Yale Daily News

Dear Pete,

China is far from perfect when it comes to the respect the rights of its citizens. Yes, we should help her to improve.

However, it is very disappointing that you do not have your facts straight. I am a resident of Shanghai for many years now. Since the IOC awarded Beijing its right to host the 2008 Olympics, HUGE effort have been made to improve its air quality. The air is cleaner now more than ever of the past two decades. For an ordinary Chinese, China has significantly relaxed its grip on freedom of speech. Just check into any chinese language internet forums, you will be surprised by the posts with their openness and frank opinions. Last, where did you get the fact that the chinese government had violently cracked down on the protesters in Lhasa last month? And, how do you know the Torch relay will only get worse? London and Paris would probably have been registered as the worst legs. What a shame when violent protesters attacked a female handicap Torch barer in Paris.

When citizens of China are sacrificing their daily life to accomodate Olympic venue construction and other preparations, all this insults with intent to embarrass China only meant to insult on 1.3 billion people (1/5 of the entire world population) who are eagerly waiting for the Games.

Yale students should not simply follow what others say without checking the facts. What you read in the media may not be all true. So, please come and see the country for yourself before making your accusations and assumptions. Plus, many Yalies are here in China contributing to the changes of the chinese lives, instead of talking about it from afar.

Thank you, and best regards from Shanghai

Take a look at:

http://www.anti-cnn.com/

There is cleaner air in China? Well, Mussolini made the trains run on time in Italy. The Olympics should never have been awarded to this tyranny, any more than to the Nazis in '36 or the Soviets in '80.

To #1

It is surprising to see comment from Shanghai! I just wonder how much do you know about the truth on Tibet riot? The protest on Olympic Torch relay?

We are in the free world and we gain the information freely. But “Within the People's Republic of China (PRC), there is heavy government involvement in the media, with many of the largest media organizations (namely CCTV, the People's Daily, and Xinhua) being agencies of the government of the PRC. There are certain taboos and red lines within the media in mainland China, such as questioning the legitimacy of the Communist Party of China. Yet within those restrictions, there is a vibrance and diversity of the media and fairly open discussion of social issues and policy options within the parameters set by the Party” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_control_of_the_media_in_the_People's_Republic_of_China). That is what you mean “China has significantly relaxed its grip on freedom of speech”? It is just within the restriction set by the Party. No freedom.

Besides media control, Internet has been tightly blocked by the Golden Shield Project, “sometimes referred to as the Great Firewall of China (as a play on the iconic Great Wall of China), is a censorship and surveillance project operated by the Ministry of Public Security (MPS) of the People's Republic of China. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Shield_Project).

Therefore, what Chinese people in Mainland China see and listen are from one single source---the Party controlled media. Chinese people in Mainland China basically are brainwashed by the Party. What they said can not go beyond the Party's propaganda.

very good article. keep it up, we need individuals like you to bring human rights issues to the university forefront.

to #4 By Free Thinker (Unregistered User) 2:35am on April 13, 2008

isn't it funny how americans are brainwashed to think that chinese people are brainwashed?

"Government news is like having a cockroach in your drink. You can spot it easily and remove it. Western media is like having arsenic in your drink. You think it is clean until a few hours after you drink it."