My Nominee For This Year's Coveted "Asian Order Of The Brown Nose" Award

It's a tight race, but my current fave is Taiwan's David Ting, for his China Post column, Temblor's unsung heroes show the love of the people:

For all the losses, sufferings and agonies, Beijing can take some comfort from the fact that the earthquake has rallied the country behind the government, which has been constantly criticized by Western countries for human right abuses. Suddenly, such criticisms disappeared, thanks to the earthquake that prompted Premier Wen Jiabao and President Hu Jintao to respond instantly and effectively -- an evidence of their care and concern for human rights.  [emphasis added]

Evidence of their care and concern for human rights.  Priceless!

(Image from Not The South China Morning Post)

Had some Taiwanese friends over this week who've never seen the previous Indiana Jones movies, and I was a bit surprised when one of them brought the subject of the quake up.  Now, this guy and I almost never talk politics -- I don't know his politics -- don't CARE to know his politics. Be that as it may, he asked me, "So Foreigner, what do you think of the earthquake in China?"

Now, I was starting to think this was some kind of trick question.  50,000 people dead... what am I SUPPOSED to think?

Me:  "Uh, yeah . . . it's pretty bad.  What do YOU think?"

Him:  "I don't know.  We offered to send rescue teams over there.  But they refused."

Did I detect a sadness in that last word?  Or bitterness?  I'm no Betazoid, so I couldn't tell.  But no guff from HIM about the glorious, compassionate Communist Party leadership.  Just the implied criticism:  "They had tens of thousands of people trapped under rubble, and the stupid bastards REFUSED our rescue teams.  Nice that they're letting them in NOW, but it's kinda late, isn't it?"

The Weekly Standard featured a piece on the earthquake this week, minus Ting's obsequious cheerleading:

In the city of Dujiangyan, which is closest to the quake's epicenter, the UK's Guardian newspaper reports residents there furious over the shoddy workmanship and substandard materials used in many of the buildings that collapsed around their families. Many of them blame local officials for selling off the high quality materials that should have been used in these buildings and putting the money in their pockets. The same government functionaries then signed off on certifications that these structures were built according to local codes and ordnances, even thought that they knew them to be incapable of surviving even small tremors.

[...]

City residents were particularly angered by the collapse of the Juyuan High School, pointing out that this much newer building folded like a house of cards while considerably older structures--most conspicuously local PLA offices and other government buildings--were left standing.

"About 450 [students] were inside, in nine classes and it collapsed completely from the top to the ground. It didn't fall over; it was almost like an explosion . . . why isn't there money to build a good school for our kids?" shouted several at the site. "Chinese officials are too corrupt and bad. These buildings outside have been here for 20 years and didn't collapse--the school was only 10 years old. They took the money from investment, so they took the lives of hundreds of kids. They have money for prostitutes and second wives but they don't have money for our children. This is not a natural disaster--this is done by humans."

Something's seriously amiss when Chinese citizens are more critical of their government than members of the supposedly "free" press stationed in Taiwan.
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POSTSCRIPT:  The good news is, Typepad has updated its WYSIWYG editor, giving bloggers like me several new functions to play with.  The bad news is it's as buggy as hell right now.  Hence the unposted photo.

Perhaps if the technical support staff at Typepad resolved to be a little more like the "unsung heroes of the Peoples' Liberation Army, working around the clock  under difficult conditions, demonstrating the kind of tenacity that shows they fear neither hardship nor death," the problems would be resolved, and I'd be able to post the image.

(Kidding! . . . Kidding, Typepad.  I kid, because I love.)

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UPDATE (May 25/08):  Blogging software seems to be back to normal now.  Thanks fellas.

Comments

[Michael Turton]

IS Beiing a fascist state? Michael Ledeen says yes in FEER. Bummer is Ledeen is one of the NeoCon shits who gave us Iraq. I think it is no longer politically correct to say what Beijing really is, lest you hurt the feelings of the Chinese people.

http://www.feer.com//essays/2008/may/beijing-embraces-classical-fascism

If you have an anonymous email, can you send me an email so I have it so I can email you in the future?

Michael

[STOP Ma]

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Michael,

I never cease to be amazed at the hypocrisy of the neocons. Although Ledeen makes a good argument about the current Chinese system, the same fascist undertones (to put it mildly) are inherent in the policies of the Bush government in the past 7+ years.
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[The Foreigner]

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Full disclosure here: I, along with Michael Ledeen, favored of the Iraq War. Let's just say I'm really not interested in rehashing the arguments pro and con at THIS stage of the game, though.

Anyways, about Michael's link. Good piece. Ledeen's field of academic expertise is apparently fascist Italy, so it is valuable for him to point out the similarities with modern China. (I've heard John Derbyshire also describe China as a post-fascist or neo-fascist state, so the argument isn't new to me.)

However, some of the characteristics he points out aren't limited to fascist states or fascists at all; Friedrich Schiller was a German classical liberal through-and-through, but he also made an appeal to a golden, mythical (freedom-loving) past when he wrote "Wilhelm Tell". And certainly, the desire to build grand buildings or monuments does not a fascist make.

Myself, I'm still more comfortable calling the Beijing government "authoritarian." Though regardless of HOW we classify it, it should be expected that Chinese officials who liken their government to a "living Buddha" will also view criticism of that Buddha as nothing short of blasphemy.