Dirk read my last entry and asked why I did not send that as email to ARD. First of all, I think it would not really work. The scream out of anger does not meet a standard that ARD would take seriously. I felt angry so I scream at my own place. If the readers do not like what I screamed about they do not have to read/listen, they have a choice (Days ago I had no other choice but had to listen to the ARD version of the comments, basically that’s what made me angry. I heard NBC’s version is the best quality out there, later maybe I’d buy a DVD).
Now to be fair, ARD and ZDF have sent their most popular moderators to Beijing for reporting the Olympic. They work hard in their own media studio in Beijing. Without ARD and ZDF’s hard work, it is much more difficult for us Chinese-living-in-Germany to watch the happenings in Beijing. Many of them are not used to the humid and hot Beijing summer, many of them are not used to the unnecessary interview license overhead. It is not an easy job for them in Beijing. They have made a lot of short films introducing Beijing to the German people. Whatever their perspective is, starting introduction of a real, modern China is better than ignoring at all. My appreciation and respect to the ARD and ZDF team. Xin1 Ku3 Le0, thank you! I sincerely wish you a lot of fun in Beijing.
Chinese people really should not be too nervous about what the Western media show about China. While we hope the Western would give us more time for achieving a higher level of democracy and more individual freedom, we should grant the Western a lot of time to understand our way of thinking, our proud, and to become sympathetic to our scars.
Today on slashdot.org I saw a hot discussion about the manipulated video of the firework during the ceremony. Here is my opinion. It is a bad ignorance of the typical Western psychology from the Chinese media. By the Chinese standard, in order to achieve a perfect effect on TV at the big day, pre-record of the firework is acceptable. Since there might be heavy rain, but many firework engineers and manufacturers had prepared for years for the show. But the Chinese side needs to know this will turn out like a scandal by typical Western standard. Respect does not have to be won from several seconds of the manipulated fireworks. And, the Western would not look down upon the organizers if the real fireworks are not perfect enough. This is a marketing research failure and public relation management failure from the Chinese side. However, it’s not the end of the world. All the pictures in my online gallery are more or less manipulated, at least the file sizes are reduced for optimal web presentation. And, I’m not the only one that reduces the file sizes for web galleries.
The Chinese people have done so much for the government. The glories belong to the people. The government has won so much trust from the people through the preparation of the Olympic. Now it’s slowly time for the government to show your confidence in your own people. IMHO, the great firewall is absolutely unnecessary. Chinese people living in foreign countries can read all kinds of negatives about China, the government should know that those extremely anti-government websites do not really work. Many of us trust the government, the government please reward us with your trust. Abolish the great firewall please. It’s a wall of shame. And please be nicer to the people. Creating possibilities for the poor people is much more important than creating fun for the rich people now. Last month I watched a documentation from ARD (well made, thanks to the film makers). In a west-China province, a 11-year old girl has to do all household chores at home and go to school, while her father sitting aside, does nothing. He said, since she’s a girl, the family cannot afford for her further education, she should marry early. This girl, does not look bitter at all, she just silently accept her fate and tries her best in the school and in the family. I was so touched by the girl. People such as this girl write the history of China. The government, please realize you have the nicest people in the world and be nice to them!!! I’m just an average employee in Germany and do not earn much. But if ARD can still reach that 11-year girl, by all means tell me how to contact her please. I can afford 100 euro per month for her further education. I hope I can earn more when she needs more for her college. Of course the best solution should be from the government. Especially people like her father should be brain-washed. Daughter is not servant. He should do something to help the household chore. I consider it a much better investment than in any equity/currency/immobile market.
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I feel sad for the warfare in Georgia, especially sad for the helpless women and children during the war. Visited drk.de but did not find any link for donation to the women and children in that region. I will donate if the German Red Cross adds the link.
