Not hearing, not asking

不闻不问“When Tibet has this Shangri La-like romantic image in the west, it is unavoidably linked to the wave of thinking about anti-modernity, anti-globalization and multi-culturalism” — A Chinese blogger’s considered response to Western coverage of Tibet and the torch run, translated at EastSouthWestNorth blog (the second article on the page). CIA director Michael Hayden tells a university audience war with China is not inevitable: “If Beijing begins to accept greater responsibility for the health of the international system — as all global powers should — we will remain on a constructive, even if competitive path.” At The New Republic, a… four… part… debate… about the proper way to respond to the China Olympics. From Zoetrope All-Story, an excerpt of Choice by Ha Jin: “My father, a successful plastic surgeon in Seattle, had always opposed my study of the humanities.” In South Korea, torch protestors throw garbage, Chinese nationalists throw rocks, and North Korean refugees fail to self-immolate. From Le Monde Diplomatique, a long history of Tibet’s changing sovereignty: “The Mongol prince protected Tibet with his armies and in exchange Tibet’s spiritual leader offered guidance to Mongolia.” Japan’s only giant panda, Ling Ling, symbol of Chinese friendship, dies of heart failure in Tokyo’s Ueno Zoo. Photos of the panda and processions show a boy placing flowers at the cage’s altar.

Filed In Daily // On May 1, 2008