Am Ashamed of Self-Censorship“. Read also about press freedom and media conditions in China.

© Sophie Beach for China Digital Times (CDT), 2012. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Chang Ping, democracy, press freedom, Southern Weekend
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A rights activist in Sichuan has been formally arrested and charged with inciting subversion against the state, according to a statement on Wednesday by China Human Rights Defenders, an advocacy group that tracks violations by the Chinese government. The advocate, Chen Wei, was charged on Monday, and his family was notified on Tuesday.

Mr. Chen is the third person in recent days to be charged with inciting subversion in an extraordinarily harsh crackdown on progressives in China that has been unfolding since late February. The other two, Ran Yunfei and Ding Mao, are also from Sichuan and are known, like Mr. Chen, to be promoters of rule of law and democracy-oriented reforms.

Parts of Sichuan Province, a rugged, populous area in western China, are known to be havens for liberal thinkers, and the region has had a long literary and philosophical tradition. The authorities there are now at the forefront of pressing charges against people advocating political reform.

Though formal charges have only just been brought against the three, they have been in custody for over a month, according to Amnesty International (PDF):

On 19 February, the police in Mianyang city, Sichuan province, detained activist Ding Mao on suspicion of “inciting subversion of state power”. At midnight on 19 February, Ran Yunfei, an activist, writer and blogger, was detained in Chengdu, the provincial capital. The next evening, the police escorted him home, searched his house, confiscated his computer and returned him to the police station. On 24 February, the police issued Ran Yunfei’s family with a written notice, dated 21 February, stating that Ran Yunfei is held on suspicion of “subversion of state power”.

On the morning of 20 February, the police also searched the home of another Sichuan activist, Chen Wei, in Suining city. They confiscated his computer, external hard drive and mobile phone, and took him away to “have a cup of tea” with them. On 22 February, the police gave his wife a written notice, dated 21 February stating that Chen Wei is held on suspicion of “inciting subversion of state power.”

While a long list (compiled by ChinaGeeks) of government critics have disappeared, others have faced different reprisals. The Committee to Protect Journalists reports the dismissal of two journalists in Guangzhou:

Time Weekly opinion editor Peng Xiaoyun reported on her Twitter account Monday that she had received an official dismissal notice from the Time Weekly company, which operates under the Guangdong Provincial Publishing Group. International news reports said Peng had taken “involuntary leave” in January after including controversial figures, such as jailed food safety advocate Zhao Lianhai, in a December 2010 retrospective of 100 influential contemporary figures.

In a separate case, outspoken Southern Weekend commentator Chen Ming, who publishes under the name Xiao Shu, also announced Monday via his local Sina microblog that he was taking a two-year sabbatical. The term “sabbatical” was likely a euphemism for permanent notice since journalists have to resign after six months on leave, U.S. government-funded Radio Free Asia reported. The Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post confirmed the news with an unnamed former colleague of Chen’s ….

“In their drive to stifle public discussion, China’s propaganda authorities are depriving the people of some of the country’s most forward-thinking opinions,” said Bob Dietz, CPJ Asia program coordinator. “Not just bloggers and activists who straddle the realms of politics and journalism, but mainstream journalists who have long operated in traditional Chinese media are now being targeted.”

The New Yorker’s Philip Gourevitch reports that another Chengdu resident, writer Liao Yiwu, has had his permission to travel abroad revoked:

Liao has spent much of his life in and out of Chinese police custody, on account of his insistence on describing the world as he sees it, but for years he has hoped to be able to accept an invitation to the PEN World Writers Festival in New York. Last week, the public-security bureau approved his travel. He got a ticket for a flight leaving next Monday. Then, a few days ago, the police showed up, and said that there had been a change of plans. He was grounded.

“From now on, I’ll apply for my travel permit at the public-security bureau every two weeks until they allow me to go,” Liao said to a Chinese friend, now living elsewhere, who passed his words on to me. “I told them repeatedly that what I’m going to participate in is a literary event, not a political one. I told them that I’m an ordinary writer and they can’t deny me my basic rights to travel. They refused to listen. I’m dealing with a scoundrel government. I’m so outraged.”

March 31 Update:

See reports on the ongoing crackdown from The Guardian:

At least 23 people have been detained, mostly in relation to charges of incitement to subversion or creating a disturbance; three more have been formally arrested; and a dozen people are missing, including several prominent human rights lawyers. Rights groups say they are increasingly concerned that those who have vanished may be at physical risk.

The AFP has a similar report with slightly different numbers:

At least 26 activists have been detained in the wake of the political upheaval that has rocked the Arab world and sparked calls for anti-government demonstrations in China, human rights organisations said.

More than 30 others have been “disappeared” by authorities without charge, Hong Kong-based Chinese Human Rights Defenders (CHRD) said, with the victims including prominent rights attorneys and bloggers who had otherwise been tolerated for years.

© Samuel Wade for China Digital Times (CDT), 2011. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Amnesty International, Chengdu, Committee to Protect Journalists, crackdown, Guangzhou, Liao Yiwu, media restrictions, Ran Yunfei, Sichuan, Southern Weekend, travel
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What a miracle.

When blind civil-rights activist Chen Guangcheng completed his prison term September 9, 2010, he returned home to more than 100 thugs surrounding his house. The four entrances to his village had been sealed off. A mobile phone signal-deflector had been set up in the village. There were so many thugs they crowded the village and slept in Chen’s doorway at night. They put a lock on his door to keep him from escaping in the dark. Under such surveillance, there was no chance of an outsider meeting or exchanging information with Chen. After Sept. 13, 2010, the outside world knew nothing of Chen’s circumstances.

Not long ago, citizen heroes such as Chen Yunfei and Zhen Zhu stormed the village only to be beaten back by the sentries. Zhen Zhu’s car was smashed. Glass and blood littered the ground in all directions. The visit attempt had failed.

From Dong Shigu Village to Wuyun Village, the darkness of injustice fomented.

But no one expected Chen to break through the blockage.

It’s still unclear by what means Chen covertly recorded 50 minutes of footage and delivered it to the outside. This feat proves without a doubt that the people can reach free ground via technology and the Internet. A man under tight security in a small room can deliver his message to the masses. During this 50-minute video, Chen, soaked in his own vigor, proved that no straightened circumstance can obstruct a courageous heart if the mind is free.

A glorious pen wrote this case into the annals of civil history.

This is the first time Yi Bao has posted a video.

I think every kind of offence against human rights described by Chen Guangcheng, as well as the siege on his home, makes for a huge contrast of realities for us city dwellers. But it’s by no means a contradiction. Qian Mu said that in a time of peace, the diligent Chinese people could build China into a prosperous country in 40 years. But after prosperity, whether China can guarantee human rights, whether the gains of the country aren’t earned off the backs of the people, whether fascism can be avoided – only this is the key question for China’s development. Chen’s 50-minute video proves that we are at that critical moment. Herein lies the reason behind Chen’s call to “save China.”

It’s hard to imagine how Chen risked daily peril to capture this video he delivered to citizens online. And how was it smuggled out via a chain in mortal jeopardy at every link? Not even food could be delivered to Chen under those harsh conditions. Is this not a miracle?

During the video, we see Chen quiver with passion and determination as he says: Fight them to the end.

Could it be that the democratic movement in China is lead by a blind man?

Could it be that from under such vile public rule that we still cannot regain our consciousness?

Yi Bao’s publication of this video also proves that between magnificent lies and fragility, Yi Bao chooses the truth. Between the empty-handed Chen Guangcheng and the mighty Linyi Government, Yi Bao stands with Chen. Between high walls and fragile eggs, Yi Bao will always take the egg.

While watching this video there are two scenes that tear my eyes. In one, Chen raises a shriveled bouquet of flowers. Originally, they were fresh flowers picked by lawyer Teng Biao and give to his daughter during trial. Chen kept them by his side for four long years of prison. Chen waves the dry, yellow flowers in the video, demonstrating his sincerity. Any support to Chen is a witness to good conscience. He will keep those flowers forever.

The second is Chen’s wife, Yuan Weijing, in front of the lens. She says softly, if something happens after the video is distributed, may our friends look after our two children. I understand. With the release of this wake-up call to the Chinese people, the couple prepared for the worst.

Like Qian Yunhui, Chen nearly suffered a bizarre car accident. The murder’s motorcycle spend toward Chen that night. Who would have thought he could have found his conscience just then. At the last moment, the murderer hit the brakes and quietly drove away.

Qian Yunhui used his watch to capture a short video. Chen used his effort to film 50 minutes of proof. Qian Yunhui died on the road in a “bizarre accident” for the benefit of the villagers (It’s not known whether it was an assassination or a traffic accident. The authorities called it an accident but suspicion of assassination is rife among villagers. Yet there’s not enough evidence). Just the same, Chen has resisted for the human rights of the villagers. He released a video that could bring only harm to himself. The video has caused people to worry and feel conflicted. But Chen did it courageously.

Today, I saw the video had been released on Pastor Fu Xiqiu’s website (China Aid).

Not long after Qian Yunhui released the video showing how the property rights of villagers had been exploited by officials, he was killed. And with the release of Chen Guangcheng’s video, he has also slipped into a world of danger.

To keep something from happening to Chen’s family, I think the largest possible group of people paying attention to and spreading this video – the voice of justice – is the best way of protecting him. Posting this video on your blog could reduce a degree of the danger Chen is in. Let the truth spread far and wide.

© Don Weinland for China Digital Times (CDT), 2011. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Chen Guangcheng, China AId, Qian Yunhui, Southern Weekend, Teng Biao, Yi Bao, Zhai Minglei
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China’s Southern Daily Group’s recent attempt to acquire Newsweek magazine – the country’s first bid for a Western publication – has failed, but the bidder is expecting to make other similar purchases, the publication’s senior management said on Thursday.

“The offer to Newsweek is a volunteer action of Chinese media professionals and investors,” said Xiang Xi, managing editor of Southern Weekly, a weekly owned by the Group, who was granted an exclusive interview with President Obama during his visit to Beijing last November.

“With nine-language versions, Newsweek’s platform with global communication resources and influence is in line with our pursuits.”

The head of China’s most influential weekly denied any government involvement in the investments behind the bid for the Washington Post-owned news weekly.

See also a post from the Sinocism blog:

Moves like this are to be expected. China has an aggressive policy to expand its global soft power, Chinese firms, even print media ones, tend to be cash-rich, and US traditional media firms are increasingly desperate, as Newsweek’s dire finances (and the New York Times’, Forbes’ and BusinessWeek’s) demonstrate.

This failed bid raises at least two obvious questions. First, would the US government even allow a purchase of influential US media assets, dying or not, by Chinese firms? Second, is China wasting time and money trying to expand its soft power through dying media properties?

© Sophie Beach for China Digital Times (CDT), 2010. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: foreign media, media investment, Southern Weekend
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Southern Weekend confirmed Xiang Xi had been named as “executive” editor-in-chief, claiming that it was only a change of title. Three employees told Reuters he had been demoted after pressure from the propaganda authorities. All staff requested anonymity.

It is understood the White House initiated the interview during Obama’s visit last month. Usually, visiting leaders speak to official newspapers or the state broadcaster CCTV. “Xiang Xi was de facto top editor at Southern Weekend and in effect he has been shifted from number one to number two … This could be a way to stave off more pressure from above,” said Michael Anti, a Chinese blogger and media commentator based in Beijing.

According to Reuters, the Chinese foreign ministry approved the meeting, angering propaganda officials . Another editor said the officials restricted questions and slashed material approved for publication, although a White House transcript did not contain extra material.

Read more about Obama’s Southern Weekend interview via CDT, here and here.

© Sophie Beach for China Digital Times (CDT), 2009. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Barack Obama, media control, Obama China visit 2009, Southern Weekend
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President Barack Obama’s first attempt to speak directly to China’s people during his trip this week was marred by Beijing’s failure to broadcast the remarks nationwide as promised. Now his parting words to the Chinese public are the subject of a mystery that has some observers scratching their heads and wondering whether the censors have been at work again.

Southern Weekend, a Chinese newspaper based in the city of Guangzhou, on Thursday carried an exclusive interview with Obama that its editor-in-chief conducted a day earlier at the president’s Beijing hotel. The interview was teased in large type on the front page of the paper, and splashed across half of page A02 with a big photograph. It was the only interview Obama did with Chinese media during his three-day China trip – his first visit – which ended Wednesday.

Update: Roland Soong from EastSouthWestNorth has translated an article by Li Ping for Apple Daily on the role of the Central Publicity Department in the Southern Weekend interview:

The American side asked to arrange for a special interview of Obama by Southern Weekend. Reportedly, Chinese Communist Party Secretary-General agreed. But the Central Publicity Department knew full well that if they ordered Southern Weekend to delete sensitive contents after the fact, it would lead to American dissatisfaction and a diplomatic storm. So they took pre-emptive action by preparing a “question list” that Southern Weekend had to use. Although Southern Weekend is daring, it cannot bear the responsibility of diplomacy. So it had to submit to the tsars of ideology.

It was rumored that senior officials of the Central Publicity Department were present during the Southern Weekend interview. But the American embassy in China clarified that nobody from the Central Publicity Department was present at the hotel where Obama was staying and where the interview took place. This was yet another tall trick from the Central Publicity Department which forced Southern Weekend into submission while creating evidence of absence at the scene. So the Americans were tricked and even said good things for their victimizers.

If Southern Weekend followed the instructions of the Central Publicity Department to ask the questions and write the report, why did the Central Publicity Department forbade the mainland newspapers and websites to carry the report? This is likely to be another trick employed by the Central Publicity Department against America and Obama. They want to make America and other important foreign figures see that all reports that overrides its authority shall be restricted. They want to show the ugly face of the Central Publicity Department: if you want to express your views through the Chinese media, you must get past me!

© Xiao Qiang for China Digital Times (CDT), 2009. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Obama China visit 2009, Southern Weekend
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From G2G blog, translated by CDT:

Weiquan Net reported on November 18, “News: The Central Propaganda Department Orders the Banning of President Obama’s Interview with Southern Weekend.” On November 19, this website saw the detailed order banning the republication of Southern Weekend’s interview with Obama. This is an order from a municipal propaganda department. The specific contents are below:

Order from the Central Propaganda Department News Office: All media including newspapers, other publications and websites are not permitted to reproduce Southern Weekend’s interview with U.S. President Obama.

Office instructions [hand-written note at bottom]:

Department Head Wang, please announce this order. All media must implement the instructions outlined above.

Photos of Obama at the Southern Weekend interview, including a note he wrote to Southern Weekend staff, is making the rounds of Twitter. Posted on Flickr by kirk1031:

The note reads: “To the Southern Weekly and its readers: I look forward to continuing the ties between our two countries, and congratulate you for contributing to the analysis and flow of vital policy information. An educated citizenry is the key to an effective government, and a free press contributes to that well-informed citizenry. Barack Obama”

Obama holding a copy of Southern Weekend.

© Xiao Qiang for China Digital Times (CDT), 2009. | Permalink | 13 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: media censorship, Obama China visit 2009, propaganda department, Southern Weekend
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Southern Weekend: In Tokyo and Shanghai you mentioned twice that the US will not seek to contain China’s rise. How will this policy take effect?

Obama: We have repeated in the current discussions with China that its stability and prosperity is in accordance with US national interests. A prosperous China can help ensure a prosperous and stable Asia. It is just like the stability of South Korea and Japan are beneficial to world peace and US commercial development. The only one thing that can stop this positive outcome is a mutual misunderstanding and misjudgement. This is why we need to not only conduct dialogue on the economics, but also on the security. The more that the US and China trust each other, the smaller the chance of a misunderstanding.

Update: Copies of the paper delivered to some addresses in Beijing did not include the Obama interview. The New York Times reports:

Yet, as they did throughout the president’s visit, the government authorities appeared to monitor carefully how his words were transmitted to China’s public. They were especially vigilant about Southern Weekly’s report, by some accounts, because Mr. Obama had turned down an interview request from CCTV, the state-run television network.

Southern Weekly’s publication was held up late into the night, said one of its journalists, who asked not to be identified for fear of retribution.

The page that contained the interview was missing from the edition delivered to Western news outlets in Beijing.

The weekly’s Web site did not display the interview with any prominence, and primary Internet portals were ordered to ignore it, Chinese journalists said. “It is not like whatever Obama says is news,” said Yu Wei, a top editor of Sohu.com.

See also reports from the Christian Science Monitor and Wall Street Journal blog, and a post from Danwei about the interview.

© Sophie Beach for China Digital Times (CDT), 2009. | Permalink | 4 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Obama China visit 2009, Southern Weekend, U.S. relations
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The economics department of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences recently issued the “2009 Blue Book on Chinese Corporate Social Responsibility” (中国企业社会责任蓝皮书2009). Not surprisingly, it claims that the overall level of corporate social responsibility in China is rather low. However, the two conclusions in the report are worth discussion: Among each kind of ownership structure, central-state owned enterprises have the most social responsibility, and the larger the business, the more social responsibility there is.

The compilers of this report quoted many statistics and used many complex mathematical formulas to come up with these two conclusions. However, if statistics and mathematical formulas contradict what is commonly observed in society, then by default there must be something wrong with the premise. Unfortunately, this is the very problem with the Blue Book.

The irony of all this is that the same day the Blue Book was released, the State Electricity Regulatory Commission released a set of contradictory data. It said that the ten largest coal burning electricity producers created 87 billion RMB in environmental damage last year. Of these, Huaneng [华能] and Datang [大唐] are the two largest producers of carbon emissions and therefore have the worst impact on the environment. Yet they rank fourth and fifth respectively on the list of of most socially responsible enterprises. This is proof enough that the Blue Book’s conclusions are unrealistic.

However, if we take a step back and assume these two conclusions are correct, it is still important to provide an explanation based on the facts as well as some constructive deductions. The extrapolations made by the compilers of the Blue Book, however, are extremely biased.

© Paulina Hartono for China Digital Times (CDT), 2009. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: CASS, CSR, Southern Weekend
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There were ripples outside the pool this year at the conclusion of the National Diving Competition. One national A level judge who was once the head coach of the Hunan diving team stormed out of the judges area and spoke to the media. He said all 12 gold medals had been decided beforehand and the man responsible is Zhou Jihong (周继红), the assistant director of the National Aquatic Sports Center and the man in charge of the national diving team. This judge also predicted who would win the last four gold medals and two days later he was proven correct.

It stands to reason that the identity of this whistle blower alone is enough for people to take him seriously. It should be enough to turn this allegation of fraud which occurred in plain sight into a major news story. However, thus far it has been nothing but a storm in a teacup. There has been no substantive impact to speak of.

As of yet we have not seen any evidence of a regulatory body conducting an investigation. Unless Zhou Jihong’s statements are a complete fabrication, the official response has been lacking. It is possible that they are just a bit slow and that some offices are just a bit behind the times. However, there is another possibility which is a cause for concern. There may be some who hope this will just blow over so they won’t have to take responsibility. But if one matter is left unresolved, there will be a hundred more. With this in mind, a thorough investigation is both fundamental and necessary.

© Paulina Hartono for China Digital Times (CDT), 2009. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: diving, Southern Weekend, sports
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