Monday, February 21, 2022

丰县八孩妈妈第四份通告,还继续关注吗

 2022年2月10日19:41,微博账号 徐州发布 就徐州丰县铁链子拴着的八个孩子妈妈案发布了第四份通告。

有网友表示:这个到底是不是最后一份公示,还是说下次依旧推翻这次。

徐州发布称,近日,经部、省、市公安机关对杨某侠、光某英(小花梅同母异父妹妹)与普某玛(已去世,小花梅母亲)生前遗物进行DNA检验比对,结果为普某玛与杨某侠、光某英符合母女关系,结合调查走访、组织辨认,认定杨某侠即是小花梅。

经公安机关侦查,董某民(男,55岁,丰县人)涉嫌非法拘禁罪,桑某妞(女,48岁,云南省福贡县人)、时某忠(男,67岁,东海县人,桑某妞丈夫)涉嫌拐卖妇女罪,上述三人已被采取刑事强制措施。

为保障杨某侠及其家人基本生活,丰县民政部门已对他们进行低保保障。教育部门依法依规落实学生资助政策,保障其子女受教育权利。妇联的爱心志愿者和镇、村干部帮助照顾其老人,对其子女进行关爱陪伴和生活照料。后期将根据对案件的处理情况,依法确定对其未成年子女的监护责任。

在这份通告下边,有很多网友留言:

姓董的只有非法拘禁罪吗?强奸罪呢?虐待罪呢?

小花梅年龄为什么不公布?

除了这个男的非法拘禁,还有强奸等的嫌疑,包括当时非法上户入籍登记结婚的那些人,希望可以该怎么处置就怎么处置。

徐州发布的第四份通告,相比前三份通告有了很大的突破,但是,也像网友说的那样调查结果像挤牙膏一样,也还没能解释全此事中存在的所有疑点,比如八孩妈妈的年龄、第一次生孩子是否已经是成年等。

徐州丰县八孩妈妈的事情,得到广大媒体、网友的关注,理性追问、讨论。值得注意的是,在第四次的通报里,该案的真相都调查出来了吗?当事人董志民只涉嫌一项非法拘禁罪吗?此事中涉及到的相关责任人怎么处理的?当地类似情况的其他受害女性被解救了吗?

如果没有广大网友的支持,或许在第一份通报“不存在拐卖行为”就结束了。第四份通告称,桑某妞(女,48岁,云南省福贡县人)、时某忠(男,67岁,东海县人,桑某妞丈夫)涉嫌拐卖妇女罪,被采取强制措施

第三份通报与之前两份通报不同,之前称八孩妈妈“名杨某侠,是丰县欢口镇人”的说法,第三份改称八孩妈妈是“云南省福贡县亚谷村人,名为小花梅”。


在第四份通告称,经公安机关侦查,董某民(男,55岁,丰县人)涉嫌非法拘禁罪

《中华人民共和国刑法》 第二百三十八条 非法拘禁罪 非法拘禁他人或者以其他方法非法剥夺他人人身自由的,处三年以下有期徒刑、拘役、管制或者剥夺政治权利。具有殴打、侮辱情节的,从重处罚。

犯前款罪,致人重伤的,处三年以上十年以下有期徒刑;致人死亡的,处十年以上有期徒刑。使用暴力致人伤残、死亡的,依照本法第二百三十四条、第二百三十二条的规定定罪处罚。

刑法第241条,总共有6个条款:

第二百四十一条 【收买被拐卖的妇女、儿童罪】
收买被拐卖的妇女、儿童的,处三年以下有期徒刑、拘役或者管制
收买被拐卖的妇女,强行与其发生性关系的,依照本法第二百三十六条的规定定罪处罚。
收买被拐卖的妇女、儿童,非法剥夺、限制其人身自由或者有伤害、侮辱等犯罪行为的,依照本法的有关规定定罪处罚。
收买被拐卖的妇女、儿童,并有第二款、第三款规定的犯罪行为的,依照数罪并罚的规定处罚。
收买被拐卖的妇女、儿童又出卖的,依照本法第二百四十条的规定定罪处罚。
收买被拐卖的妇女、儿童,对被买儿童没有虐待行为,不阻碍对其进行解救的,可以从轻处罚;按照被买妇女的意愿,不阻碍其返回原居住地的,可以从轻或者减轻处罚。

在2022年2月10日的第四份通报里没有涉及虐待罪,虐待行为一般算进「非法拘禁罪」里了。但在这份通告里没有列出强奸罪。

《中华人民共和国刑法》 第二百三十六条规定,强奸罪,以暴力、胁迫或者其他手段强奸妇女的,处三年以上十年以下有期徒刑。

奸淫不满十四周岁的幼女的,以强奸论,从重处罚。

强奸妇女、奸淫幼女,有下列情形之一的,处十年以上有期徒刑、无期徒刑或者死刑:

(1)强奸妇女、奸淫幼女情节恶劣的;

(2)强奸妇女、奸淫幼女多人的;

(3)在公共场所当众强奸妇女的;

(4)二人以上轮奸的;

(5)致使被害人重伤、死亡或者造成其他严重后果的。

2022年2月10日下午,微博徐州守望家园发布了标题为《“丰县生育八孩女子”事件,我们可否按一下暂停键?》的文章。

该文章称,冷静想一下,就这“八孩女子”事件我们的同情、愤慨的表达,是否可以给她们带去正面的温暖,对事件中的人事无巨细、没有底线的深入挖掘,是否是另一种伤害?甚至还有人利用自媒体谩骂,攻击;这些行为对事件的解决能否起到作用?我们能否让自己的激情冷却一下,回过头来,稍微作逆向思考:事情既然已经发生,下一步该怎么办?我们是否除了愤怒、喊叫,到底想表达什么?我们的责怪、谩骂能否拯救得了“八孩女子”?我们的喊叫是否可以抚慰她们心头的创伤和不幸?能否一劳永逸地解决类似问题的发生?种种对相关部门的口诛笔伐,可否让事情得到理性解决?

对于“可否按一下暂停键”?不能。

为什么不能?此类拐卖妇女儿童案件不应该到此为止,当地更多同类案件应该得到系统处理。让更多的没有被报道的被拐卖妇女儿童,得到解救和保护。从第一次通报的“不存在拐卖行为”到第四次通报的“桑某妞(女,48岁,云南省福贡县人)、时某忠(男,67岁,东海县人,桑某妞丈夫)涉嫌拐卖妇女罪”,这中间的经历也太离奇、太魔幻。

还有一点值得关注的是,在2022年2月10日的第四份通报里“近日,经部、省、市公安机关”这件事已经惊动了中央部委了。第四次通报估计是徐州发布的最后一次通报了,接下来应该通报的是相关责任人的处理结果了。

在这次“八孩妈妈案”新闻报道中,并没有记者去现场采访报道,媒体的退场也令人遗憾。现在同时看这四次通报,就会感受到第一份通告有多么敷衍。历史会重演吗?下一次有类似的新闻事件发生时,还会这么敷衍吗?


                                     8孩母亲杨某侠的现状:年龄不详,已精神失常。

2022年1月28日

网曝“八孩妈妈被铁链拴脖囚禁于土屋”的视频,当地妇联称:正跟踪关注。

2022年1月28日

丰县县委宣传部公布《情况说明》称:杨某侠患有精神疾病,已对其进行救治,不存在拐卖行为,具体情况正在进一步调查核实中。

2022年1月30日

全国人大代表蒋胜男发文称:已将舆论舆情向相关领导汇报。

2022年1月30日

丰县联合调查组公布《调查通报》称:杨某侠系被董某民之父收留,与董某民生活在一起,生活中发现杨某侠有智障表现,但生活尚能自理。至今未比中亲缘信息。调查中也未发现有拐卖行为。其身份信息公安机关将持续深入调查。2021年6月以来,杨某侠病情加重,为防止杨某侠犯病时伤人,董某民暂时使用锁链约束其行为,精神状态稳定后便将锁链拿下。

2022年2月7日

徐州市委市政府联合调查组公布《调查进展》称:杨某侠为云南省福贡县亚谷村人,原名为小花梅。小花梅1994年嫁至云南省保山市,1996年离婚后回到亚谷村,当时已表现出言语行为异常。桑某某(女,当时已嫁至江苏省东海县)受小花梅母亲所托,将小花梅带至江苏治病,并要找个好人家嫁了。两人从云南省昆明市乘火车到达江苏省东海县后小花梅走失,当时未报警,也未告知小花梅家人。后续调查情况将适时公布。

2022年2月10日

董某民(男,55岁,丰县人)涉嫌非法拘禁罪,桑某妞(女,48岁,云南省福贡县人)、时某忠(男,67岁,东海县人,桑某妞丈夫)涉嫌拐卖妇女罪,上述三人已被采取刑事强制措施。

Tuesday, February 15, 2022

Who Is the Real China? Eileen Gu or the Chained Woman?

 The women’s starkly different circumstances — celebrated vs. silenced — reflect that to the Chinese state everyone is a tool that serves a purpose until it does not.

Two women have dominated Chinese social media during the Beijing Winter Olympics.

One is Eileen Gu, the 18-year-old skier born and raised in California who won a gold medal for China. The other is a mother of eight who was found chained around her neck to the wall of a doorless shack.

The Chinese internet is exploding with discussions about which of the two represents the real China. Many people are angry that the government-controlled algorithms glorify Ms. Gu, who fits into the narrative of the powerful and prosperous China, while censoring the chained woman, whose deplorable conditions defy that narrative.

The two women’s starkly different circumstances — celebrated vs. silenced — reflect the reality that to the Chinese state, everyone is a tool that serves a purpose until it does not.

Whether she wants it, Ms. Gu has become a powerful propaganda tool for Beijing to demonstrate its appeal to global talent and the benefits of being loyal to China. She represents the successful China that Beijing would like the world to admire.

The chained woman represents the poor and backward China that hundreds of millions still inhabit. They sometimes appear in the state media to demonstrate the country’s success in eradicating extreme poverty until their miseries become an inconvenient truth.

“Does Eileen Gu’s success have anything to do with ordinary Chinese?” goes the headline of one viral article that was censored later.

“Can we remember these women while cheering for Eileen Gu?” asks another headline.

“To judge whether a society is civilized or not, we should not look at how successful the privileged are but how miserable the disadvantaged are,” the article said. “Ten thousand sports champions can’t wash away the humiliation of one enslaved woman, not to mention tens of thousands of them.”

The Chinese government doesn’t like where the debate is heading. The juxtaposition of the two women highlights that underneath the glamorous surface of one of the world’s largest economies lie jarring poverty and widespread abuse of women’s rights.

It defeats the purpose of recruiting star athletes like Ms. Gu: to showcase a powerful China with global appeal.

“The reality is that the vast majority of Chinese won’t have the opportunity to become Eileen Gu,” Li Yinuo, founder of a prominent education company in Beijing, wrote in an article. But the tragedy of the chained woman, she wrote, could happen to anyone.


A few hours later, her article was deleted.Embedded in the debate is a deep disappointment among middle-class Chinese who are usually willing to go along with the government’s narratives but are incensed by the repeated lies, lack of action and subsequent censorship in the case of the chained woman.

Eileen Gu celebrated after winning the gold medal in the women’s freestyle skiing big air event in Beijing last week.
Image
Eileen Gu celebrated after winning the gold medal in the women’s freestyle skiing big air event in Beijing last week.
Credit...Doug Mills/The New York Times

They feel that the government is pouring too many resources behind a privileged member of the society while neglecting another member in dire need of help. They’re worried that the latter’s misfortune could happen to them or their daughters.
Many social media users, including some self-claimed nationalistic little pinks, posted a quote from a famous Chinese novel: “I love the country. But does the country love me?”

The story of the chained woman — whose name, according to the government, is Xiaohuamei (little flower plum) — has captivated the Chinese internet since a short video went viral in late January. In it, a middle-age woman with a dazed expression stood in the dark shack with a chain on her neck. Subsequent videos revealed that she had lost most of her teeth and seemed to be mentally disturbed.
The local authorities issued four conflicting statements in the following two weeks. In the latest statement on Thursday, the authorities reported that Xiaohuamei could be a victim of human trafficking and that her husband was under investigation for false imprisonment. The government had denied both earlier.

The fates of the two women converged online last week after Ms. Gu won her gold medal.

At one point, Ms. Gu, who grew up in an upscale neighborhood in San Francisco and represents some of the biggest brands, like Louis Vuitton and Tiffany & Company, occupied 10 of the 20 hottest hashtags on Weibo. The hashtag about Xiaohuamei was nowhere to be seen, even though many people were still talking about her.

Some social media users were outraged by the lopsided treatment of the two women. They felt that even though they had tried their best to be the obedient and useful tools in the giant machinery of the Chinese state, Xiaohuamei’s tragedy showed that the state won’t necessarily offer them protection.

A Weibo user with the handle @lanlankuaitao wrote in posts and comments that she was a middle-class mother who just wanted a peaceful life and never wanted to engage in social issues.

“I worked hard to raise my daughter. I’ve bought a house for her and saved money for her to pursue a doctoral degree,” she wrote. “I wanted her to be free like a bird who could fly anywhere and enjoy life. But the reality showed me that she could be the next to be abducted to the mountains of Xuzhou and tortured by men.”

Ms. Gu and her supporters could argue that it was not fair to compare her success with the tragedy of the chained woman. They have a point. But they should blame the Chinese state, which has been showering the Olympian with adulation and protection while seemingly ignoring the plight of Xiaohuamei.

Many of the hottest social media hashtags about Ms. Gu were created by the most important official media outlets, including the People’s Daily and Xinhua News Agency.

Official media attention is also coming from some unexpected corners. #EileenGupushesbackonAmericanmedia, created by a website under China’s powerful macroeconomic planning agency, had 850 million views.

The website of the Communist Party’s anti-graft enforcement arm published an exclusive interview with Ms. Gu.

When China’s nationalistic online users criticized that Ms. Gu didn’t sing along to the national anthem on the podium, Weibo censored hashtags such as #EileenGunationalanthem.

Known as the “frog princess” in China, Ms. Gu was elusive when asked about Peng Shuai, the tennis star who was once hailed by the state media as “our Chinese princess.” Ms. Peng accused a retired top Chinese leader of sexual assault in November, and her name remains strictly censored on the Chinese internet.

Because she avoids sensitive issues, Ms. Gu is hailed as the model athlete for the others of Chinese heritage to learn from. She’s also cited as evidence of the superiority of China’s governance model over that of the United States.

“It’s so great that the beautiful, talented Eileen Gu came back to compete for China and won,” wrote Hu Xijin, a former editor in chief of The Global Times who still writes for the Communist Party tabloid, “while the blind, disabled Chen Guangcheng went to the United States to ‘seek brightness.’” Mr. Chen is the blind human rights lawyer who was put under house arrests for years before moving to the United States in 2012.

Mr. Hu wrote that China welcomed more scientists, athletes and businesspeople. “Let China be the place to get things done,” he wrote.

Some social media users criticized Mr. Hu’s post, saying it revealed how the system thought of the disabled and the disadvantaged like Xiaohuamei.

“This is life in China,” the writer Murong Xuecun posted on Twitter. “On one side is a Winter Olympic champion who cannot be criticized. On the other side is the chained woman who is being censored. One has a bright future. The other has come to a dead end.”


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纽时:谷爱凌与小花梅,谁代表着真实的中国?

文章来源:  于  - 新闻取自各大新闻媒体,新闻内容并不代表本网立场!
北京冬奥会期间,两位女性占据了中国社交媒体的焦点。

其中一位是18岁的滑雪运动员谷爱凌,她在加州出生长大,为中国赢得了一枚金牌。另一位是八个孩子的母亲,有人发现她脖子上拴着铁链,被锁在一间没有门的棚屋墙上。

中国互联网上爆发了一场这两个人中究竟哪一个代表真正中国的讨论。许多人感到愤怒的是,由政府控制的算法美化谷爱凌,却对那个被锁着的女人进行审查,因为前者符合强大繁荣的中国这种叙事,而后者的悲惨处境则与该叙事不符。
这两个女人截然不同的处境——被赞美与被沉默——反映了这样一个现实:对中国政府来说,每个人都是为某一目的服务的工具,直到他们无法完成这一任务为止。

不管是否愿意,谷爱凌已成为北京强有力的宣传工具,用来展示中国对全球人才的吸引力,以及效忠中国的好处。她代表着北京希望世界欣赏的成功的中国。

被锁住的女人代表着仍有数亿人居住的贫穷落后的中国。她们有时会出现在国家媒体上,展示这个国家在消除极端贫困方面的成功,直到她们的苦难成为不合时宜的真相。

“谷爱凌的成功,和普通人有什么关系?”这是一篇随后遭审查的热门文章的标题。

“谷爱凌夺冠了,我们为她欢呼的同时,还记得她们么?”另一个标题问道。

“一个文明社会,不是看强者多强,而是看弱者多弱,所以一万个冠军也洗刷不了一个女奴的耻辱,何况是成千上万的女奴,”文章写道。

中国政府不喜欢这场辩论的走向。这两位女性被相提并论,凸显出世界最大经济体之一在光鲜的外表下,隐藏着令人不安的贫困,以及对女性权利的广泛侵犯。

这违背了让谷爱凌这样的明星运动员归化的初衷:展示一个具有全球吸引力的强大中国。

“绝大多数女性没有机会成为谷爱凌,”北京一家知名教育公司的创始人李一诺在一篇文章中写道。但被锁女人的悲剧可能发生在任何人身上,她写道。

几个小时后,她的文章被删除了。

这场辩论中蕴含着中国中产阶级深深的失望,他们通常愿意认同政府的叙述,但被锁女人一案中反复出现的谎言、缺乏行动以及随后的审查令他们感到愤怒。


上周,谷爱凌庆祝在冬奥会女子自由式滑雪大跳台项目上夺金。 DOUG MILLS/THE NEW YORK TIMES

他们觉得政府把太多资源投入到一个享有特权的社会成员身上,却忽略了另一个急需帮助的成员。他们担心后者的不幸会发生在他们或他们的女儿身上。

许多社交媒体用户,包括一些自称民族主义小粉红的人,发布了一句引自一本中国著名小说的话:“我爱国,但国爱我吗?”

据政府网站报道,这个被锁女人的名字叫“小花梅”。自一月底一段短视频在网上热转以来,这个故事就在中国互联网上引起了广泛关注。视频中,一个中年妇女带着茫然的表情站在黑暗的棚屋里,脖子上拴着一条链子。随后的视频显示,她失去了大部分牙齿,似乎精神健康有问题。

在接下来的两周内,当地政府发表了四份相互矛盾的声明。在周四的最新声明中,当局报告称,小花梅可能是人口买卖的受害者,她的丈夫正因非法监禁而接受调查。政府此前否认了这两项指控。

上周谷爱凌获得金牌后,这两位女性的命运在网上发生了交汇。

谷爱凌在旧金山的一个高档社区长大,为路易威登和蒂芙尼等几家最著名的品牌代言,她一度占据了微博上20个最热门话题中的10个。关于小花梅的话题标签却不见踪影,尽管很多人仍然在谈论她。

一些社交媒体用户对这两名女性受到的不平等对待感到愤怒。他们觉得,尽管他们尽了最大努力成为中国庞大国家机器中顺从、有用的工具,但小花梅的悲剧表明,国家不一定会保护他们。

微博用户@lanlankuaitao在帖子和评论中写道,自己是一个中产阶级母亲,只想过平静的生活,从未想过要参与社会问题。

“我辛苦生养的女儿,房子我都给她买好了,供她读博士的钱我都准备好了,我本来想让她轻成一只飞燕,天南海北享受生活,结果现在现实告诉我,没准哪天她就可能挨一闷棍,成为徐州山区里的人彘,”她写道。

谷爱凌和她的支持者可能会说,把她的成功与被锁住的女人的悲剧相提并论是不公平的。他们有道理。但他们应该归咎于中国政府,因为政府一直在大肆吹捧和保护这位奥运选手,却似乎忽视了小花梅的困境。

许多关于谷爱凌的热门社交媒体标签都是由最重要的官方媒体创建的,包括《人民日报》和新华社。


彭帅上周在冬奥会上观看女子自由式滑雪比赛。 RICHARD HEATHCOTE/GETTY IMAGES

官方媒体的关注也来自一些意想不到的角落。由中国强大的宏观经济规划机构下属的一个网站创建的“#谷爱凌回怼美媒”获得了8.5亿次浏览。

中共中央反贪执法部门的网站发表了对谷爱凌的独家采访。

当中国的民族主义网络用户批评谷爱凌没有在领奖台上跟着唱国歌时,微博屏蔽了“#谷爱凌国歌”等话题标签。

在中国,谷爱凌被称为“青蛙公主”。当被问及曾被国家媒体誉为“我们的中国公主”的网球明星彭帅时,谷爱凌显得有些难以启齿。彭帅在11月指控一位退休的中国最高领导人对她进行性侵犯,她的名字在中国互联网上仍然受到严格审查。

由于谷爱凌避开了敏感问题,她被誉为其他华裔运动员学习的榜样。她还被引为中国治理模式优于美国的证据。

“这样好哈。漂亮、有才华的谷爱凌回来代表中国参加比赛还拿冠军,行动困难的盲人陈光诚等则去了美国‘寻找光明’,”《环球时报》的前总编辑胡锡进写道,他仍然为这份共产党的小报撰稿。陈光诚是一位盲人人权律师,在2012年移居美国之前曾在中国遭软禁数年。

胡锡进写道,中国欢迎更多的科学家、运动员和商人。“让中国成为做事天堂,”他写道。

一些社交媒体用户批评了胡锡进的帖子,称这暴露了体制对残疾人和小花梅这样的弱势群体的看法。

“一边是冬奥冠军不能非议,一边是徐州铁链遭遇噤声。一边是前程似锦,一边是走投无路。一边是火热,一边是水深。这就是中国生活,”作家慕容雪村在Twitter上写道。

小花梅(当代民谣)

 川大学子也声援了,附诗一首小花梅(当代民谣)作者:大风如刀小花梅,小花梅,身世飘零你是谁?千家万户乖乖女,一别爹娘唤不归。唤不归,小花梅,骨肉亲情梦相随。可怜天下父母心,多少血泪化成灰。小花梅,小花梅,飘来飘去你是谁?燕山雪花大如席,王师不讨盗花贼。盗花贼,手段黑,官家助力草上飞。盲山多少拴狗链,拴的都是小花梅。小花梅,小花梅,命如蝼蚁你是谁?莫说世界不要俺,天道不存万户悲。万户悲,小花梅,怒指长安绣成堆。歌舞升平豪门宴,笙管排萧夜夜吹。小花梅,小花梅,声声血泪声声悲。千呼万唤人神愤,怒海狂潮誓灭贼!誓灭贼,胡不归?管他式微不式微。但凭苍生十四亿,不信天谴不轮回

Saturday, February 12, 2022

2022 Olympics: Eileen Gu and the repercussions of renouncing U.S. citizenship

 https://sports.yahoo.com/eileen-gu-and-the-repercussions-of-renouncing-us-citizenship-123345918.html

Eileen Gu, the American-born skier who now competes for China, spent much of her recent gold medal news conference sidestepping questions about her citizenship.

Gu is the most prominent of a number of Olympic athletes in Beijing, including skaters and hockey players, who were raised in America but now compete for China. The IOC allows athletes with dual citizenship to compete but requires them to hold a passport for the country which they represent in the Olympics. China does not permit dual citizenship, at least according to the laws on its books. However, the process for renouncing American citizenship carries significant long-term repercussions for anyone wishing to remain connected in any way to America.

The actual renunciation process is fairly quick — a simple declaration that you want to end your U.S. citizenship, the payment of a fee and the surrender of your passport — but the repercussions could last a lifetime.

Renouncing citizenship — the process

Americans who renounce their citizenship often do so because they’re interested in extricating themselves from the American tax system, which imposes substantial tax reporting burdens on American citizens even living overseas. A much smaller category of “accidental Americans” — for instance, children of American diplomats born overseas — renounce their citizenship because they’ve never lived in America.

To renounce citizenship, an American must walk into an overseas embassy — renouncing citizenship while on U.S. soil is extremely rare — and declare their intentions, in person, to a consular officer. The soon-to-be-former citizen must complete a questionnaire, sign a statement of intent and pay a fee of $2,350, the highest in the world for this purpose. The aggregate effect of these hurdles is to ascertain that an individual is serious about giving up their citizenship.

“A consular officer will often give you some pushback because of the repercussions,” says Sanford Posner, an immigration lawyer with FisherBroyles, LLP with nearly a quarter-century of practice experience. “If you have family in the United States you need access to, by giving up your U.S. passport, you are essentially making it very difficult to get back into the United States.”

Verbally renouncing citizenship as an act of protest or defiance may carry some symbolic weight to the demonstrator, but in the eyes of the United States government, there’s no legal weight behind it.

“Until you sign away your citizenship and give up your passport to a consular officer,” Posner says, “it’s just a statement into the ether.”

One crucial element of renouncing citizenship: ensuring that one already has obtained citizenship in another nation. Without that overlap, an individual risks being deemed “stateless,” which can cause difficulty with virtually every aspect of public life: the ability to work, study, receive medical benefits, own or rent property, or even marry. Stateless individuals have no protection of any country, and run the risk of being kicked out of the United States entirely and permanently.

The Federal Register publishes a quarterly list of individuals who have renounced citizenship. It’s purported to be comprehensive, but expatriates have reported waits of months or years before appearing on the list.

Eileen Gu’s name does not appear on any quarterly list to date.

The financial implications of renouncing citizenship are substantial, particularly for high-net-worth individuals. The United States does not want to surrender citizens that can provide continual tax income, and the barriers in place are designed to make renouncing citizenship a costly affair for years to come.

“Giving up your passport is a taxable transaction,” says Marc Schwartz, an attorney, CPA and founder of Schwartz International, an international tax advisory firm. “If you give up your passport and your net worth is less than $2 million, it’s typically not an issue, but if it’s more than $2 million, you have to do a fictitious ‘sale’ of everything you own in the world.”

In other words: You total up your assets not just in the United States, but around the world, you assess their tax basis and their fair-market value, and whatever you’ve “gained,” above approximately $740,000, you pay taxes on it. For a minor-league hockey player, this would likely not be an issue; for someone with multiple worldwide endorsement contracts like Gu, the financial costs involved in surrendering an American passport would be substantial.

Even renouncing the passport doesn’t end the U.S. government’s involvement in an expatriate’s business. “What you need to do [when renouncing a passport] is file a final-year tax return, and the IRS has three years to audit it, more if there’s suspicion of fraud,” Schwartz says. “You’re never really out of the U.S.’s crosshairs.”
Long-term implications

“A person seeking to renounce U.S. citizenship must renounce all the rights and privileges associated with citizenship,” a State Department spokesperson told Yahoo Sports.

Such privileges include not only the right to vote, but the ability to seek the assistance of a United States embassy while living in their new home country. Most notably, surrendering citizenship means surrendering the right to freely enter and leave the United States without the use of a visa — either a student visa, a work visa, or some other form of certification giving the now-former-citizen the temporary right to remain in the United States. Such visas come with requirements and restrictions — someone on a visitor visa, for instance, is not permitted to work in the United States.

What if our now-former citizen decides they made a mistake? It’s a long process to undo renouncing citizenship, and one with no guarantee of success.

“You would basically start back at square one,” Posner says. “There are two ways to become a citizen: either through a family member — spouse, parent, immediate relative — or through an employer. You have to go through various non-immigrant and immigrant visas before becoming a citizen.” Such processes typically take many years in the best-case scenarios.

Is China enforcing its own rule?

If Eileen Gu and other American athletes competing for China have in fact renounced their citizenship, they may enjoy the benefits of representing a new nation. But their legal, financial and logistical relationship with the country of their birth will have become infinitely more complicated.

Again, the IOC doesn’t have a problem with athletes having dual citizenship. The reason the issue has come to the forefront is because of China’s rule against it. The question is, whether they’re enforcing it.

Jeremy Smith is a hockey player from Dearborn, Michigan, but is competing in the games for China. He told ESPN that one of the conditions to playing for China was that he would not renounce his U.S. citizenship.

“They were like, ‘Do not worry. We will not ask you. This is not what this whole process is about. It’s about getting you qualified for the Olympics,’ ” he said.

Smith also told Yahoo Sports, “When I’m in China, I’m a Chinese. I’m supported by the Chinese, and I’m truly thankful for that. And when I go to America, I’m American.”

If you’ve been following the Eileen Gu story, that line of reasoning should be familiar.

“I’m American when I’m in the U.S.,” Gu has stated on multiple occasions when asked about her citizenship, “and Chinese when I’m in China.”

Tuesday, February 8, 2022

八孩母事件:小花梅 不管你是谁 都将成我们的历史

 

小花梅,小花梅

他们说你走失了

可你明明穿着单薄,在冬天里被锁住
我们都看到了
小花梅,小花梅
他们说你是八个孩子的母亲
可这世上没有被强暴的妻子与母亲
你只是一个被抛弃的女儿
云南省 福贡县 亚古村
江苏省 徐州市 欢口镇
你从深渊流浪到深渊
他们夺去你的名字 夺去你的智识 夺去你的语言
他们说受到苦难的人是傻子 说尚在反抗的人是疯子
小花梅,小花梅
你是受害者
你是从未放弃的反抗者
谁不承认这一点
谁就是在掩盖罪恶
小花梅
你知道吗
还有一个叫李莹的女孩也失踪了
我们以为她是你
原来这是两件悲剧
还有千千万万件在丰县在徐州在全国
女性被遗弃买卖强暴
然后他们说
她们是合法的妻子与母亲
小花梅小花梅
你曾走进虚空里 也从不曾逃避
你一定很累了
只是需要好好的休体息
让我们战斗
继续战斗
我们必须要清算这段历史
清算女性被默认可以遗弃、拐卖、买卖为妻子与母亲的历史
这是退无可退的战争
一月二十八日,是你被看到的日子
是共和国女性受难史的纪念日
我们要找回发生在你身上的事
我们要说女人不天然就是疯子与傻子
我们要指出那些父权制的凶手
我们要挽救自己身为女性的命运
就不能不呼唤你的名字
小花梅
小花梅
你的名字,我们的历史

Wednesday, February 2, 2022

看紧美国代表队,绝不让他们在武汉军运会上的故伎重演

Editor comment: this article is on the Hot Topic list on Sohu.com, Feb-02, 2022. We do not know what will happen in the future, but we do need to remember what is being said and done in the past.  

2022-02-02 16:34

文/卫健君

援引近日头条 据《星条旗报》1月21日报道称,美国冬奥代表团雪车队正式宣布,有两位来自军方的运动员入选了雪车国家队12人大名单。一名是30岁的陆军步兵,另一位则是34岁的美军生物医学装备专家,二人均出自美国陆军“世界级运动员计划”,而这个计划的核心就是支持和鼓励现役军人参与奥运会国家队的选拔。

依照美国陆军对此事给出的回复,其表示新入选的两名美国军人都已经达到了世界级的水准,不过令人感到在意的是,此前曾经为美国夺得雪车赛奥运奖牌的得主们,却没能进入今年的北京冬奥会12人大名单当中,不免让人感到有些疑惑。

事实上,这篇报道出现之后,很多网友很自然便联想到了2019年的武汉世界军运会,这期间美国代表队出现了一系列怪异的现象,且成绩极为惨淡,不少人都怀疑后来的新冠疫情大爆发与此事有关。所以,美国此次专门安排两名士兵进来,其中一个还是生物专家,不得不让大家产生联想,即美国打算故技重施。而来自俄罗斯的提醒,也从侧面证明了美国想要扰乱本届冬奥会的手段,可不只是派出生化士兵参加比赛那么简单,而是一场多层次,立体式进攻。

俄外交部发言人扎哈罗娃日前在主持例行记者会时,怒斥西方国家对北京冬奥会的干扰。她表示,如今全世界都在思考如何度过这场大流行病,并试图找到可以活下去的答案,但西方不仅没有通过建立积极的议程给予绝望的人以希望,反而在围绕着冬奥会制造一个恐怖的阴谋。

扎哈罗娃强调,西方国家将焦点都集中在“谁拒绝出席冬奥会,以及谁会出席冬奥会”等问题上,每当有重大体育赛事在西方举办时,这些“人权问题”却神奇般的消失了。值得一提的是,其这番言论看似是带着俄长期被西方打压后的怒火,在为北京冬奥会遭到了同样的霸凌而打抱不平,但她的言论并非是空穴来风。因为俄罗斯对外情报局局长谢尔盖在接受采访时,就公开宣称他们已经掌握了大量的证据,发现美国及其盟友们正在有组织、且大规模的恶意干扰本届冬奥会的筹备工作。

1月17日这一天,北京、珠海、深圳3座大城先后公布了对奥密克戎疫情溯源进展。

北京:病例负责收发国际邮件,在检测中发现1月7日加拿大发出、途经美国、中国香港到达北京的邮件,包装外表面、内表面以及文件内纸张多件样本,均核酸阳性,并检测出为奥密克戎变异毒株异性突变点位。

珠海:发病个案有从事某企业客服工作,经常接触境外入境物品。

深圳:病例从事境外冷冻试剂收发货工作 ,1月12日接触并拆解了来自北美的快递,未做个人防护,全基因组测序显示,与全球数据库中北美地区上传较多序列的基因组100%同源。

不知伙伴们看到这些消息的直觉是什么?策辩的第一感觉就是:这就是新时代的“毒毛毯”!

盎撒匪帮3个世纪前,为了抢占热心帮助它们的印第安人土地,恶毒的以各种方式,故意将天花病毒投放到毛毯上,与印第安人交易,致使印第安人近乎被灭绝。

当今,中国以动态清零模式,保持足够的社会生产力,不计前嫌,让美国用印出来绿纸,大规模的购买防疫物资和生活必需品,支持它们度过危机。

为啥这么说?大家注意通报,珠海和深圳的流调还比较粗略,或者缺乏足够斗争精神,没有敢公布细节。在北京的流调通报中,除了外包装外表面有病毒外,内表面和里面的文件,也有病毒。

这是什么性质?中国对国外邮件和物品,在边控上出台过消毒检疫程序,邮件外包装的病毒如果严格执行程序,一般是可以杀灭的。但如果采用密封性好的材料,故意在内里投毒,则可以降低病毒被杀灭概率。不是刻意为之,出现上述内里文件大量含毒的情况,几乎不可能。

注意,上述通报还有一个共同点,北美。虽然珠海没有这个细节,但多半就是这样;甚至目前都未查明的天津奥密克戎疫情,源头同样也是如此。这里有什么异常呢?目前奥密克戎严重爆发的地区,可不只是光美国和北美地区,欧洲同样焦头烂额。中国与欧洲同样大量邮件往来,怎么目前查明含毒的邮件,都来自北美?

许多入境人员正在纷纷利用上海的14+7隔离规定的“人性化防控”优惠待遇或漏洞,选择先在上海隔离结束后再到各地的旅行目的地,以逃避各地普遍实行的14+7+7更加严格防控,境外媒体还公开宣扬、鼓励入境人士在+7的自我监测期可以随意放松逛街、旅游,这样无疑能够给上海增加大量的隔离期住酒店和各种消费的经济收入,但是,同时也必然加大从上海市到各地的疫情传播风险,迫使该市补充出台规定说自我检测期不许外出逛街。但是,上海已经发生过自我监测期一个入境人士外出逛街到奶茶店喝茶事件,他恰恰第七天被检测出是阳性,结果上海仅仅将二十平米的奶茶店列为中风险地区,一些亲美资本媒体如某财经媒体大力宣扬奶茶店是上海人性化防控的标志,其实更像是配合某种宣传目的而把防控当做儿戏,显然阳性入境者及其密切接触者不会止步于奶茶店而必然到附近活动,奶茶店中风险地区只是为了宣传目的进行忽悠,借机让亲美资本媒体炒作上海人性化防控进而贬低、误导各地防控,这样各地在稍微缺乏警惕时就很可能让有预谋的境外指使投毒人员钻了空子,发生原因不明的大规模社区感染不得不被迫像天津、西安一样进行全员核酸检测,而上海却丝毫不担心类似风险,仿佛知道不会有人在上海进行类似投毒,否则上海的奶茶店精准防控和坚持不做全员核酸检测就根本无法应对,甚至很可能像越南胡志明市一样引发全国疫情爆炸并成为疫情重灾区。这表明现阶段美国仅仅是利用亲美资本媒体宣扬某网红专家主张学习西方的与病毒共存做法,宣扬上海人性化防控目的很可能不是推广其精准防控的经验,而是反对全国动态清零并故意引发民众不满,误导各地稍微放松警惕并有机可乘投毒制造源头不明的持续大规模社区传播。精准防控的成果不是张网红宣扬的与病毒共存和打疫苗后就把新冠病毒当做大号流感,但是,上海部分人士领域却在前些时高强批评张文宏的舆论事件中表示站张网宏一边,就像引进特斯拉一样仅仅考虑经济收入而没有充分考虑对国家安全的负面影响,结果国家交通数据安全、空间站安全都受到特斯拉的严重威胁。因此进一步加强总体国家安全观和大局意识太重要了!当前有必要引入香港实践证明成功的国家安全委员会的多维矩阵管理体制进行多维精准网格化防控管理,弥补条条垂直部门管理体制的不足,就像华为一样让传统组织处理日常事务,另外成立多维矩阵组织专门研究、处理国际对手的超常规竞争手段和威胁。各地和上海也有必要进行这样的国家安全组织调整和改革,因为不像2020年下半年没有打疫苗全国也疫情平稳时期,十一长假数亿人旅游后也没有发生大的疫情,现在敌对势力大概率会不断“总结经验”决心突破中国的动态清零防控,一方面动员地方、医药界的亲美势力动摇全国的动态清零防控,一方面很可能利用腐败把柄、金钱收买迫使像某些医学财团、水果店老板等多方面破坏全国清零防控甚至投毒。各地不断发生源头不明的大规模社区感染疫情,上海14+7防控频频暴露出的漏洞风险,都是值得高度警惕的危险信号。事实表明曾经发生过从上海到杭州、宁波、内蒙等地的疫情传播链。因此,中国有必要动员各方面力量及时发现破坏全国防控的各种阴谋活动并进行有效反击,包括重金奖励揭发破坏防控的线索,动员社会各界严密监督各个防控环节不让敌对势力有机可乘,对敌对势力破坏中国动态清零防控的各种企图、活动像给予痛到骨髓的全面严厉制裁,等等。

特朗普将如何输掉与中国的贸易战

 编者:本文是 保罗·克鲁格曼于2024年11月15日发表于《纽约时报》的一篇评论文章。特朗普的重新当选有全球化退潮的背景,也有美国民主党没能及时推出有力候选人的因素。相较于民主党的执政,特朗普更加具有个人化的特点,也给时局曾经了更多的不确定性。 好消息:我认为特朗普不会引发全球...