April 14, 2008

Chinese Student at Duke U. Hit With Online Attacks for Alleged Sympathy for Tibet

A Chinese student at Duke University has come under attack from fellow Chinese students since allegedly taking part in a pro-Tibet demonstration on the campus last week, according to The Chronicle, the campus newspaper at Duke.

After the protest, the woman began to receive threatening messages from Chinese students who felt she had expressed support for the independence of Tibet, which has been gripped by ethnic clashes in recent weeks. China regards advocates of Tibetan independence as people seeking to split the country.

In addition, the student’s personal information, including her name, telephone number, and Chinese national identity card number, were posted on the Web site of the Duke Chinese Scholars and Students Association.

The campus newspaper also reported that her photograph and a video of her at the rally had been posted on several popular Chinese-language Web sites. The student told the newspaper that some messages had called for her to be “burned alive with oil.” The student’s name was not revealed in the news report, which quoted her as saying she did not support Tibetan independence.

She said that she had been informed she was on a Chinese-government blacklist and that she was afraid to return home. “If I go back, I might end up in jail forever,” she said.

The rally on the Duke campus took place in the wake of protests in Tibet that began peacefully on March 10, the anniversary of a failed 1959 uprising against Chinese rule. The protests became violent four days later, when Tibetans went on a rampage, attacking Chinese shops and people.

The online attacks on the student are the latest in a series of incidents involving the Tibet issue and Chinese students in the United States. The Chinese Students and Scholars Association of the University of Washington sent a letter last week to campus officials expressing “serious concern” about a visit to the university by the Dalai Lama this week, saying the exiled Tibetan leader’s appearance would not “show respect” to China’s “own domestic issues.” They also demanded that the university ensure his visit would raise “no political agenda.”

When a film on Tibet was shown at Cornell University last week, Chinese students made death threats against the organizers. —Paul Mooney

Comments

1. So, once again authorities show complete gutlessness in the face of “political” action. In any other context, what would happen to an individual or a group that makes death threats? Pathetic.

   — Dan    Apr 14, 03:34 PM    #

2. Pathetic response. The students that host this chinese site should be punished. Hello, this is the USA where we enjoy freedom of SPEECH. This is not China where we threaten people with other viewpoints.

   — Jason    Apr 14, 03:48 PM    #

3. Are any of these students aware that at the 1st Chinese Communist Congress in 1921 a resolution was passed calling for the independence of Tibet?

   — Gerald W. Berkley-Coats    Apr 14, 03:54 PM    #

4. I guess if it were the Lacrosse Team, a fabricated story, and a DA up for re-election, the gang of 100 would be all over this!

   — buster    Apr 14, 03:56 PM    #

5. Duke CSSA: After last Wednesday’s high profile protest on Duke campus, a few subscribers of the mailing list China@duke.eduanonymously sent out messages attacking one student as well as releasing this student’s personal information. The mailing list content is automatically archived on our official website, DukeChina.Org. We removed all the relevant messages once they were brought to our attention. Duke Chinese Students and Scholars Association (DCSSA) formally DISAGREES and strongly CONDEMNS the behavior of these few. Since last weekend, we have imposed stricter rules for messages sent through the mailing list.

   However, the story “Student gets threats after China protest” on the Chronicle (Apr 14th) contains misleading information. We feel regretful that this student considered it was DCSSA’s fault to release all kinds of information, but that is not the truth. As the representative of the larger Chinese community, we will try to contact this student to resolve the misunderstandings. The mailing list has more than 900 registered users, and anyone can freely subscribe to the list and post information. The primary function of the mailing list is to help students exchange information such as second-hand car or apartment sublease.

   — read further    Apr 14, 03:59 PM    #

6. what happend to Dicksie Chicks? in US with “freedom of speech”? When someone’s opinion is different from the majority of others, someone did something radical and stupid. That’s it.

   — read further    Apr 14, 04:10 PM    #

7. Burned alive with oil???? In a wok, no doubt, Szechuwan style. Does that come with egg roll?

   — original marci    Apr 14, 04:20 PM    #

8. Fortune say: Don’t go back to China.

   — monk    Apr 14, 04:21 PM    #

9. “Dicksie Chicks”? That would be a great band name!

   — Ralph    Apr 14, 04:27 PM    #

10. burned in a wok and served with an eggroll? pretty darn racist! it is hard to see who is enlightened and who isn’t

    — jenny    Apr 14, 04:33 PM    #

11. This reminds me of what i saw a few years ago in 2003, French resteraunt was harrassed after france declined to join the iraq invasion. I even saw the “NUke Paris “sign in a truck!. There are always such people around.

    — lz    Apr 14, 08:51 PM    #

12. Duke and perhaps other schools, should sponsor a panel, inviting Chinese nationalists and those who believe in a Tibet with greater freedom and/or dialogue with the Dalai Lama. Make sure to have highly informed faculty members moderate China/Tibet experts. Let’s test the notion that understanding generates greater civility! Please universities, confront real issues by fostering understanding, information!

    — Free China    Apr 14, 09:53 PM    #

13. I’ve seen several instances of strong Chinese backlash to pro-tibet articles, gatherings, emails, etc. in the last few weeks. I don’t know enough about Chinese culture to know if it’s normal to be so defensive of one’s motherland. I haven’t seen Americans as defensive while living as ex-pats in other countries (our response tends to be more of a shrug and “you have the right to your opinion” amidst legit protests/media criticizing U.S. policies) Anyone know if this is a cultural phenomenon or if there is some concerted/organized effort on the part of Chinese gov’t to mobilize it’s citizens living abroad to be vocal in opposition to media on Tibet?

    — Duke_Grad    Apr 14, 11:07 PM    #

14. This is clearly NAZI Hate speech. All of the Chinese students, postodocs and professors who participated should have their student, high tech and Green cards revoked immediately and DEPORTED. They have no right to remain in a Democratic society. We do not need these kinds of people in the USA, and the USA Supreme Court has ruled that they are not covered by the USA Constitution. So if they they think that they have a Constitutional right to practice hate speech and advocate violence in the USA, they are wrong. They should be arrested immediately. It amazing how these people are still running around, while over 400 children have been kidnapped by the Texas authorities, have had their mobile phones stolen from them, and have not been able to have contact with their families, friends and relatives. One has to wonder if some of the Chinese people now have positions of power in Texas, since the practices of the Chinese government in Tibet now appear to be being practices in Texas.

    — Karl    Apr 15, 01:00 AM    #

15. You should be DEPORTED to where your gene came from because you made threats of deporting others. You don’t represent this country.

    — to karl    Apr 15, 02:59 AM    #

16. The young Chinese lady is a legitimate political dissident (refugee), just like the thousands of “Pro-Tibet, Pro-Democracy and Pro-Human Rights” courageous Chinese students who took to the streets and protested against the mass murder and human rights violations against the Pro-Tibet, Pro-Democracy and Pro-Human Rights student advocates in Tianamen Square. Most of these Chinese students were granted political asylum here in the USA. These brave young Chinese students who are willing to stand up to the current regime in power should be protected here in the USA against threats of violence here in the States and against their family and friends in China. By not standing up to the regime in power in China, we are making the same mistake we made with Imperial Japan and Nazi Japan. And we all know the consequences of those actions.

    It appears that many of the Mainland Communist students, postdocs and even professors are spies for the current regime in power in China. In addition, there are here in the States harass and even murder courageous Chinese, Tibetan and Taiwanese leaders,like the young lady. This is what has happened to some Russians in the UK and the USA during the Cold War, before Peristoika. The solution is to revoke student, high tech visas and Green cards of all Mainland Communist Chinese who support the current regime now in power and who have been harassing the young lady here in the States. This is what we and the UK did to such former Soviet students, postdoc and professors who were here as KGB spies. So we should revoke their visas and Green cards and put their names on the terrorist watch lists. If they are going to treat the young lady as a criminal, then we need to do the same with them. They should be happy we do not send them all directly to Guantanamo and refuse to allow them to have contact with the outside world, which we have now done with 400 of your own children and their Mums in Texas. It is strange how we treat these Chinese non citizens better then we do our own women and children in Texas, who have been taken out of their home and put in concentration camps, similar to what the Nazis did in Germany. It makes absolutely no sense. Let the women and children live in their homes and put the men up in the local hotels, while the investigation is ongoing. Hopefully President Bush does the right thing in both instances: i) returns the American children to their parents are relatives, and ii) orders all the Chinese nationals responsible for making violent threats against this brave young Chinese lady here in the States and her family and relatives in China deported immediately and has all of their names added to the terrorist list (which means they are no longer welcome in the USA).

    God only knows what is happening to the family of this brave young Chinese Pro-Democracy, Pro-Tibet and Pro-Human Rights advocate and relatives in China. Hopefully they have not been murdered her relatives. If they have, the Chinese students, postdocs and professors responsible for spying for the Chinese government should face the DEATH PENALTY here in the States. To spy for China in the USA is a capital offense, treason, and is punishable by the Death Penalty!!

    — Karl    Apr 15, 06:48 AM    #

17. This is clearly hate speech and it should be treated like a hate crime. Encouraging people to be killed is a prosecutable offense.

    — John    Apr 15, 08:26 AM    #

18. What is “hate speech”? Is it speech that incites violence? If it is, why haven’t we locked up every gangsta’ rapper in the country? There were some who said that Toby Keith’s and Willie Nelson’s song, “Beer for My Horses” was hate speech because it said we should “take all the rope in Texas, find a tall oak tree, round up all of them bad boys (criminals) and hang them high in the street for all the people to see”.

    If there is such a thing as “hate speech”, doesn’t the rhetoric of Louis Farrakhan qualify?

    Do we have freedom of speech or not?

    — FB    Apr 15, 09:39 AM    #

19. “The young Chinese lady is a legitimate political dissident (refugee)..” —-That is exactly what she really wished for! Thanks to people like you who only listen to oneside story.

    — To Karl    Apr 15, 10:32 AM    #

20. Come on you guys. she is greedy and a moron. she did this for green card, by defying her motherland and posing an image of prosecuted victim, then she could file case as a refugee. Thousands of people did the same thing in name of bashed FaLunGong practitioner or one-child-policy dissident. even though they were never against chinese government, they did it because they need an identity to stay in US and live a “good life”. Don’t you guys get it???

    Take her as a freedom fighter or demo-advocate is nothing but naive and ignorant. and this sort of prejudice is produced by demonizing China and lacking concrete connection with the isuue you are discussing on.
    Can’t you guys learn more about China? learn some chinese, make some chinese friends, then you come to talk about things you hardly knew anything about.
    BTW, Self-rightous is pathetic TOO.

    — wanshousi    Apr 15, 10:45 AM    #

21. The Duke Chinese students attacking her verbally or in written form are not trying to undermine the “FREE SPEECH” rights in US or prosecuting her as agents of chinese government, not even close.

    in fact, chinese government seldomly funds students overseas. as a contrary, I frequently heard of FBI recruiting foreign students in campus as “pre-stage spy” against the countries they originated, especially China. (the official spy needs to be at least green card holder, that’s why I say only pre-stage)

    How much time do you guys need to actually learn something that is real, that exists, not in your ideolgy-soaked, self-rightous, superiority-filled imagination, which produced by your government and propaganda ministry (in US, CNN and other major media pillars serve this role).

    the Duke chinese students attacked her due to her heinous “free speech”, they were agitated by her stupid behaviour and her bloody straight-forward target: to get a green card ASAP by selling her country. She humiliated her people by such “free speech”. they felt ashamed to be as the “same kind” as such silly bitch, and that’s it. there were definitly no government backed monitoring or controlling at least to this level. They are in campus, not in battlefield.

    I am just curious about “the spy murders freedom leaders” mentioned by post 16, where did that come from? is it from some Hollywood works? have you just got too much pop culture junk? remember, that is by some screenplay writer for commercial use, not in real life. and isn’t this kind of cold-war argument too much obsolete?

    — wanshousi    Apr 15, 11:37 AM    #

22. Wanshousi, you just managed to convince me that everything she said and did must be true as reported by her. You obviously have a problem. The U.S. has a long history of sypmathizing with Tibetan freedom. If you don’t like that, you should go home. FREE TIBET!

    — Jinny    Apr 15, 02:35 PM    #

23. If you know her background about this lady, you know she has ambition and she wanted attention.

    She is very smart, but naive. According to an old news report from china, she wanted to be a strong politician as china’s Hillary Clinton. But she is too young and sometimes naive. She thought it was a oppurtunity to stand out and get attention by doing something different from her countryman. It maybe her miscalculation or maybe it is exactly what she anticipated.

    In my opinion, she tried to manipulate the media by claiming “she is in blacklist”. No governemnt can act so fast to develop a blacklist in a few days.

    If you look at the protest video on youtube, you will clearly see that she wanted attention. She walked to the middle between two groups of protesters and waived. You can clearly see her frustration when no one paid attention to her.

    chinese govenment is high unlikely to put her in jail, she is just a small fish. You could see lots of similar speeches on line in china.

    It is her first step to be a politician. Unfortunately, she learned to not telling the truth. That is something most peope hate in a politician.

    — lz    Apr 15, 02:36 PM    #

24. To # 22 Jinny,

    I don’t see why wanshousi needs to go home. Because he/she doesn’t support free tibet?

    You are not what America stands for. Get some education about your country if you care for your country.

    — lz    Apr 15, 02:45 PM    #

25. Jason (the 2nd poster):

    What would be your reaction when John Lennon proclaims Beatles “More Popular Than Jesus” ?

    Freedom of speech ? give me a break.

    — Imachinese    Apr 15, 04:13 PM    #

26. Jinny, if you really wants to talk about this issue, go to read some good books.

    Just because your family came to this continent several generations earlier than me, then now you can be yelling here ask me to go home.

    Is this what you refer to as “freedom of speech”

    You obviouly have a problem.

    — wanshousi    Apr 15, 06:31 PM    #

27. John,
    Get a clue. It is not a hate crime to TRY people for TREASON against the USA during times of war. The war on terrorism is ongoing and people who spy for Mainland Communist China and advocate acts of violence against Pro-Tibet, Pro-Taiwan and Pro-Human Rights Chinese Americans should be arrested, and given fair trials. I am just warning them, so that they do not end up getting the death penalty, since they may not realize if they spy for China and are responsible the death and murder of Chinese Americans in either the USA, Taiwan, Tibet or China, they can be tried for treason and/or sedition and be sentenced to death. So they should be careful. And if they do so in Texas, they may not even be granted the right to see Chinese officials, they will be on their own, as the USA Supreme Court recently ruled.

    — Karl    Apr 15, 07:57 PM    #

28. Karl, you wrote the lognest comment, thanks for taking time writing it. Unfortunately, what you said was just something copied from another type of propagada/brainwashing. You used words like mass murder, imperial japan, nazi, etc. These words have nothing to do with China. You tried to use these negative words to build a negative image of China. But you did not mention any evidences to support the words you tried to connect with China. I am from China. I love Xizang(Tibet), democracy, and human rights. Dare you say you love Xizang? You repeated threatening Chinese with deportation or spy theory. We don’t fear because we know we are on the side of justice. I love America and I also love China. There is nothing more normal for loving one’s Motherland. Learn something. Don’t be so narrow minded. Otherwise you are going to lose in whatever fields you choose to study/work. At least these Chinese know both worlds-Chinese and Western. They have more information than you. I suggest you learn Chinese to know its great Culture if you are really interested in what is happening in China. Thanks.

    — to karl    Apr 15, 11:13 PM    #

29. Two Chinese men were arrested at Los Angeles International Airport trying to smuggle 10 “sensitive thermal imaging cameras” out of the country to China. The men told authorities that the cameras, which cost $5,000 each and have clear military …
    They were told that they could not be exported from the USA. This is one example of them getting caught. The theft of IP is huge. One of the reason why China is now producing so much. They illegally export goods from the states, take them apart, copy and then produce and claim that they have been developed in China. But there is an old saying, copying or imitation is the highest form of flattery. Only problem is when they take jobs from the Americans who develop the science, technology and innovation they are killing the Golden Goose which has given the World so much. It will be interesting to see when Africa and other Asian countries start copying the Chinese and sell at a cheaper price and the factories start closing in China how the Chinese respond. What goes around comes around.

    — KJJ    Apr 16, 02:19 AM    #

30. Unfortunately in the video publicized at Youtube.com recording this incident, people just captured several middle-aged men surrounding “the woman” mentioned in the article with sort of recording tools in hands near pocket. They followed and protected, or to say monitored this “woman” in a walk-thru of the entire process in that confrontation. you can see it yourself at Youtube.

    Who are these guys? is this Ms. Jane Doe a recruited spy of the US Intelligence(CIA)? is this performance her ordeal designed by supervisor to test her ability and loyalty?

    things’re just getting funnier and funnier.

    If so, all of us discussing here heatedly are screwed. we are wasting our time to evaluate a field test between CIA agents and spy, and they did successfully made us believe this is an idealist young woman and politician hopeful who made her debut in a ivy-league institute.How adorable is that.

    CIA is one evil notorious bureaucratic body represents american special interest groups. Millions of references show its mission mostly is sabotage and subversion
    “enemy country”. They use whatever means even troops and we don’t need more proof on this.

    OK, They worked for money, we waste our time for faith, what a tragedy!

    Time will tell the truth about the life and endeavour of this Jane Doe, even the whole picture of this free tibet/Divide China secret operation classified as Confidential, when archives get exposed.
    But one thing for sure is if you felt bored and irritated by my “spy conspiracy”, I’d say to my defense, I am not the only, not even the first guy here vending it, and whatever the first guy claimed, in this case, were fabricated or imagined. My theory is more attainable — at least we have accessible public evidence at Youtube.

    When the guy critisized other country spying on his/her own and then faces this literal and vivid evidence that the truth is verse visa. What is that look, who has been brain-washed?

    for more details you can go to
    http://www.popyard.com/cgi-mod/newspage.cgi?num=185660&r=0&v=0
    (It’s basically Chinese there. so, learn some Chinese.)

    — wanshousi    Apr 16, 03:34 PM    #

31. Those students who are sending these messages should be punished and deported, if they are foreign students. Tibet was independent and should be independent. I have great sympathy for the student who is receiving these messages from Chinese students.

    — kvc    Apr 16, 08:23 PM    #

32. I hope this lady’s family is safe and that she is left alone.
    We are NOT in China where ‘Freedom of Speech’ is NOT permitted.

    Rather than harassing this lady, do something worthwhile and plan an event to remember the people who bravely demonstrated in Tiananmen Squre on June 5, 1989.

    — C. Ohno    Apr 16, 09:15 PM    #

33. Smart girl

    — Michael    Apr 17, 12:01 PM    #

34. Learn more about this girl.

    Check out this blog of a fellow duke student.

    http://happinessguaranteed.blogspot.com/2008/03/social-lackings.html

    http://happinessguaranteed.blogspot.com/2008/04/i-really-just-have-to-write-this.html

    — lx    Apr 17, 03:35 PM    #

35. http://happinessguaranteed.blogspot.com/2008/04/i-really-just-have-to-write-this.html

    I really hope US grant her a citizenship, she should stay here.

    Really.

    — wanshousi    Apr 17, 03:39 PM    #

36. It is appauling to see some chinese student threaten her this way. These thugs should be dug out and sent back to China where they can enjoy a complete communist rule. I am chinese myself. But I admire Ms wang’s courage for standing up for what she thinks is right. This is a free country. we don’t accept young communist crap.

    — tj    Apr 19, 12:04 AM    #

37. As a Chinese-American, I find the actions of those older men surrounding the young lady and trying to intimidate her truly despicable.
    The Duke Chinese Students and Scholar Association’s Student Affairs co-chair Qian Fangzhou, wrote, “We really showed them our colors!” He certainly did.
    In their open letter, DCSSA even seemed to even blame the victim and denied any involvement. However, as an officer of DCSSA, Qian’s comment of “we” clearly meant it to represent DCSSA.
    DCSSA should demand the immediate resignation from Qian. A public apology from DCSSA is also definitely in order.

    — Chinese-American    Apr 21, 01:50 PM    #

38. Hahah, DCSSA itself is on edge of being disbanded by school…

    Chinese are used to live in a less litigious way than westerners, and this has it’s own historical and institutional reasons. When they were furious and said that stuffs, they never thought these internal words would be exposed to a much greater public, thus when those exaggerative blasts translated into English by Americans working with NYtimes, “colors” certainly go in a way rather straying. This is the whole truth of this “political incident”.

    Reporters and this politics-brings-me-thrill girl(her own words) just used them and came out with such an article. and I certainly doubt somebody is having an exploitative attitude using those facts to satisfy someones or prove some theories.

    in Chinese, there are bunch of idioms not so “Political Correct” or “legal” to American standard. what can you do about it? you want to change the language to fit US law? They exist since ancient times and will not die out. Languages are certainly different.

    why not give Chinese some time to evolve Civil Law, and I am sure they won’t say those words to whoever concerns about it, at least not to Americans, when the law forbids it. and isn’t it true that in US law has a more than 200 years history of evolution.
    As a Chinese-American, you are way too much used to American way of living, and don’t understand ways chinese doing and saying things.

    when you see it as an American, it’s appalling, maybe. But as a Chinese, it’s rather common, isn’t it.

    Do you really think they would “burn her alive with oil.”

    Come on…

    — sq    Apr 22, 01:18 AM    #

39. I also heard that DCSSA was under investigation. CSSAs do a lot (accommodating new arrivals, celebrating Chinese traditional New Year, community information sharing for a better research & life etc.) more than led or infiltrated by embassy officials, mentally and financially. Without doubt, CCP government wants to control or influence as many as Chinese (not only students) here in US and it is very clever at that kind of things. Embassy officials, as employees, have to follow the orders from CCP government. Unfortunately, some of our Chinese voluntarily and involuntarily follow as well. Whether it shall become the reason to lawfully disband a student organization as a whole – I doubt. The school officials and lawyers are better than any of us here to make that judgment.

    As a Chinese, what I am really upset is that many of mainland originated Chinese still aren’t taking advantage of living in US, having access to more than one type of media, learning and knowing that they shall have respect to different people and opinions. As soon as I arrived in US, I was so shocked to see another type of explanation about 6/4 Tiananmen Square ‘incident’. Thanks god, that changed my mind! CCP launches major political propaganda campaigns approximately every 10 years. What I’ve experienced include ‘6/4 Tiananmen’ in 1989, ‘7/20 FalunGong’ in 1999 and today’s Tibet’s ‘riot’ – my parents experienced much more and they really suffered. They suffered so they shut their mouth off in 1989 and in 1999 as I witnessed, to protect themselves, me and my sisters. Unbelievably, they buy the stories about recent Tibet’s ‘riot’ from CCP again, mainly because they strongly hold that Tibet is a part of China, they believe what CCP said about Dala Lama, and they don’t have access to a different voice. But via the phone, they didn’t like to discuss it because it was “so sensitive”, and they “don’t want to make trouble”. My Chinese people, if you still believe what CCP claims that Dala Lama is trying to separate Tibet from our China and that he is trying to breach Olympic 2008, please go look for his speeches in the past decade and find out how he becomes a nobel peace prize winner.

    The fact is, CCP continuously violates Chinese people including Tibetans’ religious belief and basic human rights, which triggered peaceful demonstration that further developed into a ‘riot’. To cover its crime, CCP first isolated all affected areas and expelled all foreign journalists (HongKong as well), second CCP sophisticatedly and continuously misled the Chinese (especially young people) to believe all of these are Dala Lama and Tibetans’ faults.

    CCP does learn the lessons why and how Russian and eastern European Communism regimes collapsed. Now I have no doubt that it is very good at making use of nationalism as well as new high technologies.

    But, is it truly good to the ‘harmony’ of China and world, or to the tarnished symbolism of the torch relay and the spirits of Olympic game? My Chinese fellow young students, please take a look at Taiwan (also a part of China), aren’t you agree that US-diploma holders contributed a lot to its development and democracy? What can you (and me) do to truly help (not destroy) our motherland both politically and environmentally in the future?

    — charles yang    Apr 26, 04:39 AM    #

40. Charles Yang,
    You are still too new to U.S., I think you will be shocked again by the thoughts you have today after you live here a little longer.
    I am glad that you think differently about 6/4 after you came abroad, but after a couple years, you might change your view again. With that said, Tibet is a relatively different issue.
    You ask us to look at Dalai’s speech to see if he is really trying to separate Tibet from China. I believe so, in his speech, he “sophistically” put himself opposite to Chinese although he refer to Chinese brothers and sisters. By the way, you used the word “sophisticatedly” on CCP just make me laugh. CCP is just awkward and stiff as it always was. As to if Dalai is trying to breach Olympic, I really don’t care because he is not capable to. CCP again is stupid enough to make it a big deal.
    Also, you need to determine one’s stand by his action not just his speech. I wouldn’t trust Dalai Lama as long as he is still receiving various funding from different foundations, just as he did under CIA in earlier days. Politics is dirty.
    You have to admit this Tibet riot is well organized, for the timing, western media already got the inside information before it happened. In my opinion, Bjork’s Shanghai concert is related too. The planning started long time ago, with a conference in German last year clearly spelled out the road map for the opportunity of a Olympic year. (http://www.german-foreign-policy.com/en/fulltext/56145) If I were Free Tibet lobbiest, I won’t pass up this kind of opportunity too, and if I were CCP, I don’t want to crackdown, at least not this time of the year. It is clear who is benefiting from the riot.
    I didn’t have interest to argue with some racists on this board. You obviously as a Chinese just come out of the propaganda of CCP, I want just to alert you don’t fall for another propaganda. No one is righteous in this game, look behind the picture.

    — J Teng    Apr 28, 06:59 PM    #

41. Truth be told, I think that the backlash against this girl is ridiculous; but I also acknowledge that among extremists, national pride is often blinding, as other types of pride is.

    Actually, Grace Wang probably has a better head on her shoulders than her government, who issue strident, bellicose nonsense in response to this stuff, and more or less indulge in the comforts of a siege mentality. Her approach is more of a credit to China, as I have a hard time believing she’s a product of her educational system, than the Duke Chinese Scholars and Students Association, who ratted her out to the Ministry of State Security by releasing all the information necessary to easily track down and harass her parents — and that’s been done. My, how like other authoritarian regimes this act sounds like. Not to mention the highly original threats.

    I think it’s a deplorable act, but unlike other people in here, I don’t add to that call for deportation or the rest— we should rise above this caddish behavior.

    I suggest that Americans give thought to the renewal of the ideals that founded this country (imperfectly, I know) and take a lesson from the Duke Chinese Students and Scholars Association on how not to act — like a bunch of frothing party commissars turning in anyone who disagrees to be tortured and shot in a cellar. God knows, this country needs reminders like this. Rather than sit back and merely condemn the People’s Republic of China, which lends itself easily to this sort of condemnation, we should sit back and consider carefully our own country, and how easy it is to get into this mentality. Lots of people seem to be there already.

    “Freedom is the right to tell people what they do not want to hear.” – George Orwell.

    — Dave E.    May 10, 08:02 PM    #

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