August 14, 2008 4:59 AM
A.M./P.M.: Dishonesty
Slate's Tim Wu has an article up titled "Are the media being too mean to China?" It's a worthy read, but one sentence really stands out:"It's the dishonesty, as much as the substance of what's wrong in China, that seems to get under the skin of Western reporters."
That's it exactly. And to explain why I distrust the Chinese government so much, I'd like to take you back to my second week here in July.
That week, I went on one of the BOCOG arranged media tours, part of what a number of reporters were calling "the charm offensive." The tour started out at a Beijing water plant, which was strategically placed next to the town dump. The entire tour went downwind, er, downhill from there.
Next, they took us an hour north of a city to a stop that they had ambiguously called "Beijing Suburbs." On the way, they explained that we were going to a real Beijing country village.
The village that turned out to be as real as the cardboard version of Rock Ridge at the end of "Blazing Saddles."
So the first stop on the real Beijing village tour: a brand new, Greg Norman-designed golf course. For what it costs to be a member, you could probably feed the entire city of Beijing for a day (I'm only kind of kidding.). This golf course just so happened to be right next door to this village of theirs.
The second stop was an authentic Beijing village home. On the road up to it, we passed that sign that you're seeing at right: "Reception Village of Olympic Country Tour." The homes were as authentic as you'd expect: one woman even had a 40 inch TV. The guides explained that the government had paid for everything in her home, as long as she agreed to let media members stop by and take photos.But the moment when everything fell apart came a few minutes later. As camera crews literally followed our every move, the guides took us to an ancient temple. It is the only one I know of in Beijing with automatic flushing toilets.
Inside, it got worse. The place was only half finished. But what was finished was a remarkable fabrication. You see the photo of flowers at the top of the page? They're fake. And the raindrops on the fake flowers? They're fake, too.
I asked the tour guide when this authentic village was built. She told me 2002.
Is it a coincidence that Beijing was awarded the Games in 2001? I asked. No, she said. This is the first part of a "step-by-step investment" in a "new China village."
Meanwhile, they encouraged us to take photos. Take photos and send them back to America. Show your friends and your readers what real China looks like.
Walking through, I kept writing down one thing over and over in my notebook: who would believe that this is real? And if BOCOG wants me to believe that this is real, then can I really trust BOCOG at all with anything?
Then I reached the end of the temple. There was a a giant golden Buddha statue. I went to take a photo. A man in a robe came running out. The tour guide looked at me.
"The monk says that you are not supposed to take photos," she said.
She pointed to a tiny sign at the base of the Buddha: "No photographing."
I looked over at the monk and wondered if he was a monk or an actor. I looked over at the tour guide, who works for the state-run tour company. I looked over at the Buddha and wondered if even he was fake.
I took the photo anyway.
It's 7 p.m. in Beijing, and 5 a.m. in Denver. Here are the stories that are making Olympic headlines on this Thursday evening/morning:
>British journalist detained; China apologizes, saying they didn't notice the obnoxiously large press credential around his neck.
>A woman who "was supposed to be the featured dancer" in one portion of the Opening Ceremonies fell nearly 10 feet during a practice session in late July. She may now be paralyzed.
>Your could-be-an-Onion-headline-of-the-day: "China Exclusive: Go for gold in Olympic weather service." The "exclusive" they're talking about: China's ability to control the weather via rain rockets.
>The question posed three seconds into this video will seem entirely absurd, unless you've been a place like Beijing. For many here, it's quite relevant.
>One Chinese man gave away all of his tickets tor the Olympics. In exchange, the person receiving the ticket had to sign a contract agreeing not to smoke for one year.
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