| 【Friday Editorial 】 The 'Fifty Cents Party' and China's 'Completely Free' Internet |
Yang Lili |
| Selling their souls for fifty cents, sucking up to the authorities and turning black to white, no reward will wash their consciences clean. The mainstays of the Communist Party, their souls poisoned by power, will spend little time in self-reflection; they have hardened their hearts and set their course against the people. But do are hundreds of thousands of foot soldiers of the Fifty Cent Party really compelled to accompany them to the grave? |
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| 【Special Report and Commentary】 The Linguistic Weapons of the Masses |
Wei Yingjie |
| There is no need to draw a premature conclusion as to whether these expressions will enter the communal memory, but we cannot ignore their immediate effect on present-day society. It can be said that behind ever popular Internet catchword lies a "moving story," but only those who understand the context of the language will fully comprehend their significance. |
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| 【Special Report and Commentary】 The Beijing Olympics Through the Perspective of Universal Values |
Sheng Xue |
| The Chinese authorities have exhausted all their moves to use the Olympics to establish the government's prestige and build the regime's image. They have drawn on the entire government machinery to carry out publicity and arrange things to turn the Olympics into China's biggest political event. On that, 99 percent of the Chinese public is agreement. Not only that, the omnipresence of the Olympics in every sight, sound, and media discussion has forced every Chinese citizen, willingly or not, to become drawn into this political event. |
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| 【Today's Focus】 The Olympics Interrogates Nationalism |
Ping An |
| A series of controversies surrounding the Olympics is subtly or overtly challenging the Chinese government's legitimacy and the nationalism of China's citizens. The West's criticism of China's involvement in Darfur, Spielberg's resignation as an artistic consultant to the Olympics, the protests in Tibet, the controversy greeting the Olympic Torch relay around the world, have not only attracted the attention of the overseas media, but have also provoked the billion people of China. |
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| 【CIC News Express】 Jiangsu Housing Protester Taken Away |
China Information Center |
| Zhang Hua, a resident of Nantong, Jiangsu Province, who lost his home to urban redevelopment, was abducted by three unidentified persons on July 25. Zhang Hua had just emerged from the entrance of the Jiangsu Province Supreme People's Court around 6:00 p.m. when the three men suddenly appeared and carried him away. |
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| 【Special Report and Commentary】 Internet Opinion Overwhelms Autocracy |
Wen Yunv |
| There is a considerable distance between the Internet's virtual public opinion and institutional public opinion But this distance is shrinking, and the opinions expressed on the Internet have certainly become a positive force moving forward. The persistent assault of Internet opinion against autocracy is comparable to seeing the cavalry approaching in the distance. |
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| 【News】 Recall of Newspaper with June 4th Photo |
Ming Pao |
The July 24 edition of Beijing's Xinjing Pao published a series of photographs by noted Hong Kong photographer Liu Heung-shing, including his well-known photo of a wounded student being rushed to hospital on a cart during the June 4 crackdown on the 1989 Democracy Movement. The authorities immediately issued a recall of the newspaper, and the electronic version has been removed from the newspaper's Web site. |
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| 【Book Review】 Witness: On Yu Jie's 'Daybreak' |
Chen Zuoren |
| Yu Jie's essays are notable for their errudition and their commentary on current events from the perspective of a Christian. This collection of essays bears witness to the strength of purpose of China's new generation of Christian intellectuals, and many readers, from ordinary intellectuals to Christians, inside or outside of China, will benefit from reading them. I also believe that this collection will not only prove popular with readers, but will serve as a witness to our times, in particular regarding God's faithfulness and the flavor of China's Christian era. |
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| 【Special Report and Commentary】 The Absurdity of the 'Protest Parks' |
Yu Liang |
| The fact is that every year China has legally authorized public protests, and it has nothing to do with the Olympics. What is worth noting is the current "protest regulations" and how they are implemented. Putting aside all else, the basic requirements for a public protest are already highly antisocial, and there would be great benefit in a genuine critique of them. |
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| 【Book Series】 The End of the Song Guanghan Case |
Tang Peter |
Most of my old friends were now in their 60s, and even though we had eventually ended up in different places, we shared the same difficult history, and had suffered more than our share for the Song Guanghan case. Song Guanghan had wanted to go to Hong Kong; now the sons and daughters of senior officials all took the opportunity to go overseas, some even obtaining foreign residency or citizenship. What had resulted in imprisonment or execution a few decades ago was now the common aspiration of Party members. We could only bemoan having been born at the wrong time. |
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| 【Today's Focus】 China's Verbal Siltage |
Mou Chuanheng |
| A string of recent events has drawn censure from the public, and the authorities have responded by erecting a series of "verbal siltage." Who has the strength in a manual system to dredge out the blockage? For this reason, I feel the inability of the "ocean flow" to flush away China's censorship lies in the fear of becoming just another source of the blockage. |
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| 【Special Report and Commentary】 Only Democracy Can Bring Harmony |
Zhang Qianfan |
| If we genuinely want to construct a harmonious social environment, we must start by providing systemic guarantees of local officials' responsibilities toward the people. Perhaps local people could directly participate in forming local policy, or they could have their needs expressed in the policy formation process by elected representatives who are genuinely worthy of the name, and through public monitoring of government departments, could ensure that the laws that are passed are enforced in a way that meets the people's needs. |
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