Cut from a different cloth: Former Nepali migrant worker is now an entrepreneur - Former migrant worker Krishna Raj Timilsina returned to Nepal and started his own garment business; now he is providing jobs for many fellow Nepalis.
伊拉克與香港:劉曉波的矛盾 - Liu Xiaobo's Contradictions on Hong Kong and Iraq
End-of-year commentators and so-called journalists, specialists of the Chinese scene single out Xiaobo's incarceration as one of the momentous events in Chinese politics for 2010. What they fail to point out is the lack of common sense often displayed by Liu Xiaobo (and the Chinese government) in his own analysis of western events and history. The first of his controversial statements, available in many websites in the west, is his declaration that the west has been able to modernize Hong Kong in a hundred years and that it would take China 300 hundred years to accomplish similar modernization for the whole country.
Liu Xiaobo's demands for democratization in his own country are legitimate and his work in the drafting of the Chart 08 零八憲章 a formidable and courageous act. The Chinese government's reaction to its signing would make one believe that it has no plan B should economic growth fail except one of utter panic. An economic crisis or financial and banking bubble in China would certainly bring extreme unrest and lift many Chinese out of political apathy that repression would find nearly impossible to control.
Liu's second declaration, his approval of Bush's invasion of Iraq is more difficult to comprehend. We don't have to agree with him but Liu's extreme desperation at his own government policies within China proper might very well have blinded him to the consequences of the war for Iraqi citizens. At the time, China's position was very similar to France's position, namely that weapon's inspections should continue. Liu's reaction to China's policies might very well have turned into a systematic opposition: do not trust the messenger, China, and therefore do not trust anything China might decide on the world stage, internally and abroad.
香港 Hong Kong 1843
Liu has no confidence in China's leaders intention to modernize China. He, however, like most Chinese Leaders, in spite of his noble ideals, still has an amateurish approach to worldwide politics. In particular, he is not aware of Hong Kong's social problem and history. Hong Kong was not a Chinese city that has been undergoing modernization: it was nearly created from scratch and was built into a "modern" 19th century British colony. Its special status has made Hong Kong what it is today: a vibrant city where the latest immigrants are always available as a source of cheap labour and a multi-faceted culture. Like Taiwan, it also enjoys a compulsory pension scheme, something sorely lacking in Mainland China.
Taiwanese friends who have recently moved to Hong Kong find its mix of East and West attitudes, culture and languages fascinating and puzzling. Liu Xiaobo's hastened declarations do not do justice to Hong Kong.
Would Iraqi people be happy with Liu's support of Bush's war? Most of Iraqi citizens have become deeply disillusioned with the war that was supposed to bring them democracy but instead have brought a huge number of casualties. Iraqis, however, would not like to return to Saddam Hussein's. They find themselves in a limbo state, forced to move forward, if they can. Like many small countries and colonized peoples, they are not totally in control of their own destinies. They have other concerns than the Nobel Peace Prize.
Iraqi casualty figures
Iraqi casualties
Iraq Family Health Survey 151,000 deaths March 2003 to June 2006
Lancet survey 601,027 violent deaths out of 654,965 excess deaths March 2003 to June 2006
Opinion Research Business survey 1,033,000 deaths as a result of the conflict March 2003 to August 2007
Associated Press 110,600 deaths March 2003 to April 2009
Iraq Body Count project 98,170 — 107,152 civilian deaths as a result of the conflict. 150,726 civilian and combatant deaths[1] March 2003 to October 2010
WikiLeaks. Classified Iraq war logs[2][3][4][5][1] 109,032 deaths January 2004 to December 2009
伊拉克戰爭平民傷亡
伊拉克戰爭平民死亡人數
自2003年3月
伊拉克家庭健康調查 15萬1千例暴力死亡 截至2006年6月
柳葉刀(Lancet)雜誌調查 60萬1027例暴力死亡 截至2006年6月
ORB(Opinion Research Business)民調機構調查 衝突造成103萬3千例暴力死亡 截至2007年8月
美聯社 11萬6百例暴力死亡 截至2009年4月
伊拉剋死亡統計網站(Iraq Body Count) 衝突造成9萬5888—10萬4594名平民死亡 截至2010年4月
China's reaction to the Nobel Peace Prize does not factor in human casualties, neither does Liu Xiaobo's statement on the rightfulness of Bush's war. The Nobel Prize has usefully laid bare contradictions from the Chinese Government and Liu Xiaobo. Not everything in China is as simple as black and white.
Wen Jiabao's declarations on China's need to move towards a more democratic system have not been broadcast in China. One wonders at China's number 2 declarations not deemed safe for home consumption.
Surely Wen can see reason in Liu Xiaobo's position and create a momentum for change.
Labels: China, Hong Kong, Human Rights, Languages, Liu Xiaobo, Taiwan, 人權, 劉曉波, 台灣, 語言, 香港
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