It gets worse: Confessions of a morally conflicted expat
By Cam MacMurchy
The protests against the Chinese government - and more specifically, it's hosting of the Olympic Games - are spreading. The lighting of the Olympic torch, a normally sombre ceremony in Greece, was disrupted by a group from Reporters without Borders calling on China to ease up on Tibetan protesters:
"We cannot let the Chinese government seize the Olympic flame, a symbol of peace without denouncing the dramatic situation of human rights in the country," the group said.
Moments after the incident, a Tibetan woman doused herself in red paint and lay in the road before a torch runner while police arrested two other Tibetan protesters planning a peaceful demonstration about a mile from the ancient sanctuary at the birthplace of the Olympics Games.
The incident was being broadcast live on Chinese TV when it had to cut away.
The protests have begun stirring some deeper feelings, which perhaps other foreigners can attest to as well. There is no doubt that the Chinese government has created this situation itself; it has dismissed its foreign critics and resorted to vitriolic hyperbole anytime somebody challenges the official government position. As anybody in PR well knows, this doesn't work when dealing with a free press and free people. The party's stubbornness and lack of finesse on this issue is coming home to roost.
For all those that claim China is effective at controlling information, I agree - but only information for domestic consumption. Normally that's good enough, but the Olympics are a global event and don't just belong to China. As such, it needs to do a better job of communicating effectively in a language (and I mean figuratively, not literally) that can be understood by people and critics outside of the country.
I had a talk with a good friend tonight about these most recent protests. She told me, over MSN:
I feel sorry for my country ... we try hard to hold the Olympics ... and we put our effort ... but we don't know how to deal with the rest of the world
Everybody is shocked by this ... I mean Chinese ... they don't know how to handle it ... but it is just common for foreigners to criticize government
I feel for her, and I feel for China. I would submit that the Chinese people will feel attacked by these protests and criticisms, when in fact they are aimed at the Chinese government. I think criticisms in other countries are assumed to be directed at the government and not necessarily the people, but an extra effort is needed in China to make this distinction. Here, many people consider the government and the country to be one and the same.
Finally, as someone who has lived in China for nearly four years and has been visiting since the 1990s, I feel a sense of pride in China's accomplishments. I want to see the country succeed and do well, and stage a memorable games. With this in mind, I'm saddened by the protests, which seem to be becoming even more vitriolic. The Chinese people are invested emotionally in these games, and an Olympics marred by violence, protests, and boycotts would be a loss of face that may take decades to fully overcome.
That being said, and this is where the moral dilemma comes in, China must answer for its policies. I just wish this government was more prepared for this, and cleaned up its own house before inviting over the guests.
The Communist Party of China had this coming, and it chose to ignore the warnings. Now it is faced with a mess of its own making.
It's just too bad the Chinese people are caught in the crossfire.
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Question: Is there something untoward about a reporters group protesting? I thought reporters were to cover news, not make it. I ask this question of you because you are in the media and you know the media much better than I do. I do not ask it with any agenda one way or another on the bigger issues.
Rebecca McKinon made an excellent post when the Hu Jia story broke (http://rconversation.blogs.com/rconversation/2008/01/how-to-ruin-you.html) on her blog that echoed my own sentiments:
"Outsiders like myself who've spent a lot of time living and working in China want the Chinese people to succeed, want them to be recognized and rewarded for their successes, and believe that the international community should engage with China. The Chinese people deserve no less. The point is not to "demonize" China or treat it like an enemy who should be prevented from succeeding. But how can we respect this regime when people we know to be good people are jailed, and their children and spouses harrassed, for no good reason we can see?"
Dan...
That's a good question. I actually feel uncomfortable with journalists taking such an activist role. I'm not sure what the "right" position on this is, or even if there is one. Generally I don't mind journalists advocating freedom of speech, freedom of movement, and access to information. But interrupting ceremonies and staging open protests takes this advoacy one step too far for a group supposed to be fair and impartial.
Just my two cents.
@Chris,
I agree totally with your, and Rebecca's, sentiments.
China Law Blog: Did you ever read ed-op pieces on news papers ? They are usually promoting how they see things, and not just telling what happened. Reporter protesting is like op-ed. They have rights to express their feelings too, as long as they don't tell it like it was "facts".
Just a point on the Tibetans who protested in Greece.
They had two TV cameramen by them – I'm guessing from AP and Reuters, as I've seen one angle on BBC & ITN, the other on CNN – and still the cops didn't twig that something might be about to happen there. So they pounded in walloping the protesters in front of the cameras, when they could have followed the cameras and made their presence felt before it got so big…
Of course I've no idea how many other cameras were about, up and down the route.
And on the RSF point, one of them told CNN they used their press-passes to gain admittance – which is a significant sign of press freedom from the Greek authorities, as they were probably already on a list somewhere as RSF activists, and could have been kept away.
Do not confuse blogging with journalism.
You are the former and one of the members of this blog is a shill for whomever might pay him the requisite fee.
This is a blog of views, not of informed analysis.
Perhaps this is the new generation of commentators: I will give you my view, even though the only reason I can is that I can construct a blog which is not blocked because Chinese censors laugh themselves silly over the possibility that anyone would take such views--on everything from journalist ethics to international law--seriously.
China must be the only country in the world where native speakers of English can come in, get a job doing nothing but talking in their own language, and then pronounce on the world as if they were anthropologists with linguistic skills and years of field research. And said speakers of English take themselves as if they were all of a sudden commentators or editorialists. No need for a degree; just add ego to the ability to converse and scribble in English.
@Shen Congwen-
That comment reminds me of an American friend's Chinese teacher, who keeps a blog on her students. And, I don't understand why you think people don't blog on other countries where they live, or for that matter what's wrong with people stating their opinions on China. Everyone has a right to stating an opinion, even if it's wrong or insulting. Wrong and insulting things get said about every country.
You still do not get it.
Expressing an opinion is not the same as providing informed analysis. I can have an opinion about the agricultural situation in Zimbabwe (having lived there for a short time). But that does not mean that I should start a blog and provide my views to whoever wants to stop by, for that would be misrepresenting myself.
The people who run and write for this blog are doing just that: passing themselves off as analysts of China when all they are is observers of a country they know almost nothing about.
Blogging one's views is the right of people who have nothing else to contribute to the discussion because they lack the training and expertise. Watching China does not make you a China-watcher, no matter how much and how often you imply that it does.
Stick to PR work, where fiction substitutes for fact every day of the month.
Congwen,
I think we all do get it... we agree that expressing views and "informed analysis" are not the same thing; although they can be. Much of what has been written in the blogosphere, especially of late, is vitriolic hatred towards China and its policies by people all over the world, many of whom I would wager have never lived here -- or even visited. With this in mind, I'd like to think that as long term residents of China, the writers of this blog do have something to add to the discussion. Whether it conforms to your level of "informed analysis" is completely up to you.
Also, while I work in PR and continue in state-run media, the other writers of this blog have varied media backgrounds, have decided to live in China long-term, and have all worked or currently work as journalists. Again, this doesn't have to be enough to satisfy your demands for informed opinion, but the group of writers we have put together have, in my opinion, been able to provide some keen insights and opinions on China which are badly needed and difficult to find on other blogs or websites. Whether one agrees or disagrees with our writers is irrelevant; the goal is to bring more voices to the discussion.
I am not sure what your background is, but your opinion will always be welcome here nonetheless. As someone who lives in China during this moment in history, I will always be keen to hear your perspectives and constructive criticism.
Finally, that's interesting that you lived in Zimbabwe for a "short time". You weren't sent there, temporarily, as part of your job in Beijing, were you?
Lao Shen,
First off, my main issue with what you said was your belief that China was subjected to uninformed blogging more than any other country. The more prominent a country is, the more attention they're going to get from all the idiots of the world, and as an American, I can tell you I've heard plenty of dumb things said about the US. You're going to have to live with the insults like me and most Americans abroad do.
As to your second comment, I don't see what's wrong with a blogger presenting their views. Anyone vaguely intelligent should know that a blog could just be presenting the blogger's opinion- it should be up to the readers to decide for themselves. What's more, even English teachers could be intelligent observers with worthwhile opinions, while so-called "experts" could be nothing more than expert bulls---ers. There is no objective way to judge someone's opinions, and most people's opinions are not consistently good or bad anyway.
As for Zhongnanhai, while it's not my fave China blog (sorry Cam!) it still seems to have plenty of interesting tidbits which I don't yet see any reason to doubt. My do you imply that Cam substitutes fiction for fact?