You Say You Want a Revolution

I am not sure if the link to this news article was posted on the side of my blog, but if you missed the news (see link below) about the “Jasmine Revolution” in China allow me to brief you on the topic. The name is not as impending as it seems. To call this a “Revolution” is like calling Kathy Griffin a “World Famous Comedian.” It was an attempt at revolution nonetheless as pro-democratic minds in China Tweeted and texted calling for a protest on Wangfujin Street in Beijing. (Wangfujin was actually the street my hotel was on the first night I arrived in Beijing.)

I knew the area, but I did not dare to go for obvious reasons. The protests ended up being much ado about nothing and there were more curious on-lookers and reporters than there were pro-democratic revolutionaries. The Beijing Police, however, managed to make something little into a big deal by using force and pushing people around causing a hub-bub. Some people were detained and words exchanged, but no further violence resulted. This small get together does not compare to the Tiananmen protests of 1989, but it was the result of a spillover from what is happening in North Africa right now. In fact, the Chinese government has called multiple conferences discussing what to do about the current political climate.

Mainly, people in China are fed up with corruption, unfair seizures of land, and overall lack of freedom. The government’s response to this attitude is to block more internet sites and impeded the flow of information. The government feels that the protests began through means of the internet and can be stopped as such. If it was not for my VPN there would have been no way I could have known about this “Jasmine Revolution.” Actually, try typing “North Africa,” “Egypt,” or “Jasmine” into any Chinese search engine and you will undoubtedly find a “Redirected” message.

As I said, the revolution ended up being more hype than anything and nothing really happened. I believe that political change in China will take a bit more than a few Twitter posts and text messages. For now the polls in the People’s Daily show that Chinese satisfaction with the government is at an all time high, higher than that in America even! Take all this with a grain of salt though, because media in China is regulated now more than ever, so who knows what the truth is and what is not? That is why I stick to Fox News…uhhhh…Well, at least the NY Times is pretty reliable.

http://blogs.forbes.com/gadyepstein/2011/02/22/a-revolution-is-not-a-tweetup-jasmine-revolution-and-the-limits-of-chinas-internet/
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Jordan J. Foley
傅力波