HK media face off Xinjiang officials
Interesting development to the alleged beaten up of HK reporters by Xinjiang paramilitary personnels today… high profile, long-term pro-CCP members of HK’s legislature and admin councils etc are speaking up against the Xinjiang gov with strong wordings (reported by Apple Daily, in Chinese). The only one who dare not to speak up for HK is Chief Executive Donald Tsang. Shame on him.
Hong Kong media reject China’s probe over alleged police beating of journalists in Xinjiang
CP — Hong Kong media Wednesday rejected the results of a Chinese investigation into allegations that police beat three journalists covering the recent unrest in western China.
The investigation by Xinjiang authorities blamed three Hong Kong journalists for inciting unrest in the troubled city of Urumqi last Friday. The journalists said they were kicked, punched, and shoved to the ground by police before being detained for about three hours.
The TV journalists were covering the aftermath of a mass protest by Han Chinese in Urumqi after a string of needle attacks the Chinese government blames on Muslim separatists.
A Chinese official accused the three Hong Kong journalists Tuesday of “instigating” a group of demonstrators and breaking local regulations as they reported on the protest, according to a report by the official Xinhua News Agency.
“Security personnel repeatedly asked them to leave but failed. Under such circumstances, they detained three of them,” it quoted Hou Hanmin, director of the Xinjiang Autonomous Regional Information Office, as saying.
Hou did not say whether police beat the Hong Kong journalists, but said “something that everybody doesn’t want to see took place,” Xinhua reported.
Hong Kong news organizations that employ the journalists issued separate statements Wednesday to rebut Hou’s comments.
“Our reporters were conducting legal reporting work on that day,” TVB’s News and Information Services Division said in a statement. “The allegation of inciting public disorder by the relevant Xinjiang authorities is wholly a fabrication.”
Now TV said Hou’s comments were false and the station would complain to the central government. The Hong Kong Journalists Association also condemned the investigation.
Unlike mainland China, Hong Kong is promised Western-style civil liberties and is home to a vibrant media industry known for its aggressive, uncensored coverage of the rest of China.
HK Standard too reported on the continued repercussion:
Pressed on all fronts
Thursday, September 10, 2009Leading figures from across the political spectrum have united in outrage over the beating of three Hong Kong journalists by police on the mainland.
The trio from the broadcast media were covering the ethnic strife in Xinjiang at the time.
Top members of the Beijing-linked political camp demanded a full and frank probe into allegations that they incited a crowd.
Democrats said the incident reflects badly on the mainland in general, while a leading member of the Civic Party talked of “vile” allegations.
Amid the uproar, Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen pledged to keep in close contact with Beijing to try to ensure the safety of media personnel when reporting from the mainland.
“I have already written and reflected the opinion of the media to the Xinjiang government,” Tsang said.
Letters had gone to the State Council and the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council.
Claims of police brutality were leveled by TVB senior reporter Lam Tzo, his cameraman Lau Wing-chuan, and Now TV cameraman Lam Chun- wai – all of them now back home – after they were seized trying to cover a protest rally in Urumqi on Friday.
The rally turned into a riot.
In turn, the Xinjiang Information Office claimed they had incited the crowd.
Ip Kwok-him, a Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong legislator and a local delegate to the National People’s Congress, said Beijing must launch a full and detailed inquiry into the beatings.
Party chairman Tam Yiu-chung and seven other local NPC deputies have written a letter to Vice-President Xi Jinping and NPC chairman Wu Bangguo. “It is a serious accusation that Hong Kong reporters have allegedly stirred up the crowd,” their letter read.
“Therefore, concrete proof must be provided and openly investigated.”
Rita Fan Hsu Lai-tai, a member of the NPC Standing Committee, said the claim of incitement against the men is “totally unpersuasive.”
Democrats were more blunt in denunciations. Democratic Party lawmaker and former journalist Emily Lau Wai-hing urged reporters to unite and react to protect their rights. The incident has “utterly tainted” the mainland’s 60th anniversary celebration next month, she said.
Party chairman Albert Ho Chun-yan said the incident dampens confidence in the Xinjiang government, saying what it claims as “facts” in the case are “totally unreasonable and distorted.”
Civic Party lawmaker Ronny Tong Ka-wah said it is unacceptable for authorities to make “vile allegations” against journalists performing their duties.
“The accusation is so unfair to Hong Kong reporters,” Tong added.
Among other reactions, the Liberal Party sent an open letter to Prime Minister Wen Jiabao to demand a full investigation, while 10 members of the League of Social Democrats staged a protest march from the Liaison Office of the Central Government in Hong Kong to Government House.
And veteran Hong Kong journalist and commentator Ching Cheong – who spent more than 1,000 days in a mainland prison for alleged espionage – said Beijing has aggravated the contradictions in its media policy.
Asia Sentinel translated a HK blog on the incident:
Translation of a blog post by Hong Kong blogger “Those Were the Days” entitled “In Serious Protest Against the CCP Government’s Shameless Smearing of Hong Kong Journalists, Accusing Them of Inciting Public Disorder”
Here is my translation of the blog post:-
“Even now I still cannot calm down. Only rage, rage and rage. Only extreme (expletive) rage!
I can never imagine how a government, a great nation, which has more or less squeezed itself in on the international stage, and which has earned a bit of status in the international community, can be so shameless, knavish, lawless, unable to tell right from wrong, black from white, turning a victim into an accused, twisting facts and twisting truths – how can such a nation and motherland be so thick-skinned as to tell Hong Kong people to be patriotic?
Hong Kong journalists were beaten and arrested by Xinjiang police. Although the Xinjiang authorities confiscated the films shot by Now TV, but just by watching the TVB news clip, any person with a normal cognitive mind would be able to tell that the TVB and Now TV journalists were absolutely subjected to the Xinjiang police’s unreasonable use of physical force and prohibited from their reporting on the Xinjiang protests. Adding the evidence of the reporters’ body wounds on top, it is an inconcealable fact that the CCP government was using violence to clamp down on freedom of the press.
Yet the Xinjiang official press office can dismiss all facts and evidence outright and tell lies with eyes wide open, turning the plaintiff into the accused, and vilify Hong Kong journalists, saying they were ‘using gestures to direct the protesters and were suspected of inciting public disorder’. The press release also says that the journalists refused to show their reporters’ permits, and kept scurrying in the crowds, thus three of them were arrested after law enforcers’ advice was ignored. ‘In the process of enforcing the law, some things happened that none of us wanted to see happen, and we deeply regret this.’ This was not the end of it. The press office went on to accuse the Hong Kong media who were sounding their support for the victims, saying ‘Some media are taking the chance to fabricate irresponsibly, and some individuals, not understanding all the facts, have made irresponsible comments.’
(Expletive) Who is really the one that’s irresponsible? Is it the Hong Kong media? Or is it the Xinjiang press office? My colleagues and I watched the Hong Kong reporters on TV in solidarity at the news conference, pressing the question whether it was alright to beat up people, whether it was alright to beat up reporters. Some reporters even shouted: ‘Government is shameless!’ I have to salute them. They were still physically inside Xinjiang, still under the rule of that barbaric government, yet they dared to publicly rebuke the barbaric rulers. At that moment, Hong Kong reporters broke out from their inhibitions. Beijing and Xinjiang government, please don’t underestimate Hong Kong reporters’ morals.
I hope all Hong Kongers will not treat this incident lightly. I hope they do not think it is a matter that would not concern them, and that the CCP government is only after the disobedient Hong Kong media. Under today’s ‘one country, two systems’, the CCP government is still circumspect and may not blatantly detain Hong Kong journalists. However, they are already tightening the noose and raising the stakes – they are using ‘inciting public disorder’ as a weapon against Hong Kong journalists. If Hong Kongers continue to keep silent and let them do whatever they want, there will be a day when that kind of treatment will be used on us. If Hong Kong journalists are incapable of defending their freedom to report, then that freedom will gradually be eroded, until one day when everyone loses all kinds of freedom. Then, it will be too late to change anything, and Hong Kong will truly experience death.
So, when we still have hope, when we can still voice our opinion, we should express our views about our core values, including freedom of the press. Hong Kongers must let the CCP government know that we can say no to them when things get unbearable.”
Note: The TVB news clip of the news conference is included in the link.
Blogger EastSouthWestNorth did a decent translation job on recent newspaper clippings about the beating. Please visit his site for details.
Video links:
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMNJ5jbPvKw&feature=player_embedded
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8O_e3Ou78sA&feature=player_embedded
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xB4VumEaXWY&feature=player_embedded
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3tPdlPyRA0&feature=player_embedded
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QybXdEyQO5M&feature=player_embedded
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=td-Pkb0oVdo&feature=player_embedded
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jHttPWF9VQ&feature=player_embedded
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when HK journalists got beat up its big news in HK when a woman got beat to death by security guards at a walmart store in china its no big deal. just because they are HK jounalists does not mean there should be a double standard here. in china u can get beat up thrown into jail and be accused of things u did not do. so really there is zero need to make a big deal out of it. this is not even about freedom of the press. this is about freedom from violence and such freedom does not exist in china if u are a person of chinese origin. HK taiwanese and what not . if u want to decry china, start with the basic. thou shall not beat up people, period.
this freedom of the press talk is simply barking up the wrong tree.
so terrible in china??this is a side of china that i never knew as lw described.i had a happy life in china before i immigrated to vancouver.maybe this should be due in large part to that i was indoctrinated from an early age with my parental discipline and was brought up to respect authority.so i didn’t suffer in my hometown.but in canada i hv experienced the so-called freedom of speech and democracy,i paid the price to knew what a true canadian democracy complete with free speech was !
dn china is one terrible place if u are poor or anti gov’t or both. what price did u pay in canada??
sorry lw ,i can’t agree with you.you seem to have a bias against china.with your stories about china or just watch/listen to chinese news from mass media of north america?i was raised ,educated and carving out a career in china.i believe china is not a terrible place to most of chinese people. i am extremely grateful to my country for all the opportunities given to me before i immigrated.though some defects (like the social security system,the laws,political system…etc) need to be reformed in china.but no country in the world is perfect.
btw,i make it a rule never to repeat a disgusting experience cos i don’t want to to make a deep impression of it on my mind :P but i can tell you there is no big difference between china and canada in terms of freedom of speech and democracy at least to small potato…
I agree with the scepticism against the account of the incident by the Xinjiang authorities. But I disagree with the harsh bashing of the Chinese government and the mainland as a whole. It’s just absurd to label the whole mainland guilty of the incident
chinese communists are good people? they are violent, greedy and corrupt. they are good at oppressing their own peoples and showing off their grandiose celebrations to the world. how shall it benefit the country if the Chinese gov’t should have all the money and nothing else?
電視編輯險丟命﹕民族政策失誤種禍根 2009年9月13日
【明報專訊】現於新疆醫學院任教的電視編輯塔依爾．哈木提，幾乎命喪漢人拳腳。「那天南門很亂，我去接媳婦(妻子)下班。遊行的人問：你是漢族還是維族？我說我是維族。他們就喊：打死這個人！旁邊武警特警什麼都有，但就這麼看着。打我的人太多，擠不進來，就前面七八個人在打，女的用小包打，男的拳腳打。我跑到警察前摔倒，他們追上再打。我跳過鐵欄杆跑去清真寺，武警叫我到二樓，一看原來躲着許多人。」在家樂福任職的傷者吾斯曼江說﹕「我逃向武警求救，但他們也把我打了，還綁了起來！」
哈木提說：「這是不該發生的，我們都想和平生活。扎針，說得誇張就是生化武器，很危險！政府要透明，8月20號已經有了，29日政府才發短訊通知市民注意，太遲了！我不相信熱比婭策劃。衝突是長期高壓政策的總爆發。」
教育不公難走出貧窮 維族怨氣大
他說，90年代之前，新疆的市長、縣長書記都有維人擔任，「毛澤東反對大漢族主義，比較平衡，但現在高層全是漢人，我們被邊緣化，經濟全在漢族人手裏，熱比婭當年財產2億，現在一百個新疆富豪沒有維族」。教育雙語制令維族知識水平下降，「喀什200多萬維人，100個娃娃才9個上高中，那麼多人到內地打工，百塊錢。很多人南疆找不到工，每天打枱球，他們都是炸彈，以後暴亂的根源！」
「以前的維族古裝片、愛情片，反映本民族特質，現在只歌頌黨，愛情片被改成打倒分裂分子，沒有藝術價值。年輕作家借印度寓言寫小說，兩只鳥在籠裏外對話，裏面有人餵，外面有自由，卻被指分裂判刑。」娛樂可治療「7．5」傷痛，「但娛樂欄目全被停播，電視天天開會歌頌民族團結，我在新疆電視台的《我在春天等你》，『春天』被曲解成維吾爾獨立而停播，這是一個很恐怖的事情！」
新疆政府的聲望跌入60年來的谷底，維漢市民都要「王樂泉下台」。但哈木提卻冷靜指出：「問題根源在於民族政策失誤，王樂泉不換無所謂，政策不換，流血不會停止。」
You sound like a Felon Goon; not a rational person
lw thank you for providing the article which shows the violence was the result of political and ethnic conflicts.yes,some communists are very bad.most of chinese people lost confidence in political system due to previous notorious political disorder and corrupt officialsand regime.it still makes my heart ache when i recall my grandpa, whom i love most in all my life,was persecuted to death for his right-wing political views during the crazy political unrest.but the situation has been improved a lot.since the eighties our gov’t committed to reform and the state policies turned to economic construction instead of political activities.the gov’t has been trying to creat a stakeholder economy in which all members of society have an interest in its success.the new policies brought the hoped-for economic recovery and rapid growth as well as corruption:)chinese people have noticed some major changes in their life and already took the great advantages.if we read current china with a positive eye,we will see its great prosperity in the near future.at this point people all over the world will envy not sympathize chinese …
perhaps this is one of the best written, less biased western media report on what really is going on in china; from the financial post:
chinese gov’t protecting its own people ? well then the first thing it should do is to address the june 4 massacre.
it is self deception to talk about the cultural revolution or anti-rightist movement in the early 50′s as if the communists have stopped being bullies and killers. June 4 alone will do the trick. if the communist are any different than before they should acknowledge they would never repeat june 4 again . the truth of course is different. tibetans get beat up and killed did they not when they want to stand up to the communists? falongong get persecuted too/ name me one group of people who can stand opposed to the communist and live well in china.
i am not a fan of falongong but at least i am not ignorant about their plight in china and that plight is shared by all peoples in china who want to challenge the communist rule.
the chinese gov”t has to appear it cares about its citizens but the chinese gov’t will be the first to beat up its citizens. the difference is like a stern and feudalistic parent he can discipline his children like crazy but when an outsider wants to educate his children he gets all indignant.
i will be the last person on earth to engage in china bashing but the level of ignorance out there about the true face of the chinese communist is simply amazing.
western media no matter how bias they are bias with a purpose. the bias is intentional and they are not fools. but when people are blind or ignorant . they are fools.
now on economic progress. it is indisputable that under the communist rule china has turned into an economic powerhouse in the last 10 yrs. but it is this sustainable and at what price? and is it really because of the communists that the economy took off or is it simply because they let capitalism in and expand itself plus the chinese people being intelligent and hard working and all that.
but the real counter argument is simply this the communists are sitting on a whole pile of money like an Arab king but the country is still full of people who are dirt poor and uneducated. the have nots. i thought communism is supposed to be good to poor people. so in a democracy this gov’t will not be so bold as to have these never ending self gratifying celebrations , one after another the latest one oh the 60th anniversary of communist rule. why don’t they do something to help fight poverty with all that money they gonna spend on themselves? ? .
before i make any comments,i would like to ask a question: if you are a strong man with power,how will you treat a more small and weak person when you think he has offended you even if not on purpose?and would you even bear with anyone challenging your authority?the communist is just human being not the God. the communist party gov’t is vested with overall authority in china. it is common sense that the dictator around the world always refuses to relax his grip in power and never treats people who stand opposed to him very well,period!
“if you are a strong man with power,how will you treat a more small and weak person when you think he has offended you even if not on purpose?and would you even bear with anyone challenging your authority?the communist is just human being not the God. the communist party gov’t is vested with overall authority in china. it is common sense that the dictator around the world always refuses to relax his grip in power and never treats people who stand opposed to him very well,period!”
omg .. it sounds like you’ve a slight fever of Stockholm syndrome. :lol: j/k
This is the 21st Century, not the dark ages of slavery. China is a modern country and must learn to respect her citizens’ rights. However I trust you are better informed and more knowledgeable about China than me.
“This is the 21st Century, not the dark ages of slavery. China is a modern country and must learn to respect her citizens’ rights. ”
what gave you above idea,buddy? your words stunned me – i had no idea you felt that way.it sounds like you twist in my words completely.so sorry:( i am not servile.one can imagine what it will be like when a stone is struck by a egg.i never encourage people to mount such a suicidal attack…
“omg .. it sounds like you’ve a slight fever of Stockholm syndrome. :lol: j/k”
the joke went right over my head and puzzled me:S could you pls do me a favour to explain it a little more?you know my english level is limited.
dn don’t read too much in my silly comment. As I said I know little about China’s politics. But I’ve a heart fof the Chinese people :) Reading how they abused HK reporters etc, annoyed me. :(
obviously ,happy you are good at making fun of people:)seriously i really want to know in which case i can joke somebody has “a fever of Stockholm syndrome “. what is the characteristics of the syndrome ? don’t tell me this is the words for taunting a person!that’s too bad if so:(
sorry for the late reply, but lw, I’m not saying the Chinese government was all righteous. Sure it does have corrupt officials and the government as a whole did wrong things. For this case, the LOCAL authority ought to be condemned. I don’t trust the account by the local authority either. But to the level action of the local authority as the action of the central government is ABSURD. That’s my point. Some people react as if the whole of mainland is evil. That’s even more “huang tang”. The local authority is wrong. But the people who equate the action by the local authority with the central govt and the whole of mainland is extreme. One is wrong, the other extreme
i am sorry taikor i guess according to your understanding then, june 4 is the work of local gov’t. the tibetan crackdown again the work of a county gov’t xinjiang & falun gong persecution the work of village administration.
the central gov’t is so benevolent u only see them going to earthquake disaster zone to care for the displaced people
i cannot believe there are so many people whose mind has stopped learning
I stated “For this case” which refers to the rough treatment of the HK journalists not other issues you mention here. Either my English is terribly bad or you have problem with reading
the beating of HK journalists is the work of village administration and some village head ordered a crackdown on reporters and then the head of the xinjiang information office (whatever its called) was ordered by the grandson of the village head to make public and international statements to deny those allegations.
in china i guess according to your understanding its the little guys that tell the big guys what to do.
i think your problem is u want to defend the communists by using commonly adopted lines from the excuse bank of china oh, we run our country well but fr time to time the small local guys did bad things to people. oh, my english is no good… oh the leadership of china is not corrupt see they are doing something to fight corruption…
hehe,i originally 100% agreed with taikor.now i can’t help laughing when i read lw’s vivid and humorous debate which seems reasonable too.politics is too complicated to me.pls give me a fair hearing.i feel that it remains hotly disputed mainly because you guys look at the issue from different angles.it is a loaded question and you are all very independent-minded persons.so nobody can be easily convinced.anyway,it is good to hear dissenting voices in a brainstorming session to broaden the mind.
So, according to your understanding, we should all agree that the central govt in Beijing ordered the beatings, eh? And the communists are all evil, eh? None of them are good guys, yea?? Ok, it still sound nonsense to me. Thanks for the effusive rhetoric anyway. It didn’t change my mind. You still sound like a felon goon
taikor, i 500% sure lw isn’t falun gong. i know him personally. to me if someone called me falun gong i’d consider it an insult. i don’t agree with lw on many of his views re china. but being anti-communist is far from being a member of falun gong. :)
Sounds like a felon gooner to me doesn’t mean I believe he is. However, it does show that he has the potential. Tbh, I am one. I’ve said this in other forums in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and China. I join the group for fun and to see the crazy and secret sides of them. Then I find it’s a sheer waste of time and worry cos it’s too crazy, no one believes them. Their bibles… you’ll chuck it in the dustbin the moment you read it says you can talk to the rocks, walls and trees
hahahaha ….you pretended to be a felon gooner in order to see their crazy and secret sides?! you are such a curious boy and full of fun! i thought most IT guys should be serious but you are an exception!
Ermm… not pretending. I join them officially. According to process as it should. I like secrets. I was an ex-Muslim as well when I was in primary. I get to enter mosques and eat free foods. FLG, I don’t go to their exercise and preaching sessions anymore. But I still listen to their radio channel occasionally — “Xiwang zhi Sheng” (Voice of Hope), broadcast from a nearby Indonesian island called Batam. I test drive cars with my buddies on weekends now
in the mao era the best way to end a debate is to call someone oh u are a capitalist roader u are a right wing reactionary and the person will have to start running for his life because mob anger is triggered. this has not changed much. today the magic words are u are a FLG. and the curtain of fear will descend and people will go home to cook dinner.
i have a lot of sympathy for the people in china who have been living under the policy of FOOL the people . but for people like taikor who resort to using the FLG label to attack people i have no sympathy for them. they live in a free world, their mind is supposed to work a bit better than that of those in china.
from the fifties to end of the seventies,chinese pople with foolish loyalty had been living under the policy of fool the people .since the eighties,chinese people have become more intelligent after having gone through those unforgettable political brainwashing ordeals.here is a popular phrase “the officials have policis,the people have countermeasure” showing what a smart mind we chinese people have!under a tyranny as lw described,you can see most of them still can enjoy liberty & leisure and gained the greatest benefit from the policies without violating the govenment’s variable rule.maybe lw has never been lived in mainland of china.so pls don’t sympathized with chinese ppl according to your imagination only.you should admire them for their excellent skills of surviving well in the crack :P
If I didn’t mention FLG, I’d still say you sounded irrational and extreme. This part didn’t change.
I wasn’t keen to pursue an argument. So I pass a remark and intended to leave it to rest. The way you took this so negatively it start to look ridiculous to me. You were intolerant of thoughts favourable towards the communist. I merely challenge your stand. I don’t think was attacking you. And the way I make fun of you was probably too harsh, unpolished and unskillful.
You have no tolerance (sympathy) for my views. I won’t back down on my stand about the nature of your argument and the communist either. Unless I’m convinced. Remove the Communist Party of China and replace it with Democratic Party of China, you’d still get the same corrupt, greedy, violent and oppressive lot joining the latter. It’s pointless to continue further here. Adios…
goodbye two little teenagers. never intended to try to persuade people whose mind has stopped learning. been there and know it would never work. luckily there are still quite a few chinese people overseas or otherwise who have no illusions about the chinese communists.
i remember when i was a teenager,my dad told me wise men change their mind but fools never.he warned me never to be the frog in the bottom of the well.thanks dad for the very sound advices.seeing people can be so blindly obstinate when he wants to be is a nightmare! good bye and good luck!