Truemors
Anyone following the news, knows about the current 6 month march from Tibet to China, which was supposed to be a peaceful protest of Tibet's rights to be their own country, instead of under Chinese rule.
SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China's carefully controlled media may have remained largely silent on the unrest in Tibet, but a look at Chinese blogs reveals a vitriolic outpouring of anger and nationalism directed against Tibetans and the West.
Chinese citizens are permitted to blog, only under the condition of not writing anything negative about the government.
Negative articles against internal treatment of the Chinese or unfair governmental policies, could very well see (and has seen) bloggers disappearing into jail for any length of time.
One blogger was jailed for a couple of such articles and wasn't seen for almost a year, another; Wei Wenhua was beaten and killed in plain site by the Cheng Guan when he snapped a photo of a protest for his blog.
These are only but two of the recent atrocities that have happened in China. We do need their bloggers to keep writing, to keep being our window into China and what is really happening there.
Chinese blogs now account for over 200 million diligent internet users and if the Chinese government believes that they are all registered, then I think I should try selling them the Brooklyn Bridge - I think I'd make a killing!
This past weekend has seen a multitude of irate blog posts after China reported the deaths in Lhasa, (Tibet's capital.)
Even Richard Gere seems somewhat incensed and is calling for a boycott of the Beijing Olympics. His name will be added to those already boycotting the Olympics, such as HRH The Prince of Wales, Prince Charles.
One clearly patriotic Chinese blogger wrote:
"Westerners think they know all about China, telling us that this, that and the other is bad," wrote one blogger, who listed historical reasons justifying Tibet's inclusion as part of China. [...]"Most foreigners have been brainwashed as far as this issue is concerned," assented another user.
"If you behave well, we'll protect your culture and benefits," said one blogger, addressing Tibetans in China."If you behave badly, we'll still take care of your culture ... by putting it in a museum. I believe in the Han (Chinese) people!"
"Simple monks, simple Tibetans, do they even know what is the driving force behind the push for independence?"
"I think that the Chinese government has to cut this cancer out. We can start with the Dalai Lama, and even though we don't have relations with the Dalai Lama, we should arrest those who are behind the riots,"
"The local papers haven't covered this. Luckily for us there is still online media,"
Here at least, you won't get media hype and censoring. All our reporters are permitted to write what they want, no matter how contentious the topic might be.
It really is the kind of news that the public needs to read, instead of other synthesized reports from mainstream media, whose reporters are subjected to editing and censoring.
Tibet has belonged to China since 1950, while the latter teaches their children in schools, that it's been part of China for centuries.
When will the world recognize that China is a repressed and repressive regime, that uses violence to oppress and silence it's citizens and any countries that it's occupied? When will the world DO something about this?
The attempted march from Tibet to China is going to be fodder for journalists in the coming months and the reading world will be able to view articles (on Now Public) that would otherwise be banned in China.
I plan on looking through our Chinese blogging 'window' clearly and reporting events and atrocities in China in the future.
It's a mission.
One slightly more 'balanced' blogger stated:
"I'm not some big Stalinist, and I don't share the view that Tibet is part of China. Every minority has the right to choose its own path of development," said one blogger who claimed to have lived in Tibet for four years.
One blog that I used to cover religiously was "The Angry Chinese Blogger." When I tried to go to his web site today, I was met with:
http://angrychineseblogger.blog-city.com/...8.htm
ERROR
The requested URL could not be retrieved
While trying to retrieve the URL: http://angrychineseblogger.blog-city.com...
The following error was encountered:
* Zero Sized Reply
Squid did not receive any data for this request.
Now THAT has pissed me off! I can only hope that he's ok and that he hasn't been arrested and thrown in jail, as well as having his web site taken down.
I sincerely wish there was something I could do for him - but WHAT?
His FAQ remained on line somehow - perhaps in my cache, so I'll share it with you here:
# So ..... You're 'Angry' and your 'Chinese' .......is that it?My social views are conservative, my politics are moderate, and my approach to English spelling and grammar is quite liberal. I've lived and studied in various locations in both Asia and the West, so I know what I'm talking about, most of the time anyway.
Despite appearances, I'm not some kind of activist. I may write about controversial issues like Sino-American relations and the suppression of democracy in China, but I don’t protest in the streets and I most certainly don’t want to lead the next revolution.
China can’t be changed overnight and it certainly can’t be changed by a few blogger writing away in the back-rooms. So I’m not even going to try to change it, only to write about it.
# Why are you blogging?
There are two reasons why I am blogging. The first of these is that I have actually lived in China, and I don't mean Taiwan or Hong Kong. I mean the real heart and body of China - Mainland China.I have seen things that most people never get to see, and experience events from a perspective that most people do not realize exists. Naturally, I feel a need to tell people about it.
The other reason that I am blogging, the main one as things stand, is because I occasionally feel incredibly exasperated at the ignorance that is allowed to exist in the world, and by the actions of several groups who seems to be going to concerted effort to maintain this ignorance.
As such, I am strongly of the opinion that too much important information is being controlled by people who shouldn’t be trusted to hand out complementary perfume samples, let alone direct public opinion.
For this reason, I decided to try and provide a source of China news that is not widely covered by the "big media", and to cover events from the angles that they conveniently forget exist.
# Why are you Blogging in English, don't English speaker know all of this already?
Shockingly, no. Most native English speaker don't learn about China in school and the media in their countries often broadcast very little about China. What they do see is also often heavily bias by their native countries particular perspective on China. Be it a threat, a problem, or an inigma. This website offers them a wider perspective on the issue.
# I've heard that you're really 'hot' in real life, is this true?
No, I'm cute. Which is better.#How about an e-mail address?
Sorry, that's private. If I give out my e-mail address I'm afraid that I'll either be inviting 1 million 'hot and horny' girls and their Nigerian bankers into my inbox. or I'll become the next Shi Tao.Lastly, the Angry Chinese Blogger's purpose for blogging?[q]
"The news and views about China that the big media can't, or won't, tell you"
We needed that news and now it's been taken from us by the Chinese government - perhaps forever, along with my blogger friend online - and I can't help him.
Sources:
Washington Post/Reuters
Chinese on Rare Riots in Tibet
by Sophie Taylor
eWeek.com
Reuters
Chinese Seethe on Rare Riots in Tibet
by Sophie Taylor
Image Sources:
Washington Post
Reuters
Guang Niu
Stringer
China Daily
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