WHAT THE CHINESE MAN IN THE STREET IS READING: MORE ON THE TRAIN WRECK

THE CHINESE 

TRAIN WRECK 

II 

WHAT 

THE MAN IN THE STREET 

WAS 

READING 

1981 

And now:  In five days, according to the reporting in the New York Times, twenty-six million messages about the Wenzhou train wreck had been posted on the two main Chinese weibos, or microblogs. 

One in a Series: China Then & Now 

{work in progress} 

A LOOK BACK AT THE PROTESTS THAT HELPED BRING DOWN THE OLD REGIME IN MOSCOW: Part III

A LOOK BACK

AT THE PROTESTS

THAT HELPED

BRING DOWN

THE OLD REGIME

IN MOSCOW

Part III

"AS THE VERBIAGE GOES UP,

THE TRUST OF THE PEOPLE GOES DOWN"

-- charted against the Gorbachev years --

Gorbachev being known as a great talker

in Manezh Square in front of the Kremlin,

Moscow, summer 1990

Part I is here

Part II, here

"RUSSIA REDUX"

WEN JIABAO, WEBCASTS, WHISTLES, & WASHOUTS: JASMINE SUNDAY #2

JASMINE 

SUNDAY 

#2 

CHINESE PREMIER  

WEN JIABAO 

(Photographed at Harvard) 

(A Beijing photograph is here) 

On Sunday, February 27, 2011, Wen Jiabao, "Grandpa Wen," the smiling face of the leadership of the People's Republic of China, went on line in a big way. On the eve of the annual meeting of the National People's Congress, Premier Wen took questions in a special webcast, and made news: Beijing would not push the economy quite so hard; he was mindful that rapid price rises hurt the people. 

Out on the street, the story was different. For the second Sunday in a row any whiff of jasmine was smothered; any possible protest was washed out -- literally, this time, by street cleaning machines and a water truck -- and whistled away -- by incessant police whistles. 

And journalists -- apparently especially photojournalists and videojournalists -- were harassed and detained and even physically assaulted. 

So there was no protest to speak of or to see -- China was not Tunisia or Egypt -- and the regime seems either prudent or paranoid -- someone in authority still thinking A Single Spark Can Start a Prairie Fire? 

WANG DAN TURNS FORTY-TWO

WANG DAN

b. February 26, 1969

ONE OF THE STUDENT LEADERS OF

"TIANANMEN"

SPEAKING AT HARVARD

FIFTEEN YEARS LATER

May 18, 2004

Imprisoned for several years by the authorities in Beijing for his role in the demonstrations in Tiananmen Square. Once had the ambition of being president not of China but of Peking University. Did complete a Harvard Ph.D. in 2008. Now, even though 'the nail that sticks up gets hammered down,' willing to speak out publicly in favor of the Jasmine demonstrations.

"AFTER MIDEAST, SHOULD RUSSIA AND CHINA WORRY?": THE QUESTION HAS BEEN RAISED. Part II

A LOOK BACK

AT THE PROTESTS

THAT HELPED BRING DOWN

THE OLD REGIME

IN MOSCOW

II

DEMONSTRATING AGAINST

PRIVILEGES FOR THE SOVIET

NOMENKLATURA

IN MANEZH SQUARE

IN FRONT OF THE KREMLIN

MOSCOW, SUMMER 1990

"RUSSIA REDUX"

POLICING THE JASMINE: ZHOU YONGKANG WEIGHS IN

POLICING THE 

JASMINE 

ZHOU YONGKANG WEIGHS IN 

Over this past weekend, the ministers and provincial leaders of China were summoned to Beijing for a special "study session"; all nine top leaders (who make up the Standing Committee of the Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party) were in attendance. On Saturday, Hu Jintao, who is General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party as well as president of the People's Republic of China, called for "raising our level of control over virtual society, and perfecting our mechanisms for the channeling of public opinion online.” 

Hu is Number One in the Chinese hierarchy. Sunday, Number Nine made his speech and won his turn in the spotlight. Zhou Yongkang (pictured above) is that Number Nine. Zhou's importance lies in his portfolio: domestic security. He basically called for nipping any potential social unrest problems in the bud. 

As they were preaching, the authorities were already moving to nip in the bud any possible "Jasmine Revolution" inspired by what was going on in the Arab world -- by preventive detentions and preemptive police presence Sunday in the locales specified in Chinese-language tweets. 

Bud nipped: so it would seem. 

Leaving behind an interesting quote or two: This "event," said one (participant observer?), "didn't have much organization, but it's a chance to meet each other. It's like preparing for the future." 

 

"AFTER MIDEAST, SHOULD RUSSIA AND CHINA WORRY?": THE QUESTION HAS BEEN RAISED. Part I

A LOOK BACK

AT THE PROTESTS

THAT HELPED BRING DOWN

THE OLD REGIME

IN MOSCOW

I

PROTESTERS DEMONSTRATING AGAINST

THE COMMUNIST PARTY OF

THE SOVIET UNION (CPSU)

IN MANEZH SQUARE

IN FRONT OF THE KREMLIN

MOSCOW, SUMMER 1990

"RUSSIA REDUX"

TWENTY-THREE MOSTLY "FORMERS" SPEAK UP FOR MEDIA FREEDOM IN CHINA

TWENTY-THREE 

MOSTLY "FORMERS" 

("PARTY ELDERS") 

DEMAND 

FREEDOM OF SPEECH 

IN CHINA; 

CRITICIZE PROPAGANDA ORGANS 

LI CHANGCHUN 

POLITBURO STANDING COMMITTEE MEMBER 

responsible for the media, and overseer of the Propaganda Department, described by the letter of the twenty-three as "invisible black hands," censoring even Premier Wen Jiabao. 

"STRATEGY 31," July 31, 2010

"31" 

Photograph © Gwendolyn Stewart 2010; All Rights Reserved 

BORIS NEMTSOV 

IN THE YELTSIN GOVERNMENT 

"Strategy 31" protestors in Russia today marked the first anniversary of their attempts to demonstrate in honor of the freedom of assembly promised by Article 31 of the Russian constitution.   Always the rallies are scheduled for the 31st of any month that has one.   The authorities seem to keep making the protestors' point that such demonstrations are needed by refusing to give permission for them, and, as today, by breaking them up. 

Prominent among those arrested in Moscow was Boris Nemtsov, one-time first deputy prime minister of Russia (see photograph above), and now head of Solidarity, the Russian version, which has the name but not the numbers of its Polish cousin.  AP reported that "An Associated Press reporter saw Kremlin critic Boris Nemtsov dragged to a police car and driven away. The rally had barely started."  Others, according to the Wall Street Journal, shouted "Freedom!" and "Russia without Putin!" and held up "31" signs.