This week’s Sinica is a great show. We covered two issues, one current and one chronic. The current issue is the Guo Degang affair, in which the student of a famous Beijing crosstalk performer struck a BTV journalist in murky circumstances. While BTV hardly looks blameless, the result has been that Guo has found himself the whipping boy of Chinese media, a poorly-timed outcome as the Party stokes it’s campaign against the “three vulgarities.” There was little I could say about this affair myself as fellow participants Jeremy Goldkorn and David Moser have forgotten more about crosstalk and the Guo Degang affair than I will ever know, but it’s interesting.
The second and longer segment of the show covered the issue of “China apologists”, foreigners who somehow seem to have crossed the line in their enthusiasm for China or Chinese government policy. Who is a China apologist? Are we China bloggers also China apologists? Why do some foreigners make their compatriots uncomfortable? China market analyst and consultant Shaun Rein, a friend of mine who has kindled some strong reactions elsewhere in the China blogosphere, figures heavily in the discussion and contributes a segment to the show. It’s a rousing discussion featuring something relative rare on Sinica: debate among participants.
Here’s the blurb from the Sinica site:
This week on Sinica, Jeremy Goldkorn, Gady Epstein, Will Moss and David Moser join Kaiser to talk about the Guo Degang Affair. When a fight with the media at the famous comedian’s house became news, the incident sparked a week of heated public debate. This ended abruptly as authorities closed ranks, muzzled the outspoken comedian and stepped-up an old school campaign against the “three vulgarities.” Looking beyond the headlines, what does this tell us about the media in China and why does it matter?
On a different front, we also talk about the insidious phenomenon of China apologism. A lively debate over this topic has emerged in the China blogosphere of late, especially regarding the controversial punditry of Shaun Rein. In an attempt to clear his name, Shaun joins us with an audio postcard and prompts a discussion of where the line should be drawn between presenting a nuanced perspective on China and defending the indefensible? When has someone simply gone too far?
Get the show here. See also Gady Epstein’s post and Richard’s response at Peking Duck.
Guo Degang: fast talker.
