• [092]  A Reporter At The Nail House (03/31/2007)  (Asia Weekly (YZZK), April 4, 2007, p.32)

[in translation]

On the pedestrian bridge outside the subway station in Yangjiaping (Chongqing), many citizens gathered to look at the "nail house."  The worksite is surrounded by a bamboo fence, which has drawn a throng of spectators.  They kindly made room for me near the gate and waved for me to approach.  A young man even strip away a few of the bamboo sticks so that I can poke my camera in to take a better photograph.

From the outside, I can see that the home owner Yang Wu was hanging up a white banner that read: "The nation respects the people's rights."  A young father by my side told the daughter in his arms: "Uncle Yang is very brave.  Someday, if anyone wants to demolish my house, I will fight them to the death."  There are several women who are holding stacks of documents and looking for reporters to plead their cases.  It seemed that land requisition with low prices and forced evictions are rather commonplace, except the people had no place to release their emotions.

Yang Wu's wife Wu Ping appeared and this caused a stir in the crowd.  The waiting media surrounded her to interview her.  Due to communication problems with the worksite security guards, Wu Ping could not enter.  The dissatisfied crowd began to push at the gate.  Within thirty seconds, everybody entered into the worksite.  The crowd was well-disciplined.  As soon as the media went in, they withdrew back to outside the worksite and continued to watch.

The next day, I went to the worksite again.  The bamboo gate has been replaced by a strong wooden gate with a blue warning sign "No trespassers allowed."  The security guards stood in front of the gate and the atmosphere was tense.  But as long as the reporters display their press cards, they were allowed to come and go freely.  The land developer even arranged for representatives to be interviewed.  They are trying to use public relations methods to balance the one-sided media coverage for the rights defenders.

During my three days covering the case of the nail house, I did not see the police intercede.  Everything was left to the land developer.  This is a degree of freedom rarely seen in reporting rights defense in China.  By comparison, this was heaven-versus-earth compared to my coverage of land requisitions in Sanzhou village (Shunde city, Guangdong province) in November 2006.  At the time, as soon as I entered the village in a rented car, I was followed an undercover police officer dressed as a motorcycle driver.  As soon as I approached the scene of the incident, I was immediately taken to a hostel by undercover police officers for interrogation.  I signed papers that I voluntarily turn over my materials and I let them erase the related photographs in my digital camera.  Then I was escorted out.

• [091]  Taiwan at the UN Human Rights Council (03/31/2007)  (Radio Taiwan International)

The head of Taiwan's Examination Yuan has called on the United Nations to support Taiwan's bid to join the World Health Organization (WHO). Yao Chia-wen was speaking in Geneva at the fourth meeting of the UN Human Rights Council on Thursday. This is the first time a top-ranking Taiwanese official has been able to put Taiwan's case directly to a high-level UN meeting.

Taiwan has not been able to join the UN or the WHO due to pressure from China, which considers Taiwan part of its territory. Yao addressed the meeting as a representative of the non-governmental organization Liberal International.

Yao said that Taiwan's exclusion from the WHO could cause serious repercussions not only for the people of Taiwan but for the whole world. He also said that the people of Taiwan have shown their willingness when it comes to issues of public health. He gave as examples the SARS outbreak of 2003 and Taiwan's efforts in offering international humanitarian aid.

It is one thing to give a speech, but something happens afterwards.  Here is Xinhua's report (via 6Park):

[in translation]

UN Human Rights Council president Luis Alfonso de Alba apologized to China about the appearance of Taiwan "officials" at the meeting and promised that similar mistakes will not occur again.  He promised to delete all video recordings and minutes of the incident.  He also promised that he will prevent Taiwan "officials" from getting meeting passes like they received this time via a technical error.  ... Meanwhile the Chinese and Cuban representatives asked the UN headquarters in New York City to sanction Liberal International for violating the regulations.

• [090]  Netizens Should Be Tolerant (03/31/2007)  In Netizens Should Be Tolerant, I had previously translated the blog post of Xue Yong.  I have now added the blog posts before and after this particular post.  In totality, this series of blog posts is illustrative of how public discourse should be conducted.  Here is the chronology:
   
  - Previously, Xue Yong had publicly asked the scholar Wu Jinglian to disclose his sources of income because of potential conflicts of interest between his official government posts and corporate directorships.
   
  - Blogger/scholar Wu Jiaxiang went to Xue Yong's blog and was immediately repelled by Xue's self-characterization as an "anti-intellectual scholar."  Perhaps this label reminded Wu of the bygone anti-intellectual era, he let loose with a missive that contained some rather intemperate words.
   
  - Xue Yong responded with a blog post that asked netizens to be more tolerant of dissent.
   
  - Meanwhile, another blogger Lili-Ruth Jiang found Wu Jiaxiang's blog post and went ahead to read most of the 519 posts in Xue Yong's to assess the opinion.  She came out with a great deal of admiration for Xue Yong and stated her reasoning.
   
  - Wu Jiaxiang found Lili-Ruth Jiang's blog post, read it and went back to reflect.  He came out with the conclusion that his heart was filled with hatred when he dashed off his critique of Xue Yong.  "My case provides ample evidence that we can easily become the types of people that we hate."  He duly apologized and said that he would comment again only after he has read the works of Xue Yong.
   
  - Xue Yong came back with an acknowledgement of his admiration and gratitude towards Wu Xiajiang, and clarified what he said about Wu Jinglian.

• [089]  Internal Affairs (03/31/2007)  (Southern Weekend)  By Wang Ganrong (王乾荣). 

[in translation]

There was a conflict between Renmin University School of International Studies professor Zhang Ming and Dean Li Jingzhi.  This "very serious clash" occurred at a professorial review/evaluation meeting about Xiao Yanzhong.  Zhang believed that Xiao "already had a great academic reputation in the 1980's and it was inexplicable for him not to have been promoted to professorship already."  According to Zhang, Li tried to interrupt his speech twice and later located other people connected to Zhang to get them to "break relationships" with Zhang and thus force Zhang to quit out of humiliation.  "Anger filled Zhang's heart," and he wrote about this and other doubts about the review/evaluation process on his blog.  This caused quite a public stir.  In Li Jingzhi's open letter to the faculty and students of the school, he wrote: "This is an internal affair of the school, and there was no need to go to the media to hype it up."

Here I don't want to discuss who is right or wrong.  I just want to share my views about whether "internal affairs" ought to be discussed in the public.

I believe that if the internal office affairs are state secrets, business secrets or something involving the privacy of a citizen, then it should not be disclosed; in fact, it would be wrong to disclose them.  But even if your unit involves state secrets or you are an organization that spends public funds, your ordinary internal affairs should be transparent because you should not have any internal affairs that the public cannot see.

For example, consider the "minor matters" that affect "the personal interests of a particular individual."  The leader should deal with it in accordance with state law and policy or else he is violating discipline.  If this individual cannot get justice, then it is his right to petition, complain and go to the media.  Can you use the name of "internal affairs" to shut him up?  Your internal affairs are the affairs of society, not affairs in a true vacuum.  A fight between a married couple may be a family affair, but when it becomes criminal assault, it may show up in court with the media following up.

In the past (and including now), many people were taken advantage of by "internal affairs" and there was nothing that they can do (or they did not even think about what to do).  For example, a friend of mine has written dozens of books and he has been writing a weekly feature article for his newspaper.  The people at the newspaper say that it is hard to distinguish who is good or bad, because "anyone can look at a newspaper with a cup of tea and a cigarette for a long time" without ever being able to tell.  So while my friend was respected greatly by his colleagues and readers, his job rating was always the lowest and his pay too.  If he went to the media to complain, it would have been "hype" or even "malevolent hype"?  According to the logic of "internal affairs," he is doomed to suffer forever.

Several years ago, it would be wrong to even think about publicizing "internal affairs."  This was mainly because there was no "public notice bulletin board."  Most workers can only let "anger filled their hearts" when they encounter unfair "internal affairs."

But things are different nowadays.  For example, professor Zhang Ming published the unfair treatment of him in his blog.  He may have accused XXX falsely, but XXX can refute him.  If he maligned YYY, YYY can sue him in court.  The heavens will not fall down on account of these actions.  Actually, when many things show up in the public media, the truth becomes clearer; when something is debated publicly, the rights and wrongs become clearer.  These are the benefits that the Internet bring to the citizens.  Some people are scared of that, but more and more people welcome it.  For example, there is now the group of "sun bathers 晒客" who publish the wages in various occupations and industries.  This is known as "exposing the wages" under the sunshine.  Someone showed that the retirement pay for professor-class workers was 800 RMB per month whereas that for retired janitors was 200 RMB per month.  Shouldn't this vast wage gap draw public attention and give the "relevant departments" some enlightenment?  Can you say that this is purely the "internal affairs" of certain companies or units?  I am thinking that even the anti-corruption organizations may be able to get some valuable tips from this "internal affairs" information.

• [088]  Zero Marks, Again (03/30/2007)  History occurs twice: the first time as tragedy, the second time as farce.  Once upon a time during the Cultural Revolution, a rural student handed in a blank test paper and was made into a national hero for daring to challenge a system that favored the capitalist roaders' children.  Today, we have another student who is being turned into a national hero/clown for receiving zero marks too.
   
  (yWeekend)  This week, the top Tianya post was titled <The Graduate School Entrance Exam results are out, and I got zero marks>.  This was netizen Nianqi's own description of what happened.
   
  On January 20, she was taking the English test.  On her way in, she had a spate with the supervising teacher because she brought a mobile phone into the test room.  Although she was angry, she calmed down and handed the phone over to a friend.  Five minutes before the end, she found that the supervising teacher "read her answer and then told another student."  She complained about it.  Two months later, she found out that she received zero marks in the English test.  When she checked with the University Alliance, she was told that it was because the supervising teacher had made a note on her exam booklet: "This student brought a mobile telephone into the test room without permission."
   
  Here are some netizen comments:
   
  - This is supposed to be the third time that she has taken the Graduate School Entrance Exam.  How could she not know that mobile phones were banned from the test room?  But according to the post, she argued with the supervising teacher that she only wanted to check the time with her phone and she refused to deposit the mobile telephone on the teacher's desk in front for the duration of the test.  It is hard to imagine that she could have taken the test for three times.
   
  - She said that the supervising teacher looked at her answer and then told another student.  Please pay attention: Nianqi had flunked twice before in English.  So why would a cheating student --  someone who had the money to pay off a supervising teacher and then made sure that she was assigned to the test room monitored by that teacher -- want to ask that supervising teacher to peek at the answers given by another lousy student?  The high costs and low benefits from this piece of cheating are unpersuasive.
   
  - Netizen wcp0324 wrote: "The Girl Who Got Zero Marks is increasingly becoming a modern Rashomon.  Both the girl and the University Alliance are liars.  The girl is trying to get her marks back, while the University Alliance is trying to make this matter go away."

• [087]  Was There Rape? (03/30/2007)  I read South China Morning Post and I could not find the 'r'-word.  So I will quote from The Standard in which the 'r'-word is in the headline:

Education chief Arthur Li Kwok-cheung had warned the Hong Kong Institute of Education it would be "raped" if it refused to merge with the Chinese University of Hong Kong, the institute's president Paul Morris testified Thursday at a Commission of Inquiry probing alleged government meddling in the institute's affairs and academic freedom.

Morris, the only witness to be questioned Thursday by his lawyer, Martin Lee Chu-ming SC, said he heard in 2003 that the institute would be "raped" from Simon Ip Sik-on, a former chairman of the institute's council, after Li had had lunch with Ip and two other senior institute officials on July 19, 2002.

According to Morris, Ip explained to him in 2003 what the secretary for education and manpower meant by his remarks. Morris said he understood the word "raped" meant the institute would be rendered "not viable."

As noted in Apple Daily, there were problems with how to cover the 'r'-word on television:

... yesterday it was revealed that Education and Manpower Bureau's King Arthur had threated to "rape" the Institute of Education.  "Rape" means "the crime of forcing another person to submit to sex acts" and the dictionary specifies its pronounciation as /relp/.  Cable TV reporter Ho Wing-hong was perfect in his pronunciation.  However, not everybody was as good.  On ATV, female reporter Vienna Cheuk reported that Arthur Li threatened to "rap" someone.  While Li is known for doling out tongue-lashing, he is not known to have sung "rap" songs.  Meanwhile, the TVB newscast completely avoided the 'r'-word and used the word 蹂躪 (='trample') instead.
 
According to CUHK Department of Translation director Gilbert Fong (方 梓 勳), it is wrong to pronounce 'rape' as 'rap.'  However, the expert Koo Tak-king (古 德 明) said that the dictionary lists two pronunciations: /relp/ and /rep/.  /rep/ is close to 'rap,' but very few people pronounce it this way.

Did Arthur Li say that?  Not according to evidence, which isn't even hearsay because there is no assertion that the word 'rape' came out of his mouth.  So while this is a sensationalistic headline, should it be in there?

• [086]  The Gangster and His Toy Guns (03/30/2007) In The Video From The Gangster, wannabe gangster Chou Cheng-pao was filmed with a stack of firearms in front of him.  In the videotape, Chou was seen corking the guns and issuing threats against his ex-boss.
  
   
  (China Times)  On the afternoon of March 29, the police received a solid tip on the whereabouts of Chou.  A large number of armed police officers were dispatched to the scene.  When they charged into the building, they saw Chou sitting and waiting at the scene without offering any resistance.  The police found the bulletproof vest, two long guns and two pistols.  Upon inspection, they found that these just toy BB guns.  Chou could not have offered any meaningful resistance even if he wanted to.
   
  Here is the police description of the media story.  On March 26, the Taichung police received a report from TVBS's central regional bureau and they proceeded to the TVBS office to interview the correspondent named Chang.  In the statement, Chang told police that he found an envelop from an identified source at past 8am that day.  Upon viewing the film, the police believed that the camera work was professional-quality and not easily accomplished by ordinary people.  The videotape had the fingerprints of Chou Cheng-pao as well as two prints belonging to another individual.
   
  On the morning of March 27, the police attempted to contact Chang but was unable to reach him.  The case squad checked Chang's telecommunications records and found that he maintained close contact with a colleague named Shi.
   
  In the evening, the police identified the motor inn in which the video was taken.  They obtained the close-cirtcuit television tapes.  Upon examination, they observed that four men came in two cars and stayed in the room for more than one hour.  At this time, the police fingerprint laboratory came back to report that the prints on the video tape belonged to TVBS reporter Shi.  So the police were sure that the reporters were involved somehow. 
   
  On March 28, TVBS senior officials called the police to apologize.  TVBS said that they have found out that the videotape was taken by one of their reporters (namely, Shi).
   
  (TVBS)  Here is the official statement: On March 26, TVBS News published a news report on "Suspected criminal Chou Cheng-pao held guns and took video of himself to threaten Liu" and drew high attention from society.  Through the investigation held voluntarily by the TVBS news center, it was found out that the video was taken by the Nantou correspondent Shi Chen-kang.  The central regional news center correspondent Chang Yu-kun and Shi were concerned about their own personal safety and therefore conspired to deceive the news center management by falsely claiming that the videotape had been left by unknown persons.  Both Chang Yu-kun and Shi Chen-kang have been dismissed from their posts.
    
  Sanctions against TVBS and the individual reporters have not been decided upon yet.  A total of 11 cable/satellite television channels broadcast segments from the videotape.  TVBS had the original edited video which was turned over to the police, but they made copies that they used for broadcasting.  CTTV and Era TV got a 17-second segment from the Taichung police.  The other channels simply showed recordings of the TVBS broadcast.  TVBS may be fined up to NT$1 million (but no suspension in accordance with the regulations), and the other channels are unlikely to be fined more than TVBS is.

• [085]  The Villas of Xuzhou (03/28/2007)  (Beijing News)  In Lali mountain, Xuzhou, Jiangsu province, about 3,000 mu of protected forest land was cleared to make way for villas, swimming pools and tennis courts.  According to provincial and city people's congress representatives: "The mountain is our treasure!  On one hand, we are spending money to make the uninhabited mountains green.  On the other hand, someone is excavating the mountain and cutting down the trees in order to build houses.  Our city's forestry department should enforce the law.  No matter who cuts down the trees, they are the sinners of history!" 
   
  Actually, the sight at the scene is less than luxurious and more like squalid.  There was no a single person to be seen among these unoccupied or unfinished villas.
  
   
  According to the reporter's investigation, more than half of these forest-destroying new villas actually have land permits.  The forestry department is confounded, because they have never ever reviewed any applications for these villas.  Nevertheless, the owners seemed to be able to produce legitimate land permits.  According to an informed source, "They all went through their connections to get official documents, but the information was never entered into the files."
   
  This leaves the big question of just who these owners are.  According to nearby villagers, they don't know.
   
  The above was taken from the news report in Beijing News and it is based upon a report in Yangzi Evening News.  Clearly, the forestry department has gone out to check and therefore saw the legitimate land permits.  It also so means that the forestry department know the identities of the owners.  So why is the information being withheld for the news story?
   
  Here is the same story, but written slightly differently in CCTV.  There is one telling difference:

(Beijing News) 记者调查发现，半数以上毁林新建的别墅均有土地证。“绝大多数都有土地证！”铜山县林业局的苏局长称。他同时表示，该局始终没有审批一家。

[in translation]  The reporter investigated and found out that more than half of the villas built after clearing forests owned land permit.  "The majority of them have land permits!" said Tongshan county forestry department chief Su.  At the same time, he said that the department had not reviewed or approved a single building.

(CCTV) 记者调查发现，半数以上毁林新建的别墅均有土地证。"75％都是徐州市级机关工作人员的，且绝大多数都有土地证！"铜山县林业局苏局长称，该局始终没有审批一家。

[in translation]  The reporter investigated and found out that more than half of the vaillas built after clearning forests owned land permit.  "75% of them belong to Xuzhou city-level government office officials, and the majority of them have land permits!"  Tongshan county forestry department chief Su said that the department had not reviewed or approved a single building.

So Beijing News pleaded ignorance while CCTV had no fear about saying 75% of the villas belonged to city government offcials.  The difference is that each media organization exercises its own editorial license in the name of social harmony.

• [084]  A Drowning in Hong Kong Harbor (03/28/2007)  (Ming Pao via ChineseNewsNet)  On March 19, Mr. Yang, Mrs Yang and their 30-year-old daughter Yang Lijuan of Lanzhou city (Kansu province) borrowed 11,300 RMB at high interest rate in order for the daughter to fulfill her dream of meeting singer/actor Andy Lau in person.
   
  According to Yang Lijuan, she had a dream when she was 16 years old.  She dreamed that she met Andy Lau and she remembered his clothes and what he sang.  Later on, she saw a report in a magazine about an Andy Lau and the clothes and songs were exactly as in her dream.  From thereon, she began to devote full-time dreaming about Andy Lau.  She never continued her studies, she did not work and she did not date any men.
   
  The Yangs arrived on March 19.  The next morning, the three went to the Andy fan club, but it was not open.  On March 21, the three went to Government Headquarters to petition Chief Executive Donald Tsang to assist them.  Government workers recommended that they go to the Tsimshatsui Cultural Center instead.  There, the workers arranged for them to go to the Andy Lau fan club that evening to learn about the birthday party scheduled for March 25.  On that day, Ah Huan got her picture taken on stage with Andy Lau, but never got an opportunity to spend time alone with the singer/actor.
  
   
  On the evening of March 19, Mr. and Mrs. Yang went to eat at a 24-hour food store in Tsimshatsui.  Mrs. Yang was very tired and fell asleep on the table.  When she awoke, Mr. Yang had disappeared while leaving a 12-page 10,000-word letter.  The letter began with cursing Andy Lau ("who do you think you are?  you are very selfish ... I don't want to see my child suffer.  I have decided to kill myself in protest.  When I am dead, Andy Lau had better meet with our child or I will die with my eyes open ..."  Mrs. Yang called the police, who conducted a search and found Mr. Yang drowned in the harbor.
  
   
  In 1997, Yang Lijuan came to Hong Kong for the first time to look for Andy Lau.  In 2004, she came to Hong Kong and stood outside Andy Lau's house but never saw  him.  Andy Lau is aware of the situation about her before.  Through his manager, Andy Lau said that if fans go through improper, unhealthy and abnormal means to try to meet him, he will ignore them.  He hates fans who show no filial piety and he believes the parents should also stop their children from going too far.  When mainland reporters told Yan Lijuan what Andy Lau said, she cried and thought that maybe she was selfish in causing some much trouble for her parents.  But she did not mend her ways.  The newspaper reports say that Mr. Yang sold his house and his kidney in order to finance those previous trips.

• [083]  The Video Threat From The Gangster (03/28/2007)  (TVBS)  During the past couple of weeks, there were several shootings in Taichung.  Now a man has come out with a video mailed to television channel TVBS to claim credit.
  
  In the video, a man claiming to be Chou Cheng-pao appears wearing a bullet-proof vest and displaying different kinds of firearms (Berreta, M4  on a table in front of me.  He claimed to be a former gangster working for gang boss Liu Jui-jung, and he is challenging Liu for betrayal: "You are the big brother and you dare to do these things.  Please do not be a son of a turtle egg.  Do not hide in the turtle hole.  Come out.  It's between the two of us.  It does not concern anyone else."  Chou claimed to have been behind the three shootings.  He also wrote a letter with his palm print to prove that he was Chou Cheng-pao.
   
  (Apple Daily)  One of the first conseqeunces of the video is that the backdrop is so unusual that the police quickly found a certain room in a certain motor in to be identical.
  
   
  The second consequence of the video threat is that the police have been conducting sweeps and sudden inspections of hotels, KTV and other places of entertainment.
  
   
  (Apple Daily)  A third consequence is that a local legislator received a telephone call from someone: "I am the Ah Pao on television.  Give me NT$200,000 so that I can flee!"  But the legislator decided that this was a scam and ignored him.
   
  (Apple Daily; ETToday)  The video which was broadcast first by TVBS and then later carried by other television channels has drawn the attention of the National Communications Commission.  This video featured a man displaying firearms (including loading the ammunition and making to pull the trigger) and issuing threats.  As such, it violated that Article 18 of the Satellite Broadcasting Law which requires classification of such content.  Such violations may be subjected to a maximum fine of NT$2 million.
   
  There have been prior instances of Taiwan gangsters shooting their own digital videos for public consumption., and this explains why there is objection to offering publicity to gangsters.  Is this news in the name of the people's right to know?  Or is this encouraging worse behavior?  Internationally, a similar question is whether Osama bin Ladin's videos ought to be shown on television?  This is a test of finding the balance between freedom of press and media self-discipline.
   
  LATE BREAKING NEWS:  (China Times) TVBS has just disclosed that one of their reporters was responsible for taking the video for Chou Cheng-pao!  TVBS claims that it was not aware because the reporter hid the fact.
   
  Video link: 男子公開亮槍 警方全力追緝匪徒 YouTube

• [082]  Engagement (03/27/2007)  One year ago around this time, I was attending the Advertising Research Foundation Annual Conference, in which the latest and greatest marketing concept was presented: Engagement.  In one sentence: "Engagement is turning on a prospect to a brand idea enhanced by the surrounding context."  Frankly, I have no idea what that means.  If I had any business sense, I would have jumped into this latest fad.  But I haven't.
   
  Nevertheless, one year after, there is this opinion column by Ivan Choi in Ming Pao titled "In universal suffrage, engagement is the first step (普選engagement的第一步)."

... in recent years, I am beginning to believe that in the face of Beijing, the business community and the many conservative forces, it is a bad idea to use an oppositional approach to advance democracy in Hong Kong.  Instead, I believe in 'engagement' (循循善誘).  To put this in simple terms, Beijing is undoubtedly a non-democratic government, but it is not the tyrant that used to resort to armed suppression without notice.  Instead, in order to join the new globalized society, it must lear to become "civilized."  During that process, it definitely has doubts and misgivings.  Therefore, the most significant meaning of this CE election is to give a rehearsal of a direct election, which make Beijing understand that the sky did not collapse and it was no big deal.

During this "quasi-direct-election," the pan-democratic camp did not propose Hong Kong independence or any such, and it did not bring up topics sensitive to Beijing.  In fact, Alan Leong even characterized the central government as "pragmatic and rational" during the television debate.

As for the business community, they also saw that as long as there is the determination, willingness to learn and sufficient preparation, even a 60-year-old government official who has been working in an air-conditioned room for the last 40 years, can have a respectable performance on television debates and not be  humiliated by the more articulate barrister.  Thus, universal suffrage will not be won only by barristers and street warriors.

What are you afraid of then?

Therefore, I want to ask Beijing and the Hong Kong business community, what are afraid of about universal suffrage?

... The historical verdict may be: in the 2007 Chief Executive election, Donald Tsang took a half step forward.  This half step might have been extremely awkward, but it was a half step forward and set an example for everyone around him.  That is 'engagement.'

Whether Alan Leong got 132 votes or 123 votes, nobody will remember in a few weeks' time.  History will only remember: in the spring of 2007, there were no personal attacks, there were no smearing and there was no incitment of class antagonisms and ethnic group contradictions.  Alan Leong and Donald Tsang gave a warm-up/rehearsal for universal suffrage. 

• [081]  Building A Harmonious Society (03/27/2007)  (Boxun)  A photograph to keep for the unintended irony.  On March 26, there was a parade of the security patrol team in Chikan district, Zhanjiang city, Guangdong province.  The security team was dressed in camouglage uniforms and steel helmets and the marchers were holding signs that say: "Build a Harmonious Society."  
  
  Once upon a time, Chairman Mao said: "Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun."  Nowadays, we say "Harmonious societies are built by people in camouflage uniforms and steel helmets."

• [080]  Schadenfreude (03/27/2007)  (Washington Post)  Sorry about this interruption but I cannot help laughing.  At issue is TIDE, for Terrorist Identities Datamart Environment.  "Ballooning from fewer than 100,000 files in 2003 to about 435,000, the growing database threatens to overwhelm the people who manage it ... TIDE is a vacuum cleaner for both proven and unproven information, and its managers disclaim responsibility for how other agencies use the data."  Here is an example:

Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) said last year that his wife had been delayed repeatedly while airlines queried whether Catherine Stevens was the watch-listed Cat Stevens. The listing referred to the Britain-based pop singer who converted to Islam and changed his name to Yusuf Islam. The reason Islam is not allowed to fly to the United States is secret.

Anyway, this is a bizarre news story.

• [079]  Desperate Media (03/27/2007)  First, here is the photograph:
  
   
  Okay, is this blog getting desperate with the photograph of a nude woman in order to attract more eyeballs?
   
  Well, this photograph appeared at the Beijing News BBS and it is featured on their front page of their website.  If a nude woman is good enough for a top mainstream newspaper in the capital of China, then it is good enough for this blog.
   
  Okay, is Beijing News getting desperate with the photograph of a nude woman in order to attract more eyeballs?
   
  At 10pm in the evening, CCTV began broadcasting three episodes of <Desperate Housewives>.  One of the housewives is Mary Alice Young (played by Brenda Strong).  After making a delicious breakfast and seeing her husband and children off, she pointed a gun at her temple, fired and killed herself.  In the narration of the story up to that point, when another housewife Lynette made love to her husband, he refused to wear a condom; when Susan wrapped in a bathrobe had an argument with her ex-husband, he ripped off the bathrobe and she was instantly completely nude on screen ... when this series of sensitive shots and subjects were shown on the television screen, CCTV had its audience astonished.
   
  How did CCTV arrive at this point?  Previously, CCTV had shown <Band of Brothers> with a significant amount of editing.  Nevertheless, the audience was impressed.  However, when some of the audience went and purchased the orignial DVD's, they were very displeased with the excisions and they expressed their displeausure on the Internet.  In order to avert the audience blowback, CCTV announced beforehand that there will be less "cutting" for <Desperate Housewives>.  A CCTV leaders said: "When we purcahsed this series, we did some post-production.  Our editing principle is very simple: we only did a few changes to remove one or two sensitive scenes.  Basically, we kept the original series intact.  In the USA, there were 23 episodes in the original.  We are also showing 23 episdoes."  According to a viewer, "Although the number of episodes did not change, the length is shorter.  When I watched the tape, the average duration was 40 minutes.  On CCTV, it was just over 30 minutes."
   
  If it is good enough for CCTV, it is good enough for Beijing News; if it is good enough for Beijing News, it is good enough for this blog.  
   
  This story is actually more important than you think with respect to the censorship issue.  When CCTV edited <Band of Brothers> heavily, they got lambasted by viewers who saw the original DVDs.  If they edited <Desperate Housewives> heavily too, they knew that the public lashback would happen all over again.  If they did not start showing series such as <Desperate Housewives> and run the same old stuff as before, they know that they would be losing their viewers to DVDs.  So when CCTV showed <Desperate Housewives>, two things happened.  First, all other media can go just as far ("if it is good enough for CCTV, it should be good enough for us").  Second, even this is not going to satisfy everybody, as I am sure that some forums and blogs out there have run detailed comparisons of the CCTV broadcast with the DVDs and then enumerated all the omissions.  CCTV will be pressured to go even further the next time.  This is known as sea change on an inch-by-inch basis.

• [078]  yWeekend Covers The Case of Professor Zhang Ming (03/26/2007)  In The Case of Professor Zhang Ming, the reader is left highly dissatisfied because Professor Zhang Ming is presenting one side of the story on his personal blog and Dean Li Jingzhi is presenting the other side of the story on the Renmin University School of International Studies official website.  The two stories are opposite to each other.  So who should the reader believe?  This is one of those cases that calls for a traditional journalist to go in and look for third-party corroboration.  yWeekend has done that.
   
  In Conflict #1, there was a faculty meeting to review the promotion of Xiao Yanzhong.  Zhang and Li both agreed that there was an argument between them, but their descriptions were diametrically opposite to each other.  Here is what the yWeekend reporter found out from one of the teachers who attended the meeting.  He said, "I was at the reviewing meeting for Xiao Yanzhong.  Zhang Ming's description was basically correct."  However, he said that this took place over a year ago and he does not recall whether Zhang pounded on the desk.  "Even the meeting minutes could not have shown such a detail."  
   
  This teacher continued: "It was quite amusing.  When the professors began to express their opinions, Zhang Ming requested to speak first.  He said that the review process was illegal.  At the time, Li Jingzhi wanted to interrupt him twice, but Zhang Ming stopped him by saying: 'Don't say anything.  Wait until I finish before you talk ..."  After Zhang Ming, Li Jingzhi said a couple of things.  Then we voted.  One professor even joked: 'I want to say something too.'"
   
  As for the retaliation claimed by Zhang Ming, this teacher said: "Li told many people that he cannot communicate with Zhang.  He met with many people and asked them not to align with the wrong team."
   
  In Conflict #2, Zhang Ming took on the case of the thesis subsidies for the graduating students by giving a press interview to confirm that he knew that the students had not been paid.  Li Jingzhi considered the subsidy fees to be a non-issue which Zhang used to damage the reputation of the university.
   
  The reporter contacted five doctoral students who had graduated from Renmin University at the time.  These students, who had different thesis advisors, confirmed that they had not received the fees.  But on the day after the news report appeared, the school told them to collect the money.  One student admitted that he was the one who contacted the media.  He was about to graduate but the school told him that there was no money.  He went to the university administration and was told that the money had already been sent to the school two months ago.  He was told to keep his mouth shut by the school administrator.  So he called up Dean Li Jingzhi, who asked him: "Have you gone stupid because of studying too much? (是不是读书读傻了)"  The student is not necessarily unsympathetic to Li Jingzhi.  He said that this was a typical case in which "the ass decides for the brain" -- "If I were sitting in Li's place, I might be even worse than him."

• [077]  The Virtual Tea Rooms in Taiwan (03/26/2007) (Apple Daily)  This is about the development of a sub-cultural language code.
   
  Once upon a time, Yahoo ran a chatroom service and it became the congregation of prostitutes and patrons.  Eventually Yahoo shut its chat room down, even though it was the biggest one in Taiwan at the time.  Now the escort services have seeped into the smaller chat rooms.  The trick is that the the escort services are never advertised in clear languge.  Instead a sub-cultural language code has been built mostly around tea.  Yes, tea.
   
  Here are the best known tea-related and other terms:
   
  Taste tea (品茶): Patronize a prostitute
  Drink tea (喝茶): Transaction with a prostitute procured by a pimp
  Part-time tea (兼茶): Part-time prostitutues (implying that they are pure and innocent-looking amateurs)
  Iced tea (冰茶): Under-aged prostitute
  Warm tea (高溫茶): Mature-aged prostitute
  Golden Suma tea (金酥麻茶): Blonde Russian/Eastern European prostitute
  Fish pond (魚池): Internet chat room
  Go fishing (釣魚): Police disguised as patron to collect evidence of prostitution
  Eat fish (吃魚): Transacting with a prostitute working on her own; also known as "subsidized friendship" (援交)
  Turtle (甲魚): A fraudulent organization that pretends to have young girls offering "subsized friendship" 
  Engine room (機房): Dispatch office for the prostitutes
  GTO: Pimp/procurer
   
  In the news story, the Apple Daily reporter went to the Taipei People's Chat Room and found a "refined tea shop."  Unfrotunately, it does not appear to be offering tea.  Instead, there are ads for "Fresh bookish tea; special slim tea; Japanese cool green tea; Korean smooth ginseng tea; many flavors to suit your taste, starting at NT$4,000."
   
  The Apple Daily News reporter then went to get a room in Taipei and he called the "refined tea shop" to ask for Golden Suma tea.  He was informed by the client service representative that only "established customers get to drink that tea."  However, he will sent over an "university student part-time tea" to come over for 50 minutes at NT$4,000.  The reporter was then asked for his real name and the address of his telephone bill.  The procurer said: "We have the means to find some basic information for just NT$100."  The reporter pretended to get mad and said that he thought this sounded like some kind of ATM scam.  The procurer said: "I could not have told you up front about this.  If you were a 'dove' (meaning cop), you would have taken precaution."  So the reporter gave an invalid address and somehow that passed scrutiny.  Twenty minutes later, a short-and-fat 'dinosaur' (meaning 'ugly woman') showed up.  She took off her clothes quickly without any embarrassment, so that this was obviously not her part-time job.
  
  Can you really 'make someone out' with NT$100?  The police said that the procurer was only saying that in order to frighten off the police.

• [076]  Sunshine Is Hidden Behind Clouds (03/25/2007)  (Southern Metropolis Daily)  (For background, see Comment 200703#071)  

... What kind of medicine is so expensive (note: 22,538.21 RMB per dose)?  It turns out to be an import drug and the recommended price is lower than the cost of the importer.  The seller could not say what the actual cost charged by the manufaturer was ("Sorry, we did not have the data with us so we cannot tell").  Since this is the age of globalization, the sellers of Chinese medicine also tried the same.  A certain pharmaceutical company had a Vitamin C-Yingqiao tablet which they asked for 99,999 RMB.  However, the buyers' experts knocked the price back down to 0.053 RMB.  Ha ha ha, it is easier to bully your own people, who are recommended to register overseas and then come back into China.

After reading this piece of sunshine news, my heart was clouded.  Who is to blame for the sky-high price for medicine?

The pharmaceutical companies?  But didn't a pharmaceutical company executive said that "medicine must not be sold like steamed buns" and "the prices are low enough, and there can be no lowering"?

The hospitals?  But they complain that the government only covers 7% of public hospital expenses and the rest would have to be raised by themselves.  What can they do?

The medical sales representatives?  One medical sales representatives even exposed the situation (there is a certain medicine that the pharmaceutical company is charging 3.8 RMB but the hospital is selling it for 98 RMB.  So it would see that these are the culprits?  But the same whistleblower said: "I have figured out that the medicine goes through ten intermediaries before getting to the patient.  Each of these intermediaries demand a cut."  Who are these intermediaries?  Who is charging money?  I have once read a joke: At the big anti-corruption rally, the big corrupt ones were delivering the report, the medium corruption ones were listening to the report and the small corruption ones were the defendants (反腐败大会上，大腐败作报告，中腐败听报告，小腐败当被告).   It fits this situation to a tee.
 
A while ago, I was feeling very listless and unenergetic, so I went to the hospital.  The doctor quickly scribbed a medical scrip for me which cost more than 300 RMB.  The doctor instructed me: "You must take this medicine every hour during the day.  Each time, you take three pills.  There is enough medicine for two weeks.  You must remember to drink a lot of water when you take the pills.  Frankly, I have never heard of this regime.  So I asked: "Doctor, why is my illness?  What is this medicine for?"  The doctor told me quite honestly: "Actually, the medicine does not do anything.  Right now, what you need most is to drink a lot of water."  Bwwwwaaaaa

• [075]  Taiwan By The Numbers (03/25/2007)  (TVBS) (1,121 persons age 20 or over interviewed on March 21, 2007)  This is a public opinion poll on preferences among the four DPP presidential election candidates.
   
  If the base is the entire population, then the support levels are:
  Su Tseng-chang: 24%
  Frank Hsieh: 20%
  Annette Lu: 10%
  Yu Shyh-kun: 4%
   
  If the base excludes those respondents with pan-blue political party identification (KMT, PFP), (that is, only DPP, TSU and independents are included) then the support levels are:
  Frank Hsieh: 24%
  Su Tseng-cheng: 21%
  Annette Lu: 10%
  Yu Shyh-kun: 5%
   
  If the base is restricted to only those respondents with pan-green political party identification (DPP, TSU) (that is, pan-blues as well as independents are excluded), the support levels are:
  Frank Hsieh: 40%
  Su Tseng-chang: 29%
  Annette Lu: 12%
  Yu Shyh-kun: 8%

• [074]  How Can You Trust A Reporter? (03/25/2007)  For this, you have to recall the story in How Can You Trust A Politician? (Comment 200703#043).

Chen Litian is the deputy mayor of Jiang County.  Last year, more than 100 migrant laborers came to demand their 130,000 RMB back wages.  The laborers tried all the legal methods, including going to the Labor Mediation Committee but they got nothing.  None of the relevant Jiang county departments paid any attention to them.  So the laborers were forced to go to the Yuncheng city party committee to present their problem.  They probably received some attention, because the Jiang county government dispatched deputy mayor Chen Litian to Yuncheng to meet with the laborers.  After negotiations, Chen Litian turned over a signed document to the laborers to guarantee that the problem will be resolved within three days (beginning tomorrow), or else the county treasury will foot the bill.  But when the laborers got back to Jiang county, the promise of the deputy mayor was not kept.

Well, this is a common enough story and there is nothing new except that Chen Litian told the reporters that his only objective on this trip to Yuncheng was to get the laborers to return to Jiang county.  Besides, how can anyone take a promise seriously? (March 14, Shanxi Evening News)  Right, how can anyone take it seriously?  Chen Litian deceived people and then he blamed his victims for being gullible.  That is enough to make you sick inside.

In the March 14 report in Shanxi Evening News, the closing sentence was: During the interview with our reporter, Chen Litian said, How can a promise be taken seriously? (陈力田在接受记者采访时说，写承诺的事怎么能当真？).   This story was carried by other newspapers across China and made Chen Litian a target of criticisms.

yWeekend has followed through with an interview of Chen Litian as well as the Shanxi Evening News reporter. 

On March 16, Chen Litian told the yWeekend reporter: "No.  I definitely did not say that a promise cannot be taken seriously."  According to his recollection, at around noon on March 8, he was meeting with the procuratorate director when Shanxi Evening News reporter Hu Zengchun knocked on the door to enter.  Hu place a tape record on Chen's desk and produced a press card.  Chen then demanded to see the letter of introduction.  When Hu showed him a letter, Chen did not think that it qualified.  Chen asked Hu: "What is your matter?"  Hu produced a piece of paper and put it in front of Chen: "Did you write this?"  Chen recognized this to be a photocopy of the letter that he wrote on January 10, 2006 to promise the migrant laborers that the problem "will be solved in three days, or else the treasury will advance the paypment."  Chen said: "Yes.  What about it?"  "How were you going to deal with it?" asked Hu.  "In accordance with the law," said Chen.  The conversation lasted for more than 20 minutes and Chen said that he never said anything like "how can a promise be taken seriously?"

On March 20, the yWeekend reporter made contact with reporter Hu Zengchun of Shanxi Evening News.  Hu said that he was busy but he would ask a colleague who was also at that interview to review the tape.  Half an hour later, the colleague called back and confirmed that Chen Litian did not say that.  Later on, Hu explained that their original report did not contain a direct quotation.  Instead, Chen Litian was explaining to Hu that this matter cannot be solved on his personal say-so alone.  Accordingly, Hu Zengchun wrote that Chen implied that the promise cannot be taken seriously.

Later on, the yWeekend reporter use Baidu to search for this story.  On March 14, Beijing News had a report titled: <<The deputy county mayor reneged on his promise to pay back wages while saying 'how can it be taken seriously?'>>.  The report identified the source to be Shanxi Evening News and then quotation marks were placed around "How can a promise be taken seriously?" to make it an actual quotation from Chen Litian.

The yWeekend reporter contacted the Beijing News editor, who said that he found the original Shanxi Evening News article and another Shanxi report from NetEase/Sohu.  Due to the deadline, he used mainly the other newspaper's report, which has the double quotation marks.  The Beijing News editor does not remember the name of the other Shanxi newspaper.

Chen Litian intends to sue Hu Zhengchen of Shanxi Evening News.  "I'll definitely sue him.  How can he write it that way?  All the negative things about me on the websites were caused by his report.  Therefore, I want to hold him responsible."

By the way, Chen Litian met the migrant laborers in January 10, 2006 and the case foundered in the court system.  On March 14, the report on <The Deputy County Mayor's Promise Was Not Kept> appeared in Shanxi Evening News.  The next day, the county made the decision to pay the migrant laborers out of the treasury first (80,124.99 RMB was allocated and almost 70,000 RMB has already been paid out while some remaining laborers have to be located).

• [073]  Jimmy Lai Netchats With Netizens (03/25/2007) (Apple Daily via New Century Net)

When asked why he seldom gets interviewed by Hong Kong media, JImmy Lai said: "First, many Hong Kong media will not interview me.  Second, I feel that since I am a media person, I should not get too much exposure.  But the lack of exposure over the long-term meant that the sense of mystery becomes misunderstood.  When the media person has a bad image, the entire organizatiom suffers.  Therefore, I have decided to show up more often so that the public can see me more often.  They can judge for themselves.  I won't hide and let people trash me."

...

EasyFinder is a relatively sensitive issue for Next Media.  A netizen asked Jimmy Lai, who is a Catholic, why he wanted to run a magazine like EasyFinder?  The netizen suggested that EasyFinder's problem is with the management and wondered if Jimmy Lai realizes that.  Another netizen said that Next Media has few ads and are often sued, so did Jimmy Lai consider replacing the management completely, or even transform his entire media empire.  Jimmy Lai said: "Even Catholics have to do conduct business!  When an organization publishes different publications, mistakes will happen.  They are already changing and the readers should be able to see it.  No matter what occurred in the pst, the important thing is what you do in the future.  We accept responsibilty for what we did previously.  The readers should see what we are doing now."  "Actually, there is has been some changes in the management of EasyFinder.  I know that.  I spent quite a bit of time on EasyFinder."  "The media cannot avoid offending people.  Ultimately, bad news is good news.  It is impossible for us not to expose the scandals for some people!  Some people feel that it is bad news, but we have to report it.  We put it on the front page and we make a big deal out of the story.  So we offend people.  I realize that.  But we should avoid overblowing something, we should act responsibly and we should treat it in a nice way."

...

Next Weekly and Apple Daily became phenomena in Hong Kong media, and Next Media's impact in Taiwan is possibly even greater.  This time, Jimmy Lai wants to get into Internet media.  His opponents are not the old media which have not moved forward in decades, but they are the thousands of creative netizens.  Why is Jimmy Lai up to?  Faced with so many competitiors, what is Apple Daily's most distinguished mark?

"The distinguished mark of Apple Daily is that it is constantly evolving.  Society is progressing rapidly through information transmission.  Everybody's way of enjoying information is constantly changing.  Therefore, a newspaper may keep up with this change.  We the media must be the ones who change the fastest."

But when netizens asked Jimmy Lai whether he helt that his media company is not forward-looking and somewhat tired-looking, the answer was unreservedly "Yes."  BHe felt that the newspaper should work hard to cope with the impact from the Internet.  "I think that the impact is causing us a lot of worries and damge, but these worries and damages are opportunities for us to re-invigorate ourselves."

When asked about how he intends to use the Internet to improve the competitiveness of Next Media, he said that there are definitely many things to do and the company is thinking about working with Internet media and use new media more.  Thus, this particular netchat with the readers is one such new experiement.  The newspaper will have more conatct with the Internet.  This is an experiment.  The Internet has a great deal of impact on society and readers, and so the newspaper ought to evolve in that direction.  If we do not put the relevant information into the newspaper, it will hard for us to know how to evolve.  I believe that this change will have ingredients of the Internet, because the influence of hte Internet is getting bigger and bigger.

YouTube videos:
黎智英 網上訪問 07-03-21 part1 
黎智英 網上訪問 07-03-21 part2 
黎智英 網上訪問 07-03-21 part3 
黎智英 網上訪問 07-03-21 part4 

• [072]  Hong Kong By The Numbers (03/24/2007)  (Ming Pao)  (Weekly tracking poll over the past eight weeks beginning February 5; the numbers in blue are the support levels for Donald Tsang and the numbers in red are the support levels for Alan Leong).

Another question in the latest poll is when should universal suffrage for the Chief Executive be implemented: 58% said 2012, 13% in 2017, 11% in 2022 and 5% said that there should not be universal suffrage.

• [071]  The Sky Is The Price Limit (03/24/2007) (Southern Metropolis Daily)  The following photograph is remarkable by the shocked expressions on the faces of the reporter and the glum face of the pharmaceutical company representative who had just made a declaration.
  
  The occasion is a somewhat unusual public event as when the Guangdong provincial pharmaceutical shopping network negotiated publicly with suppliers over product prices.  At this moment, the product is Herceptin, which is used for treating breast cancer.  The pharmaceutical company had just made an initial offer of 23,538.21 RMB for one dose of Herceptin.  That was why the reporters were shocked.
   
  As the experts from the buyer's side attempted to negotiate down the price, the seller said: "This is an important.  The price asked by other side was 21,659 RMB.  Therefore, the distributor is only making a three-figure profit.  After twenty minutes of back-and-forth negotiation, the seller came down with a revised figure of 23,538 RMB (with the 0.21 being eliminated).
   
  According to later research, Herceptin sells for over HKD $16,000 per dose in Hong Kong and that is also close to the price in the country of origin.

• [070]  The Review of Bowtie's Rally (03/24/2007)  How boring can political rallies be?  That depends on your attitude and this reviewer had a good time because he/she was looking for all the politically incorrect things.

[in translation]

There are no permanent friends or enemies in politics!  This is an eternally constant rule, which showed itself last night at the rally for the re-election of Donald Tsang.  It is an open secret that the traditional lefties do not like Bowtie Tsang and often file complaints to Beijing.  But for the sake of political interests, the pro-China political groups shouted their voices hoarse as cheerleaders for Tsang and praised him for becoming "much more friendly."  Their show was even better than the one given by movie star Stephen Chow at the rally last night.

As Bowtie is about to be re-elected, the pro-China political groups realize their future political spoils will depend on their performance last night.  So on this final show, they all did their very best.  This is the one performance that will determine whether they get to eat rice or congee next.

The six pro-China political groups not only supported Tsang by showing up in large numbers.  The leftie leaders also did their very best.  Federation of Trade Union president Cheng Yiu-tong led off to say that Bowtie has become more approachable; he used to be stubborn, but now he cares about labor workers and listens to public opinion.  He praised Bowtie to the heavens, and he even figured out a job for Bowtie's wife -- she could make some soup for her husband to relieve the job pressure.  This repulsive monologue was enough to make many attendees break out in goose pimples.  No wonder some of the attendees said that they saw Bowtie moved to tears at Brother Tong's words.  In show business, this is known as mutual acting support.

DAB vice-chairman Tam Yiu-chung observed that Brother Tong had gone for broke so he did not dare to slack up.  He praised that Bowtie shares the same goals with the DAB, and that is to build an even more prosperous Hong Kong and an even more harmonious society.

The Alliance's Ho Chong-tai saw that Brother Tang and Tam Sir has used up all the goose-pimple-making words of praise, so he used his quick wit to coin a new (and difficult enough to make one puke) descriptive term for Bowtie -- he said that Bowtie had both "talent and morality才德兼備."

It was only Liberal Party's James Tien (who had gotten into a habit of clashing with Bowtie) who was more direct without using those four-word terms of praise.  He said that he realized the Liberal party disagrees with the SAR government on certain issues.  However, Bowtie's policy platform was better than Alan Leong's and that is they are supporting Bowtie.  The FTU, DAB and the Alliance were all shining Bowtie's shoes, but James Tien was stingy with his shoe polish.  He had better expect that when Bowtie starts appointing Executive Council members, Secretaries, deputy Secretaries, assistants to secretaries and the chairman of the Tourism Board, the Liberal Party may get fewer posts.

In which newspaper was this review published?  Not in Apple Daily.  The newspaper's website is listed in the top-left corner of the photograph.

• [069]  Who Censored Premier Wen Jiabao's Speech (03/24/2007)  (YZZK via ChineseNewsNet)

[in translation]

From the record of the live press conference given by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, 162 words concerning democracy were censored.  This showed that Hu-Wen do not have totally control of the propaganda department.

It is common for Chinese and overseas media to encounter censorship by having essays or sections being censored.  But if the state leader of China gets censored, then this is big deal.  A few days ago, a global television audience saw Premier Wen Jiabao held a press conference at the end of the National People's Congress and they were impressed by his frankness and sincerity.  His words were printed in black-and-white everywhere, but they could not escape review and excision by the Chinese Communists' publicity department.  A total of 162 words related to democracy were deleted.

... According to the recording of the Premier's press conference, the reporter from France's Le Monde asked Wen Jiabao:

﹕“最近您在《人民日報》發表了一篇文章﹐我想引述其中的一些話﹐您提到社會主義制度和社會主義民主並不是相互排斥的﹐您同時還說社會主義的初級階段還要建設一百年。請問您是否意味著說中國在未來的一百年都不需要民主﹖另外﹐談到民主﹐我還想問一個問題﹐是有關最近中國的前總理和共產黨總書記趙紫陽在香港出版了一本書﹐他在書中提到﹐中國如果要實現現代化﹐就需要像東邊的臺灣那樣實現民主的政策﹐過去臺灣也是處于獨裁的統治下﹐現在實現了民主和多黨制﹐您對這位前總書記的話有何評論﹖”

Recently, you published an essay in People's Daily.  I would like to quote some words from it.  You said that the socialist system is not mutually exclusive with socialist democracy.  At the same time, you said that it will take another 100 years to complete the first phase of socialism.  I ask you whether you imply that China will not need democracy for the next 100 years?  Also, when it comes to democracy, I would like to ask another question.  This is about former Premier and Communist Party Secretary-General Zhao Ziyang publishing a book in Hong Kong.  In the book, he mentioned that if China wants to modernize, then they must implement democracy as in Eastern Europe and Taiwan.  Taiwan used to be under a dictatorship but it has realized democracy and a multi-party system.  Do you have any comments on what the former Secretary-General said?"

In his response, Wen Jiabao re-emphasized that his People's Daily essay mentioned that democracy, legal system, freedom, human rights, equality and fraternity are universal values that mankind pursues.  When it comes to "socialist democracy" needing "to guarantee democratic election by the people, democratic policy making, democratic governance and the right to democratic monitoring," he said that "it is necessary to create a set of conditions to let the people supervise and criticize the government" "in an equal, fair and free environment so that every individual can develop fully; that is, to realize their creative spirit and independent thinking.  Concerning the Zhao Ziyang book, he said: "Concerning the book published in Hong Kong and the points that I have discussed, I don't see any connection.  I have not read the book."

The book that the French reporter referred to was "The Sayings of Zhao Ziyang under House Arrest."  But Zhao Ziyang did not publish it.  It was his old friend Zhong Fengming who recorded and edited it and then got it published in Hong Kong.  Wen Jiabao has been involved in politics for decades and he obviously understood the significance of the question.  He wanted to speak out, but he held back.  But this unsubstantial conversation (including the last part of the question from the Le Monde reporter) was reviewed by the Publicity Department of Li Changchun and disappeared from the official print and televised versions, as if nothing ever happened.

• [068]  Hong Kong By The Numbers (03/24/2007)  (HKU POP)  "POP's CE Election rolling poll began on February 26 using similar questions, whereby respondents were asked to rate the suitability of the two candidates and to vote hypothetically."
   
  With respect to the question, "If you were to vote for the Chief Executive tomorrow, which one would you choose?" the lastest numbers are (see Table):
   
  Donald Tsang: 82.0%
  Alan Leong: 12.7%
   
  With respect to the trend, Robert Chung said: "Our latest figures show that people's support for Donald Tsang in general is slowly rising in the last few days, while that of Alan Leong is dropping slowing."
   
  The table also contains breakdown by self-identified political inclination.  Among those who claimed to be pro-democracy camp, Donald Tsang leads by 65% versus 30%.
   
  There are two Chief Executive elections: one by a "small circle" of 800 "electors" and the other one for public opinion.  The results of the public opinion race are almost in except for the final day's poll.
   
  Here were the original scenarios:
   
  (Scenario 1) Alan Leong leads over Donald Tsang in the public opinion poll but loses the "small circle" election.  This would be the perfect evidence to show that the "small circle" election was undemocratic.  This scenario will not be realized.
   
  (Scenario 2) Alan Leong gets about the same percentage of votes in both elections.  At this point, Alan Leong looks like getting 13% in the public opinion poll.  He has about 130 nominating votes out of 796 Election Committee members, or about 16%.  This may be taken by some people to show that the "small circle" election reflected the public opinion.  The issue right is how to debunk that assertion loudly and convincingly.  How would you do it?
   
  (Scenario 3) All those 130 or so electors cast blank ballots, so that Donald Tsang wins by 650 or so to zero.  This will probably be taken as a tactic to avoid Scenario 2 from taking place.  But do you know how the general population would react to such a move?
   
  P.S. Here are the numbers for the final polling date (March 24, 2007)
   
  Donald Tsang: 83.1%
  Alan Leong: 10.3%

• [067]  Adultery!  (03/23/2007)  In T.S. Eliot's epigraph to the poem Portrait To A Lady:

Thou hast committed --

     Fornication: but that was in another country,

     And besides, the wench is dead.

     (The Jew of Malta, Christopher Marlowe)

(Wenwei Po via ChineseNewsNet)  In the list of corrupt government officials, National Bureau of Statistics director Qiu Xiaohua was the first provincial-level official to be charge with bigamy ... According to Wenwei Po, Qiu Xiaohua seriously violated three areas.  First, Qiu Xiaohua received a total of 220,000 RMB in gifts since 2003; secondly, Qiu Xiaohua was suspected of polygamy; thirdly, Qiu Xiaohua committed adultery with multiple females, including some who reside outside of mainland China.

... According to article 258 of the Criminal Law Code, "anyone who gets married to someone else while still married can be subjected to two years or less in imprisonment."
 
Explanation:  Why was the Chrisotpher Marlowe play invoked here?  Once upon a time, the ESWN blogger was forced to study T.S. Eliot's poems as an Australian high schooler.  As such, he had to reseach the Marlowe epigraph.  In this instance, there is no further meaning beyond the fact that this evoked certain ancient memories ...

• [066]  It Is Confusing ... Very Confusing (03/22/2007)

(World Politics Watch)  Universal Suffrage Headlines Hong Kong Elections.  By Luke Hunt.  March 22, 2007.

Hong Kong 's elections are shaping up with all the pomp and ceremony of a Canto-pop star singing numbers from a Looney Tunes cartoon. And the result is about as forgone as Bugs Bunny surviving a bullet from Elmer Fudd. ...

... Long Hair [Leung Kwok-hung], a working class Marxist who likens himself to South American revolutionary Che Guevara, is often dragged kicking and screaming by police from street protests and has been jailed four times.

A few years ago he was dismissed as an unimportant clown who protested for the sake of protesting, but in the lead-up to the current poll he is increasingly being seen as the point man for the growing frustrations of those wanting to elect their own leader.

... 

Photo: Legislator Leung Kwok-hung, known as "Longhair" because of his waist-length tresses, has stunned the Hong Kong political establishment with his popularity and demands for universal suffrage. By Luke Hunt.

(Hong Kong Research Association)  (Survey of 1,386 Hong Kong citizens on March 14-20 with respect to their ratings (1-6 scale) of the 30 directly elected Legistive Council representatives)

#1. Rita Fan: 3.93 points
#2. Audrey Eu: 3.47 points
...
#28. Albert Cheng: 2.51 points
#29. Lee Kwok-ying: 2.46 points
#30. Leung Kwok-hung: 2.39 points ["stunned the Hong Kong political establishment with his popularity ..."]

(HKU POP)  (Survey of 1,020 persons on January 22-26, 2007 about their ratings of the top ten (based upon unprompted mentions by respondents) Legislative Councilors to get their ratings (0-100))

#1. Rita Fan (63.8%)
#2. Audrey Eu (59.0%)
#3. Selina Chow (57.2%)
#4. James Tien (54.3%)
#5. Albert Ho (52.7%)
#6. Lee Cheuk-yan (51.1%)
#7. Jasper Tsang (50.9%)
#8. Martin Lee (48.6%)
#9. Emily Lau (48.1%)
#10. Leung Kwok-hung (34.0%)

• [065]  Hong Kong vs. Taiwan on Democracy (03/22/2007)  In Comment 200703#059, there was a HKU POP public opinion poll in which mainland Chinese political figures were all rated higher than Taiwan political figures.  Even Jiang Zemin beat out Ma Ying-jeou.  What is the underlying "hostility" of the Hong Kong residents against Taiwan political figures?  The following opinion column may offer one explanation.
   
  (Ming Pao commentary by 秦勝)  

... those who know the process by which Hong Kong was returned to China know that the Communist Chinese leadership ultimately decided to adopt the principles of "one country, two systems," "Hong Kong people rule Hong Kong" and "a high degree of automony" in order to solve the problems of the return of Hong Kong and the governance thereafter, as well as to use the successful implementation of "one country, two system" and the ensuing prosperity, stability and greatness of Hong Kong in politics, economy and society as a model example for Taiwan.  The Taiwan people may then ultimately accept the "one country, two systems" model to resolve the unification issue between the two sides of the Taiwan strait.

After the return of Hong Kong, there may still be many problems in the economy and society but the place can basically be described as stable.  The relationship between mainland and Hong Kong showed that the two economies are fused together and certain special mainland policies were helpful in the economic transition of Hong Kong during hard times.  The principle of "Hong Kong people ruling Hong Kong" and "a high degree of autonomy" appear superficially to be working.  Yet, insofar as political democracy is concerned, there is little progress in Hong Kong and there is a great deal of social division.  On the surface, there is nothing to boast about in Hong Kong to Taiwan.

But Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council believes that Hong Kong is ripe for universal suffrage and, if implemented, the effects would be just as good as (if not better than) Taiwan.  But precisely because the ruling party in Taiwan (Democratic Progressive Party) is pushing the Taiwan independence route which is causing longlasting tension across the strait, the various elections in Taiwan have created a negative impression to the Hong Kong people.  The chaos has worried certain Hong Kong people.  If Hong Kong were to realize the same political democracy in Taiwan, there would be chaos and instability.

Representing the pan-democratic camp in Hong Kong, Alan Leong is presently challenging the current Chief Executive Donald Tsang in the election.  His speech at the second debate was accused by certain Hong Kong persons as advocating "Hong Kong independence."  To a large degree, in the minds of certain Hong Kong people, democratic politics in Taiwan has been kidnapped by the Taiwan independence path chosen by the Democratic Progressive Party.

• [064]  Li+X Talks Back (03/22/2007)  (Ming Pao)

[in translation]

Concerning the sale of "oil fish" by the ParknShop supermarket, Hutchinson Whampoa chairman Li Ka-sjomg was still angry yesterday.  Once again, he urged the people of Hong Kong to use their brains and think: "You won't about the 85% of the other shops that are selling it ... media reports must be balanced.  Many things were not true.  Why won't you investigate the other 85%.  ParknShop has always acted responsibly."

Li Ka-shing pointed out that ParknShop was only a small majority in the oil fish affair.  On the market, 85% of the oil fish had nothing to do with ParknShop.  So why did the media only gave broad coverage to ParknShop.  He pointed out that certain "victimized" companies were not victims; rather, their public relations work was god.

Li Ka-shing was getting excited.  By chance, an Apple Daily reporter asked him about he felt when he began the media target on account of his status as celebrity.  Li Ka-shing answered immediatel y: "Without Apple Daily and Next Weekly, the rest of them do thing!   You are asked a good question today.  I appreciate it."  Then he emphasized that he is not denouncing the Apple Daily reporter.  Rather, he knew that "it was the person who is causing trouble." 

• [063]  Yet Another Unanswered Question about Hong Kong numbers (03/22/2007)  As if I have not gotten enough, I am asking for more punishment.  There were two televised debates between the candidates for the Hong Kong SAR Chief Executive position.  The media hired the Hong Kong University Public Opinion Programme to conduct public opinion polls immediately afterwards.  Here are some of the highlights in chronological order: 

(The First Hong Kong Chief Executive Election Debate) (March 2, 2007)
(HKU POP) 46.3% said Tsang was better and 33.7% said Leong was better.  If election were held today, 65.6% said Tsang and 21% favored Leong.
 
(The Second Hong Kong Chief Executive Election Debate) (March 16, 2007)
(HKU POP) 38.5% said Tsang was better and 38.8% said Leong was better.  If election were held today, 64.8% said Tsang and 21.9% favored Leong.
 
There are also any number of other polls by Lingan Universty's Public Governance program, the Research Association of Hong Kong, etc.  The overall impression is this: while Alan Leong is supposed to have improved in performance from the second debate compared to the first one, the public support for Leong as CE has held still or dropped.  Why should debate performance not run in the same direction as the overall support?
 
This is a subject that I have not found anyone willing to explore.  The only indirect suggestion is that Alan Leong might have seemingly won the second debate through a number of facetious and flippant remarks that he has subsequently regretted (e.g. the mention of Milton Friedman), but this only erodes the public confidence in his governance as CE (i.e. all talk and no substance).  But the survey/polling data do not tap into this directly.  So I don't have any data and therefore I cannot tell you that this is the case.  However, it cannot be denied that there is a problem when there is a divergence between evaluation of debate performance versus overall support.  If there is a problem (and this may be structurally tied in with being in the 'opposition' with no record of governance), then one had better be prepared to analyze the problems and come up with solutions instead of shooting the messenger (namely, yours truly here).
 
Anyway, I posed this question to my readers (that is, those who are interested in Hong Kong): Is there a problem, given the survey/poll data (and I can tell you that everybody knows that there is a problem based upon those survey/polling data when the loser of the televised debate leads the public poll by 40% or so)?  What is the problem?  And what is the solution?  Discuss among yourselves ...

(Explanation: Maybe the survey/polling data are confusing here.  The two HKU POP polls were conducted immediately during and after the debates and the respondents are restricted to those to have watched some portion of the televised program.  As such, the total 'universe' is about 2 million persons or so.  Other surveys and polls were conducted afterwards and cover the general population (more than 4 million adults including those who did not follow the debates) and Donald Tsang leads by an even bigger margin). 
 
Relevant Link: The Horse Race  Daisann McLane, Learning Cantonese

• [062]  The Fourth Reason (03/21/2007)  In The Unanswered Question about Hong Kong numbers, I offered three reasons why only 5,000 persons showed up for the Hong Kong demonstration march for universal suffrage.  Since then, there have been further suggestions.
   
  One suggestion was that this particular demonstration march was not well-publicized.  I don't accept that because I was bombarded with information about the march.  However, I will grant that I am an exception, because I read a dozen online Hong Kong newspapers everyday plus whatever other forums and blogs.  In any case, who do you blame for this?
   
  Another suggestion was proposed at Interlocals.net:

I believe that it has to do with the disempowerment of participants in the democratic movement. I still remembered a couple of months ago, a teenage girl asked me why we still kept on protecting the star ferry pier even though it was useless. I asked her, how did she know that it was useless, she answered half a million people came out in 2003 and 2004 and still nothing had changed in the political system.

We caught in a deadlock. Some people believe that such deadlock was created by central government's control over Hong Kong's political development; but I think the problem is actually come from within. To use central government's phrasing, there are "deep conflicts" (深層矛盾) within Hong Kong, and such conflicts have to be addressed from within.

I don't agree with that one.  In 2003, 500,000 persons showed up to march against Article 23.  Please remember that 500,000 is only just over 10% of the total adult population in Hong Kong.  Could it be said that nothing changed?  The Article 23 legislation was withdrawn and the Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa became instant lame duck and eventually resigned for reasons of "ill health."  How can one say that "nothing had changed in the political system"?  This was a cataclysmic change.

I have no reason to doubt that more than 60% of the Hong Kong people want universal suffrage.  Every single survey/poll that I have ever seen has indicated such.  I attribute the poor turnout this time to the three reasons that I wrote about.  I firmly believe that if a demonstration mechanism can be devised to circumvent those three situations, which is largely due to perceptions about professional political parties, politicians, activists and internecine struggles.  I firmly believe that if an event can be organized to ensure that it will absolutely not be an occasion for any political party, politician or activist group to get their share of media hype, then it is possible to surpass that 500,000 figure of 2003 easily.  This may be a demonstration march, an assembly or some other means.  We just have to eliminate the factors that make people reluctant to reveal their preferences as recorded in surveys/polls.  Such an occasion would not go through the usual channels (such as the Civil Human Rights Front or Apple Daily) but through a direct appeal to all persons (inclluding political parties, politicans, media, activist groups, university student associations, movie stars, singers, citizens, etc) and even forcing them to show their hands (Are you for or against universal suffrage?  If you care, then just come down for a silent 30-minute assembly and then we all go home.  We promise that there will be zero speeches, prayers or whatever.  There is only one message: we want universal suffrage.  Period.  There will be nothing on vindication of June 4th, gay marriage, minimum wage, preservation of cultural heritage sites, government-business collusion (Li+X), environmental pollution, Star Ferry/Queen's Pier, small class sizes, CyberPort/Mody Mall, flat tax, F*L*G/Nine Critiques, whatever).
 
So how can that happen?  The funny thing is that the only way I know is to go through all the channels which I said must be bypassed!  Hey, this is where we are ...

• [061]  Home Redecoration For Free (03/21/2007)  (Tianya forum by Qianqianhai)  (in translation)  My home is in Hangzhou.  Recently, the government designated certain homes in our village for demolition, but actual progress was stuck because of the vast disagreement between the government and the residents with respect to the compensation issue.  During this period, the villagers began to find strange things happeneing.  The village security partol seemed to have evaporated, windows were smashed in the middle of the night, cars were vandalized with hammers and houses were robbed.  Recently, I was away from home for a week, and this was what I found when I returned.
  
  The debris in front of the entrance gate.
   
  
  This is my home -- all the windows have been taken out.
   
  
  All the electric cables were pulled out and the copper content removed.
   
  
  This is the living room with everything taken away.
   
  
  This is what used to be the kitchen.
   
  Given the current atmosphere on the Chinese Internet, the two major trends of the comments were respectively: (1) condemnations about government-business collusion; and (2) these photographs must be faked.

• [060]  Hong Kong Does Not Have An M-Shaped Society (03/20/2007)  (Ming Pao; Business & Management professor Francis T. Lui, HKUST)
   
  When the Statistics Bureau released certain census data last year, Ming Pao claimed that Hong Kong is turning into an M-shaped society (i.e. increases in the percentage of rich and poor people with a diminishing middle class).  Here are the raw household income data:
   
  Less than HK$10,000 per month: 23.9% in 1996; 27.9% in 2006
  HK$10,000 to HK$29,999 per month: 51.3% in 1996; 45.2% in 2006
  HK$30,000 or more: 24.9% in 1996; 26.9% in 2006.
   
  This would seem to indicate that Hong Kong is an increasingly unequal society.  But what is economic equality?  One definition is "equality in outcomes", which means that everybody should make about the same amount of money no manner how hard/easy they worked.  The other definition is "equality in opportunities", which means that everybody should have the same opportunity to compete.
   
  Before 1978 when the economic reforms began, China was basically following "equality in outcomes" with the consequence that "the national economy was near collapse" (that was the official government description).  Deng Xiaoping opened up the economy and since people have to be motivated to compete, Deng tossed out the old anti-capitalism ideas and proposed the shocking idea of "Let some people get wealthy first."  Today, China's per capita GDP is 8 times that in 1978!  Still, economic progress has developed unevenly,  For the past decade or so, income is rising 7-8% among urban dwellers and only 4-5% among rural dwellers.  Although the rural farmers have improved their lot compared to the pre-reform years, the rural-urban income gap is rising.  Thus, the Hu-Wen government has to propose the policy of building a "harmonious society."
   
  Hong Kong has never gone through a socialist style "equality of outcomes."  Instead, "equality of opportunities" was always the mainstream thought.  So how has Hong Kong society changed in terms of its socio-economic structure?
   
  The best way to measure income distribution is not through the Gini coefficient, nor to examine the income gap between the richest and poorest classes.  When income increases while distribution is unequal, the Gini coefficient may rise; but when distribution becomes more equal, the Gini coefficient may also rise.  Therefore, while the Gini coefficient is useful, it should not be misapplied.
   
  As for the income gap between the richest and poorest classes, it is not meaningful.  One of the economic goals of the HK SAR government is to attract wealthy or productive professionals to emigrate to Hong Kong.  Their presence will certainly increase the income gap, but they are quite welcome because they will generate employment and income for the poorer people.
   
  The better statistical measure would be the actual distribution of household income.  The census data cited by Ming Pao above are the raw unadjusted data.  There are three adjustments that are necessary in order to make the 1996 and 2006 data comparable to each other.
   
  First, the number of persons per household had changed.  In 1996, there were 3.3 persons per household on the average.  In 2006, the number has gone down to 3.0.  As household size gets smaller (e.g. by families moving apart), household income goes down.
   
  Second, the consumer prices fell by 4% from 1996 to 2006.
   
  Third, since 2000, Hong Kong has a mandatory provident fund in which persons earning less than HK$20,000 will have an additional 5% of the monthly income deposited into a special retirement account.  The employee wages should include this consideration.
   
  Therefore, if we have to make a comparison of 1996 and 2006 household income data, we must make the three adjustments above (which results in adjustments of 10%, 4% and 5% respectively for a total of 19%).  This means that a household earning HK$10,000 per month in 1996 is equivalent to a household making HK$8,100 per month in 2006; etc.  Here is the adjusted household income distribution:
   
  Less than HK$10,000 per month: 23.9% in 1996; 21.6% in 2006
  HK$10,000 to HK$29,999 per month: 51.3% in 1996; 42.8% in 2006
  HK$30,000 or more: 24.9% in 1996; 35.6% in 2006. 
   
  These data do not support the hypothesis of an M-shaped society in Hong Kong.
   
  One additional point to note is that although the percentage of low-income household has decreased, the size of the change is small.  But the reason should be obvious.  Over these ten years, about 500,000 persons immigrated from mainland China to Hong Kong.  In 2001, the median household income for new migrant families was only HK$6,100, far less than the total median household income of HK$18,000.  When one group of low-income families moved into middle-class, another group of poorer migrant families arrives.  Thus, the percentage of low-income households cannot decrease significantly unless Hong Kong decides to use education and economic productivity as the basis for screening immigrants.

• [059]  Hong Kong By The Numbers (03/20/2007) (HKU POP) (1,033 persons interviewed on March 7-12 to name the top political figures in mainland China and Taiwan on an unprompted basis; 1,036 persons interviewed on March 13-16 to give ratings (0-100) to the top 10 political figures from the previous survey stage)
   
  1. Wen Jiabao 76.5%
  2. Zhu Rongji 74.7%
  3. Hu Jintao 73.0%
  4. Wu Yi 71.3%
  5. Jiang Zemin 63.1%
  6. Ma Ying-jeou 60.3%
  7. Lien Chan 52.2%
  8. Lee Teng-hui 35.0%
  9. Lu Hsiu-ilen 29.4%
  10. Chen Shui-bian 20.5%

• [058]  Chinese Voters Upset At Not Receiving Bribes (03/19/2007) (Ming Pao via ChineseNewsNet)

[in translation]  

In elections at the Dingmei village, Dongfu town, Xiamen city, there had always been vote buying.  Last August, when the village committee election was being held, villagers Hu Feihuang and Hu Jianbiao were vying to become village director (mayor).  The Hu family elders arranged for the two candidates to go to the Temple of Lord Guan and swore that they will not buy votes.  So this election last year saw no vote buying.

But the absence of vote buying caused unhappiness among some villagers.  An elderly villager named Chen said that in previous years, a vote in the village director election was worth three to four hundred RMB, and even as much as 1,000 RMB.  "One can make a lot of money by becoming villager mayor.  What is so wrong about coughing up some money?"  Chen's wife explained further: "One person gets a few hundred; a family can get more than 1,000 RMB.  If one vote is worth 1,000 RMB, then the whole family will make several thousand RMB."  Among the dozen or so villagers interviewed, half of them approved of vote buying.  According to Liu Xiguang, who is a National People's Congress delegate from Hebei province, some wealthy or resource-filled rural village have highly competitive elections in which people spend over a hundred thousand or even several hundred thousand RMB in elections.

According to associate professor Wu Licai of the Huazhong Normal University's Political Science Research Institute, village mayor candidates used to offer "gifts" to town mayors and party secretaries.  Therefore, it is "progress" to go from "offering gifts" to your bosses to "bribing" villagers.  He believes that the logic why villagers welcome bribery is very simple: the candidates are making an "investment" which they "will re-coup eventually."  This logic reflects that the common problem that in the development of democracy in the rural villages, the villagers has the "right of speech" only during the voting but otherwise had no influence in the village public affairs.

The direct election of the village committees is one of the steps for village self-autonomous rule.  But in the presently held direct elections, there have been various degrees of vote buying.  Furthermore, things have seem to get getting worse.   Here are some examples:

- In Guankou town, Jimei district, Xiamen, there was an election for village party branch committee in 2006.  Village cadre Chen was campaigning to become a committee member.  During the Lunar New Year period, he gave tea leaves and cigarettes to voters under the name of New Year presents and tea-tasting to curry favors.  Afterwards, Chen was relieved of his party duties by the relevant department.

- In Yongtai, Intersection town, Lunan county, Shantong province, the Yongtai residents committee director named Wu was campaigning for re-election.  He publicly offered 20 RMB to each and every voter in the name of thanking them for their work.  For each villager who voted for Wu, he offered 300 RMB for the family.

The Civil Affairs Bureau Base-level Political Power Construction Department Rural Village Division director Wang Jinhua admitted at a Peking University forum that one-third of the petition cases in 2005 were related to voting irregularities.

• [057]  The Unanswered Question about Hong Kong numbers (03/19/2007)  In the post Learning From The Hong Kong and Taiwan Demonstrations (9/17/2006), I noted: "In Hong Kong, any number of public opinion polls show that 60% or so of the population want universal suffrage here and now."
   
  Yet, when the call went out for the people of Hong Kong to march for universal suffrage, not more than 5,000 people showed up (Comment 200703#053).  There is an obvious problem here, but nobody seems to want to confront it honestly.  Here is the quote from SCMP: James Sung Lap-kung, a political scientist at City University, said: "The low turnout might not necessarily mean Hong Kong people do not want universal suffrage. But it signals that they want the democrats to change their form of fighting for it."
   
  What is he talking about?  Why do the majority of the citizens who have said time and again that they want universal suffrage decline to turn out for a well-publicized demonstration march towards that goal?  The organizers of these marches have never answered this question satisfactorily.  Perhaps they do not know how to or perhaps they don't want to state the obvious.
   
  Here are my conjectures (and nobody has run any polls to plumb those reasons):
   
  (1) The people may want universal suffrage, but they do not want to be used by political parties or politicians.  For reference, see Comment 200703#031, in which the most effective political campaigning tool for public office right now is evdiently to have no political party affiliation!  The most recent march for universal suffrage was under a cloud as to whether this was aggrandizement for Chief Executive candidate Alan Leong.  As much as Leong may want to deny it, he is the person to whom the media go to for quotes.  Universal suffrage does not equate the endorsement of candidate Alan Leong.  The people will not turn out for theatrics of politicians.
   
  (2) It is also known that Hong Kong marches usually bring in groups with diverse special interests and issues.  The organizers do not want to ban other messages, but this results in diversions and digressions.  For example, the following AP photo showed a banner that said: "Vindicate June 4th."  Universal suffrage in Hong Kong does not equate to vindication of June 4th, at least not in everybody's mind.  This is just one of many subjects (such as minimum wages, gay rights, etc) from past marches which some people may not care to be associated with.
  
   
  (3) And then there is the sideshow as reported in The Standard:

Members of the League of Social Democrats - a group which includes maverick lawmaker "Long Hair" Leung Kwok-hung and controversial former radio talk-show host Raymond Wong Yuk-man - staged a protest after the pan-democrat legislators and rally participants arrived at government headquarters.  They yelled slogans denouncing Leong and pan-democrat legislators who have nominated him, calling their act "shameful" because they have endorsed the rationality of a "small- circle" election.

The scene turned hostile when group member and former legislator Michael Mak Kwok-fung tried to grab the microphone from lawmaker Frederick Fung Kin-kee, while two other group members went onto the stage and questioned Leong about what Hong Kong has achieved through a competitive chief executive election.

"It's a simple fact that, with a pan- democrat candidate joining this `small- circle' election, the number of people who turned up at today's rally to strive for full democracy has dropped significantly," Leung said.  "The Beijing government could say tomorrow that you have lost your popularity and public support, and eventually you will lose the `small-circle' election next.  Thirdly, you'll probably be deserted by the pan-democrat camp." 
 

(Ming Pao: Two League of Social Democrats women seizing the microphone)

Those are the reasons that I came up with.  There may be others.  so maybe these comments will generate the usual criticisms that I hate democracy and freedom.  But what is your explanation as to why 5,000 people showed up for the march when public opinion polls showed that 60% of the population are for universal suffrage?  If you can solve that puzzle, then you will get 60% of 7 million people = 4.2 million people to march for universal suffrage.  How can that sort of people power be stopped?

• [056]  Wii in Taiwan (03/19/2007)  (Taipei Times)

During the long Lunar New Year holiday last month, Mario Yang (楊士模) and his family found themselves absorbed in a new activity. His parents and grandparents were not playing mahjong this year, but rather were trying their hands at Nintendo Co's new Wii games.  "My grandma said now we can move around the house while playing games instead of just sitting in front of the computer," said 27-year-old Yang, who is an editor with an online news portal.  He rushed to a game shop on Feb. 15, two days before the holiday started, to purchase a Wii, which sports a motion sensor used to play virtual tennis, golf or baseball.  "This is a game console that the whole family can take part in," he said.

... The craze has even made its way into political circles. Premier Su Tseng-chang  is an avid Wii player and has called the console a "great invention that offers gamers a good workout."

The much lauded consoles, however, are not yet officially released in Taiwan.  Eager gamers have gotten their hands on Wii in advance by buying consoles imported from Japan or the US, where they have been available since November.  Yang, for example, shelled out NT$9,700 (US$293) to buy a Wii, the official price tag of which is US$250.

Oh, wait, before you get the idea that you can start bringing in those Wii's into Taiwan for fun or profit, read the other story (via TVBS):

Although the Wii has not yet been formally imported into Taiwan, many people have purchased the machines overseas and carried them back to Taiwan.  But the Taoyuan Airport customs officers have been detaining the machines.  As of today, 69 machines are under detention.  The customs said that people must have a permit from the NCC to do so.  A Hsinchu engineer said: "When their X-rays spot a Wii, they detain the machine, controller and the disks."

The Premier endorsed the machine.  The Government Information Office said that any quantity fewer than two would be approved.  But those promises were not kept.  The NCC has entered to offer excuses: "The Wii is an electronic toy which emits electromagnetic radiation."  It is emphasized that the machines are not being detained for tax reasons and they are only being in temporary safe-keeping.  These machines do not have the stickers which show that they satisfy the criteria for low-level electromagnetic radiation.  In order to retrieve the machines, it is necessary to show up at the customs office with one's identification, various documents and NT$500 for a permit; then the Wii must be taken to the NCC service center to be tested at a cost of NT$1,100.
 
... For those who already have a Wii at home, do they also need to go through testing as well?  The NCC does not clarify, but the people will surely pursue this.

• [055]  Taiwan By The Numbers (03/19/2007)  (China Times) (1,085 persons interviewed by telephone)
   
  Recently, Hon Hai Group's chairman and Taiwan's richest man Terry Guo has been featured in the news (gossip columns) through appearances with movie stars such as Carina Lau and supermodels such as Lin Chiling, as well as a discussion of his five criteria for his perfect spouse.
   
  Question: Recently the media have been publishing large number of stories about the emotional live of Terry Guo.  Do you think that it is appropriate?
  Appropriate: 25%
  Inappropriate: 59%
  No opinion: 16%
   
  Question: Which aspect do you consider to be most inappropriate?
  Too many stories; too many pages (waste of news resources): 43%
  Invasion of privacy (personal emotions): 23%
  Communicating wrong message about the value of money: 18%
  Serious objectifying women: 7%
  No opinion: 9%

• [054]  Not A Mass Incident In China (03/19/2007)  (NetEase Sports via Wenxue City)  While this incident involved a thousand angry people, anti-riot police had to summoned to disperse them and private property was vandalized, it is unlikely to go into the books as one of those mass incidents in China.  This incident also has a twist in the details.
  
   
  
   
  
   
  
   
  In the Chinese Super League, the Xiamen team lost in extra time to the Tianjin team on their home field.  Afterwards, some angry Xiamen soccer fans gathered outside the dressing room to booed the referee for using a 'black whistle' to make many wrong calls.
   
  So is this the usual soccer riot?  Actually, nothing might have happened until the Chiense national trainer Zhu Guanghu came out.  Zhu had traveled to Xiamen to watch this game in order to check out some of the players.  When he came out, he put on a big smile and waved "Hello" to the fans.  This incensed the depressed fans who vented their anger on Zhu.  They surrounded his car, screamed at the passengers, spit on the car windows, smashed some windows, applied flying kicks to make dents on the sides of the car and even ripped part of the rear bumper off.  About 30 to 40 anti-riot police were summoned and they persuaded the crowd to disperse and let the car through.  There were no arrests.

• [053]  Hong Kong By The Numbers (03/18/2007)  There was a demonstration march for universal suffrage yesterday in Hong Kong, and this once again brings up the issue of the estimated number of marchers from various sources.  Here are the two contrasting views:
   
  (Sing Tao)  The group of marchers set off from Victoria Park at 3pm and arrived at Government Headquarters at around 530pm, chanting slogans such as "Give me back my vote" and "I want universal suffrage."  The Civil Human Rights Front claimed 5,000 persons participated in the march, while the police estimated 1,800 persons.  According to the Hong Kong University Public Opinion Programme, the number of marchers was between 4,000 to 4,700 (see link).  The HKU POP director Robert Chung said that they counted people at the pedestian bridge at the intersection of Hennessy Road and Arsenal Street and then applied an adjustment obtained from previous studies about the number of people who left early or joined later.  Concerning the fact that the number of marchers yesterday was smaller than previous events (note: the organizers claimed 58,000, 21,000 and 530,000 in 2006, 2005 and 2004 (Ming Pao)), Alan Leong said that he was gratified and he did not think that democracy has taken a step backwards: "The number of marchers has nothing to do with the changing political and election cultures in Hong kong."  He also said that he hoped that yesterday's results will win Beijing and the HK SAR government's proper regard for the demand by citizens to implement universal suffrage by 2012.
   
  
  Apple Daily headline: Number of marchers exceeded prediction by far; determination to achieve universal suffrage unchanged.

• [052]  Hong Kong By The Numbers (03/18/2007)  (RAHK) (Reseach Association of Hong Kong; 1,143 persons interviewed on March 16, 2007 on the day after the second Chief Executive election debate; numbers in parathenses represent changes from the survey conducted right after the first Chief Executive election debate)
   
  Q1.  Whose performance did you appreciate more?
  Donald Tsang: 53% (+5%)
  Alan Leong: 35% (-7%)
  Neither: 6% (+1%)
  No opinion: 4% (+1%)
  No idea what this is about: 2% (0%)
   
  Q2. With whose policy platform do you identify with more?
  Donald Tsang: 60% (+5%)
  Alan Leong: 28% (-2%)
  Neither: 4% (-3%)
  No opinion: 8% (0%)
   
  Q3. Whose campaign slogan do you like more?
  Donald Tsang: 48% (+1%)
  Alan Leong: 30% (-1%)
  Neither: 9% (-1%)
  No opinion: 13% (+1%)
   
  Q4. Whose campaign image do you like more?
  Donald Tsang: 50% (+2%)
  Alan Leong: 33% (-1%)
  Neither: 6% (0%)
  No opinion: 11% (0%)
   
  Q5. Which candicate is better able to "realize his campaign promises"?
  Donald Tsang: 68% (+5%)
  Alan Leong: 17% (-5%)
  No opinion: 15% (0%)
   
  Q6. Which candidate has more capability to "govern"?
  Donald Tsang: 76% (+4%)
  Alan Leong: 12% (-2%)
  No opinion: 12% (-2%)
   
  Q7. Which person do you think is most suited to become the new Chief Executive?
  Donald Tsang: 67% (+3%)
  Alan Leong: 15% (-4%)
  Neither: 9% (0%)
  No opinion: 9% (+1%)
   
  Q8. If Donald Tsang were to be re-elected Chief Executive, how would that change your confidence about Hong Kong's future?
  More confidence: 33% (-2%)
  Same confidence: 44% (+3%)
  Less confidence: 13% (-1%)
  No opinion: 10% (0%)
   
  Q9. If Alan Leong were to be elected Chief Executive, how would that change your confidence about Hong Kong's culture?
  More confidence: 23% (0%)
  Same confidence: 19% (-1%)
  Less confidence: 46% (+3%)
  No opinion: 12% (-2%)

• [051]  Diuman Park Almost Meets Al-Jazeera (03/18/2007)  (Diuman Park)

(in translation)

Last week, I received an English-language email from a program host at a television channel known as Al Jazeera English.  This person indicated that he would be in Hong Kong that weekend and would like to conduct a short interview with us about the blog.

Ordinary blog visitors here know that I am not ostentatious, so why would I write about a post about a request for an interview?  This is not because I feel elevated, but because I thought that ... it was intriguing!  Why?

I searched for "Al Jazeera English" on the Internet and it does exist.  This was not phishing.  According to the email address, it comes from Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia).  I thought that it could be a Malaysian channel, and it was not unusual for people in Singapore-Malaysia to read Cantonese, and therefore they could be reading the Diuman Park blog.

But I was really too busy and I did not know how to answer this new and different invitation.  Therefore, I turned it down.

Then I received another email from the same program host and this time it was written in simplified Chinese characters.  He said that our blog was very interesting and he wanted to interview us about our views on Hong Kong democracy.  This was in Chinese and it clearly listed the Chinese name of the television channel.

I was ashamed!  I blame myself for not reading English-language newspapers often enough and being deficient in international vista, which was why I did not realize who Al Jazeera is!  Perhaps, you already know ...

This is what we call 半島電視台 (Peninsular Television).

Right, that would be the Qatar Peninsular Television (if you don't know, you can click here for the details (note: Wikipedia in Chinese)).

In the end, we did not do the interview.  If the inviter should read my blog, I want to thank them for the invitation.

But I think that it is funny that we almost made it into the Arabian world.  Ha ha.

Of course, I do not hope that someday you get to see the re-transmission by Hong Kong television of us about to be executed with a bag over our heads!

This is the part where the ESWN blogger has to come up against the decision to insert his personal comments or not.  If he does not, then the translation stands; if he does, then it may be confounded with the original author's opinion.  But here is what the ESWN blogger says (and it has nothing to do with the Diuman Park blogger has to say):  Al Jazeera (English) is a project to provide an alternate global television media source other than BBC and CNN.  Upon information and belief, in this particualr instance, Al Jazeera could have filed a news report by interviewing government sources or opposition politicians; instead, it chose to seek out some independent opinions (specifically, independent Hong Kong bloggers).  By the way, Al Jazeera was willing to conduct the interview in English, Cantonese or putonghua (and that was why the Diuman Park blogger received multiple-language requests).

• [050]  Zhang Chunyin on the Internet (03/17/2007) (Southern Weekend)  As Hunan province party secretary, Zhang Chunyin is the ultimate person-in-charge in the The Yongzhou Mass Incident.  The following is his comment about the Internet.  On February 25, 2007, Zhang Chunyin registered under his own name at the RedNet forum and he posted a Lunar New Year greeting to entizens.
  
  Q: When you posted the Lunar New Year greeting, Hunan netizens were touched and left many comments.  In terms of using the Internet, do you have even more intimate methods to come into contact with even more people?
  A: It was a very normal thing to do to register using my rael name during the Lunar New Year and send greetings to netizens.  Previously, the province has used the Internet to accomplish many things and I have to thank the netizens.  For ecample, when we asked for suggestions and recommendations, we received about 11,000 letters of which about 5,000 came from the Internet.  A this point, we have been 2 million hits.  This means that 2 million people gave us attention and expectation.  I am also touched by the netizen comments, including Lunar New Year greetings.  I want to thank these netizens, for their respect and trust.  Therefore, it was right to sent out Lunar New Years greetings.  The issue that your raise is important because the rulers and everyone else should use the Internet well.
  The Internet is a new form of media that is a platform for exchange, and it is possible to gauge public opinion at large.  The rulers need to understand public opinion and gather the best ideas from the public.  Then they can come up with their scientific decisions based upon public opinion and advice.  This is how they can continue to improve their work in the administration of society.  This approach should receive attention.  If some leaders are not familiar with them right now, then ought to start learning.  If there are some problems that are challenging, the leaders ought to accept those challenges.  After these activities (the Lunar New Year greetings and the solicitation for suggestions and recommendations), I realize that most netizens are sincere, have high quality, offer constructive advice and many of them are touching.  I am unable to reply to each and every one of them, so this is my response to everybody.
   
  In case you are curious, there was no mention of the Yongzhou mass incident in that interview.

• [049]  DNA Tests To Catch The Smokers (03/17/2007)  (The Sun)  At a Japanese-capital factor in the Nansha district of Guangzhou, the regulations stipulated that workers can only smoke in a designated area.  Recently, the factory management fuond several dozen cigarette butts in a non-smoking area.  To find the culprits, the management hired two DNA testing technicians to collect saliva and hair samples from a dozen of the "suspects" in order to compare against the DNA on the cigarette butts.
   
  According to one factory worker who is being required to be tested, DNA is personal property and the factory does not have the right to conduct tests since it is not a law enforcement agency.  The factory claimed that the tests were needed to identify the smokers, who could have started a fire at the factory and caused damage to lives and properties.

• [048]  Youth Weekend (03/17/2007)  If you have been following the ESWN blog, you would have probably sensed that there is a preference for translating from Youth Weekend (www.yweekend.com).  Thus, every Thursday is a big day.  Indeed, yWeekend is an unusual media concept because its weekly reports are derived from the current Internet happenings.  What is hot on the Chinese Internet?  You will probably find it at yWeekend.  What is hot in the mainstream Chinese media?  You will probably not find it at yWeekend and you probably wouldn't be interested in those officially sanctioned happenings anyway.
   
  Specifically, I look forward to stories from yWeekend's Ma Jun (马军), who is a reporter on reporters.  Here is the list of my translated stories and the reasons why I liked them:
   
  - Who Painted the Mountain Green?  (03/09/2007)  A mountain in rural Yunnan was painted green.  Three reporters.  Three versions.  I was thoroughly confused on the truth of the matter.  But how was I going to decide on the truth, given that I am only an English-language blogger in Hong Kong.  Ma Jun did the obvious thing -- he interviewed the three reporters and eludicated from them how and why they reported what they did.  I may still not be sure what the truth is, but at least I understand where those reporters were coming from.
   
  - How The Media Were Conned By An Internet Promoter  (02/15/2007)  Ai Qingqing and her quest to trade a paper clip for a villa -- is this yet another Internet commercial promotion?  Tianxian MM -- is she authentic or just an Internet commercial promotion?  I was unsure, but Ma Jun went ahead and interviewed the alleged mastermind.
   
  - The yWeekend Report On The Lan Chengzhang Case (02/02/2007)  China Trade News 'reporter' Lan Chengzhang was beaten to death by a Shanxi coal miner owner and his goons.  Various media reporters (Wang Keqin and Huang Kejie of China Economic Times and Tan Renwei of Southern Metropolis Daily) came up with possibly divergent investigative reports.  Ma Jun went ahead and interviewed these reporters about the circumstances of their investigations, which informed me much more about the case itself.
   
  - Fujian Media PK Xinhua (10/13/2007)  Typhoon Saomai smashed into Fujian province and wrought devastation.  The Xinhua agency sent in reporters who filed reports that the local Fujian media objected vehemently to.  Who is right?  Ma Jun interviewed both sides.
   
  - Reporters Beaten in Guangzhou  (10/07/2007)  There is a traffic accident in Guangzhou when a car plunged into a river.  When the media reporters arrived at the scene to cover the story, they were assaulted by unidentified individuals.  Afterwards, the local media was forbidden to mention the incident.  Ma Jun went in to interview the reporters.  The reporters were prohibited from writing about the case, but nothing was ever said about giving interviews to national-level media!!!
   
  In a way, Ma Jun is the meta-reporter.  An event happens, and different reporters file divergent reports.  What gives?  It takes someone else to interview the reporters and sort out the reasons why those reports were divergent.  The reporters are not necessarily being deceptive for they may be limited by their perspectives and access.  This may give a hint as to what the truth might be.

• [047]  Donkey (03/17/2007) (ABC News)  Chavez Shares Thoughts on Bush, Marriage.  March 17, 2007.

[Barbara] Walters also asked Chavez about calling Bush the devil, a donkey and a murderer.

"Yes, I called him a devil in the United Nations. That's true. In another occasion, another time I said that he was a donkey because I think he is very ignorant about things that are actually happening in Latin America, and the world. If that is in excess on my part, I accept. And I might apologize. But who is causing more harm? Do I cause any harm by calling him a devil? He burns people, villages, and he invades nations." 

Donkey?  What call someone a donkey?  That is unusual in English.  For an explanation of what Chavez actually said, please refer to the 2004 ESWN post Pendejo.

• [046]  How Can You Trust A Politician? (03/17/2007) (Lian Yue's Eighth Continent)

[in translation]

Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi once offended his wife.  The famous bigmouth was complimenting another politician whom he described as being so handsome that he wanted to introduce his wife to.  Afterwards, he apologized to his wife in an open letter published in the newspapers, saying: "I'm only a politician.  How can anyone believe what a politicians says?  If people believe what politicians say, what will Italy turn into?"  Berlusconi is likeable in the sense that his actions and words show that he loved power and will grab it by any means.  He knew the essence of <The Prince> and he made sure that Machiavelli had company.

It is commonly accepted that one should pre-suppose that anyone who pursues power is a bad person whose words cannot be trusted and only their actual deeds count.  To a large degree, we must thank those lying politicians because we learn to mistrust only after being fooled a few times.  It is not hard to be a hypocrite.  Within any system, there is a standard set of iron-clad, water-proof clichés and if you learn to say them well, you will do well.  A real crook like Berlusconi provides good political lessons to everybody when he speaks his mind: one must always be skeptical about politicians.  If they mutter a few wonderful sentences, they make a righteous pose, they shed a few tears without doing a thing and you are somehow moved by them, then you deserve a terrible fate.

The Shanxi edition of Silvio Berlusconi is named Chen Litian, who is the deputy mayor of Jiang County.  Last year, more than 100 migrant laborers came to demand their 130,000 RMB back wages.  The laborers tried all the legal methods, including going to the Labor Mediation Committee but they got nothing.  None of the relevant Jiang county departments paid any attention to them.  So the laborers were forced to go to the Yuncheng city party committee to present their problem.  They probably received some attention, because the Jiang county government dispatched deputy mayor Chen Litian to Yuncheng to meet with the laborers.  After negotiations, Chen Litian turned over a signed document to the laborers to guarantee that the problem will be resolved within three days (beginning tomorrow), or else the county treasury will foot the bill.  But when the laborers got back to Jiang county, the promise of the deputy mayor was not kept.

Well, this is a common enough story and there is nothing new except that Chen Litian told the reporters that his only objective on this trip to Yuncheng was to get the laborers to return to Jiang county.  Besides, how can anyone take a promise seriously (March 14, Shanxi Evening News)?

Right, how can anyone take it seriously?  Chen Litian deceived people and then he blamed his victims for being gullible.  That is enough to make you sick inside.  We do not need more discussions about hidden rules and we do not want to talk about trust, responsibility and other vacuous terms.  I only hope that there are a few more deputy mayor Chen Litian's who can utter a few more truthful words that rub salt into wounds and let their victims remember well: "Everybody does this anyway.  So I just lied to you -- so what?  Bite me!"  For the one hundred plus laborers, their feelings might have been hurt.  But they could have run into some slick-talking officials who offer comforting words ("sorry, uncles and brothers ...") and then they may forget about everything since the Lunar New Year has just past and they don't have urgent need for money anymore.

People will get fooled sooner or later, but it is important not to be fooled again.  This particular story will improve the debt collection techniques of laborers -- the money is yours only when it is in your hands and only then is the matter over.  More generally, this shows that Berlusconi's words have generality: How can you trust what a politicians says?  Please do not be one of those gullible people -- it is one thing to cheat you out of a little money, but it is a lot more if you get fooled for life.

• [045]  The Snoop Films (03/16/2007)  (Beijing News)  On March 12, there was a cadre meeting in Zhigui county, Hubei meeting.  During the meeting a short film was shown to show certain cadres who were apparently derelict in their duties.  The films had been taken by the Zhigui county party supervisory bureau.  Over 150 units were visited in one of two ways: first, some offices were visited openly, with the accompanying television reporters filming people on Internet chat, trading stocks, chatting among themselves; second, pin-hole cameras were used to find people sitting in restaurants near their offices.  The office building close-circuit television tapes were also checked to see who arrived late and/or left early.  Also monitored was the county economic conference, in which the numbers of absentees, late arrivals, nappers, people playing with their mobile phones were noted to be high; the population and family planning conference and migrant assistance conference found 12 departments were either absent or late.  In total, 217 persons from 59 departments were filmed as breaking regulations; another 158 persons were noted even though they were not filmed.
   
  But somehow this became controversial.  A citizen said: "This is good, but unfortunately we did not see this film.  This ought to be shown."  A cadre said: "Why the snoop filming?  Everybody has flaws.  You cannot negate someone's entire work and style on the basis of one momentary lapse."

• [044]  The Qingdao Mazda 6 Case (03/16/2007)  (Southern Metropolis Daily)  
   
  Karl Marx: 'History repeats itself, first as tragedy, second as farce.'  In October 2003, an old couple driving a farm vehicle scratched a BMW in Harbin; the woman in the car got out and had an heated argument with the old couple.  When the crowd booed her, she got into the car, stepped on the accelerator and killed the old woman as well as injuring 12 spectators.  In December 2003, the driver was put on trial and received a suspended sentence.  The Internet opinion immediately shifted from sympathy for the old couple to suspicion of unfairness in the judicial system.  Rumors such as "the driver was the daughter-in-law of a senior official" and "her wealthy husband paid people off."  The matter got worse when websites began to delete these rumor posts.
   
  On November 17, 2006, the Qingdao private enterprise female owner Zhao Ping dined at a hotel and had a few too many drinks.  When she came out of the hotel, she saw that her Mazda 6 was blocked by someone else car.  So she ordered the 17-year-old security guard Qin Guoliang to move the other car, which was accomplished in five minutes.  But Zhao taught that was too long and gave Qin a big slap in the face.  As Zhao got into her car to leave, she rammed Qin slowly and caused him to fall on the car hood.  To shake him off, Zhao began to accelerate and brake half a dozen times.  The car had entered the one-way-street in the wrong direction and finally Zhao made one big acceleration, only to hit a young pedestrian couple trying to cross the street.  The young husband died immediately at the scene, while the young wife died at this hospital.  The security guard had been tossed off the car with only mild injuries.  Zhao sped away and had another collision with another car.  She got off and said: "Something happened up there.  I will give you some money if you let me go."
   
  Just as in the Harbin BMW case, Internet rumors began to surface in what is now known as the Qingdao Mazda case.  At first, the netizens were sorrowful about the tragic loss of life.  Then the focus turned to Zhao Ping, where her personal details were ferreted out and published, including the fact that she had two previous driving violations.  Then someone said that Zhao is the relative of a deputy Qingdao city mayor: "The Qingdao people have discovered the highly visible Mazda 6 incident has just been disappeared.  Suddenly, the television stations and newspapers will not report on this matter.  At Qingdao News Net, netizen A wrote: "The offending driver should be sentenced to death!"  Then his account was cancelled.  He asked other Qingdao News Net users and they all said, 'All comments are censored!'"  This post was published at the Tianya, MOP, NetEase, Phoenix forums.  There were other rumors such as "Mazda 6 case woman will only be sentenced to six years" and "Mazda 6 woman posted bond to receive medical care."
   
  In truth, there was an order -- but it was only to warn against hyping, not against reporting and the case has continued to be reported.  In the BMW case, a netizen had commented: "In contrast to the boiling emotions on the Internet, the Heilongjiang government and media were silent.  This showed that the government was ignoring the media (or, to be more precise, the Internet media and public opinion) and this confidence in the government went into an unprecedented crisis."
   
  Presently, the civil case has been successfully resolved.  At the Qingdao Middle Court, Zhao Ping's father public knelt down to the mother of the young woman to apologize and agreed to pay a compensation of 1.05 million RMB to the young couple's family.  The security guard Qin Guoliang received 30,000 RMB in compensation.
   
  The criminal case went on trial yesterday.  The netizens are watching ...

• [043]  Lung Ying-tai's Melbourne Speech (03/15/2007)  (ObserveChina)

[in translation]

Q: I want to say that we Chinese always wear a fake mask.  We say one thing and we do something else.  Therefore, we are unable to muster the courage to state our opinion about the Taiwan issue.  We just cannot go about saying that everything is correct.

A: Is that meant to be a criticism from you?

Q: If only we have to courage to state our posiition about democracy in Taiwan and about the Taiwan problem ... I object to your saying "I don't know" nine out of ten times.

A: Fine.  I understand.  You mean to say that one must say whether one supports or does not support self-determination for Taiwan.  And if you don't say it, you are wearing a fake mask.  This is how I understand what you say.  Thanks.  Here is how I look at this problem: no matter whether we are talking about independence or unification for Taiwan, or about our attitudes towards the Chinese Communist Party or the Chinese authorities -- no matter what we are talking about -- we must be able to state our positions.  If we won't, then we are hypocrites.  Concerning this requirement (which is not very important no matter what the actual issue is), my personal view is: "I have no right to demand others to state their positions."

How come?  Suppose there is a subject, which ten thousand people say is condemnable.  This appears to be a very obvious subject.  But at a time when ten thousand people say this is condemnable, I feel that we should tolerate and respect some people for not stating that this is condemnable or just refusing to state their positions.  I think that you ought to respect them too, because of all the core values that we have, I think the most core of the values is: we respect dissenting opinions.

If this is a true core value as opposed to a fake mask, then you need to respect anyone else not using your approach to solve a problem; you need to respect someone else using a different method to undertake the same resistance.  That is to say, waving the flag and shouting aloud is one approach, maintaining silence is another approach and evasion is yet another approach.  I do not think that the person who goes to the public square to pour gaosline on himself should condemn those who do not follow suit as 'cowards'; alternately, how do you know that a person who chooses to maintain silence feels less pain and hate than you do?  how do you know that a person who chose evasion would not eventually achieve much better effects than your direct approach?  You cannot actually judge.

If our ultimate goals are democracy and freedom, then you must pass the test for everything that you do now.  That test is: you are talking about a society with democracy and freedom, but during the process, you demand everybody else to follow you by doing things the same way, and anyone who fails to do so is a fake, then you have just destroyed the thing that you claim to be pursuing and you are wearing a fake mask.  I believe that if you want to practice it, you must do so one bit at a time in your real life.  Then you can prove whether you are someone who is genuinely seeking the goal.  This is a test that many people cannot pass.

• [042]  Taiwan By The Numbers (03/15/2007)  (China Times) (807 adults interviewed on March 13-14.  The telephone directory was used to draw random telephone numbers, and then the last 2 digits of the selected numbers were randomized)
   
  Generally speaking, among all respondents, Frank Hsieh is regarded as most suitable as national leader by 25%, Su Tseng-cheng and Annette Lu by 20% and Yu Shyh-kun by 5%.
   
  On the basis of international vista, among all respondents, 27% picked Annette Lu, 16% for Frank Hsieh, 9% for Su Tseng-cheng and 3% for Yu Shyh-kun.
   
  On the cross-strait problem, among all respondents, Frank Hsieh led with 19%, Su Tseng-cheng at 18% and Annette Lu and Yu Shyh-kun followed.
   
  On restoring harmony and rebilding consensus, among all respondents, 24% picked Su Tseng-cheng, Frank Hsieh at 23% and Annette Lu and Yu Shyh-kun lagged far behind.
   
  Who can create another Taiwan economic miracle?  24% picked Su Tseng-cheng, 19% picked Frank Hsieh, and Annette Lu and Yu Shyh-kun at less than 10%.
   
  Which of the four has the most consistency in terms of policies?  Annette Lu has 22%, Frank Hsieh has 20%, Su Tseng-cheng and Yu Shyh-kun follow.
   
  If the respondent base is changed to those who supported the Chen-Lu ticket while excluding those supported Lien-Soong, then the support levels are 33% for Frank Hsieh, 25% for Su Tseng-cheng, 18% for Annette Lu and 8% for Yu Shyh-kun.
   
  If the respondent base is changed to DPP supporters only, 40% chose Frank Hsieh, 22% for Su Tseng-cheng, 17% for Annette Lu and 9% for Yu Shyh-kun.

• [041]  Hong Kong Independence (03/15/2007)  At the The Second Hong Kong Chief Executive Election Debate, there was one particular gaffe by Alan Leong that struck many people.  Within minutes after it was uttered, the topic hit the Hong Kong discussion forums.
   
  Now Alan Leong practices law by profession.  In legal training, prospective lawyers are usually taught about the basics of direct/cross examination.  Obviously, you must never post a question to a witness when you know the answer will damage your case.  A lesser known rule is: "Never ask a question whose answer you don't know."
   
  Here is the situation as captured on this YouTube video 八大電子傳媒特首論壇-《維園梁伯搞文革》港獨篇 which was produced and posted almost immediately:

The female news reporter from Cable News asked: Mister Leong, you proposed that the ministers be directly appointed by the Chief Executive without going through the central government.  When this policy was brought forth, many people began to question whether this is working towards Hong Kong independence and challenging the central government.  When you came up with the idea for this policy, did you ever think that these questions would arise?  Is your political intelligence quotient too low?  Or do you know that it will never happen and therefore you just throw it out there without a thought?  (applause)
 
Leong responded: Thank you for your question.  I want to ask the audience presence here if anyone of you believe that anyone in Hong Kong is working for Hong Kong independence?  If there are any, please applaud.  (applause).  A minority.  That is, two or three. 

You can check the video if it really was 'two or three.'  While Leong might have thought that it is objectively true that no one is working for Hong Kong independence, he has set up a situation in which the Tsang supporters may applaud to embarrass him.  He could have simply made the point by saying: "I'm not aware of anyone in Hong Kong is working for independence ..." instead of letting the audience members vote.

• [040]  The Shi Tao Case in Hong Kong (03/15/2007)
   
  Read Hong Kong Privacy Commissioner clears Yahoo! HK in Shi Tao case  by Rebecca MacKinnon at RConversation for what the Hong Kong Privacy Commissioner has to say on the subject.

I have nothing else to add, except to re-list my previous posts which covers most of what I want to say:

The Case of Shi Tao  05/01/2005
Yahoo! and the case of Shi Tao  09/08/2005
Yahoo! Sends Another Man To Jail  09/22/2005
Comparing Yahoo and MSN Spaces  01/06/2006
The Case of Li Zhi  02/08/2006
The Third Way For Yahoo  02/11/2006

• [039]  Hong Kong By The Numbers (03/15/2007)  (HKU POP) (1,033 Hong Kong persons interviewed March 7-12, 2007)

Taiwan independence:
Opposition rate: 80%
Support rate: 13%

Cross-strait reunification:
Confidence: 53%
No confidence: 36%

Taiwan rejoining the United Nations:
Opposition rate: 55%
Support rate: 27%

Believed "One Country, Two Systems" was applicable to Taiwan:
Yes: 59%
No: 29%

• [038]  Ethnicity, Geography and Unification/Independence in Taiwan (03/14/2007)  (Apple Daily)  Opinion Column by Lin Cho-shui (林濁水).

[in translation]

... According to research by the Taiwan Think Tank, the percent of people who think that the ethnic group problem is serious has risen sharply over the 12 years survey period between 1995 and 2007: the numbers for 1995, 2003, 2004 and 2007 are 17%, 31.9%, 55.9% and 57.3%; those who do not think that this is serious went from 63.3% to 36.1% over those 12 years.

... Generally speaking, society looks at the political map of the ethnic divide as follows: South -- pro-green, pro-independence; north -- pro-blue, pro-unification; people whose origins are outside of Taiwan are pro-unification; Fu-lao people are one-sidedly pro-independence; DPP and TSU supporters are one-sidedly pro-independence; New Party supporters are totally pro-unification, followed by the PFP; the KMT crowd is positioned between the DPP and PFP.

The above impressions are partially true, but the recent public opinion poll by the Taiwan Think Tank has surprisingly found that more than half of this is false.

The parts that are correct are: the south is pro-green; the north is pro-blue; the DPP and TSU are one-sidedly pro-independence; the Fu-lao people are pro-independence.

But if Taiwan independence is defined as regarding the sovereignty of the Republic of China belongs solely to the 23 million people in Taiwan and not to the 1.4 billion people on mainland China, then there are some unexpected results.

First, the percentage of people who believe ROC sovereignty belongs only to the 23 million people is 76.1%, which is far larger than the 15% who thinks that the mainland Chinese should be included.  85% of young people between the ages of 20 to 30 and 80% of those with university education thinks so too, and that is unsurprising.

Surprisingly, among those with origins in other provinces, 24.7% are pro-unification and 70% believe that sovereignty belongs to the 23 million people.  This is bound to surprise everyone.  As for the aborigines, 27% are pro-unification and 45.7% are pro-independence.  This may be due to the aborigines have the poorest access to information and the KMT was successful in indoctrinating them.

Previously, people have regarded Keelung-Taipei as the home base for people from outside provinces due to their pro-blue voting and therefore they must be pro-unification.  The opposite is true.  80.4% of people in Taipei-Keelung believes that sovereignty belongs to the 23 million people, and this is the highest number among all areas.  Even the Yun-Chia-Nan area which is regarded as most pro-independence only has 76.9%.  This is probably because the capital people has better education and access to information, and therefore they tend to be more pro-independence in spite of their ethnic identities.

As for the political parties, the results are equally surprising.  The party who members are most against independence are not the New Party or PFP but the KMT.  Only 69.6% of them think that sovereignty belongs to the 23 million people, compared to 74.7% for PFP and over 80% for the New party.  As for the pro-unification, the KMT also led with 24.0%.

These numbers showed that as far as the party leaders go, the New Party may be the most pro-unification.  But the New Party and PFP supporters did not offer their support solely on the basis of unificationist ideology, for some of them are anti-black-gold middle-class people.

This piece of significant research showed that there are differences in terms of north/south geography, Taiwan/outside province-origin, Taiwan/mainland China identification, but there is also a huge gap with the rigid impression conveyed by the politicians.  This is enough to make one worry and celebrate.

One worries because the politicians do not recognize this and just rigidly shout and scream to create chaos.  One celebrates because geography/ethnicity/unification-independence are not pre-destined linkages.  Through information and education, there is still space for rational choices.

• [037]  That Pornographic Movie On Television (03/14/2007)  (Beijing News)  On the afternoon of March 13, the Lantian county (Shaanxi province) television station showed about 10 minutes or so from a pornographic film.  
   
  According to Lantian county resident Mr. Zhang, it was around 5:50pm and he was eating dinner with his 8-year-old son at home.  When the obscene images appeared on the television screen, he was quite embarrassed.
   
  What happened?
   
  According to the television station, the broadcast room's on-duty workers turned off all the broadcasting equipment at around 5:30pm as they finished their day's work.  At around 6pm, the workers for the next shift showed up.  By that time, the telephones were ringing continuous from irate viewers.
   
  According to the Lantian county television station director, "We are investigating how this happened.  The program could not have been sent out by this station, even though we are unsure about the exact reason.  Based upon the analyses from the tests by the technicians, it could have been an outside signal that entered into the equipment room through some unknown channel and then subsequently transmitted outwards."
   
  Blogger's comment:  Ahem, if you don't understand the technology, then you should not be making up a story around it.  It seemed that if the broadcasting equipment had really been turned off by the day-shift workers, there was not way for someone from the outside to restart and seize control.  
   
  Once upon I time, I sub-contracted a certain company to do data entry (note: think of this as just copying some numbers onto a spreadsheet from forms that are come in continuously over a two-month period.  In my quality control work, I noted that it was clear that there were five days in the middle of the period in which the spreadsheet data were shifted by one column.  I asked the company for an explanation.  Here it is: "There was a lightning strike at the data processing center, so that the data must have been shifted that way."  Now, if you know anything about how data are organized on disk storage devices, you would never ever make this kind of assertion.  The company was dismissed from any more work.  If they had just said "We don't know," I would not have blamed them.

• [036]  Red versus Pan-Blue in China (03/14/2007)  Previously, it was noted that all mentions of the Yongzhou mass incident was censored on the Chinese Internet.  Eventually, though, all the news outlets began to publish one official version:

(RedNet (Changsha) via CCTV)  March 13, 2007.

On the morning of March 9, certain citizens of Zhushan town, Lingling district, Yongzhou city, Hunan province gathered at the Anda Transport Company's bus depot due to their dissatisfaction with the price hikes.  The local government learned about the situation and immediately ordered the Anda Transport Company to rectify its unapproved price hike.  On March 11 and 12, the Anda Transport Company re-instated its former prices but some citizens still regarded the prices as being unreasonable and blocked the vehicular flow.  A very small number of criminal elements took advantage of the situation to vandalize and set fire to the buses as well as the vehicles belonging to the local public security personnel in charge of maintaining public order.  To prevent further escalation, the local government organized its cadres to stop the masses.  When the persuasion failed, the public security organizations arrested the leaders who directed the vandalism and arson in accordance with the law.  The spectators then gradually dissipated and the matter was stabilized.

After the incident, the Hunan provincial and Yongzhou city government gave a high degree of attention.  Provincial and city department leaders quickly rushed to the scene, obtained feedback from the masses and analyzed the cause of the incident.  They have ordered the Anda Transport Company to cease operation pending investigation and re-organization; they have bruoght in over ten buses to provide service on the bus line to meet the needs and security of the citizens and students.  At the same time, the Yongzhou city, district and town cadres have entered deep among the masses to patiently explain the situation and maintain social oder.

As for now, the masses are emotionally stable and production activities are normal.  During the incident, there were not fatalities.

Ignoring the more important issue about the veracity of the official version, there is a sideshow here.  This report did not come from Xinhua, CCTV, People's Daily or a Hunan newspaper.  Instead, it was published at the website RedNet (as in Red).
 
Meanwhile, if you check The Yongzhou Mass Incident, then all the western media as well as Hong Kong media reports refer to Zhang Zhilin, who is the Hunan province representative of the Chinese Pan-Blue Coalition.  Upon hearing that a mass incident had occurred in Yongzhou, Zhang had hurried over and provided some first-hand photographs and eyewitness accounts.  In the various reports, there was a sense of nervousness on the part of Zhang.  A flash message at Boxun.com then that Zhang Zilin's mobile telephone (1387XXXXXXX) had suddenly been shut off as of 5pm on March 14.  The Chinese Pan-Blue Coalition then reported (at Boxun.com) that Zhang Zilin is now under the control of the Hunan province public security bureau.  The Coalition announced that its Guangdong province representative Ding Yi has been urgently dispatched to Yongzhou.
 
It is over-reading to suggest that this is a Red versus Pan-Blue battle, because such that would be very asymmetric warfare because the Red side has the entire weight of the government and the party on its side.

• [035]  Leaders In The Spotlight (03/13/2007)  (Ming Pao)  You are a provincial leader.  You are considered a rising star and ready for a promotion to the central government/party.  You come to Beijing to attend the Congresses where you will get national attention.  Unfortunately, you get more attention that you want because something bad has just occurrred back home.  How do you face the public?
   
  In Laofutou (Liaoning), a coal mine was flooded suddenly and 22 people died while 7 are still missing.  In Yongzhou (Hunan), a bus rate hike led to a disturbance involving 10,000 people and many injuries.
   
  Yesterday, Liaoning provincial party secretary Li Keqiang and Hunan provincial party secretary Zhang Chunyin were serving as the executive chairmen of the People's Congress and both were seated in the front row.  Through the entire meeting, both were upright and stone-faced.  Only they know what was going through their minds.
   
  We recall that in between the Congresses in 2001, there was an explosion in a Jiangxi elementary school.  At a press conference, Premier Zhu Rongji promised to the people that if such an incident should ever occur again, the county mayor and the town mayor will be dismissed immediately, plus sanctions against the provincial governor.  Shortly afterwards, the Jiangxi provincial party secretary and the provincial governor both lost their jobs.
   
  How did Li Keqiang and Zhang Chunyin cope?  
   
  As soon as Li Keqiang heard about the incident, he immediately issued seven directives, the most important are: "Report the truth to the National Safety Production Supervision and Administration Bureau and the National Coal Mine Safety Supervision Bureau immediately" and "Report the incident to the news media and be interviewed by them."  
   
  (Ming Pao)  When asked Zhang Chunyin said: "This did not rate as a disturbance" and the relevant authorities "are trying to understand the situation."  He promised "serious handling" if problems are detected.  Meanwhile, the provincial governor Zhou Qiang said that calm has returned and there was no fatality.
   
  This was not a disturbance, eh?  Here is the lead photograph from 'patriotic newspaper' Ta Kung Po (Hong Kong):
  
  If Zhang Chunyin and Zhou Qiang are not aware that this is now an international story, then maybe they are not ready for any national-level jobs yet.
   
  P.S. The Yongzhou Mass Incident  has been updated to reflect the latest substantive English- and Chinese-language news reports.

• [034]  Coverage of the Yongzhou Mass Incident (03/13/2007)  Here is an entry by an unnamed Chinese blogger (note: naming the blogger here may create problems for him):

ESWN: The Yongzhou Mass Incident（湖南永州抗议运费涨价引发骚乱的报道，不是我懒或是喜欢英文，而是相关中文报道都在被屏蔽的网站上，google、百度全搜不到，连香港新闻这部分也被遮蔽，只有TVB网上新闻可见。）

(translation)  Report on how a protest in Yongzhou (Hunan) against transport fees triggered off disturbance.  It is not that I am lazy or that I prefer English, but all corresponding Chinese-language reports are on blocked websites.  It cannot be found on Google and Baidu.  Even the Hong Kong news websites are blocked, with only the TVB news report being viewable.

• [033]  Hong Kong By The Numbers (03/13/2007)  (HKU POP)
   
  Trend of vote of confidence in Chief Executive Donald Tsang (Yes/no)
   
  Jan 22-26, 2007: 61%/19%
  Feb 1-6, 2007: 65%/18%
  Feb 22-26, 2007: 69%/16%
  Feb 28, 2007:  74%/17%
  Mar 1-6, 2007: 76%/15%

• [032]  Media Reporting of Incidents in between Two Congresses (03/12/2007)  (Rose Garden)

The case in Yongzhou (Hunan) was basically a commercial dispute in which the customers were unhappy about the businessman increasing prices during the Spring travel period.  Supposedly, the businessman has powerful background and used violent means to intimidate the customers.  This led to an escalation in which the government was forced to use the police to control the situation and the whole matter has therefore become politicized.  Many people thought that the fact that the local government banned media reports and refused to sanction the business meant that the government officials had an involved interest.  While this is speculation, it is convincing enough for the citizens and it makes them angry.  How can a tiny incident lead to such an incident while bringing up a host of other problems?

First of all, how dare the business employ violence?  Does it have a backer?  Next, why are the people so skeptical about the local government?  Is there real corruption there?  Thirdly, why are the media not reporting?  This is just a local affair and it is understandable why the local media were silent.  But why are the national media not reporting?

Isn't this strange?  The reporting on the Yongzhou Mass Incident has been completely obliterated inside China.  Where did the Rose Garden blogger find out the details, given that she is on sabbitical from Phoenix TV to east coast USA presently?  That is enough for a separate discussion altogether.  In a way, this is not different from the ESWN blogger, who is presently also situated on east coast USA.  The answer is this -- if you want to know, you'll know irregardless of the mystical Great Firewall of China.

• [031]  Micro-politics in Hong Kong (03/12/2007)  Here is an analysis that will intrigue political junkies, because we don't usually get to this level of detail.  While there may be a Chief Executive 'election' going on, we have to remember that all 'true' elections are ultimately local in nature.  This particular election is about as local as it can be: the by-election for the district council representative in the Kam Ying Constituency of the Sha Tin District Council.
   
  How boring can this get, you say?  Thanks to the blogger Derek Greyhound, you will get a micro-analysis of this election contest which will preview the tactics that will no doubt be employed in the full district council elections in November this year (before then, there will be by-elections in May and August as well).
   
  The following is summarized from Derek Greyhound's preview of the by-election (that is, these words were posted before the election results became known).
   
  Why was there a by-election in this one district?  The former district councilor Wong Kwok-hung (of the Frontier party) had been charged with bribery, was found guilty at trial and then lost his appeal.  The legal process took almost one year to complete and this by-election is for a new council member to serve out the remainder of the term (that is, until November).
   
  What is the demographic composition of the Kam Ying district?  There are the ten buildings of the Kam Ying Estates, four buildings of the Ya King Terrace and the eight buildings from the private New City complex.  This is a mix of middle- and lower-class housing estates so that candidates need to be very careful about choosing their issues.  The specific issues would be: transportation for all residents; maintenance and administration at the public housing estates; environmental and health problems with the restaurants across New City; nighttime safety at Kam Ying; the construction of the seafront walkway; insufficient and inadequate leisure and recreational facilities.
   
  It is estimated that there are 18,426 residents in Kam Ying, of which 60% live in Kam Ying, 15% in Ya King Terrace and 25% in New City.  In 2003, there were 9,209 registered voters with 382 more added last year.
   
  Here are the analyses on the four candidates:
   
  - Wong Huk Kam (Frontier) is a lawyer who seems to be an election ronin.  Four years ago, he lost in the Wong Tai Sin election; last year, he lost in the Hong Kong south district.  This time, he parachutes into Kam Ying with the support of Frontier members and the Ka Ying Stages 1 and 2 resident associations.  Wong will be burdened by the fact that the previous Frontier councilor had gone to jail for corruption.  The blogger predicts that Frontier may lose one-half to one-third of its former voters as a result of the scandal.
   
  - Wong Shun Loy (Liberal Party) is an accountant without any outstanding packaging, accomplishments or electioneering.  His support lies with the Ya King Terrace residents plus some loose votes in New City.  He is picked as the fourth finisher.
   
  - Chen Ming Hung (Democratic Party) has youth and education plus some Taiwan-style election tactics.  He is still green in district service.  His forte is policy analysis, which is the wrong focus for a pre-dominantly lower-class constituency.  His promotional material emphasized his experience in Tai Po and the northern district, and this gives the impression of an opportunist.
   
  - Tong Po Chun (no party affiliation) is an educational professional with some prior experience as district councilor elsewhere.  Her support comes from various school principals and professionals inside and outside the district.  Unfortunately, her tactics are stuck in the 1990s (with a long list of endorsements most of whom 75% of the ordinary citizens would not recognize).  Then on Saturday, the pro-Beijing Wen Wei Po published an article in support of Tong Po Chun, so this may be the hidden candidate that was revealed at the last minute.
   
  The election process was actually quite exciting.  During the week before the election, anonymous letters containing smears and personal attacks were circulated in the district.  On election day, the pro-Beijing election workers from other districts showed up to canvass for voters.  Pro-democracy bigwigs such as Emily Lau, Raymond Wong and Leung Kwok-hung were also out there.
   
  At 530pm on March 11, the number of votes was estimated at about 3,300.  The blogger made these predictions:
   
  Tong Po Chun (no party affiliation): 1,300
  Wong Huk Kam (Frontier): 1,000
  Chen Ming Hung (Democratic Party): 700
  Wong Shun Loy (Liberal Party): 300
   
  Here are the actual results:
   
  Tong Po Chun: 1,704
  Wong Huk Kam: 767
  Chan Ming Hung: 557
  Wong Shun Loy: 343
   
  Commentators at the blog pointed out that the pro-Beijing elements have apparently adopted a strategy -- in middle-class districts  (such as Kam Ying), they will run professionals or local powerhouses as candidates without any apparent political affiliation (only to be revealed after winning the election); in their traditional strongholds, they will obviously raise their banners high.  Tong Po Chun may be the first test case of a "submerged professional."  Have we reached an age in which party affiliation is a political liability?

• [030]  China Forces WTO To Use "China: Taiwan Province" (03/11/2007)  (Liberty Times; headline 中國強逼WTO 將我改名) According to a Taiwan National Security senior official, the WTO held an international conference on fisheries subsidies on March 1 and 2 in Geneva during which all references to Taiwan were changed to "China: Taiwan Province" at the demand of the People's Republic of China.  In spite of protests from Taiwan, the conference secretariat refused to correct the name: "We understand Taiwan's situation, but we cannot publicly express that during the conference proper."
   
  (UDN)  Taiwan media reported that the WTO changed the name of Taiwan at a confernece under pressure from China and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs publicly expressed regret and protest to the WTO.  But the fact was that the conference was hosted by the United Nations Environment Programme with the World Wildlife Fund, and not the WTO.  The Taiwan Ministry of Foreign Affairs mistook the organizers and the Taiwan media took dictation and did not conduct due dilligence (note: if you Google, you will find "UNEP-WWF Symposium on"Disciplining Fisheries Subsidies: Incorporating Sustainability at the WTO & Beyond").  Meanwhile, WTO officials are perplexed by the accusation directed at them.
   
  For the record, Taiwan's name at WTO is "Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu's (Chinese Taipei)."

• [029]  Feng Congde on the Democracy Movement (03/11/2007)  (ChineseNewsNet)

1.  The Definition of the Democracy Movement

The precise definition of "a person in the democracy movement" -- someone who is mentioned in the overseas media as fighting for the realization of democracy, freedom, human rights and rule of law in mainland China.

The precise definition of the "democracy movement" -- the sum total of the organizations and actions of the aforementioned "persons in the democracy movement."

2.  The Problems with the "Democracy Movement"

Based upon the above definitions, there are serious problems with the "democracy movement."  In fact, it has a terminal disease.

First of all, the "democracy movement" lacks independence and self-determination -- because the structure of their members, leaders and organizations as well as the nature and scope of events are basically not determined by themselves.  Instead, they rely on an outisde proxy server -- the media (including new media) -- to operate.  This is like as if the American president and congressional representatives being elected by Russians, or the American government being accountable to Sierra Leone citizens instead of Americans.  How could this not be a mess?

Secondly, the "democracy movement" has is like a tree without roots and water without a source -- this is about the relationship between the so-called "overseas democracy movement" and "mainland democracy movement."  There are some who insist that the "mainland democracy movement" should be the priority and the issue is only about how the "overseas democracy movement" can support the "mainland democracy movement."  But the "mainland democracy movement" does not exist in reality.  The so-called "mainland democracy movement" described by outsiders is only an extension of the "overseas democracy movement."  The "democracy movement" exists only on the "overseas media, and therefore this is an "overseas democracy movement."

Thirdly, the biggest problem is that the media are under the control of the Chinese Communists -- this is not only totally true inisde China, but many of the overseas Chinese media (most of them) and even western media (in terms of the focus of attention and structural control of the "leaders").  In conclusion, the "leaders" (not every one of them, but in terms of voice) and "structure" (basically) of the "democracy movement" appears to be opposing the Chinese Communist but they are ultimately structurally controlled by the Chinese Communists (both in hardware and software).

These problems existed in 1989, or even earlier.  The more that you probe about the truth of June 4, the more you will find these kinds of problems and ones that existed before and afterawards.

3. The Future Direction of the "Democracy Movement"

Now that we know everything has been inverted, isn't the future direction quite clear?  To quote Li Peng (1989, May 18): "As a Chinese Communist Party, I do not disguise my viewpoints.  But I won't say anything today ... actually, I've already said it."

• [028]  The Case of Jia Yun (03/11/2007) (Southern Weekend)  Here are some exceprts about the legend of Pikawang International Group chairman Jia Yun:

- On February 2, Pikawang International Group chairman Jia Yun was placed under the "double regulations" by the party disciplinary committee.  This meant that he was required to make a full account of his problems "at a given time and a given place."  He spent three weeks at a vacation village in the company of two minders who were with him day and night.  On the evening of February 27, Jia Yun got one of the men to go out and order some midnight snacks.  Then he knocked the other man unconscious and fled.  He is now a wanted man. 

-The official reason given by the Dongyang party disciplinary committee for placing Jia Yun under "double regulations" was that Jia Yun is a Communist Party member who has one daughter already and now his wife is pregnant again.  Therefore, he is being charged with exceeding the family planning quota.

- The official reason given by the police was that Jia Yun rigged the public auction of the Nanshan Cultural Park land use together with the other four bidders.

- The real reason for the "double regulations" was election bribery.  Jia Yun is already a People's Congress representative for both Jianhua city and Dongyang county city, and he wants to become a member of the Dongyang city party standing committee.  He attempted to bribe certain People's Congress representatives but was reported to the party disciplinary committee.

- Pikawang International Group is engaged in audio-visual cultural products, real estate development, construction, logistics and industry.  Once upon a time, Jia Yun ran a leather furniture company in Dongyang and when the company failed, he left for Guangdong.  Several years later, he returned as a movie company boss.

- Jia Yun's blog at Sina.com is titled "The Boss of Stars -- Jia Yun."  This reflects his reputation as the "sugar daddy" of a certain well-known female movie star and his status as an "audio-visual mogul."  At this blog, there is a special section titled "Fan Binging and me."  There is no entry as yet in that section.

- On March 5, the reporter obtained some promotional materials from the Pikawang International Group's real estate division.  There were many photographs of Jia Yun shaking hands with government and party leaders.  "One time at a Hangzhou movie festival, industry insiders looked at the photographs and pronounced them to be computer-made composite because the hands don't even look to be in the right positions."  Those photographs used to be posted on Jia Yun's blog, but they have been scrubbed as soon as he became a wanted fugitive.

Wall photo of Fan Bingbing and Jia Yun

• [027]  The Democratic Movement in Hong Kong (03/10/2007)

Part 1:

(SCMP)  Police cordon scuttles march against poll.  By Klaudia Lee and Joshua But.

A march protesting against the chief executive election was called off last night after more than 100 protesters who had defied a police ban were surrounded by officers at Victoria Park and prevented from marching to Central.  Protesters led by members of the League of Social Democrats, including "Long Hair" Leung Kwok-hung, Raymond Wong Yuk-man and Albert Chan Wai-yip, and The Frontier's Emily Lau Wai-hing, earlier threatened to break through the iron gates where they were trapped, but the organisers decided to disband after two hours.  Mr Leung claimed that more than 300 people had joined the protest, and denounced the government for using a "dishonourable tactic" to prevent them marching. About 100 uniformed officers were deployed to control the crowd.  Although they never marched, the legislator said: "It's a peaceful protest and, no matter what, it has been successful. We have delivered a message to the whole world."

(Boxun)  More than there hundred people were in attendance ... the police sent in more than 100 plainclothes undercover officers to mix in with the crowd ...

Part 2:

(Ming Pao)  The world-famous Swedish fashion clothing chain store H&M held the grand opening of its first Asian store in Central district, Hong Kong.  About 1,000 fans queued up to sweep up the merchandise.

(Over the Rainbow blog)  As a reporter, I was invited to attend the grand opening party on March 8 with a 20% discount on all purchases.  The party began at 8pm, and the queue was more than 100 meters long with more than 1,000 guests.  I and my colleague L entered after 9pm, and many of the products (such as the Madonna line of Clutch) were sold out already.  Everybody in the store had one or two bags in hand.  L bought one skirt and the cashier wondered: "You only bought one item?"  Actually, L was holding the last skirt in that line.

... In the magazine reoprt, I wrote that "Fast Fashion" depends on having many styles, small quantities and low prices.  This is "fast consumption."  The consumer no longer waits for the big sale, because they can buy a lot, wear them only a few times but pay only small sums.

[Note: I'm out of Hong Kong and have no access to Apple Daily stories.  But what do you think they considered the more significant story?]

• [026]  Chinese Translation Activities (03/10/2007)  Over at our community wiki Chinese Content, there is a link to Upcoming Translation Conferences.  I click on the page and I end up at the announcements from the Research Centre for Translation at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.  I click on the second entry and I am at the Stephen C. Soong Translation Studies Award page.  Oh, yes, it is my beloved mother Mae Soong in that photograph taken in the living room!  The awards were said to be set up in 1997 with a donation from the Soong family.  Literally, that means a lump sum was turned over and the annual awards came from the investment returns (interests, dividends, etc).  Since ten years has passed, and inflation takes place, it is perhaps time to infuse more capital into the project.  However, it does not seem that these awards will benefit the translation bloggers at Chinese Content immediately, because the works must be published in refereed journals.  Maybe that infusion of capital should be earmarked for Internet publications!?

• [025]  The Other "Scum of the Nation" Story (03/10/2007)  For details of the first story, see Comment 200703#022.  Here is the happy story at China Post:

 

Vice President Annette Lu accepted an apology the Associated Press offered yesterday for quoting Chinese media as calling her "insane" and characterizing her as a "crazy separatist" and the "scum of the nation."  Showing a letter of apology from the American news agency, Lu told a meeting at the Office of the President in celebration of Women's Day she also accepted an AP offer of an exclusive interview.

Lu announced her candidacy for president at a news conference on Tuesday. Min Lee, an AP correspondent in Hong Kong, covered the press meeting.  In a story filed from Taipei, Min Lee cited China's state-run media calling the vice president names. She considered the report "maliciously" embraced a "China angle" to "insult" her.  

On the other hand, the CNN posted the AP story on its Web site on Tuesday but used what the vice president deemed an insulting headline. It read: "Taiwan's scum of the nation runs for president."  The vice president at once sent the letter of protest, demanding that the popular American cable network apologize and give her an exclusive interview.

Cheng Wen-tsan, director-general of the Government Information Office, told Democratic Progressive Party lawmakers the spat between the vice president and the American media is over.  DPP lawmakers demanded that Min Lee be deported within 24 hours for insulting the vice president and the people of Taiwan. The Hong Kong-based correspondent is currently taking part in a GIO press tour of southern Taiwan.    "There is going to be a satisfactory result," Cheng told angry legislators, who wanted Min Lee to "get out." He referred to the apology offered by the AP.  The CNN is likely to follow suit.

Earlier, however, a Ministry of Foreign Affairs official promised the lawmakers to revoke Min Lee's entry visa as soon as GIO has informed him that the correspondent was "filing reports without permission."  A GIO official also promised to send the information.  Both officials reversed themselves after they had been told the vice president was satisfied with the AP response.

The background for the "other" story is contained in this Taipei Times editorial:

For AP and CNN to be accused of being "proud and prejudicial" -- as Lu has said -- and pro-China in general is preposterous. Only weeks ago CNN's Anjali Rao interviewed President Chen Shui-bian ( 陳水扁 ) at length on the Talk Asia program, which was notable for the fact that Chen had to be translated throughout -- unusual for the network. We also see no shortage of reports in CNN depicting Beijing's incompetence and malice in domestic affairs, including terrible footage of police mistreatment of ordinary people, content no doubt that has led the network to be censored in China.

As for AP, Taiwan has been quite professionally covered by the agency's correspondents. We might occasionally quibble with AP's treatment of stories and its interpretation of political developments, but for DPP caucus whip Wang Sing-nan ( 王幸男 ) to call for Cabinet resignations if the AP reporter at issue is not hounded out of the country is a contemptible over-reaction and reminiscent of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) thuggery in the Martial Law era.

It's one thing to keep a select group of reporters from China's state-run media on a short leash. It's another altogether to threaten real journalists with visa cancelations. If freedom of speech is to be respected, then reporters must not be threatened, and that includes threats over material that is offensive to the government of the day.

So this other story is premised upon the following elements: (1) Annette Lu made a public complaint and demanded apologies from AP and CNN; (2) DPP legislators demanded the expulsion of the AP reporter Li Min (or Min Lee), who was not even responsible for the "insane" and "scum of the nation" words; (3) MOFA and GIO officials were more than eager to expedit the expulsion; (4) at some point, cooler adult heads interceded and pointed out that an expulsion would be devastating for Taiwan's international reptutation; (5) Annette Lu met the press and waved a piece of paper that is said to represent an apology from AP, and the case was considered close with future AP/CNN interviews to come.

But there is more to the other story (from 6Park; TVBS):

[in translation]

The Associated Press office in New York made an official statement in response to Annette Lu's protest.  The statement said that AP CEO Tom Curley received the protest letter from Annette Lu and wrote a reply that was delivered to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in New York City to explain the position of AP.

In his letter, Curley pointed out that it was proper for AP to cite the description of Annette Lu by mainland Chinese officials because this was clearly identified as the view of Beijing.  AP had not been propagandizing in quoting the severe criticisms and unique language from mainland China.

Curley also pointed out that Taiwan plays an important role in world affairs, and AP has no  hidden agenda or intent to be disrespectful.

As for Annette Lu's claim about the special AP inteview, the AP public relations representative that this was an unrelated matter.  Based upon what he knew, the news department had discussed this matter for future purposes and the list of interviewees contains more than just Annette Lu.

Wouldn't you want to know what is in the piece of paper in Annette Lu's hand?

• [024]  China Does Not Enter The War (03/10/2007)  It is common during those anti-Japanese outbursts on the Chinese Internet to decry the lack of effort and determination of the Chinese as compared to the South Koreans.  So here is latest example:

[CNN.com]  Abe: No new apology for war brothels.  March 4, 2007.

Japan will not apologize again for its World War II military brothels, even if the U.S. Congress passes a resolution demanding it, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told parliament Monday.  Abe, elaborating on his denial last week that women were forced to serve as frontline prostitutes, said none of the testimony in hearings last month by the U.S. House of Representatives offered any solid proof of abuse.

...

Abe last week sided with the critics, saying that there was no proof that the women were coerced into prostitution, igniting a storm of criticism and protests in South Korea and other countries where the women came from.

In conjunction with this news report, CNN.com offered an online poll with the caveat : "This QuickVote is not scientific and reflects the opinions of only those Internet users who have chosen to participate. The results cannot be assumed to represent the opinions of Internet users in general, nor the public as a whole."  Scientific or not, it is the national honor at stake.

The polling question was: "Should Japan apologize again for its World War II military brothels?"  Here is the battle report from New Express (via Wenxue City).  The poll was started on late March 4.  At first, opinions were running 50%/50%.  By March 6, there were more than 500,000 votes with 90% against.  The Korean netizens pubilshed the news link on their portals and blogs: "It is the time to show the strength of Korea now!" and encouraged netizens to vote.  In turn, the Japanese netizens organized their own get-the-vote-out campaign.  By the afternoon of March 8, more than 2 million people have voted with 25% for and 75% against.  Here is the latest score: 5.6 million votes and 82% against.

While the Chinese press kept tab of this battle, the Chinese netizens appear to be missing in action.  This has led to the usual comment that the Koreans are more active patriotic than the Chinese.  Alternately, the other usual comment is that the Chinese are only good at ferreting traitors out among their own people (see, for example, the blog statistics in Finding A Husband For "Chinese Traitor" He Zhili).

• [023]  News Uncovered (03/09/2007)  The following is a summary of Hong Kong blogger Alex's thoughts (聽「新聞最前線」講座有感) on the fourth lecture in the series of "News Uncovered."  The moderator was i-Cable News chief announcer Lavender Cheung.  The four panelists were Kevin Lau Chun-to (Ming Pao), Chris Yeung (South China Morning Post), Dominica Siu King-lo (HK Catholic Church Social Communists Office) and Albert Cheng (Hong Kong Legislator and former Commercial Radio talk show host).

Albert Cheng repeatedly brought up the issue that his departure as Commercial Radio program host has meant that the space for free speech had become smaller even as the total audience size decreased (he repeatedly pointed out that the number of radio listeners has decreased ever since he left Commercial Radio).  Kevin Lau suggested that the Internet may be "an outlet for free speech," inasmuch as Hong Kong stock exchange board member David Webb became famous through Internet commentary.  But Cheng responded that he is pessimistic about the Internet: he recalled that when he participated in Internet radio programs, the largest audiece was 3,000 persons and so this can only be called 'narrowcast.'  
 
Albert Cheng's 'narrowcast' can be understood to be the result of the limitations on technology and resources.  But it seems to overstate the case to say that if the new media have fewer audience members than the traditional broadcast media, then this negates the potential and possibilities of the former.  That view seems a bit extreme.  After all, since the young people today seek information from the Internet and that is a much less restrictive medium, then the correct approach is to reach out and develop the youth because the payouts will be much greater in the long run.  But from the panel discussion, it seems that traditional and new media are "mutually antagonistic" entities.
 
Kevin Lau had something more to say about the eternal question of traditional versus new media.  He said that during the Bus Uncle episode, Ming Pao held internal discussions about whether "the Internet will replace traditional media."  They even asked people to do quantitative analyses and found out that there had been a vast increase in the number of citations of Internet news within newspapers.  But he said that even if the traditional media were to draw in the "civilian journalists," the "news information" provided by them do not necessarily have news value (for example, they may favor "fun" or "gossip" stuff).  So even if they become increasingly important, they cannot replace the "core values" of the professional journalists.
 
Thus, two questions were raised.  "What is news value?" and "What is core value?"  My understanding is that Kevin Lau's so-called "news value" is determined by the "gatekeeper" at the news organization and the basis of that determination involves the theories taught at journalisim school, the accumulated personal experience, the corporate culture and even the will of the superiors.  As for the "core values," it is like what Albert Cheng brought up when he spoke about narrowcasts.  That is, what the audience sees and hears depends on the "expert" (or at least "experienced veteran") at the news organization.  This contains a hint of "elitism."  In recent years, people who advocate grassroots media and civilian journalism oppose precisely that attitude -- they want to break down the monopoly of traditional media, they don't want the media to tell them what to watch (information, viewpoints, etc) because they want to decide on their own.
 
I know what Kevin Lau meant.  But in yesterday's forum, I could see that the university students in the audience are obviously already relying more on the Internet than traditional media.  Apart from lifestyle changes, I guess that they find what is on the Internet to be more satisfying than in traditional media.

• [022]  The "Scum of the Nation" Story (03/09/2007)  (UDN via Yahoo! News)  Here is the initial official reaction after the AP/CNN story which cited identified persons who called Taiwan vice-president Annette Lu 'insane' and 'scum of the nation' (see Comment 200703#014).  The Democratic Progressive Party and the Taiwan Solidarity Union both demanded the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Government Information Office to cancel the AP reporter Li Min's visa and expel him out of Taiwan.  The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Government Information that they will do so quickly and the police will ask Li to depart.  However, a person involved in diplomacy pointed out that an expulsion may raise international concerns over freedom of press in Taiwan.
   
  (UDN via Yahoo! News)  Fortunately, the case was resolved by other means, as AP stated its regrets and said that it did not intend any disrespect; furthermore, AP has agreed to conduct an exclusive interview with Annette Lu in which she can say anything that she wants.  Annette Lu has agreed with this arrangement and therefore the matter of expulsion is tabled.
   
  (ETToday via Yahoo!)  Here is a history lesson.  Who was the first foreign correspondent to be expelled from Taiwan?  In 1981, there was the shocking case of Carnegie Mellon University assistant professor Chen Wen-chen who was found dead on the campus ground of National Taiwan University.  This was an international incident, due to the disagreement between the authorities and the Chen family about the cause of death.  Chen's bruised and battered body was discovered on July 2, 1981 on the campus of National Taiwan University after he had been taken away by the Taiwan Garrison General Headquarters on the previous day.  The garrison headquarters initially claimed that Chen had committed suicide because he feared being arrested for crimes, but changed its account the following day, saying that he had died in an accident.
   
  Eventually, the Taiwan authorities acceded to the Chen family's demand to have an American forensic doctor come to Taiwan to examine the body.  In her report, Associated Press reporter Tina Chou used the word 'autopsy' instead of 'examination.'  The Taiwan Government Information Office believed that the word 'autopsy' damaged the sovereignty and dignity of Taiwan and demanded a written apology.  When AP did not respond in a timely manner, the Government Information Office canceled Tina Chou's press license and expelled her from Taiwan.  By the way, the head of the Taiwan Information Office at the time was none other than James Soong.
   
  Related Link: The ____ of the Nation  Austin Ramzy, The China Blog (TIME); Annette Lu tames the world press  Taipei Times.

• [021]  More Political Intimidation in Hong Kong Election (or Maybe Not) (03/08/2007)  (The Sun)  The most advanced aircraft carrier in the world USS Reagan is visiting Hong Kong for four to five days.  Although the USS Reaga visited Hong Kong in June 2006, the current trip was unprecedented because the armada was escorted by a submarine.
  
  Presently, there is an ongoing Chief Executive election in Hong Kong.  Does the arrival of an American naval armada imply pressure?  Nobody has thought so.  Going back to 2004, it was only the visit by a Chinese navy fleet into one of its own harbors that caused the New York Times to become concrened about the threat to Hong Kong democracy (see The Chinese Navy Sails Into Hong Kong Harbor).  Meanwhile, visits by American navy armadas does not raise any eyebrows (see Hello Kitty).   The USS Reagan is being received enthusiastically because the 6,000 sailors are expected to spend HK$ 8 million per day while on leave in Hong Kong.

• [020]  My Late Night Reading (03/08/2007)  From <Save Twilight> by Julio Cortazár.

En un antiguo Buenos Aires donde habíamos vivido y escrito en la incertidumbre, abiertos a todo por falta -- o desconocimiento -- de asideros reales, las mitologías abarcaban no sólo a los dioses y a los bestiarios fabulosos sino a poetas que invadían como dioses o unicornios nuestras vidas porosas, para bien y para mala, las rágafas numinosas en el pampero de los años treinta/cuarenta/cincuetna.  García Lorca, Eliot, Neruda, Rilke, Hölderlin,

y esta enumeración sorprendería a un europeo incapaz de aprehender una disponsipilidad que maleaba lenguas y tiempos en un misma operación de maravilla, Lubicz-Milosz, Vallejo, Cocteau, Huidobro, Valéry, Cernuda, Michaux, Ungaretti, Alberti, Wallace Stevens, todo al azar de originales, traducciones, amigos viajeros, periódicos, cursos, téléfonos árabes, estéticas efímeras.  Las huellas de todo eso son tan reconcibles en cualquier antología de esos años, y por supuesto aquí.

[in translation]

In an old Buenos Aires where we had lived and written in uncertainty, open to everything for lack of -- or ignorace -- of anything real t ohold onto, our mythologies encompassed not only the gods and the fabulous bestiaries but poets who, for better and for worse, invaded our porous lives like gods and unicorns, the numinous lightning-flashes on the pampa-dweller of the thirties/forties/fifties: García Lorca, Eliot, Neruda, Rilke, Hölderlin,

and this list might surprise a European incapable of understanding a disposition given to bending pure languages and times into a single act of wonder, Lubicz-Milosz, Vallejo, Cocteau, Huidobro, Valéry, Cernuda, Michaux, Ungaretti, Alberti, Wallace Stevens, all by way of originals, trnslations, traveling friends, newspapers, courses, grapevines, ephemeral esthetics.  Traces of all these are easily identifiable in any anthology of those years, and of course here.

• [019]  Dick Cheney and Alexander Solzhenitsyn (03/08/2007)  (ObserveChina)  The following are translated excerpts from Yu Jie (余杰)'s essay.  [You are warned that these are selective excerpts and may be unfair to the author.]

The Center for Strategic and International Studies veteran writer and expert on China fused in his new book <Rise of the Vulcans: The History of Bush's War Cabinet> the biography and theory on Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, Condeleeza Rice, Colin Powell, Paul Wolfowitz and Richard Armitage over thirty years.  Unless you understand the experiences and thoughts of these illustrious people, you cannot understand the origins of the foreign policy of the Bush administration.  If you don't understand the basic values and beliefs of these helmsmen of American policy, you will not understand how policies are decided at the White House, Congress, the Pentagon and State Department.

....

Gerald Ford was a weak president.  He had no clear concept of ruling and foreign policy, and so Henry Kissinger had unchallenged influence.  In the later stages of the Ford administration, Rumsfeld and Cheney worked together to force Kissinger to fade from the scene.  James Mann wrote: "Cheney ultimately failed, because Alexander Solzhenitsyn did not get to meet the president.  This eventually meant that Ford and Kissinger paid high political prices."  When Ronald Reagan entered the White House, the influence of Kissinger was finally terminated.  Reagan employed strong tactics against the Communist countries in Russia and China and realized the hopes of Solzhenitsyn about the American role in international affairs.  This was the correct foreign policy.  Within the internal developments of Soviet Russia and eastern Europe, this ultimately swept the Communist Parties in these countries into the dustbin of history.

On May 11, 2006, President Bush received myself, Wang Yi and Li Baiguang (three Christians and human rights activists from mainland China).  According to the senior officials from the USA National Security Administrator, China's Religious Affairs Bureau director Ye Xiaowen publicly acknowledged that the Chinese Communist government attempted to go through diplomatic channels to stop this meeting from happening.  Within the US State Department, certain senior officials recommended that the White House should cancel this meeting so as not to irk the Chinese Communists.  But vice-president Cheney resolutely turned down this recommendation and made sure that the meeting took place.  In the end, President Bush personally ordered this meeting to take place according to the original plan.

Thirty-one years ago, deputy director Dick Cheney of the White House office was unable to persuade President Gerald Ford to meet with Alexander Solzhenitsyn; thirty-one years later, vice-president Dick Cheney was able to ensure that President Bush would meet with three Chinese intellectuals.  During the meeting, I noticed that Cheney was listening with a smile on his face on the side; meanwhile, the American media reported that when Hu Jintao visited the White House, Cheney was napping on the side.  The different attitudes of Cheney on the two occasions provided an obvious contrast.  As I read James Mann's story about Dick Cheney and Alexander Solzhenitsyn, I have a deeper understanding of the taciturn Dick Cheney.

It is standard practice to say the "the enemy of my enemy must be my friend."  As such, Chinese dissidents must not be criticized.  However, this particular essay from Yu Jie occurred at a particular inopportune moment in history -- American vice-president Dick Cheney's aide Libby had just been convicted by a US court on a number of charges.  While American politics may be too complicated for Chinese citizens to follow, you can try this cartoon-illustrated narrative from Juan Cole.  The case extends much more than a perjury trial, because this was also about mispresenting intelligence in order to start an unnecessary war in which hundreds of thousands of lives have perished already.  This is arguably about a crime against humanity.  To put in bluntly, would you like a Dick Cheney-like person to take charge in China?  If not, you better say so instead of talking about how he was a good guy because he did not fall asleep during a meeting ...

• [018]  The Ideal Newspaper in Taiwan (03/08/2007)  (Yahoo! Taiwan)  You are forewarned that this is not a scientific and representative survey.  This is a survey of Yahoo! members in Taiwan between the ages of 12 to 65 using a stratified sampling method based upon gender, age, educational level and geography (into 240 cells) and the 5,599 persons responded.  Please bear in mind that members of Yahoo! do not represent the general population.
   
  So which is the ideal newspaper according to these survey respondents?
  Apple Daily led with 37% of the votes, followed by Liberty Daily, United Daily News and China Times.
   
  Survey respondents were also asked to rank the newspapers in terms of certain attributes.  Apple Daily was the leader with respect to "entertainment value," "lifestyle information," "immediacy" and "influence."  But it was only ranked number four in terms of "professionalism," "accuracy," "credibility," "educational value" and "depth of content."
   
  As for United Daily News, it had a comfortable lead on "educational value," 
  "credibility" and "depth of content" but it ranked very low on "entertainment value" and "lifestyle information."
   
  Liberty Times led on "local information" as well as "professionalsim" and "accuracy."
   
  The oddness of the outcome is that people may harp about the importance of "accuracy," "professionalism," "credibility" and so on for their newspapers, but in the end the "ideal newspaper" was the one that was superior in "entertainment value" and "lifestyle information."  That is enough to make one re-think what is really going on.

• [017]  Fan Bingbing in Milan (03/08/2007) (yWeekend)  Chinese netizens had been condemning actress Fan Bingbing for showing up in Milan wearing a transparent dress through which her pubic hair was clearly visible.  Others have suggested that this photograph was a PhotoShop job.  Through the yWeekend reporter's investigation, the photograph was traced to the Italian fashion brand (Just Cavalli FW 07-08; her gold jacket is priced at 16,000 RMB; her black skirt at 9,700 RMB and her high-heeled shoes at 4,900 RMB) sending a photograph to the <Ming Pao> newspaper in Hong Kong and this photograph was published without alteration by other media (but some of them reduced the resolution).  The yWeekend reporter determined from the original photograph that Fan Bingbing was wearing an underskirt and therefore it was impossible for any hint of pubic hair to show.  The whole problem was that some people were too readily given to imagination and speculation. 
   
  Well, you can take a took and decide whether your imagination is too vivid as well ...
  

• [016]  Family Viewing (03/07/2007)  (Diuman Park)  The following is a summary of a proposal from blogger Yip Yatchi.

Previously, the Hong Kong Broadcasting Authority had issued a strong advisory against TVB for showing the movie <An Autumn Story> which included some strong language. HK BA chairman Patrick Fung dodged the public outcry against the decision until he finally came out with a proclamation that the decision was consistent with public opinion.

According to the news report, the Broadcasting Authority claimed to have received many responses.  Of these, 1948 supported the decisions (note: there were two decisions, one on <An Autumn Story> and the other about a gay segment on a RTHK program) and only 812 opposed.  Among these responses, 18 opposed the decision against <An Autumn Story> and 5 supported it; 166 supported both decisions and only 13 opposed.  The rest of the responses pertain only to the other decisions.
 
How could the outcome turn out in these kinds of numbers?  According to a report in Ming Pao on February 25:

Recently, I received several email which will help to explain the mystery behind these numbers.  One email began this way: "Urgent call! The 'One letter per person to support the Broadcasting Authority's decision on <Comrade, Lover>' action.  Hurry up!  Or else, the Broadcasting Authority may issue a public apology due to lack of public opinion support and then it will be too late!"

The email provided the reasons and wording in great detail, while emphasizing: "The following are just some suggestions for your reference.  If you want to use it, please make some amendments and add your personal thought, because the government may treat identical letters as a single item.  There is no length requirement, and a few dozens words suffice."

The letter came from the Hong Kong Sexual Culture Society.  This organization understands the rules of the game and is terrific at crafting public opinion.  So why were there so few responses with respect to <An Autumn Story>?  Because nobody started a campaign.

When Patrick Fung spoke about public opinion, this is the kind of thing he means.  As for all the published essays by named individuals as well as the media criticisms, he sees nothing.

TVB has decided to strike back.  On midnight on next Sunday (that is, early morning on Monday March 12), TVB will show the uncut, original version of <An Autumn Story>.  Viewers will be able to listen to Chow Yun-fat say the objectionable words again.  The blogger Yip Yatchi urges all civilized persons to stay up and break the ratings record for the midnight period; parents are also urged to watch with their children and discuss this general knowledge lesson with them.
 
Postscript:  (Ming Pao)  Apparently, TVB has backed from its threat to have the whole film shown as is.  Instead, TVB will edit out the words "F**k" and "XX鏟."  Not to fear, because you can watch the episode on YouTube at 秋天的童話.  By the way, the phrase "Eat banan" can be heard distinctly and nobody has commented on this obvious reference to fellatio so far.

• [015]  Taiwan By The Numbers (03/07/2007)  (UDN) (1,096 adults interviewed on March 6.  Sample was drawn from the telephone directory with the last two digits of the selected telephone numbers being randomized)
   
  The subject was the popular preference for the four announced presidential candidates from the Democratic Progressive Party.  During the primary election to become the party's official candidate, 30% of the weight will be given to party member voting and 70% of the weight will be given to a public opinion poll (from which pan-blue people will be excluded).  This particular UDN poll presents the results for three different bases:
   
  Base: All persons
  21% Su Tseng-chang
  16% Frank Hsieh
  16% Annette Lu
   5% Yu Shyi-kun
   
  Base: All persons excluding those who identify with the pan-blue parties KMT and PFP
  18% Su Tseng-chang
  17% Frank Hsieh
  (note: numbers not available for the other two candidates)
   
  Base: Only those pesrons who identify with the pan-green parties DPP and TSU
  30% Su Tseng-chang
  34% Frank Hsieh
  11% Annette Lu
   8% Yu Shyi-kun

• [014]  The News Reporter Who Was Reported In The News (03/07/2007)  Journalists are warned that they should not become part of the news.  Associated Press reporter Li Ming (李明) has now become the target of investigation of the Taiwan media as a result of a news report in which he contributed.  Li Ming (see photographs) was known to have participated in the press conference of Taiwan Vice-president Annette Lu at which she announced her candidacy for the presidency in 2008.  
  
  Afterwards, the following AP story appeared:

Annette Lu's chances of a victory in next year's vote are slim, and many doubt she will even win her party's primary _ which already includes three other solid candidates. But the unpredictable, outspoken Lu will likely spice up the race. 

She has repeatedly angered Beijing with her support for Taiwanese independence, and China's state-run media have called her "insane'' for favoring a formal split from the mainland, and the "scum of the nation.'' Tensions with China would likely rise if she were elected.

While announcing her candidacy Tuesday, she again challenged Beijing's sacred view that Taiwan is an inseparable part of China.   "Taiwan is a Pacific country, not an affiliate of China,'' said Lu, whose campaign slogan is, "Rebuild a beautiful island, Taiwan go go go.'' 

Taiwan has been ruled separately from China since the Communists won a civil war and took over the mainland in 1949. Beijing insists Taiwan must unify eventually or face a devastating war. 

Lu, 62, proposed a China policy of "constructive engagement'' that promotes "coexistence, co-operation, co-prosperity.''  She said, "Taiwan and China are distant relatives and neighbors. There isn't any hatred between them. There shouldn't be a war.''  But she added that she would continue the work of President Chen Shui-bian, who is also reviled by Beijing for his refusal to endorse eventual unification. 

The AP story was then cited by CNN.com (see screen captures)

(TVBS)  Thanks to the Internet, within one day after the story appeared, searches on the word 人渣 (scum of the earth) ends with the top news story result being this negative report.  Lu filed a protest with CNN and also demanded an explanation from AP: "I'm going to send a very stern letter to Associated Press.  Many of the international media were sent over from mainland China or Hong Kong temporarily, and their ideas and views are totally those of the Beijing authorities.  Their reprots are very damaging to our national image."  "This is not just my personal problem.  I am a two-term vice-president and it is an extremely serious affair to use those words from Beijing to insult us.  I think that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Government Information Office need to pay attention."

(TVBS)  Based upon the TVBS investigation, the AP journalist was named Li Ming.  He was one of the foreign correspondents who got to shake hands with Annette Lu.  During the press conference, he sat in the front row.  Li Ming is his 30's and he is inexperienced insofar as the AP ranks ago.  This is his third visit to Taiwan since the presidential election in 2004, usually coming over from Hong Kong to support the team.  On this occasion, Li Ming followed Annette Lu's tour and then went back to the office to write about the press conference as well as some general background.  The quotations of "insane" and "scum of the earth" were in fact written by senior AP staff members.  AP does not believe that the quotations were inappropriate.  Nevertheless, Li Ming has cancelled his assignments today because he has become the focus of the story now.

• [013]  Hong Kong By The Numbers (03/07/2007) (HKU POP)  (1,020 persons interviewed on February 1-6, 1,014 persons interviewed on February 22-26 and 1,018 persons interviewed on February 28)

Vote of confidence in CE Donald Tsang
65% (Feb 1-6)
69% (Feb 22-26)
74% (Feb 28)

Vote of no confidence in CE Donald Tsang
18% (Feb 1-6)
16% (Feb 22-26)
17% (Feb 28)

Satisfied with SAR government performance
38% (Feb 1-6)
42% (Feb 22-26)
51% (Feb 28)

Dissatisfied with SAR government performance
17% (Feb 1-6)
14% (Feb 22-26)
12% (Feb 28)

• [012]  Taiwan By The Numbers (03/07/2007)  (TVBS)  (832 persons age 20 or over interviewed on March 5.  Telephone numbers were sampled from the directory and the last four digits of the sampled numbers were randomized)

Q1.  Satisfaction with President Chen Shui-bian
16% satisfied
58% dissatisfied
26% no opinion
 
Q2. Yesterday, President Chen Shui-bian proposed the "four yeses and one without" -- that is, Taiwan should be independent, it should have a normalized name, it should have a new constitution and it should develop; there is no issue about left versus right, just unification versus independence.  Do you agree with the President's proposal?
24% agree
54% disagree
22% no opinion
 
Q3.  President Chen proposed that Taiwan should have its normalized name.  Do you agree with this proposal?
29% agree
49% disagree
22% no opinion

Q4. President Chen proposed that Taiwan should have a new constitution.  Do you agree with this proposal?
30% yes
45% no
25% no opinion

Q5. President Chen proposed "four yeses and one without."  Are you concerned that this would heighten cross-strait tensions?
56% concerned
32% not concerned
12% no opinion

Q6. President Chen proposed "four yeses and one without."  Are you concerned that this would affect the relationship between Taiwan and the United States?
52% concerned
33% not concerned
16% no opinion

Q7.  Which of the following three positions for Taiwan do you support?
15% independence
62% maintain status quo
 9% unification

Q8.  Which of the following three options would you choose for Taiwan?
46% independence
21% unification with mainland China
  8% a state in the United States of America
25% no opinion

Q9.  Which of the following two options would you choose for Taiwan?
55% independence
25% unification with mainland China
20% no opinion

• [011]  The Strange Phenomenon of Winning Over The Commentators But Losing The Public (03/05/2007)  (Ming Pao)  By Ivan Choy Chi-keung (蔡子強).

• [010]  Book Shopping (03/05/2007) (Boxun)  By Ling Bo (凌坡).

• [008]  The Adelaide Diaries
    

• (03/04/2007)  This was a full travel day for the 12+hours to get from Adelaide to Hong Kong.  Airplane food was atrocious, so I went out for a late dinner upon arrival.
   

• (03/03/2007)  On my last full day in Adelaide, we went for a German dinner in a place called Hahndorf.  What is a German dinner?  One huge pork hock plus a wide variety of sausages.  Just in case, we had a rack of pork ribs for diversion.  Not a single vegetable was in sight (unless you include the mashed potatoes).  Afterwards, it was back into the Adelaide city center to have a cup of coffee and then I went back to the hotel to pack for the return trip to Hong Kong.  Was this a fun trip?  Well, since when is any funeral 'fun'?  I was tasked with delivering the eulogy and I faltered at the end because my carefully and clinically prepared script managed to overwhelm me emotionally all the same.  I am just unqualified to be a political commissar ...
   
  Even at the funeral, I am coming across the Internet effect.  I met someone who read the Next Magazine interview with me (天外有天:宋以朗 in Chinese) and then he used my personal history to write a newspaper article to reflect on the general phenomenon about how so many Chinese students have been ranked at the top of South Australia and other Australian states.  Then there was another person whom I did not get to talk to but I really wished that I had -- he came from the Ocean University of Qingdao, he showed up at the funeral precisely because of his interest in my grandfather's connections to the predecessor of Ocean University and he could have really illuminated me about the family history as I presented at Roots - Part 1.
    

• (03/02/2007)  What do I miss when away from Hong Kong?  No Apple Daily, because it is a subscription-only service outside of Hong Kong.  It makes no sense for me to get such a subscription because I spend the preponderance of my time in Hong Kong.  Ummmppphhh!
   
  There is a picture that is missing here, as the group went out to the seaside by Glengelg to watch an approaching thunderstorm.  Mobile phone cameras are pretty much useless to take pictures of the lightning bolts, because the requirement is for the quick reaction + long exposure.  But it was an interesting sight.
   

• (03/01/2007)  A lesser known subject about the Internet  广州日报, websites and blogs is the existence of hidden social networks.  These social networks are hidden (i.e. unknown to the blogger) and only get revealed at the right moment.  A case in point is this current trip to Adelaide.  As far as I know, I only have some relatives there and they have a social network there; in other words, I do not have any social network on my own.  So I come here and then I find email coming in -- a Beijing-based foreign correspondent makes a recommendation for a a restaurant; a Flinders University student offered a guided tour and also recommended the Deng Hao restaurant at Gouger Street.  So I took the last piece of information to my relatives and they shrieked in delight: "Oh, that was the restaurant that we took you to last night.  See!  We take you to nice places!"
   
  Previously, I was in Prague in 2005 for the readership research symposium.  While there, I received an email from a hotel clerk: "Hey, I was just listening to BBC World and you were being interviewed by Carrie Gracie.  I went to your blog and I saw that you are in Prague!  Would you like me to show you around?"
   
  There is also the opposite story, as when other bloggers come to Hong Kong and ask to meet.
   

• (02/28/2007)  What do insomniacs do?  They watch sunrise ...
   
  
   

• (02/27/2007)  In between errands during the day, I stayed in my hotel room most of the time.  Why not see the town then?  By nature, I have little or no interest in the typical tourist 'thing.'  For example, I lived in New York City for more than three decades and I have never been to the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, Empire State Building (correction: I once went to a tenth-floor office to see my aunt), Metropolitan Museum, etc.  In any case, there are some additional drawbacks about being in the streets of Adelaide.  One, the skies are cloudlessly blue.  That is great but you will get a sunburn in about five minutes outside.  Two, it gets a little bit hot outside (as in, 40 degrees centigrade).
   
  So I stayed in my hotel room.  I am writing some proposals for conference papers, and then I am still left with quite a bit of time for translating here.  Due to the present circumstances and the nature of this trip, I am in no mood to go through all the sources to find the new and different things in the brief comments section.  So I relied on the recommendations at Chinese Content.  I went through the article on 你可能不知道的龍應台, finished the translation, hit save and it promptly disappeared (nothing was in the cache!).  At this point, I don't know if I can work up the energy to do it one more time.
   

• (02/26/2007)
   
  In purchasing the roundtrip airplane ticket between Hong Kong and Adelaide, I was struck by the the fact that the duration from Hong Kong to Adelaide was 8:40 hours while that from Adelaide to Hong Kong was 12:05 hours.  Wow!  I thought, "That must be some kind of head/tail wind!"  Once I got here, the travel agency person straightened me out: "It's about the length of the runway at Adelaide."  Say what?  
   
  The fact is that the airplane takes off with a full load of fuel from the long Hong Kong International Airport runway.  Almost 9 hours later, it arrives with a much smaller fuel load and lands at the shorter Adelaide runway.  If this airplane were to take on a full load of fuel, it could not take off on the Adelaide runway.  So, for the return trip, this airplane will take off almost immediately (without a full fuel reload) for Melbourne, another Australian city less than two hours away.  At Melbourne, the airplane takes on a full load of fuel.  Since Melbourne has a longer runway, the airplane can now take off.  But the airplane does not use the most direct route to go from Melbourne to Hong Kong.  Instead, it takes off towards Adelaide in a west north-west direction.  When it reaches Adelaide airspace, it then veers towards Hong Kong in a northerly direction in order to satisfy the paper requirement that this is a flight from Adelaide.
   
  Every day, I learn something new ... 
   
  
  The view from the hotel room of the river and the cricket ground.
   

• (02/25/2007)  I arrived in Adelaide safe, sound and sleepless after the overnight direct flight.  There is nothing much to see in Adelaide on Sundays; to be more precise, if you are interested in churches, then there is plenty to see in the place known as "the City of Churches."  After checking into this extremely expensive hotel (I'm here because there are events going on one after another and this hotel is the only one with rooms available precisely because of the high price), I had a mild fright when the laptop computer would not start correctly (note: distorted screen).  This computer is five years old and probably due to crash soon.  Fortunately, the problem was fixed after detaching the movable mouse altogether and using the built-in mousepad exclusively.  If I do not update the website for the rest of the week, you will know why.
   
  (02/24/2007)  I will be leaving for Adelaide (South Australia) for a few days.  So this blogging thing may drop off as a result.

• [007] The Swallow Comes South (03/02/2007)  (Boxun)  AIDS activist Hu Jia and his wife Zeng Jinyan visited Hong Kong and went to the famous local bookstore known as People's Commune (人民公社):

 [in translation]

Then some friends took us to a small bookstore known as "People's Commune."  As much as I don't like the feeling of pain brought on by the head portrait of Mao Zedong on the logo, I must admit that the bookstore was decorated in a relaxed, refined manner for us to sit and chat on the sofa.  We could also use the bookstore's computer to access the Internet.  We were able to pick any book and read it.  Although the bookstore does not have many books, the selections were excellent.  The bookstore staff had soothing smiles and they let us take photographs at will.  The beverage list came in the form of a little red book from Chairman Mao.  I ordered a mango drink known as "Red Guard Ice" (红卫冰).

But Mao's head portrait still makes people uneasy.

We bought a few good books.  Based upon our spending level, this was expensive, but there books are simply not available in Beijing.  As I was leaving, I noted a copy of <The Empire of Lies> on the bookstore with the word "Fire" (火) noted on it.  I asked the young man in the bookstore what that means.  He smiled and said that it means that the book is selling well.  My husband was blushing like a child as he picked up the book and said, "This book mentions us."  He flipped to the section about AIDS in China and showed the young man, who was laughing like sunshine: "What don't you make an annotation that you were here.  You are someone not liked by the Chinese authorities, and we are a bookstore that they don't like."

As they chatted in a low voice, there were a few relaxed readers in the store and the air had the feel of the mild dampness of see breeze.  I did not have to turn around to see if someone was tailing us, I had no fear, I had no embarrassment and I had no particular joy.  I was just relaxed and I bid farewell to the young man.  At the moment when the door closed behind me, I wanted to freeze time in this instant.

• [006]  The Number of Bird Species (03/02/2007)  In researching The Hong Kong Chief Executive Election Debate, it was frustrating.  I did not watch the televised debate (note: I'm presently in Adelaide, Australia) and there is no transcript or even a detailed summary.  The candidates throw out numbers (such as the reserve funds of Hong Kong) and challenge each other; one would think that the media would follow up but it was hard to find a clear account.  Instead, there is plenty of opinions from image consultants and the like.
   
  One number was noted at Over The Rainbow.  "Alan Leong noted that there are more than 500 species of birds in Hong Kong, even more than in China.  The colleague working on the China section of our newspaper immediately started to search on the Internet and found that China has 1,500 species of birds."  Without the transcript, I must say that I'm totally confused.  I'm not even talking about the fact that Hong Kong is part of China and therefore any Hong Kong bird species is automatically a Chinese bird species.  I just cannot imagine that there is some bird species that knows that it must always stay on the Hong Kong side of the border and never cross over into Shenzhen.  I must be missing something here ...
   
  Relevant data:
  WWF: "With a land area of only 1,095 square kilometres, Hong Kong is home to over 420 species of birds – roughly a third of the total number of bird species in the whole of China."
  Wikipedia: "Hong Kong is a major stopover point of Asia’s migration routes for birds. The wide varieties of local habitats including wetlands, grasslands, woodlands, seashores and farmlands contribute to the diversity of the birds. There are over 450 species of wild birds including residents, winter visitors, passage migrants, and summer visitors recorded in Hong Kong."
  WWF: "Hong Kong is a stopping ground or part-time home to more than 200 species of migratory brids when they travfel along the East Asian flyway.  Migratory birds actually make up the bulk of species recorded in Hong Kong."
  ChinaBirding: "For example, De Schauensee(1984) recorded 1,1195 species of Chinese birds, Cheng Tso Hsin(1994) recorded 1,244, later Cheng Tso Hsin reported 1,253, moreover, 1,329 bird species were recorded by Mackinon in 2000."
   
  P.S.  There is always the audio and/or visual recordings at RTHK.

• [005]  Anti-Japanese War Memorial Site (03/02/2007)  (Chongqing Evening News via Ming Pao)  In June 1951, the Japanese air force bombed the city of Chongqing intensely and more than 2,500 peole died at a certain air raid shelter.  Afterwards, the site was preserved as a memorial place.  Recently, the site has been subjected to a barrage of urine and feces.  Every morning, the workers found piles of feces and pools of urine.  Although they remove the material every day, the smell persisted.  The media made a stake-out, and counted ten people urinating at the site in just 30 minutes.
   
  So who is not respecting the memory of the war of resistance against Japan? Why do the angry young people have to say?

• [004]  Five Golden Flowers (03/02/2007)  (Ming Pao)  On February 28, the Shenzhen Public Security BUreau announced the "Five Golden Flowers" in which citizens can cilp out the forms in local newspapers to vote for their favorite police women.  What happened was that the local police went out to buy up all the copies of local newspapers in order to vote for their co-workers in the same police station.
   
  At Baoan Road, a police man came to a newspaper kiosk on a motorcycle and bought all the several dozen copies of local newspaper.  The two storage cases on the motorcycle were stuffed with newspapers but the policeman continued down the road to buy more newspapers.
   
  Once this was revealed on the Internet, mass denunciations came in: "I thought that this was for the people to vote, not for the police to vote for themselves"; "The police sisters should probably be doing something for the people instead of themselves"; "It is shameless to be driving a motorcycle and buying up newspapers while on duty!"; "If the passion for electing the police 'golden flowers' were used for solving crimes, the crime rate would be reduced by at least 50%."
   
  When Ming Pao called up the Shenzhen public security bureau, they received no reply.

• [003]  Hong Kong By The Numbers (03/01/2007)  (HKU POP) (1,014 respondents surveyed on Feburary 22-26, 2007)
   
  Results of a hypothetical voting between Donald Tsang and Alan Leong among all persons:
   
  74% voted for Donald Tsang
  14% voted for Alan Leong
  13% were uncertain
   
  Of the demographic breakdowns, the most relevant one is political inclination (self-selected from pro-democracy (61%), pro-China (6%), moderate (37%), no preference (23%)):
   
  Donald Tsang: 
  74% all persons
  64% pro-democracy
  97% pro-China
  77% moderate
  75% no preference
   
  Alan Leong:
  14% all persons
  25% pro-democracy
    2% pro-China
  10% moderate
    8% no preference

• [002]  Transfers and Promotions (03/01/2007)  (Southern Metropolis Daily)

On February 26, two Chongqing important leaders replied to the public skepticism about the transfer of the Penshui SMS poem incident's principal Lan Qinghua to become deputy director of the Chongqing city Statistical Bureau.  The key points were: first, Lan should not go without work given his work capability; two, Lan Qinghua was transferred horizontally but his new job has lesser power than his original job as county party secretary and this implies punishment.

From the raging Internet reaction, these statements did not placate the netizens but they only provoked a new round of criticisms ... the explanation laid open a piece of common knowledge in officialdom: every official would rather be a country party secretary than be at the Statistical Bureau.  It is just so much more powerful and attractive.  If you don't understand this hidden rule, then you won't understand the meaning of the "implied punishment."

So why do positions at the same level have different power?  You can listen to what the fallen Wang Zhaoyao had to say.  Wang had spent many years as a county and town party secretary (or 'number one').  In his confession, Wang explained "power" this way: "On job appointments, it was just a matter of my say-so, a wave of my hand, a telephone call or have a meeting with the relevant persons and telling them what to do.  That was it."

"Just a single sentence" and "a wave of my hand" represent the power of the "number one."  That is why so many officials want to have that "power."  "Absolute power creates absolute corruption" is an immutable truth.  If the officials really care about the people, if they are thinking about "the three represents" and if they are thinking about the "honors" and the "shames," they would not care about where or how they serve the people.  Every department would be a place to contribute to the nation.  Then how could a job transfer at the same level be a "punishment"?

• [001]  36 People Decide Which Movies 1.3 Billion Chinese People Shall Watch (02/28/2007)  (Singtao Net) (see also commentary at 一个和三十六个)

[in translation]

Who decides which movies the 1.3 billion Chinese people shall watch?  The answer is: the motion picture review committee of the State Broadcasting and Motion Picture Administration.  According to a person from the Broadcasting and Motion Picture Administration, the committee consists of 36 persons from various walks of life.  They review and decide which movies may be exhibited mostly on the basis of the harmony between the ideological content and the current official policies, and they take their gate-keeping duties seriously.  Of the eleven standards for motion picture review, only one pertains to the technique and quality of the movie while the other ten are about the ideology and substance of the movie.

<Legal Evening News> reported that the 36-person committee of the Motion Picture Review Committee controlled the life and death of Chinese movies.  The thirty-six people are not all members of the Broadcasting and Motion Picture Administration.  According to an insider, the committee members come from all walks of life.  The known committee members include Beijing Cinematic Academy Department of Directing professor Zheng Dongtian, veteran director Yu Yang, National Women's Association Publicity Department director Zhu Xiaozheng, State Religious Affairs Bureau Joint Information Office director Xiao Hong, etc.

It is necessary to keep the gate in a serious manner in order to make sure that the ideology in the movies are consistent with government policies.  The standards of review were based upon the <Motion Picture Administration Regulations> published in December 2001.  Of the eleven standards for review, only one refers to the technical quality (e.g. color hue, sound recording, etc) of movies while the other ten are about reviewing the thoughts and ideological contents of the movies.

The review of the thoughts include: no leaking of state secrets, no putting state security in peril or damaging the national honor and interests; no incitement of ethnic hatred; no promotion of pornography, gambling and violence; no instigation to commit crime; no propaganda for superstitution and evil cults.  For example, the movie <The Ghouls Are Coming> directed by Chinese director Jian Wen was banned because it portray Chinese citizens as being ignorant, numb and slavish during the war of resistance against Japan.

As for the method of review, the production unit must first begin its own "self review" and it shall make an application for review at the Motion Picture Administration.  Then the review committee shall watch the film.  This how the review process begins formally.  As to whether the movie can pass, it will depend on the number of opinions from the committee members.  If they have no opinion, then it will be passed immediately.  The more opinions that they have, the bigger the problem.  The production unit must respond within thirty days to the "advice for revision" from the Motion Picture Committee and re-submit the revised movie.  If the motion picture passes the second review, it will be issued the <Permit to Publicly Exhibit the Motion Picture> from the Motion Picture Administration.  If the motion picture fails the second review, it will have to be revised again (unless the production unit decides to abandon the effort).  The motion picture review committee controls the power of life and death.  When they review a movie, not all members need be present; only a committee majority is required to be present.

Generally speaking, revised movies will receive the permit to exhibit.  There are occasional surprises.  Chinese director Huang Jianxin's <Silver Ornament> passed the review at first.  At the premiere, the original version containing nudity was accidentally shown instead.  Under pressure, the movie was pulled after the premiere and has never been seen by a general audience.

Many movies that did not receive the permit may decide to take another path.  Since the review of audio-visual recorded materials comes under the Ministry of Culture, many movies that could not procure exhibition permits may opt to apply directly for a DVD edition, or sell the rights to overseas distributors and then bring the movie back into mainland China in pirated form.

The major reasons why movies are banned are because they involve pornography, superstition, violence and criminal gangs which are deemed to be unsuitable for the general public, underage audiences or family viewing.  A movie may also be banned for having too narrow a subject.  The movie "Xiao Wu" showed the harsh life of a thief and was banned because the market was too small and the story lacked warmth.

These banned movies end up being preserved as "historical materials."  Controversial movies such as <The Ghouls Are Coming>, <To Live>, <Blue Kite>, <Papa>, <Blind Shaft> and so on became historical material immediately after the review.  Chinese audiences can only watch the pirated versions or else wait until the day when freedom of speech arrives and these films become available as "nostalgic movies."