维稳源于民权

维稳源于民权—仅靠军队维稳不够，可持续发展源于缩小贫富差距、一个公平透明的社会以及实际有效的政策。莫非有人民监督政府和政治上的竞争机制，否则长期稳定、和谐与清廉政府永远无法实现。大增军官的工资远不如提高人民的权利。发表无数美好的演讲不如实际行动。政治改革是不可逆转的趋势!

Chinese Speed 中国速度

An interesting and somewhat faded Chinese character (sù - meaning speed, rapid or velocity) clings tenuously to a  

cracking wall. Photo by Christopher Harry. All rights reserved.

 

The Chinese character for "Speed" neatly sums up one of the most defining features of today's China; the speed of its modernisation and development, the rapid rise in wealth and stature of the nation, but also the incredible pace at which it is being pulled simultaneously in all directions, both positively and negatively.

As education levels rise, so too does an increasing gap between rich and poor. The rapidity of environmental degradation, in combination with the explosion in the growth of social media, has also led to an equally speedy rise in the formation of social and political awareness that is quickly supplanting the preeminence of vacuous government propaganda in the hearts and minds of the populace.

At the same time, there has been a tremendous surge in the development, deployment of, and spending on China's air force and navy that is bringing it into more frequent and threatening incidents of sabre rattling with its Asian neighbours. Meanwhile, a meteoric rise in the depth and intensity of political and corruption scandals is accompanied by a wildfire of burgeoning social unrest fanning across the country.

Ironically, the sheer velocity at which all these changes are taking place sits in stark contrast to the leadership's utter lack of action or willingness to push forward any sort of meaningful political, legal or social reform to provide a necessary ballast to ensure the country's long-term sustainability.

It will be no mean feat for China's communist leaders to keep a lid on things and rehabilitate an increasingly damaged, depleted and poisoned land, but let's all hope the leadership will quickly see the light and embrace progress, just as its people have been so willing to do since Deng Xiaoping opened up China to the world over three decades ago.

The Chinese government always likes to brag about how much faster China has accomplished its achievements than the rest of the world. Maybe now it’s time they focused on doing things better.

Xi Jinping makes light of Beijing’s heavy air pollution

     In reference to Beijing’s air pollution, Xi Jinping said, “we mustn’t be impatient in the face of problems” and that we should, “adopt a calm and collected life approach toward these problems.” When describing the coal pollution and severe sandstorms of his youth in Beijing he further added, “Back then we didn’t have PM2.5, but we did have PM250.” According to the report by China’s Phoenix News, all those around him laughed aloud in response.

     Evidently, he seized the opportunity to make a light joke about heavy air pollution in Beijing and he almost appears nostalgic and accepting of the fact that Beijing has faced serious air pollution for half a century.

     Perhaps instead he should have said PM二百五 (er bai wu – another way of saying 250 in Chinese), which is also colloquial Chinese for a “dimwit” or “someone who says or does inappropriate or foolish things”.  

 

     On a more serious note, however, he seems to be attempting to defuse the issue by implying that Beijing’s air pollution was even worse back when he was a young boy, although I imagine very few people would find this convincing. Ironically, one could just as easily interpret his comments as a blunt admission that Beijing has been facing serious pollution for the last 50 years or so, most of the period in which China has been under communist rule. Perhaps it is also a subtle jab at the U.S. embassy's monitoring and publishing of air pollution in Beijing, despite being curtly requested by an unamused Beijing government to refrain from doing so. 

     Either way, it smacks of ill-advised hubris, but it is also consistent with so many of his bold pronouncements of late, inasmuch as it hints at the new ruler's confidence in his ability to control the course of events in China, quite likely stemming from his princeling pedigree as part of the red aristocratic elite which controls most of China's wealth and now has 4 members out of 7 in the inner sanctum of absolute power - the standing committee of China's politburo.

     In my humble view, it shows a serious lack of good judgement, and it will certainly not gain him any points in China or internationally. In a worst case scenario, PM er bai wu could become a damning and sarcastic sound bite that could easily gain traction among Chinese micro-bloggers and Chinese society at large that pokes fun at the leader’s cavalier approach to China’s serious and growing environmental crisis. Surely he would not want to go down in history as the leader who was smug about smog.

习近平把北京的严重污染当笑话看待

提到空气污染时，习近平说“不用着急”要“淡定面对它”。他还说小时候北京“没有PM2.5,但是有PM250”。对严重污染如此淡薄，还把它当作笑话来看待，连小布什很可能都不会犯这么低级的错误。如果把它说成PM二百五会不会取得更大的笑声呢？

Translation and Chinese/English commentary by Chris Harry

News source: Phoenix news report by Du Ping

Update: Bill Bishop seems to have already made a veiled reference to PM二百五(er bai wu) on Sina's Weibo Microblog today (March 7th, 2013).