Don’t you ever look back, cause it just might catch you

By Rhodo Zeb. Filed in China, Law |
Tags: 工商法

The problem with disinformation, the reason why disinformation must be so disfavored, is that it is toxic in nature. Like a stain, disinformation disfigures and conceals, but also throws unexpected aspects into high relief. And like a stain, it is so difficult to eradicate once introduced.

Disinformation is always derogatory, and seeks to blame some group of people, usually for the crimes or mistakes of the dis-informer. Therefore, it is the tactic of a guilty mind, a criminal heart, and a dark intent.

Like a stain, disinformation is extremely hard to be rid of, and requires constant opposition, like a wall which tends to mildew.

Speaking as a US citizen, we are damn well fed up with disinformation, even though our corrupt media class continues to spew the same crap out, by and large. However, already a great deal of change has begun.

You watch. I told an audience of Chinese lawyers and law students in 2004, in the darkest days, that we would soon see if the US system is really self-correcting. And here we are, and we are not done. Not by a long shot. Indeed, I can say we are only getting started.

The proper response to disinformation, I believe, is to directly attack it, simply by naming it. There is no bad and good disinformation, just knowledge and fearful ignorance and…confusion. The vast seas of confusion and mis-understanding and mis-apprehension and all the many monsters created by this evil creature, disinformation.

Those who wield knowledge never bear this weapon. All who love truth should oppose it at all times.

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I enjoyed a recent interview on Danwei with a Hong Kong reporter, Bruce Lui, and felt that it added to my knowledge of the press in China. However, I do have a few bones to pick with Bruce:

Bruce accepts the government’s terminology that two ‘terrorists’ were shot at one point, and I feel that this is a serious mistake. No reporter from any news organization should ever accept any government’s terms unless some sort of semi-independent organization confirms it. No reporter should take the word of any government completely as truth. This is so important.

The are not terrorists until some sort of independent organization can confirm. Yes, I well know that in China there is no truly independent organization, but still you should give us the unvarnished truth: Two people were killed by the the government, which claimed they were terrorists. That little difference is all the difference in he world. Don’t enable government lies. Please.

I know that many, many reporters and news organizations do not follow this golden rule. And I also know that the news business is undergoing a great deal of change at the moment. I think there might be a relationship somewhere in there. The people who care about this kind of news need people who know how to give us the most objective, unbiased accounts possible.

While I am at it, I note with disfavor that these media circuses in the Western regions are becoming normalized. That are not normal and should not be treated as such. These events should be handled more honestly by the press, and it should be said again and again that these are just fake media events. Only when they are reported honestly will their real news value be recognized properly.

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In addition, and much more seriously, Bruce seems to buy the government line that this was all orchestrated by a small group of separatists and their foreign backers, the usual government line. And the idea is risible, just completely outside the bounds of reason. You either drink the koolaid or no, because it is an exercise in doublethink.

I shouldn’t be too harsh on Bruce, maybe he just asked the lucky question:

I am still confused about how such a small group of separatists could provoke such a riot. What are the internal problems between the ethnicities that allowed the bomb to explode?

Look, if this is all a plot (of a small band of separatists, natch) that officials were well aware of just a few days later, than watch out. Because if the government could know so very much about this evil cabal so quickly, surely it must have had enough foreknowledge to avoid an even worse catastrophe, right? And that, in turn, would mean this entity is quite powerful to have successfully carried out a murderous mass incident despite government efforts.

In fact, the party just has their head in the sand about the root causes of the incident, which I believe to be racial but also economic in nature: All of these different groups are vying for precious few jobs. The economic crisis has hit southern China, and that is where many of the people from the undeveloped countryside look for work.

The best take I have seen on both events is this piece by Jonathan Watts, which provides a solid context for the incident. Two take-aways:

[A local shopkeeper] said there was a rumour that Uighurs raped at least two women before the factory fight. One of the women killed herself afterwards, he said. “The Xinjiang men weren’t punished. There is a different set of rules for them.”

The government denies there were any rapes, but the allegation is repeated by almost all of the 20 or so local people the Guardian spoke to, including a policeman who said the government was covering up an incident that could incite racial tensions. But no one could provide evidence or the names of the victims. Whether truth or rumour, the rape allegations had huge consequences, exacerbated by modern technology.

…..

“Sometimes a rumour is like a snowball. It will become bigger and bigger, especially on the internet,” said Li Xiaolin, the head of the Shaoguan propaganda department.

“If there is a lack of communication, it will create a market for rumours. If communication goes well, there is no space for rumours.”

From the mouths of Propaganda Managers… ‘if communication goes well’ indeed.

A government that hides the truth will always be suspected of hiding the truth and will not be believed about many, many things at different times. A government that hides the truth will make a million vacuums, to be filled with the slightest whisper of rumor.

My own take-away, what I suspect happened, was that the police arrived and just watched, did nothing, while the larger Han group beat up on the smaller Uighur group, and the death toll is much higher than reported, and the families are outraged at the injustice and what it means for further economic integration.

But I really don’t know. And I am chilled. I do not go out and ask questions. I could, easily. I don’t. Not now. But I know a system of law and what this is. And they are not the same.

Next up: Numbers and credibility. Arrestees in XZ? No, prisoners of the ideas war!

This entry was posted on Friday, July 31st, 2009 at 21:12 and is filed under China, Law. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

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