As a middle-aged idler, I occasionally checked out some unhealthy stuff on the Internet.  Actually, I am ashamed about that but I just cannot help myself.  So when the news came that the Green Dam-Youth Escort software is being promoted and all new computers sold in China must install this software, I thought that my salvation might be coming.

So I went and downloaded version 3.16 of the software.  After decompressing, I could not locate the installation document.  I was surprised and impressed: Chinese software are getting so good nowadays that even the installation document is hidden.  But I am crafty and I found a file called "GreenInternetSoftware LH-setup3.16.exe" which appears to be the installation program.

I ran this program on my old Red Hat Linux operating system.  Red Hat said: "Do you think that I am a stupid hat?"  So I forwarded this document to my mobile phone, which rejected it with this message: "Pls do not send files larger than the physical memory of this device."  Finally I located a Windows machine where the program can run.  Hmmm, I will have to use Windows to get on the Internet in the future.

Installation:

With reverence, I began to read the <Final User Agreement>.  I must say that Chinese software has made progress in recent years, as even their texts look like English.  For example, this agreement began with "Important!"  If I wrote something like this year ago, my language teacher would have sent it right back.

The agreement is also very clear, such as this first clause:

This program can filter harmful information on the Internet, but it does not guarantee that all harmful information will be filtered, nor does it guarantee that all the filtered information is harmful.

This sentence means: When I pour out the bath water, I may be throwing the baby out, or there may still be dirty water left afterwards, or my baby's leg may be left there.

Here are three more clauses:

6. When you use this software product, you must bear the risks on your own.  Within the maximum limits of the relevant laws, we do not offer any explicit or implied guarantee, including (but not limited to) any implied guarantee for the permission to sell, or suitability for specific uses, or intellectual property rights.

7. Within the maximum limits of the relevant laws, you are forewarned that the following is possible: You must bear all responsibility under all circumstances for compensation for all special accidental direct and indirect damages (including but not limited to business losses, interruptions, loss of information or other mental damages) on account of your use or inability to use this software product.

8. According to this agreement, the software provider bears no legal and/or economic responsibility for any economic or legal disputes as a result of using this software.

By the time I read to this point, I got nervous.  What will my wife and child say if the machine fails to work after this software is installed?  They are saying that they bear no responsibility.  However, since this is a software being promoted by the state, I bit my teeth and went ahead!

Reboot:

After I finished the installation, a reboot was requested.  I have a bad premonition, which grew slowly as the reboot proceeded.  Although this computer is somewhat old, it is a 2.33G dual core with 4G internal memory.  Usually, it takes about 2 minutes to reboot.  But this time it seemed very slow.

Once I reached the entry dialog box, I put in the pass code.  Then it went into a long waiting process.  It took 5 minutes 36 seconds from the time that I hit the ENTER key to when the process finished.  At the same time, I found that my designated desktop background had reverted back to the dreadful Windows default style.

Disaster:

Then I saw another dialog box that said: "Software failed to start.  Please re-install."

Re-install?!  I have to remove the program first.  At this instant, I realized where my uneasiness had come from: during the installation, the software never asked me which folder to install into!

So I immediately looked for the Windows Explorer icon.  My desktop has not shown up yet.  When I moved the mouse, all I saw was the hourglass icon.  Fortunately, I have not completely forgotten about my DOS expertise.  After hitting a few keys, I arrived at the familiar black DOS window.

It was not there under C:\Program Files.

It was not there under C:\

It was not there under D:\

It was not listed under Remove Program in the Control Panel.

I checked Windows Event, but I got an error!

What have I don't?  Did I install a virus on my computer?  Google, Baidu, save me!  How can I delete this thing?

I started Firefox.  Firefox said that I cannot visit Baidu.  I started Chrome.  Chrome said that it was unable to locate Google.  I started Internet Explorer.  But even before Internet Explored got started, I already knew the result: Only IP address 127.0.0.1 can be pinged and all other IP's were not inaccessible.

I sat stunned and then I laughed.  I understood now, because such is the point of this software: When it cuts off Internet access, I cannot get on the Internet and therefore there is no such thing as harmful information.  I was being silly by considering this a baby-and-bathtub problem.  This software throws both the baby and the bathtub out of the window, and then it hides itself.

After laughing, I got my spirit back.  I went to the Start Menu and found the entry of this piece of software.  There were two icons: one for starting the program and the other for a Help document.  Of course, there is no way to start the program.  The Help document was even funnier.  Although it showed how to uninstall the program, it seemed very reluctant to display that page to me.  When I open the other Help pages, they came up quickly.  But it took a full 3 minutes to open this page.  The content was not amusing because it says that I must be running the program in order to uninstall it.

What a brilliant design!  First, it cuts off the Internet.  Then the installation program destroys itself.  Even removal requires the program to be running first.  I begin to suspect whether the designer is a fan of super-detective Ke Nan because I can clearly sense the flavor of the Mystery of the Secret Room.

Solution:

But even the most intricate system has its holes.  The icon to start the program was the flaw, because a right click brought me to a program called gn.exe in the C:\windows\system32\ folder.

I deleted this program and I checked that there is nothing else messy in the registry.  Then I rebooted the system.  This time, I did not have any sense of foreboding because the rebooting was very fast.

After I got in, everything was normal.  I know that there may be a few more garbage files in my system, but at least I can use it.  There was a useless icon on the desktop.  I hit "shift+delete" and the computer asked:


Are you sure you want to delete 'Green Dam-Youth Escort'?

I chose "Yes" without any hesitation.

Technical Link (in Chinese): 绿坝-花季护航软件技术分析  猫眼看人; 绿坝评测报告    米兜,南方周末

Background news:

(SCMP)  Censorship fears after edict over porn filter   Stephen Chen.  June 9, 2009.

All computer manufactures, distributors and retailers on the mainland - domestic and foreign - must install the program into the operating system of personal computers before selling them, according to a regulation released by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology on May 19.

The program, called "Green Dam - Youth Escort", is a software bundle which cost the government more than 40 million yuan (HK$45.3 million) to buy from two domestic software companies for just one year of public use.

The program does not rely on a given list of blocked websites. Powered by two sophisticated artificial-intelligence engines - one to filter explicit images and the other inappropriate language - the program can act unilaterally to decide whether to filter a webpage.

Direct access to most pornographic sites is not possible from the mainland. All internet service providers keep a list of blocked websites that is updated daily. But many Web users, especially younger people, use proxies - a portal that allows encrypted content transactions - to bypass firewalls.

The Green Dam software, developed by Computer System Engineering, could recognise an explicit image - ranging from pornography and nudity to disturbing violence - with 95 per cent accuracy in 0.2 seconds on a standard personal computer, according to the ministry.

Youth Escort, developed by the Institute of Acoustics at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, deals with language and is capable of "understanding" a webpage by context rather than simply keywords.

Parents and teachers can choose what they want to block, from pornography and violent games to homosexuality and illegal activities such as drug use.

After installing and running the program, which is available for free download from all major internet portals on the mainland, the South China Morning Post  found the program could efficiently filter almost all images that contained nudity. But the program hindered the smooth running of a computer, slowing the speed of web surfing and causing the browser to crash occasionally.

With the program installed, the user can access some politically sensitive websites that cannot usually be accessed on the mainland. But if the page contains anything that attacks the government or the Communist Party explicitly, it would be blocked promptly. If users decide they do not want the program, it can be uninstalled.

The Green Dam Software can be downloaded from the official website lssw365.net.

(KDNet)

Brief introduction to the functionality of the Jinhui product Green Dam-Youth Escort program: "Real-time screen captures; detailed Internet usage record for post-facto monitoring; prevent anonymous browsing of banned websites through proxy servers; pre-listed several hundreds of thousands of categorized website URL's to prevent visits up front or punish people afterwards; no websites can slip through."

At the official BBS of Green Dam, the following problems were reported by users:

- Hello everybody, I am a teacher at a school and I wish to make the following comments.  First, the school computers are always restored to their original conditions each time after they are used.  Therefore, all monitoring data will be lost every time that the computer is turned off.  Therefore, there is nothing to monitor afterwards.  Second, this software does not have a network edition.  For a school with many computers, it is not easy to administer this software one computer at a time.  This is impractical.

- I don't want to discuss whether the functionalities of Green Dam are good or bad, but it is a nuisance because of all the upgrading that goes on.  We are a rural school, and we are using rural distance learning equipment (namely, Lenovo computers).  If we install Green Dam, then we cannot do simultaneous network broadcasts or hard disk protection.  Even if Green Dam guarantees safe Internet usage, how are we to maintain the software on our computers?  Our computer instructor is going to sit around all day to watch Green Dam being upgraded one computer at a time.  I am going to faint!  Our supervisory leaders must not know how to use computers!

- Let me say something here.  We were ordered to install the software.  So I have to come to this website and curse.  After we installed the software, many normal websites are banned.  For example, it is normal for students to like games such as 4399, but not any more ... many news reports have certain normal words but they are banned ... for example, when <Network News> reports that there is a campaign against pornographic websites, the software bans the story because the term "pornographic websites" was used.  Don't tell me how great the software technology is, because this is a piece of junk.  When we need to look up some course-related material, there is always some provocative advertisements on the pages so we can't access them anymore.  Why doesn't the state just ban those advertisements directly?  I want to curse someone out ...

- As school users, do you know how much time it takes to install this software everywhere?  Furthermore, the school computers are restored to their original states each time.  Is there any need to install this?  Of course, you can say that it is just a matter of devoting enough time to install all the computers one by one.  The biggest problem is that I have installed the software on one computer for testing and I find that it is good for breaking the links, but it is useless against "adult," "pornographic," "erotic" websites and photos.  What is the use of installing it?

- I am a school computer administrator as well as an information technology instructor.  Our school has a website in which there are several photos of our school being honored as a provincial-level "civilized school."  But I turn on the "photo filter" option in Green Dam, and those provincial-level "civilized school" photos were filtered out.  I feel helpless.

- After testing, I found out that the software can record Internet usage data as well as being a piece of spyware with the ability to obtain periodic screen captures.  When schools are compelled to install this software, there is the serious worry of computer security about the private information of teachers and students.  There is no guarantee that personal information is not being secretly collected.  It is a huge problem when teachers feel unsafe when they use the computers.

- Can I determine the content of the text filtering?  Today, a teacher posted an exam question which talks about "students playing touch-ball game."  The Word document was shut down.  I spent a long time trying to determine the cause.  This was really depressing.  It will be a lot of work dealing these kinds of things in the future.

- How much flesh color does it take to make something "pornography"?  I went on the Internet to check out some animal photos.  A lovely little naked pig was sent onto the black list.  Pitiful little pig!  I was curious, so I looked up some photos of naked African women.  Oh, they were not censored!

- The true purpose of this software is to get money from the government.  This software company obviously has some kind of background, because it can get money with a piece of lousy software.  Yesterday, this matter became public and a bunch of people went to their BBS to curse them out.  So they have shut down their BBS (note: the message says that the BBS is being 'upgraded').

(KDNet)


Installing version 3.17 of Green Dam-Youth Escort


"Your installation of Green Dam-Youth Escort has been successfully completed.  Hit FINISH to exit installation."


Test #1: Search for "Tang Jiali" in Baidu Images


Test #2: Search for text "Vagina" at Google.cn.

Test results:
1.  Green Dam-Youth Escort does not automatically block pornographic photos, as shown in Test Result #1.  The program has to be started and instructed to do so.  Once the instruction is given, the nude photos of Tang Jiali were shut down automatically.
2.  Green Dam-Youth Escort will automatically use text filtering.  But the above shows that certain words that might lead to pornographic information were not blocked immediately (see Test Result #2).
3. The software can be uninstalled.  But it cannot be uninstalled from the Start Menu or Control Panel.  Instead, you must do so from within the Green Dam-Youth Escort program itself.  During uninstall, there may be some abnormal events and it may take you several times before you can uninstall the program.
4. After uninstall is completed, there does not appear to be anything files or programs left behind.

In Changsha city on June 8th, the students who have just finished their university entrance exams picked their teacher up and tossed him into the air.

During the commotion, someone picked the teacher's pocket (note: the man is in the bottom right corner of this photo).  But the time that the teacher realized that he had lost his wallet, the perpetrator was long gone.  The teacher and students asked the news photographer to review the photos, and there was the perpetrator!

A sharp-eyed user 'bbc1234' noted that at just past the 1 minute mark, there was a bus coming towards the camera with the words: "63 days until the 2008 Olympics!"  The netizen said that the CCTV reporters were using the 2008 news film but talking about it as if this was 2009.  "This shows that our country is deeply involved in fakery, for why else would the accurate <Network News> be showing fake news!  Sad and sorry!"

On June 9, CCTV responded:

This news report was compiled from the video clips sent in by the various local television stations.  The erroneous video cip was provided by Jiangxi TV for the news story: <Nanchang city, Jiangxi province: the traffic police department provide convenience for university entrance examination participates>.  On that day, Jiangxi TV was going to film the Nanchang police giving a "green" parking lane for the university entrance examination sites.  During the production process, the Jiangxi TV crew filmed at the actual locations.  After completing most of the film shots, it began to shower to Nanchang.  Therefore, the reporters asked the Nanchang city traffic police department to provide archived film shots.  The Jiangxi TV editor did not realize that there were file films from last year's university entrance examinations and inserted the clip into the news report.  At <Network News>, this was one of more than 20 news stories from local television stations, and the editors did not spot the error.  Thus, this video appeared on air.

After the news story was broadcast, viewers and netizens raised doubts through various channels.  Here, we express our gratitude to them and we apologize to the public.  We will follow our departmental rules to deal with this matter and we will use this as a lesson.  We invite you to continue to care about and support our program!

You may have seen the news reports that I made about the chopping of trees in Niujia Village, Lihe town, Dezhou/Linyi city during which I was shoved around by the village director.

Yesterday, the village director and other local government officials came to Qilu TV Station to apologize.  The village director also said that he has repaired the outhouse destroyed by the fallen trees and paid compensation.

So I thought that this was how the issue was resolved.  Since they apologized sincerely and I had no personal stake, this was good enough for the villagers.

But I was angry when I found out from villagers that the TV news program was scheduled to run at 6pm, but the Linyi government cut off the signal to Qilu TV at 5:55pm and restored it only at 9pm!

Also, the village director lied when he said that he repaired the outhouse.  Up to this moment, the village director has neither apologized to the villagers nor repaired the outhouse.

Now I am really angry!  What is this!?  Did he come to apologize just to make the TV station not report the case anymore?  How can this kind of village director do anything good for the villagers?

So this case is not finished.  I will go back to that village and help the villagers win their rights back!

So let us take a look at the village director who hit me -- Tan Zhuanhe.

 

It was like this: I walked out of the village government office and he was there waiting for me.  I told him that I was going to the village with him.  He said fiercely: "Go, let's go to the village!"  I asked, "What kind of attitude is that?"  Suddenly he swung his fist and hit me in the temple.  I was stunned.  I reacted and yelled: "What are you doing!"

He raised his hand and slapped me.  Here is the moment captured by the camera (note: which is about 3 minutes into the YouKu video).

Then he let a man wearing a t-shirt grab the camera in order to shut it off.  My cameraman Wang Xiaolong hung on to the equipment, but that man snatched off the battery.  During this period, the village director grabbed my throat and punched me twice again.  He was later stopped by another village cadre.

During this episode, the town government party secretary named Ying stood on the side and watched with arms akimbo.  He did not intercede.  When I asked secretary Ying for help, he turned around and walked away.

I thought that this affair was over.  But when I learned that they cut off the Qilu TV signal and neither apologized to nor compensated the villagers, I decided to struggle all the way with this Linyi village director!

Recently, the American online game "Grand Theft Auto 4" began to offer a "Chinese chengguan" skin to users.  This skin is a user-generated application and not an official product.  The main character Niko Bellic wears a uniform with the Chinese words chengguan (城管) on the back to become the rule of the streets.  He drove an armored car with the words "Administrative Law Enforcement" (行政执法) to clean out the street vendors in Central Park.

Thus, the unwelcomed chengguan of China are now famous overseas.


I am a municipal administrator in Liberty City.
I have just completed my training in China.
Today is my first day on the job!


The more ability that I have, the greater my responsibility ...
I am keenly aware of this point.
I sense more and more that this city needs me!


To enforce law in a crime-ridden place like Liberty City,
it would be dangerous to drive an ordinary vehicle.
This car has 3mm thick steel plates, bullet-proof glass, explosion-proof tires ...
these are the most basic safety features.
I should mention that this car comes from China.


We are taking off.
Today's mission is to clean up the small-time vendors around Central Park.


Here is a hot dog vending stand.
I just happen to be hungry now.


My walking form has been specially trained.
It adheres to professional standards.


When you are not communicating, you have to take care of business!


The White Crane style of martial arts?


Just try my Black Tiger Strikes Heart blow!


Mothafucker!  I didn't pay anything in Chinese restaurants.
So you want to pay for a hot dog!
You think that you are powerful just because you have a vendor's license?


Let's split because he's dead!

(China Weekly)

On the afternoon of September 5, 2007, Qin Sanzi was arrested by the Xintian county police for "committing robbery using a moving vehicle."

At around 8pm that evening, Qin Sanzi was taken to the interrogation room while under handcuffs and legcuffs.  At around 3am, the police officers cuffed Qin's hands onto the crossbars of the window so that he had his back against the window, his hands raised and his feet hyst touching the ground.  He refused to say anything.  So the police officer used a wooden stick to hit his stomach and thighs.  He was set down at around 6am.

At 9am the next morning, the police officers used the same methods against him and let him down at 11am.  At around 2pm, the police hung Qin up a third time and did not release him until 6pm.  During this time, Qin refused to give up.  So the police officer hit him with a wooden stick on the outside of his legs for one to two minutes.

At 8pm that evening, the police officers took Qin to the duty room.  Qin's right hand was cuffed to the top bar of the double bunk bed while his left hand was cuffed to the cement floor.  This meant that Qin had to assume a martial arts squat position for 12 hours.

By 10am on September 7, Qin became physically ill.  He passed away at just after 11am.

On the morning of September 7, the police called Qin Chunfa to inform that his son had been arrested awaiting bail.  Then they called again: "Your son was kicked a couple of times, and suddenly died after coughing out blood.  Please come over quickly."  When Qin Chunfa arrived at the police station, he was not allowed to enter.  So this old man broke down and threw a crying tantrum in front of the police station.

On September 9, Qin Chunfa attended the autopsy of his son.  There were multiple scratches, swellings and bruises covering 8% of his body, including certain long marks that are consistent with being hit with a long-shaped object.  There were also bruises in his heart muscles, lung and kidney.  The cause of death was heart failure with the soft-tissue injuries being the triggering cause.

On September 15, three police officers were arrested.

Frustrated with the lack of progress, Qin Chunfa went to Beijing to petition in June 2008, but he was intercepted in front of the Supreme Procuratorate and sent back home.  One month later, he took a detour to Shaoguan (Guangdong) and then to Beijing.  He was intercepted as soon as he got off the train and sent home.

In October 2008, two police officers were charged.  On November 21, 2008, the court heard the case.  "The court began hearing the case at 3pm and finished before 5pm.  There was no chance for any questions."  According to the verdict document, "The two defendants filed reports to the Xintian county public security bureau leaders about what happened and volunteered the information to the prosecutors.  They provided information of their wrongdoing."  The verdict document noted that the defendants were instrumental in solving other cases while they were on probation.  So while the defendants were found guilty of the charges, they suffered no penalties.

Q. When did you first see that bus?
A. At around 730am, I saw that bus near the Army General Hospital.  I saw smoke coming out of the bus.  So I yelled, "Stop the bus.  Smoke is coming out."

Q. Did the bus stop?
A. The bus driver didn't listen.  I rode my electric bicycle and chased it for more than two kilometers.  When we got near the zoo, a young man used his electric bicycle to block the bus and made it stop.  Then the driver cursed us, "Mind your own business, you stupid children!"  Then he drove off again.  Then the smoke got thicker and thicker.  Many of people were yelling, "Stop the bus quickly!"  The bus continued for another six minutes and then the fire began to burn."

Q. How far away were you when the bus caught fire?
A. Four steps away.  I called the fire department (119) immediately and I told them that the vehicle was on fire.  The people at 119 began to curse me.

Q. Why did the people at 119 curse you?
A. Because I was losing my mind and I could not speak clearly.  More and more people came and a girl took over my telephone and told them clearly what was happening.  The fire engines arrived half an hour later.  We all cursed the 119 people for being stupid children because it took them so long to get there.

Q. What was it like inside the bus?
A. The bus was on fire for a while.  Then there was an explosion.  It was burning and exploding.  The car door could not be opened.  I saw many shadows moving inside back and forth.  Many people used their heads to ram the windows.  There were cries and screams everywhere.  A sixty-something-year old man and the young man went to smash the window with a rock and a bicycle chain.  The old man cut his hand before he managed to break the glass.  Many people used bicycle chains to smash the windows.  I saw four people came out.  A seventy-something-year-old man, a young man and a small girl ...

Q. Only four people got out?
A. I fainted after I saw the fourth person got out.  When I came to, everybody around me was crying.  They said that about a dozen people got ot.

Q. Did the bus driver get out?
A. He got out and got into a small vehicle and left.  I did not see him helping to put the fire out.

(Reuters)  Starbucks Brews Hostility in Taiwan   June 2, 2009.

Starbucks (SBUX) has inadvertently stirred up a long-standing controversy in Taiwan over what the country calls itself.  On the coffee company's store locator page, up until about a half hour ago, Taiwan was described as "a province of China."

That description is music to the ears of many Chinese officials who regard Taiwan as a renegade province. Yet, for the Taiwanese people, who don't consider themselves any part of the People's Republic of China, it's an affront. Since the 1949 civil war that forced nationalists out of the communist Chinese mainland and into Taiwan, the island has governed itself.

Today on Twitter, a user named Taiwan News, remarked, "#Starbucks abandons status quo, states 'Taiwan, Province of China' on corporate website." Starbucks tweeted back: "@taiwanews It was an accident and will be fixed as soon as possible."

Starbucks is not the first multinational company to fumble with the country's designation. Google (GOOG) did the same thing in 2005, when it labeled the island as a province of China on Google Maps. "It is incorrect to call Taiwan a province of China because we are not," a spokesman for the Foreign Ministry told the New York Times at the time. Not long after the controversy surfaced, Google changed the description to simply "Taiwan." Starbucks quietly did the same today. Chinese officials were not pleased when Google made the name switch years ago. They're likely to get heated again.

(Global Times)  June 5, 2009.

Recently Starbucks found itself in the middle of a storm.  It began when its official website listed Taiwan as a province of China.  Certain Taiwanese netizens complained, and Starbucks changed "Taiwan province" into a "country."

But this action by Starbucks drew strong reactions from mainland Chinese netizens.  According to the survey by Global Times, more than 80% indicate that they will boycott Starbucks.  In this June 3 online lone, netizens were asked "Will you still drink Starbucks?"  5,063 (or 84%) voted that "they won't drink Starbucks even if was totally free."  12.5% said that they will drink Starbucks if it was for free.

One netizen said that this was not about the market, but about "principles."  Even businesses have to have "principles."  Another netizens said that since Starbucks wants to enter the Taiwan market while abandoning the mainland market, "we are obliged to abandon them."

According to Taiwan media reporters, the pro-green Taiwan netizens even want to pressure Starbucks to make its mainland website to acknowledge that Taiwan is a 'country.'

The politically correct solution is the following.  You go to Starbucks.com (the official USA headquarters website) and you click on "International" to get a list of regions.  These regions are not marked as either nation, province or whatever.  If you look at the list, it includes nations (such as Australia, Austria, etc) as well as non-nations (such as Hong Kong and Shanghai).  Thus, Starbucks is not saying Taiwan is one thing or the other.  If you have a problem, it is your problem and not Starbucks' problem.

My following remarks on June 4th may arouse resentment, even anger, among certain people.  So let me state my position up front first: Like many Hong Kong persons, I hold the opinion that the June 4th incident should be reversed as quickly as possible.  For the Chinese government, the reversal of the June 4th incident is not only "the right thing to do," but it is also "the sane thing to do" because this is aligned with its own interests.  Those apologists who attempt to justify the bloodshed at Tiananmen Square or those pragmatists who attempt to use the twenty years of economic advances to justify the suppression have no leg to stand on, either morally or logically.

The moral aspect has already been settled publicly, so only logic will be discussed here.  Neither consumers nor investors can or need to have "perfect information" in order to make smart decisions.  For the same reason, we do not need to know everything about the June 4th incident in order to come up with a mature, reasonable judgment.  There is no doubt that China has accomplished economic miracles time and again during the twenty years after the June 4th incident.  But to say that this means that the decision on the June 4th incident had been correct is to commit the classical mistake of reversing cause and effect and replacing "in spite of" with "because of."  To lay the responsibility for the massacre to the intransigence of the students or power struggle among the students is the usual strategy of "blaming the victim."  This is twisting logic to the point of saying that a woman was raped not because of the vicious rapist but because she wore a short skirt and a sleeveless garment.

Because the June 4th incident provides an extraordinary picture of moral clarity, it gives the Hong Kong people a chance to straighten their backs and ascend to the moral high ground each year.  There is nothing wrong with the Hong Kong people fighting to vindicate the June 4th incident.  What is problematic is that during the process, the politicians who "feel good about themselves" and the self-righteous media are giving them a "false sense of moral superiority."

Just as a happy prostitute upsets people, a stable and prosperous colonial land make people incensed.  Hong Kong has always been enjoyed being a British colony, even complacent and unwilling to part; it has always obeyed the orders of its colonial masters.  During the 150 year rule by Great Britain, there had not been a single significant anti-colonial hero -- Bruce Lee was a mere movie star.  The people of Hong Kong had "good and quiet years" and "stable and prosperous times" because they collaborated and cooperated with the colonial rulers.  This type of collusive colonialism is a dirty secret about why Hong Kong was so successful.  Hong Kong has been called an economic city and that term actually contains a stern criticism of the way by which the Hong Kong people are profit-oriented and interested only in materialistic enjoyment without any responsibility towards the Chinese people.

The self-image and self-respect of the people of Hong Kong have been built upon the wealth that they have created, accumulated and pursued.  They have tried to use money to repay their debts to their nation and its people.  Each time, when the people of Hong Kong donated money and aid to their mainland brethren, there is the element of redemption.  But now it has been twelve years after the return of Hong Kong to China, and the mainland has turned from a poor relative of Hong Kong to becomes its benefactor instead.  Time and again, mainland China propped up the Hong Kong economy.  Economically speaking, mainland China is not only the present of Hong Kong, but also its future.

Under these circumstances, how shall the people of Hong Kong face up with a father whom they betrayed in the past but is now taking care of them now?  Without the June 4th incident, the sense of inferiority and evil would be uncontainable among the people of Hong Kong.  But with the June 4th incident, they establish their moral high ground with respect to mainland China.  They can boldly tell themselves that it does not matter what they had done in their colonial history and it does not matter how much they have to rely on mainland China today, they are morally superior as proven by their stance on the June 4th incident.

This sense of moral superiority has rendered impossible the necessary self-criticism of the people of Hong Kong with respect to their relationship towards mainland China.  Instead, they can unabashedly condemn human rights and social policies on the mainland on one hand, while accepting all the large and small favors at the same time on the other hand.  In truth, this is a morally indefensible position -- you want to bite the hand that feeds you, while you open your mouth as widely as possible in order to be fed.  This also explains why mainland China is completely unmoved by all these demands from the people of Hong Kong for democracy, human rights and the vindication of the June 4th incident.  In the final analysis, the people of Hong Kong have not proven to mainland China that they are willing to give up their very real economic interests for the sake of values such as democracy and justice.

The Alliance To Support Democratic Movements In China and the Hong Kong police gave different crowd estimates for the June 4th candlelight vigil last night.  But it is clear from watching the scene that the candles filled all the soccer fields and flowed over into the grass spaces.  The sight was seldom seen in years.  According to the Alliance, the number of attendees surpassed the number in 1990, one year after the 1989 incident itself.  This number is highly significant because it is an important indicator of "one country, two systems" but it is also the best descriptor of the decrease in alienation between the Hong Kong people and their mainland brethren.

Hong Kong will have been returned to China for twelve years under "one country, two systems."  In recent years, many Hong Kong affairs showed the handiwork of the central government.  For example, many elections and HK SAR government appointments showed that the China Liaison Office played a role; it is still a question whether the HK SAR government has a 10 point agreement with the China Liaison Office; are there two governing bodies of Hong Kong?; why is the HK SAR government suddenly stopping the Defend The Diaoyutai Islets activists from going to sea?  These developments have caused many people to worry that "one country, two systems" is being eroded.

The Chinese government has tried to put the June 4th incident into "cold storage" over the past twenty years and erase it from the people's memory.  They also used oppressive tactics against the victims' family members in their quest for truth and justice.  The issue of June 4th is taboo in mainland China and people are afraid to discuss the subject.  But in the Chinese territory of Hong Kong, there are June 4th memorial activities each year.  On this special 20th anniversary, the determination and passion of Hong Kong citizens to vindicate June 4th and obtain justice for the victims have not waned.

In March 1997, Alliance chairman Szeto Wah was visiting Canada.  At one function, he said that he and the Democratic Party members will not leave Hong Kong after its return to China because they may never be allowed to return.  He also said that he would continue to commemorate June 4th as before.  Even if he were arrested by new "bad" laws, he will continue to fight for the proper right to act.  For the twelve years since Hong Kong was returned to China, Szeto Wah and the Democratic Party members have been able to leave and enter Hong Kong freely.  The June 4th memorial meetings have been held without interference.  The original concerns were unfounded.  Such was how "one country, two systems" is realized.

The June 4th issue has largely faded around the world, but it has not died away in Hong Kong.  The attempt by the central government to erase June 4th from the people's memory has failed because memorial services continue to be held in Hong Kong.  Although this has something to do with the persistent efforts of Szeto Wah and others, there could not have been such a scene without the broad support of the citizens "to never forget June 4th."  The central government is obviously unhappy, but they still permitted the June 4th memorial services to be held under the Five Star Flag.  This is an important realization of "one country, two systems."

On the persistence, perseverance and sentiments of the people of Hong Kong on the June 4th incident are distinctly different from their typical realism and materialism.  But it would be a serious mistake to interpret the position of the people on Hong Kong on the June 4th incident as opposition to the central government.  In truth, the people of Hong Kong have increasingly identified with the central government after the return of Hong Kong to China.

According to the polls of the Hong Kong University Public Opinion Programme, the Hong Kong people have increased their trust in the central government, often even more than their own HK SAR government.  According to the latest poll in April, only 43% of the Hong Kong people have confidence in the Hong Kong SAR government but 56.9% have confidence in the central government.  Among the respondents, 91% approved and have confidence in the future of China.  This high degree of approval and trust in China and the central government is very much unexpected at the time when Hong Kong was returned to China.  It is vastly different from when the future of Hong Kong was first discussed between Great Britain and China in the 1980's.  These changes are directly related to the rapid economic development of China and the state policies towards Hong Kong.  Based upon these developments, the people of Hong Kong will continue to increase their identification and approval of China and its government.  However, the attitude of the Hong Kong people towards the June 4th incident is completely different from that of the central government.

The Hong Kong University Public Opinion Programme poll at the end of last month showed that 61.2% of the respondents supported the reversal of the June 4th incident, which was 12% higher than last year as well as the new high since 1997.  Also, 68.9% of the respondents believed that the central government had acted wrongfully, and that is a 13 year high and 10.9% more than last year.  Only 12.8% thought that the central government did the right thing, which was 2.1% less than the year before.  55.5% thought that the Beijing students acted properly, which was 5.4% higher than last year and also a high since 1994.  18.9% thought that the Beijing students acted improperly, which was 3.9% higher.

These survey results show that although the respondents affirmed the development of China and trusted the central government, they cannot forget the heartbreaking scenes that they saw on television twenty years ago.  But they also did not deny the progress that China has made under the leadership of the central government over the past twenty years.  These psychologies and attitudes are not contradictory.  Instead, they are the manifestations of the rationality and maturity of the Hong Kong people, and they should be proud of it ...

In Nanyang city, the government charges stores with less than 100 square meters in area a rate of 3 RMB/square meter for garbage removal services.  This standard rate is higher than many other Chinese cities -- it is five times higher than Zhengzhou, six times higher than Luoyang, and 10 times higher than Kaifeng.

In May 2007, the Nanyang city government re-organized its environmental department by dividing itself into three districts: Yuancheng, Wolong and Kaoxin.  In so doing, it assigned these departments to collect a total of 6.5 million RMB in fees, with the largest district Wolong getting a quota of 3.4 million RMB.  Once a district office meets its quota, it can keep any surplus for itself.  This system clearly motivates the district offices to meet its quota at the minimum and, in fact, the more the merrier.

On My 28, the netizen "nysky81" posted at the Tianya Forum: "I operate a small shop in Zhongzhou Road, Nanyang City.  On the morning of May 23, three women who claimed to be from the 'office' and a dozen 20-year-old men came to collect garbage removal fees.  I questioned why the fees were so high.  I asked them to show proof of identity but they refused.  They left and a garbage truck came around to dump garbage in front of my shop.  At around 9pm, I was ready to close shop.  Two young men came and smashed my glass door with bricks.  They said 'this should lead you for not paying your fees' and they jumped on the waiting motorcycles and sped away."

These types of post have also appears at Dahe Forum, NetEase Forum and other websites.  They came from different netizens and they have different photos.  But they all have the garbage heaps and broken glass on the ground.

Local media also reported all these incidents of businesses being blocked by garbage heaps.  Most of the business owners said that the government office leaders brought around a group of bald-headed or tattooed young men to carry out these actions.  Netizens were furious, as one Nanyang netizen summarized the case: "The garbage collection fees were assigned to gangsters who use garbage dumping and vandlism to extract high profits."

With the media exposure, Nanyang city mayor Mu Weimin held an emergency meeting yesterday afternoon.  Afterwards, he announced that new garbage removal fee rates will be effectively as of today, with the reductions being as much as 65%.  The Wolong district party secretary Wang Jibo promised that he will personally apologize to the businesses who were mistreated one by one, and he will investigate and punish the workers who attempted to collect fees by violent means.

Yesterday, a Nanyang netizen called this "yet another victory for netizens.  The Nanyang Garbage Gate incident was finally turned around dramatically at the call from the netizens and the businesses!  The force of the Internet cannot be denied.  I salute all those netizens who worked hard on this!"

Background: The named named Zheng was has an out-of-town jog.  The lonely wife named Hu was lonely and began an affair with a man who works at the courthouse.  The two agreed to get divorced, but disagreement over the terms of settlement resulted in a mass incident on June 1.

At 11am or so on June 1, 2009, a police vehicle (Hunan K0405) from the Lidi city court took Hu to deliver a court summons to the parents of Zheng.  When Zheng got the summons, he asked the court worker to show proof of identity.  The latter did not show court identification, but produced only a driver's license.  Zheng refused to sign the summons.  Hu then got into a rage and started to smash things in the house of Zheng's parents.

Hu also called her lover who works in the courthouse.  In less than 10 minutes, two more police vehicles showed up with five or six court workers.  They used violent tactics and assaulted Zheng and his friends.  Zheng suffered a back injury plus many bruises on his legs.  They wanted to drag Zheng down to the courthouse and make him complete the divorce proceedings there.

The commotion drew several thousand spectators.  When the crowd figured out what was doing on, they stopped the illegal enforcement actions of the court workers.  The enraged crowd toppled the three police vehicles.  The court workers sneaked out quietly ...

(Sichuan Quality News)  April 20, 2006.

"When an air-conditioned bus does not have the life-saving hammer, the consequences can be horrendous in the event of an emergency!"  Recently, citizen Mr. Wang called our hotline to say that most of the air-conditioned buses in Chengdu do not have hammers.

He said that if there is an emergency (such as a sudden fire) and the car doors could not be opened, the only way out is by breaking the glass window in the back with a hammer and then jumping out.  But if there is no hammer, then the passengers will be trapped.

According to information, air-conditioned buses are supposed to have sharp iron hammers hanging in a glass case in the back.  Passengers can use the hammer to break the glass and escape in an emergency (such as a fire in the bus, or if the bus plunges into water).

Mr. Wang said that the buses are already exceeding their passenger capacity.  During rush hour, it is so crowded that there is no room beyond passengers.  If there should be a fire, then the chance of escaping without a hammer is remote.

In order to check what Mr. Wang is saying, our reporter went on buses to see.

At 5:00pm on April 4, 2006, our reporter pushed onto a route 341 bus (with license plate Sichuan A47259) at the Wucheng Street bus stop.  After pushing, the reporter spotted a red seat (which is supposed to be where an iron hammer is located).  Regrettably, there was only an empty stand where an iron hammer should have been.

The reporter then went all the way to the back of the bus.  About 1 meter from the back panel, the reporter found another red seat.  But there was no iron hammer either.  Finally, the reporter searched and looked with a great deal of effort and finally saw that there was a red hammer behind the ticket vendor's seat in front of the bus.

...

On April 7, a Ms. Zhou said angrily: "This is just playing with our lives.  When there is no emergency, people don't pay any attention.  But when there is an emergency, it will be too late already."


Apple Daily:
The Backbone of China, The Vanguard of History
200,000 Commemorate 6.4 in Sorrow


Ming Pao:
150,000 at candlelight vigil
Hong Kong people proud


am730:
89 64 20: 150,000 persons
Attendance record broken


Metro:
150,000 persons commemorate 6.4 in sorrow


The Standard:
20 Years On ...


Headline News:
Uncle Sek Kin passes away from illness
(plus smaller story on 6.4 candlelight vigil)


Sing Pao:
Sek Kin passes away from illness


Hong Kong Commercial Press:
Li Xiaojia crams on Hong Kong situation


Hong Kong Economic Journal:
Li Xiaojia:
Need to be familiarized with Hong Kong market
Affirms the contribution of Chinese capital agents


Hong Kong Daily News:
3 Students sniffing Ketamine
Unconscious in public park


Sing Tao:
Sniffed ketamine early inside park
Three students unconscious


Oriental Daily:
Three Form 2 students unconscious after sniffing ketamine
(plus smaller story: 150,000 persons attended 6.4 candlelight vigil)


The Sun:
"Assisted friendship case" young girl
flashes cleavage to provoke magistrate in court
(plus smaller story: 150,000 persons attend 6.4 candlelight vigil)


Wen Wei Po:
Central Government works hard to develop exports
Will introduce more favorable policies

 

So there seems to be a lot of cheering police cadets.

So why do they act this way?  Because there are workers in front of the stage waving placards to tell them to "applaud" or "cheer" as the case may be.

(Original letter)

我是 Lucy, I went to Miss Hong Kong first interview. Wah d judges very not polite and not nice law. Today I see a megazine saying this year's Girls so ugly. I saw many good and pretty girls there but they didn't choose ja ma. Don't choose mei suen law but the judge in first interview-- most very not polite to many young girls and to to me law. I only 18 the judges ask me to"why join Miss HK go and why not study la u only F7 ja wor how can fright with other wor." Also say my English bad hurt die me.

Ho La, other girl tell me la, she study in University ok ga dou but little fat or short then the judge(woman) said " why you look fat or so short!" wah ho hurt ga ma. One girl is a博士 student ar very high level and very nice ga dou cant get in second interview la. We think she will be in ga but she said no law. You can search her pic and my pic to see la. She gum high level duo ng dak, gum me ng duk duo rite gei but i think the whole choosing is not fair law, choose model mei? young yao inch', high study level yao inch, short yao inch They onky choose rich girl law so bad. We don't go and let them inch ga law if they need tall or high level people then why not put in the application form lei.

Waste time!
dou ng fair gei!
u can email me if u want.
Lucy

(English-language translation)

I am Lucy. I went to Miss Hong Kong First Round yesterday.  I am saying that the judges were very rude and not nice. Today, a magazine wrote that the girls this year are so ugly.  I saw many good and pretty girls there, but they were not chosen.  If they don't get chosen, then that is it.  But most of the judges were rude to many of the young girls and to me as well.  I am only 18 but the judges asked me why I entered the Miss Hong Kong Contest.  Why didn't I continue with my studies?  With only a F7 education, how can I compete with the others?   The judges also said that my English was very poor.  I was so hurt that I could die.

Alright, another girl told me that she studied well in university but she is just a little bit fat and not tall enough.  But a female judge said "Why do you look so fat and short?"  Oh, that really hurts. One girl was studying for a doctorate degree and very nice too, but she could not advance to the second round.  We thought that she could make it, but she could not. You can search for her photo and my photo from some news for comparison.  Here is a girl with high education and she failed, so it is unfair. I think that the whole selection process if unfair.  Are they choosing fashion models?  If you are too young, they demean you; if you have too much education, they demean you; if you are too short, they demean you ... They only want to choose rich girls so badly.  We did not go there so that they can demean us.  If they want tall or elite people, they should have say so on the application form.

Waste of time!
It was not fair!
You can email me if you want.
Lucy

(Chinese translation of English translation via Google Translate)

我露西。我去了香港小姐第一輪昨天。我說，法官是非常無禮的，而不是很好。今天，一本雜誌中寫道，女孩今年是如此醜陋。我看到了許多很好的和漂亮的女 孩，但他們沒有選擇。如果他們沒有得到選擇，那就是它。但最重要的是法官們粗魯的許多年輕女孩和我以及。我只有18歲，但法官問我為什麼進入香港小姐大 賽。為什麼我沒有繼續我的學業？只有七教育，我該如何與別人競爭？法官還表示，我的英語是非常差。我很受傷，我可能會死。

好了，另一個女孩告訴我，她在大學學習，但她只是一點點脂肪，而不是身高不夠的。但女法官說： 你為什麼這麼胖，短？ 哦，真的疼。一個女孩正在研究的博士學位，並非常好太多，但她不能提前進入第二輪。我們認為，她可以，但她不能。您可以搜索她的照片和我的一些新聞照片 進行比較。這是一個女孩，高學歷，她失敗了，因此它是不公平的。我認為，整個選拔過程，如果不公平的。他們選擇時裝模特？如果你是太年輕，他們貶低你，如 果你有太多的教育，他們貶低你，如果你是時間太短，他們貶低你...他們只希望選擇豐富的女孩如此糟糕。我們沒有去那裡，使他們能夠貶低我們。如果他們想 高大或精英人，他們應該這樣說的話在申請表上。

浪費時間！
這是不公平！
可以給我發電子郵件，如果你想要的。
露西

(Golden Forum netizen spoof; translation not provided)

我是 Lucie, I went to see Miss Hong Kong first interview's complaint letter. Wah d english very bad and very not good law. Today I see a megazine saying this complaint letter's girl so ugly. I saw many good and nice writtien english there but just not on you ja ma. you Don't study well mei suen law but she still post her letter of complaint-- mostly very not properly written and hard for me and other people to read law. you say only 18 and i wanna ask you "how can you write this kinda letter go back study la u only F7 ja wor how can fRight with other with this english wor." Also say your English bad laugh die me.

Ho La, other people tell me la, study in University ok ga dou but little fat or short and stupid then the judge(woman) said " why you look fat or so short and stupid!" wah ho funny ga ma. One of you is a博士 student ar very high level and very nice ga dou cant so get your fucking english la. I think she will be laughing about you ga and she said yes law. I am gonna search her pic but not your pic to jack off la. She gum high level duo ng dak, gum you duk ngo jau gang la and i think the whole choosing is totally fair law, yes they are choosing model ? young wui inch', high study level yiu inch, short gung ga yiu inch They onKy choose rich girl law so what?! go back ho and dont waste my inch law if we need tall or high level people then i will totally not gonna find you LAW.

Waste my time!
ging fair law!
u can kiss my wheather u want to or not.
Lucie

(From the comments to Erica Yuen's blog)

so obviously this is the hype and farce between appledaily and tvb broadcsting; we all know how awful the girls are this year, they desperately use this to make some nosie.  whoever believes in the truth of this/delves into this issue is truly retarded.

It hurts my eyes just trying to read this Chinglish article ... now I have a headache. Hope this is not a reflection of the quality of the HK education system.

On May 26, a mining disaster occurred Yeshui village, Hebian town, Yingde city, Guangdong province with three miners dead.  When the Southern Metropolis Daily reporter went out to investigate, the villagers denounced another mine nearby for destroying trees and causing soil erosion.

The location of this other mine was just one hundred meters or so away from the mine where the disaster occurred.  The villagers brought the reporter over to a slope at the end of which was an abandoned quarry mine.  The mining activity had cut off more than 20 meters off the face of a cliff.

The villagers pointed to the wasteland below the slope.  "All that used to be farmland."  After the trees and bamboo forests on the slope were chopped down, yellow mud rushed down the slope whenever it rained and covered up the farmlands.  More importantly, the water supply for the villagers came from a stream that originated from the slope.  This stream was contaminated by the mining activitiy, and the villagers have no drinking water.

It was noteworthy that there were a number of dried "bamboos" on this yellow slope.

"These are not bamboo plants.  They are just bamboo sticks jammed in there.  These sticks have no roots.  They were planted there for deceptoin."  A villager pulled up one of these dried bamboos to show that the other end did not have any roots.  Instead, the other end had been sharpened by a knife and plunged into the ground.  A little boy came up and easily snapped off a bamboo stick.

The villagers said that the central government began to monitor land use using satellite remote sensing techniques last year.  Therefore, the relevant people chopped down some bamboo plants elsewhere and stuck them into this slope here in order to pass the aerial inspection.

"These bamboo plants used to have leaves so that this looked like a bamboo forest from above.  But since they have no roots in the ground, how can they survive?"

According to Hebian town party secretary Lu Yang, "We have not heard about this situation."  He emphasized that when the quarry mine was started in 2004, it had all the required papers from the State Land Administration.  He said that he had arranged for the mine owner to restore the land as quickly as possible.  As for the fake bamboo forest, he said "The mine owner must have done it on his own."  He promised to organize a taem to investigate the complaints from the villagers.

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