Coming to China as a journalism student, I was interested to look more closely at Chinese newspapers. Unfortunately, I can’t actually read any of them. Outside of China, people are probably seeing broader coverage of the Urumqi riots than we are in Beijing. The China Daily, one of the state-owned newspapers in China, has given some coverage to the events, but not enough in my opinion.
The Web site’s editorials section includes only three editorials on the riots so far. The author of one urges an end to the riots, the next vents anger against Uighurs, a large ethnic minority in Urumqi, and a third says revenge will not help the situation. All three seem contrived to appease and pacify the Han majority in the country who were the main targets of the violence by the rioters.
I give the Chinese government and the Communist Party credit for subtly trying to ease ethnic tensions in a tense situation. There is even an article about a man and his wife–both Han Chinese–who were aided by Uighur residents to escape the riots. The government wants to avoid the demonization of any one group which could release more race-directed violence.
The truth is the Chinese government does not want people releasing information they cannot control and in effort to stop this, both Facebook and Twitter have been blocked. Unfortunately, you can’t control what people think, say, and do. To do so gives you a distinct lack of credibility.
Let’s think back to 1989 to the Tian’anmen Square massacre and if we go back further to the One Hundred Flowers Movement in 1956 and 1957. Both represent the suppression of dissent that did nothing but harm to China.
Here in the People’s Republic controlling the people is more important than listening to them. Chairman Mao is only dead in name; his tactics live on in his party. He said that the Communist state was naturally a “dictatorship of the masses.” Well, you were right on one count, Mr. Chairman, it is indeed a dictatorship. It just doesn’t belong to the people.
