A personal statement -- In response to Tinglong

Hmm, last night I told Minjie that I have scheduled some writings (some "scoop" if you will) later this week that would "happen" to make him happier -- actually make both you guys happier.

I will do that.

It is not uncommon for perfectly reasonable people to disagree on political issues, because politics is about infinite complexity. I look forward to a lot of good discussions with you and Minjie when we all have time in the future.

When I disapprove A, I generally don't take the pains to stress that I disagree with B who share my interest in disapproving A (may or may not for different reasons), because that doesn't help sharpening my arguments. But yes, sometimes it is necessary to state one's position very clearly.

During the recent media turmoils since mid-March, I formed each and every one of my opinions strictly by my own judgments, and I'm sure many people here do so too. Criticizing western media bias doesn't mean I approve of China's information control or its non-democratic political system. I certainly do not align with extreme nationalists who are eager to pick fights with anybody who doesn't seem to match their own level of "patriotism", but I also condemn those bigots and hypocrites (and they came out in non-trivial numbers and ferocity this time) who so ignorantly (or blissfully?) crawl on presumptuous moral high-grounds without ever opening their eyes to reality and never waste a second in demonizing countries and peoples different from their own.

So for me the task is always two-fold, and the only criteria I stick to are objectivity and rationality. By doing so I run the risk of alienating both groups who may see value in my arguments for their respective causes, but I do not lend or sell mine to those people I despise. This is the only possible way for me. I cannot tolerate violations of these criteria during serious discussions. And CNN broadcast is meant to be very serious. Jack Cafferty must apologize and be punished.

I am neither a Permanent Resident or US citizen so may not be in the best position to advocate for expanding civil rights for Chinese Americans. But one thing is clear to me. Martin Luther King Jr. did not hold back his relentless pursuit for civil rights until his fellow African Americans around the country stopped committing crimes and attained the same level of education and civility as Whites. By the same token, it makes absolutely no sense that simply because China is not good enough that someone up there on CNN could insult the Chinese (no matter which country's passport they hold) without getting punished.

Criticism is alway welcome; insult, never.

So we are mixing several separate issues here. I agree that Chinese people within China's border need not over-react to outside news and can always remain skeptical as to whether certain facets of political news were censored (and if yes, question and challenge the authority for doing that) and focus on domestic development and reform. For Chinese people abroad, the task is very different because they read materials in both languages, the picture is much fuller and least censored for them than those who can only read English yet never suspect that the free press can sometimes betray them by inserting some brainwashing stuff under disguise.