• [031]  Taiwan By The Numbers  (05/20/2008)  (UDN)  (914 persons interviewed in Taiwan on May 19, 2008)

• [030]  Hong Kong By The Numbers (05/20/2008)  (Hong Kong Research Association)  (1,177 persons interviewed on May 17-18, 2008 about their opinions on the Sichuan earthquake)

• [029]  Hong Kong By The Numbers (05/20/2008)  (HKU POP) (1,204 persons interviewed in Hong Kong on their feelings towards different governments and peoples)

• [028]  Train Wreck Continues At Apple Daily  (05/20/2008)  Apple Daily continues to feature opinion pieces to defend Li Yi's "Reprimand of the Gods" essay on the Sichuan earthquake.

• [027]  Do Not Be A Chinese Child  (05/19/2008)  The title of the Ming Pao essay by Yip Fei is "Do not be a Chinese child" which is a song title.

• [026]  The Most Awesome Project Hope School In History (05/19/2008)  (New Express via Wenxue City)  During the recent earthquake, it was reported that 6,000 school buildings collapsed and untold number of school children perished.  But at Zhengjia Haiyuan village only fifteen kilometers away from Beichuan, there was an excerption.  On May 17, a netizen posted an essay titled "The most awesome  Project Hope school in history" in which he wrote: "During the Wenchuan earthquake, many school children were taken by surprise and buried underneath the collapsed buildings.  But a Project Hope school building only 15 minutes in the hills outside Beichuan county town survived the strong earthquake.  Not only did the building stay intact, but all 483 students and the teaching staff were evacuated safely."  There are the photos before and after the earthquake.

• [025]  The Central Publicity Department Gets Overrun (05/19/2008)  (Ming Pao via DWnews)  A week ago before the Wenchuan earthquake even took place, the focus of attention at the Central Publicity Department was the unfair treatment of the March 14 Lhasa riot by the western media.  Late last month, the Central Publicity Department decided to spend over 1 million RMB to ask universities with departments of journalism to make in-depth analysis of western media using the post-March 14 reports as the case study.  Each university was asked to write a 10,000-word essay for which they receive 100,000 RMB in fees (which works out to 10 RMB per word).  The essays were due at the end of May, and would be the basis of a counter-attack by the Central Publicity Department.
   
  When the earthquake occurred on May 12, the Central Publicity Department acted the usual way for an emergency incident.  An order was sent down to the various local media not to gather news on their own and stick to the Xinhua/CCTV reports.  Then the Central Publicity Department quickly found out that the order was ineffective.  The various city and provincial reporters rushed out to the frontlines overnight.  One newspaper had almost 50 reporters out in the field.  Everybody said that at a time of national emergency, they could not worry too much about the censors.  Even if their reports get spiked, they could serve as volunteers serving the nation and its people.
   
  Once the reporters arrived at the front lines, they threw themselves into gathering news while blending in with the military soldiers, police officers and civilians.  They completely put the ban order from the Central Publicity Department behind their minds.  On the Internet, there was also a lot of information and opinions that came spontaneously from the civilian sector.  The Central Publicity Department did not have the ability to stop this tidal wave either.  They could only ask Xinhua and CCTV to increase their "opinion leadership" by denouncing the things that deviate from the official position, such as questions about earthquake prediction and shoddy construction of school buildings.
   
  This big earthquake had also changed the western media coverage of China.  The overseas media were affirmative in their evaluation of the quick and decisive response to the emergency.  CNN also apologized for the anti-China speech.  So the 1 million RMB research project paid for by the Central Publicity Department did not have to be used because the ground situation had changed.

• [024]  Hong Kong Schoolgirl Harassed For Blog Post (05/19/2008)  ... and nobody wants to defend her freedom of speech rights ...

(Apple Daily)  On May 17, the following blog post appeared at Xanga.  Here is a translated excerpt.

The 5.12 Sichuan earthquake is the talk of the town
People around the world have noted n amount of money to the 'people' of Sichuan
how come nobody is donating any money to the Sichuan pandas?
on 5.16 the morning school assembly held some who-know-what-thing for Sichuan
there was a film clip about people crying
their crying was laughable and i had a few chuckles
i can say that i have no feelings for Sichuan
what the hell is this to me?
i can laugh when i watch the news
i do not feel any sadness or sympathy
why should i make myself unhappy?
am i supposed to cry for the rest of the week?
enough money has been donated, so why should i have to donate as well?  are you crazy?
i don't have enough money to spend myself, so why should i give it someone else?  you people are stupid
i never realized how cool it was for me not to donate money while others do
everybody is donating so it does not matter what one person does or not
even if i don't donate there was more than 36,000 already
Sichuan is going to be rich
overseas they are giving American dollars, euros, British pounds
isn't there enough RMB already?
things are cheaper on mainland China
so they must have enough
do you want to take in even more money? if so, please give it to the pandas
the panda is a unique Chinese animal that is under global protected status
it is a waste of money to spend it on the dead cities of Sichuan
the more people die, the less crowded the hospitals become
there is no worry about no available space to put people
no worry about lack of materials, no worry about over-population
few people needs less waste discharge
don't you agree that death is better?
if one more death does not matter, then five thousand more should be okay too
it is the mainland's fault to be so corrupt
they can die but why should we get involved?
our money is not intended for corpses
how about them making some contributions to society first?
please do not blindly feel that they deserve pity
if you stupid, you can donate everything you own
actually the state is donating tens of millions
so who is your $10 going to help?
PS  So please don't be stupid, please don't donate money pointlessly

This blog post was quickly cross-posted at the various Hong Kong discussion forums and drew strong netizen criticisms.  Information about the blogger was quickly dug out, including the fact that she was a student at an elite school.  There were also many photos.  The netizens also emailed the principal of her school to demand action. 

Finally, the blogger issued an apology:

i say sorry to everyone
i had no idea that this would turn out to be such a big affair
i didn't want to make it a big deal
i regret this
i don't know how i can undo that blog post
i know that it is useless for me to say SORRY to you
but ... i am willing to dnoate money
i now that i will not be forgiven by hong kong
but i want to do something that a hong kong person ought to be doing
that is, to donate money
you will say that i am just talking rubbish
that this is mere talk
but i will really make a donation
you say that i am a cold-blooded heartless person.  i admit it
if i say that i will change and i won't repeat this again
you won't believe me
i am writing this for those people who woke me up, to say thanks

Some netizens refused to believe her because she is only writing this upon fear of expulsion from her school.  The blogger has shut down the blog.

Related Link:  港女在網誌幸災樂禍事件  香港網絡大典

• [023]  Intellectuals Should Be Benevolent (05/18/2008)  (Leung Man-tao at My1510.cn blog)

• [022]  A Little Girl Named Li Yi (05/18/2008)  Here are some some EXTREMELY GRAPHIC photos from the Reuters agency.  In short, the photos show the amputation of the left leg of a 10-year-old girl in the rubble of a Beichuan school.  Here is the link.  The accompany story is: "Li Yi, 10, screams as her left leg is amputated to rescue her from the ruins of a collapsed building at Miaoba primary school in earthquake-hit Beichuan county, about 99 miles, northeast of the epicenter at Wenchuan county, Sichuan province, May 15, 2008. REUTERS/Stringer."
   
  

The young man named Chen Jian was trapped underneath some earthquake debris.  While waiting for the lifting equipment to arrive, he chattered with the reporter.  He said: "I am a lucky as well as unlucky person in the Beichuan earthquake.  I felt that I escaped from the hands of Death.  Many of the others are less fortunate.  I am pinned underneath three pieces of pre-fabricated slabs and I cannot move.  I have not eaten anything for three days and three nights.  I only drank some water.  I must be strong.  I have to be strong.  I have be strong for everyone who loves me.  I must live for their sakes, because they have been so good to me.  I hope that you can be just like me and not be intimidated by any hardship."

Chen Jian came from Anyuan to work in Beichuan.  He said that he wanted to go home and see his family.  "I don't want my child to be born without knowing what his father looks like.  I think that I have escaped from grasp of Death.  I am not afraid of nothing anymore.  I don't know if I have a good chance to survive?"

After trying for six hours, the rescuers finally extracted him successfully.  On the way bringing him down the hillside, the young man was unresponsive no matter how the reporter and rescues implored: "Chen Jian, Chen Jian, wake up!"  A lieutenant tried to give him cardiac massage and mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to no avail.  The reporter cried her eyes out.  The military policeman sobbed and said: "You foolish man.  You held on for so long already.  Why can't you hold on a bit longer?  You foolish man."  From the CCTV studio, the anchorwoman broke into tears as well.

 

 

 

 

• [020]  How About Less Faked Touching News?  (05/18/2008)  (Wei Yingjie at My1510 blog)

At the Tianya Miscellaneous Chat section, there was a controversial post about the mother who left a SMS to his son from underneath the rubble.

(Tianya)

By the time that the rescuers reached her, she was already dead.  She was crushed in the collapsed house.  Through the crevice in the rubble, it was possible to see her body position.  She was kneeling with her upper body leaning forwards and her arms on the ground holding her body up.  It looked somewhat peculiar.  The rescuers stuck their hands in and determined that she was dead.  They called a few more times into the rubble.  They used the shovel to tap on the bricks a few times.  There was no response.  So the rescuers moved onto the next building.  But the team leader suddenly turned back and started yelling, "Come over quickly."  He went back to her body and felt underneath her.  Then he said, "There's somebody here.  There's a child.  It is still alive."

After some effort, the rescuers cleared away the debris and found the child, who was about 3 to 4 months old and wrapped in a red blanket with yellow flowers.  He was totally unhurt because his mother had shielded him with her body.  When he was taken out, he was still sleeping peacefully.  The medical doctor came over and removed the blanket in order to conduct an examination.  He discovered a mobile telephone wrapped it there.  The doctor looked at the screen and saw a written SMS: "Dear precious, if you live, please remember that I love you."  The rescuers were all moved to tears.

Some netizens pointed out that this story was the one reported in The First and Beijing Evening News.  Both of those newspapers sourced their stories to Tianfu Morning News and they were using mostly the same words.  Both newspapers said that the child was about 10 month old.  The newspapers said that the child was found underneath the body of the mother, but there was no mention of any mobile phone with a SMS on the screen.  The SMS was the most moving part of the story, but the newspapers did not mention it.  So the Tianya poster was either making things up, or he was an eyewitness, or he learned it from hearsay, or these are two completely stories.  It is most likely that this story was made up, because there was no name, time or place.

Meanwhile, the Tianya version of the story is making the rounds on television news.  On Liaoning Television, the female program host was crying in an exaggerated manner while not bothering to verify the story.  To a certain degree, this is actually hurting the disaster relief effort.  That is to say, are there not enough genuine tragedies and sentiments over the past few days that we have to make stuff up?  Instead, we are bogged down with a debate over the veracity of this story.

Related Link:  关于“短信母亲”故事的进一步查证  魏英杰,一五一十部落

• [019]  Disaster-Themed Advertising  (05/18/2008)  (China.com)  On the front page of Metro Morning News, the news headline was: "Citizens of Xuzhou fully support disaster relief in Sichuan."  The bottow of the page is an advertisement from the Huaxia (Jiangsu) Group for the Nanshan Watertown Project.  The selling point are the extra bold words: "Houses built next to the mountain are more secure/sturdy/durable."  Not only is this crass, but it may not even be factually correct: in an earthquake, a landslide will wipe out the houses at the bottom of the hillside.

• [018]  It's Only A Matter Of Timing  (05/17/2008)  With respect to Li Yi's editorial column in Apple Daily (see The Gods Reprimand The Chinese People? and The Gods Reprimand The Chinese People -- Or Maybe Not), another Apple Daily commentator has offered a defense:

(Apple Daily)

... Today, the principal duty of a political commentator is to point out the mistakes and negligence of the authorities with respect to the efficiency of the rescue work and their arrangements for the disaster victims.  Obviously, political commentators all understand that if there are big flaws in the rescue work or if there are many improper situations in resettling the disaster victims, then this may be due to flaws in the state system.  That is, the totalitarian system lacks democracy and political power is too concentrated and so  it does not have the flexibility during major incidents, thus resulting in huge loss in lives.

During this period of emergency rescue work, the victims and rescuers all need various forms of support and encouragement.  Mr. Li Yi's "theory of the reprimand of the Gods" is absolutely thought-provoking after the rescue work has ended.  But in terms of timing, it happens to be premature.

The same truth carries different weight at different points in time and space.  In 1989, many including Leung Chun-ying criticized how the Beijing government handled the Tiananmen incident.  Today, too many people could not wait to huddle up next to the same government.

Mr. Li Yi, your essay was not wrong.  The mistake was to publish it a few months too early.

Oy!  This is about not cutting your loss and wanting to dig a deeper hole instead.  Apple Daily could have just shut up and let the whole thing fade.  Instead, they publish something about this being the right thing at the wrong time.   The problem is that we have been educated to reason in scientific ways and we have access to a lot of information.  The theory of the "reprimand of the Gods" says that the Gods are displeased with the rulers of China (=the Chinese Communist Party) and therefore they inflicted a magnitude 7.6 earthquake in China.  But in the aftermath, it would appear that none of the senior CCP leaders suffered anything personally.  Instead, according to the latest tally, about 50,000 Chinese citizens are dead and 160,000+.  Who are these Gods?  What is their justice?  Are these Gods or Demons?  It is enough to make people lose their faith in these Gods (or whoever made up this theory).  Here are the body bags for the students of Beichuan Middle School created by the wrath of the Gods:

As for the assertion that a democratic political system is better equipped to handle natural disasters than a totalitarian system, please see the photographic evidence at Katrina 01 and Katrina 02 (WARNING: EXTREME GRAPHIC PHOTOGRAPHS).  Who is to say?

Related Link:  A Little Girl Named Li Yi

• [017]  Media Censorship On Earthquake (05/17/2008)

(Leung Man-tao in Ming Pao)

On television, I saw a government that was inconceivable five years ago during the SARS period.  Apart from certain roadside gossip about earthquake prediction, the government opened up all channels and let the media gather news without any forbidden zones.  The People's Liberation Army in charge of disaster relief even provided media liaison personnel.  This open and transparent way of handling information did not bring about the social instability that the government used to be concerned about.  On the contrary, it roused the nation into contributing towards disaster relief.  At such a moment, no media are going to pour cold water on the effort; on the contrary, they automatically form a mainstream without requiring any directives.  After this tragic but valuable experience, the government ought to have learned that a natural disaster is not a reprimand from the Gods and it is not a shame that needs to be covered up.

So what are the banned Internet comments?  Here is a listing of some of the banned questions (via Boxun)

"Why?"  Questions for Premier Wen Jiabao.  By Zhang Chengjue.  May 16, 2008.

Q1.  Why were rescuers not sent out immediately to the epicenter in Wenchuan county?

Q2.  Why did the helicopters and paratroopers not perform as expected?

Q3.  Why were the rescue teams from the United States and Europe not asked to come to help?

Q4.  Why did the Earthquake Administration offer no prediction for this earthquake?

Q5.  Why is the government so stingy in allocating money for disaster relief relative to other donors?

Q6.  Why continue with the Olympic torch relay near the disaster zone?  How about skipping the zone while toning down the event elsewhere as well?

Q7.  How safe are the dams in the disaster zone?  How safe is the Three Gorges Dam?

Q8.  How do you ensure that the donated money are used properly?

It is untrue that any mention of these questions results in automatic deletion.  In fact, you can easily find discussions of these questions on the Chinese Internet.  So the topics are not banned per se.  Much depends on the 'style.'  For example, it is okay to ask "How come the Beijing government allocates only 1 billion RMB when both the Hong Kong/Macau SAR governments and the Chen Shui-bian administration in Taiwan gave 400 million RMB?"  In fact, there is much discussion about rankings of nations, corporations, celebrities, etc with respect to their donated amounts.  What might be problematic is saying "The Beijing government is allocating 1 billion RMB, which is just 1/900-th of the 900 billion RMB of public money spent by government workers on food, travel and car expenses."  In any case, all these questions can be discussed rationally, and they are being so discussed.

Leung Man-tao refers to the "roadside gossip about earthquake prediction."  This refers to two apparently successful predictions of the May 12th Wenchuan earthquake.

(Xys.org)  There was a 2006 paper in the <Journal of Catastrophology> which stated there will be an earthquake of magnitude 6.7 or above in the Yunnan-Sichuan area in 2008.  The basis is not about any theory based upon geophysics.  Rather it involves looking at the 25 years in which major earthquakes had previously occurred: 1913, 1917, 1923, 1925, 1933, 1936, 1941, 1942, 1948, 1950, 1952, 1955, 1960, 1967, 1970, 1971, 1973, 1974, 1955, 1960, 1967, 1970, 1971, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1981, 1988, 1989, 1995, 1996 and determining what the next date is.  In that 2006 particular paper, an arithmetic formula was derived to show that the next date was 2008. 

(ESWN comment)  If this paper were written in 1990, then the arithmetic formula would yield 1993 (not an earthquake year); if this paper were written in 1996, a different arithmetic formula would be derived with the next earthquake most likely occuring within 7 years (which was the maximum gap observed in the series).  But since the paper was published in 2006, the authors knew that there were no earthquakes since 1996 and therefore the required date has to be 2006 or beyond.  This is numerology.  This is not science.

(yes88.com)  The scientist Geng Qingguo developed a theory of earthquake prediction based upon the relationship between droughts and earthquakes.  He observed that in earthquakes of magnitude 6 or stronger, there is frequently a drought one year to three-and-a-half years before; the larger the drought area, the stronger the quake; and a third-year quake is half a magnitude bigger than a one-year quake.  Using this theory, Geng Qingguo claimed to have successfully predicted the Haichang quake of 1975 and the Tangshan quake of 1976.  In April 2006, Geng Qingguo made a mid-term prediction at the Natural Disaster Prediction Committee of the Chinese Geophysical Society that there will be a 6 to 7 magnitude earthquake south of Lanzhou in the region about Sichuan, Gansu and Qinghai.  On April 30, 2008, Geng Qingguo sent a confidential letter to the China Earthquake Administration that "a magnitude 7+ earthquake is due to occur in the Aba Prefecture area of Sichuan around May 8 (plus or minus 10 days)."

(ESWN comment)  The information on Geng Qingguo is incomplete.  It is stated that he is three-for-three on the Haichang, Tangshan and Wenchuan earthhqakes.  But how many other predictions has Geng Qingguo made in his career?  How many of those turned out to be correct?  If he has made only these three predictions, then he is a true genius.  If he has made five hundred other incorrect predictions, then he is wasting people's time.  Alternately, if he does not disclose his record, someone can check how often droughts occur without an earthquake within the specified period (one year to 3-1/2 years).

(enorth.com.cn)  In 2004, the same Geng Qingguo proposed a theory about the flooding of the Yellow River as being determined by the orbit of the planet Venus with respect to the Sun.  Thus, that the Yellow River floods of 1517, 1760 and 2003 all occurred one year before Venus and the Sun reached a particular position.  According to this theory, it will be another several hundred years before the Yellow River floods again.  Does that mean that no flood control projects are necessary now for the Yellow River because the theory says that there won't be any floods?  Alternately, when the date comes, it is also futile to fight against it because the theory says that it will occur anyway.

Related Link:  四川地震：直升機、預警及其他 Alone in the Fart; Seismologist Claims Sichuan Earthquake Was Predicted  Meng Zhang, Global Voices Online

Postscript:  National Geographic News cited a scientific study ten months ago that warned about a earthquake centered in Beichuan.

"The faults are sufficiently long to sustain a strong ground-shaking earthquake, making them potentially serious sources of regional seismic hazard," the Chinese, European, and U.S. geoscientists wrote in the mid-July 2007 edition of the journal Tectonics.

They concluded that clashing tectonic forces were growing in Beichuan, ready to burst in an explosion of seismic energy.

With precision and what now seems like eerie foresight, the researchers charted the active faults on multicolored maps of Beichuan, which turned out to be the epicenter of the recent earthquake.

"As far as I know, this is the only investigation of these active faults," said study co-author Michael Ellis of the Center for Earthquake Research and Information at the University of Memphis in Tennessee.

But this information is not actionable since it does not pinpoint a particular time and place.  This is known as an earthquake forecast for the middle-term.  You cannot say that everyone should stay outdoors indefinitely because there is an earthquake warning.

• [016]  SMS Reporting From The Field (05/17/2008)  (Zhang Rui, Southern Weekend)

[in translation]

08:32  I have been waiting for the army helicopter at Fenghuangshan airport since 7am.  Everything has been arranged.  I should be able to take off later.

08:42  There are many helicopters waiting at the airport to take off.  Yesterday afternoon, there were also many ambulances at the airport.  The same thing should happen today when the wounded evacuees arrive.  There are quite a few photojournalists, but most of them were not allowed to fly.

08:45  Unlike civilian flights, there are no specific timetables.  It all depends on the specific situation.

08:47  The helicopters are good.  All 26 helicopters for the Second Army Divisions are in action.

08:49  They bring the materiel in and take the wounded back.

08:52  The situation in Wenchuang county city is not as bad as previously thought.  There are not many casualties.  The county city was not totally destroyed as was the case with Beichuan.  It is somewhat better.

08:59  I just saw Xiao Cao (note: another Southern Weekend reporter).  He should be able to fly today as well.  It is wonderful that Southern Weekend can get two reporters into Wenchuan.

09:34  I have made contact with the Special Forces and I am about to board the helicopter.  The Premier has demanded that the forces must reach all the towns and villages which have remained invisible because the rescue teams have not arrived yet.  After we land, we will have to walk several dozen kilometers.

09:52  We are boarding the helicopter right now.  We are going to look for the last town (Caopo town) that has not yet be reached by rescue teams.  We are riding a Blackhawk helicopter.

09:53  There are ten Special Forces soldiers with me.  They are personally led by the division commander.

10:19  The flight is steady.  The Special Forces are calm.  They are resting and prepared to accomplish this big mission.

10:26  The Special Forces division commander Su Ji said: "We are determined to complete the mission given by the Premier.  We will bring help to the last town that has not yet been reached by the rescue team.  The sound of the rotor is too loud.  We cannot talk.

10:31  The helicopter is flying at several hundred meters above ground, and we are flying over a mountain.

12:00  We have landed.  We have communicated with the Division headquarters.  Everything is fine.

12:01  Communication in the county city has been restored.  I have a signal.

12:02  We are all fine.

12:17  The damage is not too serious.  The disasters victims are emotionally stable.  Some shops are even operating regularly.

12:45  I interviewed the commander-in-chief of all the forces in Wenchuan.  He is provincial military district deputy commander-in-chief Li Yazhou.  The forces are moving towards the various towns and villages.  This morning, there was a landslide at a village in Maochang 15 kilometers away.  More than 100 villagers were buried.  Commander Li has ordered 85 soldiers to go there at 10am.

12:48  The soldiers ate some vegetables this morning.  For the past several days, all they had was rice soup with a handful of salt.

13:28  There was a strong aftershock.  The earth was trembling.  Commander Li and I continued to go by car to inspect the situation.  He said that this was probably an aftershock around a Richter scale 4.  There will be stronger aftershocks to come.

14:37  There are now more than 20,000 soldiers in Wenchuan.

14:57  More soldiers and militia police are arriving in Wenchuan county.  The 'iron solders' from the Jinan military district and the militia police from Jiuzhaigou have just reported in.  The militia police were ordered not to rest but to proceed immediately to Caopo town.

14:58  Finally, the forces have arrived at Caopo town at noon.

15:04  These forces have taken grave risks in order to reach the epicenter.  Commander Li said that the rocks kept rolling down on the way.  Both his legs were injured.  He pulled up his trouser legs and there were wound marks everywhere.

15:06  The aftershock just cut off telecommunications.  The fixed line and handy personal telephone systems that were repaired yesterday are now dead again.

15:23  The major task of the moment is to open the road between Caopo town and Yingxiu town.  Right now, the western road between Wenchuan and Liyuan is open.  But it takes more than 700 kilometers to take the western road from Chengdu to Wenchuan.  If the aforementioned road is open, then the north-south road will also be open.  Transportation into Wenchuan will be vastly improved and the lifeline will be truly working.

15:25  At the time of the earthquake, the Wenchuan county governor was down in the countryside in Wolong.  He has not been heard from.

15:28  Before the army forces entered Wenchuan, public order was chaotic.  There were mad scenes of looting for water and and so on.  The situation is vastly improved, and social order is in place.

16:09  Central Military Commission vice-chairman Guo Baxiong is inspecting in Yingxiu.

16:10  Rocks continue to roll down from the mountains on both sides of Wenchuan county city.

16:14  Many tents have been set up on the open space in front of the courtyard of the Aba Prefecture Hostel in Wenchuan county city.  This is serving as the frontline headquarters for Wenchuan.

17:29  80 experts from the medical hospital affiliated with the Number Three Military Medical University led by Huang Xudong have arrived in Wenchuan county city at 5pm.  They immediately began to treat the 3,000 injured persons at the nearby locations.

• [015]  QQ Report From The Field (05/16/2008)  (Raymond Zhou's blog)  (This is purportedly filed on May 13 from a journalist in the entourage of Premier Wen Jiabao)

[in translation]

10:07:29  The scene is unbearable to watch

10:08:33  The grey-haired premier is crying his eyes out

10:10:16  The location that was just excavated has just collapsed once more

10:11:24  It is still raining in this rotten weather.  The frontline soldiers have been given a must-do order to make the rescue in the rain

10:11:30  I am at the scene

10:11:56  I am presently in Dujiangyan city

10:13:24  Traffic has been paralyzed so that it is hard to get personnel and material in

10:13:47  Wenchuan won't let us go there right now

10:15:21  All traffic to Wenchuan has been stopped.  I don't know what it is like out there.  But the Premier gave an directive to the army to enter the city at any price

10:16:03  It is still raining in this rotten weather.  The airplanes are unable to land after several failed attempts.  The paratroopers are about to take off

10:17:36  The airplanes are dropping material into Wenchuan

10:20:06  The more than 300 students trapped underneath the rubble are in great danger.  The last rescue attempt failed again.  The Premier is organizing another rescue right now

10:20:47  The Premier just tripped and fell down

10:21:35  I am transmitting the photo to Beijing.  But it can't be distributed until it has been approved

10:22:21  I and several colleaglues are running nine computers to send information out

10:22:37  This QQ thing is really slow in the most critical moments

10:23:39  The special forces have moved in again

10:25:04  If you can see Grandpa Wen now, you would want to cry immediately

10:26:40  Grandpa's arm is bleeding.  He just shoved aside the medical aide who wants to give him bandage

10:27:09  Good news, a student has been found

10:28:00  The Premier has gone over to the collapse point to help

10:28:13  Xiangexiang Middle School

10:28:33  The student has been pulled out and the doctors are providing treatment

10:28:56  Not a lot of army soldiers have arrived

10:29:07  Transportation is too difficult

10:29:42  It is still uncertain but this one appears to be alive.  They are using IV drips and oxygen

10:31:06  Oh, another collapse

10:31:28  A member of the special forces has been buried

10:32:40  Wait, let me move up and take a look

10:36:24  I am back.  He has been rescued

10:37:16  Latest news: the 100,000 trapped in Pengzhou are in danger!!!

10:38:49  Due to the heavy rains, the engineers have failed several times to erect a new bridge.  There are signs of mudslides in the surrounding area.  The telephone call was put through directly to the Premier.  The situation is very perilous!!!

10:39:19  Due to a collapsed bridge, the 100,000 people of Pengzhou are trapped up in the mountains.  The rescue personnel and material cannot enter.  There are signs of mudslides.

10:41:11  The Premier is screaming into the telephone: "I don't care what you have to do.  I want those 100,000 people out of danger.  That is an order."  Then he slammed the phone down

10:41:33  This is the first time that I have seen the old man react so strongly

10:41:54  Wenchuan has not notified us to go there yet.  The situation is probably not very good

10:42:16  I am in the communications tent

10:43:54  The latest news from Wenchuan is that the rain has lessened and the materiel is being air-dropped.  The paratroopers are boarding the planes at the outlying airport

10:45:19  All the overseas reporters are paying attention to the first public appearance of China's best elite troops

10:46:50  The Premier said, "I have only one thing to say.  The people have been feeding you, so you see what you can do."

11:11:00  Hi, I am right now in a military helicopter.  I am nervous because this is the first time that I have been in such an airplane

11:12:51  I am in the helicopter.  I estimate that I will arrive at Shitang in one hour's time

11:34:40  Latest news, the signals from Yingxiu, Xuankou and Wolong towns are very weak, and no communication has been made so far.  It is estimated that almost 20,000 people are trapped in those three towns.  The aftershocks are continuing.  The situation is very grim.  Since visibility is too poor, it is difficult to assess the situation.  The Command Headquarters has issued the order to the paratroopers that even if the conditions do not permit, they will parachute down no matter what the price is!

11:36:38  No.  The airplane is about to enter a thunder zone.  I have to turn the machine off.  I'll chat with you again later.

13:44:33  Here I come.  Sorry to leave you waiting

13:45:12  I am at the Shitang Chemical Factory.  The situation is better than anticipated

13:45:42  The rescue work is going on in an orderly fashion

13:46:49  No news from Wenchuan.  The paratroopers are about to arrive

13:47:20  The Premier arrived in Deyang at noon.  I heard that the situation there is not very good

13:50:56  The latest news from Dujiangyan.  More than 60 children have been rescued during the two hours since noon

13:51:25  Photos that have not been approved are not to be distributed.  Those are the disciplinary rules

13:53:58  Due to the heavy rains, there are more and more incidents of mudslides and collapses.  The situation is very bad

13:57:38  The bridge engineer corps are doing well in Pengzhou.  There is hope to rescue the trapped 100,000 people in the shortest time

13:59:41  The Chengdu Military Distruct special scout corps is traversing the wilderness towards Wenchuan.  It is hoped that they can succeed and direct the parachute drop.

• [014]  Taiwan By The Numbers (05/15/2008)  (TVBS)  (1,072 persons interviewed by telephone on May 9, 12, 13)
   
  Q1.  Historical trend of satisfaction with President Chen Shui-bian (purple=satisfied, dark blue=dissatisfied)

Q3.  Are you satisfied/dissatisfied with the performance of President Chen Shui-bian in the following areas (ranked in decreasing order of satisfaction)?
59%/30%: Transportation infrastructure
41%/45%: Environmental protection
40%/48%: Social welfare
26%/60%: Ethnic group unity
24%/66%: Improving public safety
21%/65% Stabilizing cross-strait relationship
17%/68%: Improving financial policies
17%/73%: Eliminating business/government collusion ("black gold")
16%/68%: Fairness in justice
14%/76%: Promoting clean government
13%/80%: Promoting economic development
12%/75%: Expanding foreign diplomacy
12%/79%: Education reform

Q3-1.  Satisfaction rates with the performance of President Chen Shui-bian in various areas in three points in time (May 2002, 2006, 2008)
62%/41%/59%: Transportation infrastructure
59%/40%/41%: Environmental protection
52%/32%/40%: Social welfare
45%/21%/24%: Improving public security
52%/20%/21%: Stabilizing cross-strait relationship
39%/17%/17%: Improving financial policies
60%/23%/17%: Eliminating business/government collusion ("black gold")
49%/21%/16%: Fairness in justice
32%/16%/13%: Promoting economic development
47%/23%/12%: Expanding foreign diplomacy
40%/13%/12%: Education reform

Q4.  Generally speaking, do you feel that President Chen Shui-bian has led us in the right or wrong direction over the past several years?  (dark blue=right direction, purple=wrong direction)

Q5.  Do you think that Taiwan has moved forward or backwards over the past eight years?
18%: Forwards
71%: Backwards
  6%: About the same
  5%: No opinion

• [013]  The Gods Reprimand The Chinese People -- Or Maybe Not (05/15/2008)  With respect to the Apple Daily editorial The Gods Reprimand The Chinese People, the writer Li Yi has backed off (but with some reserved wording -- that is, he apologizes if anyone misunderstood).  Widespread public criticism may have motivated him.

(Apple Daily)

... I see many readers criticising my Apple Daily editorial on the Internet.  Concerning the theory of "The Reprimand of the Gods," I deeply regret that some people thought that it was the victims of the disaster who are being reprimanded and I am willing to apologize for creating the misunderstanding.  The theory of "The Reprimand of the Gods" was proposed by Dong Zhongshu of the Han dynasty against a despotic regime within no restraints on its powers.  He proposed that the Heavens will reprimand the Emperor (who is the Son of Heaven) by inflicting disasters.  The victims of the disasters were naturally the common folks, but the rulers faced the risk of seeing their grasp on power shaken up.  Therefore, whenever disasters occur, those "knowledgeable citizens with conscience" will seize the opportunity to enumerate all the misdeeds of the rulers under this non-scientific theory" (in the words of Xu Fuguan).  Thus, the invocation of "The Reprimand of the Gods" was a way to force the rulers examine themselves.  During the dark days of the Cultural Revolution, the Tangshan earthquake took place and Xu Fuguan used "the Reprimand of the Gods" to get the Emperor Mao to examine himself.  Since Xu cared about the people and their lives, he naturally did not think that the Gods were using an earthquake to reprimand the suffering common folks.

As for democratic countries which are not under totalitarian rule, a disaster is a disaster and nobody thinks that it is necessary to use this as an excuse to criticize or warn the rulers because the people already have the right to criticize their government.

No matter what, the theory of "The Reprimand of the Gods" is non-scientific.  It is just a last resort for those who have no other means to check the powers of the rules.  With my longstanding concern for the compatriots, I sadly watch the victims of this disaster on television.  How can I possibly revel in their sufferings? ...

When Li Yi wrote his essay, he had his defenders.  Under the theory of "The Reprimand of the Gods," the Gods are displeased with the rulers.  Shouldn't the Gods punish the rulers directly?  Why should the Gods punish the innocent common people instead?  This could not be serving justice.  So the explanation was that the victims were not so innocent after all.  Why?  Because they had been complicit in accepting the rule of the Chinese Communists!!!  In like manner, the Germany people are held responsible for what the Nazis did, and so on.  Of course, that argument rapidly breaks down with an example such as this photo in today's Apple Daily.  Why are the Gods punishing this small child for complicity?  What did she ever do to deserve this?

Related Link:  當街拉屎主義--評李怡社論  倉海君,新春秋

• [012]  Li Yuchun Donates Blood  (05/15/2008)  (NetEase)  Or was it just a show?  In the first photo, Li Yuchun is with the doctors and pressing a finger on her left arm.  In the second photo, she has come out to meet the press and she is pressing a finger of the right arm.  That was not such a well-scripted show, is it?

 
Alas, the two photos were taken from a series, which is presented below.  The full script goes as follows:  Li Yuchun goes in, signs a consent form, holds a brief discussion, takes a blood test on the left arm first, rests to wait for the test results and finally donates blood through her right arm.  Harmful information does not have to be harmful, because the truth will come through.  As a result of this malicious act, Li Yuchun actually gained public sympathy.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

• [011]  Yet Another CCTV Program Host Loses Composure  (05/15/2008)  (NetEase)  In China, the on-air behavior of the state television news anchors are scrutinized very carefully.  Indiscretions such as jacket, shirt and tie on top but shorts at the bottom, or yawning during the news become major incidents.
   
  
   
  At noon on May 14, CCTV News channel anchorman Zhao Pu was speaking to the field reporter at the frontline of the Sichuan earthquake.  Zhao learned that the child of the head nurse of the rescue team was buried inside the collapsed school building, but nevertheless the head nurse continued with her official duties.  Zhao commented: "Why are we capable of doing this?  Because the people on this earth know how to help and look after each other." Then Zhao choked with tears in his eyes.  Several seconds elapsed before he regained his composure.
   
  Internet comments on the slip by Zhao Pu began immediately, but nothing like the hostile negativity against the previous CCTV mistakes.  Here is one comment:  "This is the kind of news anchorperson that we need.  News can be emotional too!  If in the face of the scenes of disaster, an anchorperson still maintains a cool, detached demeanor, then would I want to watch such a broadcast?"

• [010]  Why Couldn't The Earthquake Be Predicted?  (05/15/2008)  (People's Net via hdzw.com)

On May 9, several tens of thousands of toads appeared on the Dongfeng Bridge in Taizhou city, Jiangsu province.  These toads came out from the canal, climbed up a slope and crossed over to the other side of the bridge in an orderly fashion.

(人善天不欺的空间 blog)  Does the appearance of large number of toads constitute an extraordinary phenomenon that indicates that an earthquake is about to happen?  A brief search on the Internet showed the following incidents:

• May 2005: Changchun, Jilin:  Ten thousand toads scatter in Changchun in spectacular style
• April 2006: Chongqing, Sichuan: Ten thousand toads cover road in mass migration in Chongqing
• May 2007:  Tangshan, Hebei:  Tens of thousands of toads migrate, with a formation that extended for 400 meters
• September 2007: Linqi, Shandong:  Sudden temperature drop causes ten thousand toads to migrate in Shangdong

There were no earthquakes at those places around those dates.  Therefore, it is an urban legend to say that earthquakes will occur when toads migrate.  There may be some instances of 'true positives' when this is true by coincidence, but there are many more instances of 'false positives' when no earthquake occurred.

There may be no perfect method to predict earthquake yet.  The imperfect methods available now must be evaluated on the ratio of 'false positives' versus 'true positives (and, to a lesser degree, 'false negatives'), and none of them are cost-effective.  What are the costs?  If there is a prediction that there shall be an earthquake in Sichuan around May 12, plus or minus 5 days, then the measures would be to move the people away from buildings and hillsides into open spaces for the duration.  That means, businesses, schools, hospitals and governments have to be closed, and everybody sleeps in the street for ten days.  What if this was a 'false positive'?  Who is going to pay for the economic costs of the disruption?  If 'false positive' occurs ten times in a row, who is going to pay heed to the eleventh time, which may or may not be a 'true positive'?

There may be those who step forth to claim now they had predicted the Sichuan earthquake beforehand.  That may well be, but they have to produce their previous records of prediction.  For example, if they had made one thousand predictions and the Sichuan earthquake was the only one that they got right.  That isn't much good, is it?  In fact, the performance of the 'toad migration' method may even be better.

• [009]  What Was Premier Wen Jiabao Looking At?  (05/14/2008)  (People's Net via Wenxue City)

The third and fourth photos are not usually associated with another very dramatic photo of the same scene.  That was what Wen Jiabao was looking at.

• [008]  The Gods Reprimand The Chinese People?  (05/14/2008)  (Pandemonium)

I cannot image that in the aftermath of such a natural disaster that there would be some Hong Kong people who regard this as the Gods reprimanding the Chinese people and therefore choose to sit on the sideline and watch.

Hong Kong people have lost their humanity.

The reference is to the Apple Daily opinion essay by Li Yi on May 13, 2008.  The blog post above is not entirely fair, because the Gods are reprimanding the Chinese Communist Party rulers and only some (but not all) Hong Kong people hold such opinions.

[in translation]

A strong earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale occurred in Wenchuan county, Sichuan province.  The Sichuan provincial Earthquake Administration said that they detected a 8.0 earthquake in Wenchuan itself.  People around the country felt the earthquake, so did Taiwan, Hong Kong and Thailand which are 1,900 kilometers away from the quake center.  At this time, the casualty figures from Wenchuan and dozens of other counties near the quake center are still unclear.

The power of a 7.8 earthquake is equivalent to 252 atomic bombs.  According to Hong Kong University Department of Earth Sciences associate professor Chan Lung-seng, this earthquake is as powerful as the 1976 Tangshan earthquake.  At Tangshan, 240,000 people died.

This time, the quake center is in a mountainous area and Wenchuan only has a population of 100,000.  There are fewer people around than Tangshan.  But the actual casualty figures will increase gradually.  The Three Gorges Dam is also of concern.  The official Chinese news was that the dam had not been affected.  We hope that this is true, because a dam break would be another catastrophe.

The snow calamity earlier this year, the train collision on Jiaji Railroad and then this earthquake should make people think that China has been experiencing disasters frequently.  The Tibet disturbance also drew global attention.  There has been a string of foot-and-mouth disease cases in mainland China.  And on the day before the Olympics torch relay in Hong Kong, the second worst car accident in the history of Hong Kong took place.  All these events make people feel that these are bad omens.  This is the year of the Olympics, and could these bad omens be implying that China does not have the required social and political conditions?

Scientifically speaking, there is no evidence that bad omens are real in the world.  But I am reminded that after the 1976 Tangshan earthquake, the famed Confucian scholar/professor Xu Fuguan wrote an essay that said that we need to look at the earthquake from a scientific as well as non-scientific angle.

We don't need to say anything more about the scientific angle.  But what is the non-scientific angle?  Professor Xu pointed out that the powers of the emperors were limited by the possibility that some people may use natural disasters as signs that the Gods above are displeased with the cruel rule of the Emperor.  This is the so-called "reprimand from God."  Under the despotic rule, the Emperor can ignore the sufferings of the people; when the advisors try to plead with the Emperor, he can ignore them and even punish them; but the Emperor has to listen to the Gods!  This non-scientific "reprimands from the Gods" usually takes place when the Emperor has lost his way and it serves to force the Emperor into mending his ways, even acknowledging his faults.  In those dark times with little or no hope, these non-scientific events must be said to have some effect in bridling the powers of the Emperor.

This non-scientific theory of "reprimand by the Gods" is naturally not credible.  But some of the important persons in Zhongnanhai are into fengshui, face reading and metaphysics.  If they think that these frequently occurring natural disasters represent "reprimands from the Gods," then maybe they will be less willing to let corruption spread, oppress protests in Tibet, arrest dissidents such as Hu Jia, suppress freedom of speech or engage in other acts of tyranny.  Apart from speaking of "interests" all the time inside and outside of China, they ought to be speaking of "benevolence and righteousness."  They should not get too ecstatic about hosting the Olympics or spending so much money on image-building projects.  Instead, they should spend some money to help the poor people.  The Chinese has this saying that "those who commit too many unjust acts will meet terrible ends."  In the face of these disasters, they cannot keep shouting slogans.  They should reflect on themselves and offer amnesty to all the political prisoners.  This is one way of accumulating some moral credits to ward off the disasters.  The Olympics is a big project, so how can a nation without any moral strength be able to take it on?

災 難 頻 仍  積 德 消 災   李怡,蘋果日報

四 川 汶 川 縣 發 生 強 烈 地 震 ， 規 模 達 黎 克 特 制 7.8 級 。 四 川 省 地 震 局 表 示 ， 在 汶 川 監測 到 的 震 度 達 8 級 。 遍 及 全 國 各 地 都 感 到 地 震 ， 連 距 震 央 1,900 公 里 的 台 灣 以 及 香港 、 泰 國 都 感 到 震 動 。 到 本 文 執 筆 時 ， 震 央 汶 川 等 十 多 縣 的 傷 亡 消 息 仍 未 明 朗 。

7.8 級 地 震 所 釋 放 的 威 力 ， 相 當 252 顆 原 子 彈 。 據 港 大 地 球 科 學 系 副 教 授 陳 龍 生 表 示 ， 這 強 度 已 等 同 於 1976 年 唐 山 大 地 震 。 在 那 次 地 震 中 ， 死 亡 人 數 達 24 萬 。

當然 ， 這 次 震 央 在 山 區 ， 汶 川 人 口 僅 十 萬 ， 加 上 周 邊 人 口 仍 會 少 於 唐 山 。 但 實 際 傷 亡數 字 ， 肯 定 會 陸 續 加 增 。 更 值 得 關 注 的 是 三 峽 水 壩 ， 中 國 官 方 消 息 說 水 壩 沒 有 受 影響 ， 我 們 希 望 後 續 的 消 息 也 如 此 ， 因 為 一 旦 水 壩 崩 坍 ， 就 是 一 場 大 災 禍 。

由年 初 的 雪 災 ， 到 膠 濟 鐵 路 的 火 車 相 撞 ， 再 到 這 次 的 地 震 ， 使 人 聯 想 到 今 年 中 國 的 災難 似 乎 很 頻 繁 。 再 加 上 西 藏 騷 亂 引 起 的 全 球 關 注 ， 內 地 近 月 連 綿 的 手 足 口 疫 症 ， 連聖 火 在 香 港 傳 遞 的 前 一 天 ， 也 發 生 有 史 以 來 第 二 大 的 西 貢 死 亡 車 禍 ， 所 有 這 些 ， 都難 免 令 人 感 到 有 不 祥 之 兆 。 今 年 是 奧 運 年 ， 不 祥 之 兆 會 意 味 中 國 的 社 會 、 政 治 條 件未 準 備 好 嗎 ？

從 科 學 觀 點 來 看 ， 沒 有 任 何 根 據 可 證 明 世 上 有 不 祥 之 兆 。 但 筆 者 想 到 ，1976  年 唐 山 大 地 震 之 後 ， 著 名 儒 學 大 師 徐 復 觀 教 授 曾 寫 過 一 篇 文 章 ， 大 意 是 說 ， 對 於 地 震 ， 我 們 既 要 有 科 學 的 ， 也 要 有 非 科 學 的 觀 察 角 度 。

科 學 的 觀 察 角 度 不 用 說 了 ， 甚 麼 是 非 科 學 的 觀 察 角 度 呢 ？ 徐 教  授 指 出 ， 古 代 對 帝 王 的 約 制 手 段 中 ， 常 有 人 以 自 然 災 害 來 表 示 上 天 對 帝 王 殘 暴 統 治的 「 天 譴 」 。 所 謂 「 天 譴 」 ， 就 是 指 在 專 權 政 治 之 下 ， 老 百 姓 的 疾 苦 ， 帝 王 可 以 不理 ； 賢 臣 的 規 勸 ， 帝 王 可 以 不 聽 甚 至 將 進 諫 之 臣 治 罪 ， 但 老 天 爺 的 警 告 ， 你 不 可 以不 聽 了 吧 ！ 地 震 就 是 老 天 爺 的 警 告 。 這 種 非 科 學 的 「 天 譴 」 ， 常 發 生 在 帝 王 得 意 忘形 之 時 ， 它 能 迫 使 帝 王 將 他 的 殘 暴 統 治 略 為 收 斂 ， 甚 至 下 一 個 「 罪 己 詔 」 。 在 黑 不見 天 的 日 子 里 ， 這 種 非 科 學 的 論 述 ， 不 能 不 說 是 對 於 約 制 帝 王 的 權 力 ， 發 生 過 一 點 效 用 。

非科 學 的 「 天 譴 」 說 自 然 不 可 信 。 但 據 說 現 在 中 南 海 的 要 人 ， 頗 有 一 些 是 相 信 風 水 、命 相 、 術 數 的 。 如 果 他 們 能 想 一 下 ， 頻 繁 的 災 害 是 否 有 所 謂 「 天 譴 」 ， 那 麼 就 會 對任 由 貪 污 蔓 延 ， 鎮 壓 西 藏 示 威 ， 拘 捕 胡 佳 等 異 見 人 士 ， 壓 制 言 論 自 由 等 之 苛 政 有 所收 斂 。 不 要 對 內 對 外 一 天 到 晚 講 「 利 」 ， 也 要 講 講 「 仁 義 」 。 不 要 因 舉 辦 奧 運 而 過於 亢 奮 ， 也 要 考 慮 花 這 麼 多 錢 搞 面 子 工 程 ， 也 得 花 點 錢 向 貧 苦 人 民 伸 伸 援 手 。 所 謂「 多 行 不 義 必 自 斃 」 ， 面 對 災 難 不 要 只 顧 喊 口 號 ， 作 點 自 我 檢 討 ， 特 赦 所 有 的 政 治犯 ， 算 是 積 德 消 災 吧 。 奧 運 是 大 工 程 ， 沒 有 道 德 力 量 的 國 家 能 撐 得 住 嗎 ？

Related Links: 讀「天譴共犯論」有感  倉海君,新春秋; 回應膠文（一）  林忌,每日一膠

• [007]  Hong Kong By The Numbers (05/14/2008) (Hong Kong Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies, Chinese University of Hong Kong)  (1,018 persons age 18 interviewed by telephone on May 5-7, 2008)

Q1.  How serious do you think is the problem of rising costs in Hong Kong?
  0.2%: Not serious at all
  2.5%: No serious
50.1%: Serious
46.4%: Very serious

Q2. Do you feel that the costs for goods will rise, fall or remain the same one year from now?
  3.0%: Fall
  8.8%: Remain the same
83.2%: Rise
  4.9%: Don't know

Q3. Overall, how much negative impact has the rising costs for things on you?
  2.5%: None
32.8%: A little bit
41.5%: A lot
23.2%: A great deal
  0.1%: Don't know/hard to say

Q5. What is the major reason for the rising costs for things in Hong Kong?
30.4%: Rising costs in mainland China
19.4%: Rising costs overseas
16.3%: Hong Kong businesses taking advantage of the situation to raise prices
12.1%: The Hong Kong government is weak in handling inflation
  7.8%: Costs of local production (rent, wages), etc are rising
  2.4%: All of the above
  6.7%: Other reasons
  5.1%: Don't know/hard to say

Q9.  How confident are you in the ability of the Hong Kong government to hold down the rising prices for things?
17.0%: Not confident at all
38.1%: Not confident
39.9%: Somewhat confident
  2.3% Totally confident
  2.8%: Don't know/hard to say

Q10.  Do you believe that feel that Legislative Councilors with political party backgrounds have helped to relieve the citizens from the pressures of rising prices?
23.4%: None whatsoever
31.4%: None
37.4%: Somewhat
  0.2%: Totally
  7.6%: Don't know/hard to say

Q11.  Which political party is best able to relieve the citizens from the pressures of rising prices? [Base: Those who answered 'somewhat' or "totally' in preceding question)
24.6%: Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong
  9.3%: Democratic Party
  5.0%: Civic Party
  3.4% Liberal Party
  0.3%: Association for Democracy and People's Livelihood
  8.2%: Federation of Trade Unions
  6.9%: Confederation of Trade Unions
  0.5%: League of Socialist Democrats
  0.3%: Front Line
  0.5%: Independent Legislative Councilors
  1.6%: None
39.4%: Don't know/hard to say

• [006]  I Choose To Embrace  (05/14/2008)  (Hecaitou's Blog)

[in translation]

At 2:18am, one of my young friends posted the following item titled <Please pray for me> at the Nanjing University student bulletin board.  He wrote:

My home is in Beichuang, where 5,000 out of 13,000 residents are dead
The mountain city of the past is now a city of the dead
There is no news about my parents and family
Mianyang is calling for young people to bring tools and water to render help
I must return
I believe that I will be facing a waste land
but I will be able to embrace my parents
I have nothing more to say
I shall depart early in the morning
I am not afraid
I did not cry
There are still surviving family members who needs solace from me
There are plenty more other things waiting for me to do
I have faith
I won't say anything more
I am packing and I will travel by car to Shanghai and then fly back
Everybody please pray for me
The brothers at the Chemistry Department will support me!

In this post, I was moved most of all by the statement "I believe that I will be facing a waste land but I will be able to embrace my parents."  At this time, as the son of his parents, he has made his own choice.  As his compatriots, what should we choose under the circumstances?

At this time, the discussions about whether the Olympic torch relay should be cancelled, or the engineering quality of the elementary schools, or the speed of mobilization of the army, or the calculation of the fortune of this hear seeks almost shameful to me.  Stopping the Olympic torch relay, or arresting all the construction contractors, or assembling one million soldiers from around the country, or reading the fortunes of the dynasty are of no help to the victims.  Instead, it only increases arguments and fears.  Everybody should pause and imagine being buried under the debris while the cold rain falls outside: What is your most urgent need?  Could it be those 'brilliant' ideas?

Therefore, I am grateful to all those people who sent SMS to me.  This is the first time that I was not upset at receiving these grouped messages.  We should be able to donate out of love to the Red Cross, and we ought to do so.

I also thank those friends who donate blood.  We cannot go to the disaster areas, but our warm blood can go there.  If our blood is warm and bountiful, no compatriots will turn cold slowly in the rain.  Yes, we have blood in addition to money.

I also want to thank those netizens who provide various information about how to offer help.  I thank those friends who are silently praying.  I thank all those who performed good deeds.

At this moment, we ought to put aside all the arguments and prejudices.  We should unite and fight to save every life possible.  Today, more than half of the population in China only know about the Tangshan earthquake through books and oral tradition.  We are now facing yet another Tangshan earthquake.  At Tangshan, more than 200,000 people perished.  This time, we will not permit this to happen again.  Perhaps the Heavens have decided each generation should suffer such an catastrope, but we have decided that we will save more lives each time.  We will not be tired and we will never give up.

My young friend made his choice: he wants to go back home even if it is a waste land and even if he dies, he wants to die with his parents.  As for us, we should not choose to curse people, we should choose to make accusations, we should not choose anger and we should choose to embrace.  We cannot make time reverse itself and bring the dead back to life.  But we can embrace closely and then there is a hope.

Amidst the ruins, this hope is the only thing that can uplift and comfort people.  At a moment like this, I would not say "God bless China."  I can only say that God helps those who help themselves.  I only believe in holding each other tight and feeling the warmth of the embrace.

• [005]  Wingnuts Are Not Limited To Chinese Netizens Only (05/14/2008)  (Wenxue City)  Of course, these examples are not reflective of all western opinions.

• [004]  Eye In The Sky (05/12/2008)  (Southern Metropolis Daily)

For a while, there was a street surveillance camera near the pedestrian bridge at Yayuan, Luohu, Shenzhen which would turn its focus from the street to the neighboring buildings after midnight.  Since April 26, the Southern Metropolis Daily reporter had accessed the real-time broadcast of the government's open information network and tracked what this particular camera was doing eight days in a row.  On each day after midnight, the camera would systematically scan through the neighboring buildings back and forth until early in the morning.

For example, on April 29, the camera began scanning two luxury apartment buildings from left to right and from top to bottom.  When the camera reached a window with lights on, it would stop and magnify the view.  When the camera reached a window with drawn curtains, it would move on immediately.

On early morning in May 3, the reporter observed that the camear stopped and focused on the bedroom with open curtains.  A woman appeared, took off her clothes and went into the bathroom.  The camera followed this woman for a total of 59 minutes 41 seconds.

According to information, most of the residents are white-collar workers and many are totally unaware that there was a surveillance camera on the roof of the building on the other side, much less that it was prying into their private lives.  The case has been referred to the Shenzhen public security bureau, which gave assurances that the persons responsible will be dealt with severely.  (Follow-up: It turned out that the person monitoring the surveillance camera was a temporary worker).

• [003]  A Harmonious Photo?  (05/11/2008)  (Beifeng at Ramblings of a Drunkard blog)  The Chinese crowds out to watch the Olympic torch relay have been huge, to the point where the police are overwhelmed.  When there are not enough police, citizens need to provide help in the civic spirit.  In theory, this cute photo would be a perfect illustration of civilian/police cooperation.

Alas, this is China and its people are imbued with a dark (but humorous) cynicism about what is show to them.  What can these inquiring minds discern from this photo?  First of all, there is a white Haier flag in the middle -- was this photo a product-placement advertisement for that company?  Secondly, the right hand of the female police officer is holding the hands of two men?  But the best comment of the day goes to this one:

What do you mean by civilian/police cooperation?  This photo clearly shows "Jing Jing" (refers to the cartoon female police figure at Chinese websites) and "Cha Cha" (refers to the cartoon male police figure at Chinese websites) with a plainclothes policeman between them!

• [002]  Kappa Cops Out (05/11/2008)

(Three Gorges Online)  The clothing of the Italian brand Kappa can be seen at various Chinese stores, especially their line of clothing for different countries in the world.  When Italy won the World Cup in 2006, the blue Italian jackets were popular.  In Milan, a Chinese netizen saw and took photos of a Kappa "Free Tibet" jacket, with the Snow Lion flag in front and a Buddhist figure in the back.  This item could also be found at online store.  The price of the jacket is listed at 150 Euros.

 

(Ming Pao)

In China, the Kappa representative is China Dongxian.  On May 6, China Dongxian issued a statement that emphasized that the Free Tibet jacket was designed, produced and sold by the original trademark holder Basicnet.  As such, China Dongxiang was not involved in any way whatsoever.  China Dongxian said that it obtained the trademark rights to the Kappa brands in mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau in May 2006 and it produces and sell all its own products in China.  The Free Tibet jacket has never been produced or sold in mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau.  China Dongxian says that it has asked Basicnet to withdraw this item from the market.  As of now, the item is no longer listed at the online store.  China Dongxian said in its statement: We will never do anything that damage the national interests or hurt the feelings of the people."

• [001]  "Tibet Independence Girl" (05/11/2008)  "Tibet Independence Girl" is the moniker for Christina Chan Hau-man at the Chinese-language Internet forums.

  (SCMP)  'What's wearing a bikini got to do with Tibet or human rights?'  Barclay Crawford and Fanny W. Y. Fung.  May 11, 2008.

  In the past week, newspapers and netizens have made private photographs of her public, including shots of her in a bikini, enjoying herself at bars and nightclubs, and kissing companions.   Her body measurements were taken from her modelling-agency profile and circulated, and there has been commentary about her dress sense and relationships.  She appeared on the cover of a popular tabloid magazine and more than 100 posts with her name were made on the Hong Kong-based popular forum Discuss.com.hk.   A post with a collection of Ms Chan's private pictures had been viewed more than 23,000 times since it was uploaded on Monday. A similar search on another popular site, Hong Kong Golden, hit 140 results from April 28 to Thursday.

  ...

  "I don't see how me wearing a bikini has anything to do with Tibet or human rights," she said.  "I haven't done anything I'm ashamed of, but I just think it's regrettable that my friends have to be involved in this. Obviously, they have been asked about this by their families and friends and that type of thing."

  Lui Tai-lok, a sociology professor at Chinese University, said criticism of the mainland's policies on Tibet was not new and therefore not newsworthy.  "The focus is less on the issue itself, but on personalities, focusing on an individual and picking up whatever you can get from him or her," Professor Lui said.   "The sad part of it is, after a week or so, who cares about any of it? But that's the media ecology these days." Professor Lui said that while Ms Chan may have wanted to capture attention by being different, it was always hard to manage what the media would be interested in or what path the publicity would take." "You cannot direct or control everything unless you are really good at manufacturing news. And you need to have someone who represents David and Victoria Beckham to do that," he said.   "Nowadays, with the internet, it's easy to dig up information. Pictures of you in a nightclub with guys you are not supposed to hang around with are available."

  A senior media observer said Ms Chan represented a fresh new angle "who got results" with her protests using the Tibetan flag.  "That means a lot for the media," she said. "She's become a cover story. She has all the elements of novelty, that's why she has all the attention.  "In the coverage, there is 1 per cent about her campaign, and the rest is about her. But for anyone who wants to sustain this type of exposure, she has to have a very strong campaign, but we don't know her platform or what she is advocating."

  The tabloid magazine mentioned is EastWeek:

  

  Since EastWeek appears on newsstands on Tuesday, Next Weekly could not have Christina Chan on the front page on Wednesday.  But there was still a story with some photos that drew netizen comments:

  
  MTR message: "Eating and drinking is not allowed on the platform or train."
  (入閘後及車箱內嚴禁飲食)

  
  See discussion of Christina Chan's panties at Hong Kong Golden

  Missing is any discussion of Tibet independence, which the so-called "Tibet Independence Girl" does not even advocate.

---

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