Language Manipulation in Western Propaganda on China

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• China doesn't fire officials, it "purges" them
• Corrupt Chinese officials don't get convicted for corruption, they "lose power struggles"
• China doesn't punish corrupt officials, it "nets" them
• Chinese leaders don't strengthen laws, they "concentrate power"
• China doesn't give out loans, they "trap" countries in debt
• China has "state media outlets", other countries have "public service broadcasters"
  
• China does "propaganda", other countries do "communications"
• Chinese leaders don't want their country to prosper peacefully, they are "obsessed with stability"
  

An Outbreak of Sinophobia and Schadenfreude in the West

Sinophobia goes more viral than the virus

Nowhere is man freer than on the field of battle, where it is a matter of life and death, wrote Leo Tolstoy. One way of determining people’s morality is by observing their reactions during a crisis.

Western audiences have offered three types of reactions to the recent virus outbreak in China: Sympathy, Sinophobia, and Schadenfreude. Sane westerners, one hopes, empathized with the victims, wishing the outbreak ends soon. Racists took advantage of it to indulge in stereotypes and memes. The third category, the western media, was delighted with the opportunity to insult the Chinese government.

Why the Western Media Ignored the Death of Wei Shaolan, a "Comfort Woman" for Japan

Wei Shaolan was a Chinese woman forced into sex slavery by Japan in the 1940s. Until 2015, she was one of the only eight such women still alive - euphemistically called "comfort women" by wartime Japan.

She died on 5th May in Guilin at the age of 99 years.

Wei Shaolan

Happy Accidents: US Bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade

My favorite newspaper published an article recently about the use of the phrase "hurting the feelings of the Chinese people" and its various forms in the Chinese press. While the phrase and the article were locked in relentless competition over which is more useless, my attention was drawn to something entirely tangential: a reference to the US bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade in 1999.  

WTF Comparison of the Day: India vs China in Innovation

Patents filed by China in 2013: 704,936

Patents filed by India from 1960 to 2013: 129,529

Yes - The number of patent filings by China in 2013 is more than the filings by India from 1960 to 2013! 

The number of filed patents is perhaps the best metric to capture a country's innovation index. Thus, while China has decided to surge ahead, India has decided to surge behind. 

Narendra Modi, the globetrotting Indian Prime Minister, whose party received an overwhelming victory in the recent elections, thinks that genetic science existed in ancient India. Many of his countrymen and women truly believe him. 

Look Ma, No Democracy!

India is widely considered an innovation hub - a better center of innovation than even the US and China. Criticisms of Chinese successes - which is actually jealousy in disguise  - is focused almost solely on the government and its 'authoritative' rule.

WTF Comparison of the Day: A Tale of Two Bridges

Bridging the divide?

Bandra-Worli Sea Link, India
Total Length: 5.6 kms (3.5 mi)

Construction time: 10 years

Hangzhou Bay Bridge, China
Total Length: 35.7 kms (22 mi)
Construction time: 4 years

The former both started and ended later than expected. The estimated cost was $99 million - but it ended up costing the taxpayer $240 million. Much of this was due to a weapon that is misused as much as it is used: Public Interest Litigation.

China and Media Bias: Guilty Until Proven Guilty

Mistrial by Media

It is often said that obfuscation is the purpose of journalism. And when China is involved, journalism gets reduced to a free-for-all orgy - wherein the journalist knows that absolutely anything will be believed as long as China is being portrayed as the villain.

It all starts with the Presumption of Guilt. Nothing that China ever does is enough. A few examples:

The Tragicomedy of Errors: China, British Imperialism, and the Opium Wars

Julia Lovell finds something funny in the Opium Wars

Great Britain has many reasons to feel great about itself. Its empire was the largest in history and covered over a fifth of the world's population. It had more colonies than any other European power. It came, it saw, it divided, and it conquered.

It raped and it reaped, it slaughtered millions of people, massacred entire populations, and caused civil wars with impunity. Racism was its state policy. It sucked the life out of its colonies and reduced them to what we now call third-world nations. It drew and redrew boundaries and created whole new countries randomly on a whim. Most conflicts in the world today can be traced back to British Imperialism: the Kashmir issue, the Sino-Indian border dispute, Tibet, Palestine, Northern Ireland, Cyprus, Sudan - the list goes on. 

Yes - Great Britain can be proud. It had the largest empire in the world. It had managed to keep its European competitors in check. There was no known threat to its global dominion. It seemed that Great Britain was destined to rule the world.

Quote of the day: Mapping a lie

Were you using the wrong maps again?

- Ma Xiaotian, deputy head, PLA General Staff

The US bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade remains a stark reminder of how US actions can go...well, largely the way it wanted them to. Not so much the attack itself, which had "accidentally" gone awry, but the American government's control over the reporting of the attack in the media, which went exactly as the US and NATO wanted it to go, most of it blindly parroting the US view.

According to the US government, the attack was the result of "bombing instructions...based on an outdated map".  Ma Xiaotian, referring to a NATO attack that killed 25 Pakistani soldiers last November, made the above priceless remark at a recent meeting of US and Chinese officials last year.

Absolutely priceless. Must've taken the wind right out of their sails. 

I wonder why this didn't reach the mainstream press. Did the US government suppress it? It can if it wants to. The bigger question is why the Chinese press didn't pick up on it.

Quote of the Day: Censorship Affects People's Livelihoods

Big Think: The Long Arm of China's Internet Police:

  

“So much of the censorship relates to things that have a real impact on people’s livelihoods. The societal and human cost of censorship is heartbreaking.”

- Sarah Cook, Freedom House

Quite. One can see why so much of censorship has a real impact on people's lives. After all, how can Chinese teenagers feel safe and secure without access to Facebook or Twitter? How can the Chinese people be expected to survive when their own government won't allow them to watch more than 20 Hollywood movies a year? How can they sleep at night knowing that they cannot search for images of the Dalai Lama?

I can't imagine how the Chinese people can go on living under such an oppressive government. Truly heartbreaking.