March 14, 2007

Audra Ang At it Again

Audra Ang is the author of the Associated Press pieces that got picked up all over the world on a mob-police clash that allegedly took place March 10-11 in Zhushan village of Yongzhou county, Hunan, a hard scrabble area of tobacco processing and coal mining. Her reporting is responsible for the “1 Killed and 60 Injured” claim that roiled readers of newspapers from the Benton Crier to the Prescott Herald.

The source for Ang’s reports is an “eyewitness” named “Zhang Zilin.” But Zhang Zilin wrote the earliest report of the riot in Zhushan himself at the Boxun.com website where he was identified as a “Boxun reporter.” [ed. Note: the original page has since been scrubbed and the author is identified as “Boxun” and the photo captions changed as well.]

Boxun.com is an anti-Beijing propaganda website hosted outside China on servers in North Carolina and is affiliated with other websites such as Peacehall.com, Clearwisdom.net, Clearharmony.net, Faluninfo.net, etc., that are mouthpieces for the Falun Dafa cult.

Many of these “news” organizations receive money from US taxpayers courtesy Congressional appropriations to the National Endowment for Democracy and the Broadcasting Board of Governors that oversees almost a billion dollars in funds for “Radio Free Asia” and other outdated Cold War era propaganda outfits. They are known to plant stories that are usually based on hearsay – third hand reports that are rarely verified.

In this instance, Zhang Zilin, who claims to be an eyewitness to police brutality changed from reporter to “local human rights activist” in Ang’s dispatches although Zhang previously said he came after the disturbances took place and had only his cell phone camera to take photos. The photos – the only ones this reporter has found from the location – show two overturned burned-out minibuses (the riot was over a big price hike in bus fares) and a small group of what appear to be police in some sort of light gear mulling about.





The claim that someone was killed and 60 injured is nowhere substantiated. The first mention of a death is by “Qian Zhao” identified as a “teacher at a local school” who “was told” that a student had been beaten so badly by police that he later died. Our “eyewitness” Zhang admitted that he “did not have any details.”

Interestingly, the first reports by Zhang Zilin showed his cell phone photos with the inscription “pan-blue” on them. A Zhang Zilin has been making trouble in Hunan since September 2006 as far as our research shows including an arrest in November 2006 in Hunan for planning a “Pan-Blue” demonstration. The “Pan-Blue Coalition” (sometimes referred to as “Alliance”) is a shadowy group founded online by Falun Dafa cultists that claims to assist Kuomintang supporters on mainland China. [ed. Note: the Pan-Blue Alliance on Taiwan is the opposition party made up principally by the Kuomintang or Nationalist Party and is currently working toward rapprochement with Beijing and ultimately reunification.]

Zhang Zilin



The Falun Dafa (Falun Gong) Pan-Blue group is something altogether different and claims thousands of members throughout China and is devoted to “negate Communism, promote the Three People's Principle, and resolve to unite the country through the Kuoming Tang” according to information found at the Epoch Times website.

The Falun Dafa crowd are fond of creating a disturbance during the Chinese national congress (currently in session) and have done so for many years. The Yongzhou-Zhushan disturbances could easily be another one of their showpieces.

Ultimately what do we really know? Police in the county confirmed that a public disturbance took place with police outside local government offices over fare hikes on buses. Two minibuses were overturned and burned. The number of people involved, the sort of people involved, whether there were injuries or a fatality, all these allegations remain completely unsubstantiated.

Labels:


Comments:
Apparently, The reporter Audra Ang has little historical background or knowledge about Tibet and Chinese history before writing the report about Tibet and China. Tibet has never effectively independent for decades before communist troops entered in 1950. Tibet has been part of China for century since the Chin dynasty. Tibet also was part of the ruling class in China during Chin dynasty. Tibet has been part of China for many century, even before Hawaii became annex to part of United States. I think Audra Ang should go back to school and take some Chinese/Tibet history from period of Chin Dynasty.
 
People who are critical of the rule of Chinese Communist regime means that they truly care for China, and more importantly, for the human beings. Those who speak out against the regime are the ones who love China more than others who choose to be quiet.

Those whom tell lies which are prepared and purposely designed to deceive the populace in order to toady to the powerfuls are usually - the propagandists. In this case, I think this blogger - who is trying hard to attack a reporter covering a news story in a situation which involves the abuses of power and violence against civilians inside a repressive regime - should counts as one - propagandist.

Also, I am quite intrigued by the fact that the Chinese government has actually blocked Blogspot in China (so the Chinese common people would hardly have the access to it), but then again they probably quite like it, as a useful propaganda tool for themselves(to have their say to the world, apparently).
 
Post a Comment

Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]





<< Home

This page is powered by Blogger. Isn't yours?

Subscribe to Posts [Atom]