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Kindertarten Attacks

Background:

In the past 40 days, five schools in different cities in China were attacked by five different stabbers. All the schools under attack were kindergartens with students ranging from 3 to 5 years old. Here’s a list of the attacks:

Date_____ Location_Attacker/Age______Casualties
3/23/2010_Nanping_Minsheng Zheng/41__8 dead, 5 injured
4/13/2010_Xichang_Jiaqin Yang/40______2 dead, 5 injured
4/28/2010_Leizhou_Kangbing Chen/33___17 injured
4/29/2010_Taixing__Yuyuan Xu/47______32 injured
4/30/2010_Weifang_Yonglai Wang/45____1 dead, 6 injured

Due to information control, the identity and true motive of the five attackers are unknown, although people posted various guesses on microblogs. To ensure that most news reports focus on Shanghai Expo and that people see a positive image of China, the government “advises” media to not report the school attacks. People could reach a few reports that offered very limited information.


Comments:

With those armed police standing guard in front of kindergartens, do our kids feel safer or more scared?

-- King Kong


Is the series of kindergarten attacks somehow related to our media reports? Why did all the anti-society events occur so frequently? How to stop the extremist behavior? Did our media reports in some way encourage perpetrators to commit the same kind of crime?

-- Bro Pong


For people who want to take revenge on society, attacking kids in kindergarten has become a new fashion. In stabbing kindergarteners, you will expect the least resistance and kill the most people, resulting in tremendous scare among common people. Killing youngsters is the most effective way to take revenge on society.

-- Han Han


Taixing Kindergarten is a private and expensive school. Most of the kids in the kindergarten have parents who are senior officials in government. It’s probably why the perpetrator chose this school.

-- Happy Tramp


It’s been said that the perpetrator of Taixing Kindergarten attack is a victim of the government’s housing policy. The night before he killed those children, the Housing Department of Shanghai sent some people to ask him and his wife to move out of their apartment soon because the government was planning to tear down his house for building a shopping mall.

-- shell2046


After the series of school attacks, a kindergarten in Guangdong hanged a banner on its front gate. The banner read, “Every injustice has its perpetrator. The people’s government building is next to us”.

-- Xi7


A senior university student wrote on his microblog, If I can’t find a job after graduation, I will just take tour in one of the kindergartens with a knife.

-- Volcano


My point of view:

Reading through the microblog comments, I found it interesting that a lot of bloggers tend to relate the school attacks with the Chinese government. Some were humorous allusions, such as the banner in front of a kindergarten that directs potential stabbers to kill government officials instead of small kids. Some were open accusations, which questioned the government’s capability to keep its citizens safe. I personally believe the connection between the school attacks and the Chinese government is not accidental. Moreover, a well-hidden causal relationship exits between the Chinese government and the school attacks. I have been assisting a professor in the Government Department to research the mass protests in China. Throughout the past 15 years, the number of mass protests and murder cases increased whenever corruption cases occurred more often within the Chinese government. Considering the growing tension in the Chinese economy and the widening gap between the 1% rich and the 99% poor, I think China is in a critical transitional period while the future is not yet clear. The series of school attacks is only one tiny indicator of the social unrest but it’s severe enough to demand the government to take a more active role in solving these profound social problems.

Shanghai Expo

Background:

Expo 2010, officially Expo 2010 Shanghai China will be held in the city of Shanghai, China from May 1 to October 31, 2010 and is a scheduled World Expo in the tradition of international fairs and expositions. The theme of the exposition will be "Better City – Better Life" and signifies Shanghai's new status in the 21st century as a premier global economic and cultural center. It is expected to generate the largest number of visitors in the history of the world's fairs. It is also the largest World's Fair site ever at 5.28 square km.

More than 190 countries and more than 50 international organizations have registered to participate in the Shanghai World Expo. China expects to receive almost 100 foreign leaders and millions of people from across the world to come and visit the World Expo. More than 70-100 million visitors are expected to visit the expo, the largest in history (wikipedia.com).

Microblog comments:

The investment in the site construction for Shanghai Expo is 18 billion Yuan and the management expenses are expected to be 10.6 billion Yuan. In total, the direct investment of Shanghai Expo has reached 28.6 billion Yuan. As estimated by experts, the indirect investment is astonishingly high if we include the construction of the Expo-related railways and other major infrastructure. The government spending has been over 300 billion Yuan, equivalent to 44 billion dollars. The most expensive Expo ever in its history!

-- awwi

Shanghai Expo Drinking Fountain Instructions for Chinese: 1. Don’t directly touch the tap with your mouth or hand. 2. Don’t throw trash on the drinking fountain. 3. Don’t gargle using the water from drinking fountain. 4. Don’t detach the water tap and bring it home.

-- lengxiaohua

It is almost a joke that America, as the richest country, does even have enough budgets to build its pavilion in Shanghai Expo because American taxpayers don’t allow their government to spend money on something irrelevant to taxpayers’ interests. Thanks to some Chinese companies, American committee received donations to finish the construction of its pavilion, which allowed Shanghai Expo become an unprecedented event.

-- explorer

I suggest that China should display our “Great Fire Wall” in the Chinese pavilion at Shanghai Expo. We should even provide an internet-connected computer for foreigners to experience how it feels to not be able to visit Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Blogspot, MySpace, etc… This should be our proudest exhibition.

-- zj8nb

I just asked a friend how she felt after she came back form Shanghai Expo. She said: “one word -- exhausting. All you could only see three things: people, people and people.”

-- MML

Last Saturday I went to Shanghai Expo’s trial opening, oh my god, too many people. You had to wait in line for every pavilion. I waited six hours for the Saudi Arabia pavilion, four hours for the Japanese pavilion, two hours for the Thai pavilion. I spent all day waiting in lines…

-- Flowing

Some Journalists asked me what Shanghai Expo could bring to China. I told them that they should ask what China could bring to Shanghai Expo. Honestly, Expo is not an event that is worth such big scale of preparation. With globalization and free flow of information, the Expo has become less and less essential today than it was. It is China that overstated the importance of Expo. Maybe we are a bit so eager to show off in front of the world.

-- Han Han

Shanghai Expo, it makes every citizen to sacrifice in order to guarantee its success. Yesterday, I flew from Beijing to Hangzhou. My flight was delayed for three and half hours because of the traffic control for the Expo. Today, I’m still waiting for my already delayed flight back to Beijing, not knowing when it can take off. Thousands of passengers and I “warmly” welcome the opening of Shanghai Expo at the sacrifice of our time and convenience.

-- Zimo Zeng


My point of view:

In 2008, the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics sent a convincing message to the world that China is rising. China is no longer a weak state that can be easily bullied by other powers. During the Beijing Olympics, Chinese people for the first time felt extremely proud of the development China has achieved over the past twenty years. Having been used to living condescendingly for three hundred years, Chinese people can no long wait for any second to declare to the world that the dragon is awake. When people gradually calmed down after the Olympics, the upcoming Shanghai Expo again stimulated a prevalent and vibrant nationalism. However, some rare but thoughtful voices are not submerged under the nation-wide enthusiasm for Shanghai Expo. This blog entry selectively chose the rare voices that have cast some doubts on China’s hosting of the 2010 Expo. All it seems is that China is well prepared to show its muscle to the world but not ready to show its mind. The Chinese government is able to burn a huge amount of money on the physical plant for the Expo, but Chinese people are not yet able to behave as responsible and educated citizens. The governmental decision to prioritize Shanghai Expo over the daily convenience of Chinese citizens is another controversial tropic regarding the Expo.

After growing large muscles, China also needs to develop a sound mind.

Qinghai Earthquake

Background

On April 14, 2010, an earthquake of 7.1 magnitude struck Yushu city in Qinghai Province. Qinghai Province is a multi-national area where population loosely congregates compared to other provinces in China. The Tibetan component of the population made this area a sensitive region during the Tibetan riot in 2008. According to the statistics obtained before I publish this blog, 2038 were killed in the earthquake and 12135 were injured.

Selected microblogs

This morning, my journalist colleagues, Yang Song and Zhen Liu, recorded a video in which Jiegu Temple was hosting a crematorium ceremony for the earthquake dead. The abbot of the temple told us in an interview that two thousand people were cremated. Another monk said the number was eight hundred. A crowd of monks were singing prayers on a hill facing the crematorium to redeem the lost souls. According to the local religious practice, today is the third day after people died, which is the best time to redeem their souls and wish them rest in peace.

-- Zimo Zeng


In order to capture tears, some journalists tirelessly "helped" victims to remember the moment when they lost their beloved ones. When victims were saved from the ruins, they were forced to speak in front of cameras. Some teenager survivors were asked again and again how they felt to be alive. Some journalists asked, “Please hold on. Stay there. Let me take a picture first.” What professional we are!

-- Xiaoyang Nie


I believe when Shanghai Expo opens, people will forget the Qinghai earthquake. It’s the same as, when the Qinghai earthquake came, people forgot the mine disaster. When the mine disaster came, people forgot the imprisoned activists, forgot the polluted vaccination, forgot the severe drought in west China, forgot the Chinese prisoners who were tortured to death… Chinese people are becoming more and more forgetful in tragedies that befell one after another.

-- shadow in the dark


The State Council of China announced that tomorrow would be the National Grief Day for the entire state to mourn for the people who died in the Qinghai earthquake. According to law, everyone must have no entertainment activity tomorrow. As I see it, the biggest “entertainment activity” is that our government officials “entertain” themselves with taxpayers’ money. If the officials stopped their “entertainment activity” for even only one day, the money saved would be sufficient enough to aid the victims in the earthquake.

-- Yang HJ


My point of view

China seems to have become a popular place for earthquake in recent years. The Sichuan Earthquake in 2008 was a catastrophe that caused over 100,000 death. The Sichuan Earthquake, in another sense, also became an unprecedented opportunity that united the entire nation together to help victims of the disaster. The Chinese government skillfully took advantage of the rising nationalism resulted from the Sichuan Earthquake and successfully convert nationalism into public support for the Chinese government in cracking down on Tibetan riots, in supporting victims of Sichuan Earthquake, in hosting Beijing Olympics, etc. Two years from 2008, what is the current situation of Chinese nationalism? The Qinghai Earthquake was an excellent barometer. Almost as I expected, this time, people were no longer ultra-passionate in helping the Qinghai victims. Chinese became more rational and less nationalistic. As is reflected in the tone of the microblogs that I selected, people spent more time thinking, instead of rushing to the epicenter and hoping to save lives regardless of their own capability. People also tended to connect the this earthquake disaster with previous events, like in the comment by shadow in the dark. On the contrary, in the 2008 Sichuan Earthquake, people were made so distraught by the disaster and forgot to consider other social issues associated with the earthquake.

Apparently, Chinese people have become more mature over two years.

Air Crash and Han Han




In the past week from April 5th to 12th, Chinese microbloggers posted comments on various news events. I have picked two most popular topics that attracted considerable amount of attention from Chinese microbloggers. For each topic, I will first provide the background knowledge relevant to the issue and then present the interesting posts that I collected from some Chinese microbloggers whom I have been following.

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Topic 1:

The Polish air crash


Background:

“On April 10, 2010, a plane carrying the Polish president and dozens of the country’s top political and military leaders to the site of a Soviet massacre of Polish officers in World War II crashed in western Russia on Saturday, killing everyone on board.” -- The New York Times


Comments from microbloggers:

The Polish President unfortunately died in an air crash. I was so impressed that the crashed airplane had been used for over twenty years, having served four Polish presidents. Although the President’s advisors had long suggested that he should replace the old plane with a better one, the President refused because of financial stringency. Did Poland really have no budget for a new airplane? Of course not. The Polish President’s decision to keep using the unsafe plane truly won respect from Chinese people.
-- XYZS

In the past a few days, what I heard and read most was the Polish air crash. The most popular explanation for the incident was that the plane was too old while the Polish government didn’t have money for a new plane. Comparing our government’s extravagant spending on luxurious cars with the Polish government, I only want to say, China is so much richer than Poland!
-- anonymous microblogger

I don’t think Poland is actually that poor. Then why is it so difficult to purchase a new plane for the President? The Polish government even has to disclose the government budget to the ordinary Polish people. Why do they bother to do that? We Chinese don’t care what our leaders purchase. Even if we want to care, we can’t care.
-- Pig Rain


My thought:

Chinese bloggers surprisingly had a highly unified tone in commenting on the Polish air crash. Instead of expressing regret for the incident, most of the microblog posts related the Polish incident to some domestic phenomena in China. With a lot of sarcasm, microbloggers compared the “poor” Polish government with the “rich” Chinese government. Microbloggers cleverly expressed their discontent toward the extravagance of Chinese government by talking about the Polish air crash, without directly challenging the Chinese authority.

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Topic 2:

Vote for Han Han on Time magazine


Background:

Whenever people talk about Chinese bloggers, Han Han is the one that no one should ignore. Born in 1982, Han Han dropped out of high school at 18 and then dedicated most of him time to writing novels. His unique style of writing blew fresh air to the contemporary Chinese literatus and established his credential among young Chinese people. On March 2, 2006, Han Han published his first blog entry, entitled Status and Future of the Post-80 Generation. Since then the number of Han Han’s blog followers increased to 0.35 billion, making him the most popular blogger in China and in the world. On his blog, Han Han published observations of social and political issues and criticized the Chinese government in many subtle ways. Han Han’s online activism won him the reputation of “public intellectual”. Recently, Time magazine initiated a public poll to elect the top 100 most influential people and Han Han is on the candidate list. Many microbloggers began to forward this news and ask people to vote for Han Han.


Comments from microbloggers:

Many people don’t understand why Time magazine chooses Han Han as one of the most influential people in the world. The answer is really simple. Han Han posted a lot of blogs to criticize the Chinese government, which is well-known to Chinese people. American media want the younger generation of Chinese to follow Han Han in criticizing the government. That’s why Time magazine put Han Han on the stage, hoping to spread his anti-government inclination to Chinese public.
-- angry snail

I always follow Han Han’s blog and have read several of his books too. He’s humorous in an intelligent way. I guess the Dear Chinese Communist Party did not cause trouble to Han Han because it has long-term considerations -- if Han Han gets elected as the top 100 most influential people, foreign people may feel that China has become a country with “freedom of expression”.
-- cat chelsea

I voted for Han Han twice on the Time magazine poll. But it seems a lot of Han Han’s Chinese fans don’t understand English and they can’t really vote. This is unfortunate. If Han Han actually gets elected this time, his name may become one step closer to the Communist Party’s list of “sensitive words”.
-- mywindson


My thought:

Han Han is a figure that deserves all my respect. His proactive style of writing fundamentally contributes to the awakening of the post-80s generation in China. In regard to the Time magazine poll, opinions from microbloggers are quite different. Some assumed the poll as a U.S. strategy to encourage Chinese to challenge their government. Some felt happy for Han Han and asked other people to vote for him. Some expressed worries because they thought Han Han went beyond the boundaries set by the Chinese government. Despite the variety of opinions, a common theme exists -- we should vote for Han Han and China is not that free.

Internet Democracy

In March, 2010, Google formally announced its withdraw from China because the self-censorship imposed by the Chinese government "contradicts Google's moral principles". Although Google's withdraw may not be simply caused by China's censorship policy, Google's decision to leave has attracted significant attention to the Chinese Internet.

Do Chinese citizens enjoy freedom on the Internet?

No! They can't visit Facebook. They can't watch YouTube. They can't follow people on Twitter. They... they are being watched by Big Brother all the time!

However, I would say, Chinese people do have Internet freedom since the Big Brother is too old to be functional. Although Facebook is blocked, they have RenRen.com, which was pirated from Facebook but is now developed to be more advanced than Facebook. Although YouTube is blocked, Chinese people created Tudou.com which is being watched by more and more Americans simply because Tudou doesn't believe in copyright. Although Twitter is blocked, smart Chinese invented Chinese twitter, powered by SINA.COM, the most popular portal site in China.

We can clearly see an absurd paradox between China's ideological willingness to censor the Internet and its incapability of controlling online opinions. Especially with the launch of Chinese Twitter in 2009, exciting changes are happening everyday on the Chinese Internet. Microblogs have gradually triumphed over traditional Chinese media in news reporting. In recent months, some microbloggers went even further as to report the news that the Chinese government wanted to conceal.

Proudly, one of Professor Gocsik's students, Zimo Zeng, has emerged as one of the most-followed microblogger in China. She established her credential as a famous TV reporter. In her Twitter, Zimo wrote several proactive comments on popular news, which have generated heated discussions among Chinese netizens.

For me, I created this blog to record the social changes that are facilitated by the evolving Chinese Internet. More specifically, I want to utilize this blog as a platform to collect the popular comments from Chinese microbloggers throughout a week. I will follow the posts of 20-30 famous Chinese Twitters, collect their interesting opinions and present a summary and my analysis on this blog.