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On a Sunday morning with thoughts of the role of the media and the power of the press fresh on my mind, I thought it appropriate to note this passage from one of Modern China’s early influential journalists, Liang Qichao. Here Liang is writing in the inaugural issue of his newspaper The Eastern Times (时报), first published in 1904:
Using fair and honest discussions, we will analyze the positive and negative, advantageous and disadvantageous aspects of these problems. We will also investigate methods for delivering the nation from danger and coping with the current situation, while cooperating with the government and conferring with the citizens.
It is the duty of newspapers in advanced/civilized nations (文明国) to report on the facts in the news, to follow the trend of international public opinion, to investigate the trend of international public opinion, to investigate conditions in the interior of the nation, to develop knowledge of politics and the arts, to introduce new ideas, and to provide materials for leisurely reading. We must drive ourselves on. We will use our writings to define and convey the will of the nation. We must also, however, take note of the saying of Western philosophers that ‘perfect
As the fascinating rapproachment between historical frienemies the KMT and the CCP continues, The China Daily is citing Chiang Kai-shek as proof “Τibet has always been a part of China.”
The papers, co-released by the Hoover Institution, under Stanford University of the United States, and Shanghai’s Fudan University, comprise archival documents and telegrams from T. V. Soong, [And Chiang's brother-in-law] the financial minister of the Kuomintang (KMT) prior to 1949.
In a telegram to Chiang Kai-shek, then Chinese leader and KMT chairman, dated May 21, 1943, Soong wrote: “(Then British Prime Minister Winston) Churchill said that recently it has been alleged that China has concentrated troops in order to attack Tibet I replied that I have never heard of such a message.
“And meanwhile, I said that Tibet is not an independent nation, as Churchill had claimed. All previous agreements between China and Britain have recognized that China possesses sovereign rights in Tibet, and I believe this fact has already been under your careful examination.”
Chiang wrote back, saying: “By treating Τibet as an independent country, Churchill has denied the territorial integrity and sovereignty of our country. It’s a great insult. I did not expect Britain would make such a
In response to a comment left on an earlier post, I’ve posted a new essay at The China Beat on western media bias and the ongoing situation in Τibet. (Mainland link)
“It’s true that following the outbreak of unrest on March 14, many in the foreign media dropped the ball, in some cases due to lazy or mistaken reporting, in others as the result of preconceived notions of the situation and a misunderstanding of the complexities in the Sino-Tibetan relationship. Meanwhile, coverage in the Chinese state media was little better in its histrionic attempts to portray the Dalai Lama as a demonic mastermind bent on splitting China and “re-imposing a slave society” on Tibetans. Chinese netizen response was sparked by justifiable outrage at faulty and biased foreign coverage of the event, but was also the product of an environment where the Party line is the only possible interpretation of either historical or contemporary ‘reality.’ Unfortunately, I fear this is not the last time in this Olympic year that competing expectations and perceptions, by the Chinese state and public on one side and the foreign media on the other, will result in unpleasantness.”
Once again, I’m going to suggest that
One of the more persistent myths of Qing dynasty (1644-1912) history is the hoary old story of the Manchu conquerors realizing their inherent inferiority and meekly taking on the culture of their subjects. The essence of the argument is that the success of the Qing in conquering and ruling such a large empire was due to the Manchu invaders’ wholesale assimilation of Han political institutions and cultural values, an explanation of Manchu success that unsurprisingly proved quite palatable to patriotic Chinese historians. Like a lot of historical myths, there is embedded in the embellishment the grains of truth.
The Qing rulers did adopt quite a few of their political institutions from the preceding Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) both before and after the conquest of China proper, and were assisted in this endeavor by a legion of Han officials who either defected or were captured and forced to serve. It’s also worth noting that even at the height of the Qing Era, few of the ‘Banner People’ spoke Manchu in their daily lives or practiced the traditional Manchu arts of horsemanship and archery. All of which was much to the chagrin of the Qing rulers, even as these same rulers, mindful of
I know, I know…NCAA pool brackets are like children, never talk about them because either people have some of their own (and so don’t care about yours) or they don’t (and so wouldn’t understand anyway.)
Nevertheless in the interest of holding myself up for public ridicule, here goes:
UNC, Tennessee, Kansas, Georgetown, Memphis, Texas, UCLA, and Duke (though I’m tempted by Xavier on that last one) in The Eight with UNC, Kansas, UCLA, and Texas as my Four, and I have UCLA beating UNC in the final.
Bring on the madness…
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