Chinese Voices in the Wake of "314"

Addendum: Translated Excerpts

Here are more translated excerpts from state media and forums. These excerpts will flesh out that which was only briefly quoted above. The Chinese are heavy Internet users; and, more crucially, most of them get their news online (almost 70% of them, according to a 2005 government report). Chinese forums are consequently one of the most high-traffic ones around. Reading excerpts from these forums, then, will give you a glimpse into their world: what they think, and why.

Not surprisingly, though, the Chinese government has long taken steps to control what its citizens see on the Internet. Recently Youtube was blocked. News portals like Sina are careful not to publish anything that might raise the ire of officials, or worse, run afoul of the law. Sites like Sina, Netease, Tianya differ from MITBBS on this point: the former, being Chinese businesses, tend to exercise self-censorship, while MITBBS, which can only be accessed from China via a proxy, tends to carry more diverse opinions.

 

Ta Kung Pao (14/4) "Who should be blamed for the Tibet affair?" by Yi Fei

Ta Kung Pao, based in Hong Kong, is overtly pro-Beijing. According to a 1996 Press Freedom survey, it is one of the least credible papers.

This article takes aim at Pelosi's passing of a congressional resolution against China's "crackdown" on Tibetans. Given how the Chinese are so furious, the article says, claiming, in support, that by April 7 there had been more than 233,000 hits on the online petition against biased Western reporting; and as the public turns against the Dailai Lama and his associates; why does House Speaker Pelosi still behave so antagonistically against the Chinese? "Because she thinks as in the way of Western politics... The crux of the matter is that some politicans in the US are not content to see the peaceful rise of a strong China... so that foreign powers can interfere in China's internal affairs. The Tibet problem is an internal one... the fundamental principle [of the Chinese government] is, do not allow Tibetan independence, do not allow foreign foreign powers to interfere in the Tibet matter."

This attitude is fairly representative of both the state media line (see China Daily for one in English) and many Chinese.

Over at the forums of the state-run China Central Television (CCTV), posters are overwhelmingly anti-American. A user argued, garnering more than 4,000 hits, that the Tibet riots were "no accident, but carefully planned," and that an "international conspiracy still refuses, unfairly, to grant to China the glory it deserves." Those who replied agreed with him.

At rednet.cn's forum, posters are just as anti-American, discussing the various conspiracies of Western governments, the origin of the Dailai Lama's funds and what China should do in retaliation. One long-time poster lashes out against the biased Western media, moans how the ideals of the Olympics have been tarnished, and adopts the phrases of conflict. "Yes, this is a war, the real clash of civilizations... The disparity between our economies may be small, but the biases in thought, hard to move against... We must use iron truth... to expose the biases of the Western media, their hypocrisy, so that the West may come to know a truer China."

At Netease, in a thread devoted to Wang Qianyuan that runs over six pages, only one poster bothers defending her: "She only expressed her own views, how has that hurt us? Or hurt our country?...Even if her views are different, there is no need for such harsh words, especially not personal attacks." The rest simply lampoon Wang Qianyuan. "Are you really Chinese? Do you understand our history? You have shamed us!"

At Sohu.com's forums, the most popular thread, with more than one million views and running over twenty-two pages, is a condemnation of CNN and the Tibetan cause. Remarks include the slogan that has almost become a war-cry: "Don't be too CNN."

As for MITBBS, it is possibly the biggest forum examined here; the views expressed on it are more diverse, though opinion remains mostly anti-American. It also differs from other Chinese forums in that many of its visitors are overseas Chinese who post questions about adapting to life overseas. More than 10,000 users are online at any one time, and having a post-count of at least 15,000 would only make you a midlevel user. Here is, translated with far greater detail, the journalism student's rather nuanced argument.

At the risk of being scolded, let me voice my opinion. I am a journalism student. The difference between Western and Chinese media is that the former are concerned only with "negative news," reporting much less on positive news... To be honest, the journalist's ideal of "impartiality" was originally just an attempt on the part of journalists to elevate the status of their profession. But what the media must get right at the very least is: don't pass off lies as truth, check the facts, etc. Of course this is not to say that in this time's reporting of the Tibet incident the media have no duty, no bias. The skewing towards mainstream opinion and business interests can already be seen in the selection of television footage and perspective of opinion pieces... Because everyone has come to expect too much of the Western media, we feel as if we have been deceived. Just think though: can CCTV be objective in its reporting of other nations? Is CCTV objective in its reporting on the Tibet problem? Of course this doesn't mean that we shouldn't oppose bias; it's just that after understanding the way the Western media works, we can take stock of the situation and react more accurately.

We should not overly object to the Dailai Lama, because in public he has often rejected the use of violence; nor does he seek independence for Tibet. His image in the West is that of a peaceful, accommodating figure. What we should oppose instead is the more radical Tibet Youth Congress. Opposing the Dailai Lama will make us seem unreasonable, and the chances of finding a sympathetic ear for such opposition in the West are slim. And I feel that the demonising of the Dailai Lama by the Chinese Communist Party is a bad move. We should win his support, instead of making him an enemy.