In the continuing media wars, the China Daily reports
The Foreign Ministry Wednesday summoned CNN’s Beijing executives to lodge a solemn representation for failing to apologize for insulting remarks by one of its commentators…. “Journalists should abide by ethics, and don’t have the privilege to slander or rail at anybody or any government”, Liu [Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao] said in the statement noting that CNN’s recent reporting programs completely went against the principles of being objective and balanced - which the network often claimed as its basic standards for news coverage.
As I noted yesterday, CCTV website posted a video and a photo of Wang Qianyuan’s (aka Grace Wang) efforts to mediate a confrontational gathering in Durham, NC (US) between Chinese students and Tibetan supporters with the caption “The most hideous student abroad.”
If CCTV was also summoned to the Foreign Ministry and warned about the “privilege to slander or rail at anybody,” that article hasn’t yet appeared in the China Daily, though I feel quite certain that it will. When I find the link I will pass it on.
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For those who are not afraid to dive into poetry, there is a brilliant poem by Stephen Dunn which appeared in the March 10, 2008 issue of the New Yorker entitled History. It seems fitting to cite this poem here.
3 responses so far ↓
1 Bill // Apr 20, 2008 at 1:02 am
This is a great opportunity to see the real China and Chinese, and “harmony” with Chinese characteristics.
2 tt // Apr 22, 2008 at 1:23 am
It’s obvious that Wang Qianyuan (Grace) posted her own info on the web and then blamed others, “poor me, I was just trying to speak the truth”, and “human rights is above everything, even the love for my country.” In the video, I didn’t hear her talking about human rights at all. “She met with the Tibetan side”??? Again, from the video, the Tibetan side didn’t even acknowledge she was there. “She tried to mediate between the two sides for a dialogue”??? The Tibetan side was mostly white Duke students, maybe two older non-students. So even if the Chinese side agrees to a dialogue, shouldn’t they be talking to Dalai or somebody who’s actually Tibetan?
If you think other people violated her rights and posted her info on the web, tell me this: Does your college roommate or your faternity know your SSN and your parents’ SSNs?
3 jg // Apr 22, 2008 at 5:24 am
Interesting , tt. If it is so “obvious” that Ms. Wang “posted her own info on the web” please tell me where I can find this, where this is referenced, since it is not “obvious” to me.
If the Tibetan side “didn’t even acknowledge she was there,” are you saying that she did not write “Free Tibet” on one of the Tibetan sides’ supporters? If that is the case then the story has been terribly turned around by Ms Wang and the media. And if they did not know she was there, and she didn’t do the writing, does this also mean that CCTV should be informed so that they can stop referring to her as “The most hideous student abroad”? If what you are saying is true, then there is an entirely different story than the one we are getting through the media.
It has been a long time since I went to college, and though I did not belong to a fraternity, I did have roommates, and no, I didn’t know their SSN numbers, their parents SSN numbers, or their parents’ addresses for that matter (though I did have their parents’ phone numbers in case of emergency). Why would I even want to know that sort of information? What possible use would I have with my roommates’ and their parents’ SSN numbers? Are you suggesting that her roommates posted her personal information on the internet? If so, I think you should step forward and provide that information to the Duke University police.
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