China’s media war and the battle for truth

[Grim Reaper 6]

It was a reminder of the grim reality of reporting in China to the very end. As my family scrambled to the airport - late and unprepared from the last-minute packing - we were watched outside our home by plainclothes police, who then followed us to the airport and tailed us through check-in. 

And, as the BBC's experience shows, any foreign journalism that exposes truths about the situation in Xinjiang, questions China's handling of the coronavirus and its origins, or gives voice to opponents of its authoritarian plans for Hong Kong, is now firmly in the firing line. True to form to the very end, China's propaganda machine has been at full throttle, denying I faced any risks in China, while simultaneously making those risks abundantly clear. The Foreign Ministry said they are not aware that Sudworth was under any threat," the Communist Party controlled Global Times said, "except that he may be sued by individuals in Xinjiang over his slanderous reports. 

China’s media war and the battle for truth (msn.com)

 

 

[+and-then]

This reminds me of our adoption trip to Beijing, then Guangzhou.  It was a ten day stay and by the tenth day my wife and I were DELIRIOUSLY HAPPY to get to the airport and get the hell out of that place.  The smog was so bad in Beijing that our eyes stayed red and burning and the people who bothered to interact at all, tended to be rude to the point of being almost hostile.

Our daughter was six and we spent most of that ten days getting acquainted and she was having the time of her life    The kids in her orphanage only got out about twice a year for field trips and such.  Anyway, she had this thing about collecting ink pens to draw with and we were constantly trying to find a pen for one reason or another.  That night at the airport, the international gate was off limits to our Chinese guide, XiXi, so we were without a translator at a point where we most needed one.  We had some forms to complete prior to boarding and sure enough, couldn't find a pen.  We only had crayons  

The stern young man at the desk could tell we had nothing to write with and the jerk just stood there as though he was enjoying our stress.  Without those forms being completed, we were going to miss our flight.  There were a few incidents that ticked me off over those ten days but THAT ass is the one I remember most.  Thankfully another young Chinese man, I think maybe a student going back to the U.S., saw our situation and kindly gave us a pen.  Other than our paid guide, that young man was the ONLY smiling face we saw in the public.

The behavior of the CCP isn't surprising at all.  They are, after all, COMMUNISTS.  The fact that they were savvy enough to see the benefit of riding the tiger (capitalism) into the future made them a peculiar mutation of Communism but they never stopped being dictatorial and vicious toward anyone who stepped out of line too far.  IMO, the real irony in this situation is the fact that media inside China are more professional than the Zampolit that pose as reporters in America.  

[Tatetopa]

6 hours ago, and then said:

This reminds me of our adoption trip to Beijing, then Guangzhou. 

What year?  I was there in about 1985. We had a business guide so I'm sure it was easier than your experience, but it was still pretty tough. We had just come from Tokyo so the difference was amazing.   On Tokyo subways, nobody makes eye contact, they leave you in your own space.  On a Beijing subway all 100 people in the car stared at us the entire time.  I did meet some very nice people though.  I do remember the stinging smoke in Beijing.