John MaCain Hates the Gooks

John McCain's racist remark very troubling

Thursday, March 2, 2000

By KATIE HONG
SPECIAL TO THE POST-INTELLIGENCER

On his campaign bus recently, Sen. John McCain told reporters, "I hated the gooks. I will hate them as long as I live." Although McCain said he was referring only to his prison guards, there are many reasons why his use of the word "gook" is offensive and alarming.

It is offensive because by using a racial epithet that has historically been used to demean all Asians to describe his captors, McCain failed to make a distinction between his torturers and an entire racial group.

It is alarming because a major candidate for president publicly used a racial epithet, refused to apologize for doing so and remains a legitimate contender.

Contrary to McCain's attempt to narrowly define "gook" to mean only his "sadistic" captors, this term has historically been used to describe all Asians. McCain said that "gook" was the most "polite" term he could find to describe his captors, but because it is simply a pejorative term for Asians, he insulted his captors simply by calling them "Asians" -- a clearly disturbing message. To the Asian American community, the term is akin to the racist word "nigger." A friend of mine, a white male Vietnam veteran, pointed out that veterans, especially Vietnam veterans, know how spiteful the term "gook" is. It has everything to do with labeling someone as "other," the enemy and yellow. McCain sent the message that all Asians are foreigners and remain forever the "other" and the enemy.

The perception of Asians as "foreigners" or "the other" isn't new. This sentiment is what led to passage of the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 and the Japanese American internment during World War II. The internment of Japanese Americans is now recognized as one of the worst civil rights violations in our country's history and a powerful lesson in what can happen when race alone is used as a test for loyalty or who is defined as an American.

We've made tremendous progress as a nation in overcoming racism. That is why it is so disturbing that a major candidate for the U.S. president can perpetuate the stereotype of Asians as permanent foreigners, hurtling us backward to a time and a place where such racial epithets were an acceptable part of mainstream discourse.

What makes this incident even more disturbing is how neither the media nor the other presidential candidates have highlighted that his use of a racist term is unacceptable.

Asian Americans are one of the fastest growing minority populations in the United States. And the media's choice to ignore or excuse McCain's behavior is a painful reminder that Asians remain outsiders on the back steps of national American politics.

McCain's main campaign message is inclusion. What his actions have told me, however, is that his inclusion does not include people who look like me.

I love this country just as much as McCain does, and I am committed to serving my community and my country. That is the reason I have entered a career in public service and why I am committed to making America a great country where equal opportunity and justice for everyone is a reality and not just a vision.

This is also why I am so hurt by McCain's comment: He has reminded me that despite my commitment to serving my country, there are still some people in this country who would first perceive me as the enemy.

Katie Hong is a Korean American woman who lives in Seattle and works for Washington state government.

Tibetan Monks

When Tibetan monks told you they were Buddhism, it should be taken with a grain of salt. A real Buddhist does not kill or eat meat. In Tibet, monks use poor people's blood, flesh and bone in formal ceremony. Fresh bone, that it is.

While the western media were excited on the China's bloody crack down of a peaceful protest led by Tibetan monks, evidents shown that the Chinese government exercised maximum restraint in using any brute force to disperse the protest, often possible only with sacrifice of young police officers and soldiers. It was just reported another policeman died in a riot in Ganzi, Sichuan.

A photo shows Tibetan monks 'protesting'. There's no such thing as 'Tibetan Monks', but only 'Tibetan Mobs', for real if ask any Buddhists.

A Newsless Day

For MITBBS, the 'largest' Chinese oversea website and the site with probably the most concentration of elite subscribers with most readers being oversea Chinese holding at least a graduate degrees, it seems there's no real news today, on March 22, 2008.

The 'hottest' topic based on user clicking is discussion on a faked account made by the Dalia Lama's office regarding police's involvement in the recent riot in Tibet. The top suggested (by the site administrators) reading is about men and women and dating. The 'A1' news selected by editors is about the US presidential election.

It seems nobody knows, or cares, an incident that almost ignited the third world war, almost.

It was the election day of Taiwan, an island of 22 million people. A province of China for now, Taiwan residents are trying to figure out whether they wanted to make an immediate declaration of independence with two referendums to be held the same time as the regional 'presidential' election. As of today, Taiwan is still a province of the Republic of China (ROC). ROC is still overseeing the entire and some, in theory. For example, the ROC still claims Mongolia is part of China, so as some of the territory changes made by the Beijing government after 1949 in treaties with neighboring countries.

The Beijing authority has threatened to re-unite Taiwan with military force, if the island dares to hold the referendum, a right Beijing sees only the entire country, of course that will include the mainland) is entitled to. Taiwan went ahead with the referendums. Beijing was relived to see the referendums did not pass, just another godsend excuse so that it does not have to start a war.

The looming of war had been taken seriously. The chief of staff of Russian military visited China days before the election. The US sent three aircraft carriers to the region, including one visits Hong Kong.

The only thing we know at this time is there will not be an immediate war, but nothing further, in a newsless day.

The Liars Work for Washington Post

'The Post', as people in the region refers to the Washington Post, has a reputation in news reporting, (most recently) with habitual lying.

In the screen shot captured from the official website of the Washington Post, three components can be read by viewers: The article on the riots broke out in Lhasa, a picture showing police dispersing protesters with wooden sticks, and the caption of the picture: "Chinese police rounded up Tibetans in the Tibetan capital city of Lhasa".

The problem is that the "police" were waring a uniform never seen in China. For a few readers who actually know the nuances in the uniform, it's more than clear which direction the Fan is trying the spin the news towards.

Perhaps it's a typo, or honest mistake made in the middle night after an exhausting long day?

Disappointedly, it turned out this is a deliberate spinning of fact executed by the Washington Post, and specifically the case reporter, Maureen Fan. When approached by concerned readers regarding the mismatching of photos and the caption, Fan replied '..the photo CLEARLY says it was taken in Nepal....'. Is that a joke?

Mareen Fan is not a stranger in news media, having joined the Washington Post in 2004. Readers have seen worse in terms of information spinning in the name of journalism, but a blunt lie with no intention of covering up is still rare. What a disgrace to her parents, to her alta mater, to women journalists, and to the human being to have a lair like Maureen Fan. The Washington Post website says Fan is covering China events in Beijing. Based on what we have seen, what we have read, and what we have heard from Fan, Washington Post's news license should have been revoked.

Where did she get her degree in mass communication? Who was her adviser? Just curious.

Great Expectations

Two girls were working on homework under street lights in Shenzhen, a prosperous southern city in Guangdong Province. Without parents to take care of them, the sisters have no money for basic living expense. Their landlord is nice enough to allow them continuing living in their current home although they have no money to pay, but cut the electricity so that they have to do their homework on the street. There is no money for food. Some neighbors will give them leftover, in some days, then the bigger sister will feed the younger one before she eats. Some days, there is nothing to eat.

They are still in school, the Shangwen School of Dalang Street, Baoan District, Shenzhen. The elder sister's name is Ou Jiaxin, in Grade Two. The younger sister's name is Ou Jiawang, in Grade One. The sisters love their animal dolls, and love to take pictures with them. When they go to bed in a dark cold night, they feel safe with their rabbit and monkey dolls.

The Seagull with them Great Expectations. source

A Letter from Tibet

在我个人看来，此次事件策划非常圆满，从3月10号开始，拉萨周边寺庙的喇嘛尼姑就入城集会闹事，被迅速驱散（市中心大昭寺广场，数十名僧人举藏独的雪山狮子旗呼喊独立口号，两分钟内被抓捕）。之后，拉萨大批警力被派往寺庙周围，城内警力有限。到了14号上午10点，开始有人围攻市区内小昭寺外执勤警察，迅速演化为暴力行为，全城开花。可以说是非常漂亮的声东击西。14 号白天，在骚乱地点是见一个汉人就杀，死亡数据是封锁了的。但在14日晚九点，我同事的爱人在公安厅，当时透露了一个数据，汉族平民死亡大概在一百七八十左右，之后就没有数据了。拉萨各医院住满了伤亡者（我在报社的朋友去医院采访，亲眼见到5个失去了耳朵的伤者，还有一具被点了"天灯"女尸），武警总医院是隔几分钟就抬入一个受伤战士（因为白天不能动武，只靠人墙去挡）。顺便，可以告诉你两例真实的暴行：一是三名藏族男子追上一汉族女子，每人一刀；另一是以纯专卖店的5位花季店员，汽油瓶丢入，卷帘门拉下，被活活烧死。14号夜间，对于冲击武警的，已经可以开枪了。15号凌晨5点（拉萨在西部，此时还是黑夜），军队进城，同时有40多辆轮式装甲车进入。15号15点（在拉萨，这个时间相当于天津13点），三十余辆履带式装甲车入城（对于所有汉族人，振奋人心）；同时，15号开始入户搜捕。16号22点，履带式装甲车撤出，局势基本控制，但仍有零星事件。现在17号11时，我们正常上班。

对于此次事件，在我看来，达赖已经是垂暮之年，他身边的藏独势力是在抓紧时间，充分利用其影响力。之前，所谓的大藏区自治也好、独立也罢，大多通过非暴力方式进行，88年前后拉萨的骚乱，也只是针对军警。但此次，是针对平民的打、劫、抢、烧、杀，是暴力手段之肇始，换不来国际舆论的过多支持。今后，我个人估计，暴力乃至于恐怖活动会加剧，政府的打压也将愈发强硬；和平手段之放弃，将是藏独势力灭亡之始。但在他们灭亡之前，在藏的汉族人，将要经历一段悲惨时光。而且，参与此次骚乱的，有大批藏族中学生，小的11岁，......

补充说明，军警开枪，是针对冲击军警的，是被动开枪，不是主动开枪。

The riot was very well organized and erupted simultaneously all across the city in a sudden. It appears the central government hid the real civilian causalities for fear of provoking larger scale of outcry. There are more than 180 residents killed by the mob in March 14 alone. Military forces entered Lhasa on March 15, and the situation was stabilized in March 16.

What Matters (Chinese in America) ?

The State Department published the visa bulletin for April 2008, in which vast amount of visa numbers are assigned to Indian born EB3 applicants. This is a big slap on the face to Chinese immigrants, mostly skilled high tech workers with advanced degrees who are in EB2 category. The positive side of the incident serves as a wake up call to Chinese immigrants community. Within 24 hours, an advocacy group Legal Immigrant Association (LIA) received more than $30,000 donations to be paid on lobbying effort and possible law suit against the State Department as the April bulletin violated the fair principle mandated by SECTION 202(5) RULES FOR EMPLOYMENT-BASED IMMIGRANTS. This may be a history making, pivoting moment in the history of Chinese immigrants.

What Matters (China) ?

What matters for China? The Summer Olympic Game to be held in Beijing on August 8, 2008.

The first ever Summer Olympic to be held in Beijing is the Achilles' heel of the Beijing government, and everyone in the world are seeing that and take advantage that.

Last week, an Eastern Turkestan terrorist attempted burning down a flight from Urumqi to Beijing. At this time, police and military force in Tibet bounded by strict order of no arm could be used, have to watch behind shields when shops are burning down, and innocent people killed on the street by Tibetan mobs. Next week, the Taiwan is going to test a referendum towards declaring independence, a step the Beijing government opposes and has vowed military reaction.

What if, let's say forget about the Olympic? National Security First!

Indians Blinded by Sun

BBC News reported that at least 50 Indians Catholics had their eyes burned, many blinded after gazing at the sun looking for trace of the virgin Mary.

Traditional Hinduisms often put pain on their body for redemption. They will climb on the top of sail then gaze at the sun for days, until fall to the river after starvation or being disoriented.

Policeman Beaten by Angered Citizens

Four Guangdong policemen were beaten by angered citizens who witnessed the police drowned a man who alleged drove an motorcycle without a license.


On March 7, 2008 in Taishan, Guangdong. Four policemen stopped a guy who alleged drove a motorcycle without a license plate. It's quite common in rural area that farmers do not register their motorcycles to save registration fees. The guy fled on foot with police chasing after him. Later he jumped in a river, trying to swim across, but then one policeman got to the other side, and cornered him back to the center of the river. The man got tired after a while, and started yelling for help. There was a fishing boat close by, but the police threatened arresting the fisherman if he dare to rescue the man in water. At the end the man drawn as the fisherman, police and hundreds of people watching. When the head of the man disappeared from the surface, many bystanders (mostly students getting off school) were angered and beat the shit out of the police. Tens of thousands of people protested on the street while thousands of police were sent to the scene in the days to follow.

The dead man was a farmer in Natai Village of Fenrui Township, a 52 years old veteran with a teenage son. A similar incident happened last November in Huzhou, Zhejiang. A driver was chased by police into river and drowned. Thousands protested and burned police vehicles. Although there's no media coverage of such incidents, popular usage of cell phones and video sharing sites make information control an even daunting job for the communism government.

NYC Chinese Illegals Leaving for Home

According to a MingPao report, illegal Chinese immigrants in New York City are leaving for home. Agents of several travel agencies told the reporter they saw a sudden rise of sale of one-way tickets to China purchased by illegal Chinese immigrants.

The traditional Chinese culture says leafs shall fall to the root. No matter where you go, you should come back and die at your homeland. In the recent past, however due to the harsh living condition of China, illegal Chinese tend to wait until they secure a legal identity in the US before they return China, just in case they could re-enter the US when adversity happens. It's a new trend for some illegal Chinese immigrants who had been in the US for a ling time go back China to take advantage of the prosperous economy, abandoning their effort to stay in the US.

Small Things in Life

Players and tourists from the world visiting Beijing during the 2008 Summer Olympic Game will not need to worry about some small things in life. The Beijing based newspaper Jing Hua Times reported (A10 published on 03/11/2008) a statement made by the top Beijing prosecutor Mu Ping indicating minor offenses committed by foreigners during the game will not be prosecutors. Furthermore, any cases involving foreigners must be surrendered to upper level authorities.

People with foreign passport will be able to enjoy games without having to be bothered by paying local prostitutes or the jade bowl they broke the night before, those small things in life.

Mu Ping is the general prosecutor of Beijing, and a national congress member. Yes, it is the son of bitch on the right.

Handling of Terror

BBC was the first main stream media to report a Chinese airplane stalled a hijack attempt by Muslim Eastern Turkestan movement. Flight CZ6901from Urumqi to Beijing made an unscheduled landing in Lanzhou after the crew noticed strange behavior of some passengers and found inflammable liquids in the toilet. The plane and passengers stayed in Lanzhou overnight. Two Uygur Muslims were taken in custody. 179 Passengers arrived in Beijing in the morning of Saturday March 8 on the same airplane after 16 hours of delay.

No details had been released by the officials. According to passengers on the same flight, several sealed coca cans containing gasoline were found. Two cans were found open in the toilet. Two Uygur women took the gasoline cans to the toilet on the airplane and opened the cans. They drew suspicion from the crew when occupying the toilet for an extended period of time. Strong smell of gasoline were evident, although the women tried to cover it with even stronger perfume. It's a myth, though why they didn't actually set fire while they locked themselves in the toilet. Playing dumb, the crew announced a mechanical problem with the plane that it needed to land in Lanzhou, a city on the route.

The incident was leaked by messages posted to the Internet by one of the passengers while all the passengers and crew were kept in Lanzhou overnight. the head of the Xinjiang province confirmed the news when asked by reporters on Sunday. Officials and representatives across the nation are gathering in Beijing to attend the annual meeting of the national congress. It is believed that the incident would not be known to the outside if not for the meeting congress factor.

China is not a stranger to Muslim crimes. Many cities, including Beijing had seen bus bombings committed by Eastern Turkestan Muslim Movement, a group push for separation of Xinjiang. However, the Chinese government has been treating the threat mostly as criminal incidents rather than a war on terrorism. Police actions were used in fighting the Muslim criminals. At the same time, media is tightly control to prevent any of such events to receive any publicity. Partially out of disappointment from lack of attention after sacrificing many bombers, the Muslim group by and large stopped the bombing for almost a decade. The confirmed hijacking, along with some unconfirmed rumors is most likely triggered by the world's attention on the summer Olympic to be held in Beijing.

An Interesting Ranking of World Research Universities

Wuhan University published a "2007 Ranking of World Universities on Research Competitiveness"

Rank	Institution	Country	Score
1	Harvard	US	100.00
2	University of Texas	US	87.49
3	University of Washington (Seattle)	US	72.39
8	University of Tokyo	Japan	69.19
11	University of Toronto	Canada	66.90
17	University of Cambridge	UK	62.93
18	University of Minnesota	US	62.80
45	University of Helsinki	Finland	49.54
47	University of Munich	Germany	48.92
53	University of Utrecht	Netherlands	48.40
58	Hebrew University Jerusalem	Israel	47.04
59	University of Lund	Sweden	47.00
60	Eth Zurich	Switzerland	46.95
71	University of Sydney	Australia	44.94
73	University of Milan	Italy	44.89
75	Seoul National University	South Korea	44.65
77	University of Amsterdam	Netherlands	44.60
83	University of Sao Paulo	Brazil	44.16
84	University Paris 6	France	44.08
92	University of Vienna	Austria	43.23
97	Catholic University Leuven	Belgium	42.37
99	University of Copenhagen	Denmark	42.04
100	Louisiana State University	US	41.88
101	Hokkaido University	Japan	41.63
116	National University of Singapore	Singapore	40.48
119	Moscow MV Lomonosov State University	Russia	40.28
125	University of Barcelona	Spain	39.86
135	National Taiwan University	China-Taiwan	38.90
146	University of Oslo	Norway	37.87
149	University of Hong Kong	China-Hong Kong	37.73
161	University Nacl Autonoma Mexico	Mexico	36.61
192	Beijing University	China	34.57
196	Tsinghua University	China	34.31
198	Chinese University Hong Kong	China-Hong Kong	34.30
200	American College of Cardiology	US	34.29
201	Indian Institute of Technology	India	34.26
233	University of Auckland	New Zealand	32.06
248	Zhejiang University	China	31.03
252	Shanghai Jiao Tong University	China	30.67
257	Fudan University	China	30.45
271	Nanjing University	China	29.87
273	University of Science & Technology of China	China	29.86
286	Hong Kong University of Science & Technology	China-Hong Kong	29.16
288	University of Buenos Aires	Argentina	29.05
295	National Cheng Kung University	China-Taiwan	28.56
300	University of Houston	US	28.38
301	University of Toulouse 3	France	28.38
307	University of Warsaw	Poland	27.80
308	University of Athens	Greece	27.68
320	City University of Hong Kong	China-Hong Kong	27.20
353	University of Cape Town	South Africa	25.78
357	University of Chile	Chile	25.61
367	Hong Kong Polytech University	China-Hong Kong	25.15
382	Jilin University	China	24.29
387	National Tsinghua University	China-Taiwan	24.16
393	National Chiao Tung University	China-Taiwan	23.82
398	University Ljubljana	Yugoslavia	23.60
400	University of Bremen	Germany	23.49
401	Shandong University	China	23.45
404	Tianjin University	China	23.29
408	Nankai University	China	23.23
413	Sun Yet-sen University	China	23.03
416	Wuhan University	China	23.00
422	Sichuan University	China	22.78
439	Huazhong University of Science & Technology	China	22.40
451	National University of Ireland University College Cork	Ireland	21.83
452	Lorand Eotvos University	Hungary	21.80
456	Hacettepe University	Turkey	21.63
467	University of Zagreb	Czech Republic	21.27
470	National Central University	China-Taiwan	21.13
483	Xi'an Jiao Tong University	China	20.63
486	Harbin Institute of Technology	China	20.50
494	Lanzhou University	China	20.42
498	University of Alaska	US	20.26
499	University Instelling Antwerp	Belgium	20.25
500	James Cook University North Queensland	Australia	20.24

The distinctive feature of this ranking, in many ways sharply different than man other existing rankings, is the fact that it weighs objective measurements （such as patents or cited papers) only. For example, there's no weight for peer reputation or amount of endowment. Consequently, this ranking does not award a school for its traditional heritage or cultural impact. It reflects more ongoing active research rather than a school's potential capacity.

Using publications as the dominant factor makes this ranking favors schools that are strong in humanities and natural sciences, where people tends to publish more. This is not surprising given that the sponsoring agency, Wuhan University, belongs to this category.

Sony Promised Stable Pricing on BluRay Players

SONY US CEO Stan Glascow announced that BluRay DVD players would enjoy a controlled pricing development after defeating Toshiba's HD-DVD as the only left standing DVD standard. The priority now is to persuade consumers to upgrade their DVD players.

Glascow stated that currently the bottom level of BluRay players were sold at $399. The bottom model price will be decreased to $299 on Christmas 2008, then $200 on Christmas 2009. Glascow also promised that the BlyRay players would enjoy a controlled descending in price rather than any free fall. SONY promised it would not license any Chinese manufacture to produce BluRay DVDs.

Before Chinese vendors joined the DVD player making business, a bottom model regular DVD was sold above $200 in a discount store like Wal-Mart. It could be bought at below $20 today.

Six Years Old Patient Died When Parents Managed to Pay for Treatment

Six years old boy Guo Hao died in his mother's arms just when donation flooding in and camera rolling.

Guo Hao developed heart infection after a surgery. For several months he had been suffering, the hospital in Xi'an, capital city of Shannxi Province refused to treat him because his family was too poor to pay. When the story made the news, local residents made donations to help the family. People went to hospital to show support and wish good wills. While the family was interviewed by media in the hospital, the boy died in his mother's arms, while the camera rolling quietly.

The said hospital is the First Affiliated Hospital of Medical College of Xi'an Jiaotong University.

A Stale Invitation

Chinese president Mr. Hu Jintao is to officially visit Japan, the first of such level in a decade due to the obstacle of the Japanese premier admiring WWII war criminals in official capacity. The visit is seen by many on both sides to be the start of a new era in Sino-Japanese relationship, a relationship of two neighboring countries separated by "a waist-belt of water", as ancient wisdom says.

However, the date picked up by the Japanese government is troublesome. April 17th is the anniversary of the Treaty of Shimonoseki. The Treaty of Shimonoseki was signed by then Chinese and Japanese government on April 17, 1895, after China lost the war assisting Korea to defend Japanese invasion. The treaty states:
* China withdraw military from Korea; Korea no longer a part of China;
* China surrender Taiwan, Penghu, and Shandong to Japan;
* China pay Japan 200 million liangsilver on military expenses;
* China can not detain any people work for Japanese military;
On the schedule, Hu will visit Tokyo on April 17 and 18, meet with Japanese prime minister and emperor.

Japanese is known for their diligence and intelligence, but sometimes they play it too hard.

Ultimate Citizen's Arrest

New Zealand fugitive Xue Nai Yin was trapped and subdued by a dramatic citizen's arrest in a suburb town on the outskirt of Atlanta, George. Six illegal immigrants from China recognized Xue after reading Chinese newspaper coverage, and tried to alert the police for three times, including went to the police station and talk to patrol officers. Cooks, delivery drivers and waiters in Chinese restaurants, they can't speak English well, and failed to draw attention or assistance from police. Finally they decided to take the matter into their own hands, lured and trapped Xue in an apartment belong to another Chinese. They caught Xue by surprise and tied him up until they got a police to come.

Xue was accused of killing his mail-order wife, who had an affair with a younger man through out the short marriage and blogged in extensive details publicly. Xue left a little daughter born by his wife at a busy rail station before fled to the US. The little girl was known as the pumpkin girl because of the clothing she was wearing at the time.


It's not clear whether the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is aware of the whereabout of the aforementioned six illegals, whose name and address are available on many Chinese newspapers. Anyone who saw the six illegal immigrants (Pictured: Lin Bao Li, Gui Sen Wu, Wei Chen and Jinbo Qi. Not shown in the picture: Dong Shun Li and Ding Qing Chen), call ICE at 1-866-347-2423.

Tianjin Launches Energy Efficiency Initiatives

A small town turned into the largest financial, industrial and economic center, Tianjin had been enjoying a wealth of resource in the delta of Haihe River until 1949. The communism party decided the selected capital city Beijing should be the largest of all in China in every aspect. The enlarged Beijing sucked in living and development resource from the entire nation, and particularly from its neighboring areas, Hebei Province and Tianjin Municipality. Miles from the border of Beijing, the luxury showcase city, lies a ring of the most poverty area in China, the Hebei Province. 60 miles down soutcheast, Tianjin the once most prosperous city in northern China is facing the realty with no water to drink and no electricity to light residents' houses.

In a way, it inspired the Tianjin government expedite the exploration and adoption of new energy and new technology to save energy. The TEDA (Tianjin Economic and Technology Development Area) tower makes use of the wind power and takes consideration of the energy flow is one example of the effort, and the first eco-friendly building in China. TEDA is also experimenting LED lights in street illumination, the first city wide effort in China. A Sino-Singapore eco-city campus was signed last November and has begun construction in Tianjin also.

Photo Triggered 'Political Accident'

A photo reporter was fired on a photo which failed to portrait a county leader from a more flattering angle.

County newspaper "Tongzhou Communication" fired its photo reporter after a 'political accident' over a less flattering photo showing the county leader was published. The picture, which shows the county leader reporting to local legislature, was deemed having conveyed a misleading political signal and thus a political accident. The reporter Mr. Wang Lili, who had been the chief photographer of the local newspaper in the past 4 years, was fired hours after the photo made publication.

According to the publisher, Wang took six pictures of the county leader reading the report in the duration of half hour. Because the county leader was reading the notes, Wang couldn't take a picture with the leader's face looking up, the positive gesture. The said picture appeared ok on computer screen when the editor made the paper with some of the leader's eyes showing. In the print edition however, it looks the leader's eyes were closed. Pragmatically, a photo reporter shoots photos, while the text reporter and editors make decision on which photo to pick. In other words, Mr. Wang should not be technically held responsible for the 'accident'.

Tongzhou is a county of Beijing. The county leader who was photoed was Deng Naiping. What made this tragedy more troubling is that it happened in Beijing. Comparing to similar events happened across country, it make it not as easy to make excuse of isolated incident in rural areas while implying officials in major cities to be more qualified than their country side counterparts. While Chinese people often make fun of the shortage of consumer goods in North Korea, they sadly discovered China was not that farther away from its northern neighbor.

The story exploded when it was first reported by the Southern Metropolitan Weekly (SMW), a national media. It could also be tracked back to a blog by narrative (pangbai) on Jan 11, 2008, which was picked up by EastSouthWestNorth on Feb 14, 2008. News media in mainland China was ordered by the State Council News Office to delete the story immediately.