Reactions to story from EastSouthWestNorth Blog

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  http://zonaeuropa.com/200805b.brief.htm#014
  2 hours ago in EastSouthWestNorth Blog · Authority: 166

  Permalink] Taiwan By The Numbers (05/15/2008) (TVBS) (1,072 persons interviewed by telephone on May 9, 12, 13) Q1. Historical trend of satisfaction with President Chen Shui-bian (purple=satisfied, dark blue=dissatisfied) Q3. Are you satisifed/dissatisfied with the performance of President Chen Shui-bian in the following areas (ranked in decreasing order of satisfaction)? 59%/30%: Transportation infrastructure 41%/45%: Environmental protection 40%/48%: Social welfare 26%/60%: Ethnic group unity 24%/66%: Improvingt public safety 21%/65% Stabilizing cross-strait relationship 17%/68%: Improving financial policies 17%/73%: Eliminating business/government collusion ("black gold") 16%/68%: Fairness in justice 14%/76%: Promoting clean government 13%/80%: Promoting economic development 12%/75%: Expanding foreign diplomacy 12%/79%: Education reform Q3-1. Satisfaction rates with the performance of President Chen Shui-bian in various areas in three points in time (May 2002, 2006, 2008) 62%/41%/59%: Transportation infrastructure 59%/40%/41%: Environmental protection 52%/32%/40%: Social welfare 45%/21%/24%: Improving public security 52%/20%/21%: Stabilizing cross-strait relationship 39%/17%/17%: Improving financial policies 60%/23%/17%: Eliminating business/government collusion ("black gold") 49%/21%/16%: Fairness in justice 32%/16%/13%: Promoting economic development 47%/23%/12%: Expanding foreign diplomacy 40%/13%/12%: Education reform Q4. Generally speaking, do you feel that President Chen Shui-bian has led us in the right or wrong direction over the past several years? (dark blue=right direction, purple=wrong direction) Q5. Do you think that Taiwan has moved forward or backwards over the past eight years? 18%: Forwards 71%: Backwards 6%: About the same 5%: No opinion Previous brief comments, see Brief Comments Archive Section 3 of 3: Blog posts (May 16, 2008) Sorry, But I'll Have To Hurt Your Feelings Writer Yang Hengjun explains why he felt compelled to be critical about government rescue efforts in the Sichuan earthquake. He wrote that his conscience would be panged if he kept silent and he wants the government to do even better. (May 13, 2008) The Sichuan Earthquake Numerous photos from various sources about the earthquake centered in Sichuan province. (May 9, 2008) The Olympic Torch Relay Inside China The crowds were enthusiastic as shown in these photos, which also exposed the poor civic quality of some Chinese citizens. (May 7, 2008) The Duke University Witchhunt Scott Savitt publishes an opinion piece in the Duke University Chronicle about the matter of Chinese student Grace Wang, and promptly gets tripped up in a minor detail over who picked up Grace Wang when she first arrived. (May 1, 2008) Huangfu Ping On Tibet The 9,000 plus word essay by Huangfu Ping is translated here in full. This essay is 'hot' at this time. (April 30, 2008) How The Western Media And The Tibetan Elite Hijacked The Tibet Issue A Chinese blogger reacts to the New York Times article about Chinese students in the United States. (April 28, 2008) Crisis Management At Carrefour Translation of a China Business report on the thirteen days of public relations crisis management at Carrefour. (April 26, 2008) Carrefour in Hefei: A Photo Play Photos of the demonstration outside the Carrefour store in Hefei city (Anhui province) on April 19, 2008. (April 25, 2008) Why Is CNN Patriotic? Chinese blogger Yang Hengjun analyzes the background, history and strategies over Jack Cafferty's gaffe at CNN about the Chinese 'goons and thugs.' (April 24, 2008) Unexpected 'Readers' of Free Newspapers in Hong Kong Free market in operation: In Hong Kong, senior citizens earn extra money by picking up the free newspapers and selling them for recycling. (April 23, 2008) Grace Wang's Essay in Washington Post A Chinese blogger gives a detailed reading of the essay by Duke University student Grace Wang published in the Washington Post. (April 15, 2008) Kitty Shelley versus France Translation of a Southern Metropolis Daily story on the brewing boycott of Carrefour. (April 10, 2008) The Olympic Torch Tour As Public Relations Disaster A public relations disaster for whom? Read the story about Olympic torch bearer Jin Jing in Paris. (April 8, 2008) Interview with Frank Sieren Translation of an interview of German writer/film producer Frank Sieren by Freitag magazine. The title of the interview is "The West has ceased to impress China a long time ago." (April 7, 2008) The Bilingual Eileen Chang, Part 1: A Return To The Frontier This is the story about the publication of the newly discovered Eileen Chang travelogue about her visit to Taiwan and Hong Kong in 1961. Previously, this was published in English but now an expanded Chinese version has just been published. (April 6, 2008) How To Find The Truth About Lhasa? An opinion column about Tibet in Southern Metropolis Daily drew condemnations from nationalistic populists about high treason. (April 5, 2008) The Enemy of My Enemy A Chinese blogger declines to equate the Tibet uprising with the struggle for freedom and democracy. (April 4, 2008) Even Jogging Is A Crime Post-March 14 Western media reported more disturbances in Lhasa, but there is the local report by a Han blogger. (April 3, 2008) Encounters With A German A Chinese overseas student reports on an encounter with a German co-worker. (March 30, 2008) A Photograph From Lhasa, March 14 Was the rioter wielding a knife in a famous iconic photograph actually a Chinese policeman playing a role for the camera? (March 26, 2008) Chinese Netizens versus Western Media The Chinese netizens rise up against the western media for their coverage of the events in Tibet through a slideshow on YouTube. What do I think? (March 23, 2008) How Can I Forget Lhasa, March 14? A Han woman from Shenzhen working at a Lhasa eyeglass store blogs about her experiences on March 14. (March 22, 2008) Most Wanted In Tibet The Lhasa public security bureau issued photos of the most wanted criminal suspects taken from surveillance videos. Should websites publish those photos and should civilian photographers publish their photos? (March 22, 2008) Phoenix TV Reporter In Lhasa Phoenix TV reporter Chen Lin was dispatched to Lhasa after the March 14 disturbance and she blogged about what she saw and heard. (March 21, 2008) Give Us A Politician Translation of an article by Lung Ying-tai about the kind of president that the Taiwan people want. (March 21, 2008) Right Time, Right Place, Wrong Reporter? This page collects the works by The Economist's James Miles. For ten days, Miles was the king of the journalists by being the lone foreign reporter in Lhasa during the disturbances. This page also contains an analysis of a Miles report by a Chinese blogger. Many, many more previous blog posts in the Blog Post Archive ... Blogroll Press email
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  Lhasa Anecdote (3) - The friendly Tibetan people

  http://sun-bin.blogspot.com/2008/04/lhasa-anecdote-3-friendl...
  16 days ago in Sun Bin · Authority: 33

  This was a half finished post from my Tuboh trip almost a month ago. I did not think there is much insight I could generate from these anecdotes. I finally decided to share it after I read this essay by "Chairman Rabbit" ESWN translated (scroll down as he copied the NYT article first), I thought I could share a few data points to (illustrate) "what the Tibetan really want". Esp Re: this question The article also said: Students argue that China has spent billions on Tibet, building schools, roads and other infrastructure. Asked if the Tibetans wanted such development, they looked blankly incredulous. “They don’t ask that question,” said Lionel Jensen, a China scholar at Notre Dame. “They’ve accepted the basic premise of aggressive modernization.” It is not hard to see that the reporter was skeptical about the views of the students. I have participated in many forums on Tibet, and I never heard any westerners questioned the Tibet independence supporters or sympathizers: ""Do the majority of Tibetan people need and care most about independence, religion and culture?" I have never heard anyone asked this kind of question. Here, most westerners' assumptions are: These lofty political rights, culture and pursuit of values are obviously more important than the quest for basic economics, existence and materials!" Of course, they have never done any public opinion polling in Tibet. Instead of being supported by facts, their ideas are propped up by their belief values. With these beliefs, they will obviously give even more sympathy to the Tibetan independence movement.In my rather short trip I tried to talk to as many Tibetans as I could. I went into (rather shabby looking) Tibetan tea houses. I tried my best talk to every Tibetan I met. When I finially got into a lone Tibetan driver cab, I asked him to take me to the airport the next day but 'dumped' the Han driver who I had asked the previous day because I want to talk to Tibetan. People who have read this blog know that I do not trust the state propaganda (and am critical on any media in general), I also assume the Han Chinese I met are biased to a certain extent (what they said are pretty much in line with the official lines, which is not surprising. Though I was able to extract some inference myself -- more later). I wanted to hear with my own ears what the Tibetan think of me (a Han Chinese), Han Chinese in general, and if possible, what they think about the issues of D-L, T-I, and more specifically, the event from March 10-15. Of course, what I observed in this short trip is only illustrative. In Chinese we call it "viewing a leopard view a pipe" (管中窥豹）. i.e. If it is indeed a leopard what I saw could extrapolate reasonable, but if what on the other side of the pipe is an elephant then I might have only shown you its trunk. (瞎子摸象）. I think my observation is more of the former (as I did try to triangulate and I viewed a few different part of the animal's body) but I really do not have enough data. Since I am a Han myself and spoke Mandarin to them (even though I managed to "speak" to a few people who could barely speak Mandarin) they should be naturally careful when speaking to me (I made it clear that I am not from mainland so better my chance to gain their trust, and I know I suceeded in a couple times -- see below). Nevertheless, I could still be the photon which might have unknowingly killed Schroedinger's cat in a few of my 'interviews' (i.e. my data point was changed because of who I was). From the extremely small (and insignificant statistically) sample of interviews. Here is what I gathered: 1) People are friendly in general, to me and to Han people I tried to look into all Tibetans in their eyes. Occasionally I met a few looks which seem to be suspicious or hostile (a couple young / middle age men). Many people are, of course, indifferent to a curious (and perhaps stupid looking) tourist like myself. So I would also assume a similar proportion of these people are "hostile". My estimate is perhaps 10-15% of the Tibetans detest the presence of Han Chinese there. The rest do not really care (or accept the fact that there is little they could do, or just wanted to mind their own business) -- overall, they are in general friendly to me Of those who gave me a suspicious look. I tried to smile at them, about half of them actually smiled back 2) Most people are willing to talk about 3-14 briefly, but stopped when I inquired further (eg the taxi driver who told me about how his car was spared in the riot because he has hada on the side mirrors). Nevertheless, from what they said nothing contradicts with what I have understood or what has been reported by Kadfly and James Miles. I heard nothing that supports the pro-Tibetan claim of a crack down or death of protestors/demonstrators, i.e. include those who told me they love DL and they had sent their kids to India (Dha-lam-saaaala). (But my sample is small and they may be afraid to talk) 3) (Now Re: Chairman Rabbit's question) I cannot answer for those in Lhasa city. I have seen both people who care about only improving his live and also a few who are DL followers. It seems (from both Tibetan and Han) that people from Kham/Chamdo area tend to be more loyal to DL. However, the caveat is that DL follower are not necessarily TYC-ideology supporters, though among the youth I suppose there is a high correlation. In the rural area (and the more recent migrants from rural into Lhasa), I can pretty comfortably say that most people care only about their livelihood This is hardly surprising. You get the same answer when you ask about how urban and rural people think of democracy in 1990 (as we know, % who care about propserity is much higher today) Below are pictures related to some of my interviews. Taxi driver who said, "[3-14] is not to be talked about". Before we talked a bit about everything, and how his car was spared of the fire/etc. Picture show we drive into 2_bridge_1_tunnel (the newly built bypass which cut through Lhasa River, Yaluzangbu River and a mountain and shortened the trip to airport by 30km. Couple have a home under glacier. They don't speak Mandarin. They only care about selling me a small box of crytals they gathered to me for 50RMB. Very friendly people, and honest traders. Girl under the glacier - who was eager to sell me a couple crystals, invited me into their little hut. Very friendly, and quite industrious. (in selling stuff. The way she behaved and talked was still pure and innocent, even when she was asking for money/candy you never feel the greediness you see in the businessmen in Lhasa or other Chinese cities) Lady turning dharmawheel north of Jokhang Monastery Wall in N. Barkhorn Street. Amused at a lone tourist who ventured into thsi forbidden area. Lady turning dharmawheel north of Jokhang Monastery Tibetan old man (one of those in this picture) - who did not hesitate to reveal his support for DL. A lady (also in this picture) showed me a photo of her two sons, said "India". When I asked "Dhalam-s-aa"? They nodded with happy approval. Then the old man muttered to me, "You from HK, HK also minority people" I could only smile back. Inside this Tuboh Tea-house in the same block of Barkhorn, the owner told me he spared his own shop and a few shops next door owned by Han people by hanging Hada (white scarf) outside. When I asked how he knew about hanging Hada he was going to join his friend, not sure he didn't hear or he pretended not to. He is one of those from rural area (Gangtze) and made a living in Lhasa. He manage the teahouse in low season, and hire waitress and let his wife manage during peak seasons, when he become a driver to make extra bucks. He is probably sympathetic to the Tuboh cause (not necessarily independent) but care more about a stable and prosperous life. He told me the latter explicitly but I suspect the former is also true. Near the lake I also met 2 Tuboh businessmen in a brand new Volkswagen SUV. They talked to me more along the government lin and condemned the "minority rioter". It is possible that they faked because they are suspicious of me (perhaps more about my driver who stood next to me). But more likely they supported the government because they benefited from the status quo.
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  Not hearing, not asking

  http://www.theforeignexpert.com/2008/05/01/not-hearing-not-a...
  14 days ago in The Foreign Expert · Authority: 2

  不闻不问“When Tibet has this Shangri La-like romantic image in the west, it is unavoidably linked to the wave of thinking about anti-modernity, anti-globalization and multi-culturalism” — A Chinese blogger’s considered response to Western coverage of Tibet and the torch run, translated at EastSouthWestNorth blog (the second article on the page). CIA director Michael Hayden tells a university audience war with China is not inevitable: “If Beijing begins to accept greater responsibility for the health of the international system — as all global powers should — we will remain on a constructive, even if competitive path.” At The New Republic, a… four… part… debate… about the proper way to respond to the China Olympics. From Zoetrope All-Story, an excerpt of Choice by Ha Jin: “My father, a successful plastic surgeon in Seattle, had always opposed my study of the humanities.” In South Korea, torch protestors throw garbage, Chinese nationalists throw rocks, and North Korean refugees fail to self-immolate. From Le Monde Diplomatique, a long history of Tibet’s changing sovereignty: “The Mongol prince protected Tibet with his armies and in exchange Tibet’s spiritual leader offered guidance to Mongolia.” Japan’s only giant panda, Ling Ling, symbol of Chinese friendship, dies of heart failure in Tokyo’s Ueno Zoo. Photos of the panda and processions show a boy placing flowers at the cage’s altar.

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