Blogger has to defend himself on first Lhasa reports, photos
Kadfly, the American blogger who happened to be in Lhasa when the riots broke out in March and who shot all the important photos of the riots which were then used by Reuters, NYT etc, has been under attack for b×××sh*ting for not standing on the side of Tibetans. He was also accused by some messages left on his blog that question if he was an agent for the Chinese government. He recently defended himself in a post:
(on the video) The man initially rode up Beijing Donglu slowly, with apparently no idea of what was happening. When an initial stone was thrown at him, he slowed his bike down and stared behind him quite naturally, probably wondering why anyone would throw a rock at him. That is when he realized the entire street was trying to peg him, and he sped up for a few seconds before coming to a complete stop and pleaded with the crowd on the north side of the street to stop attacking him. This is when the other man rushes up to him and the video begins.Afterwards when we were in the hotel we also wondered how the crowd was able to identify this man as Chinese. Some believed that the crowd were basically attacking anything that drove past but I remember seeing a truck drive through Beijing Street that no one stoned and people actually waved at, so in my opinion the crowd was able to tell between friend and foe somehow. I think it is very possible the man-with-the-knife is an undercover police officer but I am less sure about the motorcyclist attack being staged (unless the main attackers were undercover police officers just attacking an innocent bystander to get the crowd riled up). The attack was vicious and brutal, and very similar to the attack that left the man in the suit bleeding on the ground a few minutes later (there’s a picture of him from “Willie” in the original ‘Lhasa Burning’ post). It seemed like everyone on the street were throwing stones at the motorcyclist, so unless they all were Chinese agents I have trouble believing it was staged (though only a few people took part in the more vicious hand-to-hand assault). I suspect maybe the way he was dressed or the type of bike he was riding tipped the crowd off to his identity, or the fact he had a helmet, when very few Tibetans use one according to the YouTube expose on Jotman’s post. Or maybe the crowd really were just attacking everyone and everything and somehow the truck had managed to communicate it was on their side, or they had been throwing stones at it and I just didn’t see this. Anyways, after he escaped the attack apparently the man went back to retrieve his bike but it was taken from him again and one of the bigger fires was then started using it (“Willie” witnessed this, not me).
This is what he has to say about “media bias”:
I wouldn’t say I believe Western news organizations actively lied about what happened in Tibet. I will stick with the weaker position that they certainly did not actively try to report all parts of the story. That the rioters were violent was not well reported in the initial hours (and to an extent, still isn’t): there was much more emphasis on the Chinese crackdown when to our knowledge, they did not even yet have basic control of large parts of the city. No matter what, I think the evidence against the Western media isn’t good: they have definitely cropped pictures that have given the protests a more peaceful feel (I’m thinking of the infamous trucks photo) and they have definitely used pictures of Nepalese riot police responding with force against Tibetans in stories about what was happening in Tibet. Sure, the Chinese news agencies might be doing the very same (if not worse), but as I have said to Blogdai, I and others rightfully hold the Western news media to a higher standard.
It made me uncomfortable to learn that this young man, Kadfly, would have received so many negative responses for only reporting on what he saw. Does that mean the pro-Tibet sect cannot admit they have done anything wrong? Does that mean that they believe the level of violence should be accepted?
Having said that, though, as I wrote my buddy’s blog UglyChineseCanadians, the blindness I recently see in those “patriotics” also scares me. Their nerves are so sensitive that anyone who express a slight variation from what they say would be considered “traitors”. (believe it or not, Jin Jing, the one-legged woman fencer who protected the torch with her body, who had been hailed as a “hero” and an “angel”, was declared a “traitor” by Chinese netizens recently after she talked to Reuters, expressing she’s against boycotting French store Carrefour.)
This kind of irrational patriotism is the last thing we want to see. It’s stupid and destructive. And it reminds me of the Boxer Rebellion during the end of the Qing dynasty. I’m against the media bias thing too. But the recent crazy patriotic sentiments of the Chinese is making me nervous.
BTW, here’s a good and balanced piece of commentary published on The Guardian’s website:
China’s incompetence in its treatment of the crisis in Tibet should come as no surprise. The Chinese regime is, quite simply, a victim of its inability to reform itself. China saw in the Olympics a symbolic opportunity to consolidate and celebrate its new status in the world. Caught by surprise in Tibet, and by the virulence and popularity of what they described as “anti-Chinese” sentiments, China’s rulers have resorted to the traditional tools of authoritarian regimes, turning their citizens’ deep nationalism and sense of humiliation against western critics.Tags: human rights, hypocrisy, media bias, riot, Tibet, western media….
But the west’s hypocrisy nearly matches the Chinese regime’s incompetence. The moment the international community “bestowed” the Olympics on China, the west demonstrated how little consideration it actually gives to human rights and democracy. The idea that the Chinese regime would quickly reform the country into an open, moderate, and benevolent giant was either a fraud, a gigantic misperception, or wishful thinking.
The dilemma posed by China for democratic regimes is understandable. Caught between their desperate need for finance and markets and their need to respond to their citizens’ sentiments, they oscillate between condemnation and reassurance of China, struggling to find a coherent path that defends the West’s principles without damaging its economic interests.
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The vilification of China with lies was bad enough. To further accuse the Chinese government of complicity with Chinese netizens to attack western critics will make matters worse!
It ignores the fact that Chinese are responding to the lies, false video footages applied to Chinese authority, scant regard for Chinese victims, bias…etc. of the western media.
quote:
“…turning their citizens’ deep nationalism and sense of humiliation against western critics”