Unkie Herb

Adam just informed me that my site has been unblocked by Chinese censorship programs. I wonder what I’ll post about next…

I read an article today in the Globe and Mail, far and away Canada’s best newspaper, about the Chinese government asking for money from the Canadian government. The request was for “goodwill gestures”: scholarships, bureaucratic sabbaticals and a $60,000 donation to an impoverished region of Yunnan province. The return? The ability to set the agenda at the annual human rights dialogue held between the two countries. The bipartisan meetings were first held in 1997 but were last observed in 2005. A committee from the Canadian House of Commons is reviewing the dialogue under the allegations that it is nothing but a futile attempt at propaganda. I think we can all agree that when we read about “allegations” of this sort, they are most likely entirely true.

What is most troubling about this development is two-fold. Firstly, it illuminates the reality that despite this dialogue taking place for eight years, China refused to table any agenda that discussed the following issues: Tibet; the Muslim minority in Xinjiang province; Taiwan; the Falun Gong; or, as the Globe puts it, “other sensitive issues.” The second and more distressing issue is domestic: how can Canada claim to be a force for good in the world when farcical “talks” such as these are part of our foreign policy?

When I first heard about the two-party talks, I had some faith in the Canadian government. I expected that Canada, utilizing it’s role as the raw materials supplier, would have some leverage. While China may not be quite as bad at treating its own people as places like North Korea, Myanmar and Sudan, it does have 1.3 billion people to oppress, magnifying the harm caused. What’s more, those three examples of heinous freedom denying nations are all propped up by Chinese interests. I was clearly misguided. Some of the worst practices - the violent repression of the Falun Gong religious movement, for example - weren’t even allowed on the agenda. How can Canada expect to press China on its record as a human rights violator if it agrees to drop the most damning evidence of violations from the talks? What were the discussions about?

“Gee, China, have you guys done anything bad recently? No? Cool. Check ya next year.”

China, though, seems to be making progress. The media is, slowly, being allowed to criticize the policies of local governments, albeit lightly. After revelations of dangerous and harmful products being exported from China (the great pet food scare, for example), a high ranking government official was sentenced to death. I guess that’s a step in the right direction, isn’t it? Either way, the image burnishing is clearly in full flight. What troubles me is that when China offers to re-open a discussion panel based on receiving some compensation, they are clearly not quite in tune with the spirit of the talks. Sure, it keeps Canadian headline readers happy. Sure, it makes Canadian government officials look diligent. But, unconditionally, it must not actually affect Chinese policies - otherwise the discussion is over. Look at Sudan. Here is a self-genocidal government supported by arms and oil deals with China. Despite massive public and political outcry, China continues to deal with the regime, legitimizing it.

Perhaps why I chose to write on this topic, though, is not just because I enjoy screwing with the Chinese administration. To a certain extent, I appreciate the efforts China is making to clean up its act, something that must be very difficult in the face of historical precedent and the international pressures of economic expansion. No, I write these rants because I am fed up with a limp-dick Canada purporting to be a bastion for all things good in the world. The Canadian government is, all things considered, a laughingstock. Canadians, per capita, are the worst polluters in the world. Our greenhouse gas emissions are disgusting. Our landfills overflow into other countries. We are rich and fat and comfortable and we have stopped caring about the impoverished of the world. We have the opportunity, using pressure on Chinese resource interests, to truly create change in some of the most desperate regions of the world. We do not take this opportunity.

In the end, China’s faults are our own. Canada needs to recognize it’s shortcomings in the international arena and address them immediately. I used to quiver with pleasure when Canada topped the world rankings for standard of living. I no longer wonder why we have been dropped from the top spot. This country does not deserve its international and domestic reputation. Canadians should be the first to recognize that. Perhaps it will take the sacrifice of some business interests to regain our position as the defenders of altruism, that is a definite risk. I question, however, if our natural resource sectors cannot sacrifice some portion of their massive profits in order to reaffirm Canada into it’s desired position - the good guys.

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In August of last year, I traveled from Taipei to Shanghai to visit two high school friends. A beautiful but troubled city, Shanghai was surprisingly different from Taipei. Freshly flashed, it has dealt with it’s rampant poverty by slipping it under the carpet - a ploy not so successfully pulled off. My friends’ apartment was squarely central, jammed between dramatic new condos, People’s Park and a massive slum neighbourhood. Whereas Taipei grew naturally, free markets and democracy having taken effect there some time ago, Shanghai has shot off like a rocket, with predictable results.

For more on this fascinating city and China in general, check here.

Unfortunately, after my travels I seem to have lost my favourite photos of Shanghai, showing it’s grit. Old men in pale boxer shorts playing chess in the park, the watchful eyes of a Marx/Engels statue over their shoulder. A small child playing in a scummy pond under drooping trees. Sagging two story houses, the number of people dwelling inside astounds as much as the fact that the building still stands. This is China.

My photos below show another side, China the new. Soaring, brightly lit skyscrapers, museums, parks. Jackie, a Shanghainese friend of my buddies, laughs over martinis at a hotel bar forty stories up. A child plays with a sprinkler in the park. This is China.

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The Chinese government has, through computer controlled censorship programs, banned my website. It is possible to still view this wonderful site (personal opinion) in the Wild East, but a proxy server (i.e. internet backdoor) is required. I know this thanks to my friend Adam, who is living in Shanghai again, and an anonymous Chinese person who posted a comment in my last post (”China, what have I done?”).

Now, it may seem reasonable to leave well enough alone and ignore the issue. Adam is, through connections, fairly sure that if I were to just continue to happily write posts without referring to the issue it would clear itself up. Once the offending posts (it’s a good bet that the political references in my Dr. Seuss post are the culprit) are archived off the main page, the ban will lift.

But that’s just not how I roll.

The Communist Party of China (CPC) took the country through diplomatic means in 1945, led by everyone’s favourite, Mao Zedong. Ever since then, the country has been a bastion of freedom and openness. During the Cultural Revolution in the mid 1960’s, the government organized the re-education of those who had been led astray by outside influence. Around half a million lost souls believed that their opinions were actually their own property, and were satisfactorily reprimanded. We all know that to truly be free, we need to accept the state unequivocally.

Since then, beginning with Deng Xiaoping’s visit to the southern provinces, the country has moved with varying speeds toward the free market economy we know and love today. The minor protests in 1989, while attracting international attention, were nothing but a blip on the radar for the resilient Chinese, who are strong in the face of adversity and loss. With the approach of the Beijing Olympics next year, look to China to become a world leader in many fields, not least of which are human rights, an independent press, high standards of living and equality of opportunity. These, of course, are the same values held by the mighty United States of America, with similar success. Perhaps the current tensions that have arisen between these two mighty powers is simply a case of two big fish in the same pond - we can’t have two leaders of the “free” world!

What I hope to express here is my respect and reverence when I ponder the CPC. It has ruled the most populated country in the world unopposed for sixty-plus years. If that isn’t an accomplishment to be appreciated, I’m not sure what is.

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Well.

Apparently, according to my man Adam, my site has been blocked by Chinese government censorship programs. Unkie Herb is no longer available to 1.3 billion people. Perhaps one or two people there actually want to read this site, but its the principle of it, damn it.

Oh well. I’m just wondering what it was that got me blocked there. I also wonder if this is permanent or not. Either way, I’m not stressing. Perhaps if I write some pro-Chinese Communist Party stuff on here the ban will be lifted. Anyway, Adam commented on my post below (”Restrain yourself“), here it is:

Adam:

This all relates to the idea of the “other.” People can only define
themselves in relation to something else. Something only has meaning
or value relative to something else. The “other” serves this purpose.
People normally view themselves in a positive way, so the “other” is
imbued with the qualities that they view as their antithesis. All of
this anti-whateverism is a natural byproduct of self-identification.
And it varies according to scale. Within Canada, people in other
cities hold themselves up against Toronto. By creating Toronto as the
embodiment of what they don’t like, they have given themselves an
identity. Step it up a level and you have anti-americanism. When you
get to Thailand, the guy next to you from Montreal certainly isn’t
the other. But that doesn’t mean this same process isn’t going on. As
you guys have sort of touched on, the problem is when people don’t
differentiate between the idea of Toronto and a person from Toronto.

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