Jeudi 24 avril 2008
Originally I wanted to write something about why the Chinese were angry, but eventually, seeing the reactions on the forum, looks like what was needed first was a clear report of the reasons why
some French people were actually angry with the current situation.
Mind you, I actually believe they're not angry with the Chinese. You can ask other French about that. I think they mostly don't give a damn about anything happening in China at all. No, they're rather angry about the way their own authorities dealt with the torch relay, and about the kneeling of our leaders in front of their Chinese masters - while, arguably, they never said anything worse about China or Tibet that the German Chancellor or the British Premier didn't say first.
I am pretty sure you, my Chinese friends, saw a thousand times poor Jin Jing getting assaulted by every dumbass in the streets in Paris. Well firstly, you'd be wrong to believe those people were French - I suppose most of you already realized that a lot of those people were in London already, and for some of them found themselves in the US several days later to go on with the protests. As for these so called "Paris people don't like the Chinese", or "Paris people sleep with Dalai Lama" theories, I'd just like to underline that, attending myself a pro-tibetan rally two weeks before the torch relay to inquire about the situation, I can tell you pro-Tibet were lucky if there were more than 300-400 people down there that very day. And if it can re-assure you, during those days, the cops did everything they could to show the demonstrating people were not really welcomed. Can you believe that demonstrators, while the demonstration hadn't started yet, were forbidden by the cops to cross the streets buy cigarettes? That's the very reason why some people felt offended that day, and felt offended after the torch relay even more: because unlike what you seem to believe my dear Chinese friends, French cops actually did their utmost to please the Chinese authorities, before, during, and after the Torch relay, giving some French here the disgraceful taste of surrendering our sovereignty for a couple hours. And that's something they are being reproached with.
But let's get back to the main controversy.
I am pretty sure you didn't see the following videos - well my Chinese friends in China didn't, and that's understandable. Although the coverage by the Western medias of the whole crisis was pretty much bad and completely unprofessional, still, we've got enough rough data to make ourselves our own opinion. We all saw Jin Jing and we're all very sorry about her and the way she was treated. But please allow us to show you something else now:
1) Ok basically, what do we have now? David Douillet, a most famous French judo olympic champion, who is carrying the torch, and comments the videos after the events. As you probably guess, he didn't like the way the Chinese cops were handling him - actually, he's a pretty calm man. Some of us would certainely have rejoiced at the idea that he may have sent a couple blue-men fly in the blue sky, out of frustration. But fortunately, he kept very calm from the beginning to the end - and you'll see he must be given credit for that.
Thereafter, they get in the courtyard of Canal + (French channel four) where he must transmit the torch to Teddy Riner, another french Judoka. Then, it happens.
We still don't know what was going on. Pro-Tibet demonstrators were far away. They were not even in the courtyard - apparently, they got distanced by the torch relay, probably thanks to the motorized part of the relay. And then, for no apparent reasons, the Chinese cop receives an order and puts out Douillet's flame. Then, he heads back to the other direction, to get together with his group, and everybody leaves both champions here, like they were a couple suckers. And man, being a sucker sucks - now I don't want to know how you'd feel about that yourself, but I wouldn't like that.
Eventually, Douillet had to run, get to the cops, take away a torch they had lightened up, and tell the Chinese detail that he was giving it back to M.Riner, because HE'S the torch-bearer. Do you think the French liked what happened? Wait to see what happened to a journalist, earlier in the day, and you'll understand why some French citizen have reasons to feel pissed off about the French authorities allowing the Chinese to deal with the security...
2) And what is this now?
The man filming the whole scene is an official cameraman from France 2 (France Channel 2) which is a public channel, among the two most important TV channels in France. With the torch getting back into a bus under Chinese surveillance because of the pro-tibetan demonstrators, he starts to film around. What happens next? His Chinese colleagues are not happy with his behavior, as he's filming the demonstrators and filming themselves as there is no torch anymore at this very moment - while the Chinese cameramen simply stopped filming. They call their own security service to get rid of him, although he had all the accreditations needed (or he wouldn't be in the truck at all in the first place). The French cameraman, knowing his rights, would only accept to get removed by anyone else but a French policeman. He believes the Chinese will not bother asking the French police to remove him, as he believes this would be absolutely outrageous - as he broke no rule, he's got the needed clearance, and that under any circumstances, the French policemen are not supposed to take orders from the Chinese. Technically, he's right. But factually, he isn't: without even double checking the ID, the French policeman obeys the Chinese security detail orders, and removes a rightful French citizen and journalist from the press truck.
Now tell me how would YOU feel if such thing had happened in China? Imagine that the Olympics happen in France, and that the torch relays goes through Beijing. First of all, would China accept French policemen to be in charge, while this torch is going through your country? Let's say they would, even if I seriously doubt it. Now, what happens if some French cop, in the view of everyone, orders a Chinese cop to get rid of a Chinese journalist because he didn't like him?
And then, imagine Jin Jing instead of David Douillet, carrying the torch through Beijing, being grabbed along the way (not that gently) by the French cops until she finally reaches the frontdoor of CCTV, in order to pass the torch to Yao Ming (for instance). The moment Jin Jing is going to give the torch to Yao Ming in front of the cameras, suddenly you see another French cop jumping in front of her yelling stuff without caring about her. He puts out the flame, takes the torch, then give it back, and goes running in the other direction, without even a last stare at the sportsmen - now tell me about "losing face". Tell me, honestly, if the things that happened in those videos were happening in China, wouldn't they trigger, the following day, crowds of people in front of every Carrefour in China and calls to boycott, just like now? The funnier in that is that the Chinese could be talking about whatever Corsican , Britannian or Caledonian independence or talks at the same time, the French would hardly give a shit, believe me. When we don't want some foreign government to get involved in our stuff, we tell him to mind his own business. THIS is what we call pride.
And tell me now, where are my fellow French netizens today? Last time Ive been to a Chinese restaurant, Ive seen no-one standing outside to block me, or anything. Why aren't they in the street right now, shouting around, disgusted by the Chinese complete disrespect of our sportsmen and our journalists?
Our minds are arguably not working the same way. Maybe the French are wrong and should go down the street and start bashing China for trampling underfoot French sovereignty. Or maybe the Chinese should go back home, take a big breath, and try to consider the fact that pride may not be about black-mailing another country when something doesn't please you, or just to satisfy one's frustrated hubris on some convenient scapegoat.
If the Chinese believe they have any effect on the French right now, I can tell you, our feeling have nothing to do with fear, nor shame. The only French people I know who express feelings about what is happening between France and China are either disappointed, or - more simply put - pity the Chinese. Arguably, they thought the Chinese were well over that kind of hate-reactions already. Should they be proven wrong any longer?
Ask yourself this question my dear Chinese friends, what matters most to you in this crisis: is it about what other people truly think of the Chinese, or about what you think other people should think of the Chinese? Because right now, I can answer both problematics at once: currently, either other people are disappointed about you, or you want to think that other people really hate you.
Either way, it doesn't really matter after all - because I can tell you that in both cases, we're not going anywhere...
Interested in discussing the events? It's all here folks!
Mind you, I actually believe they're not angry with the Chinese. You can ask other French about that. I think they mostly don't give a damn about anything happening in China at all. No, they're rather angry about the way their own authorities dealt with the torch relay, and about the kneeling of our leaders in front of their Chinese masters - while, arguably, they never said anything worse about China or Tibet that the German Chancellor or the British Premier didn't say first.
I am pretty sure you, my Chinese friends, saw a thousand times poor Jin Jing getting assaulted by every dumbass in the streets in Paris. Well firstly, you'd be wrong to believe those people were French - I suppose most of you already realized that a lot of those people were in London already, and for some of them found themselves in the US several days later to go on with the protests. As for these so called "Paris people don't like the Chinese", or "Paris people sleep with Dalai Lama" theories, I'd just like to underline that, attending myself a pro-tibetan rally two weeks before the torch relay to inquire about the situation, I can tell you pro-Tibet were lucky if there were more than 300-400 people down there that very day. And if it can re-assure you, during those days, the cops did everything they could to show the demonstrating people were not really welcomed. Can you believe that demonstrators, while the demonstration hadn't started yet, were forbidden by the cops to cross the streets buy cigarettes? That's the very reason why some people felt offended that day, and felt offended after the torch relay even more: because unlike what you seem to believe my dear Chinese friends, French cops actually did their utmost to please the Chinese authorities, before, during, and after the Torch relay, giving some French here the disgraceful taste of surrendering our sovereignty for a couple hours. And that's something they are being reproached with.
But let's get back to the main controversy.
I am pretty sure you didn't see the following videos - well my Chinese friends in China didn't, and that's understandable. Although the coverage by the Western medias of the whole crisis was pretty much bad and completely unprofessional, still, we've got enough rough data to make ourselves our own opinion. We all saw Jin Jing and we're all very sorry about her and the way she was treated. But please allow us to show you something else now:
1) Ok basically, what do we have now? David Douillet, a most famous French judo olympic champion, who is carrying the torch, and comments the videos after the events. As you probably guess, he didn't like the way the Chinese cops were handling him - actually, he's a pretty calm man. Some of us would certainely have rejoiced at the idea that he may have sent a couple blue-men fly in the blue sky, out of frustration. But fortunately, he kept very calm from the beginning to the end - and you'll see he must be given credit for that.
Thereafter, they get in the courtyard of Canal + (French channel four) where he must transmit the torch to Teddy Riner, another french Judoka. Then, it happens.
We still don't know what was going on. Pro-Tibet demonstrators were far away. They were not even in the courtyard - apparently, they got distanced by the torch relay, probably thanks to the motorized part of the relay. And then, for no apparent reasons, the Chinese cop receives an order and puts out Douillet's flame. Then, he heads back to the other direction, to get together with his group, and everybody leaves both champions here, like they were a couple suckers. And man, being a sucker sucks - now I don't want to know how you'd feel about that yourself, but I wouldn't like that.
Eventually, Douillet had to run, get to the cops, take away a torch they had lightened up, and tell the Chinese detail that he was giving it back to M.Riner, because HE'S the torch-bearer. Do you think the French liked what happened? Wait to see what happened to a journalist, earlier in the day, and you'll understand why some French citizen have reasons to feel pissed off about the French authorities allowing the Chinese to deal with the security...
2) And what is this now?
The man filming the whole scene is an official cameraman from France 2 (France Channel 2) which is a public channel, among the two most important TV channels in France. With the torch getting back into a bus under Chinese surveillance because of the pro-tibetan demonstrators, he starts to film around. What happens next? His Chinese colleagues are not happy with his behavior, as he's filming the demonstrators and filming themselves as there is no torch anymore at this very moment - while the Chinese cameramen simply stopped filming. They call their own security service to get rid of him, although he had all the accreditations needed (or he wouldn't be in the truck at all in the first place). The French cameraman, knowing his rights, would only accept to get removed by anyone else but a French policeman. He believes the Chinese will not bother asking the French police to remove him, as he believes this would be absolutely outrageous - as he broke no rule, he's got the needed clearance, and that under any circumstances, the French policemen are not supposed to take orders from the Chinese. Technically, he's right. But factually, he isn't: without even double checking the ID, the French policeman obeys the Chinese security detail orders, and removes a rightful French citizen and journalist from the press truck.
Now tell me how would YOU feel if such thing had happened in China? Imagine that the Olympics happen in France, and that the torch relays goes through Beijing. First of all, would China accept French policemen to be in charge, while this torch is going through your country? Let's say they would, even if I seriously doubt it. Now, what happens if some French cop, in the view of everyone, orders a Chinese cop to get rid of a Chinese journalist because he didn't like him?
And then, imagine Jin Jing instead of David Douillet, carrying the torch through Beijing, being grabbed along the way (not that gently) by the French cops until she finally reaches the frontdoor of CCTV, in order to pass the torch to Yao Ming (for instance). The moment Jin Jing is going to give the torch to Yao Ming in front of the cameras, suddenly you see another French cop jumping in front of her yelling stuff without caring about her. He puts out the flame, takes the torch, then give it back, and goes running in the other direction, without even a last stare at the sportsmen - now tell me about "losing face". Tell me, honestly, if the things that happened in those videos were happening in China, wouldn't they trigger, the following day, crowds of people in front of every Carrefour in China and calls to boycott, just like now? The funnier in that is that the Chinese could be talking about whatever Corsican , Britannian or Caledonian independence or talks at the same time, the French would hardly give a shit, believe me. When we don't want some foreign government to get involved in our stuff, we tell him to mind his own business. THIS is what we call pride.
And tell me now, where are my fellow French netizens today? Last time Ive been to a Chinese restaurant, Ive seen no-one standing outside to block me, or anything. Why aren't they in the street right now, shouting around, disgusted by the Chinese complete disrespect of our sportsmen and our journalists?
Our minds are arguably not working the same way. Maybe the French are wrong and should go down the street and start bashing China for trampling underfoot French sovereignty. Or maybe the Chinese should go back home, take a big breath, and try to consider the fact that pride may not be about black-mailing another country when something doesn't please you, or just to satisfy one's frustrated hubris on some convenient scapegoat.
If the Chinese believe they have any effect on the French right now, I can tell you, our feeling have nothing to do with fear, nor shame. The only French people I know who express feelings about what is happening between France and China are either disappointed, or - more simply put - pity the Chinese. Arguably, they thought the Chinese were well over that kind of hate-reactions already. Should they be proven wrong any longer?
Ask yourself this question my dear Chinese friends, what matters most to you in this crisis: is it about what other people truly think of the Chinese, or about what you think other people should think of the Chinese? Because right now, I can answer both problematics at once: currently, either other people are disappointed about you, or you want to think that other people really hate you.
Either way, it doesn't really matter after all - because I can tell you that in both cases, we're not going anywhere...
Interested in discussing the events? It's all here folks!
