I wonder what Spencer is up to
After a busy month (hence few posts) I’m off to Thailand for spring break. I’ll be heading to Bangkok then south to Ko Samui, the third largest island in Thailand.
April brought midterms, a case of giardia and a slight lul in the fun of China. School work has picked up and the partying has subsided. I think a break is needed. I’ll try and update from any internet cafes I come across.
One of the themes the Chinese Government spits over and over again is how the Olympics will promote peace, harmony and friendship around the world. The Torch Relay accomplishes this too, they say. The trouble is, what’s happening is just the opposite. From the day the torch was lit, protesters marred the Olympic spirit. Now, protesters will follow the flame on its 85,000 mile, 21 country, five continent journey.
In London Sunday, protesters tried to extinguish the flame, even trying to rip the torch from a runner’s hand.
It’s a shame all this is tainting the Olympics. Who knows what would be different if Tibet didn’t act up last month. So the Olympics this year will not bring joy, but debate. Everyone will talk about China as a dominating, communist country instead of a growing international superpower. Negative connotations, especially in the West, will be plenty.
In a way, this is good. The Olympics brings China’s “One China” policy up for debate. What happened in Tibet creates opportunities for discussion and learning. One blog reader here suggested I had made a mistake by calling Tibetans Chinese citizens. Remember, Tibet is a Chinese province, making its residents citizens of China. Hopefully, people can learn not only about Tibet, but about how China works. China’s government is unitary, like a corporation. China doesn’t have the benefits of American’s federalist system. Each province is responsible to the central government, there’s no autonomy.
In the end, what will be China’s image to the world? The government is trying to portray China as a growing power, rich with innovation, culture and economic success. Those great, legitimate traits are being forgotten this year as protests spread. Will China learn? Will the media report the positive things about China? Not just what’s bad? We’ll have to wait and see.
The London Times is reporting that Chinese Police killed eight protesters.
Chinese paramilitary police killed eight people and wounded dozens more when they fired on a protest by several hundred Tibetan monks and villagers, The Times has been told.
Protests against China’s Tibet policy are becoming more frequent, and now, more bloody. Meanwhile, the Chinese media won’t stop talking about mistakes and bias in Western media. CNN and some German media outlets made mistakes while reporting about the Tibet riots. Wrong pictures and captions were used in some cases. Despite this news being weeks old, it still plasters cable news and front pages of newspapers.
The China Daily reported Saturday that over one million people have signed a website against Western media bias. Among the comments on the website, the China Daily reports, is “Full support to the Chinese government in safeguarding national unity.” Where’s the national unity in killing protesters and retaining control over territories that want to be free? Physically, maybe, opinion wise? No unity there.
A Korean Tsinghua University student died last week in Wudaukao (pictured), the resturant/bar/shop area just south of campus. The cause of death is unknown. There are conflicting stories about what really happened.
The “official” story is this, told by teachers at Tsinghua: The evening of Friday, March 28 was rainy. A female Korean student was walking with an umbrella while talking on her phone. Approaching the railroad tracks, she apparently went under a fence and was hit by a train, killing her. Talk to students, especially ones part of the large Korean community here, and a different story emerges.
Word on the street is that the girl was murdered by a black cab driver. Black cabs are operated by regular people who hire out their cars for short trips, like between Wudaukao and the various college campus in the neighborhood. Two separate sources say the student was ushered into a cab, then stabbed.
Believe what you want but I tell you this: There has been no “official” email or news report on what happened. Korean students balk at the train story and others students have confirmed the murder story through conversations with black cab drivers.
TIC
In China, we have a saying, TIC. This Is China. We say it every time we see or experience something uniquely China. Kids pooping on the side of the street, traffic rules more like suggestions, filthy alleyways filled with trash, bike-carts piled high with cargo, $0.50 beer and more all fall into this category.
Not only does the unsafeness of our nearby shopping/eating/partying area fall under TIC, but the lack of decent communication from the school or any media outlet is also TIC. The most we got was a warning in the form of a sign in our classrooms suggesting we watch out for our safety.
