I wish there were a way for those of you who aren’t in China to see and hear what the state-controlled media are telling us about the war on Iraq and how they are couching all conversation of the subject.
CCTV is a series of television stations, each with its own theme (sports, travel, news, etc.) The 24-hour expat news channel is CCTV-9, all in English and all to be taken with a huge grain of sea salt.
It appears at the moment that the star of CCTV-9 is that Iraqi military “spokesman” Sahaf. He’s on almost constantly, insisting that the Republican Guard have all but destroyed the coalition forces and are now weeding out and decimating those that remain. He goes on and on, absolutely unchallenged, about the slaughter of Iraqi children and innocents of all ages, of how the “coalition villains” are in full retreat and Iraqis are celebrating deliriously.
That’s okay, because Sahaf is supposed to do that and it would be a surprise if he didn’t. The real crime comes next, when the “commentators” come on and merely repeat, as though they were facts, all the inanities that Sahaf just spewed. There is no other point of view offered and he is never called to task on any of his lies, no matter how flagrant or stupid. Then the final inanity: While the commentators are talking, a CNN-style news tickertape runs across the bottom of the screen rehashing yet again what Sahaf just said. (The use of the ticker is sporadic and often hilarious, sometimes just repeating the same garbled sentence again and again with zero rhyme or reason, the station obviously trying to show it is as hip as its Western cable counterparts.)
To give CCTV credit, they have been showing the US press conferences regularly. But these are inevitably “analyzed” by “experts” who point out what they argue are flawed answers that only go to prove that the US will be bogged down for years in a quagmire that will bring immeasurable grief to Iraqi civilians. (Whether that’s true or not remains to be seen.)
Last night CCTV-9 went a bit overboard (though come to think of it they go overboard all the time). They were rattling on about the use of some weapon I’d never heard of –“BRDs”? — that they said American troops were indiscriminately dropping across the Iraqi landscape. These weapons, the announcer warned ominously, have been identified as the cause of the 1991 “Gulf War Syndrome” which, the announcer proclaimed, “has already killed thousands of US soldiers.”
With all due respect to anyone who has suffered or died from this awful disease, is it really acceptable for a journalist to state on TV categorically that it has killed thousands of US soldiers? Is that not an outrageous exaggeration? Bad enough, but the clear message the announcer transmits is that the US has inflicted this disease knowingly on its soldiers and Iraqis 10 years ago and is now insidiously doing it again on a far vaster scale, knowing that in so doing thousands will die. I am plenty critical of our government, but is there any proof to back up such preposterous claims?
The most common technique the media puppets use (abuse) to verify their nonsense is the phrase, “Experts say….” We never know who these experts are or what makes them experts or whether there may be other experts who might have very different points of view. No, it’s always sweeping statements like, “Experts say the war in Iraq will cause a humanitarian catastrophe never before seen….” I call this “quacking.” These aren’t reporters, these aren’t commentators, these are quackers.
The problem is, lots of wonderful Chinese people have no idea they are being quacked at, and they take what they hear at face value. That’s the dark side to what would otherwise read like a very funny story, a parody.
CCTV-9 is presenting nightly interviews with a very bright political analyst named Philip Cunningham, a Harvard-educated pundit with excellent credentials. Cunningham is articulate and insightful, and on some topics we even think alike. The only problem is that he’s virulently anti-Bush and anti-the-Iraq-War and there’s no nuance (I’m anti-Bush, too, and am skeptical about this war, but I at least try to see all sides of the argument). That’s his privilege and he at least backs up his points with facts, figures and keen observations. But he goes unchallenged, and his opinions are greeted as universal truths.
Worse — the interviewer leads him on and provokes him to go even further in criticizing America, breaking every rule about the role of the interviewer. Every question is loaded and reeks of the state-sanctioned party line: “Considering the unprecedented disregard the US has shown for international law and its contempt for the rights of its citizens, wouldn’t you say….” (That’s not an exact quote, but trust me, it’s quite close.) So that’s the war as seen in China.
Last comment on the Chinese media: Now they are announcing in glowing proclamations that the SARS threat is “under control” and there’s never been a better time to take a trip to Guangdong Province. No cause for any alarm. Do they believe we have no memories? Do they think we can just forget that for years they claimed there was no AIDS in China (and also no gays, of course)? Do they think we aren’t all aware of the government’s obsession with putting a perpetually rosy glow over anything to do with China?
I actually just saw on the CCTV-9 minutes ago the story of an annual fair in the city of Guangzhou, in the heart of Guandong Province, the world’s breeding ground for SARS. The announcer cheerfully chirped that there are no longer worries about SARS and that, in fact, “the attendance rate of foreigners at the fair was 30 percent higher than it was last year!” Now, I try to be open minded, but at a time when SARS is devastating regional travel and ancillary industries, I find it most unlikely that foreigners are streaming into Guangzhou at record high levels. Would the People’s Republic actually put out a fake statistic? Nah, that’s ridiculous.
1
By hank
Oh yes, and it gets even worse. I go to a middle school once every week to allow students to ask me questions. It never fails that at least two or three will start to drill me with the ol’ quack method. I often ask, “Where did you get that information?” Of course, they never answer, and instead, if I try to explain to them the situation and tell them my ambivalent feelings around the whole issue–Saddam and US Involvement, this just tends to exacerbate their indignant attitudes that I won’t succumb so quickly to their lil’ bonfire of propaganda. Last week, I point blank told them, “You look ridiculous. You seem to want absolute answers from me. If I don’t give you an absolute confirmation of what you’re seeking, then you don’t want to listen to me, and it’s because I’m a foreigner and an American, right?”
Hell, they couldn’t understand me, whether I said it in English, Chinese, or Latin. Finally, I remarked, “You are so ready to prejudge me before I even speak, and against those odds, any answer I give that differs from what you’re seeking, just means I’m wasting my time here in your country.”
I then walked up to the stage and placed my microphone down and told the headmaster I wanted to take a break.
Later, he apologized out of a sense of loss of face, and he even allowed me to criticize the students as he translated for me. A pyrrhic victory? I don’t know.
November 24, 2003 @ 12:29 pm | Comment
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By richard
Great observations and totally consistent with my own. This eagerness to condemn America based on CCTV propaganda got me seriously angry once or twice, but I decided such arguments would be futile, and I let it go. Don’t let it get to you or you’ll go crazy.
November 24, 2003 @ 1:01 pm | Comment
3
By June
You! Don’t assume only you watch CCTV9. I watch this channel everyday and when it comes to keeping up with news, I usually tune to several different sources such as CCTV9 and CNN. I choose to watch CCTV9 because it generally gives the cold facts first, then allow journalists to give their opinion on certain issues. As for CNN, it provides the ways how Americans, the world police, look at the world.
As for what the commentator said during the Iraqi War coverage, I think, based on your poor assessment, you misunderstood the programs. The commentator didn’ repeat what Sahaf said as though his words were facts, the commentator just QUOTE Sahaf’s remarks.
CCTV9 is a a 3-year-old kid among numerous mature ones either domestic or international. He does make mistakes when he grows up, some of the mistakes are funny. But he is also making progresses. Will you blame a kid for what he has done in such a sarcastic and hysterical way?
And look at your President, the guy who often forgets the name of the person he is visiting. What did he do? Did he really bring peace to your country? He invaded Afghanistan, and then Iraq, for the totally never happened weapons of mass destruction. People died, not only Iraqis, but also Americans! They all have parents, wife, husband, and friends just like you do. They are young, energetic, and have dreams. And two US soldiers fell in love with two Iraqi girls. They are so in love with them that they made up their mind to married them despite ethnic and politcial barriers. However they were banned to see their beloved ones ever since their government knew. Is that your human rights, freedom, and democracy?
And look at what President brings back to your home: anthrax, economic slump, and unspeakble worries over unknown dangers. You paid tax just for you can live under shadows of a blur future.
By the way, if you guys hate China so much, why do you come here to make a living?
December 1, 2003 @ 2:50 pm | Comment
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By richard
June, one of CCTV’s former correspondents read my post and said I was too kind, that things there are truly worse! I am very hard on Bush, by the way; you apparently haven’t gone through my site. 🙂
I like China. I dislike its government, which runs the media. So please don’t say I hate China.
My assessment of CCTV was picked up by web sites around the world and was praised as being highly accurate. Maybe you know better. I can only report what I see, and as a former news reporter myself I try to be extremely accurate.
December 1, 2003 @ 3:20 pm | Comment
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By June
Richard, I’m not convinced although you mentioned a former correspondent from CCTV as reference. Maybe it’s the CCTV correspondent who was too kind. He/she might feel it would be an offense to you if he/she disagreed with what you said in the post.
Did you sense that the government is loosing its control over media, and is going to conduct a bold reform in the meida industry? It’s a thing totally unimaginable during the last leaderships. So, let’s be optimistic and hope for something beautiful. And, welcome to China, if you really like this country.
December 2, 2003 @ 10:22 pm | Comment
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By Richard
June, the CCTV reporter contacted ME! I didn’t go to her. She told me she passed this post to her former colleagues and they were roaring with laughter. So she wasn’t trying to be nice.
There will be (and actually there already is) bold reform in the media regarding sex, business and other things. But not politics, not subjects like Tiananmen Square, not political reform. Never. In fact, it is getting worse.
I no longer live in China. I am in Singapore now, but will be visiting Beijing this week. I like the country; it is just its government that I detest.
December 2, 2003 @ 10:29 pm | Comment
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By June
You certainly need more insiders to know the truth.
December 9, 2003 @ 6:47 pm | Comment
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By kdawg
i am always very disillusioned by responses to criticism of the chinese government that say “if you dislike china so much, then just get out of here.” its a kind of infantile response, although of course i would expect nothing else. there is a difference between blind love of a country and its government, and true love of a country and its people. coming from the united states, i know this very well: i don’t blindly love america and george bush and everything that america does. i love my country in a different way, by being willing to criticize and try to change (although unsuccessfully) what i think should be changed. this kind of thinking needs to be developed here in china. don’t accept the lame stories about “the need for patriots to rule hong kong,” etc. rethink what a patriot is.
i also have a big problem, it’s just that every time i mention something bad about the government or leaders or anything here, people shoot back with “oh yeah, in america…” ok, america is not perfect, far from it, but what? am i supposed to bring the three represents thought to the united states to help guide us in this new millenium? think about it.
March 4, 2004 @ 10:33 am | Comment
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By richard
Kevin, thanks for the comment. Very smart. Unforunatel the knee-jerk “love it or leave” it response is all too common in discussions about China. Every government can be criticized. Those who think the only words spoken should be words of praise are ideal targets for exploitation and repression.
March 4, 2004 @ 12:51 pm | Comment
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By racoonracer
I am in strong aggreement with KDawg. I love America, enough to fight for this country if anything or anyone is stupid to threaten what we stand for.
For anyone living in America, we all SHOULD understand that there are things that we do not like about our government.
Whether we bask in the glory of our President, or embarrass that he has made a fool of us worldwide, the fact is that we voted him in.
For many of the Chinese, either loving in the US (as international students or professional), I really believe they have NO rights whatsoever to critize our government until they are able to select their own leader and be able critize their own. And when i say critize, i don’t mean saving their money and going to a different country to moan and groan, or hiding in theirown bedrooms having political discussions. People that think and talk like them all look like fools to me!
KDawg, you mentioned that when you say “every time i mention something bad about the government or leaders or anything here, people shoot back with “oh yeah, in america…”
The stratey they used “oh yeah, in america…” is typical Chinese reply to things they do not want to hear or just goddamn stubborn about their mindset. As an American, I have no problem agreeing with people about the good and bad of America.
Talk to a Chinese “patriot” and they’ll say a few typical things like, there are over a billion people in china, their GDP is up x percent yearly, their cities are so modern and beautiful, etc.
Only the good stuff. What they do not want to hear is that out of the 1 billion people, 800 million are poor and uneducated peasants that REQUIRES government issued cards to work in the cities or move around the country, their system of national healthcare is pathetic (I’m not saying that America’s healthcare is something to shout about either since I am an open-minded person, and that although cities can be modern, there can still be a pervasive stink in the air.
I enjoy a good debate as but always having to listen to “oh yeah, well in america …” statements always tires me out because all they want for you is to agree that America is f*cked and that their country can do no wrong. I never fail to remind them that they are only able to talk that talk and walk that walk about America is because they ARE in America.
Like Richard, I do not hate China nor do i hate its citizens. I just hate their government. Simple as that. I am married to a chinese girl, and there have times when i have seriously considered divorcing her because her Chinese background is just so filled with “Communist” propoganda. I didn’t know this at first. She is currently living in america, and talks about her “human rights.” But nevertheless believes that Falun Gong people deserves to die. Not that i know too much about that group, but i don’t think should be killed because of their religious belief.
In terms of Taiwan, she thinks that Taiwan is part of China because of the one China policy. I think too many Chinese that are supposedly educated cannot uderstand this BS policy that all major governements unwittingly abide by. Correct me if i am wrong or just simplying the topic. But the one China policy is like a political term that houses two countries: China-PRC and the other China-Taiwan. COnfusion may be by the term “China” in the one-China policy thinking it is for the PRC_China. It is not, so read this and learn from it.
Here’s a little argumentative support she has about the China-Taiwan issue. Maybe some of you readers may have seen it before on CCTV or a chinese paper, since i cannot read nor speak chinese. The reasoning is that the daughter(Taiwan) wants to break away from the mother(China). And in doing so, the mother believe that daughter has no “right” – from a Communist standpoint – meaning that if the daughter officailly admit she has no mother – the Communist government should be willing to use whatever is necessary solve this problem, meaning war.
It sounds pretty logical, but from another point of view, if i want to leave my mother, and i know that my mother has not done a damn thing to help me out when i was growing up, but rather tried to me from achieving my goals in life, why would i want a mother like that. And if i won’t admit to having a mother like that, will my own mother point missles at me?! Think she wants to hear this, course not, not while she keeps watching the CCTV “news.”
March 9, 2004 @ 1:40 pm | Comment
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By giusepe bergman
You didn’t write your position about war in Iraq. Is it a problem being “anti-war” in Iraq ? Do you know non-american people are criticizing W.Bush government, not American themselves ? I have abunch of American friends, who are all anti-war. My Michigan’s friend grandpa has always been republican, but since Iraq war he didn’t send his cotisation to the Republicans… And American are more and more to doubt about the real purpose of that war, which is, as then, you can say, EVIL (that is a word that appears often in your comments, I noticed).
Have a look at that internet site : fromthewilderness.com to have more clues about that war.
We should not forget that Goebbel’s (nazi propaganda head ) sentence : “the bigger the lie is, the least you wil see it”.
That is true for spokesman Sahaf AND M. Bush, as well as M. Chirac or M. Hu Jintao. BUT bigger carot (10% of world’s petrol reserves), bigger lie.
March 9, 2004 @ 11:58 pm | Comment
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By richard
But Giusepe, in America, unlike in Nazi Germany or China, we have a free media, which has raised huge questions about the war and is questioning Bush’s every move. In China, they often just repeat what the government tells them too. A big difference.
April 19, 2004 @ 12:19 pm | Comment
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By Andrea
Eh, we have a free media and we don’t. Sometimes, some of the biggest stories we should now about are buried in the American press and only published in the independent press, which makes them sound like whacky consipracy theories. There is a book put out every year on some of the best stories that never et published, I think it’s called “Censored”.
I was watching CCTV9 a year and a half ago, and apparently, Saddam Hussein won the last election by 99%! Who knew?
That said, CCTV had it right about the US getting bogged down in a quagmire. While the US media was blaring stuff about possible links between Saddam and Bin Laden (a party line if there ever was one) at least CCTV got one part right. Also, CCTV9 should be seen in the context of China’s relations to other countires. China doesn’t hate the US, but they resent /admire us, so there is a bit of competition (hence, the stories about China surpassing the US as the number one destination of foreign direct investment, a story that ran every two minutes on CCTV for, like, a week) so their media is bound to be biased.
Also, think about the way the US media reports on governments that we don’t like. For instance, if there is a bomb attack in, say, Ireland, our media says “Irish authorities say that at least 33 are confirmed dead”, where as if the same bomb attack were to occur in Libya, if our media mentioned it at all, they would say “Libyan military police allege that as many as thirty people may have been killed, but there are no official numbers.”
We go out of our way to subtly disparage those that we don’t like. We are just more subtle about it than the Chinese.
Oh, I’m not running into cultural relativism here, am I?
Also, June, you are such a dork.
May 21, 2004 @ 12:03 pm | Comment
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By richard
Andrea, the CCTV story was about our march into Baghdad — it had nothing to do with the quagmire thgat followed long afterward. The march into Baghdad was swift and painless. Forget about what happened six months later — it was their reporting of the invasion, not the occupation, that was hilariously incorrect.
As to the media in the US — it sure isn’t perfect, but every story can be told, whether in the independent press or on the Internet. And at least our media is free to criticize the government, which it does all the time. In China it is monolithic and just another arm of the government (i.e., it’s propaganda).
May 21, 2004 @ 4:25 pm | Comment
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By al
richard is strictly anti-chinese
the truth is, most people say they hate another’s government to cover their hate of the people.
you should really watch CCTV more. Their news coverage is very good and accurate. Though I do understand that sometimes the “Experts” don’t know much and make up alot of stuff.
October 31, 2004 @ 11:59 pm | Comment
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By Chimp
This bit…
To give CCTV credit, they have been showing the US press conferences regularly. But these are inevitably “analyzed” by “experts” who point out what they argue are flawed answers that only go to prove that the US will be bogged down for years in a quagmire that will bring immeasurable grief to Iraqi civilians.
Was bang on, really, wasn’t it. Perhaps propoganda is a game that takes two?
Mike / Chimp
December 23, 2004 @ 1:21 am | Comment
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By Talmos
The truth will set them free. Not just China but world wide. Simple as that.
March 29, 2005 @ 12:47 pm | Comment
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By John Y.
This post is constantly being kept alive. I remember watching Chinese news around March/April 2003 while I lived in Beijing. The CCTV4 news wasn’t too bad. They actually sent Chinese correspondents to Iraq to cover the carnage. And it wasn’t any less “fair and balanced” than anything put on by the good folks at Fox News.
As for CCTV9, I don’t remember watching it all that much. This is all hearsay, but a friend of mine’s friend used to intern at CCTV9. According to her, reporters would make up news stories on slow days. But of course, that’s all hearsay. Anyway, just about every foreigner in China ridicules CCTV9, even though it’s oftentimes all they have to turn to. They’re nearly as bad as the “China Daily.”
But of course, all my Chinese friends on campus watched Phoenix News. The place I lived in unfortunately didn’t provide it. But it’s a given their stance was anti-war.
April 23, 2005 @ 2:16 am | Comment
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By Raj
I think CCTV-9 is really terrible. Look at their main news broadcast. There’s some Australian guy there who keeps tripping over his sentances, EVERY broadcast. It’s like they just tried to find some random laowai who couldn’t make it in their own countries.
I have found that many of the “discussions” are very one-sided. If they have more than one commentator, he/she is from a very similar position to the other person. Anything about China/CCP=good in the “long term”. On the other hand, the US has the book thrown at them.
One of my Chinese friends said he’s just refusing to watch any of the news channels now because he’s had enough of all the propaganda. To him it’s “CCPV”.
July 15, 2005 @ 4:05 pm | Comment
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By chen
china is a hell for all it’s people
July 23, 2005 @ 3:59 am | Comment
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By Captain America
The CCTV commentator may have had a point after all. More than two years later the US is indeed bogged down in a quagmire that has brought immense grief to Iraqi civilians (at least much more so than the September 11’th attacks did to the US).
But of course things were bad with Saddam too, and at least now the Iraqis can have some hope for the future. With luck and persistence it may even work out well for them. The best thing though would be if the US opened its borders for those Iraqis who do not want to wait for democray and security.
September 28, 2005 @ 10:58 pm | Comment
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By Running Bear
I think this needs to be addressed because I’m getting real sick of this kind of constant bashing of our president. If CCTV and CNN is your only source of news it’s no wonder why you think that our president brought Anthrax to my country. The fact is that Anthrax was the result of some sick mind out there with something to prove. As for the president invading Afghanastan and Iraq. No, he did not. The U.S. went into afghanastan because the needed to route out terrorist responsible for killing 3000 of our own people in our own soil. And as for Iraq, it is clear or at least it should have been clear to the international community that a tyrant like Sadaam would not be tolerated. It was he, not the president who killed his own people , and yes with the very weapons the leftist media is saying iraq never had. The truth is that during the Clinton years, Billy was so soft on the guy that saddam was able to play a successful cat and mouse game and was able to get WmD out of Iraq by the time bush came into the scene. We didnt start this war, the Terrorists who hate america freedom and DEMOCRACY and all who are not radical muslims started it long ago before Bush , Before Clinton, and Reagan even before Carter. Question: Did the liberal left media begin such a big to do about Clinton removing Milosevich from power? He was a tyrant wasnt he? What about rawanda? what about the USS cole? The 93′ WTC bombing? Why all the Bush bashing now? I think the institutions like Clinton News Network , NY Times and the like need to take a strong hard look at themselves and realize that their infrences and innuendos are subconsiously turning their audiences into mind numbed Bush and U.S. haters. We should try to look for the real truth and see things for what they are instead of blindly taking the words of certain factions of media although with a known name, but clearly with an agenda. I think both China and U.S. are great countries in their own right, and nobody needs the Peanut galleries like NYT, and CNN adding their 2 cents to try and infuse public opinion just because they’re still sore because Bush beat Gore in 00 elections.
October 25, 2005 @ 9:04 pm | Comment
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By richard
Now, years later, I have to agree with captain America. As to the Bush bashing charges: all I can say is he’s getting what he deserves. When we were winning, I praised him. When he fucked it up, I damned him. That’s the way it goes.
November 8, 2005 @ 8:57 pm | Comment
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By Edward
Good old Chinese Communist TV 9. 10 years ago you could tell news was mainland Chinese if the image and audio quality is bad. Now, it’s the same as any first-rate news organization, except for the content, of course.
One day walking out of business school here in NY, I told a friend “I saw on CCN News that ” … and got interrupted by a Chinese guy in the group.
“You cant’ call it CNN News.” It’s more like “CNN Propaganda”
“You have a point” I said. “That’s why I read everything from CNN, Al-Jazeera, BBC, and even Xinhua. By the way, what type of news sources do you think is the most balanced?”
He freezes, almost fuming. Then his girlfriend jumps in saying “well, all news is biased.”
It’s a common argument used by the misinformed from China. “Well, what’s a democracy anyways, it’s just rich people running the show.” Or “All news is biased, so CCTV9 is no different than Frontline, BBC, or NHK.” No system is perfect. The US many of my DNC leaning friends will say are controlled too much by religion and large companies. In fact, I see potential for China to be the world’s leading democracy that isnt’ dominated by religion. However, today the world’s only ethically chinese democracy is the ROC in little Taiwan.
1 billion people, largely uninformed, living in the dark. To me, that’s more worrisome than religious extremists blowing themselves up in the middle east.
I wonder how or if CCTV9 will cover the elections going on in Iraq today. The US screwed up in the execution and the intelligence going into the war. Given the US is there however, there finally seems to be signs of progress.
The situation in Iraq today reminds me of how China perhaps was during the Civil war. Except here, the major sponsor is the US, not the soviet union. They dont’ have to go through a cultural revolution, and I certainly hope people won’t get incarcerated for stretching (like they do in mainland China today).
December 15, 2005 @ 12:18 am | Comment
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By norman
Well al ,Oct: 2004,Let us define what an expert is….Ex,or X is a hasbeen,and a spurt(spert) is a drip under pressure,so let the exsperts,ramain as they are ex Spurts… drips under pressure Norman
December 29, 2005 @ 11:20 pm | Comment
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By Reaper
Please,
http://www.truthaboutchina.com/archives/2005/10/xinhua_the_worl.html
if You can find this even quarterly true, you could be as dead scared as i about the horrifying future of middle kingdom.
They will rise, and there will be billions of liters Chinese blood in the polluted muddy ricefields.
History goes around, no Russia, No Japan, No China can exist, as they are or were.
January 10, 2006 @ 9:11 pm | Comment
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By Michael
As a chinese born Canadian I must say that China is not innocent at all. They are the vile that denies the right of human existance and all that is evil. I am disgusted that the state of Hong Kong which has enjoying enormous prosperity under British rule prior to the take over in 1997 by china has now caused so many of those to immigrate into North America of chinese descent. There is nothing wrong with the immigration of chinese however I find it disgusting that China still believes it should run peoples lives like the attempts with Taiwan as well. I am sorry to say but I would rather have Hong Kong to be back under UK rule and owned. All China has done is spread disease and certain sickness like SARS and the bird flu which I was a victim of the hatred in Canada when SARS occured listening to numerous comments explaining to those that Hong Kong is civil like UK not Barbaric like China. Long Live the Queen and to China I say go to hell you fuckers that do not allow even your fellow neighbours equal rights.
January 13, 2006 @ 1:12 pm | Comment
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By I-Hate-China
I hate China and all Chinese!
Do not go to China to invest!
Do not buy any made-in-China and/or made-by-Chinese product!
China’s ultimate goal is to hurt US — it’s in their communist believe and that’s how to teach their youngsters!
If you buy China-product or invest money in China or Chinese companies, that means you support Communist and allow them to gain their power to kill more people and kill more freedom.
January 25, 2006 @ 3:56 pm | Comment
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By Hurt
I feel deeply hurt by such disgusting comments about China, especially from the one who claims itself a Chinese.
If you can not tolerate another system different from yours, you have the right to disagree. If democracy means venting filthy words to pollute the earth freely, I would rather be under the absolute power of an emperor.
I am a Chinese and am proud of it. I doubt any of you know anything really happening in that country. Sorry for saying that, the media here is highly biased. I would suggest you to go and take a look.
April 24, 2006 @ 10:16 am | Comment
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By Rick
Just to add a quick point about CCTV 9. I don’t know if my facts are right on this one so please correct me if I’m wrong but weren’t the U.S troops in Iraq voted “Person(s) of the Year” on CCTV 9 in 2003? I seem to remember it being mentioned when glued to “Person of the Year” 2004.
May 2, 2006 @ 12:16 pm | Comment
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By rick
Ignore that last post. I think I confused CCTV 9 for Time magazine!
May 2, 2006 @ 12:27 pm | Comment
32
By Michael
TO INDIVIDUAL NAMED HURT, YOU MAY BE CHINESE AND IF YOU ARE IMPLYING YOUR E-MAIL TOWARDS ME THEN DIRECT IT AT ME AND I AM NOT CLAIMING TO BE CHINESE, YOU IGNORANT ASSHOLE. I AM CHINESE BORN CANADIAN SO IF YOU HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THAT MAYBE I CAN TAKE MY DEMOCRACY GOVERNMENT AND APPLY SOME OF THOSE LAWS AGAINST THE LIKES OF YOUR COMMUNIST LAWS. I GREW UP STUDYING WESTERN CULTURE AND LITERATURE AS IS DONE SO IN HONG KONG I MIGHT ADD WHERE MY FAMILY IS FROM AND ONE OF THE NOW RETIRED FAMILY MEMBERS WORKED FOR THE HONG KONG GOVERNMENT WHICH I MIGHT ADD WHILST AND BEFORE BRITISH RULED AND WAS ALWAYS CIVILIZED GOVERNMENT WHO HAD OPPORTUNITY TO MEET FOREIGN DIGNITARIES DURING HIS WORK; SO THERE FORE DO NOT LECTURE (HURT) ON WHAT I DO OR DO NOT KNOW PARTICULARLEY WHEN IN THE PAST STUDIES TAUGHT TO TAUGHT TO ME PROVIDE FACTS PLAIN AND SIMPLE. I SUGGEST YOU WAKE UP TO THE REAL WORLD AND NOT TO WHAT YOU ARE BEING TOLD or HEAR. BY THE WAY HOW IS YOUR FRENCH BECAUSE MAYBE WHEN YOU UNDERSTAND THIS PHRASE IT WILL WAKE YOU UP *Tu habites dans un monde de ferme et ecoutes faux information factuel*
May 13, 2006 @ 4:46 am | Comment
33
By europe
i never ever don’t go to china becose they are poor end grouse loke
May 20, 2006 @ 12:34 am | Comment
34
By Alex
Don’t ask him how is his french because even if his french is good, actually he won’t understands you… Im french and I don’t understand you.
June 26, 2006 @ 11:42 pm | Comment
35
By wow
how sad, Michael doesn’t realize that HE is the asshole.
You can definitely criticize the government, but have some respect for how much they’ve changed. And for that stupid shitbag that wrote: I hate China…etc. You should really take a good look around. Unless you live in a
“Made In USA” cardboard box, you are basically using the things that countless Chinese workers are producing. You don’t realize that China is trying so hard to get its people and its population out of poverty. They admire and respect the USA and want to become closer to the USA’s type of social statu where most of the population has housing, happy families, etc. we do not compete, we seek only to better ourselves.
If you really think that we’re competing, go ahead and be a sino-phobic. It just shows how many stupid assholes this world truly holds…especially ones that are from the USA
o
bythe way…
I’m a USA citizen
born in New York
Lived there all my life.
And I still love China. And you people would NEVER understand.
July 11, 2006 @ 9:35 pm | Comment
36
By wow
btw…Michael, ur a real dumb-ass.
U just sound really over-protective and offensive…which sounds like a little kid who KNOWS he’s wrong, but is quick to leap at the other’s throat just to seem innocent…when we all know he isn’t.
That’s why you CAN’T be Chinese. The western World has corrupted you into being as un-diplomatic, uncivilized, and easily-angered as they are.
it’s called: Anger management
July 11, 2006 @ 9:38 pm | Comment
37
By jj
that one of the longest living threads ever…!
I gotta say, the author had to be American. Well, I reckon its probably not any easier for yanks to for us frogs over here.
We both number quite a lot.
Hum hum, totally out of the subject line.
just re read some of the post. U love china? I fuckin hate it. Are you from chinese decent (Alex)? If not, are you (or have you) lived in Shunyi during your whole stay in China/BJ (if not shunyi=over protected foreigners compnd outside the city) and driven a black audi around town for your daily incursion into savage china?
If not, and if u really mean u love china, well, I dare say, u are mad.
July 19, 2006 @ 1:21 am | Comment
38
By jj
sorry, didnt get the posting system right. My comment was dedicated to WOW.
Look mate, u are too condesendant over ppl who hate something you like.
If you really so open minded as you say you are, then let us hate this shit hole in peace and gloss over it….
U seem to take it personnaly. Needn’t to do that, its plain normal to have feelings about this country.
I hate this country.
look, I say it again, and I mean it, I hate this country full of uneducated peasants.
I gladly accept (and wish there were more) that there’s a lot of decent people around here.
What does it matter that the peasants I hate made the TV I watch everyday? They hate me as much as I hate them, if not tenfold. They do their job and get paind for it. I contribute to this country’s growth by buying the bloody tv.
Are people supposed to thank the factories after getting their tvs?
China chose to follow a more capitalistic way of life, so they deal with their consequences. 150 to 120 years ago, it was pretty much the same in the western world.
That’s called the industrial revolution.
The chance you have in China, is to understand what a commoner, a peasant really is. This is not something u can find in a western civilizewd and developped country.
U’ll tell me I have no respect for 5000 years of civilization. I’ll tell you, 5000 years didnt get them anywhere. Its quality vs quantity.
I truly hope that these rude uneducated peasant will get the chance they deserve. Yet, I hardly beleive they will change in one generation.
Remember history classes? first they have to emmigrate to the cities. look at the numbers. A ratio in a western country is 3 city dwellers to one country side dweller. Here, u got a billion on one side and 300 million on the other.
and yet, they have to be integrated, please don’t tell me that their gvt is doing what they can. they are exploited and form the lowest class in every city.
ahh… enough, I don’t even want to think about it
a couple of days ago a rude taxi driver told me cao ni ma with a serial killer’s face, just for my mere presence in his taxi.
How best to describe china?
Yes, only one rude fucker, but one too much for me.
July 19, 2006 @ 1:40 am | Comment
39
By jj
lol. @ MICHEAL
leave it mate, chinese peasants don’t know shit. She sounds like a girl (paradoxal I know) and your english tends to loosen up while you’re pissed off…
just kiddin 😉
This thread is great. Micheal, I totally agree with you. Hurt, well, I’m here, like many foreigners. For us, the rule of thumbe is like that: the more u stay, the more you hate.
Blogging is a great way to express my anger. I come to hate everything here. The only good thing is my gf, which proves me that not all chinese people are fuckers. I mean, actually there’s a LOT of decent ppl, I mean it.
But, in comparison, there’s a HUGE LOT of non-decent people. So, when u live in a sea of filth, u tend to see only filth
July 19, 2006 @ 2:06 am | Comment
40
By Michael
I want to get one thing straight to those who have commented negatively towards my response which was following someone elses blog. If you were growing up as a young child and visited the origin of your nationality you would like the equality ideally, however that was not the case because when I would visit relatives in the summer, several instances had people mainly from China who had acted rudely might I add with physical violence. 1st case was a man from China not from Hong Kong who knocked me over on the ground when I was very young not in the way just innocently looking at a toy airplane in the old Hong Kong Airport. Second is on the public transport in Hong Kong where numerous times I was shoved by people from China (peasants in a way) and I am emphasizing NOT FROM THE LARGE CITIES LIKE BEIJING OR SHANGHAI. Third instance is with SARS which was a media circus more than tangiable news which as a teenager, one should not need to suffer for someonelse’s faults like ridicule or any form of judgement particularly in a setting like school. So those who commented negatively your points are noted but when you read this hopefully you understand where the resentment comes from.
July 21, 2006 @ 4:48 am | Comment
41
By Michael
To also add about the shoving on the public transport, yes that happens just about anywhere, but when several times your life is put at risk like your foot temporarily being stuck in the gap between the platform and a subway you are hoping that doesn’t move anytime soon by your own kind, it may be finally understood
July 21, 2006 @ 5:00 am | Comment
42
By Michael
sorry to add another blog. but with regards to the first case when you are wronged like I was not doing anything wrong and seeing one of your parents being yelled at by your own kind for a wrongful action they caused you would of course feel threatened and even hurt by that as a young child. So those negatively commenting to my comments, hopefully you can understand my point of view which I am not necessarily asking for any agreement.
July 21, 2006 @ 5:07 am | Comment