Hidden Harmonies China Blog

The following tweet by Gady Epstein, a correspondent for the Economist based in Beijing, is not surprising. The way I read it, he seemed dissatisfied that China and Japan haven’t yet escalated their tension into war.

Yes, this is that same trash magazine that had a sort of mea culpa not too long ago for their role in justifying British imperialism against the Chinese. Remember the Opium Wars? Yes, they ‘regretted’ fueling that war! Earlier in the year they announced a dedicated section to China coverage, and in response I suggested they have an editorial overhaul, because that very announcement were filled with bigotry they said they wanted to avoid. Apparently, that overhaul didn’t happen, and their century-old tradition of fact-twisting continues. Here we are today, on the Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands dispute, I just want to share a few bits of the anti-China propaganda this thing, The Economist, is. Read more…

Yesterday I tweeted this Global Times article, “Do not foment youngsters to protest,” and to my surprise, I got a retweet response from Tom Lasseter, who is currently Beijing Bureau Chief for McClatchy Newspapers. Now, I can understand it is human nature to agree or disagree with truths. But, the central tenet to freedom of the press is to make sure there is balance in narratives. So, Lasseter tweets back with, “! RT,” telling his Twitter followers to ignore the Global Times article. What do you think? Is this crossing the line between journalism and activism? Some may argue he is simply expressing his opinion. Twitter is mass media isn’t it? [July 6:Updated per response from Lasseter] Read more…