Don't say nobody saw this coming. What else was to be expected from a netizens' movement that has gave so little heed to the quality of the evidence mounted in support of its previous attacks?Salted with ugly rumors and manipulated photographs, the story of the young woman who was said to have taken sides with Tibet spread through China’s most popular Web sites, at each stop generating hundreds or thousands of raging, derogatory posts, some even suggesting that Ms. Wang — a slight, rosy 20-year-old — be burned in oil. Someone posted a photo of what was purported to be a bucket of feces emptied on the doorstep of her parents, who had gone into hiding.
“If you return to China, your dead corpse will be chopped into 10,000 pieces,” one person wrote in an e-mail message to Ms. Wang. “Call the human flesh search engines!” another threatened, using an Internet phrase that implies physical, as opposed to virtual, action.
The question is critical. It explains why I went to some length to systematically investigate the scanty evidence behind the claims of the "anti-CNN" Chinese netizens' movement. Western news organizations may have seemed deserving objects of scorn to many observers, but not to Jotman. In my opinion, the refusal of the Chinese netizens to scrutinize their own best "evidence" against the Western media demonstrated a worrisome lack of critical rigor. That the first "victims" of the netizens campaign were large impersonal news organizations like CNN was entirely beside the point. The netizens' slipshod matching of dubious evidence with the strongest of claims troubled me greatly; I saw the practice as frightening in its own right; to me it did not matter one iota that the netizens' target appeared "deserving" of scorn for any number of other reasons.
It should come as no surprise that some Chinese netizens have acted upon the entirely unsubstantiated claims made against young Grace Wang and her family. Now anyone can see that the method of early attacks by netizens against the Western media was a harbinger of things more malicious and patently wicked.
One lingering mystery is why China's Internet censors have chosen to tolerate attacks against Grace Wang and others. Another question concerns the identity of some of China's more offensive netizens.
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*Duke University
Update: John Kennedy at Global Voices has translated examples of some Chinese netizens' opinions concerning Grace Wang.
If there is such word as fairness, Grace Wang should be solely responsibility for her own action. She must have seen and heard what the Tibetans rogues had done to obstruct the Olympic torch run in the Western countries. To pretend to show ignorance that she was trying to mediate the dispute is too far-fetching. Her photos showing her protests obviously does not escape the anger generated by her country men.
ReplyDeleteIf I have a wish, I'll wish her to replace one of those 5 young women who were burned alive in Lhasa. It's fair to those who died in vain.
Chinese cannot be blamed for believing what they have been taught to believe - among other things that the biggest "rogue" of all, whose huge portrait still hangs in Tienanmen Square, was only 30% wrong. The period when Tibet is supposed to have been "part" of China, also happens to be the period when China was part of a Mongol, then a Manchu, Empire. So by rights, Tibet should be returned to Mongolia.
ReplyDeleteDear Anonymous poster #1:
ReplyDeleteCivilized people don't wish death on anyone, as you did on Grace. By posting anonymously you're showing that you're ashamed of the way you're behaving. Your actions will unfortunately only reinforce the world's stereotypes of China.
To Brilliantcorners ,
ReplyDeleteFor Christ sake, have you think thru deeply on what you had suggested. Requesting China to return Tibet to Mongolia, seemed fair but at what costs. Conversely, can the West return all Americas, Australia and other part of the world they have conquered, back to the natives. How about all the treasures that they have plundered and then kept in their homeland. So much for your great ingenuity lol.
To Tom Plaine,
You quote, "Civilized people don't wish death on anymore". Such beautiful sentence!! So much humility from a 'civilised' Westerner.
Get real, man. Or maybe, you're still dreaming. Have you ever has a 2nd thought what happened to Iraq and Afghanistan. Has the West ever regret of the exploitation, human rights abuse, slavery and etc, from centuries of colonialism. No, it's not the end from your great cilivisation. You continue to abuse 3rd world countries with all your heavenly words such as human rights, and economic mismanagement. Has Africa and other developing countries suffer enough with the mismanagement of IMF and World Bank.
No, you didn't suffer for all you know. You see no evil, and you hear no evil. As long as the West continues with a good living standard, it's great to lecture the poors and the underdeveloped with your wonderful scripts.
Not bad to quote "Your actions will unfortunately only reinforce the world's stereotypes of China". Sound too familiar with the following scorn, "Either you are with us, or against us". I rest my case here.
I think you are an idiot of the history of China. Mongol was part of China in the history and part of Mongol was forced independent by former Soviet Union from China during the World War II
ReplyDeleteEinstein said 'Nationalism is an infantile disease'.. well, and he's not gonna be proven wrong any time soon.
ReplyDeleteWell, if Tibet is historically part of China.. why stop there.. how about Korea, or Vietnam even.. Vietnam has been occupied by China during the Han dynasty.. centuries before Tibet!
This is scary and could get out of control. Didn't the Chinese leadership just talk about 'Peaceful Rise' not too long ago? As a Southeast Asian, I'm feeling quite uneasy with the turn of events.
Remember.. Live by nationalism, die by nationalism. Hatred, anger, and malice always metastasize in unexpected ways.
Tectona said.."Well, if Tibet is historically part of China.. why stop there..".
ReplyDeleteThat's what we called cock and bull story. Beware what you said. Did China ever say that Vietnam and Korea belong to China? Maybe you don't even understanding yourself, what more trying to write about China. My nice advice to you, "Read more, travel more and understanding more, then probably you'll be more matured before dropping a line or two here". FYI, I am not from China but I have more respect for China than most major Western countries.
Bravo, Grace Wang.
ReplyDeleteBravo Chen Shui-Bian. the loser in Taiwan Presidential elction.
ReplyDeleteJotman,(is this written by you?) you said 'In my opinion, the refusal of the Chinese netizens to scrutinize their own best "evidence" against the Western media demonstrated a worrisome lack of critical rigor'
ReplyDeleteSorry i have to use the same words on you.
You said Wang 'earnestly tried to mediate between pro-Tibet and Chinese protesters during a campus rally'. But look at this
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/17/us/17student.html?pagewanted=2&ei=5088&en=40279cb244690470&ex=1366171200&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
Sherry, a Chinese graduate student who declined to give her last name for fear of being harassed, had a less heroic view.
“She claimed she wanted to make communications between both sides, but actually she did nothing before that night. She didn’t communicate with any organizers and actually was just performing,” Sherry said. But she called the backlash against Ms. Wang “horrible.”
“There are a few students that are very angry at her,” she said, “but there are many others who try to protect her, try to speak for her. Actually, the majority didn’t think she did so wrong to be treated like that.”
She said Ms. Wang had squandered some sympathy when, in an article in The Duke Chronicle, she blamed the Duke Chinese Students and Scholars Association for helping to release her information through its e-mail list.
FYI, at smth.org (maybe you know it), some people were really angry at her too, but also some people defended her- unfortunately this situation changed after she repeated to several media how she would stay in jail for ever if she came back to China and she was the one who knows how to independently think.
(i just saw
http://www.globalvoicesonline.org/2008/04/13/china-fallout-from-the-free-tibet-protests/?rcommentid=1434287&rerror=incorrect-captcha-sol&rchash=2b77a5a1adf379da6ef7e96819906f70#commentform
i guess you already knew the reason some people think her as a speculator and the rumor saying all she wants is a green card.
BUT, I think that posting her personal information especially harassed her parents are really horrible and there are no excuses for this kind of behavior and I am sure i am not the only one who think so.
BTW, don't be so surprised that the internet censor is not working on Wang, if you google 3377, jiangyan... you will know the so called human flesh search enginee are everywhere. If you are interested, you would like to see the want-ad of google@china on April,1.
All i want to say is that : attacking a 20-year-old girl is disgraceful (whether like her or not), but
'It should come as no surprise that some Chinese netizens have acted upon the entirely unsubstantiated claims made against young Grace Wang and her family. Now anyone can see that the method of early attacks by netizens against the Western media was a harbinger of things more malicious and patently wicked.'
Sorry i cannot see the connection, the anti-cnn thing is accompanied by figures and videos, if you disagree with it, you can anti anti-cnn, if you have hard evidence. You see'the scanty evidence behind the claims of the "anti-CNN" Chinese netizens' movement', then show us how scanty it is. There is a reply to cnn' reply about cropped figure (i think you also mentioned it in one of your thread), why don't take a look at this? I am not a media expert, why not share your thought on this?
There are a lot of figures and videos on anti-cnn, you can show us how this infomation are not misleading and I am ready to be convinced.