Bart Simpson and Jin Jing’s spin-doctors
Posted by Ned Kelly on 17 April, 2008
Some of the spin doctors have begun to argue against the possibility that the Jin Jing incident might have been staged by PRC propaganda organs, on the flimsy premise that evidence pointing to such an act by the PRC would appear absurd and unthinkable if taken at face value.
Just how such a premise can reasonably be induced from the PRC’s 59 year record of credibility - or rather lack of it - is where the real absurdity lies. The suggestion that the PRC’s propaganda organs ought to be presumed innocent, is a violation of common sense beneath the capacity of sarcasm to elucidate.
In coming days Catherine and I will post further analysis of more evidence surrounding the incident, some evidence which has not yet been addressed in the English language blogosphere.
Meanwhile, the spinmeisters’ disengenous donning of a mask of innocence reminds me of Bart Simpson’s trademark phrase, “I didn’t do it!“
17 April, 2008 at 7:29 am
The part that makes absolutely no sense is that somehow after being shown photos of the man walking with pro-China protestors, they just dismiss them with some hand waving.
The other photos of the protests I’ve seen show the groups segregated. So why isn’t that social dynamic maintained among the groups walking?
17 April, 2008 at 9:03 am
To be fair to the otherwise tendentious argument by Dave of Mutant Palm (no I’m not linking it), I’ll agree that it’s not inconceivable for the Chinese and Tibetan protesters to walk alongside each other without a riot breaking out.
But it’s not very likely. That’s the common sense aspect which is too lightly being dismissed.
17 April, 2008 at 9:22 am
I agree it’s not impossible for them to walk side by side without coming to blows.
But possibility does not imply plausibility. That’s why at the Peking Panda, I asked whether anyone has more photos of the two groups integrated/mingling side-by-side.
I also pointed out at Mutant Palm, that it seems quite interesting that the folks on the Chinese BBSs didn’t seem to understand the English-language article from the SLC station about the mistaken identity. If the residents of the BBSs don’t understand the English that well, then how the hell are they making English-language phone threats? This makes it seem like the folks who were making the phone threats picked up the info from an English-language source.
17 April, 2008 at 2:00 pm
Come to think of “plausibility”, Tom, how plausible do you, or anyone else out there, think it would be for the IRA and the Orangemen to saunter peaceably together during the height of “marching season” in Belfast in an especially violent year of the Irish Troubles like, say, 1969?
Agreed, not all Tibetans in the world will attack Han Chinese on sight, nor vice versa. Similarly, peace actually tends to be the norm among Northern Irish Catholics and Protestants. But not among those who come out to rage at each other during the Marching Season.
24 April, 2008 at 1:35 am
True, china is crazy!