As rich European countries go, maybe Austria is just as bad as Italy or France. Only smaller, more provincial. Newest anti-foreigner laws package passed on Tuesday, Feb. 22nd, 2011. The protesters in Egypt didn’t really look to America or Western Europe, but to protest experiences in Serbia and such. At least that’s what I remember from reports in the NY Times, among others. A Chinese friend told me he was watching the Arab protests very much,while he was in Europe, because the pictures from Egypt reminded him of Beijing in 1989.
China has had too many so-called revolutions under Mao and a big failure with protests for civil rights and democracy in 1989. But there are many protests in China all the time. Labor unrest, land seizures, health hazards etc.. There may also be a big craving for stability, hence the hesitation to participate in larger protests. The op-ed in the NYT (IHT) by Daniel Bell, designated Western politics professor in Tianjin, was very academic. Or very wishy-washy. Civil rights are universal. No, China’s not so special. Reporters know, especially when they go to see the blind Women’s rights activist lawyer in Shandong and get waylay-ed and beaten. No, nobody cares about supposed academic discussions on why democracy might not work. Yes, people try to lead a good life, individually, for their family, and sometimes they notice the limits, and try to work around them, and many do talk about it. Sorry for the rambling. As I said, rich countries are no beacons. Maybe I am more politics-sensitive than before, since we moved back to Austria from China, after 10 years in Beijing and a few more in other cities. Roger Cohen is right, the EU doesn’t look very good at all these days.
Don't bother
标签： 1989, 2011, activists, Africa, austria, beijing, china, civil rights, civil society, democracy, Egypt, Europe, law, lawyers, Libya, life, politics, Tunisia, Xenophobia
中国大好き 
2月 25, 2011 11:01 下午 |
据法新社维也纳消息，周四（2月24日），奥地利外交部长施平德勒格（Michael Spindelegger）在北京访问期间会见了中国知名艺术家艾未未。会面持续了45分钟。因为奥外长此行也会见了中国政府的高层领导人，因此奥方原本希望将此次会面低调处理，不向外界曝光，然而艾未未则将此消息公布在网上。
据施平德勒格在北京接受奥地利通讯社采访时表示，艾未未在会面中谈到了中国当局对他采取的压制措施。这位奥地利外长还补充道，”他为我们关注支持人权表示感谢”，但他也承认，在奥地利访华代表团与中国高层领导人会谈的同时会见这位对政府持公开批评态度的艺术家，有些”不自在”。不过北京方面不应该对此感到惊讶，因为他在与中国外长杨洁篪会谈时已经提到了人权议题。施平德勒格还叙述道，在谈到阿拉伯国家反政府抗议浪潮使艾未未表示，中国的情况不一样，因此”把中国和中东相比较是不合适的”。
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