【今日美国0214】China unable to silence Internet buzz on police chief

李小龙的双截棍

China unable to silence Internet buzz on police chief
By Calum MacLeod, USA TODAY
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/story/2012-02-14/china-internet-police-chief/53096440/1

BEIJING–His body is scarred by 20 knife and bullet wounds from decades battling Chinese gangsters and other criminals. The exploits of China's most celebrated police chief, martial arts expert Wang Lijun, even inspired a TV drama.

• 
  AP
  The story of Chongqing police chief Wang Lijun's mysterious visit to the U.S. consulate was kept alive through social media.
  

So it was a surprise to his admirers when Wang was suddenly "seriously indisposed" because of "intense mental stress," as the Chinese information service put it after he made a mysterious visit to the U.S. consulate and was allegedly grabbed by state security agents immediately afterward.

In China, such a person is not likely to be mentioned again in newspapers and television outlets that are either controlled by the state or pressured by it.

But Wang's story didn't vanish. The explosion of Twitter-like micro-blogging services (Twitter is banned in China, along with Facebook and YouTube) has enabled the transmission of the latest news and rumor about Wang to about 300 million users of the services.

The rise of a source of information that bypasses Communist Party censors and transmits instantaneously to millions of Chinese comes as Vice President Xi Jinping continues his highly choreographed rise to China's top job with a visit to the USA this week. That succession process looks a lot less smooth today.

"Political intrigue is a part of life here; it's like living in Washington, D.C., but in the Internet age …  all of a sudden it's instantaneous and accessible to millions," says Bill Bishop, a Beijing-based independent analyst and Internet expert from Washington. "This is China political intrigue 2.0, the first major political succession in the Internet age, and it's a real challenge to the government."

China's traditional media are managed and controlled by the Communist Party's propaganda department, while new media, mostly privately funded, enjoy more freedom, says Hu Yong, an Internet and new media expert at Peking University.

"The Internet is both a challenge and an opportunity for the Chinese government. On the one hand, they use this new form of public space as a kind of measurement of Chinese public opinion," he says. "On the other hand, the democratization of information makes the government very afraid of losing the whole control of information."

Despite the widening popularity of uncensored digital discussion, citizens remain largely shut out of China's political process. Yet, analysts say, the Internet has opened up a vibrant public space unique in Chinese history.

Social media in China provide "an alternative stage in which to see what the public thinks about politics," says Russell Moses, a Beijing-based political analyst. Micro-blogs such as Sina Weibo "talk to citizens, and they are not participants in the policy and leadership selection process yet, they are observers," he says.

The Wang incident "shows how undetermined the transition to a new leadership remains," Moses says. "The potential for infighting and the odd upheaval is still ever present in Chinese politics."

Until this month, Wang, 52, served as top aide to Bo Xilai, the popular party boss of Chongqing, a mega-city and province in China's southwest.

Wang showed up Feb. 6 at the U.S. consulate in Chengdu and was allowed inside. What happened has not been revealed by the U.S. State Department or Beijing.

Overseas Chinese websites such as Boxun went into overdrive on the story. They reported that Wang offered dirt on his former boss, Bo Xilai, whom he allegedly said was a gangster. They reported that Wang asked for political asylum. The sites published a letter supposedly from Wang in which he accused Bo of corruption and ties to criminals.

Developments  leaked out in postings by micro-bloggers who ridiculed the Chongqing government's explanation that Wang was undergoing "vacation-style medical treatment." Copies of airline tickets were posted online that indicated Wang flew to Beijing in the company of state security agents.

The scandal threatens to derail Bo Xilai's hopes of reaching the nine-member party politburo standing committee in a once-in-a-decade leadership transition this fall that is to install Xi Jinping as president.

Meanwhile, Chinese wait for the next episode in the incident. "A lot of people are shocked but gleeful they can read about this in real time," Bishop says.

潜水很久

不错，外媒又来搅和了。。。{:soso_e101:}

不过哪位认领翻译一下给各位童鞋带来点福音呢？？？{:soso_e121:}

潜水很久

Chinese wait for the next episode in the incident. "A lot of people are shocked but gleeful they can read about this in real time," Bishop says.


无聊，就是把各版本来了个例举，真无聊~

流星的爱

看不懂啊看不懂