Having watched CCTV news, which I assume is the much talked about CCP rival of CCN, I can say that CCN has nothing to worry about. Even the most basic criteria for success has not been fullfilled. Apart from baby faced James Chau, who looks and speaks like an english public school boy with who has just finished his GCSEs, the presenters do not speak clear, grammatical English, so that listening to the channel is tiring and confusing. After a few minutes, I stopped trying to follow them and switched to playing "count the grammatical mistakes". I don't imagine my friends in England who can't even be bothered to read subtitles will have patience. It looks like another huge white elephant aimed to make the Chinese leaders feel good about themselves, and bolster their ridiculous claims that China is becoming a great nation under their glorious leadership.
Chinese leaders seem to live on another planet, where foreigners who speak bad English get jobs as news reporters on an international English language news channel, and consumers will listen to them, because they have no choice. But foreigners have lots of choice, and very few will choose to listen to this channel.
Even the talents of James Chau are wasted when reads out things like "the talks ( between the leaders of Japan, Korea and China) set the tone for their relationship over the next ten years".
2010年5月30日 星期日
2010年5月21日 星期五
Shanxi vaccine scandal whistle blower sacked
Last week, Bao Yueyang (包月阳), Editor of China Economic Times (中国经济时报) was forced to resign for the publicising of the non-refrigeration of vaccines which led to at least 4 children's deaths. Ironically, the vaccines had been deliberately left unrefrigerated to prevent stickers displaying the government's quality assurance from peeling off.
Inevitably the case was compared to others who have attempted to publicise government failures to protect children's lives, including the "tofu schools" which collapse in earthquakes, the poorly policed schools were children are stabbed, and the inspection-exemption milk companies whose product damaged the kidneys of thousands of babies.
In several of these case, those who publicise the case have themselves become victims.
For example, Tang Zuoren was sentenced for five years for counting the victims of jerry-built schools ( although the court prosecuted him for writing an essay about the June 4th 1989 massacre, as this was a more presumably a acceptable reason for locking him up). Parents have also been detained and put under surveillance for attempting to petition the higher authorities.
After organising and publicising the "kidney stone babies", Zhao Hailian was arrested and tried in March for for inciting social upheaval. During his trial he was shackled at the ankles. The verdict was not announced.
Inevitably the case was compared to others who have attempted to publicise government failures to protect children's lives, including the "tofu schools" which collapse in earthquakes, the poorly policed schools were children are stabbed, and the inspection-exemption milk companies whose product damaged the kidneys of thousands of babies.
In several of these case, those who publicise the case have themselves become victims.
For example, Tang Zuoren was sentenced for five years for counting the victims of jerry-built schools ( although the court prosecuted him for writing an essay about the June 4th 1989 massacre, as this was a more presumably a acceptable reason for locking him up). Parents have also been detained and put under surveillance for attempting to petition the higher authorities.
After organising and publicising the "kidney stone babies", Zhao Hailian was arrested and tried in March for for inciting social upheaval. During his trial he was shackled at the ankles. The verdict was not announced.
2010年5月20日 星期四
Tudou deletes 100,000 videos per month
From the Inquirer, May 17 2010: China's Great Firewall is a barrier to trade;Tudou officials pointed out that it adheres to government censorship regulations, and said it deletes 100,000 videos every month for content that involves pornography or politics. Tudou is a video upload site like Youtube, which has been blocked in China.
Censorship is market grab, according to Beijing bloggers
The SCMP reports comments today from Chinese bloggers Michael Anti and Jason Ng:
Michael Anti, a Beijing-based internet analyst, said he believed the various crackdowns on mainland websites in the past few years, no matter whether they targeted pornography, geographical information or search engines like Google, were not related to tighter political censorship but to officials' desire to cash in on the internet.
He said officials were using their censorship powers to make money.
"All departments are working hard to find their own opportunities for rent-seeking from censoring online information, and using political excuses," he said. "It is their business; licences [issued to the websites] mean money."
Jason Ng, another Beijing-based blogger, who launched the mainland's first independent survey of attempts to surmount the "Great Firewall of China", said he regarded the crackdown on online map websites as another example of the "development of state-owned enterprises and the receding of privately owned enterprises".
"They've found opportunities to make money from the internet's location-based services, and the crackdown on online map servers will become more strict," he said.
According to the latest standard, issued by the State Bureau of Surveying and Mapping last week, qualified online map service providers must have their servers on the mainland and must not have leaked information in any form in the past three years.
Long agreed, saying: "After cleaning up the privately owned servers, the state-owned ones can enter the huge online map market, which will be very profitable in the future."
Meanwhile, according to business week, the EEC is reportedly considering action in the WTO against censorship, but most countries are scared of tackling China.
Here is the text of the SCMP article
Censored: the map website accused of leaking site of PLA HK barracks
Ivan Zhai
Updated on May 20, 2010
Authorities have censored a Shenzhen-based online forum accused of leaking the locations of military facilities like airports, naval bases and the PLA's Hong Kong barracks, as well as providing access to Google Earth.
William Long, the forum administrator at Moon-bbs.com, was accused of linking its contents to a "foreign internet map search engine" in a report by China Central Television on Monday night. The report also said the forum had revealed the location of a military airport before it was officially reported in October.
Long, a prominent mainland blogger, told the South China Morning Post yesterday the foreign search engine was Google Earth. He said he was asked to pay a fine of 5,000 yuan (HK$5,710) for "illegally showing maps" produced by Shenzhen's land supervision authorities, which he thought was unfair.
Beijing's efforts to tighten control of online information have spread to online map services recently. The People's Daily website, People. com.cn, revealed this week that more than 200 websites had been shut down since January last year in a campaign to regulate sites providing geographic information.
It said a joint working group established by seven state departments - the State Bureau of Surveying and Mapping, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Ministry of State Security, State Administration for Industry and Commerce, General Administration of Press and Publications, State Secrets Bureau and the Surveying and Mapping Bureau of the People's Liberation Army's General Staff Department - had investigated more than 40,000 online map websites and censored the content of about 1,000 websites, some 30 of which were found to involve military information and the rest to contain inappropriate information.
Long denied CCTV's accusation that his forum "was an online community frequented by military fans".
"I am not a military fan myself," he said in an article posted on his personal blog a few hours after seeing the CCTV programme. "I have not read any military magazines, have not been to any military bases and have very limited military knowledge."
It is not the first time Beijing-controlled media have attacked services provided by Google. The United States-based search giant was accused by the same TV programme last year of providing a large number of links to pornographic websites.
Google's run-ins with the mainland authorities led it to close its simplified-Chinese internet search service on the mainland in March.
Long said he understood why the mainland authorities did not like services such as Google Earth.
"Everyone can freely mark information about buildings, even the houses of some top leaders and other so-called secrets, and share them at Google Earth; that's why they want to control such behaviour," he said.
But Long and other mainland internet analysts and bloggers interviewed yesterday said the main motive behind the government crackdown was commercial.
Michael Anti, a Beijing-based internet analyst, said he believed the various crackdowns on mainland websites in the past few years, no matter whether they targeted pornography, geographical information or search engines like Google, were not related to tighter political censorship but to officials' desire to cash in on the internet.
He said officials were using their censorship powers to make money.
"All departments are working hard to find their own opportunities for rent-seeking from censoring online information, and using political excuses," he said. "It is their business; licences [issued to the websites] mean money."
Jason Ng, another Beijing-based blogger, who launched the mainland's first independent survey of attempts to surmount the "Great Firewall of China", said he regarded the crackdown on online map websites as another example of the "development of state-owned enterprises and the receding of privately owned enterprises".
"They've found opportunities to make money from the internet's location-based services, and the crackdown on online map servers will become more strict," he said.
According to the latest standard, issued by the State Bureau of Surveying and Mapping last week, qualified online map service providers must have their servers on the mainland and must not have leaked information in any form in the past three years.
Long agreed, saying: "After cleaning up the privately owned servers, the state-owned ones can enter the huge online map market, which will be very profitable in the future."
Copyright © 2010 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All right reserved
Michael Anti, a Beijing-based internet analyst, said he believed the various crackdowns on mainland websites in the past few years, no matter whether they targeted pornography, geographical information or search engines like Google, were not related to tighter political censorship but to officials' desire to cash in on the internet.
He said officials were using their censorship powers to make money.
"All departments are working hard to find their own opportunities for rent-seeking from censoring online information, and using political excuses," he said. "It is their business; licences [issued to the websites] mean money."
Jason Ng, another Beijing-based blogger, who launched the mainland's first independent survey of attempts to surmount the "Great Firewall of China", said he regarded the crackdown on online map websites as another example of the "development of state-owned enterprises and the receding of privately owned enterprises".
"They've found opportunities to make money from the internet's location-based services, and the crackdown on online map servers will become more strict," he said.
According to the latest standard, issued by the State Bureau of Surveying and Mapping last week, qualified online map service providers must have their servers on the mainland and must not have leaked information in any form in the past three years.
Long agreed, saying: "After cleaning up the privately owned servers, the state-owned ones can enter the huge online map market, which will be very profitable in the future."
Meanwhile, according to business week, the EEC is reportedly considering action in the WTO against censorship, but most countries are scared of tackling China.
Here is the text of the SCMP article
Censored: the map website accused of leaking site of PLA HK barracks
Ivan Zhai
Updated on May 20, 2010
Authorities have censored a Shenzhen-based online forum accused of leaking the locations of military facilities like airports, naval bases and the PLA's Hong Kong barracks, as well as providing access to Google Earth.
William Long, the forum administrator at Moon-bbs.com, was accused of linking its contents to a "foreign internet map search engine" in a report by China Central Television on Monday night. The report also said the forum had revealed the location of a military airport before it was officially reported in October.
Long, a prominent mainland blogger, told the South China Morning Post yesterday the foreign search engine was Google Earth. He said he was asked to pay a fine of 5,000 yuan (HK$5,710) for "illegally showing maps" produced by Shenzhen's land supervision authorities, which he thought was unfair.
Beijing's efforts to tighten control of online information have spread to online map services recently. The People's Daily website, People. com.cn, revealed this week that more than 200 websites had been shut down since January last year in a campaign to regulate sites providing geographic information.
It said a joint working group established by seven state departments - the State Bureau of Surveying and Mapping, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Ministry of State Security, State Administration for Industry and Commerce, General Administration of Press and Publications, State Secrets Bureau and the Surveying and Mapping Bureau of the People's Liberation Army's General Staff Department - had investigated more than 40,000 online map websites and censored the content of about 1,000 websites, some 30 of which were found to involve military information and the rest to contain inappropriate information.
Long denied CCTV's accusation that his forum "was an online community frequented by military fans".
"I am not a military fan myself," he said in an article posted on his personal blog a few hours after seeing the CCTV programme. "I have not read any military magazines, have not been to any military bases and have very limited military knowledge."
It is not the first time Beijing-controlled media have attacked services provided by Google. The United States-based search giant was accused by the same TV programme last year of providing a large number of links to pornographic websites.
Google's run-ins with the mainland authorities led it to close its simplified-Chinese internet search service on the mainland in March.
Long said he understood why the mainland authorities did not like services such as Google Earth.
"Everyone can freely mark information about buildings, even the houses of some top leaders and other so-called secrets, and share them at Google Earth; that's why they want to control such behaviour," he said.
But Long and other mainland internet analysts and bloggers interviewed yesterday said the main motive behind the government crackdown was commercial.
Michael Anti, a Beijing-based internet analyst, said he believed the various crackdowns on mainland websites in the past few years, no matter whether they targeted pornography, geographical information or search engines like Google, were not related to tighter political censorship but to officials' desire to cash in on the internet.
He said officials were using their censorship powers to make money.
"All departments are working hard to find their own opportunities for rent-seeking from censoring online information, and using political excuses," he said. "It is their business; licences [issued to the websites] mean money."
Jason Ng, another Beijing-based blogger, who launched the mainland's first independent survey of attempts to surmount the "Great Firewall of China", said he regarded the crackdown on online map websites as another example of the "development of state-owned enterprises and the receding of privately owned enterprises".
"They've found opportunities to make money from the internet's location-based services, and the crackdown on online map servers will become more strict," he said.
According to the latest standard, issued by the State Bureau of Surveying and Mapping last week, qualified online map service providers must have their servers on the mainland and must not have leaked information in any form in the past three years.
Long agreed, saying: "After cleaning up the privately owned servers, the state-owned ones can enter the huge online map market, which will be very profitable in the future."
Copyright © 2010 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All right reserved
NYT: Foreigners fear China and self-censor more than Chinese
In a NYT reviewtitled "Censors Without Borders" May 6, 2010, EMILY PARKER
describes how foreign writers and academics are increasingly self-censoring to avoid risking their relationship with China's ruling party.
Most interestingly, she notes that Westerners are self-censoring even more than the Chinese, because they understand the risks even less than the Chinese. She quotes an academic anonymously, who claims all western academics self-censor - "collectively are compromising our academic ideals in order to gain access to China". And the pressure to do seems to have increased in recent years. "Suddenly we’re all Hong Kong, where no one wants to offend the mainland because it’s too close" says another academic. And yet, living in Hong Kong, I am daily reminded by the best selling Apple Daily that speaking out and refusing to self-censor is not just feasible, it is the best policy for publishers who want to make money outside the mainland and are not beholden to China for other business.
It is strange that westerners should be so nervous. After all, they generally have less to lose than Chinese, and China has a neijinwaisong policy; in recent years it has rarely locked up westerners up or tortured them, all though there are exceptions, such as the American geologist Xue Feng
describes how foreign writers and academics are increasingly self-censoring to avoid risking their relationship with China's ruling party.
Most interestingly, she notes that Westerners are self-censoring even more than the Chinese, because they understand the risks even less than the Chinese. She quotes an academic anonymously, who claims all western academics self-censor - "collectively are compromising our academic ideals in order to gain access to China". And the pressure to do seems to have increased in recent years. "Suddenly we’re all Hong Kong, where no one wants to offend the mainland because it’s too close" says another academic. And yet, living in Hong Kong, I am daily reminded by the best selling Apple Daily that speaking out and refusing to self-censor is not just feasible, it is the best policy for publishers who want to make money outside the mainland and are not beholden to China for other business.
It is strange that westerners should be so nervous. After all, they generally have less to lose than Chinese, and China has a neijinwaisong policy; in recent years it has rarely locked up westerners up or tortured them, all though there are exceptions, such as the American geologist Xue Feng
2010年5月19日 星期三
China's Business Weekly is closed for rectification
China‘s Business Weekly (中国商务周刊) has been closed for a month after publishings about the increasing monopoly of the Chinese electricity net. Li Peng has been criticised in the past by party elders for treating China's electricity net as his personal fiefdom, and putting his two children in charge. Source RFA
With Zhu Houze's death passes the last hope for reform within the CCP
Recently Zhu Houze died; he had been head of the Central Propaganda Department from 1985-1987 and a progressive who fell from power after the June 4th massacre. Trends magazine - which is banned in China - described his memorial service as a memorial to lost hopes for political reform:
Zhu Houze has taken with him the last hope of the Communist Party.
Zhu Houze's memorial service on the 11th of May was a rare and grand occasion with a style all of its own. The attendees lost no time in spreading the news from mouth to mouth, and everybody who should have been present turned up. Some described it as the largest meeting of democrats, including both system insiders and outsiders, in the 21 years since the June 4th massacre. Sadness at the departure of Zhu Houze mingled oddly with happiness as old friends renewed acquaintances, giving the occasion a special flavour. More importantly, they were saying goodbye to an era, to hopes which they had once held: Zhu Houze was a leading democratic thinker within the Chinese Communist Party; while Li Rui, Hu Zewei and others were also important democratic leaders within the Communist Party, Zhu's thinking on the existing system, on changing society, on China's future as well as on constitutional democracy within human civilisation was the most advanced. In an anti-intellectual, a reactionary one-party dictatorship, his theoretical training, strategic vision and maintenance of personal integrity despite the forces of the political whirlpool were beyond what most people can hope to achieve. He was considered to have combined the best qualities of both Hu Yaobang and Zhao Zeyang; he had Hu's selflessness, innovativeness and courage and Zhao's sharp wits，adaptability and prudence, so naturally he was seen as hope for the democratic faction within the Communist Party.
Before he died, Hu Yaobang said: "I don't care about my on resignation, I just feel that I have let down two people, that's Zhu Houze and Bai Jinian. Because Zhu Houze is someone who could have been General Secretary." Zhu Houze and Hu Yaobang were very close; in a manuscript commemorating the 20th anniversary of the death of Hu Yaobang, Zhu Houze wrote: " Comrade Hu Yaobang always complied with Communist Party organisational discipline but in his later years, his ideas were always ahead of other people, he truly and sincerely strove for reform, and adopted every possible method and even compromise to promose a transition, you could say he really spared no efforts...Hu Yaobang was the last person who tried to attempt a breakthrough within the traditional system without turning his back on the rules." The same could be said of Zhu Houze himself.
In the 20 years following the June 4 massacre, Zhu Houze and the ideas which he advocated were frozen; although Zhu Houze had already refocused his energy on to the (problems of) the lower levels of society, to constantly changing new technology and to the environment, the unstinting interest group in Zhongnanhai ( ie Chinas top leaders) complained that he was a nuisance and so he was hated, put under surveillance and prevented from travelling abroad; even after he died they insisted on covering his coffin with a Communist Party flag; Zhu Houze's whole spirit and body was unfailingly castigated and consumed by them. It's unfortunate that somebody so talented was shoved aside and those with far less ability took command.
Zhu Houze once said, " I'm somebody who grew up with revolutionary work, practically my entire life has been spent in the struggle, but the cruellest struggle did not come from the KMT, it came from within the Communist Party. The Communist Party's struggle against its own members is the most harsh, Chinese people's struggle against Chinese people is the harshest". Shortly before his death he raised his grave doubts about the cruel struggle and sacrifice of human rights of the so-called " Chinese Model" and forecast that this would become a great controversy in the 21st-century.
What made Zhu Houze different to others is that he had a very clear knowledge about himself and the Communist party's democratic faction and he warned " the survival of us old folks (meaning those inclined towards political reform) gives young people hope, but in fact there is no hope". He emphasised this saying: " There is no hope. The hope which you see is because you see us old folks are still alive so you have these fantasies. But we ourselves no longer have such fantasies." Some people describe this as Zhu's last political testament.
With the departure of Zhu Houze, all hope for political reform in China and all hope of internal democratisation within the Communist party is irrevocably destroyed. Hope that this system can improve itself and can transform itself is completely destroyed. Hopes that people like Hu Yaobang, Zhao Zhiyang and Zhu Houze can turn the tide with their herculean efforts is also lost. This is not just the tragedy of Zhu Houze, it is the tragedy of China and the whole world which has been kidnapped by the Communist Party. It is not surprising that someone was heard to sigh at the hemorial service: "I I fear this is the last meeting of its kind".
This is a translation of an editorial from this month's Trends Magazine.
Zhu Houze has taken with him the last hope of the Communist Party.
Zhu Houze's memorial service on the 11th of May was a rare and grand occasion with a style all of its own. The attendees lost no time in spreading the news from mouth to mouth, and everybody who should have been present turned up. Some described it as the largest meeting of democrats, including both system insiders and outsiders, in the 21 years since the June 4th massacre. Sadness at the departure of Zhu Houze mingled oddly with happiness as old friends renewed acquaintances, giving the occasion a special flavour. More importantly, they were saying goodbye to an era, to hopes which they had once held: Zhu Houze was a leading democratic thinker within the Chinese Communist Party; while Li Rui, Hu Zewei and others were also important democratic leaders within the Communist Party, Zhu's thinking on the existing system, on changing society, on China's future as well as on constitutional democracy within human civilisation was the most advanced. In an anti-intellectual, a reactionary one-party dictatorship, his theoretical training, strategic vision and maintenance of personal integrity despite the forces of the political whirlpool were beyond what most people can hope to achieve. He was considered to have combined the best qualities of both Hu Yaobang and Zhao Zeyang; he had Hu's selflessness, innovativeness and courage and Zhao's sharp wits，adaptability and prudence, so naturally he was seen as hope for the democratic faction within the Communist Party.
Before he died, Hu Yaobang said: "I don't care about my on resignation, I just feel that I have let down two people, that's Zhu Houze and Bai Jinian. Because Zhu Houze is someone who could have been General Secretary." Zhu Houze and Hu Yaobang were very close; in a manuscript commemorating the 20th anniversary of the death of Hu Yaobang, Zhu Houze wrote: " Comrade Hu Yaobang always complied with Communist Party organisational discipline but in his later years, his ideas were always ahead of other people, he truly and sincerely strove for reform, and adopted every possible method and even compromise to promose a transition, you could say he really spared no efforts...Hu Yaobang was the last person who tried to attempt a breakthrough within the traditional system without turning his back on the rules." The same could be said of Zhu Houze himself.
In the 20 years following the June 4 massacre, Zhu Houze and the ideas which he advocated were frozen; although Zhu Houze had already refocused his energy on to the (problems of) the lower levels of society, to constantly changing new technology and to the environment, the unstinting interest group in Zhongnanhai ( ie Chinas top leaders) complained that he was a nuisance and so he was hated, put under surveillance and prevented from travelling abroad; even after he died they insisted on covering his coffin with a Communist Party flag; Zhu Houze's whole spirit and body was unfailingly castigated and consumed by them. It's unfortunate that somebody so talented was shoved aside and those with far less ability took command.
Zhu Houze once said, " I'm somebody who grew up with revolutionary work, practically my entire life has been spent in the struggle, but the cruellest struggle did not come from the KMT, it came from within the Communist Party. The Communist Party's struggle against its own members is the most harsh, Chinese people's struggle against Chinese people is the harshest". Shortly before his death he raised his grave doubts about the cruel struggle and sacrifice of human rights of the so-called " Chinese Model" and forecast that this would become a great controversy in the 21st-century.
What made Zhu Houze different to others is that he had a very clear knowledge about himself and the Communist party's democratic faction and he warned " the survival of us old folks (meaning those inclined towards political reform) gives young people hope, but in fact there is no hope". He emphasised this saying: " There is no hope. The hope which you see is because you see us old folks are still alive so you have these fantasies. But we ourselves no longer have such fantasies." Some people describe this as Zhu's last political testament.
With the departure of Zhu Houze, all hope for political reform in China and all hope of internal democratisation within the Communist party is irrevocably destroyed. Hope that this system can improve itself and can transform itself is completely destroyed. Hopes that people like Hu Yaobang, Zhao Zhiyang and Zhu Houze can turn the tide with their herculean efforts is also lost. This is not just the tragedy of Zhu Houze, it is the tragedy of China and the whole world which has been kidnapped by the Communist Party. It is not surprising that someone was heard to sigh at the hemorial service: "I I fear this is the last meeting of its kind".
This is a translation of an editorial from this month's Trends Magazine.
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