Jottings from the Granite Studio

一．Powerful essay by Ma Jun posted on the China Dialogue website, “Participation not markets, will help China’s environment.” (中文) Ma argues that the market reforms of the past 15 years have had some success but that the market alone cannot resolve the country’s ecological crisis or the explosive economic inequalities that have accompanied China’s economic development. Ma’s take on this problem is quite provocative in that his solution could only occur with a level of openness in the political process that the CCP would probably find nearly impossible to stomach:

China stands today at a crossroads. Going backwards is no solution, and there is no future in debates about “left” and “right.” Chinese society is experiencing a proliferation of many different interests; the real question is how to prevent any one interest group monopolising the policy-making process for its own gain. In order to achieve this, public decision making must be open, with informed participation by all interest groups. This will allow the public to exercise their environmental rights, and in doing so find the delicate point of balance between growth and the environment.

二．Joel Martinson at Danwei, posts a link to another powerful essay, this one on the state of China’s media. In the wake of the murder of Lan Chengzhang and recent articles on extortion and blackmail by people posing as journalists in China, blogger Wu Fei writes about how the Chinese media decides what is and is not newsworthy. (”News comes to them that wait” (中文) After a series of poignant examples, Wu Fei writes:

If you become a reporter, then you could spend your days working like this. If you write a report saying that laborers who do not wear safety harnesses should not be allowed to work heights, or that the transportation department should install cameras in the area around schools, not only will no one pay any attention to you, but you might even get people thinking that you are out to cause trouble; rob the masses of their enjoyment of the news, and papers have no selling point.

News is always waited out. To elaborate, it’s waiting for people to make mistakes; if we go seeking out trouble and make preparations beforehand, if we resist scrambling about chasing news and are only willing to put effort into avoiding catastrophe, then we’re really not up with the times.

三．From one of my favorite China blogs, Richard Spencer of the Telegraph, writes a stirring essay from Gansu province and wonders what it is about this obviously poverty-stricken region that is so attractive. Thinking of Gansu and its even poorer neighbor Ningxia, Spencer writes:

Several of the villagers we interviewed, however “backward” their living conditions, had motorbikes; some had redecorated their courtyards with tiles; many, if not most, had televisions. This may be sentimental, but I felt the people of Gansu thought they had something to look forward to.

I note from the state media that, once again, illegal land seizures were the major cause of civil unrest in China last year. Land seizures bespeak prosperity - that it’s worth putting up a new office block or apartment complex. No such good or bad fortune for the people of Gansu.

The government talks about tackling inequality as a route to pacifying the people in China, but the contrast between (as far as I can tell) peaceful Gansu and strife-ridden, wealthy Guangdong should remind us that inequality is not the problem, but iniquity.

The people of Gansu may never get rich, like the people of Guangdong. But if they do, we can only hope it will be on the back of what little they have got, rather than what is taken from them.

四．Finally, I’m still posting daily over at The Peking Duck while Richard TPD is busy on his current projects. Please drop by, the conversations are always lively.