Letter to H. E. (2008), “Dorks on Duty”

Too favorable a mention in a stupid article doesn’t necessarily need to shame the lauded man. In the case of Volker Bräutigam, it probably depends. Did he really write that letter to then Chinese ambassador Ma Canrong?

[…] To ask the citizens of the People’s Republic of China’s forgiveness looks indispensable for us since it has become clear that Germany, within barely one year, has become the platform for propagandistic, anti-China appearances by the Dalai Lama once again. […]

OK. Yes, he did write that. It’s old news, really, but 人民不会忘记 (rénmín bù huì wàngjì). Nor does the overseas Chinese paper Hua Shang Bao (华商报, Chinesische Handelszeitung, Frankfurt). This is what they wrote in their printed edition eight days ago:

"German left-wing journalist Bräutigam publishes new book"

[…] In Germany, Mr Bräutigam is seen as a pro-China journalist. He once worked in Taiwan, and therefore better understands China. In Germany’s China-related debates  of these years, no matter if it was the Tibet problem or the “Zhang Danhong case”, under distinct colors, Bräutigam stood by the side of China all the way.

[…..] 在德国，Bräutigam 先生被视为是“亲华”的记者，他曾经在台湾工作过，因此比较了解中国。在这些年里德国发生与中国有关的辩论中，不管是西藏问题还是“张丹红事件“，他均旗帜鲜明地站在中国一边。

Distinct indeed.

Anyway, my imagination was going wild for a moment: if a German (overseas or not) paper wrote that Wang Xiansheng was firmly on the side of, say, America or Japan, how would patriotic Chinese students and housewives react if they came across such an article? Wang Xiansheng would probably get some undesired attention – no matter if the ill praise was substantiated or not.

In Germany, the Axis of Good will call you a dork on duty (Depp vom Dienst), but that’s it.

____________

Related Sorries
British PM writes to Chinese PM, February 10, 2009
Deutsche Welle als Maulkorbflechter, Neue Rheinische Zeitung, September 5, 2008

Gao Zhisheng harmonized

The Daily Telegraph‘s Beijing correspondent Peter Foster about a statement by Gao Zhisheng (高智晟):

His words make for painful reading. Like a prisoner of war being triumphantly paraded and forced to say nice things about the enemy, Gao announced to the world that he was giving up his activism for the chance of rejoining his wife and two children who are in exile in America.  […]

Of course what Gao didn’t answer – or more likely couldn’t answer – were the questions about what happened to him over this past year that persuaded him to change his mind so. If he ever makes it to America, perhaps then we shall know. […]

In any event, when the West lectures China about human rights it should understand the Chinese point of view on the subject and its contempt for what it sees as the West’s “double standard” of profiting from repression on the one hand, while point the finger with the other.

Related
Statement, HRIC, April 8, 2010

Zeng Jinyan: online appeal

Zeng Jinyan’s blog provides a link to her formal appeal for Hu Jia getting medical treatment outside prison.

____________

Related
Zeng Jinyan: Hu Jia seriously ill, April 9, 2010

One Ribbon-cut, no Follow-up

It took twelve years to complete the Three-Gorges Dam, from 1994 to 2006. Not everyone loved the project, but then chief state councillor Li Peng did. To refurbish the 281 Provincial Road (省道281线) in Guangdong, which reportedly urgently needs an overhaul, has taken more than thirteen years so far. Or maybe even just to get started has taken more than thirteen years so far. People in Maoming (茂名), a seaport city of some 7 mn inhabitants, have dubbed the project Three Ribbon Cuts (三次剪彩), One Ribbon Cut with No Follow Up (一剪彩就没了下文, in short: 一剪没, yī jiǎn méi), or the Eunuch Project (太监工程, tàijiàn gōngchéng).

Southern Metropolis Daily argues that [apparently existing] calls for a ballot had nothing to do with the Provincial Road problem and similar problems. The author, Wu Zhifeng (吴志峰), cites a number of technical reasons which, in his view, speak against linking inefficient administration to the question of ballots, but it’s difficult for me to comprehend, and I’d be grateful if someone could give me the gist of it.

Zeng Jinyan: Hu Jia seriously ill

Hu Jia (胡佳), 36, currently serving a three-and-a-half year prison sentence, is seriously ill and may be suffering from liver cancer, according to Associcated Press (AP) and Reuters. His wife Zeng Jinyan (曾金燕) yesterday officially appealed to prison authorities to release him for treatment outside prison, but parole appears to be unlikely.

Hu has been in prison hospital since March 30. “”It doesn’t matter what the tests say, Hu Jia’s medical condition continues to get worse – that’s a fact,” the BBC quotes Zeng.

Zeng told Reuters that Hu had been suffering from cirrhosis for months, and that after examinations, the medical report had not been released. His wife and mother were told that it wasn’t yet completed.

Hu Jia was sentenced in April 2008, for “inciting subversion of state power” (煽动颠覆国家政权罪). He had been arrested in December 2007.

____________

Related
posts tagged “Hu Jia”