France24 catches Yahoo and MSN (briefly) aiding Chinese police hunt for Tibetans
Domestic Chinese news websites today are running a wanted list and photo gallery of Tibetan fugitives with a police number that people can call with any information about them. Here is the Sina.com special Tibet coverage page (click to enlarge):
The French TV station France24 has a report on their citizen media "Observers" website showing a screenshot of Yahoo! China's front page which at some point today displayed the "most wanted" ad, linking to the full photo gallery and list. The report says:
Yahoo China pasted a "most wanted" poster across its homepage today in aid of the police's witch-hunt for 24 Tibetans accused of taking part in the recent riots. MSN China made the same move, although it didn't go as far as publishing the list on its homepage.
Here is their report and Yahoo! China screenshot:
Here is the MSN China screenshot:
The report does not say what time the screenshots were taken. As of this writing, neither Yahoo! China nor MSN China are running the "most wanted" information anywhere that I have been able to find. (If anybody does find it in some corner of those sites where I've failed to look please let me know.) Did anybody else see this material on Yahoo! China and MSN China, or have a sense of how long it was there?
I wouldn't be surprised if the local editors just automatically ran it because everybody else in China was running it, then got over-ridden by management in the U.S. who realized how badly this would play outside of China... Such is the disconnect between China and the West on the Tibet issue.
Interesting note: France24 Observers is run by the former head of Reporters Without Borders' Internet desk, Julien Pain. Here is a video of him describing the project.
First it's Shi Tao, who was subject of national security investigation, now you are siding with rioters who, like those Watts rioters, burn/looted shops and stoned innocent citizens rodney king style.
Just read off a link in roland's article, a little girl was stoned to death.
And these people's warrent, lawfully issued under China's legal system, should not be displayed in Yahoo and MSN?
May I remind you wanted photo relating to on-going criminal investigation makes it onto Yahoo and MSN stateside all the time.
Posted by: Charles Liu | March 22, 2008 at 12:59 AM
The only viable way to end this ongoing conflict is through mix marriages between Han and Tibetans.
We should fight such hatred with love.
Posted by: mahathir_fan | March 22, 2008 at 02:28 PM
Instead of holding criminals responsible, western media is spinning the Watts-like Tibet riot into a 200 vote referandum on a billion people's sovereignty and statehood:
http://tw.youtube.com/watch?v=uSQnK5FcKas
You know, even the PRC agiprop radio in the 60's that commented on Watts did not mention the fact America's stathood was built on stolen land.
Posted by: Charles Liu | March 23, 2008 at 12:08 AM
This clip does not surprise me at all. Being a veteran of Western media's blacklist, as a fan of Dr. mahatir, I have seen such Western media distortion for a long time.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSQnK5FcKas
Roll back the clock 18 years, and what we see today in Tibet's reporting is the same type that happened to Dr. Mahathir and Lee Kuan Yew.
The Western media would most of the time give an apparent picture of fair reporting. But when a crisis hits that could potentially displace a leader, they suddently take sides and report only 1 side of the story.
This youtube clip is also a testament why China should not censor the internet. The only way we can arm ourselves against Western hegemony is by exposing their propaganda machine and to do it requires everyone to come to aid. If the internet is censored, we would be like soldiers without arms.
p/s I subsribed to Newsweek and Time and the Economists magazine from 1989 to 1994. Since 1994, I have cancelled my subscriptions to all Western news magazines and have never read any one of them from page 1 to the end. By 1998, at the height of the Asian financial crisis and the Malaysia "Reformasi" movement, I have totally weened off them.
Posted by: mahathir_fan | March 23, 2008 at 01:09 AM
If Chinese people are angered by such reporting by the Western media, I have an advise:
The next phase of this war is to ween China off the financial system that has been created in the West.
There are signs that that financial system is about to crack.
China if possible needs to create a new financial system to replace the current system and there are many willing participants.
Dr. Mahathir tried to do it but our country lacks the human capital. Please read about his Gold Dinar proposal.
Another good book is Soros's Alchemy of Finance.
Posted by: mahathir_fan | March 23, 2008 at 01:19 AM
Yes! I see the animal inside Charles Liu. Also he has someday to know people treated like human; act like human! I feel sorry for him. He don’t know better.
Posted by: A humanitarian soul | March 23, 2008 at 03:17 AM
The ethical problem with showing these "most wanted" pictures is that the "most wanted" may very well just be scapegoats, and guilty of no more than vandalism, if that. If they are arrested, they may face torture or even death. The violent crimes of a few do not justify condemning all protesters/rioters involved.
The "most wanted" pictures are clearly meant to intimidate any would-be protesters, letting them know that simply being caught on video could lead to arrest and its possibly horrific consequences.
Posted by: Henry Hail | March 23, 2008 at 03:28 AM
Regarding intermarriage between Han and Tibetans: some have suggested that encouraging intermarriage is the policy of the Chinese government, as a way to speed assimilation. More and more Han are moving to Lhasa. In such a situation, intermarriage may be an important component in weakening ethnic solidarity among Tibetans and making them into minorities in their own homeland.
Posted by: Henry Hail | March 23, 2008 at 03:35 AM
US HQ of MSN and Yahoo need to get a handle on their Chinese subsidiaries - maybe some training in ethics would help out?
I quit using these services last year when I got fed up with their kowtowing to Beijing. Now I use Clusty.com because they specifically promise not to do the business of the CCP.
If they are going to list wanted criminals why don't they put Wen Jiabao's mug shot on their front page?
Posted by: jay | March 23, 2008 at 10:33 PM
@Henry
"may very well just be scapegoats, and guilty of no more than vandalism, if that"
They killed people, there are plenty of Youtube clips to prove it. Read Roland Soong's article Rebecca linked to.
Posted by: Charles Liu | March 24, 2008 at 02:40 PM
Most wanted list and pictures include by standers, someone hurling rock, a stick etc. How childish Communist people are. The language they use are the ones they used during cultural revolution in sixties.
Posted by: jainhao | March 25, 2008 at 08:25 AM
Henry Hail, regarding the so-called "intermarriage policy between Han and Tibetans", yes, I'm sure you will agree that in America we used to have a much more enlightened policy called "segregation" to prevent intermarriage between whites and other races so as to prevent "cultural genocide" of white culture in its own homeland. However, since the 1970's, these laws have loosened to the point where white culture is being taken over, and an unthinkable thing has happened, a product of such intermarriage is running for President! Horrors! Yes, it will be really good for us to stop the Chinese communists from undermining the Tibetan race through intermarriage, as Black communists did to the white race in the U.S. (See http://shakespearessister.blogspot.com/2008/02/is-barack-obama-product-of-secret.html for an example of this ridiculous thinking).
Posted by: | March 31, 2008 at 12:34 AM
long live china empire !
to my country of origin, China with lots of love...
its time we chinese unite !
Posted by: chinesedunfightchinese | April 19, 2008 at 09:19 PM