Richard,

Since you say you are beginning to doubt whether your open threads are worthwhile, let me start this one by saying:

1. The main task of the USA in the 21st century is NOT to make the world safe for democracy, but rather, to make democracy safe for the world

2. Deng XiaoPing was a good Christian, as far as Jesus Christ is concerned

3. Muhammed was a great Christian prophet

4. Communism is just a confused version of Western democracy

5. Most Americans agree (foolishly and mistakenly) with most Communists, about how truth is essentially an economic matter, and most Americans AND most Chinese Communists are wrong about this

6. China will become a Great Power whenever it opens up to full freedom of religion, like it did during the Tang Dynasty

7. Chairman Mao was a National Socialist, just like Hitler, thus Chairman Mao was the Hitler of China. Chairman Mao’s version of so-called “Communism” was the Stalinist kind, which was contructed by emulating Hitler. Thus, today the CCP is essentially like the Nazis, but so are most Americans today. Today, America AND China are essentially Nazi, National-Socialist countries, although China has gone farther onto this dark road than America at this time.

8. GW Bush and his administration are ALSO national-socialist Nazis, very similar to the Chinese Communists, although not quite as far gone as China’s government at this time. But China AND America are both Nazi, national-socialist, governments at this time.

9. The main conflict in the world today, is NOT between any abstract “ideologies.” The main conflict in the world today, is between people who believe Humans are material THINGS, versus people who believe Humans are spiritual beings made in the image of God.

10. Is that enough food for thought, to convince you to keep these open threads going?
🙂

Sincerely yours,
Ivan, the mad warrior-poet…… 🙂

November 29, 2005 @ 10:20 am | Comment

Good comments Ivan.

One thing I especially want to note is that the CCP today is a lot more astute and aware of its environment than past regimes of the world.

CCP today knows better than anyone else that:

1) Corruption and the gap between the rich and the poor is the biggest threat to its survival
2) There must be steps to improve its “governing capabilities”. These include “intra-party” democracies, and more efficient communication between various levels of government
3) A good judicial system must be established for the local and lower levels to properly address the grievances of workers and the poor

If the CCP can tackle these 3 pillar issues well, then it’ll get another ~50 years of prosperity.

I think one fundamental difference between the Hu Administration and the Jiang Administration is that the Hu Administration is doing a lot more inner “soul searching” for the CCP, and finding out what steps must be taken to increase the vibrancy and longevity of the Party. Jiang is a technocrat. Hu, on the other than, is a highly cunning political player. He moved up from the lowest levels of the government and worked his way silent up the ladder, slowly building his base for the past 30+ years. So he knows a lot more about survival and party-building.

Right now, Hu is still in the process of underming the old Jiang bases, once Jiang’s forces are totally removed, he’ll have a freer hand to advance his agendas.

November 29, 2005 @ 11:13 am | Comment

WOW! Qiang Gong, you actually make a lot of sense.

And let me suggest, that if China REALLY wants the ruling part to carry on for another 50 years, it will last a lot longer if you change the name of the party and take down Mao’s portrait from Tienanmen Gate.

Simply, you cannot build stability on a base of lies. And Mao and “Communism” are lies.

But if you get rid of Mao, and get rid of the dead old “Communist” doctrines, then the ruling party of China might be able to keep control for a long time.

But as long as Mao’s face is on Tienanman Square, the entire world will continue to distrust China. China will never become a great power, as long as Mao’s face is on Tienanmen Square – because a Great Power cannot be based on lies, not in the long run.

November 29, 2005 @ 12:09 pm | Comment

Given the current political framework in China today, it’s impossible that anyone politician would be able to remove the portrait of Mao, short of starting a whole new rev0lution that Mao himself started.

November 29, 2005 @ 1:44 pm | Comment

The Left forces is still very strong in the political arena in China today even though they do not control policy. They are mainly amongst the proteges and children of the old politicians left from the old period. Those people today criticize Deng’s economic reforms and some defend the Cultural Revolution.

But even moderate elements today still need Mao’s legacy. When Hu Jintao first took office, he made many visits to Mao’s old towns and many traditional “rev0lutionary” places in China, as a way to borrow Mao’s power to boost himself. So Mao is still a big political resource today for the Chinese leadership.

The extraodinary thing about the CCP today is that the life of the Party always supercedes the life of the individual party members. If you truly are a reformer and want political change, you find youself unable to make as many changes once you took office. And soon enough, you give up and go with the flow. If you truly try to resist and force changes, you end up like HYB or ZZY.

My old grandfather said it well, “Anyone who thrives under the CCP must not be that good of an official. Any truly good officials won’t be able to move up…”

November 29, 2005 @ 1:46 pm | Comment

HongXing, ÔÙµÁÓÃÎÒIP£¬ÎÒ²ÙÄãÂè±Æ£¡£¡£¡

November 29, 2005 @ 1:49 pm | Comment

Okay, and now HongXing is making sense!

I think you need to keep the open threads, Richard.

November 29, 2005 @ 2:44 pm | Comment

It takes two, Richard. Instead of the same carelessly-named thread with pictures of birds asking US to supply the thoughts, you could do your bit by having at least a big picture of a naked woman with the caption “WOW!”. You give us the tools Richard; we’ll finish the job.

November 29, 2005 @ 4:36 pm | Comment

Keir, those thread titles are very carefully engineered with the help of focus groups and branding specialists. And the whole point of an open thread is to provide a blank slate for the readers to fill in at their whim and leisure. As to the naked women – this site is rated PG-13 (some nasty language sometimes), and girlie pics will diminish this site’s long-standing reputation as an erudite, scholarly and oh-so-serious gathering place for tortured souls in Asia (and elsewhere).

November 29, 2005 @ 4:58 pm | Comment

In that case, Richard, I’m afraid you’ll have to ask Ivan to leave.

November 29, 2005 @ 5:52 pm | Comment

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http://galeon.com/scx180/b3.htm Ê÷Ö¬É豸
http://galeon.com/scx180/b5.htm ÂÝÐý°å»»ÈÈÆ÷
http://galeon.com/scx180/b6.htm ÑÌÆø·ÖÎöÒÇ

November 29, 2005 @ 6:33 pm | Comment

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[url=http://galeon.com/scx180/b2.htm]ÂËÓÍ»ú[/url]
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November 29, 2005 @ 6:33 pm | Comment

A reader writes me with a question, and I’m hoping someone in China can help provide an answer:

My daughter lives in Beijing – she’s been there for 6 years now. She is expecting her first child (the father is Beijing born – they are not yet married). I was googling the topic “Naming Babies in China” on her behalf – she wants to name the baby after the father (to give the baby the father’s surname) but she’s not sure what the law says about this. Do you know? Or do you know of where we can find out? I would really appreciate a reply on this subject (or any other!).

Advice?

November 29, 2005 @ 6:49 pm | Comment

Keir, you’d don’t think Ivan is erudite, scholarly and a tortured soul??

November 29, 2005 @ 7:01 pm | Comment

Wait, someone else with a Chinese pseudonym, similar writing style, page link that involves repeating his initials (qg.qg or hx.hx)… a street vendor sweet potato says Qiang Gong IS Hong Xing.

ÔÙµÁÓÃÎÒIP… I bet its the same dude having an argument with himself. That’s hysterical.

Here’s something for the thread. Pop Quiz: on what page of the Da Vinci Code is there a reference to our esteemed colleague Ivan, and how does he thwart his diabolical enemies using only communion wafers and one Prada shoe?

November 29, 2005 @ 8:28 pm | Comment

Richard, re your question:
I’m not an expert at all, but I’ve taught several students who were not given their father’s surname, instead taking the mother’s name or another family name. My Australian friend who married and had a child with his Chinese wife gave the baby the mother’s surname in Chinese and his surname in English.
I’ve got a feeling that choosing a Chinese name is pretty flexible providing you’re within reasonable limits.
However, I’ve also got a feeling that if the baby’s Chinese father is not married to its (presumably) non-Chinese mother, then they won’t be able to register the baby in China, only in the mother’s home country. In that case, the Chinese name doesn’t need to be legal.
I don’t know the details for a dual-nationality child, but if a Chinese couple are not legally married, then they cannot legally register their child. Hence the large number of last-minute marriages among some of my acquaintances.

November 29, 2005 @ 10:13 pm | Comment

so, if you argue with yourself, who really wins?

November 29, 2005 @ 11:24 pm | Comment

Chris, that’s a question you should ask a friend of ours who shall not be named – the one who argues with and talks to himself. (To newcomers, that’s an in-joke.)

Dish, thanks for that, and I’ll pass it along to the emailer.

Dave, come on, tells us the answer! I had no idea until now that Ivan was part of the Da Vinci code.

November 29, 2005 @ 11:39 pm | Comment

Uh-oh, Richard’s a-complainin’, better git a-postin’…

Every now and then I look through recent articles on the Shanghai Daily site, and came across these recent nuggets. WARNING: some of the links may have already slipped into “subscriber-only” land. (I saved copies if needed).

=============

Flat panel information displays are being added to 3,000 Shanghai bus stops. Buses will be equipped with GPS gear, allowing those waiting at the stop to see when the next bus will arrive.

Some Shanghai freeways already sport signs bearing LED maps showing traffic status ahead. Some major streets have LED signs posting anticipated travel time to major destinations. Currently interactive taxi stands are being installed all over the city. The idea is that you will never again need to hail a cab – the nearest one comes at the push of a button. Cool, if it works out! Wonder if there will be a special button for the nearest Mercedes cab?

http://tinyurl.com/cefby

=============

Lots of news about those future denizens of China …

—

When asked, children say they don’t get enough play time. And Shanghai Daily was surprised by this. Seriously, Chinese kids do seem to get little play time. The kids surveyed also said they don’t have enough same-age friends. Some never get to play outside, or with other kids. 🙁

C’mon, let the kids have a little fun!

http://tinyurl.com/9zkw6

—

“For some Chinese parents, morals now matter more than grades.”

“The survey indicates local parents are attaching more importance to moral education and the cultivation of good habits than study scores as 52.8 percent of the questioned parents said the development of proper virtues was very important to them. Just over 18 percent said cultivating good habits was the most important, while 15.1 percent said they care most about the grades their kids earn at school.”

A very encouraging story! At least, if this survey is any indication (insert standard Chinese survey and statistic disclaimer) …

http://tinyurl.com/dnsh4

—

In a survey, children said they were rarely consulted in important family matters such as moving to a new home. According to the poll’s sponsor, Shanghai Women’s Federation, children were being denied their “right to participation”,

Later in the article, cooler heads prevail:

“The survey showed most parents and children had never heard of the right or think it is foolish.”
(…)
“‘A child’s views won’t be adopted when we decide big things like whether to buy an apartment or an expensive electric appliances because it is too complicated for a child,’ said Chen Yun, the mother of a 12-year-old girl.”

Hey, why didn’t they just ask Mom Chen in the first place?

http://tinyurl.com/e2y4x

=============

The Wedding Trade Association of Shanghai has proposed the reconstruction of a portion of The Bund formerly known as the “Wall of Lovers”, apparently a popular romantic rendezvous in the 80s. Well, that sounds nice. Shanghai does have a noir-ish romantic side, and a city just can’t have enough romantic rendezvous spots, can it?

More details:

“The proposal includes transplanting special trees, building a corridor for a museum with exhibits on the history of weddings, and turning the Monument of the People’s Hero into a place to hold wedding ceremonies (and) to introduce and develop the cruise wedding business along the Huangpu River.”

Oh, those selfless, community-minded folks at the Wedding Trade Association of Shanghai! I especially love the idea of the wedding industry suggesting turning the Hero’s Monument into a place for weddings. Next they’ll be requesting that the statue of Shanghai’s first mayor be dressed up as a groom.

http://tinyurl.com/a99eb

=============

Chinese music company files 50 lawsuits in bid to stop piracy.

Copycats! 🙂

http://tinyurl.com/c3w9t

=============

Yo, Korean slacker dudes, straighten up!

Five were just expelled and deported for cutting too many classes. According to a Shanghai education official, many kids come here to study, but get jobs instead. I wanna know, what South Korean teenager would come to Shanghai … to work? From my experience at Fudan, they come here to race around with their girlfriends on the back of their scooters.

One helpful Fudan official tried to lesson the harsh official’s commentary on those bad egg foreigners:

“Wu Zhizhen, director of Fudan University’s foreign student management office, said many foreigners get depressed about their lack of Chinese language skills and skip classes.

‘Some foreign students find themselves unable to catch what teachers said in classes due to their poor Chinese ability. Repeated language depression would naturally discourage them from attending classes,’ Wu said.

Others simply find a job, and decide working is a better way to learn the language.”

I can certainly agree with that last part, that’s what led me to leave Fudan early. I would also suggest that in addition to poor Chinese ability, some hapless laowais at Fudan are also victims of poor teaching ability (can you guess I was a poor student?)

http://tinyurl.com/ajrbz

=============

In an article entitled “Many prostitutes, migrants don’t use condoms regularly” I stumbled across this line near the end of the story:

“About 23.4 percent said they didn’t know sex could result in pregnancy (…)”

Sounds like someone didn’t hear about the “xiaoniao” and the “mifeng”.

http://tinyurl.com/89ubr

=============

5,800 students in ten cities were polled, the results (standard survey disclaimer and cultural difference reminder):

– 60% say they’ve been beaten by their parents
– 15% had been struck by teachers
– 10% of students under age 12 reported getting less than 8 hours of sleep/day
– 45% of 15-year-olds said they slept less than 8 hours/day (did they count during classtime?)

http://tinyurl.com/7pjld

=============

And finally, in case anyone still doesn’t know Chinese like to do things in groups …

The largest Chinese tour group in Chinese history (that would be 5,000 years if you haven’t heard) is set to visit Thailand In January.

The group will number TEN THOUSAND.

That’s a lot of color-coded baseball caps. Think of the size of the megaphone the tour leader will need.

The seven-day excursion will involve 200 flights. I believe that puts this operation on par with China’s entire military airlift capability. If wonder if next year’s tour will visit Taip3I?

http://tinyurl.com/8qgkf

Hope that’s enough discussion topics, Richard! 🙂

November 30, 2005 @ 11:39 am | Comment

Uh-oh, Richard’s a-complainin’, better git a-postin’…

Every now and then I look through recent articles on the Shanghai Daily site, and came across these recent nuggets. WARNING: some of the links may have already slipped into “subscriber-only” land. (I saved copies if needed).

=============

Flat panel information displays are being added to 3,000 Shanghai bus stops. Buses will be equipped with GPS gear, allowing those waiting at the stop to see when the next bus will arrive.

Some Shanghai freeways already sport signs bearing LED maps showing traffic status ahead. Some major streets have LED signs posting anticipated travel time to major destinations. Currently interactive taxi stands are being installed all over the city. The idea is that you will never again need to hail a cab – the nearest one comes at the push of a button. Cool, if it works out! Wonder if there will be a special button for the nearest Mercedes cab?

http://tinyurl.com/cefby

=============

Lots of news about those future denizens of China …

—

When asked, children say they don’t get enough play time. And Shanghai Daily was surprised by this. Seriously, Chinese kids do seem to get little play time. The kids surveyed also said they don’t have enough same-age friends. Some never get to play outside, or with other kids. 🙁

C’mon, let the kids have a little fun!

http://tinyurl.com/9zkw6

—

“For some Chinese parents, morals now matter more than grades.”

“The survey indicates local parents are attaching more importance to moral education and the cultivation of good habits than study scores as 52.8 percent of the questioned parents said the development of proper virtues was very important to them. Just over 18 percent said cultivating good habits was the most important, while 15.1 percent said they care most about the grades their kids earn at school.”

A very encouraging story! At least, if this survey is any indication (insert standard Chinese survey and statistic disclaimer) …

http://tinyurl.com/dnsh4

—

In a survey, children said they were rarely consulted in important family matters such as moving to a new home. According to the poll’s sponsor, Shanghai Women’s Federation, children were being denied their “right to participation”,

Later in the article, cooler heads prevail:

“The survey showed most parents and children had never heard of the right or think it is foolish.”
(…)
“‘A child’s views won’t be adopted when we decide big things like whether to buy an apartment or an expensive electric appliances because it is too complicated for a child,’ said Chen Yun, the mother of a 12-year-old girl.”

Hey, why didn’t they just ask Mom Chen in the first place?

http://tinyurl.com/e2y4x

=============

The Wedding Trade Association of Shanghai has proposed the reconstruction of a portion of The Bund formerly known as the “Wall of Lovers”, apparently a popular romantic rendezvous in the 80s. Well, that sounds nice. Shanghai does have a noir-ish romantic side, and a city just can’t have enough romantic rendezvous spots, can it?

More details:

“The proposal includes transplanting special trees, building a corridor for a museum with exhibits on the history of weddings, and turning the Monument of the People’s Hero into a place to hold wedding ceremonies (and) to introduce and develop the cruise wedding business along the Huangpu River.”

Oh, those selfless, community-minded folks at the Wedding Trade Association of Shanghai! I especially love the idea of the wedding industry suggesting turning the Hero’s Monument into a place for weddings. Next they’ll be requesting that the statue of Shanghai’s first mayor be dressed up as a groom.

http://tinyurl.com/a99eb

=============

Chinese music company files 50 lawsuits in bid to stop piracy.

Copycats! 🙂

http://tinyurl.com/c3w9t

=============

Yo, Korean slacker dudes, straighten up!

Five were just expelled and deported for cutting too many classes. According to a Shanghai education official, many kids come here to study, but get jobs instead. I wanna know, what South Korean teenager would come to Shanghai … to work? From my experience at Fudan, they come here to race around with their girlfriends on the back of their scooters.

One helpful Fudan official tried to lesson the harsh official’s commentary on those bad egg foreigners:

“Wu Zhizhen, director of Fudan University’s foreign student management office, said many foreigners get depressed about their lack of Chinese language skills and skip classes.

‘Some foreign students find themselves unable to catch what teachers said in classes due to their poor Chinese ability. Repeated language depression would naturally discourage them from attending classes,’ Wu said.

Others simply find a job, and decide working is a better way to learn the language.”

I can certainly agree with that last part, that’s what led me to leave Fudan early. I would also suggest that in addition to poor Chinese ability, some hapless laowais at Fudan are also victims of poor teaching ability (can you guess I was a poor student?)

http://tinyurl.com/ajrbz

=============

In an article entitled “Many pr0stitutes, migrants don’t use c0ndms regularly” I stumbled across this line near the end of the story:

“About 23.4 percent said they didn’t know s3x could result in pr3gnancy (…)”

Sounds like someone didn’t hear about the “xiaoniao” and the “mifeng”.

http://tinyurl.com/89ubr

=============

5,800 students in ten cities were polled, the results (standard survey disclaimer and cultural difference reminder):

– 60% say they’ve been beaten by their parents
– 15% had been struck by teachers
– 10% of students under age 12 reported getting less than 8 hours of sleep/day
– 45% of 15-year-olds said they slept less than 8 hours/day (did they count during classtime?)

http://tinyurl.com/7pjld

=============

And finally, in case anyone still doesn’t know Chinese like to do things in groups …

The largest Chinese tour group in Chinese history (that would be 5,000 years if you haven’t heard) is set to visit Thailand In January.

The group will number TEN THOUSAND.

That’s a lot of color-coded baseball caps. Think of the size of the megaphone the tour leader will need.

The seven-day excursion will involve 200 flights. I believe that puts this operation on par with China’s entire military airlift capability. If wonder if next year’s tour will visit Taip3I?

http://tinyurl.com/8qgkf

Hope that’s enough discussion topics, Richard! 🙂

November 30, 2005 @ 11:40 am | Comment

Disgusting news from the US:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051130/ap_on_go_ot/iraq_news_stories_3

“The U.S. military offered a mixed message Wednesday about whether it embraced one of its own programs that reportedly paid a consulting firm and Iraqi newspapers to plant favorable stories about the war and the rebuilding effort. ”

“The stories in Iraqi newspapers often praise the efforts of U.S. and Iraqi troops, denounce terrorism and promote the country’s reconstruction efforts. The Times said documents it obtained showed that the Baghdad-based newspaper Al Mutamar was paid about $50 to run one of the stories, which had the headline “Iraqis Insist on Living Despite Terrorism” on Aug. 6. ”

This is your “freedom of media”, stop joking me!!!

I read this news this morning on Yahoo News. But it cleverly said “It is investigating reports” that such things happened, making it sound like it is not confirmed. This is a very often used play to “spin” things. And this news piece quickly got lost amongst 1000 other pieces, and and end of the day, no one would ever pick up that story.

Of course the US media can still claim “Hey! At least we reported it!” Yes, you reported it! With 1000 attempts to “spin” it, to keep this news “low profile”, to “disinfect” it. Come on!

Now, I know many of you will be forced to say one of the following things:

1) We are at a war in Iraq! This is just a strategy used in war, so it’s ok!

2) This is an “unconfirmed” report!
3) It’s still better than Chinese media!

None of the above 3 arguments is valid. Please, stop joking me!!!!!

November 30, 2005 @ 4:45 pm | Comment

HX, you idiot, this was exposed in the US media! The government under a corrupt president may try to abuse the press, but the press is free to expose and correct it, as it has done multiple times under Bush. That’s the benefit of a free media.

November 30, 2005 @ 4:54 pm | Comment

HX making sense was getting me worried. Thank goodness it didn’t last for long …

November 30, 2005 @ 5:32 pm | Comment

someone should teach Hongxing that in English it should either be “you’ve got to be kidding” or “stop joshing me”. “Stop joking me” is a refrain not heard. That and he’s a fucking retard.

Richard, no one has even tried to guess yet. Perhaps Ivan would like to tell the story himself. If we’re really lucky, he’ll throw in the story about traveling back to 12th century France with Michael Crichton to save the Grail.

November 30, 2005 @ 5:50 pm | Comment

Dave, I just finished reading the Da Vinci Code on a flight back from Taiwan this past weekend. I don’t recall anything about communion wafers or a Prada shoe. My copy of the book, however, was one I picked up the week before at a bookstore in Bangalore. Like other products I’ve received from that city, I suspect there was something missing. PS: I assume Benedict XVI was involved as I heard the current red shoes are Prada.

November 30, 2005 @ 8:31 pm | Comment

HX, you idiot, this was exposed in the US media! The government under a corrupt president may try to abuse the press, but the press is free to expose and correct it, as it has done multiple times under Bush. That’s the benefit of a free media.

This was “exposed”, but so what?!?! What effect will it have? It is a small story that will never get picked up by anyone, and no one will feel any pressure to change anything. The media says “Hmm, it seems that the US is planting stories in Iraq. Oh well….”. In Chinese, this is called “Scatching your foot while you are wearing heavy boot — no effect!”

The disturbing thing is that, the media knows that this is one of those “sensitive” issues, so they are very good at disciplining themselves and make sure they don’t probe too much. There is a list of “safe” issues where the US media can appear very “objective” and “critical of government”, then there’s a list of “sensitive issues” where it is totally taboo.

Can Al Jazeera set up a news station in the US and report anti-American news all day long? NO!!! Of course, THEORETICALLY, it can. But if it tries to do that, it will be denied permission to do so, due to many “other reasons”. Like “license issues”, “legal issues” ,etc etc.

Even if it does succeed in establishing a news station in America, you can be sure that the Left and the Right, Democrats and Republicans, CNN and Foxnews, Bill O’Reilly and Michael Moore, and every other major political force in America will join force to discret the station and make sure it goes down in flames as quickly as possible!!! Don’t you agree with me on this scenario??

So there’s a big difference in what is IN THEORY true, and what is IN PRACTICE. I live in America, I observe this country much more deeply than you do.

November 30, 2005 @ 10:51 pm | Comment

Can Al Jazeera set up a news station in the US and report anti-American news all day long? NO!!!

You have no idea what you’re talking about.

November 30, 2005 @ 11:29 pm | Comment

HongXing,
I am living in mainland china. but i won’t agree with your opinions. I don’t care what American goverment did to their media or their people. . because their evil conducts is not the excuse for us doing like that.

I am not going to compete with american in “BAD” way.

I would like tell you one famous chinese joke.maybe you can get sth from this joke.

Xiao Ming’s mother: Hi,Xiao Ming,why did you beat your little brother with a kicking?
Xiao Ming: because Xiao Li also beated his little sister with a kicking.

is this story funny? XiaoMing think that his bullying his little brother is reasonable and legal because Xiao Li also bullied his little sister!!

November 30, 2005 @ 11:56 pm | Comment

Hey, you know, that US Marine who was featured in the Al Jazeera documentary, CONTROL ROOM, is working for them now…

You can get Al Jazeera here on satellite (I think) and on the internet. You have access to just about any point of view here. It may not be on mainstream television – and I can complain a lot about reporting in the mainstream media – which in a way is defacto censorship – but you can get the information if you want to get it, without worrying that you’re going to get thrown into jail for accessing it or spreading it.

And PLEASE don’t cite the one or two exceptions to this, HongXing.

It’s true that our insane pResident, George Bush, suggested bombing Al Jazeera out of existence, and that his administration is doing its best to undermine basic American legal principles such as habeus corpus, but I’m beginning to think that the Republic will survive Bush after all – and believe me, I had my doubts for a while.

I mean, I dearly wish I could make the last five years of American foreign and domestic policy just…go away. We are going to be paying the price for these disastrous decisions for a couple of generations. And I will never get over my disgust, dismay and outrage over this war in Iraq.

But my hope is that the self-correcting nature of our system means that we can change course, make amends and head in a more positive direction.

This is the thing that concerns me about China – and I dearly love China; I feel like China is my second home – where are the mechanisms to correct mistakes, to change course, to challenge the corrupt, to right injustices? It seems like an awful lot of death and destruction has to happen before China is able to correct itself.

December 1, 2005 @ 12:34 am | Comment

And I have to say, I totally agree with Jeffrey – actions are right and wrong in and of themselves – the sins of others don’t excuse one’s own misdeeds.

December 1, 2005 @ 12:35 am | Comment

” I live in America, I observe this country much more deeply than you do. ”
Hong Xing- I live in China. I observe this country much more deeply than you do. And it’s not pretty.

Nor is this damning indictment of Britain’s betrayal of Hong Kong which compares its actions UNFAVOURABLY with the Americans:

Pro-democracy leader Martin Lee “chided Britain for giving priority to trade with China than pressing for democracy in its former colony.
‘Hong Kong in the eyes of Britain, which is a signatory to the Sino-British Declaration, is nothing more than trade (which) is so important they would not sacrifice the opportunity to get more business from China than take a principled stand. I am happy to say the US government is different.'”
http://www.breitbart.com/news/2005/11/30/051201033958.sczsh5aj.html

December 1, 2005 @ 2:09 am | Comment

Yeah, I was glad to see M. Lee was in town again, and had a chance to talk to some people. He’s someone who I respect, no matter how much childish people attempt to smear him.

December 1, 2005 @ 3:00 am | Comment

What? What’s this dave said about me going back to 12th century France to find the Holy Grail? 🙂

Alright, IF you want me to be SERIOUS about this, then here’s my literal, historical take on the Grail:

It was never a literal material object and was never understood to be one, not even by the Templars. It’s a Lunar symbol, thus closely associated with regard for the Feminine aspect of Divinity. All ancient Grail literature describes it as a kind of dish, or a horn of plenty – at any rate, a symbol of natural fruitfulness and renewal of life, with feminine connotations. And it’s not just Christian – many of the Hellenistic mystery cults used such dishes for bread and wine. (Jesus did not invent the symbols of bread and wine as the “body and blood” of God – it was circulating around the various mystery cults of the Mediterranean in Hellenistic times. And Jesus was considerably influenced by the Greek thought which had become endemic in ancient Judeah after around 200 BC, and he almost certainly spoke Greek as well as Aramaic, as he lived near a merchants’ city. Greek was the lingua franca among merchants and scholars in ancient Judeah.)

The Crusaders encountered survivals of the old Mystery cults when they were in the Middle East – mixed of course with Sufic Islam (which was influenced by the underground, more mystical varieties of Christianity, and also influenced by Buddhism) – AND they adapted those symbols in their own ways, with special emphasis on Romantic Love and respect for Women.

But in those times, the Official Catholic Church did not hold women in high regard – not to mention Romantic Love or any kind of independent spirituality. So, the Grail legends were a kind of underground resistance literature – a metaphorical (and safe) way of saying “God has a Feminine side too….”

…and that’s where some later (and current) confusion arose, about the Grail representing Mary Magdalene (as Jesus’ lover) literally. (Which she may have been.) Over the years it became associated variously with Mother Mary, and Mary Magdalene, etc etc. But it was not originally thought of as a literal object – it was a metaphor used in underground, symbolic literature, by Templars and other Christians whose beliefs were dangerously unorthodox and heterodox.

There you go. I know how to be literal and serious, sometimes. 🙂 Madness, in contrast, is when you don’t know the difference between metaphor and literal prose. 🙂

December 1, 2005 @ 3:00 am | Comment

PS, of course, what I REALLY believe about the Holy Grail, is that it’s hidden in the Castle of “Agggghhhh….”, guarded by some Frenchmen who will “fart in the general direction” of anyone who comes near…..which, actually, IS how most European knights behaved in those times. 🙂

(Terry Jones of Monty Python is an expert on Medieval History, thus, “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” was actually a very historically realistic spoof…….)

December 1, 2005 @ 3:08 am | Comment

Ivan, your mother was a hamster, and your father smells of elderberries.

December 1, 2005 @ 6:43 am | Comment

FSN,

You speak like a true European Knight of the Middle Ages. 🙂

Seriously – as I said – the Pythons really did a realistic spoof in that movie.

(Trying to think now. Graham Chapman was a Doctor of Medicine, and John Cleese was a lawyer. Terry Jones was an expert in Medieval history and I THINK both Eric Idle and Michael Palin also had degrees in history or literature.)

(Oh hell, I sound almost like a Star Trek nerd now. 🙂

ANYway, many scenes in that movie were very close to historical reality:

The scene where the French knights throw animals over the walls: Yep, that was how biological warfare was done back then.

The scene where the undertaker says, “Bring out your dead” and someone gives him a living person who says “I’m not dead” and the undertaker says, “you will be soon” – yep, that’s how it really was, 1000 years ago.

And the scene where a knight refuses to let anyone pass without a fight – and then he gets cut to pieces and he says “it’s only a flesh wound” – also, based on real history.

And, the general sense of stupidity and incompetence and filth: The Middle Ages really WERE like that!

Right down to when the Knights sing, at Camelot – dancing around like fools and banging each other on the head:
“We’re Knights of the Round Table,
We eat jams and hams and spam
a lot!”
And they go around bashing each other on the head…
…well, that’s what most Medieval European knights were really like. Most of them were illiterate, vulgar party-animals who went around bashing each other and stealing anything they could steal from their employers OR (more often) from the poor, and trying to get laid and doing lots of drugs. Very much like most upper-class Brits and Americans today….. 🙂

Today’s George Bush is a lot like King Henry VI of England, the incompetent and stupid son of the MARGINALLY intelligent King Henry the Fifth. Henry the Fifth was just a thug, but an ALMOST intelligent one, and he made England strong, but then his idiot son wasted it all. Just like the elder and younger Bushes.

Bill Clinton is analogous to King Charles the Second (1660-1688), a venal man who restored good government, but did not leave a stable lasting legacy. But his reign was a time of relief and prosperity.

Ronald Reagan is – partially – analogous to Oliver Cromwell. He was a vulgar populist who cleaned a lot of shit out of the system, but he created a lot of new shit to be cleaned up after him for a long time.

Carter has no analogue among English Kings. Neither does Johnson.

Nixon was a Cromwellian leader who was 30 percent good and 70 percent bad.

And I gotta think about how to make analogies with other Presidents. It gets harder as you go back into American history. The LATER American Presidents were more like Kings than the earlier ones….

…the EARLIER American Presidents were more similar to ancient Roman leaders. Lincoln was like an American Marcus Aurelius (Roman Emperor, 161 to 180 AD), the Philosopher-King. John Adams was like Tiberius Ceasar. And George Washington – well, he was unique.
🙂 No one in history was ever like George Washington, except perhaps for Pericles of Athens…..
🙂

December 1, 2005 @ 9:50 am | Comment

oh and one more thing, in reply to dave’s comment about me:

davesgonechina, come on. I’m a “serious” scholar WHEN I need to be.

But on this blog, I’m a storyteller and a comedian and a gadfly and OCCASIONALLY a serious scholarly commenter, and whatever seems to make sense at any moment.

One ethnic-Irishman to another, dave: You ought to understand what it means to be a bullshitter at selected times and places….and TPD is not a formal academic forum….anyone who wants to have a FORMAL, “serious” discussion with me, can meet me at various academic conferences in London or Paris or Moscow – but on TPD, everything is allowed as long as we’re civil…..

🙂

Ivan O’TPD

December 1, 2005 @ 10:08 am | Comment

I was just hoping you’d make up a funny story.

December 1, 2005 @ 2:12 pm | Comment

I was reading many news stories about prevention measures against the Bird Flu in China. I feel this is excessive. And perhaps is a over-sensalization of the media.

What is Bird Flu? Bird Flu is nothing but Flu for the Bird. There are about 10 million birds in the world today, so them having flus is a normal thing. Most situations, Bird Flu will not go into humans. But there are rare scenarios where Bird Flus will go into humans. But the probability of that is small!!! Much smaller than getting cancer or car accident!

Also, it has been this way for thousands of years! For example, during the Tang Dynasty, maybe someone in a village got the Bird Flu, and he died. Of course back then, no one knew what caused it. But he died. Well, what could you do when he died? Nothing. If he died, then just let it be.

It is not very worthwile to put all the money and resource on this Bird Flu thing. If there are some cases of severe flus, then there are some cases of severe flus. Why does it deserve more attention than cancer, or drug dealing, or death from wars in Iraq? It absolutely does not.

Last time, the SARS situation made China look bad. So this time China is trying too hard to avoid a repeat of SARS, But I think it is doing it too much and falling into a trap. If in a low probability event, that the Bird Flu got spread massively, then this is just unfortunate, but there’s nothing you can do now to prevent that. Just let it be.

December 1, 2005 @ 6:45 pm | Comment

Medical scholar and PhD HongXing clears thte air about bird flu, proving it’s nothing at all to worry about.

I wonder if he’s aware that the great pandemic of 1917 began as a bird flu. It then mutated and wiped out millions of people around the world, killing as many soldiers in the the trenches as the bullets and shells.

But HX assures us it’s nothing at all, and who would know better than the genius who happily admits he romps around the Web planting fake stories to make the CCP look better? (And, irnoically, in so doing, he always makes the the CCP always look weak and defensive.)

December 1, 2005 @ 6:52 pm | Comment

HX is clearly an uneducated son of a cadre who has benefitted from the CCP’s nepotism and knows nothing about thereal world. Why do we respond to him? He’s clearly beneath me.

December 1, 2005 @ 9:00 pm | Comment

Keir, maybe you don’t know that there are so many “sons and daughters of high chinese officials” in US and other countries. they are studing there, living there, and acting as one channel of ‘WASHING MONEY” for their corrupted parents. they knew nothing about china but the dardest side. to maintain their privilledge and interest, they will do anything to glorify china goverment and their “great” leaders and discredit democrats.
Usually i won’t take much of time and attention on them because the dicussion with them would fail.

December 1, 2005 @ 9:58 pm | Comment

“Just let it be.”
That’s deep, man….

December 1, 2005 @ 11:03 pm | Comment

Hongxing demonstrates that loosing face is not as a bad thing for a Chinese as we stupid Westerners thought it is.
Hongxing thank’s for debunking this myth.

I also have to thank you for sharing your insights about bird flu with us. I feal a lot better now.

I have some other questions and perhaps you could give your expertise on them.

First, I would like to know if the Americans ever made it to the moon or if this was all made up by the NASA and the CIA.

Second, what is the question to the answer 42 and last but not least

third, is Elvis still alive?

Thank’s.

December 2, 2005 @ 5:38 am | Comment

I’m making some tea if anyone fancies a brew.

December 2, 2005 @ 8:50 am | Comment

HX,

Tone it down. You are blowing your cover.

December 2, 2005 @ 7:57 pm | Comment

You guys won’t get a response from HongXong. He’s out pedalling across China to see how much it’s “effective freedom” has increased this year.

December 2, 2005 @ 10:04 pm | Comment

For all of us overseas Chinese who still consider themselves Chinese, I have made a list of common attacks that you may encounter about China from your co-workers, friends, classmates, teachers in Western societies. I provide some simple and effective responses to those attacks. They are meant to only provide you some rough “bullet points”, and you should not try to memorize them word by word:

1) One-Child Policy. A common attack line is “Chinese gov’t interferes with personal life! No Human Rights!”

Response: * It is not a compulsory policy. If you have baby, you will not be forced to abort. (You can quote a BBC report that says a local gov’t official in Shandong tried to forcibly enforce the one-child policy on a family, and is now in jail). * There are too many people share too little resources in China. * If there is free immigration rule to anywhere of the world, we do not need to control our population. Emigration is not easy and we can not control our population, the world need to give Chinese a way to live.

2) Intellectual property. Common attack: “Chinese gov’t allows piracy!”

Response: * intellectual property is a way big company makes money out of people and it is not good for knowledge communication for human being. It only started this century. Human being has been passed on our knowledge for thousands years without the barrier of this. Finally, you can add “I am not a big fan of it unfortunately.”

3) Communism. Common attack: “Communis is bad!”

Response: * Ask them fiercely: “Tell me, do you really know what Communism is? Have you read any of Karl Marx’s writings?” (90% of the people will give you some very wrong answers.).

* There is no absolute communism or absolute capitalism. Most countries lie in-between of the whole spectrum. E.g. Scandinavian counties are more socialist than American. You can not simply say which one is wrong. People can only pick the right degree based on their own situation.

4) Religious Freedom. Common attack: “China persecutes Christians!”

* there are a lot legal churches you can go. I am a law-abiding citizen and would not go to those illegal ones, could be formed by criminals.

* Quote news sources where new Churches have been built in Beijing.

* Show pictures of Chinese bishops, especially Bush’s visit to a Church in Beijing recently.

5) Tibet Problem. Common attack “Tibet should be independent!”

Response: * Say “OK, can we talk about Northern Ireland afterwards?”

6) Media Freedom. This the big hammer. Common attack is: “China has no press freedom!”

Response: *Quote articles in People’s Daily or CCTV or Sina that highlight problems. corruption/environtmental damage/income gap. They are many of those.

* Raise the fact that Sina.com provided live online coverage of US Elections in 2004, even had an interactive Flash showing the “red” and “blue” states.

* Raise the facts that numerous US journalists from CNN and local news papers have been fired for criticizing the White House during the climax of the Iraqi War.

Finally, if you cannot quickly retort to a problem, just say “i’m not the President of China and I do not know that specific issue well to discuss it.”

I have already posted this on wen xue city forums, and hopefully it will be a good way to maintain your dignity amongst hostile people!

December 2, 2005 @ 10:39 pm | Comment

Yeah, but I notice, HX, that your list doesn’t have anything like “engage in activism to stop these problems.” Succintly, its advice is “bluster your way through.”

Michael

December 3, 2005 @ 12:26 am | Comment

Richard:

In the “China may be slumping” category, China hand Orville Schelle has a piece:

http://www.truthdig.com/dig/item/china/

You’ll like that blog very much, I think.

Michael

December 3, 2005 @ 3:52 am | Comment

Thank’s HX, but what about Elvis?

December 3, 2005 @ 4:19 am | Comment

davesgonechina, you said,

“I was just hoping you’d make up a funny story.”

Thanks, man. After I cooled off I figured that out. 🙂 Sorry I got so defensive, but please understand that some visitors here don’t quite get me. 🙂 But most of the regulars have figured me out: Professional academic who needs to get weird and blow off some steam sometimes, surrounded as I am, in my work, by so many overly serious intellectual wankers in their ivory towers…..

ANYway, about Elvis:

A country-western song which played on American radio in the 1980s, tells it all:

“Elvis is everywhere,
Elvis is everything!
Elvis is everybody,
Elvis is still the King.
….And what about the Bermuda Triangle?
Elvis needs boats!
Elvis needs boats!
Elvis-Elvis-Elvis-Elvis-Elvis
NEEDS BOATS!
Ahhh, the SAILING Elvis,
CAPTAIN Elvis,
MARINE Elvis even…
…and what about those Aliens?
Everyone in Outer-Space looks
like Elvis,
Because we’re ALL moving in peace and harmony
To a state of Perfect Elvisness!
Why do you think they call it Evolution?
It’s really ELVIS-LUTION!
ELVIS-LUTION!
Elvis is everywhere…..”

Some years ago, in London, I told that to an Upper Class English Twit.
He asked me about Elvis, and I told him, “Elvis is in the Bermuda Triangle; Elvis needs boats”,

and the English Upper-Class Twit replied, with a very concerned expression:

“He needs boats? Why? And why do you believe in this? Do MOST Americans believe Elvis needs boats? Why do you Americans all think Elvis is some kind of God?”

HA! What a twit! What an autoparody he was!

Thus, a warning to all Brits: Be careful about assuming that any American has less of a sense of irony than the Brits do….. 🙂 Whenever the Brits try TOO HARD to be ironic, or when they try too hard to be more clever than Americans, then the Brits make fools of themselves…. 🙂

Well, anyway, since Shulan asked, THAT’s what happened to Elvis. Elvis is everywhere and he needs boats.

Sincerely yours,
Ivan Elvisovich

December 3, 2005 @ 5:35 am | Comment

Thank’s Ivan, but I have to say that I have problems to accept anything an American has to say about Elvis. You see, he is the only king you Americans ever had and due to this your view shurely is heavily biased.

I thought maybe a foreigner like HX, living in America and observeing this country much more deeply than anybody else, could give me a hint.

December 3, 2005 @ 6:03 am | Comment

To shulan:

The King is dead! Long live the King!

December 3, 2005 @ 6:10 am | Comment

P.S. From a foreigner like HX living in America and observing this country much more deeply than anybody else could.

December 3, 2005 @ 6:11 am | Comment

Dear TPD,

Be calm and enjoy your Happy Life! Or else you will be shot.

Sincerely yours,

HX, King of Happy Valley where there are no malcontents or grumblers, because Wise King Otto-HongXing had them all put to death under the Happiness Act.

December 3, 2005 @ 7:21 am | Comment

Dear TPD,

I really don’t give a shit.

Sincerely yours,
Chairman Mao (in Hell)

December 3, 2005 @ 7:24 am | Comment

Thank’s nausicca. Sure he is dead? Would be a shame. So sad.

@HX, King of Happy Valley where there are no malcontents or grumblers, because Wise King Otto-HongXing had them all put to death under the Happiness Act.

“We can’t go on together
With suspicious minds
And we can’t build our dreams
On suspicious minds”

December 3, 2005 @ 7:37 am | Comment

Dear TPD,

I’m waiting for Ivan to join me in Purgatory, for the next 10,000 years.
Well, precisely 9,019 years for me, as my 10,000 year sentence started in 1924. Ivan will have to wait a bit longer to get out of Purgatory, after he arrives here for his 10,000 year punishment.

Saint Peter (that Jew bastard! Well you know that we Russian Communists never liked Jews….and we never liked the Chinese either….)

…ah, Saint Peter has arranged for Ivan to be my roommate, starting in the year 2072 in your time. It seems, God has decided that Ivan will live for over 100 years, because God wants Ivan to suffer a bit extra, for all of his stupid jokes. Down here in Purgatory, I converted to Christianity after I found out how God was going to punish Ivan….then it all made sense to me……

But, I just want to say, that I have been reading your blog down here – just a bit above Hell, in Purgatory, where we have internet access – and I want to say to HongXing:

HongXing, you would have been one of the first people I shot in 1917, because you know nothing about suffering or deprivation but you pretend to be a “Communist.” Upper class hypocrites like you were the first people to be shot by my Bolshevik Party in 1917.

Sincerely yours,
Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov (Lenin)

PS, Mao is very embarassing for me.
Will one of you PLEASE take his portrait down from Tienanmen gate?
I may have been a fanatic, but I was never a lunatic, so PLEASE take down the portrait of that lunatic Mao.
He was never a real Communist, and at any rate he has nothing to do with me or with Karl Marx.

V.I. Lenin

December 3, 2005 @ 7:42 am | Comment

Jeffery, I think I’ve agreed with absolutely everything you’ve ever written on TPD.

December 3, 2005 @ 10:04 am | Comment

Ivan just made me bang my head on the desk when I fell off the chair laughing!

December 3, 2005 @ 11:15 am | Comment

Hey, Richard W. – long time no see. How are things?

December 3, 2005 @ 11:24 am | Comment

Hi Other Lisa, just fine thanks, I keep on meaning to haunt your website for a good long while, es que we’ve only just got broadband installed so now I’m able to spend a lot more time online ranting about things that strictly speaking I know very little about!

December 3, 2005 @ 11:33 am | Comment

Ivan, you hould definitely set up your own blog!

December 3, 2005 @ 11:38 am | Comment

UFO MYSTERY EXPLAINED

UFO reported over Shanghai

Li Xinran
Shanghai Daily
December 1, 2005
http://tinyurl.com/a3ltm

SEVERAL people reported seeing a UFO in Shanghai between 4:30pm and 9pm yesterday.

A man named Hu told the Xinmin Evening News he saw the UFO in the sky near the Outer Ring Road in Xinzhuan area at 4:30pm. It was visible for about 5 minutes, Hu said.

A man named Luo said he saw a bright oval object flying west towards Jiuting Town at 5pm when he was near Qibao Town. He tried to take a picture of it with his digital camera, but failed.

A man named Yang said he saw the UFO near the Laoximen in Jianguo Road E. at 4:44pm. He said it was a thumb-like orange oblong object hanging in the southeast sky and moving slowly east.

A Mr Ni, aged 65, said he saw a bright red dish-like object in the western sky for about 5 minutes from his 13th-floor room in the No.8 People’s Hospital in Xuhui District at 4:55pm.

A caller named Zhao told the newspaper he saw the UFO in the southwest sky at 5pm in Putuo District near Wuning Road and Caoyang Road. It was a strange shape and flew slowly west, Zhao said.

A Mr Liu saw the UFO from the elevated road of Zhongshan Road N. and Hutai Road at 9pm. It was a cubic flying object with lights glittering around it, Liu said. It looked like a twinkling gold star in the sky and changed into a thumb-sized cube when it moved quickly. “I saw it stayed in the northeast sky for a while, and then it changed its position to southeast,” said Liu said.

Hongqiao Airport officials said they had no knowledge of the object.

On December 3, two days after this report, I watched a blimp circling over the Zhongshan Gongyuan area advertising the opening of the new SuNing shopping complex. This area is “in Putuo District near Wuning Road and Caoyang Road.”

The quoted sightings of a “pink” or “red” UFO all took place between 4:30 – 5:00 pm. On December 3rd, sunset took place at 4:50pm, so at the time of the sightings, the ground would have been nearly dark, but objects low in the sky (like, say, a blimp), would be reflecting the reddening, near-horizontal light of the setting sun.

Blimps usually fly at very low altitidues, it could easily have been well below Hongqiao airport’s radar.

Next mystery, please. 🙂

December 3, 2005 @ 3:47 pm | Comment

the Bird Flu got spread massively, then this is just unfortunate, but there’s nothing you can do now to prevent that. Just let it be.

go fuck yourself. i live in china, and i dont want to die, thank you.

December 3, 2005 @ 6:11 pm | Comment

Yep, that’s it. I’m making arrangements to leave.

My main work in China is done. No need to stick around any more. Moving back to civilization soon.

In 1970 China was a barbarian wasteland. Now it’s a barbarian wasteland with a big GDP (or so it seems, although you can’t trust any numbers coming out of Communist China) – but still a barbarian wasteland. Even worse, a FILTHY, poisonous barbarian wasteland (under the Correct Leadership of the Communist Party and Mao-Ze-Dong Thought, of course! A CORRECT poisonous wasteland!)

Bye-bye!

December 3, 2005 @ 10:10 pm | Comment

Hi Ivan

Just curious – you mentioned 1970 – how the hell did you get into China in 1970, at the height of the Cultural Revolution and before detente?

December 3, 2005 @ 10:34 pm | Comment

You’re leaving us Ivan?
How terrible.
Tell me, which of your many countries of origin will you be moving to? (So far I’ve counted ancestors from Ireland, Russia, Upper-class England and the East Coast of the US, but I may have missed some.) Or will you be off to explore pastures new?

December 3, 2005 @ 11:50 pm | Comment

This is not a sly plug but I’ve done some slight redesigns on my Duck-inspired blog and I’d be interested and grateful to hear the opinions of anyone who could tell me in one word whether it makes it easier or harder to read than before.

That’s it in a nutshell, but it was still quite a long sentence!

AND while I’m here can anyone explain why the Duck will NOT remember my personal info?!

December 4, 2005 @ 6:26 am | Comment

what the hell is going on here, does no one care about the bird flu pandemic thats starting here? why am i the only one who seems to care? or are all of you already gone? there has been no official news in 5 days, even on the local beijing news last night, not one mention of the flu. there is an official policy of denial, and it threatens the life of every person in china, and the world. usually the duck has been very good at bring this kind of thing to light, but the ball is getting dropped here. please restore my faith.

December 4, 2005 @ 5:25 pm | Comment

Believe it or not, the duck has a life, and I had to work throughout the weekend. My new job isn;t like the old one – I can’t blog throughout the day, 7 days a week. Sorry, will try to get on top of things, but when I have a big project for work I can’t worry about this site. (Well, I can worry, which I do, but I can’t post as much as I’d like to.)

December 4, 2005 @ 5:29 pm | Comment

i didnt mean you personally richard. there are other posters. really i’m very upset about HX’s remarks about letting it be. i watched the news last night and they showed mr Hu watching some performance at the great hall, like there was no national crisis. the chinese really baffle me sometimes.

December 4, 2005 @ 6:04 pm | Comment

Taiwan leader Chen Shui-bian and his ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) face mounting pressure to improve ties with the mainland following the crushing defeat in weekend local elections, analysts said yesterday.

Chen, who is serving his second and final term, had sought to boost his candidates’ chances with “pro-independence” and anti-mainland rhetoric, in contrast with the opposition parties’ more conciliatory tone toward Beijing.

“The ‘mainland card’ failed to work this time because most people are fed up with his anti-mainland mentality,” said Li Jiaquan, a researcher with the Institute of Taiwan Studies under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

“What local people want is peaceful and stable cross-Straits relations instead of confrontation and hostility between the two sides.”

Li stressed that the only way for Chen and his “administration” to regain people’s faith is to heed the voice of the majority and promote better relations with the mainland.

In Saturday’s local government polls, the DPP won only six out of the 23 mayoral and country magistrate posts, down from 10. The opposition Kuomintang (KMT) secured a landslide victory by gaining 14, an increase of six, while its allies landed the other three.

Compounding the damage for the ruling party was its loss in Taipei county the island’s biggest constituency where the DPP has ruled for 16 years as well as its two strongholds of Ilan County and the city of Chiayi.

DPP Chairman Su Tseng-Chang immediately offered his resignation late Saturday while admitting the election outcome was “a severe setback for the DPP, also a warning from the people to the DPP.”

Taiwan “legislators” said Saturday’s elections, widely seen as a mid-term test of Chen’s popularity, should teach the “pro-independence” DPP a lesson.

“Chen must seek breakthroughs in relations with the Chinese mainland, or his last two years in office would be very rough,” independent “lawmaker” Li Ao said yesterday.

KMT “lawmaker” Wu Yu-sheng urged Chen to work out a “broad-minded” mainland policy, backing away from the “pro-independence” stance to create a better atmosphere for cross-Straits dialogue.

KMT Chairman Ma Ying-jeou said the Taiwan people had handed a “no-confidence vote” to the DPP “administration,” which took power under Chen in May 2000.

“The KMT did not beat the DPP. The DPP was defeated by itself,” said Ma, who favours closer ties with the mainland.

Taiwan’s “central election commission” said nearly 8.9 million people, or 66 per cent of eligible voters, cast ballots in Saturday’s polls.

Among the 901 seats for county councillors, the KMT won 408, the DPP 192, the People First Party (PFP) 31. Others netted in the rest.

Among the 319 positions for town mayors, the KMT won 173, the DPP 35, the PFP three, the TSU one and independents 107.

December 4, 2005 @ 8:30 pm | Comment

These “misc” threads are also good for posting notices. for example in the WAPO today, Chinese thugs beat up nuns in a stolen land dispute. Anybody see that one yet?
http://tinyurl.com/b96z9

NOT going to be too good for the local gov. image.

December 4, 2005 @ 8:33 pm | Comment

we should admit that HX’s remarks represents some chinese thoughts about the communist party and govt, including some have high education background.
but i would like tell HX that you are no need to list “common attacks”. one reason is your listing is out of our discussion. another one is your listing is so controversial that i have not enough time to reply in detail.

because of my consideration for TIME, i would like answer you in brief on your “common attacks”:
1> ONE-CHILD POLICY.
I totally agree with the ONE-CHILD policy, because china’s resource is limited.
But, do you know how many tragedies have happend in China because of local officials’ relentless actions against those denied aborting their child? if you were not born in rural china, you could not imagine what actions the local officials took!! in this term i would like call those local officials as “BRUTE”! usually they will destroy your house if you dey going to the hospital for your abortion!!!! many women have been commiting suicide because of the losing of their child and their property. I bet you wouldn’t defend those “BRUTES” if you have seen those tragedies happend in rural china;

2>regarding of “INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY, i have no comment.

3>Communism. in this point, i have to say that communism is a devil. but i am not going to attack this religion because you have your own freedom on religion.
but you have to listen one remarks:

it’s your right to believe in your dream, but don’t impose your own dreams upon others. and, don’t regard your own dreams and religions as the univeral truth.

and, i am not going to disucuss COMMUNISM in theory with you. it’s only a dream for communist. what i am going to argue with you, is COMMUNISM is not an excuse to avoid giving us the freedom and democracy.

4>Religious Freedom. do you really think that we chinese have religious freedom? funny… suggest you go to Tibet and other cities and asking common chinese why they have to preach in their families instead of the churches. if we have religious freedom, how do you think the crackdown of FLG?

5>Tibet should not be independent. in this point i would agree with the govt. but, i have to stress that govt should not open fire toward common Tibet man; in peace, OK?

6>Media Freedom.
HX, please go to some famous chinese BBS and post the whole PRC’s CONSTITUTION in these BBS. i bet you could not post successfully because the constitution has some SENSITIVE and ILLEGAL characters (like “democracy”, “freedom”..etc) in your POST. it’s ridiculous that we chinese could not post our CONSTITUTION to our chinese BBS sucessfully.
is this an evidence for “freedom of speech”?

December 4, 2005 @ 9:07 pm | Comment

But, do you know how many tragedies have happend in China because of local officials’ relentless actions against those denied aborting their child?

Do you know how many tragedies have happend in America because of blacks robbing and killing innocent people in downtown areas? Does that mean blacks are all dangerous, and downtowns are all dangerous?

if we have religious freedom, how do you think the crackdown of FLG?

FLG was cracked down not becuase of its practice (FLG was praised by the gov’t for many many years before). It was cracked down because its leaders tried to turn it into anti-gov’t organization and broke laws by illegal surrounding gov’t offices. But more importantly, it was cracked down because the religion openly asked people to not go to doctors when they are sick, cause hundreds of followers to die due to untreated sicknesses. Many followers started having hallucinations and quit their jobs and divorced their families. I think you all know several FLG members burned themselves in Tiananmen Square because they thought they were going to heaven. I think even by US standars, such groups will be cracked down because they are infringing on other peoples’ safety and lives. And if you look at all the newspapers and TV stations paid by FLG overseas operations today, it is undoubtedly that it wishes China to collapse.

It illegally broke TV signals within China to forcibly broadcast its own signals, now, let me ask you, how come we don’t hear anyone condem that? Openly hacking and disrupting a country’s communications satellites is an act of war/terrorism, is it not?

HX, please go to some famous chinese BBS and post the whole PRC’s CONSTITUTION in these BBS. i bet you could not post successfully because the constitution has some SENSITIVE and ILLEGAL characters

Why do I need to post the Chinese Constitution on chinese BBS? If I want, I can read it online.

December 4, 2005 @ 9:51 pm | Comment

Jeffrey – I really like your #6. I couldn’t agree more…

December 4, 2005 @ 9:53 pm | Comment

Time for a new thread.

HongXing, don’t you have some other place you need to be? Isn’t there something important you need to be doing?

December 4, 2005 @ 10:25 pm | Comment