Morning Tea: Unintentional Comedy on CCTV...Adventures in China
PR...Chiang's Diaries...cheng'guan...and stolen fruit
It's been a busy week here in Beijing. The Olympic year is not yet two
weeks old and China is already doing its damnedest to serve up a whole
stir-fry of crazy.
First off, 2008 has thus far not been kind to CCTV. While the
state-run station has never really considered itself either yellow or
violent, this reliable source of unintentional comedy for those of us
living in Beijing has done its best to force that phrase into the
cultural lexicon. (Plastered T-Shirts needs to get on this right away,
how could they not?) EastSouthWestNorth has also provided a handy list
of the top ten 'very yellow, very violent' websites for your surfing
convenience.
Not to be outdone by the news division, CCTV sports, or, as it is now
known, The Olympic Channel, staggered out of the gate when the amorous
wanderings of sportscaster Zhang Bin drew the ire of his wife at the
official kick-off ceremony. Hell hath no fury like a women scorned
with access to cameras, microphones, and a soundstage. The money quote
in my book:
"Until China is able to start exporting its values, it won't be
able to become a great power. For us to appear so prim and proper,
yet Zhang Bin can't even be brought to face his own - he won't even
face his hurt wife. I think China, as a - to succeed as a great
power - don't any of you have a conscience at all?"
The most fascinating part of the video is clearly the producers,
security, and stagehands for the ceremony--all of whom were watching
their careers flash before their eyes as this women pulled a nutty on
camera. For those curious at what Chinese "PR crisis management" looks
like, or if you're jonesing for a fix of schadenfreude, by all means
check out this clip on YouTube.
Speaking of PR and crisis management, everyone must read The
Imagethief's take on the attempt by a couple of provincial officials
to muzzle a Beijing journalist. Great quote from Will:
"Out of this we are treated once again to elegant proof of a
timeless public relations truth: The best way to compound a crisis
is to be busted trying to cover it up. This applies even in China
and even to the government. The Xifeng county authorities have
managed to blow a local scandal into nationwide outrage at near
record-speed. They did it without even having to poison an entire
river in the process, as Jilin provincial officials had done when
they were caught trying to suppress news of the Songhua River
benzene disaster of 05. Another superb example was when the
superbly-named China Railway 12th Bureau Group Company got caught
trying to hush up the death of workers excavating for new Beijing
subway lines last April.
But so far as I know, no one has tried the simple
scandal-propelling expedient of enraging the entire Chinese
national press corps. This is truly innovative, and the Xifeng
county authorities deserve due recognition for their efforts."
Real Keystone cops stuff out of Liaoning.
Of course, local officials also have more persuasive and efficient
ways to keep things quiet, as citizen journalist Wei Wenhua tragically
discovered while attempting to film some hired legbreakers busting up
a demonstration by local residents. Members of the 'cheng'guan', a
truly shady institution if there ever was one, then turned on Wei,
beating him to death. Fortunately, even the Chinese government knows
this is too much and they've ordered an extensive investigation into
Wei's murder. The incident has also focused attention on the
cheng'guan, who are basically groups of paid thugs hired by the police
or 'local business interests' when they need extra muscle. Beijing
residents might remember them as the yahoos who last autumn turned a
Sanlitun'r drug raid into Friday night at a Klan rally. John Kennedy
at Global Voices Online has a great post this week looking into the
cheng'guan phenomenon. Definitely a must-read.
More news from the wacky world of Beijing PR, Chinese environmental
protection agencies got caught with their pants at ankle-height this
past week. Turns out that the measurements of 'blue sky days' in
Beijing for 2007 were assisted by a new process that measures
pollution levels at stations in the mountainous rural areas of
northern Beijing rather than downtown where there are, you know, cars
and stuff. Wall Street Journal has the report.
Out of Taiwan comes news that the DPP has decided to stand down the
guards at the tombs of former leaders Chiang Kai-shek and son.
Chiang's legacy is obviously a complicated one, but expect some new
insights and fascinating reading coming to a bookstore near you.
Historians now have access to the Generalissimo's voluminous diaries
covering the years 1915-1972, and no doubt there are new books and
dissertations being planned at this very moment. Historian Yang
Tianshi is quoted as saying: "Chiang's diaries are of such historical
value that they could rewrite modern Chinese history." More thoughts
from fellow historians here and here.
As for removing the honor guard from the mausoleums, the Taipei Times
went for the daily double, and couldn't resist giving a little poke in
the eye to both the KMT and the Beijing government:
"The military police guarding the statue of Sun Yat-sen at Sun
Yat-sen Memorial Hall will also have to be removed: The time of
people guarding statues of historical figures has passed.
The way the remains of dictators are treated is, after all, an
indicator of a country's democratic maturity."
Yeah, that's probably true. For example, you don't see too many
modern, developed nations who believe in pickling the corpses of
former leaders and then putting them on display under glass. I'm just
saying...
From Japan Probe, other Taiwan news: The Japanese company Gakken Toys
has issued a recall of its "Talking Globes," when it was discovered
that the globes' talking feature declared Taiwan to be a territory of
the People's Republic of China. Apparently the manufacturer, based in
Shenzhen, refused to make the globes unless the company agreed to
label Taiwan as part of the PRC.
Not that it's ever easy to source products in China, even those
products without geopolitical baggage. Will Foreman of the AP has a
well-written and balanced article on product quality and business
ethics among Chinese manufacturers. Anecdotes about pathologically
dishonest and venal managers and salespeople in China are part and
parcel of business lore here, but Foreman argues that it goes both
ways. Foreign demands on Chinese manufacturers often undermine
attempts to improve product quality and help to encourage an already
flourishing culture of cut-throat capitalism and sketchy business
practices.
Finally, proof that the loopiness of 2008 is international, from
California, fellow China historian and avid horticulturalist Wu Ming
writes a brilliant post: "A letter to the unknown person who stole my
fruit." I feel sorry for Wu Ming's orange crop, but it just goes to
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