From owner-china-nt@UGA.CC.UGA.EDU Wed Aug 24 00:51:55 1994 Date: Wed, 24 Aug 1994 00:43:25 -0400 Reply-To: ccf-editor@ifcss.org Sender: China-Net From: ccf-editor@ifcss.org Subject: Chinese Community Forum (CCF), Issue #9445. Comments: To: china-nt@uga.cc.uga.edu To: Multiple recipients of list CHINA-NT ==+==+==+== C h i n e s e C o m m u n i t y F o r u m ==+==+==+=== Wednesday, August 24, 1994 (Issue No. 9445) +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+= Chinese Community Forum (CCF) is an e-journal published on China-Net. CCF is dedicated to the discussion on the issues related to the Chinese community. The opinions expressed here do not necessarily represent the views of the Editorial Board of CCF. Contributions to the discussions and suggestions of new topics are very much appreciated. +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+= # of Table of Contents Author | Lines ===========***==========***==========**==========***==========***=========== --*-- Color Of Life --*-- 1. Fishing ................................................ Liao Kan 74 --*-- China And Democracy --*-- 2. On "Should We Make Democracy A Goddess?"............. Phoebe Chen 44 3. Yeah, Newton is No Ideologist ..................... Newton X. Liu 48 --*-- Meet The Press --*-- 4. CND Has a Lesson to Learn from Its Coverage of the Sixth IFCSS Congress ......................................... Kangcong Zhang 104 --*-- Our Dreams --*-- 5. My Dream: United States of China ........................ Bo Peng 73 6. Tomorrow, It Will Be Raining ......................... Ming Cheng 47 --*-- Letter To Editors --*-- 7. More Comments On PPP (Purchasing Power Parity) ........ Xing Ming 32 ===========***==========***==========**==========***==========***=========== -- From The Editor -- Life is full of pressure, isn't it? However, reading the first article in this issue by Liao Kan, you'll know that our life is also dotted with tranquility, which makes life more colorful. Would you like to add more pleasant colors to our life? We bet you would. So, why don't you follow what Liao Kan just did and help make the CCF more colorful? If someday when you peek through the window of the CCF and sigh, "Oh, life is full of colors, too", then we'll feel more than gratified. The next two articles are of more "traditional" CCF type: China and Democracy. Through these two articles, we see how sparks of thoughts burst out from cross walks of minds. Well, as you catch your breath, we think you are ready for some controversy, which is just a part of our life. And it is probably always controversial when news media is involved. In this issue, we present you Zhang Kangcong's comments on some reports in the recent CND-US packages. As controversial as it might be, we welcome follow-ups from our readers. By sharing dreams with others, we are really speaking from the bottom of our hearts. We present two essays on dreams with the hope that you would share yours with us in the near future. Dear readers, while we thank you for supporting us, we invite more of your comments on any articles published recently on CCF, such as what Xing Ming does in the last section of this issue. We would be more grateful if you could bring fresher air to and break newer ground for the CCF. ===========***==========***==========**==========***==========***=========== 1. Fishing ................................................... Liao Kan 74 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fishing has been part of human life for as long as we can remember, and definitely since the time of hunt-and-gather. For some people who have a career which has little to do with fish catching and selling, fishing may be only a hobby, a form of recreation and entertainment, and yet for others may be even a passion. Well, I see myself as one of those passionate anglers. In the eyes of a fisherman with true passion, I may be even less than an amateur. No matter. When I go out fishing, it's almost irrelevant whether I reel in a little sun fish of color, a slender perch, a big fatty catfish, or simply a bass, I enjoy the experience as much as any seasoned angler. I simply can't resist the sheer thrill stimulated by a spirited blue fish fighting on the other end of the line? Fishing produces its share of addicts. For most people fishing is looked upon as a person sitting on the riverbank under the hot sun holding a stick with a string in the water. Some people may go a step further by envisioning a bucket full of fish ready to be cooked. But for me, fishing is a state of mind, tranquility with a touch of longing, a touch of hope, a touch of anxiety and anticipation. Sitting under a blue sky with white cloud drifting overhead, the grass is green, flowers yellow, and clean water indifferent to the passing breeze, eons could pass, time becomes hollow in contents, as I the fisherman harmonize with Mother Nature. Then the float is sinking, the rod bending, and the line tightening, the fisherman instantly transformed into a gladiator, ready to deal out that final blow. At the other end of the line, the panicking being is making a desperate attempt to hold on to its dear life, jerking, twisting, and jumping. In the eyes at the other end all its acting provides none other than pleasure and recreation. My hands tighten their grip; my eyes focus at the point where the line enters the water; and my mind pours itself out onto that fish under the water. Now the line is reeled in. Feeling the power of its opponent, that thing, gathering all of its strength, makes its final attempt to get off the hook. The line becomes heavy, though the fish is now quiet; however, the outcome is far from decided. One mistake would loosen up the line, leaving you with that devastating sense of emptiness. Some people say fishing has a cruel side to it. But cruel to which end, the fish or the fisherman? Growing up in northern Zhejiang Province where the land is laced with rivers and dotted with lakes and ponds, I love to fish. When I was a little boy, I used to sit under a willow tree on the riverbank fishing with a 3 feet bamboo pole, a wax thread, a hook made out of a pin and a feather float. I never caught anything of size. And often a damselfly would land on my rod. Whenever it came, I would slowly lower my bamboo pole and struck the water suddenly. But amazingly every time the damselfly managed to get away unscathed. That was the time in which dreams live. Later I left home and my fishing rod for college. But I did remember to bring my fishing equipment when I was coming to America. Here I have visited many beautiful streams and lakes, and even the sea, and have caught creatures big and small. I have also learned fly fishing and how to tie the fly; and I can tell that I am a better angler. But those willow trees, those damselflies, those rivers, and those bamboo poles still come to my mind, as if my soul was made of them. One night I had a nightmare. It was at home and I was 10 years old. I went to fishing with an ultralight graphite fish pole fitted with an aluminum alloy reel and nylon line. I also carried a boombox. But when I got there, the river was muddy, the soil dry, the sky grayish yellow, and there were dead tree branches everywhere, but no damselfly. Strangely, an old man who looked like myself appeared, he started to babble to me about how beautiful it used to be here. I also have a dream. I shall fulfill my dream. (From: LIAOK@FCRFV1.NCIFCRF.GOV) ===========***==========***==========**==========***==========***=========== 2. On "Should We Make Democracy A Goddess?" ............... Phoebe Chen 44 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dear Newton: I must say that I admire your courage and enthusiasm to have such a reflection around the 4th of June, the Fifth Anniversary of Tiananman Incident. I have to admit that the Daniel J. Boorstin quotation is insightful and penetrating to the political thoughts of a "democratized" country like U.S. and can also be applied to the situation of other countries such as China. However, I must tell you that I'm surprised to see an in-depth reflection of this quotation on the current Chinese situation. I know it requires more moral courage and enthusiasm to criticize the worshipping of democracy than to simply jump on the bandwagon, especially among people here and now. In my opinion, people who are far-sighted and serious about the political development in China should really cherish your observations. I don't know how many reactions you've got so far, but it won't surprize me if there are some people who criticizes you for being a nerd. After you made this strong argument to arouse people's attention to the mythifying of democracy, it still seems too vague to me why you choose to reflect on the essence of democracy. Tell us, What then? What are the disadvantages this lack of knowledge about democracy and the fanaticism of it will or has brought to China compared to otherwise? And with this reflection, what contribution do you expect to add to the struggle for the political development in China? You seem to miss the decisive part if you want to portray yourself as anything more than an indifferent but necessary third voice. >From my experience in Taiwan, I know how important it is to continue to reflect on the meaning of democracy while struggling for it. Therefore, I have great respect for those who fight for the basic values of democracy and can still be critical of what it should represent. But I am also more than familiar with those who are not used to the chaos of democratic movement and will manipulate their deep-seated biases, most gained from education to repair their original belief under attack. Of course, they may even borrow ideas or theories to convince themselves. Which camp do you belong to? Maybe in the middle! I don't mean to be accusative of you though I really doubt if you have given the problems of political reform in China a thorough reflection. In other words, your concern and expectation are not clear, though, as I said, your exploration of the theory of democracy is impressive. Well, I have performed my duty as a friend who should serve as a mirror. Now, it is time for you to answer me back. I can see that you will have a lot to defend besides me. I'll look forward to it. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3. Yeah, Newton Is No Ideologist ....................... Newton X. Liu 48 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dear Phoebe: First of all, thanks for your comments. You are right on because my original intention was to start a discussion, not to propose any alternative in the caliber of democracy. I have to accept your criticism because I am, indeed, no philosopher or ideologist. However, for the sake of the debate and on behalf of the people I love, I don't mind to be the target of verbal attacks or friendly criticism. I want everyone of the concerned to speak up about or to think into the issue. I cannot propose anything, for I am not naive enough to claim that I know everything and have all the answers and solutions. I don't, really. But that does not stop me from saying to all of us, myself included of course: "Chew your food and it will help your digesting process." You are right, I should but haven't really said the words, that under the flag of democracy many heads have bit the dust, in Vietnam, in Nicaragua, in Iraq. It bedevils me to think that some Chinese may also meet the same fate if we don't talk about it. I think that you agree with me that social turmoil is the last thing we need, either in Taiwan or the Mainland. I am so happy for the common folks of Taiwan when you told me that the democratization in Taiwan was such a smooth process that bloodshed was kept to the minimum. It brings hope in the sense that I may have been too pessimistic about the Chinese mentality. I don't know how you grow up in Taiwan. But "Beat him" and "Kill him" are two phrases we are forced to be familiarized even before we can grasp the true meanings and implications of them. In this sense, I have never learned how to keep my mind free from worrying about the re-occurance of social turmoil and its vicious cycle in Chinese life. It has been too long and history has repeated itself for too many times. Although the smoothness of the democratization in Taiwan brings hope, it does not, however, erase my fear of massive human suffering completely. Only when I see the result, I can allow myself to kick back and relax. Before I find another thing to worry about, that is. As young as we are, we have seen enough clashes and revolutions in our life that we no longer fear any social transformation. Yet we are old enough to know that in order to get rid of certain evils in our lives, we have to endure the necessary chaos. But that does not mean we will tolerate unnecessary social catastrophe and hardship inflicted onto the common folks by whatever reason or individual. Thank you again for your comments. (From: nxliu@well.sf.ca.us) ===========***==========***==========**==========***==========***=========== 4. CND Has a Lesson to Learn from Its Coverage of the Sixth IFCSS Congress .......................................... Kangcong Zhang 104 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Nowadays, sure a lot of things are beyond me. It is beyond me how Serbian aggressors could have repeatedly shelled United Nations-declared "safe havens" in Bosnia with people all over the world watching and without the perpetrators being held accountable for the atrocities they inflicted on innocent civilians. It is beyond me how major-league baseball players of this country, who are paid an average salary of $1.3 million per annum, could be driven by greed to go on strike while the average annual pay for the country's labor force is $30,000. And it is beyond me how China News Digest (U.S.A.), a community-based news service manpowered by volunteers, could claim objectivity in its reporting while its coverage of the Sixth Independent Federation of Chinese Students and Scholars (U.S.A.) Congress, one of few events CND-US has ever sent reporter(s) to, was widely criticized for its strong bias. Well, some things have always been beyond me. For instance, I never quite understand, aside from necessity (i.e., to support a six-child family), how our next-door neighbor in the western Fujian village where I grew up in could have worked 18-hour days, day in and day out, without being struck down by life's roughness. And then, that some things have to be beyond me is fine with me, if those things also happen to be the ones I don't care much about in the first place. It bothers me, however, when what is beyond me chances to fall into the domain of my interest and concern, such as the incidents referred to above. In the case of my neighbor in western Fujian, I was saddened beyond words when I, years after I left for the city, learned that life's roughness did eventually catch up with him, and when it did, it was a devastating blow and he never recovered from it. I was not surprised, only saddened, that an honest, hard-working, down-to-earth peasant whom I had known well enough to feel affection for should have traveled the course of life the way he did. Not coincidentally, sadness was also my feeling of the tragedies that took place in what used to be Yugoslavia. That the tragedies had to go on for months unchecked by the outside world speaks of an unspeakable failure of human civilization. And that saddens me. What is in it for me when it comes to the baseball players' strike? Not much. I am not a baseball fan by a long shot. I learned only from sports writers and commentators that this season had promised to be one of the sport's greatest in terms of home runs, batting averages, and other statistics. And I am not employed by any of baseball's many derivative industries; neither are any of my relatives, friends, or acquaintance. But the strike saddens me all the same: I like sports in general, I am a fancier of some particular kinds of sports (e.g., tennis, basketball), and most importantly, I thought sports were supposed to be noble, above and beyond greed. Then, there was the substandard performance of CND-US in its coverage of the recent IFCSS Congress that broke many of its loyal readers' hearts. Many of us who have followed the news service's growth know it has not been easy for waves of volunteers to start something of its kind from scratch, and then to mold it into its present shape. It is exactly for this reason that the loyal readers are how they are -- loyal. They appreciate the service's significance, they wish it to grow to its fullest potential, and they most certainly don't want to see it being destroyed by the very people purported to work for, not against, it. Yet how close it came to self-destruction! As a media outlet, CND-US makes or breaks on credibility, and media credibility establishes itself on objectivity, however mystic the latter is often argued to be. Objectivity may be mystic in more general terms, it is not mystic at all when conflict of interest is involved. Any newsperson who has minimum knowledge of the trade he or she is in is supposed to know that conflict of interest runs directly against objectivity. And minimum knowledge of the trade on the part of those working for CND-US is something we all take for granted; otherwise we have no way of reckoning CND-US's accomplishments. In the light that CND-US had sent someone to cover the IFCSS Congress who ended up running for IFCSS's Council at the Congress, and that, for whatever reason, the disputed reporter had filed controversial reports of the Congress's proceedings, one could not but come to this conclusion: Some of those who worked for CND-US, including the reporter herself, did not care enough about the organization's reputation to do a better job, which was within their reach. Appropriately, the incident has since been extensively commented on, and CND-US criticized for its occurrence. But much is still unclear about how and why the incident happened. Many from the public have demanded clarification and explanations by CND-US, yet to date nothing substantial has come to light, which is threatening to erode its loyal readers' confidence in the organization's operation. In electing to ignore the public's urge for explanations, CND-US might have thought that its blunder would soon be forgotten. Well, if that is so, CND-US may as well think again, if not for its loyal readers' sake, then for the sake of its own survival: What is in CND-US's best interest, to acknowledge the mistake, make a clean breast of it, and resolve to learn due lessons therefrom, or to continue its wishful thinking, betting on that its readers' patience and loyalty have not already been worn too thin to sustain the news service? That question should not be too difficult a one for a clear-headed bystander. But then those who are to decide on that question are no bystanders. And that probably explains why the incident has so far eluded my simple mind and become something beyond me. But with I being a close follower of the news service, what happened at it around this incident should not have puzzled me as it did. Therefore, the fact that it has saddens me all the more. (From: KCZHANG@macc.wisc.edu) Editor's note: we contacted CND-US for a response to this article. CND-US declined. ===========***==========***==========**==========***==========***=========== 5. My Dream: United States of China ........................... Bo Peng 73 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Perhaps intrigued by the dream series in the last few issues of CCF, I had a dream last night: I went back to China. Approaching the custom, I saw this big, shinny plate with the following words engraved in Wei4 Bei1 font: The United States of China I know, many would immediately point out that it's actually a nightmare. But I'm sure it didn't look that way. I didn't even dare to dream such a dream before. Then, early last year, Dalai Lama announced that his movement would not pursue independence per se but rather seek a greater degree of freedom and self-determination. The CCP actually welcomed the announcement, though stopped short of endorsing it. Then Taiwan waged an aggressive campaign in gaining entry into the UN. I still have yet to hear any objection from the CCP, in great suspense as I was sure I would. Then there were all the encouraging breakthroughs in the latest talk between the two sides of the strait, mainly due to some concessions made by the mainland side that could be characterized as accepting the reality and getting down to the earth. Now I dare to dream, without scaring myself back into reality or down to the earth. I managed to jot down the dream before it slipped away. So here it goes. A central government takes care of defence and diplomatic affairs, limited planning of the macro-economy, infrastructure building, law, health care, and welfare. Both Tibet and Taiwan have managed to get a seat in the UN before joining the US of C, and now we have three tickets there. It is inevitable that the UN will feel more real as the post-coldwar era proceeds, so the value of the tickets will increase over time. The individual states (it was blurry whether it's called states or provinces) manage their respective macro-economy. For example, Shanxi focuses on coal mining and encourages R&D in coal utilization while Gansu develops gambling so that all Mahjong fanatics could have a ball without keeping their families and neighbors awake all night every night. Xinjiang becomes the Chinese Texas, with cowboys substituted by camelboys. Though smaller than America in area, the geographic conditions are much more diversified in China. It's simply too much for one central government to manage the entire economy, without a much greater degree of freedom for individual regions in adopting appropriate policies and strategies. This is in spite of the fact that the technology in communication and transportation, as well as the quality of governing and managing skills in dealing with an industrialized economy, have long come out the backwardness in the 20th century in China. Taiwan, Tibet, and HK get some special breaks due to historical reasons, at least for the first few decades or so. For example, Taiwan gets to keep its own military force. With the two navies joining force, no matter how superficial it might be at the beginning, Vietnam and the sleuth of others silently give up their claims over the Spratly. After all, the international politics will continue to be a cock-fight for awhile. People can freely travel and choose their place of residence. In the beginning, places like Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Guangzhou were stormed. Amazingly, however, since people gradually accepted the idea that going there is no longer a big deal and the fact that life there sucks almost the same, the immigration waves began to subside and the populations finally settled down to bearable levels. In exchange for the relatively short period of suffering due to those immigration waves, people everywhere are relatively content and feel good about their hometown/city/village, after seeing the places they could only fantasize about and had beautified to the extent of being ridiculous in their fantasies. So we have the United States of America, the United States of Europe, the United States of Common Wealth, the United States of China, and some exotic little places like the Arctic, Rwanda, and Japan. Oh well... (From: bo@saavik.Stanford.EDU) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6. Tomorrow, It Will Be Raining ............................. Cheng Ming 48 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dreaming, what a beautiful part of life of human being! The dreams recalled by Andrew in the last issue of CCF must have let many readers be intoxicated with the spirit of dreams and festivals. But what comes to my mind is a dream we had everyday in the remote past: tomorrow, it will be raining. "So you could skip school?" Some friends asked. School? Well, it is a very natural response. Today, when I see kids going to school for study, sports, and even dating, I have so complicated a feeling. Happy, jealous, or hatred as people sometime point to us? I do not know. But it was true that we dreamed about raining so often for a strange reason when we were Cha Qing, a strange group of people coming out from a strange historical era, a strange group spurned by the history, a strange group that had never been understood even by their children, and a strange group that itself did not even know what it was... In the early mornings, when we were waken up by the rain drops hitting the roof, we were so happy as to cheer and sing songs praising the CCP and Chairman Mao -- we would have a day off to relax without going to the field to work. Especially in Shuang Qiang seasons, we had to work from early mornings to late nights, even a couple of hours rain might save our lives in our mind. While lying in beds, which in fact were simply some wooden plates on benches with some straws on the top if it was in the winter time, we started to plan how to spend that wonderful raining day, and argued if any food in the world could be more tasty than a bowl of Shou Chou after having worked more than ten hours under the blazing sun the previous day. Very often, someone might suggest a place to find, or steal, to be more honest, something to cook for the day... Mao was right that we needed to be reeducated, well, more precisely, we had not been educated yet since after elementary school. After I became the head of my production team, I still dreamed about rain often: praying for it when needed but worried about it when too much, and kicked my old friends' and those new-comers' bottom to get them out of beds. But I never dare to play a joke to call them to work in raining days if not necessary. Today, I have a dream which is still shared by many Lao San Jie, i.e., go back to the countryside where we spent our golden times, particularly when I am so tired of fighting with jobs, research, and with D-fighters or P-fighters or whatsoever-fighters. Ren (man and woman) always tend to forget about pains after healing. I present this short essay to all the Cha Qing's out there, to that yellow earth where we dedicated our youth. No matter what, it was our home, the real home. (From: mchn@chevron.com) ===========***==========***==========**==========***==========***=========== 7. More Comments On PPP (Purchasing Power Parity) ........... Xing Ming 32 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dear Editor, I followed the Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) debate closely. I simply can not agree that China's PPP income is equivalent to an income of $4,800 in America. If someone claim the the PPP income in Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen is around $4,800, I might agree. But it is still an exaggeration. How many Chinese students' couples spend more, or a lot more than $9,600 a year? What kind of living styles do they have? They own cars. Their apartments are better than their parents' apartments in the aforementioned 3 cities. They have phones. They can afford the necessary nutrition, etc. Of course, a lot of Americans with income less than $4,800 will be homeless. This is because of different living styles. If we Chinese adopt the American living styles, I bet 90% of Chinese will be homeless! Remember the three cities are the richest cities in China. How about the 80% China's rural area residents? I, as a grownup in the countryside, claim with honor that the PPP income of Chinese farmers is only 20-25% of the aforementioned three cities. A World Bank report last year has a sentence roughly conveying the following meaning (I do not have the exact reference): The standard of living in China compares favorably with countries with per capita income around $2,000. Personally, I don't believe this number. My estimation is around $3,000 for city residents and $1,000 for rural residents. On average it is around $1,500. The reason for the World Bank to have made wrong estimation is probably due the larger sampling weights on city residents. Because what they saw most are Chinese cities. Xing Ming: Ph.D. candidate in economics at Rice University (From: XMING00@RICEVM1.RICE.EDU) +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=++ + Executive Editor: Anzhi Lai + + Executive Moderator: Huang Tang + +--------------------------------------------------------------------------+ + For subscription: mail "SUB CHINA-NT Your-First-Name Your-Last-Name" + + to LISTSERV@UGA (bitnet) or listserv@uga.cc.uga.edu (internet) + + For unsubscription: mail "UNSUB CHINA-NT" to the above e-address + + For back issues of CCF: + + anonymous ftp to: cnd.org[132.249.229.100]: pub/community/CCF + + gopher to cnd.org: 2. English Menu --> 14. Community --> 1. ccf + + For contribution and inquiry: mail to ccf-editor@ifcss.org + +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=++