Olympic Countdown: 100 Days To Go

Just 100 days remain before the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics.
On the 8th of the 8th, 2008 (at eight past eight, of course), the Games will begin and we'll know a lot more about the future of world affairs than we do today.
These three months are arguably the most important in the history of modern China's relationship with the world.
I visited the stadium this weekend and, although you can't get into it, the facilities and the areas surrounding it look amazing. But that's not what matters most.
China's handling of the inevitable protests from Tibetan separatists, agitation from Taiwan, and criticism from external human rights groups will be telling.
Is the Beijing government capable of allowing a controlled, non-violent protest in Tiananmen Square?
Will the authorities be comfortable with lifting media censorship (permanently)?
Can the Taiwan issue be solved diplomatically rather than with the threat of military intervention?
Will China be mature enough to ignore ill-informed insults and accept fair criticism?
Stay tuned - it's going to be interesting...

Beijing needs PR advice to compete with media savvy Dalai Lama

Headlines like 'Dalai Lama is spewing lies' do little to aid China's efforts to communicate with the world.
Today's China Daily has a lash at the Dalai Lama who Beijing accuses of presenting unquestioning the Western audiences with unsubstantiated claims about events in Tibet.
The article is spot on in highlighting the Dalai Lama's skill in delivering his message to the media. He is, it says, adept at rallying support behind his cause.
But the author fails to conclude that China should take a leaf out of the Dalai Lama's book when it come to public relations.
Like it or not, if you want to communicate through media channels, you have to play by their rules. If you are concerned with influencing Western minds, you need to understand their media.
Outsiders see a smiling old monk complaining of suppression by an angry authoritarian communist (a loaded term in the West) regime with a dubious history.
Intemperate rants about this nice old geezer 'spewing lies' or being 'a wolf' just strengthen the image of China as a bully and allows the violent rioters to be painted as heroes.
Beijing's anger needs to be focused on communicating effectively. They need an affable figurehead who speaks in terms that the target audience understands.
This will have to be matched with actions such as allowing freer access to foreign media covering Tibet. [The province reopens tomorrow, having been a no-go area for over a month.]

The full article is worth a look:
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2008-04/30/content_6655137.htm

On the general decency of ordinary Chinese people

Amid all the negativity doing the rounds online about Tibet, the Olympics and western media bias (some of which has found its way onto these pages), it seems fair to remind those who have never been here that Chinese people are fundamentally decent.
Maybe it's a pity that I feel it necessary to say so, but at every turn in China, there's somebody looking to make a good impression on foreigners. This concern for what outsiders think may partly explain the sensitive reaction to external criticism, but the upside is Chinese people desperately want to do you favours!
Today, I remarked that I'd had a bit of a headache when I woke up this morning. Within half an hour, I was presented with (a) a recipe for a simple herbal treatment (b) an invitation to go to a student's dorm to collect a special tea used for curing common ailments and (c) a bag of freshly bought ginger and an unopened bag of brown sugar - another headache remedy.
And it's not just in Beijing. In Qingdao, a local woman escorted us to our hotel - even though it was a mile out of her way - and then gave us her spare umbrella as a welcoming gesture. In Jinan, a young school student helped us navigate the chaotic transport depot, ensuring that we got on the right bus to Tai'an. He later emailed me to ask if everything worked out alright.
As I've said before, I don't believe the Olympics are truly apolitical, but when all the chatter subsides and the Games begin, the Chinese will be excellent hosts.

Last of the fake designer bags (and toothpaste)

Roll up, roll up for the last of the knock-off Louis Vuitton suitcases, D&G shades, Calvin Klein boxers. The glory days of fake Chinese goods is coming to an end. Or so they say...
China is stepping up efforts to curb intellectual copyright infringement, under pressure from big business to protect their brand names.
Last year, Chinese customs officials seized more than 333 million pirated items with a total value of $63 million.
The goods were found in the US, Uk, Japan, France, Greece, Germany, Holland and, of course, China. No mention of Ireland but officials from An Post have recently highlighted the large volume of fakes being sent through the post.
Slightly bizarrely, the item singled out for special mention in media reports is the 300,000 units of counterfeit toothpaste confiscated by customs in 2007. The paste was branded with Unilever logos but was churned out in a factory in central China.
Other items listed by officials include: clothing, footwear, headgear, toys, bags, electronics and auto parts.
No mention of DVDs - thank God.

China agrees to talks with "wolf in monk's robes"

The Beijing government is to meet with represent- atives of the Dalai Lama, CNN reports - although you can't believe anything those bastards say (see below).
China used the harshest language available to slag the smiling holy man following violence in Tibet. Amongst many, many other things, they referred to him as "a wolf in monk's robes" and accused him of masterminding the protests.
In a carefully worded statement, Beijing said they would accept repeated requests for talks, making it clear that it was the Dalai side who came to them.
And, just in case Tibetan separatists get the wrong impression, a Chinese official is quoted as saying it is hoped the Dalai Lama will make "credible moves to stop activities aimed at splitting China, stop plotting and inciting violence and stop disrupting and sabotaging the Beijing Olympic Games so as to create conditions for talks."
Note the last clause: is the implication that talks are conditional on the Dalai Lama admitting to plotting and sabotage?
I see three possible scenarios here:
a) China wants to appear open to talks but will set preconditions which force the Tibetan side to turn down the offer of dialogue.
b) China will bring the Dalai Lama to the table on his knees, making him denounce separatism and support the Olympics (both of which he has more or less done in the past). This would send militant young Tibetan rebels over the edge leading them to look for a new political figurehead and/or launch a new wave of violence which the Dalai Lama has said would be enough to make him quit. Either way, the Tibetans would be divided and conquered.
c) China and Tibet will reach a compromise which respects the will of all people in Tibet and addresses inequality between China's eastern and western provinces.

I'm hoping for (c) but betting on a bit of (a) followed by plenty of (b).

Just 2% of Chinese believe foreign media - 86% reckon state media tells truth

A new opinion poll reveals just a tiny fraction of Chinese people trust non-Chinese media, while almost 60% registered a deep disliking for France.
The survey was taken in the wake of a month of bad international press for China, notably following unrest in Tibet and the chaotic Olympic Torch Relay.
Of the 905 people surveyed (an infinitesimal proportion of China's 1.3 billion), 2% said they had faith in foreign media, while 86% believe Chinese news sources.
The questions asked of respondents - and the timing of the survey - suggest some in China are as happy as anyone to stoke nationalist sentiment and wedge open a divide between east and west.
50% said what the words and deeds of the Dalai Lama "deepened their repugnance toward him". Not exactly neutral language.
Respondents said they are reacting to perceived negative sentiment towards China by starting petitions, holding protests, blogging and boycotting French goods.
France came in for further pummeling in the questionnaire.
Having been the second most popular country ("second to the Motherland") in 2003, France has fallen out of favour with 60% registering "a growing dislike for France". I don't suppose it's growing the longer this stuff stays in the news, is it?
State media speaks of 'simmering resentment' towards France following what it calls hostile gestures, including disruptions to the Olympic Torch Relay in Paris.
All the French really did was fail to control Tibetan protesters, and then fail to condemn them. And then failed to get really excited about the Olympics.
Protesting is a way of life in France. They can't stop people taking to the streets, regardless of whether they agree with their cause.
However, France isn't the only nation falling in popularity. Canada, Britain and Germany also dropped in the rating - no mention of Ireland though. We're still insignificant enough not to feature at all, despite the best efforts of Minister Gormley.
The survey is statistically meaningless but still made the top of the news in China. It's also full of contradictions which pass without mention in the press here.
For example, 90% oppose boycotts and protests held overseas. But 39% are boycotting French goods and 21% are taking part in spontaneous protests in public places.

In summary:
Chinese media - good
Foreign media - bad
Chinese boycotts - good
Foreign boycotts - bad
Chinese protests - good
Foreign protests - bad

Paris back in Beijing's bad books...

Just when France appeared to be weaseling its way out diplomatic trouble with China, they've gone and landed themselves in the merde again. Yesterday, Nicolas Sarkozy invited Chinese athlete Jin Jing back to Paris to make amends for how she was treated during protests at the Olympic Torch Relay.
Today, the mayor of Paris decided to offer honorary citizenship to the Dalai Lama. Sacre blue!
For a brief spell yesterday evening, plans to boycott French companies and hold protests outside Carrefour on May 1 were quite likely being reconsidered.
Now the Paris city council, led by Mayor Bertrand Delanoe's Socialists and the Green Party, have given China the two fingers - much to the despair of Sarkozy's chums in the conservative UMP which voted against the motion.
Beijing called this 'another grave provocation'.
However, the boycott of Carrefour is likely to hurt China as much as France, given that 99% of its employees here are Chinese and 95% of its products are made locally.
China has been harping on for weeks about how boycotts don't work. Perhaps that only applies to the Olympics...