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Lies in Harmony
By Jack Rio Huang, China
Amidst the outbreak of violence between Tibetan protestors and Chinese military troops in the Tibetan capital city of Lhasa an even greater concern is emerging in China. No it's not that a few countries and some athletes might boycott the upcoming summer Olympics in Beijing. Nor is it that Tibetan monks are concerned that their exiled leader, the Dalai Lama might never return to Tibet. No, this rising concern is much greater and more insidious and it could have a profound and lasting effect on the Chinese people.
"Creating harmony comes with the imposition of new restrictions – the latest of which authorizes government officials to selectively delete Internet messages before they can be transmitted." -Jack Huang
What is the concern? It may sound strange, but it's a new Chinese greeting - 你今天被和諧了麼? Translation - Have you been harmonized today?
You would think that harmonizing is a good thing and might wonder how it could be dangerous. But in China, when the importance of harmony is introduced into political propaganda it is most often intended to ease tensions and avert an uprising against the government.
Chairman Mao invoked the ideology of harmony by building up the idolatry of Chinese leaders and by severely punishing dissidents. Mr. Deng spread harmony by successfully transforming the people's passion for political reform into the construction of a richer China.
Today, Chinese officials are appealing for harmony not only to help suppress the chaos in Tibet but also to put on a good face to the world as the country prepares to host the Olympics. The slogan for the 2008 Olympics might well be - Welcome to Beijing - the Harmonious Society.
Creating harmony comes with the imposition of new restrictions - the latest of which authorizes government officials to selectively delete Internet messages before they can be transmitted. There are no specific rules or publicized boundaries that Internet users must follow. Only government officials decide what is considered offensive. Any Internet conversation about Tibet, the private life of Chinese officials, references to the historical debacle at Tian'an men Square in 1989 and other sensitive political topics are likely to be deemed inappropriate and will probably be deleted.
But the Internet is not the only place where new harmony practices are cracking down on personal freedom. Recently, a journalist for the Tongzhou Times became a victim of anti-harmonious actions. Told that he had made a ‘guidance mistake' in his coverage of Tongzhou Mayor Deng Naiping, Wang Lili was fired. His dismissal has caused political backlash.
It is widely assumed that Mayor Deng Naiping pressured Wang's bosses to fire him. Further pressure was been applied to Wang's editor in chief who has been forced to concede error on behalf of the publication and the editor has been made to write a self criticism and promise that this mistake will never be committed again.
Chinese officials seem very scared about any expression of discontent. By suppressing public debate about Tibet and other expressions of government dissatisfaction they hope to exert control over the Chinese people and world opinion. They know that Tibet will never be an obedient communist province because Tibetans will never give up their reverence for the Dailai Lama after so many years of enlightenment.
They must also know that the information left online - such as "Tibetans were using violence to Han People", "It is a planned conspiracy of the tiny few Tibetan Independence Activists" - is complete nonsense.
Solutions like censorship will not stop the rise of discontent in Tibet. Nor will government lies. Who believes it when government tells us everyone is equal or that government officials are very clean or that university students receive a high quality of education and that when they graduate they will be very competitive in the job market.
The Chinese people are full of this kind of nonsense. Government officials must think we are so primitive and stupid to believe that only they know what is best for us.
They have good reason to be scared of the power of the people. How can people believe in their government when honesty doesn't exist and there is no transparency? When there is no trust between the public and government officials, who will step out when China is challenged by other powers?
Beijing knows this. That is why they are so nervous about the Olympics. That is why they are creating this dream that China is strong, rich and respected world-wide. They need the support from the Chinese people right now because so much of China's future negotiating power with other world leaders rests on the Olympics.
Finally, there have been six rounds of negotiations between the Dalai Lama and government officials in Beijing since 2002 and things have remained the same. The two parties do not trust one another. In the end, in order for China to move forward, the lies and the deception has to stop. Until then there will be no true harmony - just control manipulation.
