Yesterday, I learned that the jasmine flower is believed to have originated from Tibet! If this is true, there is a poignant serendipity in the fact that "Jasmine" has come to be a term applied to the revolution in Tunisia, and now it has become a banned word in China. In fact, "Jasmine" has not only been banned as a word, but it's been banned also as a flower.
Last Sunday, when Chinese responding to an online call for a Jasmine rally turned up outside a McDonald's in Beijing, they were immediately arrested. A few Chinese were arrested for carrying jasmine flowers in their hands!
First they banned "Egypt." Then they banned "Jasmine." What will they ban next?
Click here to read a longer article I wrote in the Huffington Post, explaining why China is not immune to the winds of change blowing from the Arab world.
Showing posts with label tiananmen. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tiananmen. Show all posts
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Beijing: In Power, But Not In Control
21 years after the Chinese Communist Party massacred thousands of peaceful protesters in Tiananmen Square, the same thugs are still ruling China and its occupied territories. They are still in power no doubt, but are they in control?
The answer to this question can be found in the Tiananmen Mothers, the fearless critics of Beijing's denial of history. Ignoring the threats of arrest from the police, the Tiananmen Mothers continue to demand that the government apologize for killing their sons and daughters on June 4, 1989. Last week they published a moving essay to commemorate their children who have been denied even their death.
The answer can be found in Tibet, where virtual martial law and surveillance cameras and rooftop snipers have not silenced the creative minds who continue to write about freedom, sing about their imprisoned friends, and call for Tibetans to observe civil disobedience to weaken the regime's hold over Tibet. Beijing has increased internet police and shut down cyber cafes, but that hasn't stopped the Tibetan blogosphere from churning out an endless stream of words affirming Tibetan identity, investigating Tibet's history, and advocating Tibet's future.
The answer is so simple it can be posed as a question: If Beijing cannot control a dozen elderly mothers, if Beijing cannot control six million Tibetans, how can it ever control one billion Chinese?
The answer to this question can be found in the Tiananmen Mothers, the fearless critics of Beijing's denial of history. Ignoring the threats of arrest from the police, the Tiananmen Mothers continue to demand that the government apologize for killing their sons and daughters on June 4, 1989. Last week they published a moving essay to commemorate their children who have been denied even their death.
The answer can be found in Tibet, where virtual martial law and surveillance cameras and rooftop snipers have not silenced the creative minds who continue to write about freedom, sing about their imprisoned friends, and call for Tibetans to observe civil disobedience to weaken the regime's hold over Tibet. Beijing has increased internet police and shut down cyber cafes, but that hasn't stopped the Tibetan blogosphere from churning out an endless stream of words affirming Tibetan identity, investigating Tibet's history, and advocating Tibet's future.
The answer is so simple it can be posed as a question: If Beijing cannot control a dozen elderly mothers, if Beijing cannot control six million Tibetans, how can it ever control one billion Chinese?
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