Beijing, China
By NBC News' Bo Gu
BEIJING – Thirty-three years after his death, Mao Zedong is still a god to many in China. And you can see him everywhere.
He's mostly standing, in a military uniform or a long buttoned-up winter coat, sometimes wearing his symbolic little red-starred army hat, usually waving his right arm high up to the air as if giving a victory gesture or ordering his army to march forward. Occasionally you see him posed as a deep thinker with his hands behind the back, or even sitting on a chair looking into some mysterious future.
He mainly stands in big cities’ center squares, overlooking senior citizens doing tai chi in dawn light or children running around in a park; many times he stands in military barracks or factory blocks, supervising his soldiers in exercise and workers on the assembly line; sometimes he waves his big hand in universities, reminding the students of his renowned remark “you youth are the sun at 8 a.m. or 9 a.m., you are the future of the country"; now and then, he makes surprise appearances in a dingy local clinic, a small Sichuan restaurant, or in the middle of a rundown low-rise housing complex.
He’s mostly cement, gray and stiff, sometimes marble, white and spotless, occasionally bronze, yellow and shining.
There are hundreds of these statues of the late founder of the People’s Republic of China across the country. And Cheng Wenjun, an urban sculpture designer and photographer, made it his mission, which he began in 1997, to make a record of every one.
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By NBC News' Bo Gu
BEIJIJNG – One week after China celebrated 60 years of communist rule, several hundred representatives from more than 100 overseas media groups and 40 Chinese media are gathering in Beijing for the World Media Summit to discuss major shifts and challenges in the news industry.
The summit, which opened Friday, is sponsored by nine media giants including The Associated Press, Reuters and BBC, and hosted by Xinhua, China’s official press agency. Its theme is "Cooperation, Action, Win-Win and Development."
Participants included News Corp. Chairman & CEO Rupert Murdoch, AP President & CEO Thomas Curley, Reuters News Editor-in-Chief David Schlesinger, BBC Director-General Mark Thompson, Special Consultant to NBC News Jeff Gralnick, and NBC Foreign News Director Chris Hampson. (MSNBC.com is a joint venture of NBC Universal and Microsoft Corp.)
The gathering of media industry bigshots is another notch in China’s ambitious plan of displaying its soft power on world stage – not only with a speedy economic growth and colossal military might but also with a prodigious media empire that can compete with other international press giants.
Underscoring the importance of the event, Chinese President Hu Jintao attended the opening session.
Apparently addressing the issue of perceived unfair coverage of China by Western journalists, Hu appealed to the world's media to "uphold social responsibilities … objectively report the reality of the multi-polarity of the world, economic globalization and diverse civilizations."
For some, the summit offered a platform to urge China to further push media reforms."The policy then was called ‘the Open Door,’" said Murdoch. "China now has a chance to open its digital door."
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By NBC News' Ed Flanagan
BEIJING – A veil of secrecy and intense – some would say comically extreme – protective measures defined the lead-up to today's 60th anniversary celebrations in China.
The massive military parade on Thursday was the manifestation of months of highly choreographed, tightly managed planning – the calling card of mass events in modern China.
For the 12 million inhabitants of the capital, the massive security and traffic restrictions caused widespread inconveniences. But many brushed off the temporary annoyances.
"We should accept temporary difficulties," said Cao Jian, a Chinese cook whose restaurant had to shut down temporarily due to the celebrations. "When we see this rare display of modern weapons, we Chinese feel a sense of security, a sense of pride," he added.
The centerpiece of the parade was a display of China's military arsenal, although it seemed almost absurd that such a heavy police presence was required to guard the new, highly advanced war-fighting might of China's armed forces.
However, many military observers who were leaning in a little closer to their TVs in expectation of seeing as many as 52 new Chinese weapons systems were disappointed to find none of the new arsenal on display.
Yet, from the media position in front of the Forbidden City, the procession of modern weaponry achieved its intended effect. Throughout the day there were subdued awes and nods of respect from the assembled media and distinguished guests as we witnessed a mass display, which could only be described as awe-inspiring.
The roar of massive diesel engines from scores of brand new tanks, missile batteries and amphibious fighting vehicles provided a unique accompaniment to the soundtrack of the day, a selection of martial and nationalist musical scores that blasted throughout Tiananmen Square and the areas around it.
Equally impressive was the cadence of thousands of boots marching in step as perfectly dressed ranks of soldiers from every military branch goose-stepped past dignitaries and then cheered in perfect unison, "HELLO SENIOR LEADER!" to President Hu Jintao and later, "SERVE THE PEOPLE!" in response to Hu’s salutations.
Meantime, an armada of more than 150 helo and fixed-wing aircraft soared overhead. The first wave of fighter jets trailing colored streaks of smoke through the city were met with wild applause and cheers from the distinguished guests near us.
And the hundreds of schoolchildren sitting across from us in Tiananmen Square nearly lost their perfect discipline as they broke into cheers as well. (Not leaving any detail to chance, the schoolchildren’s colorful headdresses, from above, spelt out, "Guo Qing" or national holiday.)
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By NBC News' Bo Gu
BEIJING – With more than 170 A-list movie stars from China and Hong Kong, "The Founding of a Republic," is breaking box office records – raking in $33.8 million during its first 10 days in theaters.
But this is nothing like the products pumped out by Hollywood. Instead, it’s a propaganda film made by the state-owned China Film Group.
Launched to mark the 60th anniversary of the communist era, the 135-minute movie depicts Mao Zedong’s rise, tracking the 1945-49 war in which the Communist Party of China (the CPC) led by Mao and the National Democratic Party (the KMT) led by Chiang Kai-shek fought fiercely for power..
The lengthy cast list includes many of the top names in modern Chinese film, including martial arts stars Jackie Chan and Jet Li, Zhang Ziyi of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," action movie director John Woo, among others. And most of the famous actors took little or no pay for their work – rather, considering it an honor to have just a few brief lines in the film.
Movies in China usually don’t sell a lot of tickets during the so-called "red season," the summer and early fall months that are dominated by national holidays ( July 1 is the Communist Party of China’s Founding Day, Aug. 1 is the People’s Liberation Army Day and Oct.1 is National Day). The films that are released are typically dull, mind-numbing propaganda films only viewed by students or government staff with free tickets.
But "The Founding of a Republic" seems to be an exception. The box office numbers are still skyrocketing the China Film Group says it expects the tally to pass $350 million within the next couple of weeks.
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By Ian Williams, NBC News correspondent
DONGGUAN, China – "It's been a rough year," Ben Schwall shouted above the rumbling furnaces of a giant Chinese glass factory. He watched as workers, blowing down long tubes, transformed blobs of molten glass into juicers, bowls and lights.
"Orders are picking up. Things are getting better," he said. "The telephone is starting to ring again. Everybody feels there is something coming back."
We were in Dongguan, in the manufacturing heartland of southern China. Frequently called the "workshop of the world," the region was battered last year when the world stopped buying and exports collapsed.
Schwall supplies Chinese lighting equipment to the United States, linking American buyers with Chinese factories. Before the economic crisis, he was shipping 70 containers a month, but then his business fell by nearly two-thirds.
Thousands of factories across China closed last year, and some 20 million migrant workers lost their jobs.
Suddenly, though, this region is buzzing again. Factories are being renovated and are hiring. Vast public works and infrastructure projects have transformed parts of the area into sprawling building sites. Shops are full, with electronic goods flying off shelves; car sales have almost doubled over last year.
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By Adrienne Mong, NBC News Producer
BEIJING – After a short summer break, I returned to Beijing to find the city under siege.
At least that’s how it looks these days – two weeks before the National Holiday on Oct. 1 to mark the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China.
As I rode through central Beijing over the weekend, an armored vehicle was poised on the corner of the Dongsishitiao roundabout. A soldier was sitting on top of it, wearing a balaclava and with a machine gun at the ready. Pedestrians stopped, stared, and then took photos with their cell phones.
Police checkpoints now ring Beijing’s outskirts, monitoring traffic from the surrounding provinces and inspecting vehicles entering the capital. Busloads of troops have been unloading around the city. And jets screamed across a beautifully clear sky over Tiananmen Square on Saturday morning.
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| Adrienne Mong / NBC News |
| With increased security in Beijing, some officials who are new to the city try to find their bearings. |
The square itself, the Forbidden City opposite it, and the major road arteries flowing south of Chang'an Avenue – which bisects the capital – were all closed to the public this past weekend.
What sounded like half-hearted fireworks sputtered through the late evening near the Workers' Stadium, but with the high visibility of soldiers and police, you’d be forgiven for thinking it was gunfire.
A party for the Party
In short, authorities here are taking no chances.
After all, it’s a big anniversary. It’s especially significant because in Chinese culture sixtieth anniversaries are a big milestone – their significance is equivalent to that of a centennial elsewhere.
But anyone under the impression the celebration is for the people might want to think again. This is a party for the party – the Chinese Communist Party.
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By NBC News' Bo Gu
NANJING, China – In the middle of Yuhuatai Martyr Memorial Park in Nanjing, southeast China’s ancient capital, is a small building called the "Jiangsu National State Security Education Museum."
The sign in front of the gate is likely to trigger the curiosity of any passerby – but especially foreigners. It warns would-be visitors: "This exhibition service is available to Chinese citizens ONLY."
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| Bo Gu/ NBC News |
| The entrance to China's spy museum warns that "This exhibition service is available ONLY to PRC citizens." |
As a Chinese citizen, I was permitted to enter, so I did.
The museum’s exhibition halls display the history of China’s security techniques and spy equipment dating back to the 1920s, when China’s Communist Party came into being and began its battle against the Chinese National Party led by Chiang Kai-shek.
One of the largest exhibits focuses on the decades-long spy war between mainland China and Taiwan – both before and after Chiang Kai-shek lost the battle for China and fled to the island with his followers in 1949.
The exhibition rooms are full of large photos of Communist Party spies who successful concealed themselves as Nationalist Party members and infiltrated their ranks. One of the most prominent photos was of Shen Anna, a Communist spy who managed to disguise herself as a stenographer and sat in on many of the Nationalist’s high-level meetings.
The museum features a large display of Cold War era spy tools that are reminiscent of early James Bond movies. The exhibit includes tiny pistols disguised as lipsticks, a calculator with a radio microphone hidden inside and a camera sewn inside a suit pocket so it could secretly take pictures of important documents.
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By Adrienne Mong, NBC News Producer
BEIJING – For most of August, it’s been hard to imagine China leading the charge down a low-carbon path.
On my Blackberry, headlines about how the country is seeking to ramp up development of alternative energies such as wind and solar power and rolling out electric vehicles have been competing all summer with relentless Tweets from BeijingAir telling us the obvious: That air quality in the Chinese capital is "unhealthy" or "hazardous."
(BeijingAir is a Twitter feed published by the U.S. embassy in Beijing, which monitors the air in the central downtown area, on an hourly basis, using U.S. Environmental Protection Agency standards.)
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| Adrienne Mong / NBC News |
| BeijingAir publishes hourly tweets on the capital's air quality. |
Last weekend’s weather was so foul (BeijingAir: "very unhealthy") that I stayed indoors, engrossed in reading a political thriller that pits the U.S. against China over climate change.
"Ultimatum," a novel that came out earlier this year, is set in the year 2032, when a newly elected American president discovers that the effects of global warming will be far more catastrophic than anyone realized.
With huge swathes of America’s coastline – as well as those of every other continent – destined to go under water, forcibly relocating hundreds of millions of people, the U.S. realizes any viable solution requires a coordinated effort with the world’s biggest emitter, China. And so begins a secret, high-stakes diplomatic game of cat and mouse…
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By NBC News' Ed Flanagan
BEIJING – In the past few years, China's Internet vigilantes have mobilized to root out, expose and shame people they perceive to be exhibiting corrupt or immoral behavior.
Marked for their unfettered zeal, the literal translation of the Chinese term for this ad hoc group of sleuthing online activists is: "human flesh search engine."
Nevertheless, while the stature of this group of online watchmen continues to grow, a new Chinese movie may force the Internet phenomenon out of the online sphere and into the country's public dialogue.
"Invisible Killer," produced and co-written by Xie Xiaodong, is the first movie to broach the subject of Internet vigilantism and dramatize the pitfalls of having a mobilized and motivated online mob administering its own brand of justice.
In the film, the main character, Gao Fei, is accused online of seducing a married woman. In response, his online "judges" mete out justice by digging up and posting personal information about him on the Internet. Branding him a "fugitive" online, the cyber assault on Gao’s character turns even nastier when his home is attacked and a manhunt sponsored by a Web site to locate and interview him turns violent.
Swift Success
The events portrayed in "Invisible Killer" may be fiction, but the story line is not far from reality.
China’s online vigilantes have been active for several years, but their first big breakthrough came in 2006. At the time, the Chinese media and what were seen as "amateur sleuths" began a national manhunt to discover the identity of a Hangzhou woman who appeared in gruesome videos crushing cats under sharp stiletto heels.
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By Adrienne Mong, NBC News Producer
BEIJING – A debate over whether eating organic foods provides any nutritional benefit was sparked late last month after an independent study in the U.K. found that there were no significant nutritional differences between organic and conventionally produced food.
But, in China, a growing appreciation for organic food isn’t simply because of the perceived nutritional benefits; consumers have turned to organic food as a means of ensuring some measure of health and safety.
After all, this is a country where the challenges of maintaining food safety are regularly in the newspaper headlines – the melamine milk scandal in 2008; tainted cough syrup that killed more than 100 people in Panama in 2006; and pet food containing adulterated wheat gluten, which was blamed for thousands of animal deaths in the U.S. in 2007. Not to mention the myriad reports of food being tampered in local Chinese markets.
This year the Chinese government has taken numerous steps in an attempt to improve food safety. Chief among these is the country’s first food safety law, which went into effect on June 1, enacting tough penalties against producers of tainted food and consolidating oversight in one cabinet-level agency. And more recently, officials established a database keeping track of food manufacturers who have issued recalls in the past.
Still, consumers in Beijing are taking matters into their own hands. In fact, just as it has in the U.S. and other western countries, community supported agriculture – buying locally grown produce directly from farmers – has begun to grow in popularity in the capital.
A Taiwan-born New Yorker, Lejen Chen, explains to NBC News why she set up the Green Cow Organic Farm, a little oasis on the outskirts of Beijing.
