中日之间的矛盾从甲午战争就开始了,持续了100多年,现在还是没完没了．当前中国政府面对日本的咄咄逼人态势，也只能表达一下强烈愤慨和谴责，再多又能做什么呢？什么也做不了，中国的执政者只能是抹稀泥，因为他们知道，老百姓也知道，现在要是和日本真的针锋相对地打，还不是日本的对手。中国的国力，经济，军事都远远落后于日本，所以中国的领导人也算识相－"干打雷，不下雨"。中国背着近１４亿人口的负担和压力，政治腐败（包括军队内部），将士战斗力低下，人口的平均素质也那么低，社会象一盘散沙，完全不是日本的对手。
2005-05-28
物以稀为贵，人多命就贱。
这样的消息每天都能读到：某某地的煤矿又发生爆炸，有多少人被困井下，生死不明；或是某某农村的地下作坊的工人，因为工作环境恶劣，引发严重职业病（正己烷中毒，苯中毒，尘肺病，铅中毒等等），从而造成严重残疾、瘫痪或死亡（为的只是那可怜的每天20-30块钱的收入）；某某地的地下食品加工黑窝点将生产出的有毒食品输送到市场上去；一群农民为了图便宜（他们也确实穷），乘坐严重超载的长途客车赶路，走运的没事，倒霉的就是车毁人亡。有的车被交警拦截下来检查时，面对媒体的参访，那些农民乘客眼神呆滞，表情木讷、茫然，带着无知、憨傻的笑容回答说："没事的，没关系。"每当我看到这些消息或电视报道时，心中不免感慨：中国人这么多，人多了也就象物品多了一样，就不值钱了，所谓"物以稀为贵"。中国真的是人祸，人多了，人的命就贱了，这也是符合市场规律的。所以我对他们一点也不同情，因为他们的父母当初决定把他们生出来就是个错误，他们天生就是受苦的命，就是穷命，这都是他们自己的父母造成的。如果他们的父母不能给他们的孩子一个好的生活，一个受良好教育的机会，为什么还要生这个孩子呢？？[END]
2005-05-27
看了下面这条新闻，就会明白什么叫＂穷凶极恶＂．因为穷，没有文化，没有教育，所以基本的礼都没有．古话说：仓廪实，而后知礼节。这些人，连饭都没吃饱，你叫他们如何去懂得礼节呢？其实在北京、上海、广州这样的一级大都市里，情况也并不好到哪去，大家还是很穷，即使是那些白领小资一族们，月收入几千，上万，或几万，能开辆小车和住套小楼房，可也不过就是些普通老百姓人家的穷孩子，无权无势无背景，小老百姓一个而已。这就是中国目前的现状。所有人都向“钱”看，为了钱，可以抛掉一切，有了钱，就好像有了一切。共产党的这招很灵，在共产党的督导下，命令媒体的报道必须一律突出一个钱字，美其名曰“搞好经济发展”，以此来分散国人的注意力，不希望国人去想什么政体改革，民主法制的事情，这样来稳固他们腐败的封建式专制统治。
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“候鸟天堂”突变屠宰场
[北京青年报： 2005年05月24日] 中国湖南
为饱口福砍树捕鸟 五六千只雏鸟遭杀戮 ——
山林里到处是鸟尸、鸟蛋和被捣毁的鸟巢，五六千只雏鸟成了许多村民的下饭菜。从5月4日起至今，生活在湖南望城县白箬铺镇黄泥铺村屋后山树林里的候鸟遭遇了惨重的打击。
而今年2月，这里因山青水秀、水草丰美迎来了约两千只白鹭和金丝鸟。每天，数千只鸟在林间飞翔，让人感受到自然的平和温馨。然而，这样的安宁和谐仅维持了两个多月，原本万鸟翔集，堪称“候鸟天堂”的屋后山如今已是百鸟哀鸣。5月22日，记者对此事进行了采访。
■记者目击：1公里山林成雏鸟屠宰场
据《东方新报》报道，一到黄泥铺村，村民郭富国就带着记者一行直奔现场。据称，那些白鹭和金丝鸟就栖息在郭富国家后面的山林里。
从郭家后门出发，穿过约30米远的树林，前面突然飘来一股浓浓的腥臭味，虽是雨天，但异味仍然直往大家的鼻子里钻。
一路走来，只见树下、草地上到处都是打碎的鸟蛋，而山坡上遍地是死去的雏鸟，有的甚至还在滴血。从现场看，当天早晨一定有人在此进行过捕杀。
在郭富国的带领下，记者走完了约1公里的山林，在约6米宽的范围内，每前进一步，就能看见地上有数不清的鸟尸、鸟蛋，还有很多被捣毁的鸟巢。穿行林间，每发出一点响声，就有大鸟振翅惊飞，长久地嘶鸣着，而尚在巢中的雏鸟也跟着一起哀鸣起来。
■当地村民：砍树捕鸟吃不完熏干
村民黎海军说，附近村民取鸟蛋回家吃的现象，从5月4日就开始了。5月10日，他听人说，很多人结队上山捕捉巢中的雏鸟做下饭菜。
“有许多村民一次就捕获二三十公斤带回家，吃不完就将雏鸟熏干，做成干肉，慢慢食用。正因如此，许多捕鸟人将刚刚孵出来的小鸟扔在树林里，只捡回大的雏鸟回家食用，造成遍山都是死雏鸟。”黎海军说。
■义务护鸟：10名义务护鸟人爱莫能助
当山林中的雏鸟遭到附近村民大肆捕杀时，李山村组的郭富国、黎海军等10名村民干脆自发组织起来护鸟。尽管护鸟时间长，人也很辛苦，但效果却不明显。郭富国、黎海军等人苦笑着说：“相对于捕鸟人来说，我们势单力薄，根本照应不过来。好像我们清晨5时半左右上山巡逻，就已经有人抓了一大袋雏鸟下山了。而且附近还有许多村民是在晚上7时以后上山抓鸟的。”“我们是自发行动。发现村民抓鸟时，只能劝说，赶他们下山。但碰到一些特别不讲理的人，我们实在无法劝阻，有时去抢被抓的雏鸟时，闹得几乎开打。”黎海军说。
■相关部门：成立专案组马上调查
望城县白箬铺镇林业站站长文朝辉说：“现在这种情况，我们看了也很痛心。目前只能对‘义务护鸟队’采取奖励措施，将护鸟行动作为一项公益事业来推行。我们将和林业公安部门配合，成立调查组进行调查。如还有捕杀的，将按照《治安管理处罚条例》，按严重程度处以罚款、拘留，严重的还可判刑。”
■现场变化：山林进出口挂出“禁捕”牌
黄泥铺村村支书朱学武说：“我是21日晚9时20分接到的举报电话。第二天清早6时左右，我们一行人就赶到了现场，采取紧急措施保护幸存的鸟。”
“当天下午，我们印发了100份关于保护鸟类的宣传资料，在山林的进出口挂出‘严禁捕鸟’的标牌；组织护鸟队日夜巡逻；配合林业公安部门，调查这次大肆捕杀雏鸟的村民。”朱学武说。[END][完]
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“候鸟天堂”突变屠宰场
[北京青年报： 2005年05月24日] 中国湖南
为饱口福砍树捕鸟 五六千只雏鸟遭杀戮 ——
山林里到处是鸟尸、鸟蛋和被捣毁的鸟巢，五六千只雏鸟成了许多村民的下饭菜。从5月4日起至今，生活在湖南望城县白箬铺镇黄泥铺村屋后山树林里的候鸟遭遇了惨重的打击。
而今年2月，这里因山青水秀、水草丰美迎来了约两千只白鹭和金丝鸟。每天，数千只鸟在林间飞翔，让人感受到自然的平和温馨。然而，这样的安宁和谐仅维持了两个多月，原本万鸟翔集，堪称“候鸟天堂”的屋后山如今已是百鸟哀鸣。5月22日，记者对此事进行了采访。
■记者目击：1公里山林成雏鸟屠宰场
据《东方新报》报道，一到黄泥铺村，村民郭富国就带着记者一行直奔现场。据称，那些白鹭和金丝鸟就栖息在郭富国家后面的山林里。
从郭家后门出发，穿过约30米远的树林，前面突然飘来一股浓浓的腥臭味，虽是雨天，但异味仍然直往大家的鼻子里钻。
一路走来，只见树下、草地上到处都是打碎的鸟蛋，而山坡上遍地是死去的雏鸟，有的甚至还在滴血。从现场看，当天早晨一定有人在此进行过捕杀。
在郭富国的带领下，记者走完了约1公里的山林，在约6米宽的范围内，每前进一步，就能看见地上有数不清的鸟尸、鸟蛋，还有很多被捣毁的鸟巢。穿行林间，每发出一点响声，就有大鸟振翅惊飞，长久地嘶鸣着，而尚在巢中的雏鸟也跟着一起哀鸣起来。
■当地村民：砍树捕鸟吃不完熏干
村民黎海军说，附近村民取鸟蛋回家吃的现象，从5月4日就开始了。5月10日，他听人说，很多人结队上山捕捉巢中的雏鸟做下饭菜。
“有许多村民一次就捕获二三十公斤带回家，吃不完就将雏鸟熏干，做成干肉，慢慢食用。正因如此，许多捕鸟人将刚刚孵出来的小鸟扔在树林里，只捡回大的雏鸟回家食用，造成遍山都是死雏鸟。”黎海军说。
■义务护鸟：10名义务护鸟人爱莫能助
当山林中的雏鸟遭到附近村民大肆捕杀时，李山村组的郭富国、黎海军等10名村民干脆自发组织起来护鸟。尽管护鸟时间长，人也很辛苦，但效果却不明显。郭富国、黎海军等人苦笑着说：“相对于捕鸟人来说，我们势单力薄，根本照应不过来。好像我们清晨5时半左右上山巡逻，就已经有人抓了一大袋雏鸟下山了。而且附近还有许多村民是在晚上7时以后上山抓鸟的。”“我们是自发行动。发现村民抓鸟时，只能劝说，赶他们下山。但碰到一些特别不讲理的人，我们实在无法劝阻，有时去抢被抓的雏鸟时，闹得几乎开打。”黎海军说。
■相关部门：成立专案组马上调查
望城县白箬铺镇林业站站长文朝辉说：“现在这种情况，我们看了也很痛心。目前只能对‘义务护鸟队’采取奖励措施，将护鸟行动作为一项公益事业来推行。我们将和林业公安部门配合，成立调查组进行调查。如还有捕杀的，将按照《治安管理处罚条例》，按严重程度处以罚款、拘留，严重的还可判刑。”
■现场变化：山林进出口挂出“禁捕”牌
黄泥铺村村支书朱学武说：“我是21日晚9时20分接到的举报电话。第二天清早6时左右，我们一行人就赶到了现场，采取紧急措施保护幸存的鸟。”
“当天下午，我们印发了100份关于保护鸟类的宣传资料，在山林的进出口挂出‘严禁捕鸟’的标牌；组织护鸟队日夜巡逻；配合林业公安部门，调查这次大肆捕杀雏鸟的村民。”朱学武说。[END][完]
2005-05-17
刘晓波：中国大学是自由的坟墓
刘晓波：中国大学是自由的坟墓
(转载于 博讯 www. boxun.com 2005年5月17日)
近一年来，中共官方全面收紧意识形态，当局在对自由知识界和异见人士进行更严厉的打压的同时，严控之手也伸向了高等院校，今年1月份，中共中央召开"加强和改进大学生思想政治教育工作会议"，胡锦涛亲自与会并发表讲话，中共中央国务院发布《关于进一步加强和改进大学生思想政治教育工作的意见》，针对大学生思想政治教育问题召开如此高规格的会议，为近年来所罕见。于是，中共教育部党组发出《关于学习贯彻落实全国加强和改进大学生思想政治教育工作会议精神的通知》，教育部长周济发表讲话《全面深入创造性地推进大学生思政工作》。
作为落实胡锦涛讲话和中央会议的措施之一，中共教育部对大学校园的BBS大开杀戒，一下子整肃了南大小百合ＢＢＳ、水木清华ＢＢＳ、北大未名ＢＢＳ、西安交大兵马俑BBS、浙大海纳百川ＢＢＳ、我爱南开ＢＢＳ、上海交大饮水思源ＢＢＳ、复旦大学日月光华ＢＢＳ、北邮真情流露ＢＢＳ、.吉林大学牡丹园站、武汉大学珞珈山水等校园网站，禁止校外网民进入校内网站，实行ID实名制。
教育部的整肃令，引起青年学子及其绝大多数网民愤怒，令世界舆论感到震惊。清华学生在3月18日中午自发聚集在"行胜于言"校训日晷前，抗议水木清华BBS被关。北大等高校的有些版主用脚投票，已经宣布辞职。大陆网民和海外媒体更是一片批评之声。甚至大陆的开明报纸也发出委婉的不同声音。《南方都市报》在3月23日发表署名为长平的评论文章"高校不应建立网络围墙"；《中国青年报》在3月30日也发表长篇报道《活在BBS》。网名为"henrry"的网友的帖子最能代表民间的呼声："我泪长流啊！……永远记住这个日子：2005年3月16日星期三。在这一天的下午，在中国，乃至世界青年华人群体中享有盛誉的清华水木BBS死去了：在一小撮人的强令下，清华水木BBS 被活活地缠上裹尸布，……中国最著名、历史最悠久的网站之一被敢于逆历史潮流的一小撮人给毁掉了！"
整肃校园的另一措施是清理教师队伍。中宣部和教育部联合发文，第一次明确把大学课堂列入宣传的范围，要求进一步加强和改进高校思想政治理论课，特别强调要把好高等院校教师的"入口关"， "加强师德建设"，对凡是不按教科书观点进行授课的教师，要调离教学岗位。还要求各地意识形态主管部门，在书、报、刊、台、网、手机短信之外，对座谈会、报告会、研讨会、讲座等各种形式的思想交流的活动，进行"属地化"的监管范围之内。教育部还发出《关于进一步加强和改进师德建设的意见》，其中规定：在教师资格认定和新教师聘用上，要建立师德考评制度，"把思想政治素质、思想道德品质作为必备条件和重要考察内容，对师德表现不佳的教师要及时劝诫，经劝诫仍不改正的，要进行严肃处理。对有严重失德行为、影响恶劣者一律撤销教师资格并予以解聘。
于是，写下《讨伐中宣部》的北京大学新闻学院副教授焦国标先生，一直受到来自官方的停课、劝戒、警告、警方监控等压力，但他并没有屈从于高压，坚持自己的言论权利和做人尊严。于是，北大校方乘焦先生远赴美国作研究访问之机，终于下了狠手，以"不听规劝"、"一意孤行"的理由将焦先生开除出北大。焦国标马上发表了《读路德传上北大校长万言书》，再次向意识形态主管部门和北大校方发出挑战。焦先生痛斥二十一世纪的中共政权和中国大学，远不及五百年前的罗马教廷和中世纪的神学院。
显然，整肃校园网络，试图把学校和社会隔绝起来，让大学校园变成只接受官方灌输的"纯洁"阵地；通过ID实名制威慑校内网民，使他们在发言时因恐惧而自律；开除焦国标先生，是用"砸饭碗"的方式来惩处"不听话"者，进而恐吓其他教师。
大学乃学术殿堂和育人之地，最需要自由的空气。遥想民国时期，做过教育总长和北大校长蔡元培先生所言："思想自由，是世界大学的通例。"蔡元培先生当北大校长时，一改旧北大的无自由局面，首创"思想自由，兼容并包"的学术自由和思想自由的新传统。正是蔡元培先生以自由立校的办学精神，才把北大变成了中国的自由传统的摇篮和一流的教育、学术的中心。
同时，当时的大学校长们，也大都敢于为了坚守大学的独立地位而顶撞衙门的肆意干涉。比如，在五四运动时期，因不满衙门对北大校务的肆意干涉，蔡元培先生于1919年6月15日发表了《不肯再任北大校长的宣言》，直言："我绝对不能再做不自由的大学校长。"首开中国现代大学校长挑战权力衙门的先河。
另一位著名知识分子兼社会活动家刘文典（字叔雅）先生，曾任安徽大学校长。1928-1929年间，刘先生曾为捍卫大学尊严和保护学生而两次挑战蒋介石对大学的蛮横干涉。刘先生留下的名言，至今读来仍然掷地有声："大学不是衙门！"
正因为民国时期的大学还具有独立性，大学校长们还能保持住学术尊严和人格尊严，所以，1926"三·一八惨案"发生后，北京各高校和大学校长、教授纷纷谴责段祺瑞政府的。1926年3月23日，北京各界人士、各社会团体、各学校齐聚北京大学大操场，为亡灵们举行万人公祭大会。北大代校长的蒋梦麟在会上沉痛地说："我任校长，使人家子弟，社会国家之人材，同学之朋友，如此牺牲，而又无法避免与挽救，此心诚不知如何悲痛。"1946年"一二·一"惨案发生后，时任北大校长的傅斯年赶到昆明，见到对开枪屠杀学生负直接责任的关麟征，第一句话就是："从前我们是朋友，可是现在我们是仇敌。学生就像我的孩子，你杀害了他们，我还能沉默吗？"
1949年后的中国，毛泽东把高校作为党权甚至他个人极权的工具。通过一系列针对知识分子的整肃运动，通过全国大学的院系调整，通过意识形态灌输，彻底取消了大学内的学术独立和思想自由，已经把大学变成了极权者的驯服工具，致使大学彻底堕落为"党权工具"，变成毫无创造力的"学术衙门"和培养犬儒的"动物园"。即便在言论自由早已成为普世人权的时代，在二十一世纪的网络时代，中共政权及其教育部治下的大学校园，仍然没有自由空气；各大学的校长们，非但不能起而保护校园自由、捍卫大学独立和师生的权益，反而变成了披着学术头衔的党棍。他们对党权的唯命是从，不但亵渎了真正的大学精神，也玷污了大学校长的真正职责。
近年来，在中共高层的提倡下，"创建世界一流大学"，已经成为中国高校的奋斗目标。教育部给名牌大学投入巨资，北大、清华等著名学府的校长接连发出誓言，口号喊得一个比一个响亮。然而，能否把大学办成一流，靠的绝非封锁校园、强制灌输和听话教育，而是一流的思想创造、学术成果和毕业生。没有最起码的学术独立和思想自由，不让教授们和学生们独立思考、畅所欲言，如何能创造出一流的思想和学术的成果，又怎能培养出高质量的人才？
看看今日中国大学的校长们，面对其野蛮性、残忍性远远超过"三.一八惨案"的六四大屠杀，他们中无耻者，争相表态拥护邓小平的屠杀令；他们中的良知未泯者，也多是保持沉默。六四之后，恐怖高压、灌输洗脑和利益收买，再次把大学改造成党权的驯服工具。大学校长们对中共高官极尽谄媚之能事，想方设法邀请他们出席XXX年的校庆日。甚至大学的地位高低是以出席重大校庆日的官员级别来标志的。北大百年校庆可以请到江泽民出席，北师大百年校庆就只能请到李鹏出席。
看看现在的高校，学术抄袭、文凭交易、招生黑幕、枪手论文、官员读博……校园腐败的愈演愈烈；奴才道德、木偶意识和犬儒哲学在著名学府大行其道，一些教授们和学生们唯利是图、口是心非，缺乏起码的职业道德和理想主义。这样的大学，造就的只能是谄媚权钱的奴才和唯命是从的木偶。
中国的各级大学与中央政府及其各级主管部门的关系，与通行的官场没有什么实质性区别。在大学中，校长不是由独立的董事会聘任，而是由上级主管部门任命。所以，高校里也有从上到下的党务系统，校长、院长、所长、系主任、甚至著名教授们，也是"学而优则仕"的产物，是占尽政治和学术的双重利益的受惠者。一方面，他们是上级任命的官员，握有学校的行政权力，其待遇严格按照中共官场的级别来确定。享受着副部级、司局级，县团级、乡科级的行政待遇。另一方面，他们又是教授、专家、学者、博导，是学术带头人、重点科研项目的主持人，也是学术委员会的评审人，握有巨大的学术权力。他们靠到教育部跑项目，用知识包装权势者，向官员和富豪卖学位，为其他教师评职称，压榨研究生的劳动……来谋取巨大的私利，致使 "学术腐败"愈演愈烈。
像其他中共官员一样，大学校长们也是一群媚上欺下的官僚，为了乌纱帽、也为了更多的经费、重点学科和博士点…… 他们一面巴结教育部官员，一面压制校内师生的正当权益要求，以维持所谓的"校园稳定"。不要说政治局高官的视察、教育部的部长副部长的指导是天大的事情，就是教育部的一个司局长或处长的光临，也要尽力满足"上面来人"的要求。去年，互联网曾经曝光了南京师范大学的一起丑闻，该校领导为了讨好某些教育部官员光临该校检查工作，居然强制数位女生为这些北京来的大员陪舞。
中共奴化教育体制下的大学校长以实际的言行宣告：大学就是衙门，校长们就是衙门的门童。只要是来自衙门的指令，一律惟命是从。现在，大学已经"与时俱进"为双重附庸，不仅是权力的工具，也是金钱的奴仆。而校园中的真正知识分子已经消亡，学术也早已失去应有的尊严。极少数敢于坚守知识分子立场和学术尊严的教师或学生，都会被作为"不安定因素"或"不听话分子"而被开除。所以，中国的大学：昔日是"自由的摇篮"，今日是"自由的坟墓"。
(转载于 博讯 www. boxun.com 2005年5月17日)
近一年来，中共官方全面收紧意识形态，当局在对自由知识界和异见人士进行更严厉的打压的同时，严控之手也伸向了高等院校，今年1月份，中共中央召开"加强和改进大学生思想政治教育工作会议"，胡锦涛亲自与会并发表讲话，中共中央国务院发布《关于进一步加强和改进大学生思想政治教育工作的意见》，针对大学生思想政治教育问题召开如此高规格的会议，为近年来所罕见。于是，中共教育部党组发出《关于学习贯彻落实全国加强和改进大学生思想政治教育工作会议精神的通知》，教育部长周济发表讲话《全面深入创造性地推进大学生思政工作》。
作为落实胡锦涛讲话和中央会议的措施之一，中共教育部对大学校园的BBS大开杀戒，一下子整肃了南大小百合ＢＢＳ、水木清华ＢＢＳ、北大未名ＢＢＳ、西安交大兵马俑BBS、浙大海纳百川ＢＢＳ、我爱南开ＢＢＳ、上海交大饮水思源ＢＢＳ、复旦大学日月光华ＢＢＳ、北邮真情流露ＢＢＳ、.吉林大学牡丹园站、武汉大学珞珈山水等校园网站，禁止校外网民进入校内网站，实行ID实名制。
教育部的整肃令，引起青年学子及其绝大多数网民愤怒，令世界舆论感到震惊。清华学生在3月18日中午自发聚集在"行胜于言"校训日晷前，抗议水木清华BBS被关。北大等高校的有些版主用脚投票，已经宣布辞职。大陆网民和海外媒体更是一片批评之声。甚至大陆的开明报纸也发出委婉的不同声音。《南方都市报》在3月23日发表署名为长平的评论文章"高校不应建立网络围墙"；《中国青年报》在3月30日也发表长篇报道《活在BBS》。网名为"henrry"的网友的帖子最能代表民间的呼声："我泪长流啊！……永远记住这个日子：2005年3月16日星期三。在这一天的下午，在中国，乃至世界青年华人群体中享有盛誉的清华水木BBS死去了：在一小撮人的强令下，清华水木BBS 被活活地缠上裹尸布，……中国最著名、历史最悠久的网站之一被敢于逆历史潮流的一小撮人给毁掉了！"
整肃校园的另一措施是清理教师队伍。中宣部和教育部联合发文，第一次明确把大学课堂列入宣传的范围，要求进一步加强和改进高校思想政治理论课，特别强调要把好高等院校教师的"入口关"， "加强师德建设"，对凡是不按教科书观点进行授课的教师，要调离教学岗位。还要求各地意识形态主管部门，在书、报、刊、台、网、手机短信之外，对座谈会、报告会、研讨会、讲座等各种形式的思想交流的活动，进行"属地化"的监管范围之内。教育部还发出《关于进一步加强和改进师德建设的意见》，其中规定：在教师资格认定和新教师聘用上，要建立师德考评制度，"把思想政治素质、思想道德品质作为必备条件和重要考察内容，对师德表现不佳的教师要及时劝诫，经劝诫仍不改正的，要进行严肃处理。对有严重失德行为、影响恶劣者一律撤销教师资格并予以解聘。
于是，写下《讨伐中宣部》的北京大学新闻学院副教授焦国标先生，一直受到来自官方的停课、劝戒、警告、警方监控等压力，但他并没有屈从于高压，坚持自己的言论权利和做人尊严。于是，北大校方乘焦先生远赴美国作研究访问之机，终于下了狠手，以"不听规劝"、"一意孤行"的理由将焦先生开除出北大。焦国标马上发表了《读路德传上北大校长万言书》，再次向意识形态主管部门和北大校方发出挑战。焦先生痛斥二十一世纪的中共政权和中国大学，远不及五百年前的罗马教廷和中世纪的神学院。
显然，整肃校园网络，试图把学校和社会隔绝起来，让大学校园变成只接受官方灌输的"纯洁"阵地；通过ID实名制威慑校内网民，使他们在发言时因恐惧而自律；开除焦国标先生，是用"砸饭碗"的方式来惩处"不听话"者，进而恐吓其他教师。
大学乃学术殿堂和育人之地，最需要自由的空气。遥想民国时期，做过教育总长和北大校长蔡元培先生所言："思想自由，是世界大学的通例。"蔡元培先生当北大校长时，一改旧北大的无自由局面，首创"思想自由，兼容并包"的学术自由和思想自由的新传统。正是蔡元培先生以自由立校的办学精神，才把北大变成了中国的自由传统的摇篮和一流的教育、学术的中心。
同时，当时的大学校长们，也大都敢于为了坚守大学的独立地位而顶撞衙门的肆意干涉。比如，在五四运动时期，因不满衙门对北大校务的肆意干涉，蔡元培先生于1919年6月15日发表了《不肯再任北大校长的宣言》，直言："我绝对不能再做不自由的大学校长。"首开中国现代大学校长挑战权力衙门的先河。
另一位著名知识分子兼社会活动家刘文典（字叔雅）先生，曾任安徽大学校长。1928-1929年间，刘先生曾为捍卫大学尊严和保护学生而两次挑战蒋介石对大学的蛮横干涉。刘先生留下的名言，至今读来仍然掷地有声："大学不是衙门！"
正因为民国时期的大学还具有独立性，大学校长们还能保持住学术尊严和人格尊严，所以，1926"三·一八惨案"发生后，北京各高校和大学校长、教授纷纷谴责段祺瑞政府的。1926年3月23日，北京各界人士、各社会团体、各学校齐聚北京大学大操场，为亡灵们举行万人公祭大会。北大代校长的蒋梦麟在会上沉痛地说："我任校长，使人家子弟，社会国家之人材，同学之朋友，如此牺牲，而又无法避免与挽救，此心诚不知如何悲痛。"1946年"一二·一"惨案发生后，时任北大校长的傅斯年赶到昆明，见到对开枪屠杀学生负直接责任的关麟征，第一句话就是："从前我们是朋友，可是现在我们是仇敌。学生就像我的孩子，你杀害了他们，我还能沉默吗？"
1949年后的中国，毛泽东把高校作为党权甚至他个人极权的工具。通过一系列针对知识分子的整肃运动，通过全国大学的院系调整，通过意识形态灌输，彻底取消了大学内的学术独立和思想自由，已经把大学变成了极权者的驯服工具，致使大学彻底堕落为"党权工具"，变成毫无创造力的"学术衙门"和培养犬儒的"动物园"。即便在言论自由早已成为普世人权的时代，在二十一世纪的网络时代，中共政权及其教育部治下的大学校园，仍然没有自由空气；各大学的校长们，非但不能起而保护校园自由、捍卫大学独立和师生的权益，反而变成了披着学术头衔的党棍。他们对党权的唯命是从，不但亵渎了真正的大学精神，也玷污了大学校长的真正职责。
近年来，在中共高层的提倡下，"创建世界一流大学"，已经成为中国高校的奋斗目标。教育部给名牌大学投入巨资，北大、清华等著名学府的校长接连发出誓言，口号喊得一个比一个响亮。然而，能否把大学办成一流，靠的绝非封锁校园、强制灌输和听话教育，而是一流的思想创造、学术成果和毕业生。没有最起码的学术独立和思想自由，不让教授们和学生们独立思考、畅所欲言，如何能创造出一流的思想和学术的成果，又怎能培养出高质量的人才？
看看今日中国大学的校长们，面对其野蛮性、残忍性远远超过"三.一八惨案"的六四大屠杀，他们中无耻者，争相表态拥护邓小平的屠杀令；他们中的良知未泯者，也多是保持沉默。六四之后，恐怖高压、灌输洗脑和利益收买，再次把大学改造成党权的驯服工具。大学校长们对中共高官极尽谄媚之能事，想方设法邀请他们出席XXX年的校庆日。甚至大学的地位高低是以出席重大校庆日的官员级别来标志的。北大百年校庆可以请到江泽民出席，北师大百年校庆就只能请到李鹏出席。
看看现在的高校，学术抄袭、文凭交易、招生黑幕、枪手论文、官员读博……校园腐败的愈演愈烈；奴才道德、木偶意识和犬儒哲学在著名学府大行其道，一些教授们和学生们唯利是图、口是心非，缺乏起码的职业道德和理想主义。这样的大学，造就的只能是谄媚权钱的奴才和唯命是从的木偶。
中国的各级大学与中央政府及其各级主管部门的关系，与通行的官场没有什么实质性区别。在大学中，校长不是由独立的董事会聘任，而是由上级主管部门任命。所以，高校里也有从上到下的党务系统，校长、院长、所长、系主任、甚至著名教授们，也是"学而优则仕"的产物，是占尽政治和学术的双重利益的受惠者。一方面，他们是上级任命的官员，握有学校的行政权力，其待遇严格按照中共官场的级别来确定。享受着副部级、司局级，县团级、乡科级的行政待遇。另一方面，他们又是教授、专家、学者、博导，是学术带头人、重点科研项目的主持人，也是学术委员会的评审人，握有巨大的学术权力。他们靠到教育部跑项目，用知识包装权势者，向官员和富豪卖学位，为其他教师评职称，压榨研究生的劳动……来谋取巨大的私利，致使 "学术腐败"愈演愈烈。
像其他中共官员一样，大学校长们也是一群媚上欺下的官僚，为了乌纱帽、也为了更多的经费、重点学科和博士点…… 他们一面巴结教育部官员，一面压制校内师生的正当权益要求，以维持所谓的"校园稳定"。不要说政治局高官的视察、教育部的部长副部长的指导是天大的事情，就是教育部的一个司局长或处长的光临，也要尽力满足"上面来人"的要求。去年，互联网曾经曝光了南京师范大学的一起丑闻，该校领导为了讨好某些教育部官员光临该校检查工作，居然强制数位女生为这些北京来的大员陪舞。
中共奴化教育体制下的大学校长以实际的言行宣告：大学就是衙门，校长们就是衙门的门童。只要是来自衙门的指令，一律惟命是从。现在，大学已经"与时俱进"为双重附庸，不仅是权力的工具，也是金钱的奴仆。而校园中的真正知识分子已经消亡，学术也早已失去应有的尊严。极少数敢于坚守知识分子立场和学术尊严的教师或学生，都会被作为"不安定因素"或"不听话分子"而被开除。所以，中国的大学：昔日是"自由的摇篮"，今日是"自由的坟墓"。
2005-05-13
An Unhealthy Habit
An Unhealthy Habit (Originally published by Beijing Review )
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By LISA CARDUCCI
No matter how many years a foreigner lives in China, I think it’s impossible to get used to the awful sound of someone clearing their throat loudly and then spitting right next to you. The SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) epidemic last year should have changed this extremely bad habit, but sadly for all of us it did not.
People continue to spit. Everyday I see staff in the ladies’ toilet at my workplace, who miss their goal and spit on the floor beside the lavatory bowl. Some spit in the sink, where it sticks inside the pipes and produces germs. I watch a constant display of spitting on a daily basis. A man playing ping-pong during the break spat on the floor, and his playmates didn’t bat an eyelid. A taxi driver waiting for customers spat once every minute, while in a restaurant, a diner right beside me spat 31 times while having his meal.
And it is not only foreigners who complain. Several indignant Chinese friends told me how they had been spat upon by someone in front of them, when out riding their bicycles and I have personally been hit by spit from someone in a passing bus.
After the SARS outbreak last year people did not spit on the sidewalk, but on the grass or the side bushes.
People should know that dry spit is even more dangerous to our health than wet spit, because a broom or the wind can spread around billions of germs expectorated daily by a regular spitter. In China, where all is permitted if there is no policeman around, how do we get people to understand the health implications?
Immediately after the SARS period, I started to stare hard at spitters, showing them my disgust and even saying things like “Congratulations! Your spitting skill is very high!” I also distributed tissues on the street to spitters, adding, “For the next time you feel like spitting,” but frustrated, I finally abandoned my fight.
Why not to use the media, as well as organizing a national exhibition (as it was done for drugs at the Military Museum a few years ago) to show people how dangerous spitting is, not only to our health but to the Chinese society’s image? Exhibitions could feature examples and eloquent images (such as the famed Harvard University where a large sign only in Chinese says, “Please do not spit; do not litter”), to explain the dangers and inconveniences of spitting.
If people could see with their own eyes how many germs they spread around when they spit, they might think twice before doing it. Examples of how other countries got rid of the spitting habit could provide convincing models to follow. After a big education campaign all over the country through schools, street signs, TV and radio, newspapers, cartoons, exhibitions and conferences, those “hard core spitters” reluctant to change should be punished accordingly.
I remember, years ago, a “neighborhood committee” woman wearing a red armband actively reacted when a man spat on Wangfujing Street (one of the busiest commercial areas in Beijing), not only asking for the fine, that was 5 yuan ($0.6) at that time, but ordering the offender to clean up the spit. I think drivers or ticket sellers on buses, waiters in restaurants, clerks in stores, etc. should have the right do the same. Spitting is a civil offense, and should be a punishable offense.
The fine for spitting was raised to 200 yuan ($24.15) during the SARS epidemic, but I never saw a policeman fining anyone. As it’s human nature to be moved only by the carrot or the stick, let’s use the punishment, as the reward in this case—contributing to public health and earning a good reputation for the country should be reward enough. To apply this, the number of authorized staff should be raised. For instance, in each work unit, store and hotel, every chief of department should be enabled to fine offenders.
Also, photographers and even citizens who could catch spitters with their cameras could have these photos published.
Chinese people are no different from others; they can get rid of this bad behavior by the means of more education campaigns, just as other countries have succeeded. [END]
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By LISA CARDUCCI
No matter how many years a foreigner lives in China, I think it’s impossible to get used to the awful sound of someone clearing their throat loudly and then spitting right next to you. The SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) epidemic last year should have changed this extremely bad habit, but sadly for all of us it did not.
People continue to spit. Everyday I see staff in the ladies’ toilet at my workplace, who miss their goal and spit on the floor beside the lavatory bowl. Some spit in the sink, where it sticks inside the pipes and produces germs. I watch a constant display of spitting on a daily basis. A man playing ping-pong during the break spat on the floor, and his playmates didn’t bat an eyelid. A taxi driver waiting for customers spat once every minute, while in a restaurant, a diner right beside me spat 31 times while having his meal.
And it is not only foreigners who complain. Several indignant Chinese friends told me how they had been spat upon by someone in front of them, when out riding their bicycles and I have personally been hit by spit from someone in a passing bus.
After the SARS outbreak last year people did not spit on the sidewalk, but on the grass or the side bushes.
People should know that dry spit is even more dangerous to our health than wet spit, because a broom or the wind can spread around billions of germs expectorated daily by a regular spitter. In China, where all is permitted if there is no policeman around, how do we get people to understand the health implications?
Immediately after the SARS period, I started to stare hard at spitters, showing them my disgust and even saying things like “Congratulations! Your spitting skill is very high!” I also distributed tissues on the street to spitters, adding, “For the next time you feel like spitting,” but frustrated, I finally abandoned my fight.
Why not to use the media, as well as organizing a national exhibition (as it was done for drugs at the Military Museum a few years ago) to show people how dangerous spitting is, not only to our health but to the Chinese society’s image? Exhibitions could feature examples and eloquent images (such as the famed Harvard University where a large sign only in Chinese says, “Please do not spit; do not litter”), to explain the dangers and inconveniences of spitting.
If people could see with their own eyes how many germs they spread around when they spit, they might think twice before doing it. Examples of how other countries got rid of the spitting habit could provide convincing models to follow. After a big education campaign all over the country through schools, street signs, TV and radio, newspapers, cartoons, exhibitions and conferences, those “hard core spitters” reluctant to change should be punished accordingly.
I remember, years ago, a “neighborhood committee” woman wearing a red armband actively reacted when a man spat on Wangfujing Street (one of the busiest commercial areas in Beijing), not only asking for the fine, that was 5 yuan ($0.6) at that time, but ordering the offender to clean up the spit. I think drivers or ticket sellers on buses, waiters in restaurants, clerks in stores, etc. should have the right do the same. Spitting is a civil offense, and should be a punishable offense.
The fine for spitting was raised to 200 yuan ($24.15) during the SARS epidemic, but I never saw a policeman fining anyone. As it’s human nature to be moved only by the carrot or the stick, let’s use the punishment, as the reward in this case—contributing to public health and earning a good reputation for the country should be reward enough. To apply this, the number of authorized staff should be raised. For instance, in each work unit, store and hotel, every chief of department should be enabled to fine offenders.
Also, photographers and even citizens who could catch spitters with their cameras could have these photos published.
Chinese people are no different from others; they can get rid of this bad behavior by the means of more education campaigns, just as other countries have succeeded. [END]
Chinese Driving Style.
I, Me, Mine
By R. SCOTT MACINTOSH
(Originally published by www.bjreview.com.cn )
Every driver in Beijing wants to be Mario Andretti. It’s the unyielding driving style that seems to derive from the idea that some prize might wait at the end of the trip from A to B besides a destination or a cab fare. Given the gut wrenching turns, the maneuvering in and out of traffic lanes, around cars and buses, the splintering of groups of pedestrians, and the near misses measured by centimeters, it would seem that Beijing’s streets are the training ground for drivers destined for the new Shanghai raceway.
Beijing’s streets are complete anarchy, as anyone who’s visited the city knows. Each and every driver seems to feel that they alone have the privilege of the road. The blaring horns are an incessant reminder of that notion. And it’s not limited to Beijing either. China possesses about 1.9 percent of the world’s cars, but its drivers get into 15 percent of the world’s traffic accidents. More than 100,000 people died from auto-related fatalities in 2003, according to government statistics.
For many visitors and foreign residents alike, even the simple task of crossing the street can be a frightening and completely infuriating experience. Pedestrians, defenseless in the path of a speeding ton of black steel, are forced to give the right-of-way to drivers, or risk being flattened. Drivers use a dehumanizing ten-yard stare to get away with it. It is a willful refusal to make eye contact or recognize pedestrians for what they are-vulnerable human beings. To certain drivers, pedestrians are no more than inconvenient objects or obstacles.
Sadly, the “me first” attitude is not relegated to cars. It seems pervasive through the entire public space, encompassing bikes and rickshaws to those who push onto subways or into the front of a line. And it consistently tops Westerners’ biggest complaints about China. Forget about visiting Beijing’s tourist attractions during high season, especially the more cramped places like Prince Gong’s mansion. The mansion was a surreal setting during a recent visit with my parents. Dozens of Chinese tour groups were corralled and herded through the narrow walkways of the residence, stampeding from one point to the other with little regard for what was in the way. People leaped onto rocks to get out of the path of the raging mobs. My mother was shoved through a doorway and nearly fell into the middle of an acrobatic performance. The feet juggling umbrella trick went along unfazed, though the acrobat did seem surprised to see my mother, as much as my mother was to see her.
In my experience of living in Beijing I have come to know the Chinese as wonderful people: friendly, accommodating, and incredibly sweet. So why don’t people behave that way in public? In the public sphere the paradox couldn’t be more drastic.
Lately, it seems, more attention has been given to writers and scholars who’ve addressed China’s lack of public mores. Liang Qichao’s influential essay from the early 20th century, titled “On Public Morality,” notes that traditional Chinese values, based on Confucian principles, are focused primarily on private and family matters, and therefore lack a code for public etiquette. Writer Lin Yutang described Chinese society as a game of mahjong, or poker, where everyone is out for themselves. “In a society where legal protection is not given to personal rights, indifference is always safe and has an attractive side that is difficult for Westerners to appreciate,” he wrote. Another writer, Lu Xun, felt the indifference in Chinese society amounted to a lack of empathy for others, as illustrated by the voyeuristic tendency to rubberneck.
Chinese indifference can be difficult for Westerners. I watched recently, with a dozen or so others, as a woman and a child took a spill from a bike into the middle of the road. I wondered if I should break from the group to help her. I realized that if we were in Europe, or Latin America, or the United States, or somewhere else, some chivalrous chap might have dashed out to her aid. I’ve never felt comfortable with being the one who is first to prove their heroics, especially if the situation is minor. I feel embarrassed. And it seems like I’m embarrassing the other persons as well. So I stood with the others and watched as the woman struggled to pick up the bike and laughed uncomfortably. The kid was wide-eyed and trembling like a Chihuahua. The light turned green and the group walked past her. It felt strange to think that one does right by doing nothing at all and for a moment I felt caught in the crossfire of cultural ethics. Should I have helped her even though she did not expect help? Was it my place to set some kind of example? Would it have helped at all or caused her a further loss of face? Would I have been injecting the values of the West into a situation where it was not welcome? Is it best to adopt the social norms of the place you’re living or act in a way that is more becoming of the society you’re from? What would you have done? [End]
See and Be Seen
See and Be Seen (Originally published by Beijing Review - www.bjreview.com.cn)
By R. SCOTT MACINTOSH
On the mean streets of America we tend to ignore our own. It’s the same in most big cities around the world, I’m sure. It would seem out of the ordinary to make a practice of acknowledging every perfect stranger. It’s just too much of a commitment. And besides, we are warned at a very early age not to talk to strangers. What if that person turns out to be a serial killer?
Most of the time, we tend to treat each other with a degree of indifference and save ourselves for those who matter-friends, family, and the checkout clerk at the grocery store. The strangers that crowd the sidewalks and subways are an inevitable part of the world we inhabit and we grow used to seeing them, like stoplights, taxicabs, or the homeless. It doesn’t mean we’re not friendly. It’s just easier to move on with our own lives when we’re not mixing them up with the crowd on the street.
Everything changes when traveling or living in a foreign country. Abroad, ordinary strangers take on an aura of fascination. They hold the secrets to a world completely different from the one we know. The places are the source of insight and intrigue. When we venture abroad we want the Columbus experience. We want to discover the undiscovered, commune with natives who find us novel and intriguing, and trade in the currency of culture. We want discoveries that will be our own, stories that will make our friends jealous, and interaction to broaden our worldview. Nothing can disrupt the feeling of discovery more than running into one of your own in some remote nook of the world.
I remember biking through the Yulonghe valley in south China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and being invited to lunch by a friendly Chinese family in a small village outside of Yangshuo. They led me into a grove of pomelo trees to a courtyard where another Western couple sat at table. Such moments can be surprising, but really shouldn’t. The world is getting smaller by the day and there are no longer any places that remain undiscovered. But when I walked into that courtyard it was as if I had walked into the couple’s honeymoon suite. Familiarity is the last thing one expects when searching for the exotic and the reactions that follow seem to depend on one’s expectations, how long they’ve been away from home, or even geopolitics.
After living in Beijing a while I’ve learned that it is still possible to experience some of the fallout from China’s decades of isolation and feel a bit like Marco Polo of the modern age. I live in the Xicheng District in an area where, outside of work, I’ve gone weeks without seeing another Westerner. Not a day goes by that I don’t stop someone dead in their tracks who will stare in disbelief at the passing waiguoren (foreigners). I’ve grown used to greeting those who give me this puzzled, inquisitive look. These reactions have an innocence that is rare in the cynical, world-weary West. It feels good to smile and know that you’ll get the same in return. But it’s different when Westerners cross paths.
It can be jarring the first time running into someone who looks like you after spending time in a country where you are the distinct minority. The first time I saw a Westerner in my neighborhood it was like discovering a lost twin. First, it felt as if someone had stolen my identity, encroached on my turf. But quickly I felt a little less homesick, less isolated, just by knowing that someone else was also experiencing the difficulties of living here. I had an urge to strike up a conversation. I wanted to know everything about this stranger. Then it occurred to me that it would have been unlikely that I would have ever acknowledged this person, much less noticing him, had we passed on the streets back home. Did the stranger suddenly merit some special attention just from being a Westerner in Beijing? Was I becoming more like my Chinese neighbors and starting to see some novelty in Westerners? Yes.
I have since noticed other Westerners who must be experiencing the same thing when they see me on the street. Some pretend not to notice and look away. Others are unsure if they should nod or not. It’s a strange phenomenon; a sort of reverse culture shock that strikes after first moving here but tends to wear away with time.
In my neighborhood, my girlfriend and I now play a game when we’re out and about or just bored. It’s called spot the waiguoren. We each get one point right off the bat for spotting each other, and throughout the day we will give nudges, trying not to be too obvious, whenever we see another Westerner. The one who spots the most is the winner, of course, and the number of sightings will typically add up on one hand. After living in Beijing a while Westerners can indeed seem novel, even to Westerners.
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The author is an American working in Beijing
By R. SCOTT MACINTOSH
On the mean streets of America we tend to ignore our own. It’s the same in most big cities around the world, I’m sure. It would seem out of the ordinary to make a practice of acknowledging every perfect stranger. It’s just too much of a commitment. And besides, we are warned at a very early age not to talk to strangers. What if that person turns out to be a serial killer?
Most of the time, we tend to treat each other with a degree of indifference and save ourselves for those who matter-friends, family, and the checkout clerk at the grocery store. The strangers that crowd the sidewalks and subways are an inevitable part of the world we inhabit and we grow used to seeing them, like stoplights, taxicabs, or the homeless. It doesn’t mean we’re not friendly. It’s just easier to move on with our own lives when we’re not mixing them up with the crowd on the street.
Everything changes when traveling or living in a foreign country. Abroad, ordinary strangers take on an aura of fascination. They hold the secrets to a world completely different from the one we know. The places are the source of insight and intrigue. When we venture abroad we want the Columbus experience. We want to discover the undiscovered, commune with natives who find us novel and intriguing, and trade in the currency of culture. We want discoveries that will be our own, stories that will make our friends jealous, and interaction to broaden our worldview. Nothing can disrupt the feeling of discovery more than running into one of your own in some remote nook of the world.
I remember biking through the Yulonghe valley in south China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and being invited to lunch by a friendly Chinese family in a small village outside of Yangshuo. They led me into a grove of pomelo trees to a courtyard where another Western couple sat at table. Such moments can be surprising, but really shouldn’t. The world is getting smaller by the day and there are no longer any places that remain undiscovered. But when I walked into that courtyard it was as if I had walked into the couple’s honeymoon suite. Familiarity is the last thing one expects when searching for the exotic and the reactions that follow seem to depend on one’s expectations, how long they’ve been away from home, or even geopolitics.
After living in Beijing a while I’ve learned that it is still possible to experience some of the fallout from China’s decades of isolation and feel a bit like Marco Polo of the modern age. I live in the Xicheng District in an area where, outside of work, I’ve gone weeks without seeing another Westerner. Not a day goes by that I don’t stop someone dead in their tracks who will stare in disbelief at the passing waiguoren (foreigners). I’ve grown used to greeting those who give me this puzzled, inquisitive look. These reactions have an innocence that is rare in the cynical, world-weary West. It feels good to smile and know that you’ll get the same in return. But it’s different when Westerners cross paths.
It can be jarring the first time running into someone who looks like you after spending time in a country where you are the distinct minority. The first time I saw a Westerner in my neighborhood it was like discovering a lost twin. First, it felt as if someone had stolen my identity, encroached on my turf. But quickly I felt a little less homesick, less isolated, just by knowing that someone else was also experiencing the difficulties of living here. I had an urge to strike up a conversation. I wanted to know everything about this stranger. Then it occurred to me that it would have been unlikely that I would have ever acknowledged this person, much less noticing him, had we passed on the streets back home. Did the stranger suddenly merit some special attention just from being a Westerner in Beijing? Was I becoming more like my Chinese neighbors and starting to see some novelty in Westerners? Yes.
I have since noticed other Westerners who must be experiencing the same thing when they see me on the street. Some pretend not to notice and look away. Others are unsure if they should nod or not. It’s a strange phenomenon; a sort of reverse culture shock that strikes after first moving here but tends to wear away with time.
In my neighborhood, my girlfriend and I now play a game when we’re out and about or just bored. It’s called spot the waiguoren. We each get one point right off the bat for spotting each other, and throughout the day we will give nudges, trying not to be too obvious, whenever we see another Westerner. The one who spots the most is the winner, of course, and the number of sightings will typically add up on one hand. After living in Beijing a while Westerners can indeed seem novel, even to Westerners.
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The author is an American working in Beijing
Don’t Judge by the Cover
Don’t Judge by the Cover (Originally published by Beijing Review - www.bjreview.com.cn)
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By LINDA SCHUELER
I read with interest an online exchange between a Chinese friend and someone he was chatting with in America. The dialogue could have been a way for both people to learn more about the other’s culture. Instead, both parties ended up talking at each other, not with each other. That is to say, they weren’t really listening to each other. The end result was sadly predictable. Both people drew on their stereotypes of the other culture and left it at that.
People have a tendency to stereotype when they are unfamiliar with another’s culture. The unfortunate part is that the sources of these stereotypes are often questionable. Or perhaps a person forms their own negative impressions from one or two experiences with someone of another culture. People miss too many opportunities for true intercultural communication because they automatically fall back on stereotypes. What’s more we often don’t even realize that we are doing it!
In the online exchange, the Chinese person was flabbergasted that the American did not know where Canton was. I was more surprised that he was flabbergasted. China has traditionally been a closed society and there are many misconceptions and stereotypes about the country.
Before I came to China, I admit that I had many preconceptions. For example, I believed that what was called Chinese food in Canada was what was served out here. Much to my surprise and delight, Chinese food is much different than its adulterated form in Western countries and also much better. I believed that all Chinese people spoke either Mandarin or Cantonese. I didn’t realize how many different dialects there are across China. I thought that Chinese people were all the same and did not realize that every city has its own flavor and that China is a country of many subcultures, each with its own view of the world.
I soon found that I had to revise my view of China. Having lived here a few years I’ve had the opportunity to become more China savvy. However, the fact remains that the people I left behind have not. The questions I hear every time I go back to Canada continue to surprise me. Questions from the slightly amusing: Are you sure your cat is safe there? To the downright disturbing: How do we know that you won’t be sold into slavery? I love to talk about China and my experiences, and I try to do my part in educating people about what it is really like. They are shocked and very interested when I describe to them how modern many places are, the contrasts between the old and the new, and the differences among the Chinese people.
Misperceptions also work the other way. Since I have come to China, I have also had the opportunity to learn what people know about Canada. In general, there are four things that always come up:
Canada is cold. Well sure, that’s true in many parts of Canada. I used to just smile and nod and agree that Canada was indeed cold. Then a friend from Canada’s west coast took me to task. Where she’s from it doesn’t get very cold. It rarely snows and the temperatures can reach 40 degrees Celsius in the summer.
Canada is beautiful. There are many parts of Canada that are very beautiful. There are also many smoggy, polluted and ugly places. Not every corner of Canada is pretty.
Norman Bethune is the most notable Canadian. While every Chinese person knows who Norman Bethune is, a lot of Canadians will sadly say, who? On the other hand, they are appalled that people don’t know the name of our prime minister.
Da Shan (Mark Roswell) is the most notable Canadian. Since you are Canadian, the Chinese will say, you must know who Da Shan is. But outside of China, very few people know about Da Shan. He lives close to me in Canada, but, no, I have never met him.
I hope that these are not the only four things that Chinese people know about Canada, but it’s almost all I hear about it. Yet it doesn’t surprise me because few people have had the opportunity to live in Canada for an extended period of time (a vacation is not enough). I don’t blame people for their lack of information, because the misinformation about Canada is similar to that of China.
I have found other stereotypes about Canadians to be beneficial in my travels. Canadians are known worldwide as friendly peacekeepers. I am generally welcomed with open arms or at least neutrality, unlike my American friends who are constantly quizzed about their president and his ambitions. The interesting thing is that all those stereotypes I have been told about Americans don’t usually hold up when I meet one. So I have learned that if we strive to really talk to people and not talk at them, that is not assume they are like their stereotypes, then we will really learn what the world is like and not what we have been told it is like.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The author is a Canadian who runs a business with her husband in China
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By LINDA SCHUELER
I read with interest an online exchange between a Chinese friend and someone he was chatting with in America. The dialogue could have been a way for both people to learn more about the other’s culture. Instead, both parties ended up talking at each other, not with each other. That is to say, they weren’t really listening to each other. The end result was sadly predictable. Both people drew on their stereotypes of the other culture and left it at that.
People have a tendency to stereotype when they are unfamiliar with another’s culture. The unfortunate part is that the sources of these stereotypes are often questionable. Or perhaps a person forms their own negative impressions from one or two experiences with someone of another culture. People miss too many opportunities for true intercultural communication because they automatically fall back on stereotypes. What’s more we often don’t even realize that we are doing it!
In the online exchange, the Chinese person was flabbergasted that the American did not know where Canton was. I was more surprised that he was flabbergasted. China has traditionally been a closed society and there are many misconceptions and stereotypes about the country.
Before I came to China, I admit that I had many preconceptions. For example, I believed that what was called Chinese food in Canada was what was served out here. Much to my surprise and delight, Chinese food is much different than its adulterated form in Western countries and also much better. I believed that all Chinese people spoke either Mandarin or Cantonese. I didn’t realize how many different dialects there are across China. I thought that Chinese people were all the same and did not realize that every city has its own flavor and that China is a country of many subcultures, each with its own view of the world.
I soon found that I had to revise my view of China. Having lived here a few years I’ve had the opportunity to become more China savvy. However, the fact remains that the people I left behind have not. The questions I hear every time I go back to Canada continue to surprise me. Questions from the slightly amusing: Are you sure your cat is safe there? To the downright disturbing: How do we know that you won’t be sold into slavery? I love to talk about China and my experiences, and I try to do my part in educating people about what it is really like. They are shocked and very interested when I describe to them how modern many places are, the contrasts between the old and the new, and the differences among the Chinese people.
Misperceptions also work the other way. Since I have come to China, I have also had the opportunity to learn what people know about Canada. In general, there are four things that always come up:
Canada is cold. Well sure, that’s true in many parts of Canada. I used to just smile and nod and agree that Canada was indeed cold. Then a friend from Canada’s west coast took me to task. Where she’s from it doesn’t get very cold. It rarely snows and the temperatures can reach 40 degrees Celsius in the summer.
Canada is beautiful. There are many parts of Canada that are very beautiful. There are also many smoggy, polluted and ugly places. Not every corner of Canada is pretty.
Norman Bethune is the most notable Canadian. While every Chinese person knows who Norman Bethune is, a lot of Canadians will sadly say, who? On the other hand, they are appalled that people don’t know the name of our prime minister.
Da Shan (Mark Roswell) is the most notable Canadian. Since you are Canadian, the Chinese will say, you must know who Da Shan is. But outside of China, very few people know about Da Shan. He lives close to me in Canada, but, no, I have never met him.
I hope that these are not the only four things that Chinese people know about Canada, but it’s almost all I hear about it. Yet it doesn’t surprise me because few people have had the opportunity to live in Canada for an extended period of time (a vacation is not enough). I don’t blame people for their lack of information, because the misinformation about Canada is similar to that of China.
I have found other stereotypes about Canadians to be beneficial in my travels. Canadians are known worldwide as friendly peacekeepers. I am generally welcomed with open arms or at least neutrality, unlike my American friends who are constantly quizzed about their president and his ambitions. The interesting thing is that all those stereotypes I have been told about Americans don’t usually hold up when I meet one. So I have learned that if we strive to really talk to people and not talk at them, that is not assume they are like their stereotypes, then we will really learn what the world is like and not what we have been told it is like.
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The author is a Canadian who runs a business with her husband in China
Let’s Get It Right
Let’s Get It Right (Orininally published by Beijing Review - www.bjreview.com.cn)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By LISA CARDUCCI
I recently wrote to the CCTV English channel to congratulate them on the high quality of their programs, such as Dialogue, but also to voice my concern about something that I find most disturbing.
I asked the question: How would you react if China decided to call itself “Asia” or if India changed its name to “Asia?” There is no need to answer this. We all know it would be wrong because Asia is a continent, not a country, and, as Chinese and Asians yourselves, you would feel frustrated. That’s perfectly understandable, I said in my letter.
But, can you understand that people from Canada (like myself), Mexico, Haiti, Jamaica, Brazil, Colombia Bolivia, Argentine, Chile, Uruguay and Paraguay, also feel offended when people use the name of “our” continent to describe U.S. citizens? Another point is that as the U.S. politics and presidency are not always praised by every other American, we, Americans who are not from the United States, would appreciate not to have the term American confused with the United States.
If people living in the United States have not been able to create a word to describe themselves (such as Canadians, Chileans or Mexicans), that’s their problem. Let them deal with it.
May I also remind you, I said, that when you use the term “American dollar” it includes the Canadian dollar? Obviously this is not what is meant, but then why call the U.S. dollar an American dollar in the first place?
My next point was to indicate to CCTV that they need to keep in mind that English listeners are not all from the United States. When news programs announce that Tianjin is 90 miles from Beijing, I, as a Canadian, need a calculator to estimate how far it is. Only the United States does not use the metric system. Why should CCTV help them to make it difficult for others?
This happens not only in English TV programs. In China, English language is “the” foreign language. Speaking waiyu means speaking English. When a foreigner fills a form in China, he/she is asked to write his/her “English name.” I wonder what an Arab person may write on that line. What the Chinese authorities don’t want there is Greek, Arabic, Cyrillic, Persian, Korean, Japanese, Tibetan, Naxi and Mongolian characters or letters, but something they can read, Latin letters. The question should then be “Name (in Latin alphabet).” I could then sign my Italian name directly in the Latin alphabet, and my Russian, Tibetan and Japanese friends could write the transliteration of their original name into the Latin alphabet.
In the same vein, two related issues need to be raised. First, it was correct to use the term RMB (renminbi means money of local people) when FEC (Foreign Exchange Certificates) were still used. These certificates, however, have not been in operation since 1994. Currently there is only one currency in China which is the Chinese yuan (CNY). The second issue is 50.3 yuan should not be translated into 50 dollars and 30 cents, as is the case when the women call out the monetary balance of your IP telephone card.
Finally, if nations of Britain, Australia, South Africa, the United States, Belize and others speak English, why don’t the Chinese speak “Chinese?” It’s right to make a distinction between the standard Chinese (putonghua) and the Guangdong dialect (guangdonghua). But the “species” is one thing, the “variety” or “branch” or “family” (as in botanical) is another one. We distinguish the English of England, Ireland and Scotland, as well as the English of New York, Texas and California, but is it not unreasonable to accept that China borrows from foreigners the name “mandarin” for its national language?
In recent years, in some translated text from Chinese, we can read that the Chinese speak han. The word hanyu may designate the language in Chinese, but not in English, Italian or French, where han designates the ethnic group only. To say that on Chinese money bills, the inscriptions are in the five main languages (not dialects) of the country: Han, Tibetan, Mongol, Uygur and Zhuang, is replacing one mistake with another.
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The author is a Canadian working in Beijing
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By LISA CARDUCCI
I recently wrote to the CCTV English channel to congratulate them on the high quality of their programs, such as Dialogue, but also to voice my concern about something that I find most disturbing.
I asked the question: How would you react if China decided to call itself “Asia” or if India changed its name to “Asia?” There is no need to answer this. We all know it would be wrong because Asia is a continent, not a country, and, as Chinese and Asians yourselves, you would feel frustrated. That’s perfectly understandable, I said in my letter.
But, can you understand that people from Canada (like myself), Mexico, Haiti, Jamaica, Brazil, Colombia Bolivia, Argentine, Chile, Uruguay and Paraguay, also feel offended when people use the name of “our” continent to describe U.S. citizens? Another point is that as the U.S. politics and presidency are not always praised by every other American, we, Americans who are not from the United States, would appreciate not to have the term American confused with the United States.
If people living in the United States have not been able to create a word to describe themselves (such as Canadians, Chileans or Mexicans), that’s their problem. Let them deal with it.
May I also remind you, I said, that when you use the term “American dollar” it includes the Canadian dollar? Obviously this is not what is meant, but then why call the U.S. dollar an American dollar in the first place?
My next point was to indicate to CCTV that they need to keep in mind that English listeners are not all from the United States. When news programs announce that Tianjin is 90 miles from Beijing, I, as a Canadian, need a calculator to estimate how far it is. Only the United States does not use the metric system. Why should CCTV help them to make it difficult for others?
This happens not only in English TV programs. In China, English language is “the” foreign language. Speaking waiyu means speaking English. When a foreigner fills a form in China, he/she is asked to write his/her “English name.” I wonder what an Arab person may write on that line. What the Chinese authorities don’t want there is Greek, Arabic, Cyrillic, Persian, Korean, Japanese, Tibetan, Naxi and Mongolian characters or letters, but something they can read, Latin letters. The question should then be “Name (in Latin alphabet).” I could then sign my Italian name directly in the Latin alphabet, and my Russian, Tibetan and Japanese friends could write the transliteration of their original name into the Latin alphabet.
In the same vein, two related issues need to be raised. First, it was correct to use the term RMB (renminbi means money of local people) when FEC (Foreign Exchange Certificates) were still used. These certificates, however, have not been in operation since 1994. Currently there is only one currency in China which is the Chinese yuan (CNY). The second issue is 50.3 yuan should not be translated into 50 dollars and 30 cents, as is the case when the women call out the monetary balance of your IP telephone card.
Finally, if nations of Britain, Australia, South Africa, the United States, Belize and others speak English, why don’t the Chinese speak “Chinese?” It’s right to make a distinction between the standard Chinese (putonghua) and the Guangdong dialect (guangdonghua). But the “species” is one thing, the “variety” or “branch” or “family” (as in botanical) is another one. We distinguish the English of England, Ireland and Scotland, as well as the English of New York, Texas and California, but is it not unreasonable to accept that China borrows from foreigners the name “mandarin” for its national language?
In recent years, in some translated text from Chinese, we can read that the Chinese speak han. The word hanyu may designate the language in Chinese, but not in English, Italian or French, where han designates the ethnic group only. To say that on Chinese money bills, the inscriptions are in the five main languages (not dialects) of the country: Han, Tibetan, Mongol, Uygur and Zhuang, is replacing one mistake with another.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The author is a Canadian working in Beijing
Old, Bad Habits Die Hard
Old, Bad Habits Die Hard (Originally published by Beijing Review - www.bjreview.com.cn)
By DWIGHT DANIELS
You can’t legislate morality. Or, can you? In much of the United States, you can’t smoke in public places. Even at outdoor venues in California, such as sports stadiums, you can’t light up the cigarette you might be craving. It could offend the people seated near you.
Ridiculous you say? Not really. It’s all in how you perceive it. You wouldn’t have to inhale smoke that you might find offensive. If the nicotine fiend seated next to you needed a fix, he’d have to walk to a designated area to smoke with the other addicts.
Of course no one is calling for an end to smoking in Beijing’s public places. Not yet. There’d be open rebellion.
But zealots will be doing so in a year or two, just as soon as China catches up with the rest of the world. Sooner or later, officials will decide that smoking (even second-hand smoke) is killing people. Lighting up will be banned at restaurants, bars, Internet cafes, and darn near everywhere the public gathers.
But the “disgusting” personal habits that can’t readily be controlled in this city-the garden variety, stomach-wrenching kinds one sees and hears every day-are a harder nut to crack. And for now, that’s where the focus should be.
We all know what they are, even though a recent survey of 770 respondents by the Beijing Social Psychology Institute helped put the spotlight on them again.
Topping the list are those throat-clearing spitters. Young and old, they hack and spit, and nearly 63 percent of those surveyed in March reported this as their top annoyance. The other 37 percent of us must be the spitters.
Next on the disgust meter are the growing groups of irresponsible dog owners who allow their pets to excrete waste upon our sidewalks, walking away as if their pets’ “poop” would magically be “scooped.”
And then there is the age-old problem of people who believe sidewalks are their personal rubbish bins.
Kang Yue, the survey designer, said its findings are fairly consistent with previous years, though 27 percent of those questioned said spitting seems to have declined marginally.
That’s encouraging. Strategically placed posters have been publicizing the problem, especially after the SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) outbreak of two years ago. The government saw the wisdom of that.
“[Those] surveyed said that publicity and punishment should be strengthened to make those with the bad habit change,” Kang told China Daily. “But it still needs more efforts from the whole society and every resident to achieve the goal.” That’s an understatement if ever there was one.
Sadly I also passed a few black plastic trash bags on the sidewalk as I ventured to the park this morning. Now as I sit on a bench to write this article and munch on my morning fruit, a woman has arrived with her cute little cocker spaniel.
The dog has decided to answer nature’s call and deposits its load. Having concluded its performance, owner and dog depart, leaving behind what nobody wants to see. I use the plastic bag that contained my morning fruit, to retrieve the smelly lump and dump it in a rubbish bin nearby, since it was just next to the children’s play equipment.
Call it my good deed for the day.
But there are more than 1 million pet dogs in Beijing. And I cannot clean up after all of them. Beijingers like to say they “raise” dogs. If you “raise” a baby, you must change diapers. If you raise a dog, you clean up after it: it cannot do this job itself.
Retirees seated near me no doubt wonder about me. If I could speak Chinese, we might talk about it, or I could ask them if they wouldn’t mind helping the government hand out pamphlets to spitters or dog owners about the problems they cause. I bet they’d be glad to do such a meaningful job, as their “good” deeds.
Or, they could write citations to offenders. But as an American, that seems a little extreme to me.
If the behavior survey was correct, some 44 percent of city residents believe Beijingers maintain “high moral standards.”
If that’s true, by convincing one other person among us to change, we can easily conquer these modest problems.
-------------------------------------------------
The author is an American living in Beijing
By DWIGHT DANIELS
You can’t legislate morality. Or, can you? In much of the United States, you can’t smoke in public places. Even at outdoor venues in California, such as sports stadiums, you can’t light up the cigarette you might be craving. It could offend the people seated near you.
Ridiculous you say? Not really. It’s all in how you perceive it. You wouldn’t have to inhale smoke that you might find offensive. If the nicotine fiend seated next to you needed a fix, he’d have to walk to a designated area to smoke with the other addicts.
Of course no one is calling for an end to smoking in Beijing’s public places. Not yet. There’d be open rebellion.
But zealots will be doing so in a year or two, just as soon as China catches up with the rest of the world. Sooner or later, officials will decide that smoking (even second-hand smoke) is killing people. Lighting up will be banned at restaurants, bars, Internet cafes, and darn near everywhere the public gathers.
But the “disgusting” personal habits that can’t readily be controlled in this city-the garden variety, stomach-wrenching kinds one sees and hears every day-are a harder nut to crack. And for now, that’s where the focus should be.
We all know what they are, even though a recent survey of 770 respondents by the Beijing Social Psychology Institute helped put the spotlight on them again.
Topping the list are those throat-clearing spitters. Young and old, they hack and spit, and nearly 63 percent of those surveyed in March reported this as their top annoyance. The other 37 percent of us must be the spitters.
Next on the disgust meter are the growing groups of irresponsible dog owners who allow their pets to excrete waste upon our sidewalks, walking away as if their pets’ “poop” would magically be “scooped.”
And then there is the age-old problem of people who believe sidewalks are their personal rubbish bins.
Kang Yue, the survey designer, said its findings are fairly consistent with previous years, though 27 percent of those questioned said spitting seems to have declined marginally.
That’s encouraging. Strategically placed posters have been publicizing the problem, especially after the SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) outbreak of two years ago. The government saw the wisdom of that.
“[Those] surveyed said that publicity and punishment should be strengthened to make those with the bad habit change,” Kang told China Daily. “But it still needs more efforts from the whole society and every resident to achieve the goal.” That’s an understatement if ever there was one.
Sadly I also passed a few black plastic trash bags on the sidewalk as I ventured to the park this morning. Now as I sit on a bench to write this article and munch on my morning fruit, a woman has arrived with her cute little cocker spaniel.
The dog has decided to answer nature’s call and deposits its load. Having concluded its performance, owner and dog depart, leaving behind what nobody wants to see. I use the plastic bag that contained my morning fruit, to retrieve the smelly lump and dump it in a rubbish bin nearby, since it was just next to the children’s play equipment.
Call it my good deed for the day.
But there are more than 1 million pet dogs in Beijing. And I cannot clean up after all of them. Beijingers like to say they “raise” dogs. If you “raise” a baby, you must change diapers. If you raise a dog, you clean up after it: it cannot do this job itself.
Retirees seated near me no doubt wonder about me. If I could speak Chinese, we might talk about it, or I could ask them if they wouldn’t mind helping the government hand out pamphlets to spitters or dog owners about the problems they cause. I bet they’d be glad to do such a meaningful job, as their “good” deeds.
Or, they could write citations to offenders. But as an American, that seems a little extreme to me.
If the behavior survey was correct, some 44 percent of city residents believe Beijingers maintain “high moral standards.”
If that’s true, by convincing one other person among us to change, we can easily conquer these modest problems.
-------------------------------------------------
The author is an American living in Beijing
2005-05-11
中国的经济发展和政体改革。
中国经济发展到今天，政体也到了一个不得不改的时候，因为政体的滞后越来越明显的成为阻碍经济发展的瓶颈，但是对于中国这个拥有１４亿人口，又没有民主历史和民主传统的大国来讲，实在不是一件一蹴而就的事，急不来，只能循序渐进地改。
目前的中国社会走的是极右路线，社会弱势群体的利益被剥夺，政体本质上还是封建社会的那一套，官本位，官老爷主导，家长式一言堂管理。现在中国的经济发展到了一个人与自然的激烈冲突（牺牲环境换取经济得增长，自然环境和居住环境迅速恶化，人口压力造成的资源紧缺和匮乏），人与人的激烈冲突（人与人之间的不信任，欺诈），人与自我的激烈冲突（迷失自我，没有方向感，没有信仰）的危机时刻，人文精神和道德失落、精神世界极度贫乏，又没有完善的法律体系，大家都是向钱看，认钱不认人。整个社会的风气非常浮躁。
有时我在同情那些农民工的时候，也在想，他们的苦难也不能完全归咎于社会，他们要怨就去怨他们自己的父母吧，他们的父母既然不能给他们提供良好的生活和受教育的机会，为什么还要把他们生出来呢？而且有的还一生就生好几个？所以说人天生就是不公平的，你生在了贫苦的农村，他生在了书香门第，这是没有办法选择的，这就是命。
台湾那么小一个岛，只有２３００万人口，三个政党竞选执政，人少地方小，他们当然可以采用这种政体，所谓“船小好掉头”，什么制度都可以尝试。中国大陆就不行，１４亿人口呀！！没法试，一试就全乱了，所以当下采取一党专政是最好的方案。新加坡也是，那么少人口，很多制度也都可以快速推广开来，现在光北京就已经有１５００万人口了，听起来真是吓人，这就是人祸。中国的所有问题，其实最后都回到人口这个问题上。
目前的中国社会走的是极右路线，社会弱势群体的利益被剥夺，政体本质上还是封建社会的那一套，官本位，官老爷主导，家长式一言堂管理。现在中国的经济发展到了一个人与自然的激烈冲突（牺牲环境换取经济得增长，自然环境和居住环境迅速恶化，人口压力造成的资源紧缺和匮乏），人与人的激烈冲突（人与人之间的不信任，欺诈），人与自我的激烈冲突（迷失自我，没有方向感，没有信仰）的危机时刻，人文精神和道德失落、精神世界极度贫乏，又没有完善的法律体系，大家都是向钱看，认钱不认人。整个社会的风气非常浮躁。
有时我在同情那些农民工的时候，也在想，他们的苦难也不能完全归咎于社会，他们要怨就去怨他们自己的父母吧，他们的父母既然不能给他们提供良好的生活和受教育的机会，为什么还要把他们生出来呢？而且有的还一生就生好几个？所以说人天生就是不公平的，你生在了贫苦的农村，他生在了书香门第，这是没有办法选择的，这就是命。
台湾那么小一个岛，只有２３００万人口，三个政党竞选执政，人少地方小，他们当然可以采用这种政体，所谓“船小好掉头”，什么制度都可以尝试。中国大陆就不行，１４亿人口呀！！没法试，一试就全乱了，所以当下采取一党专政是最好的方案。新加坡也是，那么少人口，很多制度也都可以快速推广开来，现在光北京就已经有１５００万人口了，听起来真是吓人，这就是人祸。中国的所有问题，其实最后都回到人口这个问题上。
2005-05-08
摘录 - 《新京报》2005年5月4日 与付聪访谈
看到与付聪的访谈后，我对当下中国的文化和人文现状的看法又找到了一个佐证。其实付聪只是有这种看法的人之一，我听到、看到的关于中国眼下精神世界贫乏的说法已经很多很多了。浮躁、浮华、虚荣、急功近利充斥着人们的头脑。
我的一个好友在北京电影学院读博士，在考入“北电”之前，以为能在“北电”提高一下专业素养，结果来了以后，发现“北电”的老师、教授基本上都是“近亲繁殖”，也就是说，从“北电” 毕业的学生留在自己学校任教。他们的视野、观念、专业水平、想法等等都非常局限和落伍，他们制作、拍摄的片子没有思想，没有内容，空洞、苍白、肤浅，连欧洲电影专业学校里的年轻学生自己拍的片子都不如。我的朋友就曾跟我说过：看到“北电”里的那些老师、学生，就体会到现在的中国人是最没有文化的人。那个叫崔子恩的老师，身为男人，看上去却像一个老太太，不男不女，令人作呕。他制作、执导的片子，都是男同性恋题材的，可是看着非常变态、灰暗，一点都不正常。他的片子会误导观众，让人认为男同性恋都是不正常的，其实是他自己不正常，心理变态，所以表现在片子里就是那样怪异，没有逻辑，杂乱无章，毫无头绪。
www.thebeijingnews.com
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新京报：每年你都回国教课，现在的学生跟以往的学生比，全面素质如何？
傅聪：他们很有才华，但是没有文化———他们很少看书，对中国的传统文化知道的太少。即使就音乐本身而言，他们也没文化———很多只是知道自己学的乐器本身，但音乐上的其他方面就不了解了。可是音乐是很广泛的。我爱自己的音乐，不是钢琴；钢琴只是我的工具而已。另外，“独立思考”在这里至今也还是个理想。甚至不允许你有是非感。
新京报：现在的时代背景跟过去离得越来越远，对于你所推崇的“让音乐自己说出来”，对于像你们这样的诠释音乐的再创造者，会不会觉得做“通音管子”、让音乐“自然流出来”的困难更大了？像20多年前你说自己弹德彪西最自然，最得心应手，现在还一样吗？
傅聪：一样。但现在弹德彪西的人太少了，很多人喜欢弹拉威尔，我不喜欢他。音乐永远是困难的，因为它高高在上，我们永远在往上爬。而我的价值观是从小形成的，无论时代怎么变，都不会影响到我。
新京报：20多年前你已提到：国内学钢琴的人都急功近利，争着去弹协奏曲，很少人会去碰“立体的”而不仅是“平面的”室内乐。现在你还关注国内的音乐教育界吗？
傅聪：情况还是那样。在上海我还是做了我能做的，至于是不是有效我也没办法。（摇头），精神世界越来越贫乏。
我的一个好友在北京电影学院读博士，在考入“北电”之前，以为能在“北电”提高一下专业素养，结果来了以后，发现“北电”的老师、教授基本上都是“近亲繁殖”，也就是说，从“北电” 毕业的学生留在自己学校任教。他们的视野、观念、专业水平、想法等等都非常局限和落伍，他们制作、拍摄的片子没有思想，没有内容，空洞、苍白、肤浅，连欧洲电影专业学校里的年轻学生自己拍的片子都不如。我的朋友就曾跟我说过：看到“北电”里的那些老师、学生，就体会到现在的中国人是最没有文化的人。那个叫崔子恩的老师，身为男人，看上去却像一个老太太，不男不女，令人作呕。他制作、执导的片子，都是男同性恋题材的，可是看着非常变态、灰暗，一点都不正常。他的片子会误导观众，让人认为男同性恋都是不正常的，其实是他自己不正常，心理变态，所以表现在片子里就是那样怪异，没有逻辑，杂乱无章，毫无头绪。
www.thebeijingnews.com
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
新京报：每年你都回国教课，现在的学生跟以往的学生比，全面素质如何？
傅聪：他们很有才华，但是没有文化———他们很少看书，对中国的传统文化知道的太少。即使就音乐本身而言，他们也没文化———很多只是知道自己学的乐器本身，但音乐上的其他方面就不了解了。可是音乐是很广泛的。我爱自己的音乐，不是钢琴；钢琴只是我的工具而已。另外，“独立思考”在这里至今也还是个理想。甚至不允许你有是非感。
新京报：现在的时代背景跟过去离得越来越远，对于你所推崇的“让音乐自己说出来”，对于像你们这样的诠释音乐的再创造者，会不会觉得做“通音管子”、让音乐“自然流出来”的困难更大了？像20多年前你说自己弹德彪西最自然，最得心应手，现在还一样吗？
傅聪：一样。但现在弹德彪西的人太少了，很多人喜欢弹拉威尔，我不喜欢他。音乐永远是困难的，因为它高高在上，我们永远在往上爬。而我的价值观是从小形成的，无论时代怎么变，都不会影响到我。
新京报：20多年前你已提到：国内学钢琴的人都急功近利，争着去弹协奏曲，很少人会去碰“立体的”而不仅是“平面的”室内乐。现在你还关注国内的音乐教育界吗？
傅聪：情况还是那样。在上海我还是做了我能做的，至于是不是有效我也没办法。（摇头），精神世界越来越贫乏。
2005-05-07
“洋笑星”大山牵涉加国政坛丑闻
"洋笑星"大山牵涉加国政坛丑闻
加拿大自由党政府的联邦赞助拨款丑闻已经导致马丁政府宣布将提前举行大选。该丑闻牵扯到了在中国家喻户晓的"洋笑星"大山。加拿大总理克蕾帝曾由政府的反魁北克分离专款中拨1千万加元资助大山制作一部在中国播出的电视教学片。
据美国之音5月6日报导，在1996年至2002年间，为对抗魁北克分离运动，当时的总理克雷蒂安批准设立了联邦赞助拨款项目，在魁北克省所有的公共活动中宣传联邦主义，反对国家分裂。但是，项目的全部2.5亿加元资金有约一半被以各种名目划拨给了支持自由党的公司及个人。总理马丁在外界压力下任命独立的调查委员会展开调查。
马克．罗斯韦尔是多伦多居民，中文名叫"大山"在1988年曾赴北京大学留学。原项目负责人吉泰4日向调查委员会作证时承认，大山主持制作的26集电视英语教学片《大山和朋友在加拿大》(Dashan and Friends in Canada)是经克雷蒂安批准从联邦赞助拨款项目中拨款1千万加元制作的。这套电视片1998年起在中国播出。
调查发现，26集教学片《大山和朋友在加拿大》总长度不足13个小时，制作简单，更没有耗资巨大的场面，但平均每集成本高达近40万加元(约33万美元)，其中两名宣传人员两天搜集资料的薪酬就达1万2千加元。
调查人员对于把反对魁北克独立的专款花到中国去感到不可思议。调查员质问吉泰，难道中国有许多魁独分子？吉泰承认项目管理毫无章法，大山当时作为加拿大驻北京大使馆文化处雇员在克雷蒂安访华时出过很多力，得到克雷蒂安的赏识。
多伦多的独立撰稿人盛雪女士认为，这件事也从另外一个角度说明，任何人、任何一个政权，当他有特权的时候，就非常容易腐化，在国家利益这样的前提下就更加容易腐化。
不过盛雪认为，这些情况能够被公开说明加拿大民主制度的健全。她说，这样的事件尽管发生了几年，到现在仍然可以把每一个相关人物、每一个细节都调查清楚。而且相信，这些人因此也都会负上法律责任。
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