oppress this

It is time to be heard.

Just last month, China announced a threat to install anti-pornography software on every computer sold in China, or so says western media. However, local media specifies more flexibility, under the name of choice and freedom. The truth simply is hard to capture in black and white.

One thing that is easily quantified is a number of websites currently (or recently) blocked from the local view within China as a result of the recent clashes in the northwest province of Xinjiang between the Uyghur and Han ethnicities, without having to dig very deep:

• wikipedia
• facebook
• blogger
• wordpress
• twitter
  

Over the last decade, China has taken the liberty of restricting web liberties at large, including a few that have hit close to home:

• google
• yahoo
• youtube
  
• bbc
• wikipedia
  
• facebook
• twitter
• blogger
• wordpress
• and many more...
  

If only I had kept track of all those google search terms that were vetoed in various quests, likely because of suspected pornographic or pedophiliac intent. Right. A favorite rejection included this search term, as I prepped for my TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) job:

• oral children's efl game

The proxy *was* my friend. My favorites sneakme and anonymouse have fallen victim to site restrictions. Some are just more of a hassle than they are worth.

The blocking of websites in China often points to the speculation that the Chinese government simply does not want locals accessing foreign media. Unfortunately, most locals are not aware of the above mentioned sites, as they do not use English to surf the web. Furthermore, they are unaware of resources provided by an English-native creator, albeit with the availability of translation into Mandarin. I would like to suggest that the blocking of websites is more so to block foreigners from disseminating views, experience, or facts with the outside world.

In this sense, it is an honor to be one of the many people whose voice is restricted... not simply because it means my thoughts are profound. Not simply because I have something worth saying. But because I have something to say which is worth hearing, and the People's Republic of China would rather it not be heard.

Who plants a seed with roots anew is soon to see the shoot.

As any good story might begin, a friend of a friend shared this experience: She is a college student, masters student, and part of the Communist Party. On occasion, they have participation 'homework', which could be in the form or attending/planning meetings or writing a rather nationalistic essay. This year, for June 4th, 2009, she was given a special assignment: she was informed that she would be the

"Supervisor of the Prevention of a Commemoration for an Event that Never Happened".

Needless to say, such a delegation had the student, previously and otherwise oblivious to and uninformed of the 1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre, asking a few difficult questions of her own. If an event didn't happen, why would anyone be commemorating it? And more importantly, why would anyone spend time, energy, and resources to prevent the commemoration of something that never happened?

And so... stranded over here in a form of isolation, which shall succeed neither to brainwash nor dirty it more, I write with a bit a clarity, with reflection on what it means to be sheltered in the professed interest of protection.

The fascist smashes the egg to silence the rooster.

Note: the below photos are screenshots taken from my browsing experiences while in the heartland of China:

"this video is not available in your country..."

"Connection interrupted: the connection to the server was reset while the page was loading"

"The connection has timed out: the server at wikipedia.org is taking too long to respond."

Note: Access to Blogger is still blocked within China. Without access to a much appreciated VPN (proxy), I would be unable to write such a post or publish it to my blog from within mainland China. Thus, I am blessed and grateful to be sharing.

bibbee • blue • bbc

Today, I get to share a photo with the world：

BBC Theme: BLUE

Actually, it was *published* on 17-Dec, but thanks to a friend back home in the Keweenaw, I was alerted [today] that my submission had been chosen for 1 of 10 photos selected for the BBC photo theme of BLUE.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_pictures/7779651.stm

It's the second time I have submitted a photo, but the first time my photo was selected. Sometimes you just get lucky!

Most exciting, is getting to share it with so many people, all over the world.

For more photos from the same trip, take a peek at my photo site:

http://thejadeteaspoon.smugmug.com/2008-07%20July/582886

Enjoy!

p.s. 'spose I oughta comment on the pic itself:

Traveling with my good friend Mathieu, we flew down to southern China (Guangxi Province) and signed up for [my first] ticketed tour. First a 40-minute bus-ride with 40 other foreigners and an enthusiastic tour guide to the Li River, some distance south of Guilin. We boarded a boat that held approximately 100 people and spent the next 4 hours forging down the beautiful river amongst the beautiful and famous Guilin scenery - mountains jutting from the river into the sky.

We stayed at the Galaxy Hotel (recommended) in Yangshuo and spent the next day riding rented bicyles in the rain and getting lost in the countryside. Just gorgeous. More than familiar with foreigners, it had a different feeling than Beijing (where foreigners are still uncommon). The food, the people... everything was wonderful - and very personable.

After making our way back to Guilin (where we would catch a train back to the North), we decided to check out the *scenic* sites... one of which was the Reed Flute Caves. The artificial fluorescent blue lighting, reflecting off a pool of water, made for a rock concert (yes, there was even music played from speakers) like I may never see again.

Mathieu and I chuckled as we listened to traditional Chinese music from speakers and passed up an opportunity (or three?) to take pictures with the giant tortoise that was the celebrity of the underground. It was a cave like I've never seen.

And that is [part of] the story of the BLUE photo you see here....