Wednesday, July 1, 2020

2020年6月中国言论审查纪要:与权力争夺记忆

圣路易斯华盛顿大学教授JamesWertsch是当代研究集体记忆最好的学者之一,他对俄罗斯展示出的集体记忆与身份认同等问题尤其感兴趣。他曾经做过一个实验,让三个时代的俄罗斯人来描述第二次世界大战。这三个时代分别是苏联时期、苏联解体后和当代俄罗斯。结果发现,这些人的叙述虽然各不相同,但有着一个国家叙事制造的叙述模式,那便是俄罗斯的大爱国主义战争,即俄罗斯没有干涉其他国家,是外国侵略俄罗斯,俄罗斯奋勇抗击实现最后大胜利。虽然当代俄罗斯人不如苏联时代的人那么清楚地描述具体事件,但依然保留了这个叙述模板。这个叙事模式正是国家叙事提供的,它可以不断复制用于个人记忆与特定叙事中,也即成为一种文化基因,不断复制和遗传,构成集体记忆的框架,任何个体记忆都将局限在集体记忆的框架中。由此,可以看到叙述模板的影响力,而权力能够创造叙述模板,从而在创造人或群体中产生强大的代代传播的权力-知识的能力。因此,控制了这样一个记忆,在很大程度上决定了权力等级。(《是谁偷走我的年》)

六月,是一个与权力争夺记忆的季节:从三十一年前的天安门民主运动,到一年前的香港反送中运动,再到年初爆发的新冠病毒疫情,权力无孔不入迫不及待地提供一个叙述模板,控制着集体记忆,给国人输入一个正确集体记忆。正如奥威尔在《1984》中所说:谁控制过去,就控制未来;谁控制现在,就控制过去。

因此,如何摆脱官方的正确集体记忆呢?唯一的办法就是保存个人的卑微的记忆,与权力争夺记忆。纪念六四、为天安门母亲呐喊、悼念梁凌杰、记录疫情期间的不正确记忆、写下那些普通人的故事、在微博上留下一句真话,都可以说是中国民众在挑战官方的正确集体记忆,挑战权力对记忆的控制。

一 被消失的真话与真相

在哈维尔看来,假如社会的支柱是在谎言中生活,那么在真话中生活必然是对它最根本的威胁。正因为如此,这种罪行受到的惩罚比任何其他罪行更严厉。由此,不难看到,那些敢于发声的人总是受到惩处。

瑞点星的志愿者蔡伟、陈玫 和小唐4月19日被北京市公安局朝阳分局秘密抓捕,并被指涉嫌寻衅滋事罪,遭到指定居所监视居住超过50天。小唐在被关押25天后取保获释;蔡伟、陈玫在秘密关押55天后,6月12日,家属被告知两人已批捕并关押于朝阳区看守所。瑞点星网站搭建于2018年,以对抗网络封锁和言论审查为己任,备份微信、微博等平台被删文章,过去数月亦备份了大量疫情相关文章。蔡伟和陈玫均为热心公益的90后大学毕业生,长期关注和参与公益事务。

因在武汉报道当地新冠疫情此前传出被上海公安部门刑事拘留的维权人士、公民记者张展的家人6月19日收到逮捕通知书,罪名是涉嫌寻衅滋事。

因709大抓捕而被关入监狱长达四年半的中国人权律师王全璋出狱后便被强制居住在济南,23天后4月27日,在警察陪同下才回到北京与妻儿团聚。出狱后,王全璋两次接受德国之声的采访,谈论自己的案件程序的不公正,以及所遭受的严刑逼供和酷刑。

6月20日,湖北大学发出通报,因不良言论开除梁艳萍教授党籍,并停止教学工作。消息传出,方方第一时间在微博发帖声援梁艳萍教授:迟早会有平反的一天。梁艳萍教授是三年半以来第十六位因错误言论被处理的高校教师。

对于极权对言论自由的控制,不仅特别针对那些勇于呐喊的人,更是全方位针对民众的。

因疫情而出现的健康码,在杭州、苏州等地已经演变成万能码,《健康码还健康吗》追问:

从杭州到苏州,无不反其道而行,打着疫情防控常态化的旗号,以便民的名义,对于健康码进行所谓的升级,进一步扩张公权力,对公民隐私信息展开进一步采集和利用。

而对健康码app进行强推,更是权力的一种滥用,涉嫌侵犯了公民的私权利。手机是私人生活的堡垒,民众手机装什么app,那是个人的自由选择,什么时候轮到政府部门来为民众当家做主了。

而这种扫码带来的伤害却是真真切切的,《我不会用智能手机,你们是不是准备让我去死?》中,说的却是扫码生活给一些民众生活带来的不便与伤害。

《夙说天下 | 今天的你够绿了吗?》指出:

健康码的出现让政府感受到了集中管理的便捷,红黄绿三色一刀切,避免了很多麻烦,也为政府的政绩提供了大数据的支持。如今提出健康码常态化,颇有点食髓知味的意思。

收集如此多的公民个人信息,其最终目的以及这些信息巨大的商业价值,都是令人细思极恐的事情。

因为新冠肺炎疫情,微博曾短暂地回春。毕竟人命关天,春节前后的个把月,登上微博热搜的不只是娱乐八卦或者种种宣传,而是真实具体的求助信息。很多曾经荒废了微博的朋友重新回到微博,为需要帮助的人们鼓与呼,反思此次公共安全危机暴露出的种种问题。然而这种小阳春并不能维持多久,6月10日,新浪微博因蒋某在舆论事件中干扰网上传播秩序,以及传播违法违规信息等问题,被北京市互联网信息办公室约谈,并宣布暂停更新微博热搜榜一周,于6月17日15时之后整改恢复。虽然微博恢复热搜,但那儿早已不是我们想象的公共空间了。

《我尽力了。所有微博账号,都被销号了》一文,网友麦田自述,2009年8月新浪微博内测阶段就注册的账号被无缘无故抹去。

微博账号被销号,是因为我在疫情期间的发言并不是说错了,而是几乎每一个主要观点,都对了。

6月8日,清华大学教授郭于华发出告别新浪微博的声明:

庚子夏季,芒种之时,值此向使用了十年之久的新浪微博告一声别了。这不是友好地道别,不是依依不舍地再见,而是鄙视和抗议的表达。自2010年春天开通新浪微博(经查第一条微博是2010年2月1日发出的)至今,你们封了我80个号,其间我多次友好地沟通,严正地讲理、愤怒地抗议甚至痛斥与怒骂,但每次都转世再来,一次次从零开始,一次次发贴过万、粉丝过万,直至耄耋。之所以坚持不走,不是因为留恋,不是因为欣赏,更不是指望扩展言论的空间。有了微信之后,许多人都离开了微博,懒得从头来过,不屑你们的嘴脸。但众所周知,相较于微信,微博是言论广场,是更大的公共空间,我希望保留一个更多样更宽敞的渠道,为那些失去自由的朋友和家人们呼吁,帮那些走投无路承受苦难的人们转发,让更多的人知道他们,并伸出援手。然而,

此时,并非我后悔了之前的选择,放弃了之前的守望,而是无法再注册新号(不能再使用邮箱而只能用手机号注册)。此外,既然新浪微博已经蜕变成从来不敢以真面示人的有人、多人、粉红、战狼们的大本营,以抹黑、泼污、攻击说真话者的战场,实与蛆虫蛄蛹的粪坑无异,为免恶心也须离开了。

6月19日晚,在李文亮医生的微博下发生了诡异的一幕:有网民发现,李文亮医生最后一条微博的评论区被清零了。抗议声顿时四处响起。然后,评论又能看到了。但是人们发现热门评论没有了,所有评论按时间顺序排列,而哭墙的时间定格在了2020年6月19日,所有这一天之前的评论都看不见了。随着越来越多的网友抗议,更早的评论竟然神奇地恢复了。

网友坚果兄弟在在一篇未公开的石墨文档里添加了李文亮,当天他的石墨账号被查封,登陆页面弹出:石墨文档:该帐号/该帐号(NUTBROTHER)绑定的手机号因违反用户条款,传播有害信息,已做封禁处理。他为此申述,写了一百多封邮件都无果。为此他警告网民:无故封号、侵犯隐私、扣留财产,石墨文档已死,3500万用户何去何从。

在社交媒体上,有网友自述,因为拍下了一个女人的维权现场,我被审问了半个小时因拍摄出租车罢工运动遭喝茶。

在媒体或是社交媒体上,消失的不仅是真话,更是真相:据《财新网》6月9日的报道,南方洪灾已经波及到了广西、贵州、广东、江西、湖南、福建等11个省。当时已有262万人成了灾民、1300间房屋倒塌、农作物受灾145.9公顷,直接经济损失达40.4亿元。短短三天之后,根据《人民日报》的报道,截止2020年6月12日晚18:21分,148条河流超过警戒线,洪水已经波及到了22个省,造成580万人受灾,39人死亡失踪,以及5200余间房屋倒塌,直接经济损失达到149.2亿元。

然而,

相比于洪灾的凶猛,国内各大门户网站的报道则显得较为理性和平静。

就在洪水的消息已经刷屏了朋友圈和抖音等平台的时候,各大门户网站并没有跟进的报道。席卷数省的洪灾在6月7日就已经规模巨大,而真正对洪水详细的报道还要等到6月9日晚些时候《财新网》的报道。( 明白知识 | 今年的洪水静悄悄)

《新闻联播是检验事实存在的唯一标准》讲了一个段子:

微友:昨晚在父母家吃饭,新闻联播刚完父子俩就吵起来了,原因是儿子把广西水灾刷屏的视频给父亲看,父亲说中央新闻联播没播,苦劝儿子不要相信谣言

文章最后说:

据说:数省暴雨成灾,52条河流超过警戒,主流媒体统一装聋作哑,是家丑不可外扬?

对人类最大的伤害,一是不受限制的权利,二就是天灾!

六月被强行消失的不仅是洪水,还有山东两件事,一是合村并居事件,二是高考冒名顶替事件。事件报道不久,就有匿名人士发布媒体内部通知在网络传播,通知要求对山东合村并居的农村改造政策不再使用原表述,撤下此前的相关报道,对于涉及农村敏感问题及群体性事件依权威信息发布。而另一起高考冒名顶替事件,则要求媒体降温处理。(【真理部指令】勿再使用合村并居表述 高考冒名顶替暂不报道) 《南风窗》的报道《【404文库】山东合村并居的真实情况》刚刊发,便被全网删除。

二 正确集体记忆之外的个人非凡记忆

2020年6月8日,外交部发言人办公室发微博报道,中国国务院新闻办公室发表关于《抗击新冠肺炎疫情的中国行动》白皮书,华春莹评论:中方发表白皮书绝不是为了辩护,而是为了记录。因为抗疫叙事不能被谎言误导玷污,而应留下正确的人类集体记忆。

对此,中国网民也不卖账,在外交部发言人办公室这条微博下留下大量的嘲讽和质疑,有网友说,干脆说顺我者昌逆我者亡)华春莹:抗疫叙事应留下正确集体记忆 网友:干脆说顺我者昌逆我者亡)。

作家马科斯在其文 《 这个世界是否存在正确的集体记忆》中则分析了权力与记忆的关系:

我们不难发现,权力是相当重要的一个核心问题。这里的权力更接近于福柯的权力概念。权力的影响在记忆生产、贮存、传播里无处不在、无孔不入。记忆勾连起过去与当下,关系到我们的情感与身份认同。福柯曾说,他不是研究权力,而是研究权力如何塑造主体性。放在记忆研究领域来说,就是权力是如何影响记忆,并且通过记忆去塑造我们的主体性。从这个意义上讲,所谓正确的集体记忆,可能就是国家权力通过记忆对每一个个体的规训。福柯早已窥探到记忆与权力的故事:

真正的斗争是存在的。它的关键是什么呢?就是我们统称为民众记忆的东西。确确实实,那些人,我想说那些没有权力书写,没有权力著书立论,没有权力编写历史的人们。他们同样掌握记录历史,回忆历史,经历和利用历史的方式记忆不管怎么说都是一个重要的斗争元素。因此,要控制人们的记忆,就要掌握他们的能量,也要掌握他们以前的斗争经验和知识。(帕特里斯马尼利耶/道尔扎班扬《福柯看电影》)

《从缪可馨到李文亮:记忆没有正误,只有真假》作者指出:正确或错误的集体记忆这一说法,与正能量或负能量的说法异曲同工,令人感到无比的荒谬,宛如被精神控制般的不适。

正能量或负能量的定义有着一个十分辨证的性质:一方面,所谓正负的规定,只取决于某些人想看到什么,又不想看到什么;但另一方面,不管某些人想看和不想看,该存在社会现实却一直存在,正如物理学中能量不会凭空产生或消灭一般。

所谓正确或错误的集体记忆也是如此。人类学家和社会学家都承认,集体记忆是可以被建构、被形塑的。但集体记忆并不可能被任意、无限地建构和形塑,因为它所对应的社会与历史事实是真实存在的。从这个意义上讲,规定什么样的集体记忆是正确的,什么样的集体记忆是错误的,并且把所谓错误的集体记忆直接摧毁、抹杀,是自欺欺人的荒谬行为。

郭于华《权力如何阉割我们的历史记忆》指出我们健忘是因为有人不让我们记住,文章分析了权力是如何阉割我们的历史记忆的,并说道:

唯有把文明落实到每个人的日常生活中,普通人的那些看上去非常卑微的、琐碎的一些经历,那样一些记忆,才会成为非凡的记忆,可以成为宏大叙事的有机部分。

因此,六月的纪念虽然是个人的,却是非凡的,比如公民陈思明、张五洲因纪念六四被拘留, 比如勇敢的天安门母亲,比如,坚持了三十一周年的香港六四纪念会,比如梁凌杰逝世一年,市民多区悼念,太古广场外逾万人排队献花。正如林培瑞教授在六四三十一周年网络纪念会上所说:

我们记住六四,是因为另外有些人非常愿意看到我们遗忘。 遗忘有利于他们维持政权。 多么卑污!哪怕记住屠杀是我们抵制独裁的唯一方法,我们还是得记住,还是得抵制。 我们记住六四,是因记忆能提醒我们中国政府撒谎的方式。自己都不信自己的谎言。 说 中国人民早就对天安门广场上的反革命暴乱作出了正确的判断。但是每年的六四,便衣 警察阻止人们进入天安门广场。 为什么?假如中国老百姓真的做了政府宣扬他们做了的 所谓判断, 那为什么不让人家进入广场去谴责反革命分子?警察的在场,说明政权不 相信自己的谎言。

6月4日,天安门大屠杀31周年纪念日。当天,世界目光聚焦当年惨案发生地北京,但在距离北京上万公里远的西班牙海边的一幢别墅,突然传出让全球华人愕然的消息:前中国足坛名将郝海东及其新婚妻子、前中国羽坛一姐叶钊颖,夫妻联袂在网上郑重宣告与中共决裂,并喊出「推翻中共」、「支持建立新中国联邦」等口号。6月20日在接受苹果日报采访时,郝海东说:

共产党处理六四问题,以及文革整死那么多人,现在连提都不让提。改革开放40年了,现在又要人民摆地摊过日子,你说这是共产党应有的吗?体育界为拿奖,擅改运动员年龄,造假成风。这些都是我看不惯、要跟中共决裂的原因!(苹果日报 | 前国足「球王」郝海东专访 难忍中共体制虚伪「香港是我心中的圣地」)

郝海东的言论,立即遭到国内全网封杀。(郝海东发布严重错误言论遭遇全网封杀)

6月23日,前政协委员王瑞琴发出与亲属断绝关系的声明:

本人王瑞琴, 系中华人民共和国公民,于2020年5月21日中国两会召开时,发表《致全国人大代表和政协委员的一封公开信》呼吁罢免习近平后,在中国的家人及亲属受到中共政府相关部门有计划的恶意骚扰,严重影响其正常的工作和生活。此外公司资产被冻结、财务票据悉数扣查运行受阻。

三 杀人的正能量

六月,两个孩子的悲剧让人悲愤难抑制。

2020年6月4日,小学五年级女生在语文课后从教室跑出,后翻越栏杆坠楼。事发后,缪可馨家长注册的微博账号缪可馨世界第一可爱公开了女儿坠楼前被批评的作文,并怀疑坠楼一事与语文老师袁某教学方式不当有关。在这篇满是修改痕迹的《三打白骨精》的读后感作文里,缪可馨在结论中写道:

不要被表面的样子,虚情假意伪善的一面所蒙骗。在如今的社会里,有人表面看着善良,可内心却是阴暗的。他们会利用各种各样的卑鄙手段和阴谋诡计,来达到自己不可告人的目的。

上面有老师用红笔批阅的五个字:传递正能量

更令人发指的是,在缪可馨不幸跳楼身亡后,网传在班级的家长群里,有同学家长号召所有人表态:袁老师没有错,你们点个赞。之后家长们们应声成群结队地给老师点了赞。缪可馨一事触发了广大网友对这个社会长久以来用正能量进行思想与人格阉割的风气的愤怒。很多网友还没有忘记不久之前善于模仿老师的影后钟美美被教育局约谈,希望引导孩子拍一些正能量的作品,这被广泛质疑扼杀了他的创造性和表演天赋。

邓艾艾艾在他的文章《传递正能量》里,指出正能量是用低智和虚伪的作秀来扼杀人们真实的痛苦:

在正能量横行霸道的价值导向下,阴暗是不被承认的,至少不允许被理应天真灿漫的孩子指出,愤怒被阉割,颓废被绞杀,悲观被绝育,消极被关押,一脸微笑,满口光明,垄断了传递的设计,限定着弘扬的规则。

成年人尚可以靠沉默与表演去游渡这种无涯的虚伪,足够聪慧又还未足够被圆滑所同化的孩子们只能被天然心性与塑料教育的矛盾挤压到疑惑与混乱,更坚硬的人格会反射更真诚的痛苦。对低智正能量的勒令强求,终于选拔出两类人,一是真诚的笨蛋,二是虚伪的精明人。

中国教育对孩子们最广泛又悠久的迫害,还不是令他们痛苦,而是令他们熟睡,令他们迷醉在虚假的做作里,那种摇头晃脑的歌颂,那些张牙舞爪的谄媚,那样得心应手的卖弄,参与者若自洽在了自己的正能量世界里,并不见得痛苦,但这未必不是另一种窒物无声的迫害。

据网友考察,正能量一词从一开始就是一个语感下流的词语。

关于正能量一词的兴起,有很多种说法。但许多人是因为宋山木而熟悉这个词的。

宋山木,就是那位曾经连续六年出现在春晚观众席并被央视给予特写的大胡子吊带男。他是山木培训创始人、山木教育集团总裁。2010年12月24日深圳市罗湖区人民法院一审宣判:宋山木犯强奸罪,判处有期徒刑4年。

当时该案流传最广的细节是:宋山木奸污女学员的时候,常说这样一句话:你现在身体里面充满了负能量,我给你注入一点正能量。(呦呦鹿鸣 | 那个下流、有毒的正能量)

六月另一个小女孩正式被这样一个下流的正能量所摧毁:2019年7月1日,上市公司新城控股集团董事长王振华被指控涉嫌猥亵9岁女童一经披露,震惊全国。2020年6月17日,上海市普陀区人民法院对被告人王振华、周燕芬作出判决,以猥亵儿童罪分别判处被告人王振华有期徒刑五年,被告人周燕芬有期徒刑四年。判决结果出来之后,王振华公司的股票大涨。

我不知道在这起案件中,有哪些人在暗中得意洋洋地笑,但是我想,任何一个有点良知的人,都应该感到一种彻头彻尾的悲凉。

我百思不得其解的问题就是,我们口口声声的未成年人保护,未成年人保护,这么多层出不穷的未成年人受害案里,真的把她们保护到位了吗?

这特么是在保护未成年人,还是在保护坏人啊 (英俊的龅牙赵 | 这特么是在保护未成年人,还是在保护坏人啊?)

而这个王振华的人设充满了正能量:

打开网页随处可以看到:王振华又登上中华慈善榜,又登上福布斯慈善榜,又获得中华慈善突出人物奖,他致力培育贫困地区青少年和失学儿童并常以王伯伯自居给贫困儿童加油:王伯伯的今天是靠知识的力量,只要多读书,善于猎取知识,你们就可以实现梦想,未来你们一定比王伯伯棒。(李承鹏:哪有什么岁月静好,不过是别家孩子先帮你挨刀)

中国资深媒体人、时评人长平在文章《德国之声 | 长平观察: 从主旋律到正能量思想谋杀的进化》提出,正能量将政治高压合理化:

弘扬主旋律是指有利于维护中共一党专制的媒体报道、文学作品和电影电视,曾经是中国人耳熟能详的洗脑动员口号,沿用至今。但是,自从强奸犯宋山木贡献出正能量之后,主旋律就悄然让位了。2014年 五个一工程颁奖活动成为最后一届,再也没人提起。

把对党歌功颂德定义为弘扬主旋律,让社会批评者感觉到边缘化,固然起到了洗脑作用。但是相对于传播正能量来说,那只是小巫见大巫。毕竟,也有人不喜欢主流,反抗主流,或者自甘边缘,比如屌丝这个词的流行。而正能量对应的是负能量,不只是对批评者的边缘化,而且是负面化和污名化你正在摧残自己,毒化他人,拖累社会。

正能量将政治高压合理化,让被审查者不再感觉到屈辱,甚至内化了统治者立场。在商业和个人领域,正能量迎合了成功学和家长专制。一个父亲让孩子相信厉害了我的国,不是为了响应号召弘扬主旋律,而是出自爱心为他注入正能量,从而确保他有一个光明、幸福、健康而又积极向上的未来。

四 大撒币与六亿人月收入一千

近日,有网友发现,两则七十七国集团和中国发表疫情声明的新闻与中国外交部:向77个发展中国家和地区暂停债务偿还的新闻相互对应,显示出中国似乎在以暂停债务偿还+经济援助的方式谋求一些发展中国家的外交支持,使自己在疫情时代的外交关系中不被孤立

6月17日,习近平17日晚宣布,中国将在中非合作论坛架构下,免除对有关非洲国家截至今年底到期的无息贷款债务。同时呼吁G20进一步延长对包括非洲国家在内的相关国家缓债期限。 (法广|习近平:免除非洲国家2020年底到期无息贷款债务)

同时,《我们对外的援助金额被公开了?!》

偶然发现一个很有意思的网站,名字叫AidData,是美国威廉玛丽学院开发的一个对外援助数据项目,网站罗列了世界各国多年来对外援助的数据,当然也包括中国。

根据该数据库资料,从2000年到2014年的15年间,中国向140个国家提供了经济援助和贷款,累计金额高达3620亿美元,约2.45万亿元人民币(按照当前汇率计算)。同时期,美国的海外援助总计3990亿美元,相差不到400亿美元。

另一份来自环球网的数据,近四年,中国合计对外援助达到60365亿元人民币,如果平均分配给国内3000家上市公司,每家可获得20亿元人民币。如果贷给国内小微企业,可以彻底解决全部1000万户小微企业的融资难问题,平均每户60万元人民币。如果用于三农,可以一次性实现全部一亿农民的小康目标,平均每户6万元人民币。

如果平均分配给每个中国人,每人4378.28元人民币。

与此相对的是:两会期间,总理李克强先是在回答记者提问期间指出:中国是一个人口众多的发展中国家,人均年收入是3万元人民币。但是有6亿人每个月的收入也就1000元。总理坦言:1000元在一个中等城市可能租房都困难,现在又碰到疫情,疫情过后民生为要。 几日后,李克强在山东烟台考察时表示:地摊经济、小店经济是就业岗位的重要来源,是人间的烟火,和高大上一样,是中国的生机。 曾经普遍遭到城管暴力执法的流动摊贩,因为符合了这新时期的政治正确,变成了主流宣传中的正能量,一夜之间,曾被城管逼得走投无路的地摊,竟然迎来了春天,于是,对地摊经济的美化以及一夜致富的宣传,铺天盖地。

实在没有想到,万万没有想到,以前在城管大部隊眼里如丧家之犬的地摊,竟然也迎来了属于它的春天。更没有想到的是,地摊竟然成了这个春天里万紫千红中最花枝招展的那一朵奇葩。 (楼哥他弟 | 地摊竟然成了这个春天里万紫千红中最花枝招展的那一朵奇葩)

为此, 《罐头辰 | 美化地摊经济,是对穷人的残忍》指出:

但请宣传地摊经济时保持起码的诚实,告诉失业者摆摊将会面临的边际效应,告诉人民鼓励地摊是因为国家经济遇到了难关。

因为美化地摊经济是对穷人的残忍。

当年沈阳刺杀城管案的主角夏俊峰的妻子张晶,在听说总理鼓励地摊经济,感到很意外:

2009年5月16日,夏俊峰和张晶在马路上违法摆摊被沈阳市城管执法人员查处。在勤务室接受处罚时,夏俊峰与执法人员发生争执,刺死城管队员两名后又重伤一人。2009年6月12日夏俊峰被逮捕。2009年11月15日,夏俊峰一案在沈阳市中级人民法院一审判决。2011年5月9日上午,夏俊峰刺死城管案终审宣判,辽宁省高级法院裁定驳回上诉,维持原判。2013年9月25日,最高人民法院依法核准夏俊峰死刑。

11年后的2020年6月3日,地摊经济刷屏,张晶也发了一个关于地摊经济的朋友圈,她根本不相信城管现在角色大转变,从追赶地摊小贩到了拉小贩摆地摊,并且领有任务。这太魔幻了。(正中书院 | 张晶:听到总理鼓励地摊经济,我很意外)

不过,几天后,总理李克强的地摊经济的表述突遭中宣部封杀,不但媒体被要求全网查删有关的报道,连中央文明办有关「地摊经济」的正式文件亦被作废删除。民间嘲讽说,中共丢掉了金融中心香港连地摊也没能捡起来。 (自由亚洲|中宣部突为李克强「地摊经济」降温文明办文件作废删除)

几乎同时:

6月6日晚,《北京日报》发表题为《地摊经济不适合北京》的评论文章。

标题的意思很清楚很直接,文章里说得也很清楚说:北京是国家首都,北京形象代表首都形象、国家形象。作为全国首个减量发展的超大型城市,有着自身的功能定位和管理要求。以首善标准抓好城市精细化治理,意味着北京必须注重保持城市应有的秩序,不应也不能发展那些不符合首都城市战略定位、不利于营造和谐宜居环境的经济业态。

五 体制不变,记忆便不会淡去

六四三十一周年前后,社交媒体上流传着一个长达20分钟的音频:

这是前中共中央党校教授蔡霞在私下的一次讨论会上发表的讲话。蔡霞在讲话中不断诘问,为什么中共体制走到今天这种地步?为什么习近平这样一个人坐到大位上去?

蔡霞由此判断这个体制本身已经是没有出路了,改是没有用了。这个体制从根本上讲就必须要抛弃它,蔡霞认为中共改革开放以后,两个最根本的问题没解决,一个就是体制,一个就是理论。(法广 | 前中共中央党校教授蔡霞:改是没有用了,这个体制从根本上讲就必须要抛弃它)

中国数字时代编辑转录并校对了这段录音,并确认,这段讲话是蔡霞教授2020年5月中旬在一个社交媒体群里的语音发言,随后泄露到网络。有消息证实,她的发言是中共党内一部分人的共识。(前中共中央党校教授蔡霞内部讲话文字稿:从修宪开始,这个党已是一个政治僵尸)

这不仅仅是中共党内一部分人的共识,更是越来越多的国人的共识:只要这个体制没有改变,六月的记忆就不会淡去。

Monday, June 15, 2020

美国众院公布首份新冠报告 详述中共隐匿疫情

美国国会众议院外交事务委员会共和党人针对新冠病毒起源及爆发过程公布阶段性的初步调查报告,内容按照时间线详细列举自2019年12月底以来有关新冠病毒疫情的重要事件,并说明中国共产党政府如何隐匿新冠病毒疾病(Covid-19)信息以及世界卫生组织在其中所扮演的角色和功能。报告呼吁对中共早期隐瞒疫情的行为展开国际调查,并要求世卫组织总干事辞职。

美国国会众议院外交事务委员会共和党人针对新冠病毒起源及爆发过程公布阶段性的初步调查报告,内容按照时间线详细列举自2019年12月底以来有关新冠病毒疫情的重要事件,并说明中国共产党政府如何隐匿新冠病毒疾病(Covid-19)信息以及世界卫生组织在其中所扮演的角色和功能。报告呼吁对中共早期隐瞒疫情的行为展开国际调查,并要求世卫组织总干事辞职。

“在几个月的调查后,愈来愈清楚明了中国共产党对新冠病毒的掩盖,特别是在疫情爆发初期时,他们的行为让原本可能是本地流行病转变成为一场全球大流行病的过程中发挥了重要作用,”来自德克萨斯州的麦考尔众议员在声明中说。

他还说道:“不幸的是,世界卫生组织在总干事谭德塞的领导下,世界卫生组织一再忽视病毒严重性的警告,甚至包括他们自己的卫生专家所发出的警告。同时在未经独立证实的情况下,不断复述唱和中国共产党的宣传。这样的做法只会导致巨大的失败,我们必须揭发真相,如此一来我们才能建立未来保障措施,预防这种情况再次发生。”

这项初步调查结果可被视为是美国议员们呼吁就新冠病毒疫情大流行病展开调查以来由国会方面出台的首份官方报告。

作为持续进行的调查工作的一部分,这份长达50页的中期报告侧重于新冠病毒大流行早期阶段,也就是2020年1月23日前世界卫生组织宣布新冠病毒疫情为国际关注的突发公共卫生事件之前所发生的相关事件。

image.png

报告显示中国从未正式向世卫组织通报疫情

报告首先提到,中国当局确认的最早病例可追溯至2019年11月17日,随后几周,每天都出现1至5例的新病例报告。2019年12月16日,一名65岁男子因发烧和肺部感染被送往武汉市中心医院,在使用抗生素和抗流感药物后,这名男子的病情没有出现好转。后来发现这名男子在武汉华南海鲜市场工作。

报告说,在接下来的数天内,武汉各地医院开始出现数十例类似症状的疾病。截止12月20日为止,感染人数达到至少60人,其中包括在华南海鲜市场工作的人的家属,这些亲属与市场工作的人有密切接触但本身并未直接接触市场。报告指出,这显示为病毒人传人的早期迹象。

12月25日为止,武汉两间不同医院的医护人员在感染病毒后接受隔离治疗。报告提到,这是病毒人传人的第二个明确迹象。

报告指出,12月27日,武汉的医院和卫生官员收到当地一家处理病患样本的实验室通知,称这种疾病是由一种新的冠状病毒株所引起的,而这种冠状病毒的基因与导致2003年SARS大流行的病毒株相似度高达87%。

报告接着说,三天后,武汉市中心医院急诊科医生艾芬收到了实验室的检测结果,确认为“SARS冠状病毒”。于是艾芬医生通知医院主管,并将报告结果提供给医院的公共卫生部。

报告说,在同一家医院任职的李文亮医生得知消息后,在微信群组中告知友人“华南水果海鲜市场确诊了7例SARS。”

12月31日,中国媒体关于爆发非典肺炎的报道开始出现在网上。其中一篇报道的机器翻译被全球电子新兴传染病疫情通报系统Pro-MED侦测到。

image.png

北京市民在广安体育中心外排队接受新冠病毒检测。(2020年6月15日)

报告指出,根据世卫组织紧急项目执行主任瑞恩医生(Dr. Michael Ryan)的说法,这则出现在全球电子新兴传染病疫情通报系统Pro-MED的通知是世界卫生组织得知武汉疫情爆发的信息来源。世卫组织日内瓦总部随后指示该组织中国办事处寻求中国政府协助对有关信息进行核实。

报告继续指出,尽管中国公开声称有向世卫组织及时通报了疫情,但中国政府实际上从未正式向世界卫生组织通报武汉爆发的疫情,也未在疫情初期向世卫组织提供相关信息,这已违反了世卫组织的《国际卫生条例》。

根据《国际卫生条例》,各国必须向世卫组织报告本国内新出现的疾病。

报告指责世卫组织忽视病毒人传人警告、延缓宣布国际关注突发公卫事件

除了上述提到病毒在早期已出现人传人的迹象之外,报告还指出,台湾卫生福利部疾病管制署官员在12月31日曾发电邮给世卫组织,对中国网络上出现的“至少7起不明肺炎”的消息表示担忧。

台湾疾病管制署在电邮中称,自网络上得知,在中国武汉市爆发至少7起非典型肺炎。中国惯称萨斯(SARS)为“非典型肺炎”。

报告提到,除了至少“7起病例”的说法与李文亮医生在微信群组中所发布的信息吻合之外,台湾卫生官员的电邮还警示病患已进行隔离治疗,由此研判该等病例有人传人的可能。

报告说,世卫组织仅以一份书面声明回覆台湾政府的电邮。声明称,台湾的担忧已被转发给其他专家,但为了其他成员国的利益,有关消息不会发布在他们的内部网站上。

根据众议院共和党人公布的这份调查报告,世卫组织一直到今年1月4日才公布其对武汉爆发疫情所掌握的资讯。同一天,香港大学感染及传染病中心总监何柏良也公开警示,病毒在人际间传播的可能性很高。

不过,近10天后,直到1月13日泰国出现首宗中国境外确诊病例,世界卫生组织才表示“有可能存在有限的人传人……但现在非常清楚的是,我们没有看到持续的人传人。”

世卫组织官方推特更在同一天说,“中国当局没有发现明确证据显示病毒会人传人。”

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国会共和党人的报告还发现,1月20和21日,世卫组织在中国当地的办事处和西太平洋区域办事处赴武汉进行了实地考察。两天的访问结束后,世卫组织总干事谭德塞博士(Dr. Tedros Adhanom)最后决定不宣布疫情为“国际关注的突发公共卫生事件”,并称“这是中国的紧急情况,但尚未成为全球卫生紧急情况。目前,没有证据表明在中国以外的地方存在人传人现象。”

报告说,随后几天,法国、澳大利亚和加拿大陆续传出首起病例。1月28日,世卫组织总干事谭德塞到北京进行访问,并赞扬中国共产党对疫情的处理,称“中国展现出透明度,包括分享病毒数据和基因序列。”但是报告指出,来自中国的有关病毒信息并非公开讲话,是由一名中国研究人员在网上泄漏后而流传开来。这名研究人员也随后遭到惩罚。

两天后,1月30日,谭德塞才召开紧急会议,宣布新冠病毒疫情为“国际关注的突发公共卫生事件”。此时,全球已有近1万个确诊病例,其中包括83起分布在18个中国以外的国家。

美国也在1月30日这一天确认了第一宗人传人的病例。

世卫组织总干事谭德塞一直到41天后、也就是3月11日才宣布2019新冠病毒为全球大流行病。

报告对武汉病毒研究所安全和研究提出担忧和质疑

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中国科学院武汉病毒研究所大楼 (网络照片 )

报告还提到了武汉病毒研究所所引发的安全疑虑。报告称,虽然武汉病毒学研究所在许多关于新冠肺炎起源的讨论中时常被提及,但科学界和情报界目前的广泛共识是,新冠病毒的起源属于天然发生。

不过,报告说,没有“零号病患”的流行病学数据、缺少已被销毁的实验室样本,或者病毒确切来源,研究人员可能永远无法得知病毒的源头。报告建议,谨慎的做法是针对武汉病毒研究所目前已知的情况,包括其20个实验室进行病毒研究。

随着武汉病毒研究所成为新闻焦点的同时,有关这间实验室的安全规范和标准也引起各界质疑。据报道,2018年美国国务院发过至少两封有关武汉病毒研究所担忧的电报。这两封电报分别来自美国驻北京大使馆和武汉总领事馆的国务院人员,重点均与武汉病毒研究所的安全和管理是否严谨相关。

据众议院共和党所公布的报告称,长期研究蝙蝠和冠状病毒的武汉病毒所研究员石正丽也曾提及对实验室安全的担忧。报告引述石正丽在一次采访中讲述她是如何重新检查自己实验室多年来的记录,以检查材料是否有处理不当的。她还将收集到的冠状病毒样本与导致新冠病毒疫情的SARS病毒样本进行了比对。石正丽表示,在完成审查后并未能找到对应匹配结果后,她感到松了一口气。

“有鉴于中国共产党拒绝分享武汉病毒研究所和中国其他地方的样本,国际社会也无从对石正丽的说辞进行核查,”报告说。

报告表示,虽然目前仍无法证明正在进行的大流行病是否为实验室流出(意外或非意外)的结果,但石正丽曾对于实验室的安全问题有所质疑这件事本身就令人感到担忧。

报告建议:撤换WHO领导层、展开国际调查、修改国际卫生条例

报告尾声提出三点建议,包括撤换世界卫生组织领导人、针对中国共产党在大流行爆发初期隐匿信息的行为展开国际调查以及改革《国际卫生条例》。

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世界卫生组织(WHO)总干事谭德塞(Dr. Tedros Adhanom)

报告称,世卫组织总干事谭德塞已失去各界对其领导力的信任,为了恢复成员国对世界卫生组织的信心,让世卫组织恢复职责,为全球公共卫生提供准确技术建议,谭德塞必须为其因新冠病毒大流行的不当影响承担责任并辞职。

“世界的健康不能承受(世卫组织的)无能和管理不善,”报告说。

报告还呼吁美国应该和理念接近的世卫组织成员国以及台湾展开国际合作调查,追究中国共产党在疫情爆发初期隐瞒信息的行为以及世卫组织未履行《国际卫生条例》义务的责任。

报告提到,这类的调查应该包括追溯调查当年萨斯病毒和这次的新冠病毒等起源、中国共产党隐瞒疫情相关科学和卫生信息的做法、中国共产党的掩盖活动对世卫组织的影响以及中国共产党的掩盖活动对全球反应的影响。

报告写道,目前除了欧盟委员会外,澳大利亚、日本、新西兰、瑞典和台湾等政府已公开表示支持对疫情进行独立调查。

此外,报告建议美国总统、国务卿利用美国在国际组织中的话语权、投票权和影响力寻求针对《国际卫生条例》进行更多改革,包括要求会员国提供的信息,世卫组织针对非官方的卫生事件报告有进行调查和告知成员国的义务,以及修改世卫组织宣布国际关注的突发公共卫生事件的程序。

不过,报告认为,尽管世卫组织未能遵守《国际卫生条例》,善尽其职责,履行对会员国的义务,但“我们不认为美国退出或建立一个与世卫组织分庭抗礼的国际组织是一条正确的前行道路。”

报告最后提到,无论是2003年的萨斯病毒,还是2019年新型冠状病毒,还是造成此次全球大流行病的真正成因,仍有许多悬而未决的疑问。尽管这份报告为初步阶段性的调查结果,但已经有些事实可以确定—“毫无疑问的是,中国共产党在此次疫情中积极从事掩盖活动,目的在于混淆数据、隐藏相关公共卫生信息并打压试图向世界发出警告的医生和记者。”

A History of the 2025 Sino–American War in the South China Sea

More than two decades after the fact, the reasons why the United States and the People’s Republic of China (PRC) avoided total war, let alone a nuclear exchange, during their armed conflict in the autumn of 2025 remain a source of dispute. What is clearer is why the Sino–American Littoral War broke out in the first place, and the course it took. Years of worsening U.S.–China relations, supercharged by the 2020 COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic that originated in Wuhan, China, and long fueled by endemic Chinese cyberattacks on American businesses and individuals, military jockeying in the South China Sea, and Beijing’s influence and propaganda campaigns, had created a deep reservoir of ill will and distrust of the other in each country.
When a series of accidents propelled Washington and Beijing into war, both sides were taken by surprise, but each saw the risk differently. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) feared the domestic repercussions of losing a war but had long convinced itself that Americans were a weak and uncommitted people who would not endanger their comfortable lifestyle. As for American leaders, they were naturally risk-averse and unconvinced they could maintain a major military campaign so far from home against the world’s second-most-powerful military. Each, therefore, tripped into war without a full plan for how to dominate and win. The result of the conflict — the establishment of three geopolitical blocs in East Asia — continues to this day. The resulting cold war between the United States and China became the defining feature of geopolitics in the Asia-Pacific in the middle of the 21st century.
The Gray Rhino: September 8–9, 2025
The Littoral War began with a series of accidental encounters in the skies and waters near Scarborough Shoal, in the South China Sea. Beijing had effectively taken control of the shoal, long a point of contention between China and the Philippines, in 2012. After Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte, who had steadily moved Manila toward China during the late 2010s, was impeached and removed from office, the Philippines’ new president steadily moved to reassert Manila’s claim to the shoal, and by the summer of 2025 sent coastal-patrol boats into waters near the contested territory. When armed People’s Armed Forces Maritime Militia (PAFMM) vessels pushed out the Philippine forces in early July, Manila appealed to Washington under its security treaty for assistance.
Prior Philippine requests for U.S. help in dealing with China had been largely shunted aside by Washington, even during the Trump administration. However, new U.S. president Gavin Newsom, who had been dogged during the 2024 campaign by allegations that Chinese cyber operations had benefited his candidacy, saw the Philippine request as an opportunity to show his willingness to take a hard line against Beijing. Newsom increased U.S. Air Force flights over the contested territory, using air bases made available by Manila, and sent the carrier USS Gerald Ford, along with escort vessels, on a short transit. On two occasions in late July, U.S. and Chinese ships came close to running into each other due to aggressive maneuvering by the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN), and a U.S. Navy FA-18 operating from the Gerald Ford was forced to take emergency evasive action to avoid colliding with a PLANAF J-15. Despite the increasing tensions, the U.S. Navy ships returned to Japan at the beginning of August, yet no diplomatic attempts were made to alter the trajectory of events. The fact that both sides knew some type of armed encounter was increasingly possible, if not probable, yet seemed to ignore the risk, led pundits to call the events surrounding the clash an example of a “gray rhino,” unlike the complete surprise represented by a “black swan” occurrence. Ironically, CCP general secretary Xi Jinping himself had warned about the dangers of “gray rhinos” back in 2018 and 2019.
In response to the brief uptick in U.S. Navy freedom-of-navigation operations near other Chinese-claimed territory in the Spratly and Paracel island chains, Beijing decided to fortify Scarborough Shoal, building airstrips and naval facilities as it had done in the Spratlys. As Scarborough lay only 140 miles from Manila, China’s announcement set off alarm bells in the Philippines. As Chinese naval construction ships approached Scarborough on September 4, dozens of small Philippine boats, many of them private, attempted to block them. On the second day of the maritime encounter, a Chinese frigate rammed a Philippine fishing boat, sinking it, with the loss of two Philippine fishermen. As news spread over the next several days, dozens more Philippine vessels, including the country’s entire coast guard, confronted the Chinese. Though no further ship collisions occurred, worldwide broadcast of video of the maritime confrontation further inflamed tensions.
At this point, on Saturday, September 6, U.S. Indo–Pacific Command, acting directly under orders from U.S. secretary of defense Michele Flournoy, dispatched one guided-missile destroyer, the USS Curtis Wilbur, and the Independence-class littoral combat ship USS Charleston (LCS-18) to the waters off Scarborough, and ordered the USS John C. Stennis aircraft carrier to head from its home port in Bremerton, Wash., to Pearl Harbor. In order not to inflame the high tensions, however, the White House and Pentagon decided not to send the Gerald Ford to the area. Instead, another U.S. guided-missile destroyer, USS Stethem (DDG 63), and a mine-countermeasures ship, the USS Patriot (MCM 7), were ordered to transit the Taiwan Strait. The next day, Beijing announced an air-defense identification zone over the entire South China Sea, demanding that all non-Chinese aircraft submit their flight plans to Chinese military authorities and receive clearance to proceed. While the U.S. Air Force and Navy immediately rejected China’s authority over the South China Sea, Chinese army and navy aerial patrols increased, and international civilian airliners complied with Beijing’s demands.
On Monday, September 8, at approximately 18:30 local time (10:30 Greenwich time; 00:30 Hawaii time; 05:30 Eastern time), a U.S. Navy EP-3 surveillance flight out of Japan over the Spratlys was intercepted by a PLAAF J-20 taking off from Fiery Cross Reef, in the same chain. After warning off the EP-3, the J-20 attempted a barrel roll over the American plane. The Chinese pilot sheared off most of the EP-3’s tail and left rear stabilizer; the Chinese plane lost a wing and went into an unrecoverable spin into the sea. The EP-3 also could not recover and plunged into the sea, killing all 22 Americans aboard. Tragically, the EP-3 was not even supposed to be flying, as the U.S. Navy had intended to replace the fleet with unmanned surveillance drones by 2020, but cost overruns and delays in the drone program led to occasional use of a limited number of aging manned aircraft in the region, especially when real-time interpretation of data was required.
Roughly 30 minutes later, before word of the EP-3’s downing had reached U.S. Indo–Pacific Command in Hawaii, let alone Washington or Beijing, 13 nautical miles northwest of Scarborough Shoal, the Bertholf (WMSL-750), a U.S. Coast Guard cutter returning from a training mission along with the Japan Coast Guard Kunigami-class patrol vessel Motobu, out of Naha in Okinawa, was approached by a cutter-class armed Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) ship. After broadcasting warnings for the Bertholf and the Motobu to leave the area, the Chinese ship attempted to maneuver in front of the American ship, to turn its bow. The CCG captain miscalculated and struck the Bertholf amidships, caving in the mess and one of its enlisted crew compartments. The Bertholf began taking on water and attempted to turn east toward the Philippines while emergency crews attempted to keep the ship afloat. The CCG ship immediately left the scene without rendering assistance. Six US sailors later were declared missing and presumed dead in the collision, while three Chinese CCG sailors were swept overboard and lost at sea.
Being the closest U.S. naval vessel to the downed EP-3 surveillance pland, the Curtis Wilbur raced toward the site of its crash, while the Charleston moved to assist the Bertholf. Nighttime darkness caused confusion for rescue and patrol operations on both sides. Two PLAN ships returned to the scene of the maritime collision to search for the lost Chinese seamen, coming in close quarters with the Motobu — which was helping in rescue operations to stabilize the American vessel — as well as with the littoral combat ship Charleston, which arrived several hours later. Mechanical trouble kept the Bertholf from making way under her own power, and she began to drift back toward PLAN vessels. In the darkness, U.S. ships and the Japanese attempted to disengage with the Chinese vessels, while continually warning the other side to stand down so rescue operations could continue.
After several close encounters, one Type 052D Luyang III class PLAN destroyer, the Taiyuan, activated its fire-control radar and locked on the Motobu. The captain of the thousand-ton Japanese patrol ship, knowing he could not survive a direct hit from the PLAN destroyer, radioed repeated demands that the radar be turned off. When no Chinese response was forthcoming, and with rescue operations ongoing, the Motobu’s commander fired one round from his Bushmaster II 30 mm chain gun across the bow of the Taiyuan. In response, a nearby Chinese frigate, thinking it was under attack from the Japanese Coast Guard ship, fired a torpedo in the direction of the Motobu. In the congested seas, however, the torpedo hit the Charleston, which was transiting between the Chinese and Japanese ships, ripping a hole below the waterline. The lightly armored littoral combat ship, with a complement of 50 officers and seamen, foundered in just 25 minutes, with an unknown loss of life, at 01:30 (17:30 Greenwich time; 07:30 Hawaii time; 10:30 Eastern time) on Tuesday, September 9. U.S. surveillance drones flying over the melee recorded parts of the encounter and flashed images back to U.S. commanders in the region.
With radio and electronic traffic flashing between Honolulu and Washington, America’s military leaders in the Pacific began to mobilize the U.S. fleet in Hawaii and Japan to steam into the South China Sea, and launched F-35 fighters from Okinawa to begin forcing Chinese air-force planes out of the skies. After more than a decade of rising tension and distrust between China and the United States, a series of accidents threw the two antagonists against each other. The Littoral War had begun.

Thursday, June 4, 2020

Former Chinese soccer player Hao allies with party critic

2020年六月四号...
BEIJING (AP) — Retired Chinese soccer player Hao Haidong has angered the country’s leadership by allying himself with an eccentric billionaire who has called for the downfall of the Communist government.
Hao appeared Thursday in a lengthy online video swearing allegiance to the “Federal State of New China,” a purported alternative to the ruling Communist Party of China established by Guo Wengui, who lives in exile.
In the video, Hao reads out an 18-point manifesto demanding an end to the current power structure, calling the ruling party a “terrorist organization" that “tramples on democracy,” violates the rule of law and makes contracts it doesn't intend to keep.
He touched on some of the most sensitive topics in China, urging genuine autonomy for Hong Kong, Tibet and the self-governing island of Taiwan. He also accused Beijing of launching “biological warfare” on the world with the coronavirus pandemic, for which there is no evidence.
It wasn't clear when or where the video was made, but its release comes on the 31st anniversary of the military assault on pro-democracy protesters in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square, along with moves to tighten Beijing’s rule over Hong Kong.
Hao’s account on Weibo, China’s hugely popular all-in-one online communications tool, was swiftly deleted. Sports newspaper Titan issued a posting condemning Hao's “damaging of national sovereignty" and vowing never to report on him again. It referred to Hao only by the first letter of his surname, H.
The 50-year-old Hao was a striker for China's national team and also played for Bayi and Dalian Shide. He also briefly joined English club Sheffield United. He has been out of the sport for more than a decade, drawing occasional attention for his controversial remarks.
Along with current China coach Li Tie, he was a star on the squad that made China’s only World Cup appearance in 2002, in which the national team left after three games without scoring a goal.
Hao still holds the national scoring record with 41 goals in more than 100 appearances for China and is also the all-time lead scorer in the Chinese league with 96 goals.
Over the last several weeks, he has questioned one team’s decision to fire a player for having illegally altered his car’s license plate and disputed the official soccer association’s decision not to televise the Chinese team’s World Cup warmup games against local club teams.
“If the national team feels pressure to play the club teams, how can they cope with it when facing other national teams?” Hao was quoted as saying by the official Xinhua News Agency on May 19.
In the past, he has also criticized the decision to allow foreign players to take Chinese citizenship in order to play on the national team and called for the formation of a players union.
Guo Wengui, also known as Miles Guo, fled China amid allegations of financial misdoings and has waged a campaign from New York against president and party leader Xi Jinping and his administration.
Among other stunts, he hired planes to fly over the Hudson River early Thursday morning dragging banners promoting his group and appeared in a video shot on a boat in front of the Statue of Liberty with former Donald Trump campaign manager Steve Bannon.

Tuesday, June 2, 2020

Leaked documents reveal China withheld crucial information about the coronavirus at the start of the outbreak

Xinhua via REUTERS
  • China delayed the release of information about the coronavirus, according to a new investigation.
  • Its health officials did not share the coronavirus genome until over a week after scientists in Chinese laboratories decoded it at the beginning of January.
  • Beijing did not warn the World Health Organization that the virus passed between people until two weeks later.
  • At the time the WHO publicly praised China for its speedy response.
China withheld key information about the coronavirus for weeks after it first emerged in January, delaying the international response to the outbreak, a new investigation has revealed.
Chinese officials failed to share the genetic map, or genome, of the virus for over a week after first decoding it and failed to reveal that the virus could be transmitted between humans for a further two weeks, according to internal World Health Organization documents and testimony obtained by the Associated Press.
The AP reported on Tuesday that while scientists at the Wuhan Institute of Virology decoded the virus on January 2, Chinese health officials did not publish the details of their findings until over a week later, on January 12.
It wasn't until January 20 that the Chinese state alerted the World Health Organisation and other governments that the virus could pass between people, according to the Associated Press investigation.
This was only after a laboratory in Shanghai led by scientist Zhang Yongzhen published the information a day earlier.
At the time the World Health Organization publicly praised China for what it described as its speedy response to the virus. 
However, WHO officials were privately concerned that China was sitting on key information about the virus.
"We're currently at the stage where yes, they're giving it to us 15 minutes before it appears on [Chinese state television channel] CCTV," WHO official, Dr. Gauden Galea, said in one meeting.
The WHO were reportedly frustrated with China's failure to release the data quickly, and feared being blamed for a delayed global response to the outbreak of the deadly virus, the AP report says.
Dr Michael Ryan, the WHO's emergencies chief, is quoted as saying: "The danger now is that despite our good intent... there will be a lot of finger-pointing at WHO if something does happen."
President Trump has lambasted the WHO and accused it of being controlled by China. He said last week that the US was "terminating its relationship" with the WHO, and re-directing the millions of dollars it gives to the global health body elsewhere.
The AP report says that the National Health Commission, Beijing's most senior health authority, blocked laboratories from releasing information about the COVID-19 virus without its approval, meaning there was a delay in information being published lasting most of January.

UK under pressure to cut ties with Beijing

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (left) and UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (left) and UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab.
Getty
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is set to chair a National Security Council meeting on Tuesday, with the UK's relationship with China reportedly top of the agenda.
Johnson is under pressure from increasing numbers of Members of Parliament in his Conservative party to loosen ties with China for its handling of the coronavirus, as well as its recent move to impose new laws on Hong Kong.
UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab is set to make a statement on Hong Kong in the House of Commons on Tuesday afternoon after holding a videoconferencewith US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and counterparts from Canada, Australia, and New Zealand on Monday evening.
Prime Minister Johnson is also expected to shrink Huawei's role in developing Britain's 5G network after striking a controversial agreement with the Chinese telecomms firm earlier this year.
Read the original article on Business Insider

Sunday, May 31, 2020

Police act like laws don't apply to them because of 'qualified immunity.' They're right

编者:这几天的抗议示威清楚的表明,人们对警察这个所谓的“资格豁免”的反对。他们抗议的并不只是这个案例,而是一直以来的司法的不公。
On May 25, Minneapolis police killed George Floyd. While two officers pinned the handcuffed Floyd on a city street, another fended off would-be intervenors as a fourth knelt on Floyd’s neck until — and well after — he lost consciousness.
But when Floyd’s family goes to court to hold the officers liable for their actions, a judge in Minnesota may very well dismiss their claims. Not because the officers didn’t do anything wrong, but because there isn’t a case from the 8th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals or the Supreme Court specifically holding that it is unconstitutional for police to kneel on the neck of a handcuffed man for nearly nine minutes until he loses consciousness and then dies.
And such a specific case is what Floyd’s family must provide to overcome a legal doctrine called “qualified immunity” that shields police and all other government officials from accountability for their illegal and unconstitutional acts.
The Supreme Court created qualified immunity in 1982. With that novel invention, the court granted all government officials immunity for violating constitutional and civil rights unless the victims of those violations can show that the rights were “clearly established.”

A virtually unlimited protection

Although innocuous sounding, the clearly established test is a legal obstacle nearly impossible to overcome. It requires a victim to identify an earlier decision by the Supreme Court, or a federal appeals court in the same jurisdiction holding that precisely the same conduct under the same circumstances is illegal or unconstitutional. If none exists, the official is immune. Whether the official’s actions are unconstitutional, intentional or malicious is irrelevant to the test.

Surveillance video from the early moments of George Floyd's fatal Minneapolis police encounter in May 2020.
Surveillance video from the early moments of George Floyd's fatal Minneapolis police encounter in May 2020.

We are not being hyperbolic. Outrageous examples abound.
For instance, last November the 6th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals held that Tennessee cops who allowed their police dog to bite a surrendered suspect did not violate clearly established law. There, the victim cited a case where the same court earlier held that it was unconstitutional for officers to sic their dog on a suspect who had surrendered by lying on the ground with his hands to the side. That was not sufficient, the court reasoned, because the victim had not surrendered by lying down: He had surrendered by sitting on the ground and raising his hands.
And in February, the 5th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals held that a Texas prison guard who pepper sprayed an inmate in his locked cell “for no reason” did not violate clearly established law because similar cited cases involved guards who had hit and tased inmates for no reason, rather than pepper spraying them for no reason.
In both cases, the officers were granted qualified immunity.
When the Supreme Court conceived qualified immunity, it promised that the rule would not provide a “license to lawless conduct” for government officials. Plainly, it has.

Supreme Court can right their wrong

Four decades on, qualified immunity routinely shields both the incompetent and those who knowingly violate the law. In the past year alone — along with the two cases above — courts have granted qualified immunity to:
►Officers who stole $225,000.
►A cop who shot a 10-year-old while trying to shoot a nonthreatening family dog.
►Prison officials who locked an inmate in a sewage-flooded cell for days.
►SWAT team members who fired gas grenades into an innocent woman’s empty home.
►Medical board officials who rifled through a doctor’s client files without a warrant.
►County officials who held a 14-year-old in pretrial solitary confinement for over a month.
►A cop who body-slammed a 5-foot-tall woman for walking away from him.
►Police who picked up a mentally infirmed man, drove him to the county line and dropped him off at dusk along the highway, where he was later struck and killed by a motorist.
On Monday, the Supreme Court will announce whether it will hear some of those cases and reconsider the doctrine of qualified immunity. If it does, there is hope that the court will revoke the license to lawless conduct it granted government officials in 1982. If it does not, lack of accountability will continue to rule the day and the promises of the Bill of Rights will be a matter of judicial grace, rather than constitutional right.
In that world — the one we live in right now — police officers and all other government officials will continue to behave as if the law doesn’t apply to them. Because, thanks to qualified immunity, it doesn’t.
Patrick Jaicomo and Anya Bidwell are attorneys at the Institute for Justice, and Bidwell is IJ’s Elfie Gallun Fellow in Liberty and the Constitution. Follow Jaicomo on Twitter: @pjaicomo  
You can read diverse opinions from our Board of Contributors and other writers on the Opinion front page, on Twitter @usatodayopinion and in our daily Opinion newsletter. To respond to a column, submit a comment to letters@usatoday.com.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Qualified immunity: Police act like laws don't apply. They're right.

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