Posted on 04/09/2008 8:17:40 AM PDT by mngran2
The tumultuous reception to China's Olympic torch relay around the world has touched a nationalistic nerve here, where heavily censored reports about Tibet and other topics at hand have left many wondering why China is under attack from foreign critics.
"It's just bad, bad, bad," retired army officer Wang Guanghai said of pro-Tibetan demonstrations that marred the torch relay in London and Paris. Wang, who chatted at a fruit stand in a downtown Beijing neighborhood, said he was certain the United States would be more welcoming when the torch arrived in San Francisco. Although protesters had hung pro-Tibetan freedom banners from the Golden Gate Bridge hours earlier, the news had not been published in China.
...
On the Internet, there is more indignation over disruptions of the torch relay. But gauging public opinion in China on sensitive issues like Tibet and human rights is close to impossible, and as elsewhere, the loudest voices attract the most attention.
Instead, political discourse is funneled via Internet controls toward nationalism, with popular news and chatter filled with patriotic sentiment. During the Chinese crackdown on Tibet last month, Web users reported that any comments critical of the government's handling of the turmoil or supportive of Tibetan rights were deleted shortly after being posted. Regarding the torch run, page after page of comments on popular Web sites railed against China's foreign critics in general and against the international media in particular. ...
"In London, in Paris, many protesters are Westerners," said one commenter on www.china.com. "They've never been to China but are still against China because they don't want to see China develop." Sebastian Veg, a researcher with Hong Kong's French Centre for Contemporary Research on China, noted that not all voices are alike...
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
ping
"In London, in Paris, many protesters are Westerners," said one commenter on www.china.com. "They've never been to China but are still against China because they don't want to see China develop."
"Americans are asking, why do they hate us? They hate what we see right here in this chamber -- a democratically elected government. Their leaders are self-appointed. They hate our freedoms -- our freedom of religion, our freedom of speech, our freedom to vote and assemble and disagree with each other."
--George W. Bush
I think neither repression nor censorship by the Chinese government is required in this situation. Chinese people feel so strongly about the Tibet situation that they will dismiss, ridicule, shout down or oppose all views which do not support the status quo Chinese view of the situation. Freedom or lack of censorship will not change this.
Obviously taking pointers from Pinch & Co. at the NYT!!
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