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derek_boom

Listed below are comments made by derek_boom between Tuesday, 27th May 2008 and Tuesday, 7th July 2009.

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Three years in China 2:24pm on 07 Jul 2009 Many Thanks James,

I learned a lot from your observations - and sometimes provocations - and in particular from the comments from Chinese nationalists and not-so-nationalists, who responded to your postings. We will miss your blog in this difficult moment in Chinese history. Will anyone take over this blog from you? It will be very much appreciated. Go with the wind!

Good luck,
Derek
Saying sorry to the Chinese 05:12am on 16 Feb 2009 Hey James,

Michael Phelps saying sorry ... not that relevant!!?

Are you going to write about the fire that gutted part of the new CCTV complex in Beijing? And in particular how thousands of Chinese people use the event to mock the CCTV and its censorship policies?

That's relevant!??
One giant leap 09:05am on 29 Sep 2008 Well, congratulations to China.

But in the context of all of this, I am somewhat puzzled that president Hu Jintao refered to China as a "developing nation" (at least 2x) in his speech to the UN?
China's Olympic highlights 04:06am on 22 Aug 2008 Gymnast Li Xiaopeng!

His third Olympics and again winning the Gold!
Staying in power 10:31am on 18 Aug 2008 Next week the party will be over. Chinese people will remember these Games for the achievements of their athletes, the pride to be at the centre of the world again and for the fun of it all.

Next week people will go back to work and to do whatever they were doing before these Olympics. They will be confronted with their daily little frustrations and will realize that life may have changed a bit - but that fundamentally eveything is still the same.

Next week people will feel grateful to the Communist Party to bringing the Olympics to China, but day-to-day stuff will quickly take over.

It would be a mistake to think that these Olympics will change anything. And Chinese people know it.
8th of the 8th, 2008 02:33am on 08 Aug 2008 Thanks James.

I hope you will continue to applaud - and criticise. Today seems also the end of China's long wait to arrive on the world stage.

So voila - here China is, but still it does not seem to realize what all of this means: the big players cannot only only expect applause, but also criticism.
Freedom in China 02:29am on 05 Aug 2008
It seems that the West is obsessed with civil political rights, and unwilling to recognize how social economic rights have progressed. I wish the West better acknowledged the achievements.

But in the end, what really matters, is how the Chinese feel themselves. The problem is that we will never know how they truely feel. They cannot access a free media and with a partial legal system it is better to be careful than sorry.

However, I believe the Chinese are a pretty happy people.
Olympic predictions 07:42am on 04 Aug 2008 1. Yes - they will. But they will miss the one gold they want most (see under 2).

2. Aaaah ... alas ... no gold. But Liu Xiang is still a Chinese hero.

3. Of course not. This is China and everything is in control (but see q 4).

4. However, not everything and everybody can always be kept "in control", so there will be a few sporadic protests and demonstrations. But they will disappear in an ocean of support, enthusiasm and nationalpride.

My question: "Will Jacques Rogge declare these Olympic as 'the best ever'?"
Olympic security 02:28am on 15 Jul 2008 I am very nervous about these Olympics.

Potentially these could be "the best Olympics ever", but I am worried that even the slightest incident will be massively clamped down by over-anxious police and other security staff. I am worried that everybody and everything will be tight, forced, nervous and tense.

The expectations in China are so sky high that everybody is a bit too much hyped about the whole thing. Relax! China does not fail if the Olympics fail, although millions of Chinese seem to think otherwise. They are so much afraid to lose face in the international arena. They so much want to show the world that they can do things right (better?).

The Olympic Games should be accessible, fun and relaxed. And I will be glad when they are over.
Did we show too much? 08:51am on 27 May 2008 Hi James,

I am working for one of the aid agencies involved in the Sichuan earthquake relief.

A Chinese journalist asked me: "WHAT DO YOU THINK of those journalists who interview the victims stuck in the ruins?". A difficult question to answer, because it depends. Some victims may be too embarrassed, too desperate to speak and they don't want to have their hours of suferring all over the news. Others would love to talk; it helps them to overcome their trauma.

We also had some camera crews in our clinics. The patients, although often seriously wounded, wanted to be filmed, because most of them hoped that family members would see them on TV. It was for them a way of reaching out and telling the world : "Hey, I am still alive!".

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