Tibet, no; climate change, yes!

Posted: Wednesday, March 25, 2009 2:40 PM
Filed Under: Beijing, China

BEIJING – When American laser-graffiti artist James Powderly was arrested and jailed for six days in Beijing during the Olympics last August for plotting to project the words "Free Tibet" on a building near Tiananmen Square, he probably wouldn’t have imagined that half a year later Greenpeace China would be allowed to do something similar – only this time with the message: "Time is Running Out to Stop Global Warming."

On Monday Greenpeace China turned Yongdingmen, one of Beijing's ancient city gates, into a gigantic countdown clock ticking down to the United Nations' Climate Change Conference to be held in Copenhagen in December. 

Greg Baker / AP

A security guard looks at the Greenpeace China countdown clock projected onto Yongdingmen Gate in Beijing on March 23.

But while Greenpeace China, which was allowed to set up shop in Beijing in 2002 (albeit only as a "branch" of the Hong Kong- registered organization), has enjoyed greater leeway than most non-governmental organizations, that doesn’t mean the floodgates of public protest are now open to all comers. Rather, the group’s environmental message happens to dovetail nicely with the Chinese government’s growing recognition – spurred by public worries – of the importance of environmental protection.

Let’s talk about global warming, not human rights
In his report to parliament earlier this month, Premier Wen Jiabao pledged to "work tirelessly" to reduce China’s energy consumption, lower emissions, protect the environment and "implement the national plan for addressing climate change." The large caveat is that economic growth will remain the government’s primary goal, especially in the face of the current economic crisis.

There does appear to be some sincerity behind the talk, though some of it springs from self-interest, such as drawing attention away from controversial irritant issues such as human rights. 

Hoewever, Hillary Clinton’s recent visit shows that China’s leaders are more willing than before to engage with the United States, and the world, on issues of global warming and climate change. Efforts to curb greenhouse gases were a central issue during the U.S. secretary of state’s February talks and her trip included a visit to an energy-efficient power plant in Beijing.

According to a source familiar with the Greenpeace campaign, the planning of the gigantic countdown event took into consideration China's growing desire to be seen as part of a "positive force" in the fight against climate change.

"The local police and authorities were told that it would be a public education event, and they said ‘Yes,’" said the source, who asked to remain anonymous due to the sensitive nature of obtaining government permits for public demonstration.

A lot more sources
Still, China’s policy on what is allowed in the arena of public discourse is an ongoing evolution.

In part, this is because the government has come to realize that it is no longer the only source of news. Although people working for government organizations are still forced to subscribe to state-owned propaganda newspapers like the People’s Daily; when they go home they can share stories on their personal blogs or Twitter accounts and exchange photos or videos on websites like Picasso or tudou.com.   

And when citizens in Xiamen (in south China) "mass walked" in the streets to protest a chemical plant project and used cell phones to spread the message or when people in Weng’an burned government buildings and police cars during a demonstration – it was an alarm bell for authorities that maybe they need to change their own public relations strategy. 

In similar vein, Beijing is reportedly planning to invest more than $6 billion in Chinese media organizations, similar to CNN or the BBC, that will be compelling and informative – but, most important, patriotic. In addition, crisis management training is being delivered to government officials who used to know next to nothing about talking to the media.

Taking things slowly
But there are still some taboo subjects. Open Google in China and type in "Falungong," a banned spiritual sect, and all you can read is how evil this belief is and how many victims the religion has directly or indirectly killed. Or if you try "Dalai Lama," you find "Dalai Lama’s five lies," or "How the Dalai Lama Clique betrayed and fled China."

So if James Powderly thinks he could come out to project his ideas on a city wall like what Greenpeace has done, he’d be wrong. The line remains very clear. Don’t expect to cross it.

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