Absurdity, Allegory and China

I have mentioned twice on this blog -  most recently a few days ago here and last year here – the story of the rumors of the Tianjin needling incidents back in 2002. I could not remember the year, whether it was 2002 or 2003. It turns out it was in 2002, and that information comes via Black and White Cat, who does a great job of translating a Southern Weekend piece from January 24, 2002, entitled Investigation into the “Tianjin AIDS needle-stabbing” incidents.

Reporters noticed that many people in Tianjin had developed this conditioned response. Everyone consciously maintained a distance from other people on the street. Violating this distance would often be met with heightened vigilance or even an antagonistic expression. A Ph.D. graduate at Nankai University says, “This is because the rumors have formed a response of tension and anxiety in people’s minds. It has made them feel as if they are surrounded by chaos and danger.”

In fact, none of these people have personally seen these incidents take place. What they imagine and understand about the incidents is based entirely on the rumors. In other words, it is the rumors and not the facts themselves that have created this social anxiety.

A Nankai University Ph.D. graduate who has an interest in rumors says, “The uncertain and random nature of rumors often produces exaggeration, distortion and fabrication.”

Well, it sure produced a lot of that here in Tianjin. The worry was that it began at the end of December and threatened the seasonal economy leading up to Spring Festival. The streets in the main Binjiang Dao/Heping Lu shopping areas were, in fact, deserted. That was one of the truths of the rumors.

Have a look at Black and White Cat’s work on this. Worth the read.