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China's pre-emptive crackdown

The people doth not protest

Feb 28th 2011, 15:39 by J.M. | BEIJING

AN ATTEMPT by unidentified microblog users to whip up a “jasmine revolution” in China has produced little visible response so far except for police jitters and a revived official antagonism toward the foreign media. It has also created friction between China and America’s outgoing ambassador, Jon Huntsman, who was seen on February 20th near a McDonald’s outlet in Wangfujing, in downtown Beijing, where messages circulated on the internet had called on people to congregrate. (Mr Huntsman said it was a coincidence.)

The ambassador has now issued a statement strongly condemning the detention and harassment by police of several foreign journalists who tried to cover the response to another call for protest, this time on February 27th.  One of the journalists was punched and kicked, by people who appeared to be plainclothes police, and then detained for several hours. Several reporters had their cameras and video equipment confiscated. A report by the Foreign Correspondents' Club of China (which has since been removed from the club's website) counts 16 news organisations whose staff were harassed by police: either assaulted, manhandled, deprived of their equipment or detained. Mr Huntsman called on the Chinese government to “hold the perpetrators accountable”.

Chinese officials have accused the foreign media of overreacting to the attempt at a protest; a handful of ordinary citizens did appear to respond to the call in Beijing and Shanghai, but only a handful. They were quickly taken away by police and were at all times outnumbered by journalists. But the police response suggests a kind of worry on the part of the officials: they seem to be profoundly concerned about the country’s vulnerability to large-scale upheaval. The massive security deployments on February 20th and 27th, and the accompanying detention and surveillance of dissidents, indicates they feared a real possibility of serious unrest. They pulled out all the stops to cow the government’s critics into silence.

In Beijing this has included measures directed at the foreign media that are reminiscent of the dark days that followed the bloody suppression of the Tiananmen Square protests in 1989. Todd Carrel, a reporter for ABC news, suffered serious and lasting injury at the hands of plainclothes thugs on the square in 1992, while covering the anniversary of the crackdown. In the buildup to last weekend, numerous foreign correspondents were given warnings by the police that they would need official clearance to report in either Wangfujing, ordinarily a busy shopping street, or Tiananmen. Although officials have often insisted on clearance to conduct journalistic activities on Tiananmen, the extension of such restrictions to Wangfujing was new.

In many cases the police insisted that journalists visit them at an office building to receive these warnings. One colleague was told that he had to turn up at the building on Sunday afternoon, just when the protest was due to happen. When he said this was not convenient, he was told there might be future difficulties with his visa if he did not comply.

The security in Wangfujing that afternoon was extraordinary. I walked up the length of the broad pedestrian street and saw as many plainclothesmen and uniformed police as I did shoppers. Two police officers stood at the ready with attack dogs. I saw one foreigner being escorted away by police and others being stopped to ask for their identity papers. Later, say reports, water was sprayed over the street in what appeared to be a deliberate attempt to scatter anyone who might linger. Civilians in red armbands, a sort of unarmed militia who are often mobilised to assist police with major security operations, such as during Beijing's Olympic games in 2008, were out in force on Wangfujing and streets leading into it. Any attempt at protest would not have lasted a minute under such scrutiny.

The government is always edgy as it prepares for the annual session of the country’s legislature, which begins this year on March 5th. But as security precautions as far afield as Kashgar suggest, it is more than usually nervous this time. Copies of The Economist on sale in Beijing had last week's Banyan column (about China in the context of the Arab world’s turmoil) ripped out by censors. CNN’s reports on the upheaval are often blacked out. Even Mr Huntsman’s name has become a blocked search term in China.

China’s prime minister, Wen Jiabao, in what might have been partly an attempt to assuage any would-be revolutionaries, promised in an online “chat” on Sunday (hours before the called-for protest in Wangfujing) that the government would continue efforts to tame inflation. Rapid increases in house prices have been causing strong resentment among those not yet on the housing ladder. “I only have two years left for my tenure of office. I think the work in the two years will be not at all easier than that in the previous eight years, but will be much tougher instead”, said Mr Wen. Certainly China’s police are braced for trouble.

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1-20 of 220
crisericson wrote:
Feb 28th 2011 4:33 GMT

I would like to suggest to the government of China that they allow the People of China to hold protest demonstrations under rules similar to those in the U.S.A.
The U.S. National Park Service provides Permits for Demonstrations for the purpose of giving a message.
http://www.nps.gov/nama/planyourvisit/permits.htm
People pay a $50. permit fee and can have a demonstration at the National Mall, Washington Monument, Lafayette Park across from the White House, etc.
You can call the U.S. National Park Service 1-202-619-7225

If people go out and Demonstrate their message, then the members of U.S. Congress will have more to look at outside their windows than just spring cherry blossoms in Washington, D.C.

Cris Ericson http://crisericson.com and http://eb-5.biz

Yeahsure wrote:
Feb 28th 2011 4:40 GMT

Just because I don't like the Communist doesn't mean I trust the frickin' Western media either. Punched, kicked? I bet those are hyperbolic expressions for pushed and pulled. Some lowlife "journalists" from major Western news outlets (aka propaganda machine) wouldn't hesitate to become the news themselves to make a name.

jbay wrote:
Feb 28th 2011 4:57 GMT

Self Fulfilling Prophesy? By restricting freedoms you're adding fuel to a tiny spark. Let people talk, congregate and speak peacefully. Peacefully being the operative word. I don't understand why China should be so afraid?

D. Darko wrote:
Feb 28th 2011 4:59 GMT

Yeahsure wrote:

Just because I don't like the Communist doesn't mean I trust the frickin' Western media either. Punched, kicked? I bet those are hyperbolic expressions for pushed and pulled. Some lowlife "journalists" from major Western news outlets (aka propaganda machine) wouldn't hesitate to become the news themselves to make a name.

My Response: I see no journalist referred to this story. I guess getting "pushed and pulled" hasn't gotten them famous yet.

I mean, what's your point here? That there isn't actually repression in China? Or that every single journalist in the West is a propagandist?

BobLee1974 wrote:
Feb 28th 2011 5:08 GMT

If the ruling class are not careful, they will have front row seats to a revolution:

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2011-02-26-wisconsin-saturday-rally_...

Feb 28th 2011 5:09 GMT

China is so affraid for the same reason all these other governments are affraid...when people find out how their governments have been taking advantage of them they will turn violent. and no government in the world can hold down their entire population, if it were to rise up in unity. No peacefull protest will bring down these dictators; they rule with violence and they will not just step down and relinquish power because of a few protests. If you think a bunch of people holding signs and shouting slogans will make world leaders give up their power and riches, your fooling yourself.

I personally think civil disobedience is the way to go. peacefull and takes away all those "workers" the government uses to reap in their riches. It's a heavy price to pay but if it works it can bring down any system made by man in the world!!

hedgefundguy wrote:
Feb 28th 2011 5:12 GMT

Note (Sarcasm mode: ON)

It's a good thing the people don't protest.

I demand cheap iPods, iPads, iPhones, computers, clothing, etc.

If they stray from thier jobs to protest, that means less output which could lead to higher prices due to shortages.

(Sarcasm mode: OFF)

Regards

L.Y.Z. wrote:
Feb 28th 2011 5:23 GMT

@ crisericson: Wow! I have not known yet this charged form of protest! Congrats to American govt. that pushed the capitalism to the edges!

@ Yeahsure: I fully agree with you about the tremendous sense of opportunism that the Western media is showing with the way they portray the Chinese popular unrest, sparked mainly by the soaring inflation that it is corroding the Chinese income, the Purchasing Power Parity, in which is also widely taken advantage by the political activists, the anti-commies.
But it is useless to be mourning about this biased reporting, because that is the essence of the politically engaged journalism.

nkab wrote:
Feb 28th 2011 5:53 GMT

This is the time of the year to be cautious sensitive in Beijing. Not for the “Jasmine” tea party, but for the annual full assembly meetings of Chinese Congress (People’s Representatives Assembly, as well as People’s Consultative Delegate Meetings) to convene beginning on March 3rd. I believe over 2,000 registered media reporters are now in Beijing reporting the meeting sessions.

The traffic, the security and the what nots of all these thousands of Delegates, Representatives and reporters are big bundles to handle, the police (uniformed and plain clothed) really has had their hands full around this time of the year every year traditionally.

I have to admit that the West media is trying to make something on this out of nothing this time. I ought know, as I live there.

The funny part is that without anything abnormal to report, the best the West media can come up with is this: “ But the police response suggests a kind of worry on the part of the officials”.

It’s so ironic that Ambassador Jon Huntsman, who was uncovered seen on February 20th near a McDonald’s outlet in Wangfujing, in downtown Beijing (only about 200 meters away from Great Hall of People where the Congress is held), where Chinese messages originated from a web site in USA, circulated on the internet had called on people to congregrate (Mr Huntsman said it was a coincidence.), would issue an about face or cover up statement that “The ambassador has now issued a statement strongly condemning the detention and harassment". It's almost like an "admission of guilt".

Even the Wall Street Journal questioned the apperance with a headline like “What was he doing there?”

And what was the good ambassador doing over there Mr. Economist? I wonder.

mazim wrote:
Feb 28th 2011 5:54 GMT

China is obviously at a cross road given the economic progress that has made in the last thirty years yet the progress on democracy has fallen short. Given th epolitical manuvering that is taking place in China does give some pause to the political and economic progress that took place in the last three decades. As China is getting ready to take new leadership in couple years with the installment of Li Xinpin and it is said to be that the progress may stall once the new leadership takes place.

It is time for the Chinese leadersip to take into account that most vigarous transformation of democratic process continue with free speech, religeous freedom along with equitable economic benefit for all Chinese people. I hope Chinese leadership does take it seriously before the people takes it to the street of Beging or in Wangfuging and many other Chinese provinces. We will look closely in the days to come if the Chinese leadership gets this broder message that is also shaping up in the broader Middle East and North Africa.

Rich McNally wrote:
Feb 28th 2011 6:07 GMT

It really is a disappointing and cold notion that the, soon to be, biggest economy in the world, Oppresses freedom on such a scale.

KAMiKZ wrote:
Feb 28th 2011 6:10 GMT

How did the photographer of this photograph make out?

nkab wrote:
Feb 28th 2011 6:17 GMT

BTW, on that spot in Economist own words: “February 20th near a McDonald’s outlet in Wangfujing, in downtown Beijing, where messages circulated on the internet had called on people to congregrate.”

In the Economist own words again: “ a handful of ordinary citizens did appear to respond to the call in Beijing and Shanghai, but only a handful.”

In other words, very few, if any, Beijingers gathered there for the purported purpose, with perhaps many passerby (on the pedestrian-only busy plaza of a McDonald’s outlet in Wangfujing).

It was a total failure (to gather people) except for foreign reporters with camera crews ready for actions there.

The episode prompted a Singaporean media commenting it turned out to be something like a “convention of Foreign Correspondents' Club of China” there instead.

PL123 wrote:
Feb 28th 2011 6:43 GMT

"The episode prompted a Singaporean media commenting it turned out to be something like a “convention of Foreign Correspondents' Club of China” there instead."
----------------------------------

@ nkab

May be FCC is just around the corner. All foreign correspondents are just taking a walk too, they are harmless like the walking Chinese there.

forsize wrote:
Feb 28th 2011 6:46 GMT

china is not a partner you can build a future with. it is a paranoid, aggressive, oppressive, mercantilist dictatorship. cheap stuff is nice, but there are other things of value as well.

PL123 wrote:
Feb 28th 2011 6:46 GMT

Rich McNally wrote: Feb 28th 2011 6:07 GMT .It really is a disappointing and cold notion that the, soon to be, biggest economy in the world, Oppresses freedom on such a scale.
--------------------------

@ Rich McNally

That remind me of the great nation of democracy in the world which still hold Guantanamo prisoners!! Jail the innocent people life long. What a shame !!

Dr. Rice wrote:
Feb 28th 2011 6:51 GMT

There won't be protests in China that even come close to threatening the government. China is experiencing something that it really has never experienced before, its citizens are proud of their government. The citizens might not be nationalistic, but the government is close to retaking its status as the "Middle Kingdom" the citizens see this and are rightfully proud.

PL123 wrote:
Feb 28th 2011 6:51 GMT

@ New Conservative

How big is the mass you mean in your comment ? 100 or 200

No Mist wrote:
Feb 28th 2011 7:03 GMT

@nkab

> "I have to admit that the West media is trying to make something on this out of nothing this time. I ought know, as I live there."

guess the world has really become a village for all citizens to know exactly about motives of every other citizen. else nkab has supernatural powers to decipher the intentions of "west media".

or just living in the west is enough to do it. hey you all west living citizens, have you ever known this so clearly ? dumb you !!

No Mist wrote:
Feb 28th 2011 7:05 GMT

i like the title of this article

"The people doth not protest"

so full of irony, wit and sarcasm ! amazing ! may add --

"the people's republic doth pretests"

1-20 of 220

About Asia view

On this blog our correspondents across Asia survey its many fast-changing parts, from Afghanistan to the Pacific islands, stopping at all points in between to take in politics, business, pan-Asian themes and local arcana.

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