Money, the Chinese and Chip Tsao

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  1. #1

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    Money, the Chinese and Chip Tsao

    Chip's latest article:

    Lee Kuan Yew, Mickey Rourke, and Mindanao

    December 4th, 2009

    The ever-daring Lee Kuan Yew, the father of Singapore, never lets his fans down. The Cambridge-educated veteran statesman said last week: “I don’t think the Chinese are ever interested in democracy.” If not democracy, then what? “Money” is what was left unsaid.

    Lee’s comment caused dismay among certain quarters of Hong Kong, and he was even branded a “racist” by some democrats. But can you blame the wise old man for his stereotypical, prejudiced, and politically incorrect verdict?

    A total of 57 people were massacred on Mindanao in the Philippines last week in a terrible mass political execution. Among the dead, 18 were reporters who were accompanying the family of a candidate who was challenging a rival clan for the provincial governorship. Most of them were beheaded. When asked for his reaction to the tragedy, Mr. Wong, the chairman of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce in Manila, said: “I hope investment in the country will not be affected by this event. So far, the business of the Chinese hasn’t dropped.”

    What a cold sound bite. For more than 3,000 years, the Chinese have seen massacres much worse, from the Mongolian invasion to the Rape of Nanking in 1939. An untouched Mr. Wong cares more about a drop in revenue than a drop of blood. Professional businessman.

    That reminds me of an interview on September 11, 2001 soon after the twin towers fell in New York. The Hong Kong TVB overseas news correspondent and his crew were quick to make it to Canal Street in Chinatown to talk to the owner of a Chinese grocery. In the midst of the billowing smoke clouds where hundreds of people had just leapt to their deaths from the collapsing towers, the grocer, presumably also a US citizen, said calmly: “Yes, I’ve just witnessed the towers breaking into dust. They’re on Wall Street, a couple of miles away. We’re pretty safe here. God knows how our business in Chinatown is going to be hit by this.”

    This in turn reminded me of the movie, “Year of the Dragon,” a violent action-thriller from 1985 starring a rowdy Mickey Rourke as a New York cop up against John Lone, the head of a Chinatown triad gang and drug trafficking ring. The movie sparked angry protests from Chinese-Americans because it contained some allegedly racist lines uttered by the mumbling detective, such as “fuck off with your 3,000 years of civilization, you shit. You don’t care about anything except food and money.”

    As a very young man, I had once been outraged by these strong views—until 9/11 when I saw that interview with the grocer. Lee’s comment, read in parallel with Mr. Wong’s reaction, has made me nostalgic for Mickey Rourke and that notorious film, made in a different era (such freedom of expression is no longer enjoyed by Hollywood scriptwriters today). That nostalgia is perhaps what one may call, not unduly, being mature.

    Chip Tsao is a best-selling author and columnist. A former reporter for the BBC, his columns have also appeared in Apple Daily, Next Magazine and CUP Magazine, among others.
    Lee Kuan Yew, Mickey Rourke, and Mindanao | HK-magazine.com


  2. #2

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    Ignoring all the other stuff I was intrigued by the statement that he is a "best-selling writer". So I looked on Wiki. He seems to churn out a book every month or so. The Barbara Cartland of Hong Kong?


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    The stuff about the chinese grocer in NY is interesting. Because honestly, I couldn't say if such a response was because he was chinese or from the USA...they are just as bad.

    I recall watching the coverage of the 1994 tsunami in Australia. There were about 8 TV channels at my disposal, and every one was covering the event. As one flicked from channel to channel, all the AUstralian and UK channels were covering the loss of life with words like "tragegy, suffering, victims" etc etc ... but I turned to CNN .. and all I heard was "huge insurance claims, impact on wall street". OK, I was only flicking channels, but it struck me that CNN gave alot more coverage to the monetary impacts of the disaster than the UK or Australian channels did.

    So - if the chinese are interested only in money, it seems like they will get on very well with the Americans!


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    Only fitting MovingIn, as the Chinese own most of the US now anyway.


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    But CNN, as a US cable company, has to figure out some kind of impact on Americans because none of its citizens died in the tsunami. If it doesn't happen to an American, it doesn't matter unless CNN can show how it matters to US citizens, however a stretch it might be.

    This of course is true of all news channels/companies in all countries.


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    How to explain the US media and the attitude of the average American viewer...

    15,000 Brown People Dead Somewhere | The Onion - America's Finest News Source


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    It is ONE of the reasons why I can't stand watching CNN (the constant breaks drive me mad) or FOX (politics for the brain dead). Their international news really means "Americans abroad news" or "news from abroad that impacts on Americans". The BBC is MUCH MUCH better.


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    Those familiar with American news outlets know CNN is extremely liberal (although a bit less so than MSNBC). Fox News is conservative. Although they report on the same basic stories, each transmit the news via their slant (views). Conversely, I have found from watching BBC they 'read' the news (which I like), it's not just for entertainment.

    Additionally, many American news outlets are owned by major corporations. I.e. entertainment, higher ratings, advertising dollars. One could surmise the 'news' is actually decided by a bunch of producers who make decisions in the best interest of the network owners, not the public.

    All in all, I think it's unfortunate we have to listen/watch the news with such a critical eye and question what we see. Just report the damn story.

    By the way, I can't stand CNN either.

    Last edited by MicheleMyBelle; 04-12-2009 at 03:40 PM.

  9. #9

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    "It's not news, it's CNN."


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    Fox News - just like The Onion, but not as funny.


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