Posted on 05/18/2008 7:02:34 AM PDT by JACKRUSSELL
(BEIJING) - Almost as soon as the initial aftershocks stopped reverberating last week, the rumors began. Some say that frogs, insects and other animals fled shortly before the earth shook. Others insist that water mysteriously drained from ponds, or that Beijing knew the massive earthquake would strike but chose not to publicize it with the Olympics around the corner.
Patently false, perhaps, but enough to alarm the Chinese leadership.
"Stop rumors to avoid social panic and stabilize order," said an earthquake report issued Wednesday by the government of hard-hit Mianyang. On the same day, Beijing announced that it had punished four people in northern China for spreading rumors on the Internet about the quake, without explaining what the punishment was.
Rumors are an integral part of Chinese folk history, songs and poetry. Last year, authorities drained a reservoir in central Sichuan province to dispel rumors that a growling water beast lived there. In 2006 a rumor spread in Anhui province that the virus that causes AIDS was being injected into watermelons, devastating sales.
Chinese emperors long sought to halt the spread across their far-flung empire, with the first recorded anti-hearsay campaign launched by King Li nearly 3,000 years ago, despite a proverb: "Trying to stop people's mouths is like trying to stop a flood."
More enlightened rulers sent envoys out to collect rumors as barometers of underlying concerns. But many others, particularly toward the end of dynasties, initiated crackdowns during famines, floods and unrest......
Spreading rumors is a crime under anti-subversion sections of China's 1993 State Security Law and lesser provisions outlawing "anti-splittism" or "fabricating or deliberately disseminating false alarmist information."......
"Spreading rumors leads to bad results," said Lian Xiangmin, research director with the China Tibetology Research Center in Beijing......
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
We’ll have to learn to get along with rumor, especially in the Internet age. A little practice will do and we will be immune. Rumor has been a fact of human society since language was invented. Rumor is merely opinion held by more than one person.
Five million people living out in the open is probably not good, but they are within reach of emergency food and water now and out of danger if a dam should let go, and it is not winter. Will take a while to clean this up and rebuild and not cheap. Understand some Russians and Indians are in there now helping in whatever way they can.
In America we try to have open discussions. When rumors start- we will look for facts to prove or disprove the rumors.
I continue to pray for all the people suffering in your country- it’s a horrible time for so many.
While JackRussell is justified in being wary, I have found, through relatives and friends in both Hong Kong and Shanghai, that most of the Chinese who get into forums like FR are seeking information (we had several young folks from Shanghai). Communication has been poor to non-existent and stories in official media are often suspect.
Most of them try to be apoilitical because we all know what happens when you step on the Chinese government toes.
As to the teams participating in rescue, even Japanese and Taiwanese teams have been welcomed. I’m not sure if the readers here can understand the meaning of “face.” But to have former or current enemies (ideological or territorial) like India, Japan, Russia and Taiwan helping you out means there are Maoists spinning in their graves - a very good thing!
We wish the best for the folks of Sichuan province. May the good Lord bless them and keep them. Like you, I don’t think they’re out of the water (literally and figuratively) yet.
My post 3 was a ping to several of them. Indeed, where did they go?
They are shy. Maybe they will return if we are patient and they have time to compose some more English.
All righty. Then, let me interest you in some prime oceanfront property I have just outside Del Rio, Tennessee.
Send bank account information via FReepmail to assure first refusal on this unique tract.
Confusing the issue with Greek AND Latin. Damn. I need to phone the Company for direction on this.
Stand by.
I’ll have to go dark for a few. Will try to re-establish if conditions allow.
I just got a Freepmail from Freeper Wu Di asking me to add him/her to the “Made in China” ping list. When I searched for Wu Di’s home page, there was nobody by that name......I guess I’m still a little suspicious.
Well, our own example of the hyperactive rumor mill that was the public view of the response to Hurricane Katrina would have scared any sensible nation. The horrid lies about that response are STILL the remembered story.
You are so funny.haha......
we have to prepare the exam,and come back later.
let me be your new Chinese friend. I’m a college student in CA,USA. I came to checked this website few days ago since I read a comment in Chinese forum stating Americans are very kind, and they prey for us with a link to this website. And I’m sure that’s why many Chinese came to check this website.
Since then I’ve been visiting this site. I just registered today and this is my first reply. My parents are all in China and so do my friends. They keep me updated for any news in China. Well,just a brief introduction.
I have to say, I understand whom you referred as “old Chinese friend” is not coming anymore cuz this website is majorly about U.S news and politics. I have to search China to avoid seeing tons of presidential running stuff, or other news(cuz I wanna see Americans’ response in Chinese news). All those English have must be a pain for those non-English speaking ones who do not live in English speaking country.
That’s my opinion.
I have a physics final and omg it’s midnight already.
and btw, I’m a pro-China.Of course I know our gov’s not that perfect, but I can look in anyone’s eye and say, I’m proud to be Chinese.
Nice to meet you all, I like this website, simple and fast.
Oh, I am just another Chinese coming to this forum. I’ve been reading some posts here suspecting why there are so many new accounts opened by Chinese recently. Let me explain why. In fact, I don’t know this forum at all before this earthquake. But these days I read some posts in the most popular online forum www.tianya.cn (Chinese-Language) in china, which cite some comments from this forum as proof that Americans are sympathetic with the victims in the earthquake. My interests in this freerepublic is therefore aroused and here I am
It is not appropriate to spread rumors at this critical moment. I don’t think those who spread rumor will be killed but they will surely be jailed for a while.
So do I.
^^
chinaboy and clari are no longer with us.
"chinaboy and clari are no longer with us.
Thank you,Fichori,I am free now,because of you.
Thanks again.
Your welcome!
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