July 30th, 2008 -- Posted in Chinese Politics, World Politics |
As much as I would like to talk about the burgeoning federal deficit, the endless series of funny McCain viral videos, universal healthcare; today is about the suppression of human rights in China. How many of us know about the Universal Declaration of Human Rights? I spoke to some of my colleagues at work yesterday and asked this very question; not one person could name one article from the declaration.
No country is perfect as a Chinese friend of mine texted me the other day when he read a recent article I wrote concerning China on this blog. That being said, when I think about the human rights abuses that have occurred and are occurring in America, I realize there is no excuse and I do not support places like Guantanamo Bay which violate article 9 of the UDHR:
No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.
The violations of the UDHR undertaken by the American Government are serious but the difference between the USA and the PRC are that in America and the West we can actually protest these things. When Woeser tried to leave China to receive awards for her poetry, the Chinese government has denied her a passport because as I wrote in a previous post: her coverage of the Tibetan riots perturbed the Chinese Government and they want to make sure that there is one less critic of Chinese policies outside of China.
People cannot protest in China for the fear of threatening “stability” or “harmony.” Any such protests can sometimes lead to lengthy prison sentences as well as possible re-education. What can we do? We can hope that the media will attempt to make a difference when they are covering the games however this is highly doubtful given that Beijing has already broken the promise of complete media freedom:
Reports have just confirmed that foreign journalists working from the Olympics press center in Beijing are unable to access amnesty.org, the Amnesty International website. In addition, The China Debate, a site recently launched by Amnesty International as a forum to discuss human rights has been blocked in China.
A number of other websites are also reported to have been blocked, including Taiwan newspaper Liberty Times and the Chinese versions of both Germany’s Deutsche Welle and the BBC.
The media can be ruled out, so as citizens of the world, we have to pressure our respective governments to push China to use the Olympics to showcase its support for human rights. I must give credit where it is due, President Bush has done exactly that in recent months and I hope he will keep up the pressure throughout the Olympic Games so that we can see some sort of positive impact generated rather then support of the status quo. Today Politics Across The Pond stands with those people in China who want freedom:
This will be the only post available today, I will restore the usual settings of this blog tomorrow. Thank you for supporting this day and please stop by the Dragon Lady’s Den where can you can see censorship at work (could not get the code to work for this site).
July 24th, 2008 -- Posted in Chinese Politics |
Who would have thought the day would come in society when a Poet would be considered a national security threat however this day has apparently dawned because the Chinese government considers the Tibetan poet Woeser exactly that. Many of you may not know Woeser and I only discovered her blog through my numerous searches on Digg and other websites, she is one of the few Tibetan blogger’s who posted live images and commentary about the Tibetan protests and the ongoing repression in Tibet. You can find Woeser’s blog on my blog roll however all the posts are in Chinese hence a decent translator is needed or you can visit The Secret of Tibet which often posts some of her posts in English.
The Chinese government promised the IOC that they would respect human rights however this has not been the case and the lack of media coverage in Tibet is evident of how much the Chinese government has to hide. USA Today reported that Beijing is going to allow protests during the Olympic games but these protests are restricted to area’s far away from the arenas. I find that a bit ludicrous because how are the protestors going to get any coverage of their issues when all the camera’s will be focused on the Olympics? It is just another stunt in a series of stunts that is expected to cloak the Olympics in a veil of shadows, hopefully the Western media will be able to pierce that veil once the Olympics commences.
July 17th, 2008 -- Posted in Chinese Politics |
Since my youth, I often imagined myself living in different countries and what it would be like to be Greek, Japanese, Argentinian or Australian. These were the typical dreams of a boy who yearned to fly which I did get to do at age 12 but the world that I soon discovered was truly amazing with too many sights, sounds and smells to include in a single book. This world amazement has not abated over the years, instead I have made an effort to more deeply understand the world that I live in and how I can effect some sort of positive change given that I am neither rich or good looking enough to be an actor.
If you don’t have money and good looks then what do you have? Words. Words are equally as powerful as a $100 bill and can shape a person, a state or even a nation. What happens if even those words are taken away? You have a society in which the word is controlled but knowledge is the last thing anyone should control yet that is exactly what the Chinese government has done. They have created a system and society where the Government decides who you support and what you believe in. I am so thankful to have come from America and now live in Ireland where I can publish my own blog and criticize any component of any Government in the world and have people read my views and disagree with them if they are so inclined.
Amnesty International is once again leading the campaign to ensure that the the Chinese government makes more progress on basic Human Rights as well as dropping the “Great Firewall” so that their citizens are equally informed about global events be they anti-Chinese or pro-Chinese. People often criticize the American government for their control of the media however they do not censor the masses of anti-American information awash in European blogs. Dissent is part of life, we have to accept it or argue but totally pretending it is not even there, is not acceptable.
If you were in China right now, you would not be able to access this blog, I have already tried to send this link to friends of mine repeatedly with no success. In support for the Amnesty Campaign, I have implemented code to demonstrate what the censorship of this site will look like on July 30. Additionally I hope that some of my fellow blogging friends will do the same.
July 16th, 2008 -- Posted in Chinese Politics |
With less than a month to go to the Olympics, I am stunned that the Western Media as essential given The People’s Republic of China a free ride in terms of media coverage. China promised the Olympic committee that they would live up to their pledge to allow “free” reporting by the western media of the Olympics however given the stiff credentialing process required to obtain a Chinese visa, how many non pro-government reporters can we see entering the country? What is the solution? obviously, it is too late for many nations to boycott the games and given China’s increasing influence in the geopolitical stage ( Zimbabwe, Iran etc..), what can any nation do for fear of suffering trade repercussions?
I have been debating writing about this for fear of making some of my Chinese friends mad again however I cannot in good conscience support the Olympic games or the Chinese government. The biggest question on my mind has been moral relativity? Is it fair for me to criticize the Chinese government given the human rights abuses occurring in Guantanamo, CIA detention facilities and possibly other locations? Even if a comparison can be made, how can I equate the loss of human life in numbers? The simple answer I have reached is that with any political/moral argument, you have to take a stand at some point, you have to try to at least speak out against injustice regardless of the consequences. Here is a paragraph from an email I received today from Amnesty International:
First, let me tell you about Ye Guozhu and his family, who were evicted from their home and restaurant in 2003, which were razed to make way for the Beijing Summer Olympics.
Three days after he requested permission to hold a public demonstration against the forced evictions, Ye Guozhu was arrested. He was convicted of “stirring up trouble” and sentenced to four years in prison.
This is just one story of one person who has been arrested for opposing the Chinese “dream” of the perfect Olympics. After the head of the CNN branch in Beijing was called in to explain CNN’s allegedly biased coverage of the Tibet riots; the public should no longer expect truthful coverage of the situation in China because what major news network would want to lose the potential profits of over 1 billion people? The media has taken it increasingly easier on China which is why we only hear about stories like this from organizations like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.
I will speak honestly at this point, one of my best friends lives in Taiwan in an age where the current President of the country is unashamed to be pro-China. This bias from the leadership of Taiwan is logical given the recently slow growth within the Taiwanese economy which is all supposed to change according to Jim Rogers who recently stated that the best place to put your money is in Taiwan given its new relationship with China. The problem that President Ma has not taken into account is that the people of Taiwan are fairly split on China hence he has only given half the Taiwanese people a say in the potential eradication of “Taiwanese” as a distinct language.
You might think that I am overstating the situation, but given the demonstration of these tactics in Tibet where the Han now outnumber of ethnic Tibetans, is it truly inconceivable that China will not try to eradicate all remnants of the original Taiwanese culture and tradition in an effort to complete the “One China” fallacy? I think this is a distinct possibility and now the task lies with the media to ensure that the truth behind Human Rights in China is exposed given there new position as a player in the global arena.
June 29th, 2008 -- Posted in South African Politics, World Politics |
Today is a sad day in Africa, Robert Mugabe has been sworn in for a 6th term in a country that is falling apart. Some people even argue this fact which is beyond understanding since the numbers tell the story; 3 million Zimbabwean refugees live in South Africa. That is 25% of the countries population as Zimbabwe is rumored to contain just over 12 million people according to a July 2008 estimate. Can you imagine a quarter of a population being forced to leave their own country? Shouldn’t that give an indication to the President that things are not good?
Not in the fantasy land of Robert Mugabe where he might term these 3 million people “malcontents.” The situation is even tougher because of the politics involved. Robert Mugabe is well regarded in Africa for fighting for independence for his country therefore the leaders of the African Union give him a wide bearing. This is understandable but antiquated, how can the leaders of the AU abide by the level of violence and intimidation that preceded the election?
We can rule out an intervention from the U.K because they have their military committed to Afghanistan and Iraq with insufficient capacity for an effective operation in Zimbabwe. Can you imagine the headlines if they did act?
Ex-colonial power reasserts control in Zimbabwe…
The U.S could probably go in with some sort of military force but the PR fallout from such an action would be slightly less than the U.K. The only solution is for the AU leaders to combine their military might and send in a peacekeeping force to ensure free and fair election. Action is not likely to occur soon therefore I urge everyone to write to their designated South African ambassador in their respective countries and urge a greater effort to remove Robert Mugabe since “quiet diplomacy” is currently showing no progress. The address of the South African Ambassador in Washington:
Ambassador Welile Nhlapo
4301 Connecticut Avenue, NW
Van Ness Building, Suite 2200
Washington D.C
20008
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