Saturday, February 16, 2008

Banned in China

1) The People's Public of China is rumored to have 40,000 Internet censors working full time. They are mostly responsible for blocking internal dissent, anything smelling of a pro-Democracy movement, or criticism of The Party.
2) Sometime in December, this blog's hits from China started slowing down. In January, they stopped altogether.
3) My good friend and co-worker Ray is working in China now. Ray tried to log onto this site from The People's Republic, but couldn't.
4) Is it because of The Infamous Chinese Dog Story? Was the criticism of Chinese traffic too much for the nation to bear? Was it The Notorious Chinese Washing Machine Story, with its implied condemnation of Chinese manufacturing safeguards? Or was I banned for openly griping about the absence of Chinese Road Signs in The Celebrated Chinese Typhoon Story? Too many Free Market diatribes? We'll never know.
5) But now that I'm banned, why hold back? Bill M., another co-worker, sent me this a few months ago. It's about the Chinese Olympic symbol....
The United States executes about 60 people per year. That's 20 executions for every 100 million people.
China executes about 3,500 people per year. That's 270 for every 100 million people. Many of these executions have been for political reasons.
The only way the old men running the Communist Party can stay in power is to silence any and all dissent.
I defy anyone to look at this cartoon and not think of it all through the Olympics.
Addition from later today....I picked up my Sports Illustrated, and S.L. Price had a great editorial on the same subject. No cartoons, though. Not as memorable.












4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Zbeth write:
I could do without the graphic graphic.
I prefer to live in a fantasy world.

Anonymous said...

and so it is that delusion's 9/10's of reality for most. Meanwhile, thanks - I'll never look at their event's design the same way again! Cheers

Jay@Soob said...

I got banned right after receiving a rather huge (well, huge for me) influx of hits from China, some 80+ in one hour. Can't recall what the post was but the Chinese traffic petered out quickly after that. I still get an occasional Chinese hit every so often. Not sure how.

Elisheva Hannah Levin said...

I will be conducting my own personal boycott of the Chinese games. It doesn't mean much, I know, not being an organized boycott. But I just can't stand pretending that this is all about brotherhood and good will.

So while the games are on, the TV will be off.