Luke Gedeon

We only have a few more days to find bloggers who will post about Caring for China. If your post is not in by Saturday the 6th, it will still be appreciated, but it will not help us to win the Zemanta Blog for a Cause corporate donation.

I have been looking around, but I have not found your entry yet. Will you please help us solve this “File not Found” error?

Click here to find out how to get in on the fun. Or click here if you need some help.

Well, it has been a China week. Today is no exception.

Oh, don’t forget! You have less than a week left to post about C4C. If you have not posted yet, Click here now!

Ryan of Lost Laowai shared another site featuring a toddler, also named Ryan, teaching Chinese. I included one of the videos here and you can find the rest at: http://www.mandmx.com/category/study-chinese-with-ryan/

I mentioned earlier this week that I would tell you a little more about Xu Wenli. You can easily find a lot of information online, but I think I might consolidate some of it together in another post. For now, I have a timeline that he prepared.

Also if you have any specific questions about Xu Wenli, the China Democracy Party, or China in general, ask me. If I do not know the answer I will him. Xu Wenli knows everything about China, and a good bit about everything else.

Here is a little information about Xu Wenli

• July 9, 1943: Born in Jiangxi Province to a family from Anqing in Anhui Province. His father, Xu Yuwen was a general in the War of Resistance against Japan (He was a military doctor who ran the hospital in the rear of the front lines.)
• 1978-1981: Participant and founder of the Democracy Wall movement.
• November 26, 1978: Founded the April 5th Forum and served as its director until 1980.
• June 10-12, 1980: Discussed forming an opposition party with Sun Weipeng and Wang Xizhe at the Beijing Ganjiakou Conference.
• November 15, 1980: Suggested the “Geng Shen 1980 Transformation Proposal” to completely reform Chinese society.
• April 9, 1981: Arrested by the Chinese government and, in 1982, sentenced to fifteen years in prison in with revocation of all political rights for 4 years.
• May 26, 1993: Released on parole, after which Xu spent time traveling and planning and organizing the formation of a Chinese opposition party.
• November 29, 1997: Formally proposed to “end the single party system, establish the Third Republic, establish constitutional democracy, and protect freedom and human rights,” and established a Chinese political opposition party with Qing Yongmin and dissidents from the entire nation.
• November 9, 1998: Established the Chinese Democratic Party with Jia Jianguo, Gao Hongming, He Depu, and Liu Shizun, and on November 30 was arrested and sentenced to 13 years, with a revocation of political rights for 3 years.
• December 24, 2002: Exiled to the United States, and has since been working as a visiting scholar at the Watson Institute of International Studies at Brown University.
• May 26, 2003: Awarded an honorary doctorate degree by Brown University.
• March 26, 2003: Founded the Caring for China Center (CCC; formerly the CHC) and is currently the chairman.
• January 28, 2004: Began work as a professor at Brown University’s Watson Institute for International Studies, teaching a seminar on the history of the Democracy Wall and the Chinese Democratic Party.
• December 3, 2004: Founded the Chinese Democratic Party Overseas Exile Headquarters, and is currently the general convener of the Headquarters.
• February 23, 2005: As convener of the Democratic Party Overseas Exile Headquarters, in concert with the Chinese Party for Liberty and Democracy, the Chinese Labor Party, and the Chinese Social Democratic Party, in contact with the Chinese Democracy League and Chinese Democratic Alliance, founded the Chinese Democratic Party Coalition, and serves as its co-chair.
• March 9, 2005: Reiterated his political program: “To abandon one-party dictatorship, lay aside the issue of Taiwanese independence, restore a democratic China, and build an equal and prosperous federation between the PRC and Taiwan.”
• May 15, 2006: Proposed Direction and Timeline by the Chinese Democratic Party Overseas Exile Headquarter to the Chinese Government Regarding the Implementation of Political Reform in the People’s Republic of China.
• On June 6, 2007: Elected as the Chairman of the China Democracy Party United Headquarters (Overseas) during the First Party Congress of the China Democracy Party United Headquarters (Overseas)

Yesterday, I mentioned that I was interested in Caring for China because I wanted to help the nation become a better place for the people of China. That is partly because I have many friends from China and want to help them, but it is also because I have been interested in East Asia since I was very young and always wanted to be one of those people of China, or one of the smaller nations nearby, one day. China and its neighbors are growing fast and the region is the new land of opportunity.

Some people have claimed that the growth rate is unsustainable and that China will eventually choke under the iron grip of socialism. That might be true if nothing changed, but everything is changing. China is now more capitalistic than most western nations, and a fast-growing church in China is creating a culture of responsibility, honesty, trust, character, courage, and justice that will change government, business, industry, education, and every other aspect of life. The internet in China is very closely monitored by the government but it is still making some things easy that were not possible before. Continued growth is not guaranteed but the possibilities are amazing.

As I said yesterday, China is changing, changing dramatically, changing fast, changing in ways that could make China ones of the best places on earth.

But, is all this change a good thing?

First, let me say that there are many parts of  Chinese culture that are worth preserving – most parts actually. I was very disappointed as I read about the United States discarding a very rich European heritage and destroying an amazing native American culture. Sure, both cultures had serious problems, but America lost a lot by destroying them. The Chinese’ 5,000 year history of invention and  innovation, their languages and writing system, their traditions, and their love for peace are all worth keeping, but some things do need to change.

You have to be very careful at this point, though. If you are not from China, you may have responded to the previous paragraph in one of two very different but very dangerous ways.

Response 1: If China will just do “this”, all their problems will be solved.

As you were reading, some of you saw the solution to all of China’s problems as clear as day. Something has got to change, and you know exactly what. If only the Chinese could just see it as clearly, all their problems would go away. Great! Now go learn Chinese, start a media empire in China, and tell them all they need to know. Or you could go straight to the government and tell them what’s what.

Well, you could try that but you are not going to get very far. The government controls the media in China. If you are not perfectly in alignment, you will be harmonized. And, the government already knows what needs to be done and they are working on it. They do not need advice from some crazy, imperialist, foreigner. No, for change to happen, it must come from within. The good news is that thousands of Chinese people are making a positive change right now. They just need a little help.

Response 2: It is their culture let them worry about it, or… who are we to decide what is right for China.

Some of you rightly point out that it is not our right or responsibility to decide what form of government or cultural the people of another nation choose. We do, however, have a responsibility to other fellow humans to help them in times of need. I will not wax philosophical at this point, because I believe the majority of you, my readers, agree on this. So the question that is left is whether the people of China are in need. The answer to this is a resounding, Yes!

Thousands of Chinese citizens are calling out for your help. They are being thrown in jail for simply asking the government not to take their house, or for saying the wrong thing at the wrong time, or for having a meeting at their house, or for doing anything else that a government official decided not to allow on that particular day. They are not asking you to take political action. What they do ask is for you to help individuals in and from China who are spreading positive cultural change across China. Yes, this does involve politics at times, but that is because you cannot do anything in China without the government’s involvement, but the best way to help is on an individual level.

The truth lies somewhere in between

Sometimes the idea of balance itself has to balanced with a bit of extremism and absolutes, but in general truth is surrounded on all side by error, and most errors make themselves appealing by including a little bit of truth with them. So we find the truth in the middle. To find it, though, requires a humble and diligent pursuit.

Would you join Caring for China as we discover the best ways to help the people of China in their pursuit of a better China? We will be launching a community site soon. For now, please contact me directly to join.

That government is best which governs least.
  – Thomas Paine

At Caring for China, the organization I work for, we talk a lot about political change in China. When I post a little more on Xu Wenli, the founder of C4C, and his history latter this week, you will understand why. The strange thing about that, though, is that I personally do not believe that political change in China will solve the problems there… or in any country for that matter. I would prefer to stay as far from politics as possible. I believe that the best thing any government can do is get itself and anything else out of the way of the people, and let the people do the rest. Real improvement can only be achieved through a change of culture.

So, are you wondering what a guy like me is doing at C4C?

It is simple, really. I met Xu Wenli.

Xu Wenli is one of the nicest people you will ever meet. After years of mistreatment as a political prisoner, he is not bitter. He smiles easily, and is a gracious host. He loves children (I have 5 so that is big for me). He is a scholar and a gentleman. He is a statesman rather than a politician. He has a deep love for the people of China and he has dedicated his life to making their lives better.

His approach is significatly different from most “activists” from the West.

Most human rights organizations, democracy advocates, free-speech activists, and other groups that want to change developing nations, focus most of their time and energy on pressuring the government. Many of them base their tactics on the fact that elected governments do respond when large numbers of people agree together on something. Things are a little different in China.

Xu Wenli and his compatriots in China are trying to change their government, but America and other countries frequently make things more difficult for these advocates of change through ill-informed attempts at pressuring a government that does not respond well to pressure. Xu Wenli believes that China will make significant moves toward freedom on its own over the next few years, if other nations can be convinced to only help in ways that are truly beneficial.

The key way that we as non-Chinese can help is to defend those within China who are putting their lives on the line to make China a better place. If someone is put in jail, we can ask for their release. If someone needs money to publish a book or periodical, or to just survive when the government prohibits anyone from hiring them, we can help. If the government blocks important information online, we can republish the info in other ways to get the information to the people that need it.

The focus is on helping individuals, and changing the nation one person at a time. With over a billion people this is a big task, but until each person understands what it means to be free and is willing to work to establish and maintain a free society, political changes simply will not stick. And in spite of the huge numbers and repressive government, China is changing, changing dramatically, changing fast, changing in ways that could make China ones of the best places on earth. I want to be a part of that change. I might even chose to live there some day.

That is why I chose Caring for China.

Gina Russo of Frog in the Well shared several political cartons from a 1950’s copy of the People’s Daily, the Chinese newspaper. I thought this one was quite interesting.

“2 advertisements, 1 boss.” From 人民日报， October 22nd, 1956. The signs read “Please choose the Republican party” and “Please choose the Democratic party” respectively.

Yesterday, I covered some of the benefits of repetition. Today let’s apply that to a topic near and dear to my heart, and hopefully to your’s too.

So why am I even talking about this?

Well, on the web, it is easy to tell whether something has already been written. Go to your favorite search engine and type in any topic and you will find that everything you could say about the topic has already been said. I am sure what I am typing right now has been typed many times before. So why am I typing it again?

Sometimes seeing something written a different way helps. What is unique about this particular post is not the concept. It is the words that I choose and the way I am presenting the information. Often I will see the same information on ten different sites and only one of them is written in a way that makes sense to me. After “getting it” I can go back and look at the other pages and they will make sense even though they did not the first time. Different explanations connect with different people. If this does not make sense, try reading someone else’s explanation.

Reading something a second time helps the idea stick. Sometimes it really is just a matter of repetition. If you are reading my blog on a regular basis (you are, right?) you are going to read stuff you have read elsewhere, but if I am doing my job correctly, that redundancy is going to be things that are worth reading over and over again until it sticks. (Wow, that is huge responsibility on my part, huh?)

[[pull]]Zero original content. One of the best posts on my blog![[/pull]]Repeating reaches readers that do not read other blogs. I would be very surprised if anyone in the world has even close to the same reading list as me. Just because I have read it online does not mean that any of my readers ever will. If it is something they should hear about, I should pass it along.

This is tough for me but I am learning. I posted a link to a really cool updater for WordPress a few months back. I posted it for one person, but it is one of my most commented posts because of people saying thanks for a link to a helpful tool! Zero original content = one of the best posts on my blog! And that leads to one last thing.

Repeating things that are useful helps the good rise to the top. Most search engines decide, in part, what sites to move to the top of the results based on how many other sites link to it. If enough people link to the right answer, that answer will rise to the top of the search results, making the right answer easier to find.

So do me a favor. Will ya?

Write a post. Tell your readers everything you have learned about China from my site, and link to this post so it will rise to the top. I will return the favor. Right now I really need your help with this special group write project.

Between now and June 6th, we have a chance to win part of a $3000 prize from Zemanta. They did not say exactly how they are going to split the prize, but winning this will make a big difference for advocates of change in China.

This will also help call attention to the work of Caring for China.

Please post about Caring for China and Zemanta’s Blog for a Cause Group Write Project today. If you wait until tomorrow you will forget. Please do it now.

Oh, click here for more information.

A little over a week ago I asked you to, Please Donate A Blog Post to C4C .

That post left a lot of questions unanswered. I decided to bring all the questions together in one place and try to answer a few of them.

Q. How much money are you trying to get me and my friends to donate?
A. None actually. All we need is for you write a post, and Zemanta will donate the funds.

Q. What is this exactly?
A. Zemanta won 2nd place in a Change the Web Challenge. They are going to pass the cash prize along to the causes that get the most blog mentions by 6/6.

Q. Can you explain more about what C4C does?
A. Sure, C4C publishes democracy and human rights related articles online and in print. C4C helps advocates of change, both in China and exiled to keep on advocating a better life for the people.

Q. I don’t feel qualified to write a post, how can I help?
A. This contest only counts blog entries, so I really need you to post. How can I help you be more qualified?

Q: I do not have a blog, can I still help?
A: Yes! Send the link to this site to all your friends on facebook, twitter, stumbled, delicious and all other social media.

Q. This does not fit with the character and nature of my blog can I post somewhere else?
A: Certainly! You are welcome to post on my blog, or contact me and I will help you find somewhere you can post you entry.

Q. Can I post about more than one charity?
A. Yes. You could for example list your favorite charities. Just make sure you include C4C.

Q. How many posts do you need to get in order to win?
A. We need 12 more as of right now, but other non-profits could add more too. So, we just have to get and stay ahead for the next 3 weeks.

Q. How do they check how many posts we’ve had?
A. They gave a key phrase to include at the bottom of the post, plus a link. Links are very easy to track back. Plus, they are a search company so finding their key phrase is easy for them.

Q. So if I weave what you wrote into a post i write, it would work? It doesn’t have to just be the post and link only, right?
A. Right, as long as it has the key phrase from step 2 with that link somewhere in it they will find it.

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="180" caption="Image via Wikipedia"][/caption]

Chiang Kai-shek is one of those characters from history that I always meant to read more about, but never took the time to look up. Luckily, he found me. Here is a bit of his history from Laura Tyson Li’s review of  “The Generalissimo” by Jay Taylor.

Born the son of a village salt merchant and raised by his widowed mother, Chiang Kai-shek rose to rule the world’s most populous country. After revered revolutionary Sun Yat-sen died in 1925, Chiang seized power. In 1927, he launched a bloody purge of the Chinese Communist Party, which had been cooperating with Sun’s Nationalist Party, touching off decades of civil conflict. Soon after, he married Sun’s sister-in-law, Mayling Soong, the youngest daughter of a wealthy and powerful Shanghai family and a formidable figure in her own right.

In the 1930s, he tried to hold Japan’s armies at bay while battling the communists — until 1937, when full-scale war erupted with Japan, and he joined forces with Mao. After Pearl Harbor — Chiang had long predicted that Japan would target the United States — he joined the Allies. As World War II ended, he resumed fighting the communists. After his defeat, he retreated to the island of Taiwan, then called Formosa.

Over the next quarter-century in exile, Chiang ruled despotically while playing a key role as the United States’ closest Cold War ally in the Pacific.

You can read the rest of the review and a little more about Chiang here.

Caring for China (the non-profit I work for, if you haven’t figured that out already) has it’s own twitter account. Members of C4C will be posting news about China, discussions of Chinese political issues, and anything else to do with Caring for China.

If you are interested in:

• China
• The People of China
• International Relations
• Human Rights
• Chinese language, culture, history
• Democracy
• Political Theory
• Religious Freedom
• Rule of Law
• Asian Studies
• Freedom of Speech
• Government Corruption
• Balance of Power
• Natural Rights
• Communism
• Socialism
• Life in China
• Trade with China

If you are interested in any of these or related topics, follow http://twitter.com/4china, and if you are really interested in these topics consider joining C4C.

Oh, and one more thing. Will you donate a blog post to C4C?

Caring for China (C4C) is a growing non-profit organization with a dream to change the world… or at least a piece of it. Like any other non-profit, we are dependent on donations from people like you, but…

Here is a chance to give to a great cause without it costing you a penny!

All we need is for you to write a blog post. If enough people write about Caring for China, Zemanta will donate to C4C part of the thousands of dollars it is giving away!

Hey, post a link to this post on Facebook, Twitter, and everywhere else too, will ya?

Here are the instructions from Zemanta, the sponsor of this project.

1. Blog about your favorite non-profit(s) (Caring for China is one of them, right?) and why their work makes a difference. (If you want to, you can just copy this post. It is free for the copying. Just make sure to check your links because they do not always copy correctly.)
2. Paste this text and link to the end of your post. Without this text and link, we will be unable to track and credit your charitable cause as part of this campaign:
   This blog post is part of Zemanta’s <a href=”http://www.zemanta.com/bloggingforacause/”>Blogging For a Cause</a> campaign to raise awareness and funds for worthy causes that bloggers care about.
3. Publish your post!!
4. Then go tell your friends to do the same!

Will you help today?

By the way, I know for a few of you this really does not fit with the character and topic of your blog. If so, or if you don’t have a blog of your own, contact me about a guest post opportunity. You will get free links to the site(s) of your choice and help out a good cause.

Here is a summary, from the website, of what C4C is all about:

China is quickly and peacefully becoming a modern, capitalist democracy. Well, quickly in comparison to its five thousand year history, and in comparison to other nations in the past. Few nations, have made this transition peacefully.

China might.

To make this huge transition, though, China is going to need a lot of support from the rest of the world. Even more importantly the people of China need our support in this difficult period of Chinese history.

The Caring for China Center was founded to help the people of China to survive in this restless time and to seize this moment of opportunity.

Still have questions? Read the FAQ (frequently asked questions)

This blog post is part of Zemanta’s Blogging For a Cause campaign to raise awareness and funds for worthy causes that bloggers care about.

Thanks!

To maintain balance and a successful society we should try to keep as many of the following types of organizations independent from each-other as possible:

• Legislative bodies – keep laws as local as is practical.
• Judicial systems – local precedent preferred unless parties are non-local in which case the decision should only set precedent at the level it was decided.
• Executive branch of government – should be under the law but selected independently, not by another branch or body of government.
• Church denominations, and congregations – church leadership should never be chosen by or chose government leaders.
• Monetary regulators – the money supply (even when a gold standard is used) can be adjusted to control inflation and soften recessions. Done wisely this can be very beneficial to society. It should, however, be done by a separately elected body answerable directly to the people.
• Media – the more independent companies and, even better, individuals, the more checks you have against would be tyrants.
• Armed citizens – although this seems risky, it gives citizens confidence to participate in democracy daily, not just on election day, if they know that by banding together they can protect themselves against a tyrannical government.
• Businesses – Individual Businesses and Business groups should be kept as separate as possible and Business leaders should not be bank-rolling elections, nor should the government own or control businesses or any of their means of production.
• Unions – should be treated like the local government organizations they are. Leaders elected by secret ballot. Records and proceedings open public record. Should not merge with, purchase, or select leaders of other organizations or businesses. Membership, optional.
• Non-Profit organizations – should be funded by public donation as much as possible, private grants should be kept to a minimum and government grants should be awarded by public vote.

Keeping the various powers separate reduces conflicts of interest and opportunities for corruption.

Anytime any of these types of organizations start to grow too big, or merge with another we should be careful. Consolidation of power into anyone’s hand, no matter who they are, will lead toward corruption and tyranny, if not immediately then in the next generation.

Back to the Beginning

Can you believe this three post series was triggered by a single tweet? That tweet turned into several tweets, and then into three posts on at least one blog.

Original Question from @BoneDog, retweeted by @BrucePatrick23: wht’s wrong w/ socialism if it means worker-owned companies? R companies only gd 4 the super-rich 2 own?

My Reply: If socialism did mean worker-owned business where the workers actually bought the tools of production that would be ok, but that is not socialism. That’s capitalism. Socialism is when the government buys (or takes) the tools of production, and even fairly elected officials. If they control both industry and the government meant to regulate it, will become tyrant.

@BrucePatrick23’s reply: Thanks. Looks like Chrysler will have a combination. LOL. I wonder if Denmark’s model could be modified for large nations. Hmm.

@BoneDog’s reply: What stops individuals who own companies from becoming tyrants? The difference is motive. If you trust profit motive (I don’t, see Madoff, Thain, etc.) then you become a capitalist. If u trust elective motive, where people in charge are held accountable democratically, ur socialist.

An alternative to both is to have more shareholder control of the Board of Directors. Falsely, people (@SenJohnMcCain) call full shareholder control socialism. That is responsible capitalism.

My Reply: A union owning part of a corporation is not the same as the employees owning the company. A union is a small government established by the people to protect themselves from unjust working conditions. If the union has a stake in the success of the business, the union leaders are put in situations were they most decide between the individual and the business.

I am not against unions, or even the ideals of socialism. I am just concerned that neither seems to ever work. Therefore as a student of history I cannot support any move toward socialism. Remember, unions are small governments. If they own a business that is the same as any other government ownership of business. It is socialism and it leads toward many conflicts of interest.

Your turn now:

What are your thoughts on seperation and balance of powers, unions, the role of government, etc.? I would love to hear from you.

This is a continuation of yesterday’s topic. Turns out, this is a bigger topic than I thought. It is going to take at least one more post to cover it. Don’t be shy about joining the conversation. I know most of you disagree with me. Go ahead and say so. You will have a bunch of other people cheering you on.

Balance – the defining characteristic of government.

You have a right to speak freely. I have a right to defend my honor if you say something untrue about me. Government exists to balance those two conflicting rights and hundreds of others. A minority of people in any group are more powerful (militarily, financially, intellectually, etc.) than the rest. The weak gather together as a group to form a government that will be powerful enough to balance the power of the strong.

But then the government becomes strong and starts to oppress the weak itself. So wise people will insist on a government that balances itself with three or more branches, will actively monitor and participate in the actions of their government, put in place other institutions such as frequent elections, term limits, freedom of information acts, media, etc. to hold the government accountable.

The purpose of government is balance.

Any government or other group that acquires too much unchecked power will start to prey on the weak. In the five thousand years of history that we have access to, no person or group of people has ever gained, on a local or national level, unchecked power and used it wisely.

The key to success in government lies in keeping the powers balanced. If one group starts to gain too much power, all other groups must join together temporarily to bring the too powerful group back into balance.

Balance requires separation of powers.

Anytime two powers join together into one entity, society loses another essential component of a very delicate balance. Natural ecosystems were designed to be extremely resilient. Human societies are not so durable. They cannot survive the loss of more than a few balancing powers.

Contrary to popular belief, Thomas Jefferson’s letter discussing the separation of “Church” and State was not warning against prayer in school or politics in the pulpit. Jefferson had observed the Roman Catholic Church, specifically the Pope, choosing kings and threatening to excommunicate them unless they bowed to the wishes of the Pope. This left the Pope as an international tyrant without any balancing power to keep him in check. Until years later when the monarch of England claimed authority over “the church.” Then the king became the unchecked tyrant who could, within their belief system, have people condemned to eternal damnation if they did not obey him. It is this merger of two great powers of European culture that Jefferson was trying to keep from repeating in America.

If not properly balanced the world will tip over and flip upside-down, figuratively speaking of course. But, balance really does exist at the very core and essence of nearly everything in life.

An example from the real world.

A natural ecosystem relies heavily on a very delicate balance. It is quite amazing that it works, actually. If you introduce a new plant or animal into the ecosystem, it could totally change the nature of the ecosystem forever, but the amazing thing is that it will adjust and find a new but workable balance in most cases.

If the mice population gets out of hand, the owls will have plenty to eat, will reproduce more, and stay in the area longer until the mice population starts to drop. Then the owls will have less to eat, reproduce less, and some will head off to other areas in search of food. The decrease in the owl population will keep the mice from going extinct, and the two populations will balance against each other.

Balance in a free market.

In a free market, the natural process of supply and demand do the exact same thing. It can get a bit bloody, like a natural ecosystem, with businesses eating businesses and people losing jobs and vaporizing huge amounts of money, but the losses make the gains worth fighting for. The presence of potential gains and losses encourage production. The greater the gap between potential loss and potential gain, the greater the incentive to produce.

There is also a balance between labor and management as long as a worker has the freedom to leave the company and find work elsewhere and management has the freedom to find more productive workers. This balance is disrupted by unions that make it difficult for management to find better workers, and makes it difficult, if possible at all, for workers to find other work in the same field without permission from a very powerful union that controls all companies in an industry. This lack of balancing powers becomes even greater, when a union purchases a company. This situation casues a conflict of interest at best, and leads to tyranical rule in some cases.

More to come in a future post (or two)…

This is a second draft. I went back in to make a few small changes and ended up with a rewrite. Thus a separate post. If you have any comments on content, grammar, or whatever, I would love to hear from you. You can comment on this post, or if you would like your comments to remain private, you can use the contact form.

Call to Action
China is quickly and peacefully becoming a modern, capitalist democracy. Well, quickly in comparison to its five thousand year history, and in comparison to other nations in the past. Few nations (none?) have made this transition peacefully. China might. To make this huge transition, though, it is going to need a lot of support from the rest of the world. Even more importantly the people of China need our support in this difficult period of Chinese history.

The Caring for China Center was founded to help the people of China to survive in this moment of difficulty and to seize this moment of opportunity.

The people of China need your help now. Join us as we pursue the following opportunities.

Support Chinese advocates of change working in China.
People in China who criticize the government are often sent to prison, but many others suffer a fate that is almost worse. In a prison or work camp, you know where you stand and that things probably won’t get much worse. There is little left to fear.

Most advocates of change, though, live with a constant threat that things really could get much worse. They could be put on the local black-list where no one is allowed to hire them. They may not be able to buy or rent property. They could be called in for interrogation. They could be forced to migrate to a different region. They need our help as they continue spreading their message. Sometimes they just need food.

The Caring for China Center works with over eight hundred Chinese advocates of change in China. We are looking for bloggers, people who travel inside China, and publishers to carry the conversation, and we are seeking donations and fund raising opportunities to help these international advocates of change.

Advocate a balanced, rational, and compassionate relationship with China.

Many politicians and members of the media are continuously criticizing the nation as a whole. China is a great nation filled with great people and is even led by many great men. China is not perfect, but neither is any other nation. The system of government they have chosen is very susceptible to corruption at all levels, but many government officials really do want the best for the people they represent. They are trying to do the best they can with the history they have inherited.

We should encourage them to keep doing better, but we will be more effective if we do that with kindness. The Caring for China Center was founded by Xu Wenli a former political prisoner who still loves his country very much despite spending two terms totaling sixteen years in prison under severe conditions. He was imprisoned, not for inciting riots, but for simply for publishing articles and founding a peaceful opposition party. If anyone has a reason to call for the immediate overthrow of the government it is Xu Wenli, but he does not because he wants what is best for his country. If he is not calling for democracy now at all costs, we should question those over-zealous politicians, bloggers, reporters, etc. who are.

The Caring for China Center advocates a balanced, rational, and compassionate relationship with China in conversations with the United States and other western governments, and in conversations with members of online and traditional media.

Encourage a change in culture before a change in government.

Shortly after his second release, Xu Wenli stated, “Democracy in China requires the establishment of a firm foundation, which can happen only under stable conditions.” The United States of America was one of the most successful democracies in world history, but contrary to popular myth it was not created in a day or by a small group of men.

Over the preceding one hundred and fifty years, American had been experimenting with self-rule at the business, city, and colony levels. Before that, they had hundreds of years of experience with varying degrees of independence and self-government in England.

While they did not have the vast amount of scientific information we have now, even the average farm-hand was very well educated in the topics most relevant to establishing a government of the people and by the people. Democracy implies the direct involvement of the majority of citizens in the day-to-day decisions of government not just periodic elections. The level of political education common at the founding of the US supported this kind of involvement. Success in other democracies is also related to percentage of the population that are educated and involved in government.

The Caring for China Center is building a framework for a new form of government in China including a draft constitution, as well as recommendations for cultural changes necessary to support self-rule.

At the same time, continue to press for the release of individual prisoners.
The Chinese government continues to imprison anyone that says anything they do not like, but they are also willing to release most prisoners if enough people ask for their release by name. They want to keep their biggest customers happy, but to take advantage of this you have to be very specific.

We are seeing very encouraging results on this front. People are getting much shorter sentences. This makes it much safer for people to call for change and to expose corrupt officials. China still has a long way to go but we are definitely making great progress.

The Caring for China Center maintains a list of advocate of change who are in prison or in other types of danger. We work with the US and other governments, as well as other organizations to request and obtain the release of many on this list.

Support local Chinese exiles.
Freedom from prison for Xu Wenli came at the price of being banned from ever returning home to China. Others advocates of change manage to leave other ways and avoid prison, but also can never return. They all find themselves exiles in a foreign country.

Exiles have it tough. They frequently do not know the language, do not have a degree from a well known university, do not have any business contacts, and have to deal with an immigration system designed to keep people out.

If they have enough money they can buy counterfeit documentation to make immigration easier, but besides the fact that this is unethical, the organizations doing this, in the US at least, are associated with the Chinese Communist Party. It is strange. Immigrants claim to be oppressed democracy advocates to get through US immigrations and then join pro-communist protests after gaining residency.

The Caring for China Center is careful to only work with exiles who are faithful to the cause of free speech, democracy, rule of law, and other basic human freedoms. When then help them find a place to live and work, start businesses, continue writing about change in China, or helping in any other way we can.

How you can help

• Volunteer – We are making a list of volunteer opportunities that will be available soon. Go to Caring for China’s website, to sign-up.
• Fund-raise – We have a team working on a few fund-raising ideas. If you have ideas and/or would like to help out, please contact me and I will connect you to the right person.
• Write – If you are a blogger, journalist, or author, would you consider writing about one or more major topics that Caring for China is working on? We can help you with research, interviews, and other resources, as you put your article, post or book together.
• Donate – Caring for China Center is a registered 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization, which means that your gifts are tax-deductible. Your donation can be designated for a specific project, if you like, or we can allocate it among all of the projects we are currently working on. You can find the donate page here.
• Be creative – China is a huge place, with huge problems and opportunities. Caring for China cannot possible address all of the issues nor do we have all the answers. We need creative imput from people like you to find better ways to achieve the goals of the organization.

This video only has one section with English sub-titles, but the pictures say a lot.

June 4th, often written as 64 in China, is a very import date in Chinese history. The mothers of those who died that day are asking us to help keep the memory of this day alive. Very few people in China under the age of 40 have ever heard of this nameless event in the obscure city of Beijing.

But, history forgotten is history soon repeated.

In America, we tend to group all of Europe, North America, Australia, and any other developed nations into a group we call America, or the US. And when we talk about the United States of America or even our state/region, we often call it “the world” for short.

I guess you could say that we are a bit mixed up. It really is just synecdoche at work. The people who most often make this mistake are the least imperialistic. A true imperialist chooses his words more carefully. So no hard feelings, okay?

That was not my question anyway. I now have a lot of friends from Europe and Australia. I was wondering if a few of you could take a minute to enlighten me.

Do you use the terms “developed nations”, “the West”, or something else to refer to these nations as opposed to nations that are still developing? What term is most common? Most acceptable?

This is a draft. If you have any comments on content, grammar, or whatever, I would love to hear from you. You can comment on this post, or if you would like your comments to remain private, you can use the contact form.

Call to Action
China is quickly and peacefully becoming a modern, capitalist democracy. Well, quickly in comparison to its five thousand year history, at least. Few nations (none?) have made this transition peacefully. China might. To make this huge transition, though, it is going to need a lot of support from the rest of the world. Even more importantly the people of China need our support in this difficult period of Chinese history.

Caring for China was founded to help the people of China to survive and thrive in this moment of difficulty and… opportunity.

You can help us help the people of China in many ways. We have listed a few below. Join us as we pursue these goals and discover even more opportunities.

Support Chinese advocates of change working in China.
People in China who criticize the government are often sent to prison, but many others suffer a fate that is almost worse. In a prison or work camp, you know where you stand and that things probably won’t get much worse. There is little left to fear.

Most advocates of change, though, live with a constant threat that things really could get much worse. They could be put on the local black-list where no one is allowed to hire them. They may not be able to buy or rent property. They could be called in for interrogation. They could be forced to migrate to a different region. They need our help to continue to spread their message. Sometimes they just need food.

The Caring for China Center works with over eight hundred Chinese advocates of change in China. If you would like to help, we can help you find creative ways.

Ask your government representatives to be fair and considerate in dealing with China.
Many politicians, and media for that matter, are continuously criticizing the nation as a whole. China is a great nation filled with great people and is even led by many great men. China is not perfect, but neither is any other nation. The system of government they have chosen is very susceptible to corruption at all levels, but many government officials really do want the best for the people they represent. They are trying to do the best they can with the history they have inherited.

We should encourage them to keep doing better, but we will be more effective if we do that with kindness. The Caring for China Center was founded by Xu Wenli a former political prisoner who still loves his country very much despite his sixteen years in prison. If he is advocating change from within and encouragement rather than attack from without, and he is, we should definitely pay attention.

If you are in a position to influence government officials or would like to join the campaign for a rational approach to government-to-government relations, we would be glad to work with you.

At the same time, continue to press for the release of individual prisoners.
The Chinese government continues to imprison anyone that says anything they do not like, but they are also willing to release most prisoners if enough people ask for their release by name. They want to keep their biggest customers happy, but to take advantage of this you have to be very specific.

We are seeing very encouraging results on this front. People are getting much shorter sentences. This makes it much safer for people to call for change and to expose corrupt officials. China still has a long way to go but we are definitely making great progress.

Support local Chinese exiles.
Freedom from prison sometimes comes at the price of being banned from ever returning home to China. Others manage to leave other ways and avoid prison, but also can never return. Exiles have it tough. They frequently do not know the language well, do not have a degree from a well known university, do not have any business contacts, and have to deal with an immigration system designed to keep people out.

If you have enough money you can buy your way in, but besides the fact that this is unethical, the organizations doing this, in the US at least, are associated with the Chinese Communist Party. It is strange. Immigrants claim to be oppressed democracy advocates to get through US immigrations and then join pro-communist protests after gaining residency.

The Caring for China Center is careful to only work with exiles who are faithful to the cause of free speech, democracy, rule of law, and other basic human freedoms. If you are interested in helping exiles find a place to live and work, start businesses, continue writing about change in China, or helping in any other way, we will help you help them.

You can always count on the Brits to laugh at their little brother, the US.

To be fair, America has done plenty of humorous things lately. Obama has set out to bridge the “small rift” between polar opposites by proving that Republicans do not have a monopoly on political silliness and foot-in-mouth disease.

Gerald Warner of the Telegraph tells the whole story here. I just pulled out one section I thought was particularly funny.

So Barack reckoned it might go down well with his Yeti-hugging constituency to smack down Beijing for its treatment of Tibet. He forgot the kind of people he was dealing with. Within 24 hours Chinese premier Wen Jiabao took a fierce revenge by talking down the reliability of US Treasury bonds.

“To be honest, I’m a little bit worried,” Wen confided at a news conference. “I request the US to honour its promises and to guarantee the safety of China’s assets. We have lent a huge amount of money to the United States.” Ouch! That hurt. It was a sharp reminder, from a regime that knows all about control and reprisals, that a government that holds $727.4 billion of US Treasury Bonds does not have to take any moralising sermons from Obama.

May I remind you that the borrower is slave to his creditor. Everytime you borrowed money you were indirectly  agreeing to serve the Chinese government, your ultimate creditor.

Hat tip to Reflections in a Chinese Eye for the link.

If I can get this to publish correctly, I have a 70 minute documentary on Beijing’s preparations for the 2008 Olympics.

I would love to hear you thoughts on this in comments or any other mode of your choosing.