The New York Times and Chinese Politics

[Randy W]

The New York Times is emerging as one of the best sources for coverage of China politics

 

Scandal May Topple Party Official in China

 

 

“What’s going on in Chongqing is a battle over the future course of China,” said Wang Kang, a local writer and commentator. “It is about how China should be run.”

 

It also has implications for American politics. Despite denials from Washington, American diplomats and Chinese sources with ties to security services say that one of the chief figures in Chongqing sought asylum at a United States Consulate but was rebuffed partly because the United States did not want to create a diplomatic crisis ahead of Mr. Xi’s trip.

[knloregon]

Good article, Randy, obviously many of us have been following he Wang/Consulate angle since early Feb. without much to flesh it out. So this at least, offers a plausible explanation. I'm generally not a big fan of NYT reporting on China, so tend to be critical: "Its about how China should run" ---Wang Kang, local writer---not really, IMHO this reads more like the raw power struggles of China post Dynasty, pre-Nationalist.

 

Also Bo Xilai didn't make Chongqing the powerhouse it is today---Mao identified it as a city of the "Third Line" ---and sent tens of thousands of industrial and factory workers there in the 1950's/60's to continue China's industrial base if the Stalin attacked the eastern cities with nuclear weapons. And as a matter of national policy for the last ten years (Western Development) Chongqing has benefited from additional resources. Bo is a colorful character, but, I believe, ultimately a footnote. My money is on the bet that he doesn't make the Standing Committee this fall...

[Kyle]

I've been following the NYTimes China section for years. Good stuff

[knloregon]

"I've been following the NYTimes China section for years. Good stuff..."

 

My wife is Han, so we were particularly appalled by the NYT's reporting of the Uighur riots of July of 2009, where Uighurs, without provocation by the Han residents of Urumqi, went on a killing rampage (well documented on YouTube) that left more than a hundred Han blood spattered bodies throughout the city. (women, boys, men---all unarmed) The lead reporter for the NYT's on the story was Edward Wong---who still covers China for the NYT. In true to form of NYT liberal reporting, spent much of the first part of his story, blaming the victims---a long litany of alleged abuses of the PRC leadership which lead up to the (unprovoked) massacre.

 

Wonder how the NYT would report a similar minority, aboriginal Americans, for instance, of a tomahawk massacre of 100 to 200 (white) citizens on the streets of oh, say Cheyenne Wyoming?

 

---and thats just the tip of the NYT/PRC iceberg, IMHO...

 

 

[Guest ExChinaExpat]

The New York Times is emerging as one of the best sources for coverage of China politics

 

What's your opinion of the content of the NYT article you posted?

[Randy W]

The New York Times is emerging as one of the best sources for coverage of China politics

 

What's your opinion of the content of the NYT article you posted?

 

That it provides information which is not available through other sources. The Communist media tend to publish the same, or very similar articles which in this case were barely a paragraph or two. The other Western media, of course, didn't cover it.

[DennisLeiqin]

The New York Times is emerging as one of the best sources for coverage of China politics

 

What's your opinion of the content of the NYT article you posted?

 

That it provides information which is not available through other sources. The Communist media tend to publish the same, or very similar articles which in this case were barely a paragraph or two. The other Western media, of course, didn't cover it.

Curious that you are able to read these western media sources. I suppose if you can then Chinese citizens can too? And, are you concerned that your internet use and internet post might be watched by 'them'?

[knloregon]

wSJ has been following this story from the get-go (thats how I'm aware of it) ---yes, not in the detail, but also, as I suggest, perhaps not as much of the speculation as the NYTs.

[Randy W]

 

That it provides information which is not available through other sources. The Communist media tend to publish the same, or very similar articles which in this case were barely a paragraph or two. The other Western media, of course, didn't cover it.

Curious that you are able to read these western media sources. I suppose if you can then Chinese citizens can too? And, are you concerned that your internet use and internet post might be watched by 'them'?

 

The Western media, with a few exceptions, is not blocked.Some specific topics are, like Tiananmen Square, Tibet, Taiwan, and the Falun Gong, but, by and large, the Internet is the same here as it is in the U.S. The New York Times has a China bureau, so I assume they're careful to avoid anything which might arouse the censors enough to limit their access. Facebook, Youtube, and (it seems like) anything with the letters 'blog' in the URL are blocked.

 

Weibo is the Chinese language social site, and is heavily monitored. I see censorship here as taking an intelligent approach - trying to avoid any in-your-face confrontation, while making it "obvious" that they're only cutting off a rabble-rousing fringe. After the high-speed train collision last year, for example, the posted comments were pretty much allowed to run free - to the point where even some Westerners were touting that "free speech" was alive and well in China. After a week of that, it was cut off, with people told to just sit back and wait for the official reports, with all postings about it deleted.

 

I use a VPN which connects over TCP Port 80, so it looks like any other web site connection. I leave it on all the time, since I'm on Facebook a lot. I don't consider something "illegal" just because it's blocked, so I doubt that anything I do would get any attention. If you want to hand out Falun Gong leaflets, or promote 'Free Tibet', or anything like that, you might get into trouble, but by and large, I don't think ANYONE cares what your opinion is or what you look at online. They have clamped down on proxy servers (most don't work any more), and VPN services (most of these still work).

[Randy W]

wSJ has been following this story from the get-go (thats how I'm aware of it) ---yes, not in the detail, but also, as I suggest, perhaps not as much of the speculation as the NYTs.

 

Yes - I read for the information - not the bias, and don't care about the speculation. It's good to have multiple sources, but that won't happen, especially in this case. Anything published in China falls "under the leadership of the Communist Party". I can't access the WSJ without subscribing, so I don't know what they've said, but I would suspect it's pretty well based on what they hear from the Communist media, and possibly the Dept. of State.

[Guest ExChinaExpat]

The company I work provides security services for the great wall. I am not worried that they can see and watch what I do, because I have nothing to hide from them. I have no evil dark plan to commit illegal activity or subvert the government. I have no plans to organize a political rally or participate in one. At least not right now.

 

I work with a very large number of well-educated young Chinese men and women. Each and every one of them is considerably better informed about world events than nearly any other American. I'm sure that does not surprise you given the state of American education today. Most Americans do not have a passpost, and would be hard-pressed to name even one city in China let alone discuss topics relating to China.

 

My colleagues and many other Chinese have the expertise to get to whatever news source they care to read. One thing I have noticed however, they don't much like the gloom and doom type stories that dominate Western news. That could be because Chinese media tends to color things nicely. That is not to imply that it's propaganda, but perhaps the culture prefers to see the positive side of things. The Chinese people are not stupid. They know what's going on. They freely express themselves publically and privately. Secret police are not snatching the average people off the street, whether they are foreign or domestic. But, they do take a dim view of people who attempt to bring violence to the streets.

[knloregon]

Well, love my time in China, and in fact, the only cultural loneliness I feel there ---- is the free flow of information. So by the time I get back to Guangdong province (and uncensored news from HK) ----I'm feeling much better----and then on to HK----feeling a return to the free world, of sorts.

[Guest ExChinaExpat]

Well, love my time in China, and in fact, the only cultural loneliness I feel there ---- is the free flow of information. So by the time I get back to Guangdong province (and uncensored news from HK) ----I'm feeling much better----and then on to HK----feeling a return to the free world, of sorts.

China currently has the largest number of Internet users of anywhere in the world. They are exchanging more information real-time, in free form more than virtually any other Western country. I do not watch television in China to get my news, and avoid the newspapers; unless they are the only things available to read at the moment. Like most Chinese people, I get my news from the Internet. It's fast, it's easy, and it's real time. Most important, it's free flow.

Edited February 20, 2012 by JiangsuExpat (see edit history)

[knloregon]

All points I make to my liberal friends---news can't be censored for those who truly seek it in China----the "Great Wall" isn't that great.

 

But for the average citizen, watching the news ( and when I tune in) its all kind of depressing. Obviously when traveling, the best source is during phone calls from home---I can ask specific questions, for specific answers. Yes, if I were domiciled in China, I would do what you do----develop alternate sources----but as the Chongqing story suggests --- there is a lack of hard evidence---both in China and the Western press on this subject.

[Guest ExChinaExpat]

All points I make to my liberal friends---news can't be censored for those who truly seek it in China----the "Great Wall" isn't that great.

 

But for the average citizen, watching the news ( and when I tune in) its all kind of depressing. Obviously when traveling, the best source is during phone calls from home---I can ask specific questions, for specific answers. Yes, if I were domiciled in China, I would do what you do----develop alternate sources----but as the Chongqing story suggests --- there is a lack of hard evidence---both in China and the Western press on this subject.

Somewhere in the midst of all this lay a mystery. Well, at least it's a mystery to me, because I am one of those who does not support allowing any and all information to be available to anyone and everyone anytime, and anywhere. So, with that said begins the great dilemma. Just who are these people who make the decisions about what is okay, and what is not okay to see and read? Even in the US, the moral police have a kind of line that should not be crossed when it comes to sexual stuff. There are scads of invisible PC topics, which Americans have been heavily trained to avoid. The "I'm offended police" are active in every school and workplace. It's hard to learn how to get step by step procedures on how to make your own nuke, or shoulder fired missle. They don't take kindly to those who talk about anti-US muslim rallies. No matter what, someone's perspective and opinion will always be tread upon.

 

Personally, and I mean also seriously, I don't see the US as being any more free when it comes to the exchange of information. China is not a police state. People talk, speak, write, and express their opinions freely and actively. Chinese people seem to be more interested in talking about LinMania than about the political topics coming from the Western media.

Edited February 20, 2012 by JiangsuExpat (see edit history)