Job Discussion Forums

[hubei_canuk]

Truth and Rumours:
I just love that phrase. After the Second Tiananmen Massacre the magazines from the Foreign Languages Press started publishing regular columns on Rumours versus Truth. They would publish the Truth as we all believed and often just knew and then opposite assert their propaganda spin under the label: "Truth".
Yes, i hate to spoil some people's beer but there was a First Tiananmen Massacre a few years earlier but CNN wasn't there.
Reality is a funny business., isn't it? Who's to even say there was a Second Massacre especially if there wasn't a First, then how can the number TWO come up?
Who's to say there even was a Holocaust or WW2?
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Even am i for real or am CCTV-4 dreaming i am CNN?
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Resistance is Futile!
Political Power comes out of the barrel of a TV Set!
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So i come to Hamish's comment which spurred me here:
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"I am just trying to clearly state that, in my view, there is no current information that justifies dramatic concern. Further, it seems exactly the wrong time for any of us to rush to publish anything other than the most responsibly checked and authoritative data.
If we hear a rumor, I think we should publish it with that label, or not at all." -Hamish
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I totally disagree with this.
First of all "THIS IS CHINA" .. a phrase all expatriates hear when they are actually expecting something to work well or function.
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There is no "responsibly checked and authoritative data" except that verified by WHO. That doesn't mean other data doesn't exist, it means it is a question mark.
For the interior there may NEVER be any such animal as TRUTH, even if millions die. The provincial governments are not well controlled by the Central Authority. Everybody has their own spin, their own motivation, every organization, every individual.
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My HK friends say the government there is not telling them everything.
I don't even trust the Western media. After all they knew about the epidemic way back in January but refused to report it for fear of offending the Chinese authorities.
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Even now i invite people to look at the Western News sources.
Look at what?
What? A lot of information is missing. We get clips... limited news clips. Where are sites listing complete information and statistics about infected people?
Their ages, prior medical conditions, how each one contacted it, etc. etc?
Especially, the course of the disease. In all this time i have been only able to read exactly one account of a person who got SARS and survived. That was a Vietnamese nurse and the story was horrifying... and worse - everyone else that got it there died.
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Questions still unanswered:
What is the mortality rate of stay at home versus go to hospital? the same? What percentage?
How does the disease progress in various individuals, especially those who recover and those who don't?
Can people be re-infected?
Are the survivors still carriers?
At what stage do they become non-carriers?
All of the information to answer this questions is not reported anywhere.
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Even Hamish wants to wants to control what people know so he can try to manipulate your reaction (in his feeling prevent you from panic). But prevent you from panic may prevent you from safeguards as well. Here, China is not a Country for those who need some authority to tell them what to do...(Well maybe for the chinese it is ).
But for foreigners we must just trust ourselves.

Now i understand it is a matter of psychology. Some people have a need to trust "authority". Here in China the "Authority" is YOUR PERSONAL JUDGEMENT. One must examine EVERYTHING, every rumor every straw, and use your intuition and your growing understanding of all the details of how Chinese Culture works.
I trust the grapevine when the government's not saying anything. In Januaary this year, the grapevine knew there was deadly plague in GZ. So now the TV says nothing about where the SARS is in Hubei but the street says Zhanghe and Huanggang... and i assess that info filtered down from the provincial government.

Again with psychology with other people it's a matter of EFFORT... it's a strange thing... they are offended by things that require effort, it is as if EFFORT spoils their lives and makes it unliveable. It ruins their image of the world as a FUN place.
Rather than make efforts and exert energy to deal with problems they find denial a much easier route. And it certainly makes the world a much nicer place. Only the strange thing is: these kinds of people spend so much EFFORT repressing the whistle blowers.
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It brings the question straight to the forefront of everybody's mind:
Is Monty Python's parrot really dead or is it just sleeping?
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My spin:.. Look at everything, share everything with everybody else. Of course identify the information source and look for corroboration. Take nothing for granted. Understand where everything comes from. Accept all possibilites, even those you haven't thought of yet. Give people the responsibity to think for themselves and make their own decisions.
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One friend told me he is going to Chongqing on Mayday. I don't say anything, he knows the situation. It's his business.
People want to come to China, let them... i got several people right now that are asking me to make the contract arrangements. I suggested to another friend in Guangxi, next term is a good time to ask for a hefty raise.
To the victor the spoils.
He who dares, wins.
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On the other hand i am not going anywhere on Mayday. But i'm not going to stop going out to Karaoke and such.
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If enough animals are running in the same direction just maybe there is a fire behind them... or maybe the animals are lemmings.
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Now look at the following news.
Information control is strengthening.
Don't listen to the illegal news, you may be arrested.
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"In a further sign that China's new openness last week is not being matched with liberal measures, tough action is being threatened against "irresponsible rumour spreaders" - words that had previously been used to describe many doctors whose claims about its spread have since been proved right.

Arrests of people accused of putting out "false information", especially on the internet, are being announced regularly.
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[hubei_canuk]

Here is a RUMOUR fromWuhan, posted by a foreigner from another forum.
It reflects what some people are thinking because they just don't know and are fearful.
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It 's sounds very much like rumour. What he knows "for a fact" he didn't share with anyone how he knows it's a fact.
I would need a lot more than that to even think about packing my bags.
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Apparently Beijing intends to enforce new reporting standard beginning today.

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"Hi- I saw the response from the chinese person living in
wuhan and thought I might give you a little more insight if
you're still checking this. I also live in wuhan (I'm
american) and the situation is worse than he made it out to
be. I have connections with the PSB (Public Security
Bureau) and I know for a fact there are atleast 7 cases
currently in Wuhan that they are not reporting yet to the
chinese public. The Foreign Experts office says by next
week SARS will be "out of control" in china. As much as I
love china I am looking into heading home and I would not
advise you to travel here at this time. Best of luck.
Erin "