Yellow Dog [Part 5]

Donn,

Ok Donn, you have to see the paradox in your letter, don’t you? I JUST got done telling you that all the stats, all the stories, practically everything you’ve heard or read about China are untrue and my own personal experiences have SHOWN me they’re wrong, and THEN, in order to disprove my point, you quote those very stats that I just got done telling you were pure propaganda. Here’s ANOTHER story of propaganda: I was IN China during the last "Tibetan Crisis." Of course, the Chinese did NOT censor CNN's coverage. I was reading and my wife looked over my shoulder and said: "What’s that?" I told her, it’s a CNN report showing a Chinese soldier beating some poor Tibetan Monk. She looked at the picture and said, "ummm, that’s NOT a Chinese Soldier." I said, "huh? the caption SAYS it is." She then showed me picture after picture of Chinese soldiers’ uniforms, and guess what? She was right. They were NOT Chinese Soldiers at all. I then started researching and it turned out that it was a Korean uniform and an old one at that. Basically, CNN was showing footage and pictures of ANY Asian soldier and passing it off as Chinese soldiers abusing Tibetan Monks. DUDE, you’re being lied to! I don’t really think this is a hard to point to understand but I'll try again. Everything you’ve read, everything you think you know has been colored, doctored and propagandized to further our own view of the world. So, quoting those stats really doesn’t further your point.

As for the view of "American Doctors" have no interest of curing but are more interested in getting you on some drug to help out the pharmaceutical industry, the Chinese doctor telling me that didn’t change MY view. I see it every day. I have personal experience after personal experience to demonstrate that point, The one that MOST comes to mind is the time took my wife to the doctors and was waiting and waiting and waiting. IN walked the Pharm Rep. He walked right in, threw around some cash and gifts and, lo and behold, my wife was given a subscription to a NEW birth control pill that just happened to be the one THAT rep was representing. Mind you, when it got my wife sick, the doctor wouldn’t even return her call. I should have sued her. I told my wife to dump the pills and we got another doctor who gave her a different script. It doesn’t take a genius to see these guys are more interested in THEMSELVES than they are in us.

Marx


Marx,

My stats and info come from international sources [including Chinese nationals]. Are you suggesting the entire world is out there trying to give China a bad wrap, that even al jazerah is in cahoots with the their friends the United States? Follow the link below, read the article [by a reporter who actually lived in Tibet] and watch the video. The video is presented by al jazerah.

http://article.wn.com/view/2008/04/08/A_Dirty_Game_started_behind_2008_Beijing_Olympics/?section=BigPhoto&template=cheetah-meta%2Fupper-block.txt

Or don't. But know this: the international free press is a far more reliable source than China's state-controlled media. You must know this. I have no great love for CNN, but perhaps they used archived video because it's nearly impossible to get out of the country with any real, damning video. The international press is not free to roam around China shooting video of state brutality. People witness the brutality. If they can get out of country, they tell their story. But, of course, they haven't any video. [By the way, this does not excuse CNN fraudulent use of archive video. I'm no fan of CNN as I'm sure you already know....especially CNN International.] Have you been to Tibet?

You must also know that life in Maoist China was an abominable failure...that's why the leftists lost power in the late 70s. There is no debate about where the best medical schools in the world are located, i.e. the USA. The China you are witness to is the result of free market reforms and a lot of help from the West, both that offered and that stolen. Many Chinese, particularly those who live in rural areas, have seen little change.

It's a huge country, Marx. Your experiences as a guest teacher give you a snap-shot of one or two communities. I've already acknowledged that I'm sure the locals are sweet and decent people. I'm guessing you've traveled a bit, but you are obviously a foreigner and would appear to anyone as a tourist. So, China treats its tourist well. That's a good thing. But it doesn't give you infallible insight into the plight of Chinese political prisoners nor on the plight of Tibetan monks. I'm not trying to rob you of any of your happiness. I'm not just being stubborn. I'm asking you to be real.

Your opinions are based solely on anecdotal evidence amassed over four summers as a guest in China. You've already made the point that nothing in the entire free world press is accurate, and I can assure you China's state-controlled media is not reliable...so that leaves us with no facts, no data. Without data there can be no proof. Without data there can be no debate.

I'd like to continue our discussion. I think I've learned a lot of interesting things about China. I'd like to know more. But if you're going to discard all of my "evidence to the contrary" without providing any data of your own, what's the point?

You know, I work in Nashville, but I live in Columbia, 45 miles south. I've lived in Columbia for five years, all year around. In those five years I have never witnessed a crime, I have never seen an arrest. When I drive down the street in my neighborhood people in their yards wave "hello" and oncoming drivers also wave. I too have witnessed a car accident. After the collision the driver of the car at fault jumped out of their car and rushed to see if everyone in the other car was OK. There was no arguing. Last year the wind blew down some branches in my front yard. Some of them were pretty big. I was struggling to cut them up and drag them off when a truck stopped and a guy I don't even know got out, grabbed his chainsaw, and went to work with me in my yard. When I offered to pay him, he refused the money. I came to find out that he was out driving around looking for people who needed help that day after the storm....All true stories, but, is there crime in Columbia? I'm sure. I've never seen it, but it's there. Are there nasty, mean people in Columbia? I'm sure, but I haven't met any. Is there a bad cop in Columbia? Chances are there is. One person's experience in a small town does not come close to telling the whole story. How can your limited experience in a country as huge as China tell the whole story?

Donn