February 12, 2008 10:30
Spielberg Drops Out of the Beijing Olympics
After months of discussion and speculation, Steven Spielberg has announced he's dropping out as an artistic advisor for the opening and closing ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics. The director cited the ongoing bloodshed in Darfur and says that Beijing needs to do more to urge Sudan to stop the fighting there. Sudan's government bears "the bulk of the responsibility for these on-going crimes but the international community, and particularly China, should be doing more to end the continuing human suffering there," his statement reads. "China's economic, military and diplomatic ties to the government of Sudan continue to provide it with the opportunity and obligation to press for change."
The Beijing Games organizing committee has yet to issue a statement, though one is expected later today. Nicholas Bequelin of Human Rights Watch believes that their response will be measured, given the influence of international pr handlers, but that government representatives not directly associated with the Games could be much more defensive. "This is bad news for China," Bequelin says. "They are trying to have a perfect Games ... and present a picture of unmitigated success to the world and here is something that is not a success."
The big question is now how this will influence foreign corporate sponsors of the Olympics. Human rights groups are trying to pressure companies like GE, Coke and McDonald's, saying that they need to make public stands on issues both inside and outside of China. There's no sign that any of them are prepared to follow Spielberg out the door, but if that happens China's hopes for a glorious Olympics could be seriously tarnished.
Below, the full text of Spielberg's statement:
STATEMENT FROM STEVEN SPIELBERGREGARDING BEIJING OLYMPIC GAMES AND DARFUR
FEBRUARY 12, 2008After careful consideration, I have decided to formally announce the end of my involvement as one of the overseas artistic advisors to the opening and closing ceremonies of the Beijing Olympic Games.
In anticipation that this day might one day come, I left unsigned the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games contract presented to me nearly a year ago. Since that time, I have made repeated efforts to encourage the Chinese government to use its unique influence to bring safety and stability to the Darfur region of Sudan. Although some progress has been made along the way, most notably, the passage of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1769, the situation in Darfur continues to worsen and the violence continues to accelerate.
With this in mind, I find that my conscience will not allow me to continue with business as usual. At this point, my time and energy must be spent not on Olympic ceremonies, but on doing all I can to help bring an end to the unspeakable crimes against humanity that continue to be committed in Darfur. Sudan's government bares the bulk of the responsibility for these on-going crimes but the international community, and particularly China, should be doing more to end the continuing human suffering there. China's economic, military and diplomatic ties to the government of Sudan continue to provide it with the opportunity and obligation to press for change. The situation has never been more precarious – and while China's representatives have conveyed to me that they are working to end the terrible tragedy in Darfur, the grim realities of the suffering continue unabated.
This has been a very difficult decision for me, as I have cherished the relationships with my Chinese counterparts, in particular, the noted director Zhang Yimou, who is a close personal friend. I have learned a great deal from working with him and all the other creative artists along the way. There is little that is more rewarding than to collaborate with those who bring vision and imagination to a challenging artistic task. And I greatly appreciated the spirit in which we worked together - a spirit that embodied genuine friendship and respect.
For me, the Olympic Games represent an ideal of brotherhood designed to bridge cultural and political divides. I am committed to building bridges between peoples and I saw, and continue to see, the Beijing Games as an opportunity to help ease some of the tensions in the world.
China has much to offer the world and I have no doubt that its international contributions will grow in the years ahead. With growing influence, however, also comes growing responsibilities. As China welcomes the world to Beijing for the 2008 Olympic Games, I hope to be among those in attendance; and it is also my great hope that, with renewed and intensified efforts from China, there will be peace and security in Darfur at last.
February 11, 2008 1:26
China Releases Another Journalist
Days after a Hong Kong reporter was released from a Chinese jail, another Chinese journalist has been freed. Yu Huafeng, an editor at the Southern Metropolis Daily, was released Friday after serving four years of a 12-year sentence for embezzlement. That conviction was seen by many as punishment for groundbreaking reporting his paper did on the SARS outbreak and on the beating death of a young man named Sun Zhigang while in police custody in Guangzhou. Yu's release came three days after the freeing of Ching Cheong, a Hong Kong reporter for the Singapore-based Straits Times who had served two years on a spying conviction. Another Chinese journalist, Fuzhou Daily editor Li Changqing, was released earlier this month. Li had been imprisoned for spreading false terrorist information in connection with an article that appeared on an overseas Chinese website. (See Roland Soong's summary of that case here.)
What to make of China's sudden leniency towards jailed journalists? Reporters Without Borders says it's proof that aggressive campaigns for the release of prisoners can have results. But the rights group also notes the recent arrest and filing of charges against activist Hu Jia for "inciting the overthrow of the state" and the sentencing of Lu Gengsong, a writer in Hangzhou, to a four-year prison term on the same count. With less than 200 days to go to the Olympics, the authorities are clearly trying to put on a kinder face. But I wonder if the one in/one out style of jailing and release will help their image come August, or just make them seem capricious.
February 8, 2008 12:28
Chinese New Year in Guangzhou
On Wednesday I had a chance to hang out with some migrant workers who were stuck in Guangzhou because of the severe winter storms. Here's the piece I wrote about it, and below is a short clip I shot of Li Xiao, Guangdong general manager for Hengda Real Estate, offering a toast and holiday bonuses to employees who weren't able to go home.
Last week I mentioned how the international neighborhood near the Guangzhou train station saved me after the freezing rain ruined my shoes and I didn't have a backup pair. This week, the hood came to my rescue again. I was starving after I filed my piece at about midnight on Wednesday. It was, of course, Chinese New Year's Eve, which in terms of holiday importance is roughly the same as Christmas Eve (with the pyrotechnics of July 4 thrown in.) Nothing was open. So, if one goes to a Chinese restaurant in the U.S. to get something to eat on Christmas Eve, where does one go on Chinese New Year in China? A Turkish restaurant, of course.
Aside from staying open until after 1 a.m., the Bosphorus served delicious roast lamb and fresh bread. It's my new favorite restaurant in China. If you find yourself in Guangzhou on Chinese New Year, or any other time of the year, check it out. It's at 304 Huanshizhonglu (环市中路), 86-020-8356-3578.
I should also caution that on my way to the restaurant and back I encountered at least five friendly young men offering to sell me hash and one young woman apparently offering herself. (For the record, I politely declined their offers.) As vice goes, that surpasses even my experiences walking through San Francisco's Tenderloin.
February 6, 2008 3:33
Happy Year of the Rat
Tonight is Chinese New Year’s Eve and across this storm ravaged, coal-famished country, children, junior employees, door staff and delivery boys will be coughing politely, and extending hands, in expectation of lai see—the envelopes of money that are the customary seasonal gift. Polls in Hong Kong have revealed that the average amount each envelope will contain this year will be 20 Hong Kong dollars, or about US$2.50. Hm. If it was any less the envelope would be worth more than the money itself, which would mean that you’d be paying people to take money from you—or something like that.
Call me audacious, but I’m giving our concierge five times that amount. A venturesome US$12.50. He’s spent the past year vetting visitors, holding lift doors open, handling our parcels and wishing us good day, despite whatever existentialist doom his lot in life has most certainly entitled him to feel. He’s earned his beer coupon (which is the name we fondly give to the Hong Kong 100 dollar note).
Chinese New Year is also a sacrosanct time of family reunion (though someone should tell that to my mother, who is off to spend the holidays in the sinful palaces of Macau). So, to readers in China, I hope you made it home OK, and are not still stuck on a train on some desolate, icebound plateau, surviving on raw cup noodles and melted snow. 恭喜发财 to you and yours.
February 5, 2008 6:44
More on China's Weather Woes
Here's a quick piece following up our recent coverage of the problems caused by the huge winter storms in south and central China. And for those of you who missed it, the TIME Asia cover story from last week, "China's Perfect Storm."
As the response to the storms unfolds, I find myself agreeing with some of our commentators who say that the transportation situation is getting more attention than the possibly more serious problems in the interior, where millions have been without power for more than 10 days. That is not to say the transportation story isn't serious. The situation is now returning to normal, but not soon enough for some. One woman died over the weekend when she was trampled at the Guangzhou train station. After the jump, a video of some of the recent chaos there:
About The China Blog
Simon Elegant was born in Hong Kong and since then China has pretty much always been at the center of his life. Read more
Liam Fitzpatrick was born in Hong Kong and joined TIME in 2003. He edits Global Adviser for TIME Asia. Read more
Ling Woo Liu worked as a television reporter in Beijing and moved to Hong Kong to report for TIME Asia. Read more
Bill Powell is a senior writer for TIME in Shanghai. He'd been Chief International correspondent for Fortune in Beijing, then NYC. Read more
Austin Ramzy studied Mandarin in China and has a degree in Asian Studies. He has reported for TIME Asia in Hong Kong since 2003. Read more