China mulls impact of Mideast uprisings.
Peter Terpstra (獅心彼得)
By Andrew Higgins and Keith B. Richburg
Washington Post Foreign Service
Monday, January 31, 2011; 9:02 AM
HONG KONG - Could the popular revolt against authoritarian regimes of the Middle East ever spread to China,
the world's most populous nation? And if so, does the United States have a policy to deal with it?
The ticklish question has been hovering in the background since the "Jasmine Revolution" street uprising
toppled the president of Tunisia two weeks ago. It has only gained in urgency as the demonstrations spread to
Yemen, Jordan and then Egypt - threatening President Hosni Mubarak's near-30-year-grip on power.
A Chinese blogger first posed the query to President Obama's chief Asia expert during a videoconference from
the White House Situation Room with eight Mainland bloggers.
"In my view, many Chinese netizens and intellectuals believe that China's future is Tunisia-ization," noted the
Beijing-based blogger, 2Keqi, in the web chat with Jeffrey Bader, the National Security Council's senior
director for Asian affairs. "Does the American government make this same assessment and does it have a
policy plan" in the event that China takes such a turbulent path?
Bader and another official, Ben Rhodes, deputy NSC adviser for strategic communications, declined to answer
directly, instead repeating the administration's oft-stated position about the importance of human rights and
the need to let people "realize their own aspirations."
The question came up again last Friday at the White House press briefing, posed to press secretary Robert
Gibbs - who similarly declined to engage.
But at a time when many Americans have come to view China - with its double-digit economic growth and
huge investments in infrastructure and energy technologies - in terms of the challenges it poses to the United
States' position as the world's pre-eminent economic power, many here see the country's closed political system
as unsustainable and a key vulnerability restricting its leaders' grand ambition.
"America's understanding of China is very limited," the blogger, 2Keqi, told Bader and Rhodes. Many Chinese,
he added, find it "extremely difficult to accept the idea that the 21st century is China's century."
"I did not expect them to answer. They are professional diplomats," said the Beijing-based blogger Monday in
a telephone interview. He spoke on the condition that his real name not be published, saying he has been
targeted in the past by those who disagree with his views.
"I just wanted to convey the message that there are a lot of Chinese netizens who care about this issue," the
blogger said.
It is an issue the Chinese authorities clearly care about too. Chinese Internet users have been largely barred
from making comments about the ongoing popular revolt in Egypt, as Beijing's Communist rulers tread a fine
line between allowing generally unfiltered news reports of the protests while also discouraging the idea that
the uprising may bring democracy to the Arab world's largest country.
Online news sites typically allow readers to have comments and form discussion groups after articles are
posted, but that service has been disabled since the Egyptian protests began.
Also, the search engines on some of the most popular micro-blogging sites turned up no results for the words
"Egypt," "Cairo," "Tunisia," and "Jasmine Revolution." Users instead received a message saying the search result
could not be displayed "because of the relevant law, regulations and policy." Even searches for the word
"jasmine" turned up no results.
The main Chinese newspapers all carried front-page stories about the protests, including photographs, but
largely without any analysis or editorial comment. Much of the recent coverage has focused on the looting and
the breakdown of order in Egyptian cities, without much explanation of the root causes of the unrest.
In the only official commentary on the uprising, the Chinese foreign minister spokesman, Hong Lei, said on
Sunday, "Egypt is a friend of China and we hope Egypt will return to social stability and normal order as soon
as possible."
One editor of an online news site said the Party's Propaganda Department, China's main censorship organ,
asked his outlet only to use news from Egypt provided by Xinhua, the official government news agency.
The one paper that has been offering commentary is the Global Times, the tabloid daily owned by the
Communist Party's main propaganda mouthpiece, People's Daily. In one editorial Sunday, headlined "Color
revolutions will not bring about real democracy," the Global Times said the revolts sweeping the Middle East
"are more controversial than those that happened in East Europe after the Cold War."
The paper said "real concerns exist about the potential rise of Islamic fundamentalism in case of a power
vacuum in the Middle East."
The Global Times went even further on Monday, with another editorial today saying the revolts in the Middle
East were more about Arabs and North Africans rejecting Western interference than embracing democracy.
"The clash between Western entanglement and indigenous identity triggered the demonstrations in Egypt and
Tunisia," it said.
Still, some local micro-blogging sites - the Chinese equivalent of Twitter - have been following events in Egypt
closely, often finding ways around the official controls. "The Netizens are quite excited by what's happening in
Egypt," said Zhang Lifan, a historian who has studied the history of the Chinese Communist Party.
Zhang said he was able to browse through photographs from Egypt and found "those scenes are very similar to
what happened in Beijing 20 years ago" - a reference to the Chinese army's crackdown on pro-democracy
students and demonstrators at Tiananmen Square.
He said he was particularly struck by the image of a young Egyptian protestor standing in the street to block
an armored vehicle, a pose similar to a Chinese protestor, Wang Weilin, whose dramatic stance in front of a
tank became one of the iconic images from the Tiananmen crackdown.
"The waters of the Nile flow into the Yellow river," Zang said.
Still, while some drew parallels between the authoritarian government here in China and those of the Middle
East, there remain obvious differences. Most importantly, the Middle Eastern countries now facing popular
unrest all share the same volatile mix of a swelling population of angry youth, widespread unemployment, and
governments that lack credibility in the face of economic despair.
China's leaders, by contrast, have staked their legitimacy on the country's double-digit economic growth and
three decades of improving living standards. China's economy recently surpassed Japan's as the world's second
largest, behind the United States. And the Beijing leadership tries to engender patriotic pride and popular
support through grandiose national projects, like hosting the 2008 Olympics and the 2010 Shanghai Expo,
building high-speed trains, erecting towering skyscrapers and sending Chinese astronauts into space.
The blogger, 2Keqi, was asked in the telephone interview whether he believes China risks a Tunisia-style
explosion. "I will answer this from another perspective," he said "Tunisia and Egypt have now become sensitive
words" in China. "Does this not say something?"
Richburg reported from Beijing. Washington Post researchers Zhang Jie in Beijing and Wang Juan in Shanghai
contributed to this report.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/31/AR2011013101885_2.html
Peter Terpstra
rst0wxyz
kill off 75% of the population than lose control of China.
DP
Why don't they do something to me in a LEGAL sense because they are
criminals and they can only resort to criminal means since mental
illness is a SCAM! Do you understand what I am trying to say? I know
for a fact that mental illness is a scam that I am willing to put my
LIFE on the line. Why don't psychiatrists put their LIFE on the line
since they believe mental illness is real? Because I have offered
proof that mental illness is a SCAM and they have been caught! They
have no confidence in their scam anymore and act like a little boy who
hides with his hands in his ears ignoring what someone is telling him
hoping that it will all go away. But as people with conscience we have
to teach the child right from wrong because people should not be
rewarded being a CRIMINAL.
Wakalukong
-------
Every time western analysts detect a wiff of revolt somewhere in the
world, they'd rub their hands in glee hoping that China would
implode. That's how anti-China they are, even though they don't know
it themselves. They'll be disappointed this time round. Surely, any
half-baked analyst can tell the difference between a basket-case
country and one that's poised to overtake the US economically? But I
won't bet they can tell the difference; they live on hope and malice.
Wakalukong
rst0wxyz
There is one man within soc.culture.china fit this description, Albert
Fung.
Demorising
Denial isn't just a river in Egypt.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703445904576117551431323500.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
rst0wxyz
It's not denial, but truth and reality. China is not Egypt. As
6/4/1989 had shown, the CCP will not hesitate to use force and the PLA
to crush any rebellion. "Control" is the main point, the hell with
world opinion. The Chinese people knew the inside scoop. It will not
happen in China.
Albert K. Fung
> Every time western analysts detect a wiff of revolt somewhere in the
> world, they'd rub their hands in glee hoping that China would
> implode. That's how anti-China they are, even though they don't know
> it themselves. They'll be disappointed this time round. Surely, any
> half-baked analyst can tell the difference between a basket-case
> country and one that's poised to overtake the US economically? But I
> won't bet they can tell the difference; they live on hope and malice.
Demorising:
> Denial isn't just a river in Egypt.
>
> http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405274870344590457611755143132...
rst0wxyz:
> It's not denial, but truth and reality. China is not Egypt. As
> 6/4/1989 had shown, the CCP will not hesitate to use force and the PLA
> to crush any rebellion. "Control" is the main point, the hell with
> world opinion. The Chinese people knew the inside scoop. It will not
> happen in China.
Admirable whistling past the graveyard .... :)
Today's PLA is not Deng Xiaoping's PLA. Its officer corp are
professionals who care not about ideology (CCP does not even
have any) but want their jobs, with or without the CCP.
The action of the Egyptian military, made the CCP nervous.
Even before the 1989 massacre the PLA was split. Deng had to
count on his loyalist to carry out the dirty deed - in total
darkness. China does have control by the tail, which is wag-
ging the dog. :)
In any event, here are 11 potential Egypt's of the world:
Morocco, Jordan, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Libya, Yemen,
Pakistan, Vietnam, Venezuela.
And, China .... :)
Regards,
Albert K. Fung
Emerald Terrace, Sai Kung, Hong Kong.
Anti-DabianchenVirus
> Admirable whistling past the graveyard .... :)
>
> Today's PLA is not Deng Xiaoping's PLA. Its officer corp are
> professionals who care not about ideology (CCP does not even
> have any) but want their jobs, with or without the CCP.
>
> The action of the Egyptian military, made the CCP nervous.
>
> Even before the 1989 massacre the PLA was split. Deng had to
> count on his loyalist to carry out the dirty deed - in total
> darkness. China does have control by the tail, which is wag-
> ging the dog. :)
As always, Fungus, you show very little knowledge about anything. Your
ignorance is often deafening! You think that by writing your pansy
flowery English you can pull the wool over the eyes of posters in
these newsgroups. Think again, if you can, that is.
Deng was not responsible for the TAM incident, Li Peng was. You *have*
heard of Li Peng, haven't you, Dodo? Deng was only secondary at that
particular incident. Push that dildo further up your asshole, Twat.
You are dribbling all over the internet, Baboon! Yeah, you!
Demorising
wrote:
> Deng was not responsible for the TAM incident, Li Peng was. You *have*
> heard of Li Peng, haven't you, Dodo? Deng was only secondary at that
> particular incident.
Li Peng blames Deng in his book "The Key Moment."
----------
Deng ordered Tiananmen crackdown, Li Peng says
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2004/08/19/2003199330
China's late paramount leader Deng Xiaoping (鄧小平) "resolutely backed"
the Tiananmen Square Massacre 15 years ago, former premier Li Peng (李
鵬) said in a rare commentary on the bloody incident he has long been
blamed for.
...
In March [2004], the Chinese-language magazine Yazhou Zhoukan claimed
Li's nearly 300,000-word manuscript, entitled The Key Moment, detailed
how important decisions at the time were not made by him as widely
believed. But he was told it was inappropriate to publish the book for
the time being.
Wakalukong
>
> - Show quoted text -
--------
What's the point of quoting another Western reportt?
Wakalukong
Wakalukong
Albert Fung is pretty well discredited. He doesn't even know China is
not Egypt or Tunisia. The basic is that simple, yet he, like many
western analysts, still doesn't get it. They can hope for all they
want, but they will be disappointed.
Wakalukong
Anti-DabianchenVirus
You're just full of it, aren't you, half man?
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.china/msg/242888ae5ef2877c?hl=en
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.china/msg/ae2e9bd018b84a30?hl=en
When will you say that "Cairo will be another TAM" the way you did
about Tehran? Does anyone believe what you say in real life?
Demorising
wrote:
> On Feb 2, 8:31 am, Demorising <demoris...@aol.com> wrote:
>
>
>
> > On Feb 2, 10:26 am, Anti-DabianchenVirus <wuso...@rocketmail.com>
> > wrote:
>
> > > Deng was not responsible for the TAM incident, Li Peng was. You *have*
> > > heard of Li Peng, haven't you, Dodo? Deng was only secondary at that
> > > particular incident.
>
> > Li Peng blames Deng in his book "The Key Moment."
>
> > ----------
>
> > Deng ordered Tiananmen crackdown, Li Peng says
>
> >http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2004/08/19/2003199330
>
> > China's late paramount leader Deng Xiaoping (鄧小平) "resolutely backed"
> > the Tiananmen Square Massacre 15 years ago, former premier Li Peng (李
> > 鵬) said in a rare commentary on the bloody incident he has long been
> > blamed for.
>
> > ...
>
> > In March [2004], the Chinese-language magazine Yazhou Zhoukan claimed
> > Li's nearly 300,000-word manuscript, entitled The Key Moment, detailed
> > how important decisions at the time were not made by him as widely
> > believed. But he was told it was inappropriate to publish the book for
> > the time being.
>
> You're just full of it, aren't you, half man?
>
>
> http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.china/msg/ae2e9bd018b84a30...
>
> When will you say that "Cairo will be another TAM" the way you did
> about Tehran? Does anyone believe what you say in real life?
Mr. Virus, you are so dumb I have got you actually arguing what would
be my position: The human rights abuses in Cairo and Tehran are
nothing compared to TAM. Please view the following youtube clip for
the full effect:
Anti-DabianchenVirus
Still trying to justify your lies with more lies, huh? Keep trying!
While you're at it, go shove your "democracy" up your backside!
How should one describe the "Rule of Demorising"? "Post anything and
everything that sheds any negative light on China, regardless of the
credibility of the source", and "incite hatred and overthrow the
Chinese government to throw China back to the Middle Ages in the name
of Democracy".
Demorising
In case anyone is wondering: I am the rabbit, and Mr. Virus is the
duck.
Wusong
Worried about your own credibility, Old Fart? Ha-ha! You're nothing
but an old troll, venting your age-old frustrations of a failed life
at the most convenient target you can find - China. The CCP is there
to stay, and nothing you or anyone else say will change that. Go clean
up your own backyard - the Chinese people will decide for themselves
what they want without the provocations made by agents provocateur the
likes of you. You are an old shop-soiled demo model that should be
thrown away. No one believes anything you say.
Still trying to justify your lies, huh? Keep trying! While you're at
Anti-DabianchenVirus
So, tell us what you see in your pansy pink crystal ball, Fungus! When
will these Cairo-inspired riots take place? Next week? Next month?
Next year? Next century?
Anti-DabianchenVirus
So, tell us what you see in your pansy pink crystal ball, Fungus! When
will these Cairo-inspired riots take place? Next week? Next month?
Next year? Next century?
Why can't you back-up your statement, Fungus? Is the dick of another
man the only thing you can back up? You're nothing but a fraud - just
like the homo that you are.