Catching my breath a bit between the end of the Olympics and the start of the Paralympics on 6 September. So, this post is my equivalent of one of those out-of-office automatic replies that tell you that the person you e-mailed has received your message, but is currently off fishing/whaling/climbing all mountain peaks over 8,000 metres.
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I’m James Reynolds, the BBC’s former Beijing correspondent. This blog was where I shared my thoughts on life in China during my time there.
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You are still alive? Amazing! :)
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Enjoy your well earned break.
Look forward to future posts!
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Nice to hear from you again, James.
I thought you were promoted to a better position in BBC, because you had done such a good job on reporting the BJ Olympics and (especially) the Tibet thing, and stopped blogging. You should have told us you were ...... WAIT... YOU ARE 'WHALING"?
According to the Oxford dictionary, whaling means "the practice or industry of hunting and killing whales for their oil, meat, or whalebone." You must be kidding, right?
Even you are just joking, by saying that you have immediately violated "whale right" of "animal rights". I hereby register the strongest "protest" against you, James.
Have a great vacation :-)
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James will be back on his China bashing job soon.
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Welcome back, I hope after the refresh, you will begin to enjoy the life in China with less negative news from you.
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Hi James, did you hear of one reporter in "Voice of Germany" was fired because of her support to China?
So, I can understand why you always report the negative news of China, if not, you will lose you job as well?
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Is there another BBC journalist on when James is out of office??
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To democracy 101
I post my reply here to get it moderated sooner. In your last post to me you stated that i come from a well to go family and prefer to see a tree rather than a forest. I have to let you know that I am not from a well to go background. I was borned into culture revolution in which my grandparents' houses were ransacked by red gards because their rich background. My parents were garanteed to be NOT successful in the communist system simply because their parents' capitalist background. My friends and I campaigned hard in my 20s against the CCP and demanded for a full democracy. I know what was China's past like and I know what she is through my frequent visits, my extended family ( I have extended family members living in rural area) and friends. I see China through my own eyes.
When I touched down in Sydney 10 years ago I thought I finally reached a paradise. Not so 10 years later. There are problems. Many problems. I no longer believe the media reports the truth, nor are they free. I have been fed with negative news about China for 10 years while every time I go back to see a better China. Do you trust BBC? From what you posted it looked like you believe they are reporting is true to you. To me they do not have the credibility.
They used their cut and paste technology against their own queen. The 3.14 monks lead riot in which innocent Han and Muslim people were bashed, stabbed, stoned on Lasah street were portrayed as a peaceful protest for human rights. To me this is another religious violence against non-believers. How did your trusted media report this? They use their peak hour golden time to lie about it. The eye witness western tourists and journalist had never been given the chance in peak hour to tell what they saw. Instead the footage of Nepal police beating their protesters were used with the announcement "Chinese police's brutal crackdown on protest........". Chinese police escorted a stabbed Han person onto a red cross vehicle was reported as Chinese police's massive arrest of protesters.
Anyone who do not look, listen carefully or have no background knowledge will certainly think that they saw Chinese police's brutal act. The manufactured news were broadcasted again and again in the peak hour across western countries. USA, GB, France, German, Australia...... Do you trust such a media as free and fair? You believe what BBC reported is true and you think what they reported is happening to 700 million people, more than half of China's popullation? And you believe that you have seen the entire forest? What you have seen is a tree BBC presented to you and made you believe the entire forest is like that.
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To democracy 101
You believe China is a police state that police, secret police, and spies are everywhere? And people darenot tell the truth? If 700 million people (that is more than half of the popullation) are illtreated according to you and the government had to hire spies to keep their mouth shut then they would be busy to cope everyday, right? How did they achieve the economy success?
You stated that you have been to China. Have you heard Taxi drivers criticise the government using the most harsh words? I have, many times, downtown BeiJing and TianJin. Have you seen what is going on in Chinese website? those spot on criticises?
Have you celebrated Chinese new year with the most ordinary Chinese? If you originally came from ShangHai then do you remember the daily stress people had to go through in up to late 1980s and early 1990s. Do you remember the poor housing Shanghainess had? There were not even basic sanitation back 20 years ago in large part of ShangHai. Poeple used porties during the nights. They had to catch the cart, empty and brush clean their potties every morning! They have been illtreated by the government and driven into apartments that they do not want according to the China bashers in this blog. And they think they have seen the entire forest.
Go back to ShangHai with an opened mind again. See what people eat, what is their housing like, how do they travel to work and listen to their complaints. And Do not forget to ask them what things were like 10 years ago, 20 years ago.......See if you have any spies around you. Welcome back to ShangHai.
Have to go to work. I do not talk politics at work because I want to keep peace at work. I have so much to say and sometimes I do not even know how to start it. I will stay with the forrum and talk with you when I find time.
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Hi James,
Its my pleasure to read all your post and its been amazing.
Enjoy your holiday and keep posting what you are posting.
Looking forward to hear from you ASAP.
Cheers..
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#8 That was smart. I posted a comment at 176 on the earlier blog - I should have flipped over to this one!
One thing I ought to say - just to be fair - is that the images shown by the BBC TV news on the riots in Tibet showed very clearly that the riots were extremely violent and that monks were in the front leading the charge, at least in the beginning. Later on, the monks appeared not to be shown so frequently and one was left with the impression that after causing the trouble they withdrew and let others carry on with it.
It became a little more difficult at times to work out that it was a Han Chinese who was being beaten on the ground, and it's there that I agree with you.
BBC TV's programme called "A Year in Tibet", was extremely interesting and showed how Tibetan people, though clearly not wealthy, accommodated themselves. It also showed how some of the old Tibetan cultural ways do still exist, and the upset they cause, although thankfully it appears as though the tongues of those who have displeased monks are no longer torn out.
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hi,james
should say thanks to you , cz you bring the refresh personsal prospective view, as i could see all parts of a diamond. i am Chinese.
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Have fun on your break James. I continue to enjoy your blog but I just wish that those people who do not enjoy it would stop reading it. They clutter up the comments board with their whinges. Perhaps the blog needs a warning "THIS BLOG CONTAINS MATERIAL WHICH MAY OFFEND - CHINESE PEOPLE OF A DELICATE NATURE ARE STRONGLY ADVISED NOT TO READ FURTHER. THEY SHOULD TRANSFER AT ONCE TO THE CHINA DAILY SITE."
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@Wonderfulchinese:
I am glad your family is enjoying their material success in the new capitolistic China. As I said many times before, I am talking about the other 3/4 of the Chinese population of underclass poor Chinese. The Chinese government is not concerned about this population, rather it's policy is to keep the wealth growing in the coastal cities like Shanghai and Quangzhou. I do not need to go visit Shanghai, I have seen there many times. It is a glitzy city without a soul. I do not care to go there any more as I have been to many beautiful cities in the world through my work and am no longer impressed with just the outer appearance of any society. In a city like Copenhagen, not exactly a dynamic city of modern architecture and personal wealth, the people are content and happy citizens.
Re. media bias, it happens everywhere, but it is a matter of degree. The West allows many sources for news for comparison and verification, China has only one - the government's. The camera lens as a reporting tool has the tendancy the same as looking through a telescope, a tree not a forest. In that sense, I would agree with you. The important point you refuse to see is the degree of bias, especially in Xinhua vs. BBC, the contrast is of night and day.
You can claim all you want that you know everything about the Western media while living in Australia. I have been to Australia many times for work and know of the Australian media. Its quality tends to be more tabloid and parochial, and full of reports of scandals. That is fine with me too, although it is not my cup of tea or beer, as they might appropriately say in Australia. But, all in all I love Australia, the fun loving nature of the people, the helpful family minded people, the honest hard working people. It may not be paradise, but it is close to it. I hope you would come to enjoy living in Australia and contribute to this society from which you draw your sustenance. Otherwise, China would definitely be a better place for you to live happily as a true Chinese.
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It seems to me some people out there believe JR is entitled to criticise China, but he himself somehow should be immune from the criticism.
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to buadallas, i also heard about the german reporter getting fired
maybe western media are a bit afraid on reportage of the positive aspects of china
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To marty42:
Your view is shallow. To post a blog on the internet means to expose oneself to both applaud and criticism. I am sure that James is fully aware of the consequence. Despite the many views of his that I do not agree (and quite often criticise), I appreciate his courage and generosity in taking all the criticism. He has been a gentleman in this regard, and I wish him a good break.
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since you are on vacation..try enjoying this article and understand what good and fair reporting is all about.. http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Friday/Columns/20080905090252/Article/semailpull_html
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Hope chinese mountain God, River God and Sea God will bless you wherever you go...
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Interesting posts from China. Do not think I am against a strong proud China, I am not. I want China to be free, strong and proud. The games showed the free world that China is still being rigidly controlled and not free. That is all I was and am saying. I have an opportunity window to shoot my mouth off and am taking it.
In regards to some people saying I was shallow concerning my statements on illegal immigration, yes, I understand people want to have a better economic life but a great many also want political freedom epically the freedom to live and do what they want. I have talked with many illegal immigrants in the USA and it seems about split between wanting political freedom and a better life style. It really depends upon the country they come from. People from democratly and political free Mexico usually want economic benefits, people from non free countries it is political freedom they want most and economic benefits second. This aspect of illegal immigration, that of for political freedom is not stressed in China, that is why I wanted to mention it and the responses showed me that the CCP is doing a good job of eliminated controversial thoughts. The best brainwashing is when people defend without thoughts the controlling system. Has anyone read the book 1984 or Animal Farm by G Orwell? You should if the CCP will allow you to. Note I have asked people from Mexico if they would go to a non free country to work and they ALL said NO.
Just too repeat some of my statements so a few of the readers may realize that I am not all that brain washed by western media or governments:
I was talking about political systems not economic systems. China has no political freedoms, outside the CCP no political systems will be tolerated. Nor will any government system-religion-culture or concept be tolerated that would in any way challenge the CCPs control of the government be allowed.
China has a modified economic system grafting some aspects of capitalism into a basically socialistic system. Whither it can achieve a stable economic system is still in doubt. There are many new difficulties in the near future for all countries to manage, none may survive in their current iteration.
Concerning economic systems, capitalism is the most efficient at production but the most cruel towards citizens. Socialism is much more humane for its citizens but less efficient at production. Thus it would be better to have the best features of both, however only a few countries in Europe have achieved this much to their credit. I do not include China because the CCP still controls all the information so it is impossible to ascertain just what is happening, but it appears that life is somewhat better on average than in the recent past. I value freedom above anything else and yes above life its self.
Before some get rabid about my supposed brainwashing by the western media let me add that the USA has capitalism for the poor and socialism for the wealthy which is the worst combination of the two for the average citizen but the best for the wealthy. There I bashed the USA and I am not worried about the government jailing me. Course I am not living in the USA at the moment but lets not quibble over little points.
The new middle class in China has traded their political freedoms [well they had no political freedoms to start with so I guess they did not trade them but they gave up on wanting political freedoms after the 1989 killings] for some aspects of capitalism and a much improved life style that capitalism brings. I do not condemn because at the same time as the CCP loosened the economic system they also stopped their more brutal programs against their citizens, and life became a little easer for many.
The glaring fact that the CCP still prevents the international press from entering certain areas at certain times tells the free world that the CCP is still very much in control and demands that it stay in control at the expense of its citizens. Until China changes and become free the rest of the world will not trust China. That is the way the free world works and China can not change it. China has to change or forever remain on the outside. These rules are not under CCP control or spin, in fact they are not under any countries control it is just the way free countries do business.
The recent games pointed the above out very clearly to the free world. The CCP did not allow the free press to report what was happening in Tibet so the free press reported that to the free world. This just reaffirmed to the free world that China is not free and nothing that happened at the games changed the world opinion. The free world really wanted to believe China had changed and China had a golden opportunity to showcase that change, but it blew it. Or more accurately nothing has really changed and the free world knows it by what was observed happening at the games. And yes, spending 43 billion is considered obscene by most of the world, spin it anyway you want but the free world is not buying it. Most countries know there is little spin off from the games, GB knows it because it has hosted the games in the past and saw little lasting benefits that is why it will not spend much on the games. China will learn it in about 10 years.
Truly I want the best for the citizens of China and am smart enough to know they have to decide what is best for themselves. Just do not expect the respect of the free world until your country is free, it will not happen.
Namaste
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wonderfulchinese #9
How did they achieve economic success? The answer is simple. They sold themselves out. They work under conditions and for wages which would be considered nothing short of criminal in the US and EU.
Ah, now Beijing can get back to normal. I say don't trust any air you can't see.
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Looking forward to reading your new articles.
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This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the House Rules.
This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the House Rules.
This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the House Rules.
To democracy 101.
I have long accepted that the western democracy is different from what I dreamed about in the past. It is far from being perfect. What upsets me is the so call democratic countries continue to impose their values and political system onto other nations with force while they could work on their own systems to improve it. From Vietnam war to Iraq, how much sufferring the western democracy have imposed on other nations? Are these all necessary? What have they achieved by invading other nations? Democracy should allow diversity, should allow other countries to develop at their own pace, learn their own lessons etc. With the media reporting all negative news about their targeting countries, wars, sanctions and isolations seem to be the only solutions to western public. Monthes ago I saw a survey held by ABC (Australia)over Zimbabye. Over half of the people surveyed supported an millitary invation and the other smaller half support sanctions after the good guy vs bad guy media campaign.
Thank you for suggesting
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To MarcusAurelis.
You are right. They adopted market economy and sell themself in a labour market just like what you do. Unfortunately, in a market economy when there is a oversupply of something then that thing will be cheap. There is a oversupply of labour in the market in China. The Chinese would have to endure that for a while but will not be forever.
Some Chinese have found themself a better market which is running out of labour/not too oversupplied with labour in the western countries.
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Stop, just stop posting already. I was hoping you'd given up after so much criticism and that we'd get a real journalist in.
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wonderfulchinese#28
Jobs left America for places like Mexico, the Phillipines, Indonesia because labor was cheaper there and what few laws existed could be broken with impunity. From those countries some of it went to China because it was even cheaper. If China's labor becomes too expensive, it will simply pick up and move somewhere even more desperate and where wages are still lower. These are mostly jobs we consider require low skill, or dangerous, or too boring for Americans to do. Jobs in that category which can't be exported such as picking fruit and vegetables, cleaning up buildings, people, industrial messes, and other unattractive jobs are done in the US by illegal aliens for very low wages. They are only marginally better off than Chinese doing this kind of drugery work for us. Although it is true that the US government owes China about a trillion dollars in government debt, Ameican companies make far more every year on Chinese labor. They don't talk about that much.
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I am bit sick of this forum now. The BBC censorship is so suffocating. Why can not people use this forum to have a discussion? How did I break the house rules? What a free media and how free we are to talk at BBC? Thanks to the freedom of speech at BBC anyway.
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