Quote (.::Grognard1701::. @ Jan. 02 2006, 5:26 am)

My 2006 resolution: Clicky!

I thought yours would be to become husband of the year  

I'm going to win $10,000 in the St. Paul, MN winter carnival medallion hunt this year. The local newspaper hides a clear plastic medallion in a city park somewhere, and give one hint a day at midnight, online or in the paper, until it is found. If you find it, you win ten grand. I (not exaggerating) stepped on the darned thing last year! It was hidden in the bark of a dead fallen over tree, and I was climbing on the very same tree digging thru the snow on it. Gonna find it this year, and that's my resolution!

That's cool, Jenny... If you don't mind my asking, how much freedom do you guys have in what you publish?

New Years Resolutions -

1. Secret :P

2. Lose 1 Stone by the end of Febuary. And 2 Stone by the end of April. 12 Stone FTW/

3. Get some friends outside of that s***hole Maplin. In fact just leave that place altogether. Find a decent job.

4. Dont mass up any more debt. Use some of this money you are gonna have to pay off what you have already.

Lets see if I can stick to them.

Quote (Agent007 @ Jan. 02 2006, 6:49 pm)

That's cool, Jenny... If you don't mind my asking, how much freedom do you guys have in what you publish?

How much...  Not as much as we can talk all problems of the society openly, neither as little as we don't want to work here. Generally, we have all technical, sience and life style freedom in publications, but not much political freedom yet.

China has no law for publishers to abide by in such things as what can be published and what can't not be. The standards of what can be published and what can't not, are issued in communist documents. There are several fields that all publishers in the Mainland are forbidden to publish: 1) Criticism on Cultural Revolution; 2) Criticism on important statemen; 3) Revelation of some of China's foreign-affair decisions.

There are other kinds of non-freedom, But I can't explain them one by one. Here is an example. Sometimes criticsm on China/Communist Pary in translation works form other countries are required to be deleted in their Chinese editions. Years ago, a company deleted some passages of Clinton's and Hilary's critical comments about China in each of their biographies. Clinton didn't react much but Hilary was pretty angry. And the worse is that company took our non-freedom for granted so that they even forgot to explain this to Clinton and Hilary beforehand.  So when my company had plans to publish other countries' important people's books, I (in charge of copyright) explained to all my colleagues in a conference, that we should do 3 things first before a translation published: 1) explain to proprietors the publication situation in China; 2) put these explanations in the contracts. 3) show proprietors what and how are deleted in bond-gallies.

At least now we have the freedom to expain it.

If we want to know what's forbidden to be published in the communist mainland, buy publications from Hong Kong, Taiwan or other countries/areas. We are not forbidden to read.

Personally, I think this is an obstacle to the development of Chinese culture. If we can't speak our truth, no other countries people could find truth from us. For an viseversa instance. US citizens know the US best. Chinese people's comments about the US (as outsiders), though not necessarily wrong, could never be convincing enough.


One more thing: in my company, if you leave, you can go back. And the go-back guys are very welcome here.

Ahah... I forget a 2005 resolution:

3) Go to see all the musems in Beijing.
45 musems complete and 36 remain unvisited.

Now I have my 2006 resolution:
Continue to see museums!

(Sorry to be double post. My latest 2 posts are of different topics)

Quote (Jenny Chen @ Jan. 02 2006, 8:52 pm)

We are not forbidden to read.

In a sense you are. China blocks or filters the internet to keep out opinions and ideas that go against government policy or wishes.

Quote (George W Carver @ Jan. 02 2006, 8:26 pm)

In a sense you are. China blocks or filters the internet to keep out opinions and ideas that go against government policy or wishes.

Depends on if you have the chance to get these information from other source. This also fits for the situation if you could buy books from other places.

That was really insightful.  Thanks a lot for answering, Jenny.

Quote (Jenny Chen @ Jan. 03 2006, 5:49 am)

Quote (George W Carver @ Jan. 02 2006, 8:26 pm) In a sense you are. China blocks or filters the internet to keep out opinions and ideas that go against government policy or wishes. Depends on if you have the chance to get these information from other source. This also fits for the situation if you could buy books from other places.

Like Bruce Springsteen said it is a matter of trust, and by other places I take it you mean imported books.