Chinese hackers target festival over Uighur film: report

AFP, MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA
Monday, Jul 27, 2009, Page 1

Chinese hackers sabotaged the Web site of Australia’s biggest film festival over plans to screen a documentary about a Uighur activist China accuses of stirring unrest, a report said yesterday.

Hackers attacked the Melbourne International Film Festival Web site on Saturday, replacing information with the Chinese flag and leaving slogans criticizing exiled Uighur leader Rebiya Kadeer, the Age newspaper reported.

Chinese directors have already withdrawn their films over the Aug. 8 screening of the Kadeer documentary and festival director Richard Moore has accused Chinese officials of trying to bully him into pulling the documentary.

The Age reported that festival staff had been inundated with abusive e-mails over Moore’s refusal to withdraw the film and cancel Kadeer’s invitation to attend the screening.

“The language has been vile,” Moore told the newspaper. “It is obviously a concerted campaign to get us because we’ve refused to comply with the Chinese government’s demands.”

He said police were investigating the Web site attacks, which appeared to come from a Chinese Internet address, and private security guards would be on hand to protect Kadeer and film-goers at next month’s screening.

The Web site appeared to be working normally yesterday and festival organizers were not immediately available for comment.

Kadeer, the head of the World Uighur Congress, is the subject of the documentary Ten Conditions of Love by Jeff Daniels.

The Chinese government accuses her of masterminding violent unrest that broke out in Xinjiang Autonomous Region on July 5 that left more than 190 people dead. She denies the charges.

The Uighurs complain of political and religious repression under Chinese rule.

Chinese directors Tang Xiaobai (唐曉白) and Jia Zhangke (賈樟柯) withdrew their films from the festival last week, citing the Kadeer documentary’s inclusion.

Tang said she decided to boycott the event after receiving calls from government officials but insisted she was not pressured and the decision was her own.

Ma facing challenges with KMT
　

By Mo Yan-chih
STAFF REPORTER
Monday, Jul 27, 2009, Page 3
　

A series of challenges awaits President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) as he prepares to take over the party chairmanship, analysts said yesterday.

Ma was elected KMT chairman in yesterday’s party election in which he was the sole candidate for the top post. He will take over the job on Sept. 12 during the party congress.

Ma, who had said he would not take over the KMT chairmanship during last year’s presidential campaign, changed his mind after assuming office and announced his candidacy last month in a bid to tighten his control over the legislature, the party and cross-strait affairs.

Shih Cheng-feng (施正鋒), a political commentator at National Dong Hwa University, said Ma’s decision to double as party chairman was not surprising and that the KMT’s functions will be weakened under Ma’s leadership regardless of his support in yesterday’s election.

“Ma takes over the chairmanship in order to hold the KMT’s power in check and centralize his power, Shih said.

While Ma repeatedly he was not seeking the chairmanship to expand his power but to take more responsibility, Shih said it was clear that Ma wanted the job to push through his policies more effectively and to eliminate negative factors on his way to a second term as president.

As KMT chairman, Ma will have more control on the nomination of party candidates, especially after the redrawing of administrative zones following the mergers or upgrade of counties and cities.

However, challenges and opposition from local factions have delayed the KMT’s nomination process for local government head elections and finalizing candidates for the December’s polls will be Ma’s first task as chairman.

In Hualien, for example, five politicians registered for the KMT’s primary for the county commissioner election. However, the party called off the primary last month, reportedly because Ma wanted Minister of Health Yeh Ching-chuan (葉金川) to run in the election.

The KMT has had a hard time finalizing a candidate for the Yunlin County legislative by-election because former legislator Chang Sho-wen’s (張碩文) father, Chang Hui-yuan (張輝元) — who was found guilty of vote-buying in his first trial — insists on running in the election.

Shih said Ma, who has kept his distance from local factions, would have to deal with the local politics if he plans to nominate candidates with integrity as he has promised.

Wang Kun-yi (王崑義), a professor at National Taiwan Ocean University, said Ma’s doubling as KMT chairman will give him absolute power over the party, the legislature, the military and cross-strait affairs.

He said the Ma administration could become authoritarian if the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) failed to keep the KMT’s performance in check.

“Ma could rule the nation in an open yet authoritarian way. The DPP should prevent that from happening,” he said.

There has been intense speculation that Ma might attend a KMT-Chinese Communist Party (CCP) cross-strait forum in his role as KMT chairman to meet his Chinese counterpart, Hu Jintao (胡錦濤).

Taking control of the KMT’s communication channel with Beijing would help Ma eliminate the influence of old KMT heavyweights such as former KMT chairman Lien Chan (連戰) and outgoing KMT Chairman Wu Poh-hisung (吳伯雄), and claim full authority over cross-strait affairs, Wang said.

Yang Tai-shun (楊泰順), a political science professor at Chinese Culture University, said the main reason Ma wanted the KMT job was to implement his cross-strait policies and control of cross-strait affairs.

Ma could use the KMT’s legislative majority to amend the Constitution, Shih said. He said Ma should ponder the three-way relationship between the Presidential Office, the Executive Yuan and the Legislative Yuan because taking over the chairmanship alone would not solve the power struggle between the three.

A pat on the back for Kaohsiung

Monday, Jul 27, 2009, Page 8

With the closing ceremony of the World Games yesterday, the curtain came down on Taiwan’s first performance as host of an international sports event of this scale. During the Games, the efforts of Taiwan’s athletes, the efficiency of the organizers and the enthusiasm of volunteers helped the nation step into a new role in international sports. As a bonus, Taiwanese athletes took home a record number of medals. Taiwanese can be proud.

The Games, praised by International World Games Association president Ron Froehlich, reflected Taiwan’s best characteristics: sincerity, friendliness, enthusiasm, freedom and diversity.

Hosting the Games was no easy task — starting with Kaohsiung’s bid for the event. When former Kaohsiung mayor Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) promoted the bid, many said it was a pipe dream. Pessimists said Taiwan had no experience hosting such a large sporting event and that China would block the bid.

Since Kaohsiung won the bid, control of the central government has passed from one party to another. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) administration obstructed preparations in a number of ways, but Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊) and the city’s residents continued their work. Chen took the initiative, making a surprise promotional visit to Beijing and Shanghai aimed at overcoming misunderstandings and ensuring China’s fullest possible support. Kudos to Chen and others who made the Games successful.

Under pressure from China, Taiwan has no choice but to take part in international sports events under the title “Chinese Taipei.” Taiwanese teams fly flags featuring the national flower rather than the national flag and the National Banner Song is played instead of the national anthem.

At previous international sporting events in Taiwan, such as the Asian Football Confederation Women’s Asian Cup, KMT authorities and police collaborated with organizers to prevent spectators from waving the national flag. While the World Games were also held in accordance with the “Olympic model,” Chen welcomed all kinds of flags at the competition venues. With that, Kaohsiung set a precedent for upholding the nation’s dignity at international sporting events in Taiwan.

The main stadium in Kaohsiung was described by the New York Times as “a remarkably humane environment” that is “just as intoxicating” as Beijing’s Bird’s Nest.

The opening ceremony was a fusion of the local and the international, of tradition and technology. It displayed Taiwan’s cultural wealth, diversity and creativity and it is likely that the ceremony will leave a lasting impression on the millions of TV viewers who watched it.

KMT city councilors raised various objections during the planning period, and some skipped the opening ceremony. Slack ticket sales before the Games began seemed to indicate that he public was not very enthusiastic either. But once the Games got underway, crowds lined up to buy tickets and the closing ceremony was sold out.

The Kaohsiung City Government and the 7,000 or more volunteers who made the event possible all deserve credit.

The Kaohsiung World Games set a high standard for international sporting events in Taiwan. Next up are the Deaflympics in September in Taipei. The capital should do its best to match the success of the World Games.

Taiwan is already famous
　

Monday, Jul 27, 2009, Page 8

The justification for Kaohsiung hosting the 2009 World Games was that it would “raise the international profile” of Taiwan and of the city of Kaohsiung.

I have no doubt that this claim would fit well with those Taiwanese who labor under the delusion that their country is largely unknown outside the Pacific Rim.

Yet the claim that the 2009 World Games would “raise the international profile” of Taiwan is disingenuous.

Taiwan is known to vast numbers of people around the world who have any connection to the global consumer electronics industry. If anything, Taiwan would make the World Games world famous — not the other way around!

A simple Google search for “TV contracts World Games” returned a first page of 10 results linking to baseball, superbikes and soccer. No mention of the World Games. No mention of Taiwan. No mention of Kaohsiung.

A Google search for “TV audience World Games” returned one result linking to a piece in the Hong Kong edition of the China Daily in which the reader learns that there are “growing numbers of television channels offering coverage of the games,” according to one Games official. Yet no estimates are given for international TV audiences nor are any details of TV contracts given.

One possible implication is that these figures are so small that they are dwarfed by the number of ticket sales, which we learn are about 200,000, and the domestic TV audience for the opening ceremony, which reportedly drew 5 million viewers in a country of 23 million people.

The other Google results for “TV audience World Games” link to rugby, soccer, badminton and chess competitions.

Although I have no complaint against athletes participating in their chosen sports or against people paying to watch them, I do object to the fact that it was even partially tax-payer funded (Chinese Nationalist Party shenanigans notwithstanding), and to the outrageous claim that the World Games would raise Taiwan’s international profile.

That this claim is false cannot be denied by anyone, regardless of their political affiliation.

It is to your shame as “professional journalists” that your publication ignores this obviously uncomfortable fact.

In expectation of being ignored,

Yours.

MICHAEL FAGAN
Tainan

Support for sovereignty and DPP no longer tied
　

By Lin Cho-shui 林濁水
Monday, Jul 27, 2009, Page 8

Over the past year, President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) has pursued diplomatic and cross-strait policies based on the “one China” principle, eventual unification and opposition to two Chinas and Taiwanese independence. But a recent poll by the Chinese-language magazine Global Views found the public and Ma are moving in a diametrically opposed directions.

As many as 82.8 percent of respondents said they considered China and Taiwan two separate countries — an increase of 9.1 percentage points since Ma took office and the largest increase ever within that much time. Those who favored eventual unification fell to 12 percent, while 69.9 percent said they opposed unification.

The poll results do not reflect well on Ma’s leadership, but neither are they helpful for the opposition.

In 2004, public support was evenly divided between those who supported unification and those who did not, at about 35 percent each. Support for the pan-blue and pan-green camps was also about the same, at slightly more than 30 percent each. Those who identified with the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) exceeded those who identified with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), at about 25 percent for the DPP and 15 percent for the KMT.

Things changed in 2005. Identification with the KMT shot up to 35 percent, while identification with the DPP sank together with support for former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) to less than 20 percent, where it remains today.

Prior to 2005, most voters who opposed unification and supported Taiwanese independence identified with the DPP. Support for independence and for the DPP increased in tandem to more than 50 percent, allowing Chen to win re-election in 2004 with just above 50 percent of the vote.

Yet although the public largely considers an anti-unification and pro-independence stance equivalent to supporting the DPP, ever more people are disconnecting their support for independence from their support for the DPP and, in particular, for Chen.

Even as the DPP’s support decreased in 2005, opposition to unification shot up sharply to where it is today.

It is also strange that although opposition to unification shot up after 2005, and in spite of Chen’s diplomatic efforts in 2005 and 2006, Global Views polls indicate that support for independence slipped from 30 percent in 2004 to less than 20 percent while support for maintaining the status quo increased.

Not until Chen’s diplomatic efforts slowed in 2007 did support for independence recover. Today, opposition to unification and the view that China and Taiwan are two separate countries has reached new heights, while support for the DPP is at a low.

Ma’s low approval ratings show that most independence supporters are deeply suspicious of him. If, however, support for the two parties remains at today’s levels in 2012, a Taiwan where pro-independence has become the mainstream value would still elect a pro-China president.

The fact that support for the DPP is slipping while support for Taiwanese independence is increasing shows that while the public wants Taiwanese independence, it is displeased with the DPP’s approach.

To extract itself from these difficulties, the DPP must either find ways to persuade the public that its approach is the right one or come up with a new approach.

It doesn’t look like the DPP will act any time soon, but the party can no longer afford to put off addressing its troubles.

Lin Cho-shui is a former legislator for the Democratic Progressive Party.

China fears ethnic strife could agitate Uighur oasis
　

Following recent unrest in the region, Chinese authorities have shut down Internet services, text messaging and international phone services in Kashgar, a crucible for Uighur self-determination

By Andrew Jacobs
NY TIMES NEW SERVICE, KASHGAR, CHINA
Monday, Jul 27, 2009, Page 9
　

“You have to be careful because informers are everywhere ... I would not trust anyone if I were you.”— Ismail, secondary school teacher

Ali the tour guide seemed nice enough and his English flowed with grammatical perfection — a useful attribute in a city where most people speak a Turkic language that sounds nothing like Chinese.

“Sure, I will take you wherever you want to go, but first I have to call my friend and see if he will drive us,” Ali said, turning away.

After a quick exchange, he hung up the phone and politely announced that his friend was actually a government minder who would soon be arriving to guide the would-be clients away from any potential trouble.

The destination his “friend” had in mind?

The airport, where the reporters, subject to a ban on foreign media, would be escorted onto the next flight out of town.

“Sorry,” Ali said as the journalists prepared to flee in a taxi. “But if I didn’t make that call, I would get in big trouble.”

Kashgar, the ancient Silk Road oasis and backpacker lure, has been besieged by fear since ethnic rioting two weeks ago claimed at least 197 lives in Urumqi, the capital of this northwestern expanse known as the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region.

Although the two cities are separated by about 1,100km of punishing desert and snow-draped mountains, the authorities are especially anxious about potential unrest in Kashgar, a city of 3.4 million that is 90 percent Uighur, a Muslim minority that has long had a mercurial relationship with the Han Chinese who govern Xinjiang.

The authorities have good reason to be skittish.

Last August, at least 16 military police officers were killed in an attack in Kashgar, unnerving the government just as dignitaries and athletes were arriving in Beijing for the 2008 Olympics. The police called it a terrorist strike by two Uighur men armed with explosives and machetes, though some witnesses later challenged that version of events.

In the early 1990s, Kashgar was also the scene of bombings and demonstrations; at least 21 people were killed and thousands were arrested during one particular army crackdown. The city has long been a crucible for Uighur self-determination, even if nationalist aspirations were never the same after a Chinese warlord vanquished the newborn East Turkestan Republic, a short-lived nation that called Kashgar its capital for a few months in 1933.

Although it is rapidly being bulldozed in the name of modernization, Old Kashgar and its ancient dusty warrens remain the heart of Uighur culture and a beguiling draw for tourists. To China’s leadership, however, the city is also an incubator for those seeking to create a Uighur homeland by the borders of Pakistan, Afghanistan and a handful of other predominantly Muslim countries whose names end with “stan.”

This time around, Kashgar has been relatively quiet.

During the turmoil in Urumqi, a crowd of 200 people tried to protest outside the city’s Id Kah Mosque, the largest of its kind in China, and they were quickly dispersed by the police, Xinhua news agency said.

But in contrast to Urumqi, where journalists can roam with relative freedom, the few foreign reporters who made it to Kashgar were promptly hustled out of town.

“The situation may look calm now, but it could change at any second,” a local government official told Mark MacKinnon, a writer for the Globe and Mail, a Canadian newspaper, as he and his colleagues were sent off to the airport.

The uncertainty and sense of isolation have been only magnified by the continued shutdown of the Internet, text messaging and international phone service that has severed communications in Kashgar and the entire region.

The blackout has been especially challenging for export companies, banks, factory owners and academics, and some of them say they have been told that Internet and phone service will be curtailed until at least October, when China celebrates the 60th anniversary of the communist revolution.

“I’m expecting a group of Swiss tourists next week, but I have no way of knowing whether they’re still coming,” one beleaguered tour operator complained.

Like Urumqi, which has been flooded with soldiers since July 5, Kashgar is patrolled by young men in military camouflage, many of whom ride through the city day and night, their green army trucks draped with ostensibly calming slogans like “National Separatists Are Our Enemy.”

But the government’s most effective weapon against potential trouble is largely unseen: The neighborhood committees made up of appointed Uighur cadres and citizens who, driven by fear or ambition, are ready to do the government’s bidding.

“You have to be careful because informers are everywhere,” said Ismail, a secondary school teacher who used only one name for his own safety.

He said his brother had been detained after publicly criticizing plans to tear down the old mud-and-straw homes that, until recently, flanked Kashgar’s historical mosque.

“I would not trust anyone if I were you,” he said.

His words were not hyperbole. By late last week, hotel clerks, tour guides and taxi drivers had been instructed to be on the lookout for pesky foreign journalists. A woman employed by a state-owned tourism company told of a meeting during which her boss warned that people caught assisting reporters would lose their job — as would members of their immediate family.

The campaign appeared to be extremely effective. When his passengers asked to be taken to a rural county known for its unemployed and disaffected residents, one Uighur driver called the police and then warned other drivers against helping the passengers escape.

After several close encounters with the authorities, the foreigners made it to the well-irrigated countryside that forms a lush buffer between Kashgar and the vast Taklimakan Desert stretching 950km to the east.

In one town, a group of old men hacking at the soil spoke rapturously about the pace of modernization that had made farming, and their lives, much easier.

“We have electricity, fertilizer and motorbikes now,” one elderly man said.

Later, after some gentle prodding, the farmers allowed that life was not without difficulties. One man, pointing to a row of unfinished brick houses, said local officials had demolished the villagers’ old homes and promised that the government would pay for the construction of new ones.

“The homes they’re building are half as large, and now we have to pay half their cost,” he said as his neighbors nodded with disgust. “We don’t have that kind of money.”

The men continued on for a while, speaking animatedly as the tour guide’s face registered a kaleidoscope of troubled expressions. Their ranting done, the guide, a graduate student best left unidentified, paused before declining to render their words into English.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “But it’s better for everyone if I just pretend I didn’t hear that.”