CHINA, JOURNALISM AND THE STATE SERIES: Unheard Voices in China

By Lianne Li

Zhao Yan, The New York Times Beijing Bureau, suspected of leaking state secrets; Shi Tao, Hunan journalist and poet, suspected of leaking state secrets; Jiang Weiping, journalist of Wen Hui newspaper, imprisoned for leaking state secrets; Yu Hua, Liu Xiaobo, founders of the Chinese PEN Chapter, arrested and released, after allowing police to search their computer; Jiao Guobiao, a professor of the Journalism Department of Peking University, banned from lecturing.

The list goes on, and still the general public is kept from knowing any of it. Although the call for press freedom has been increasingly louder with the opening up of China's media market and the growth of market-oriented media, there are still voices unheard, arrested mainly by three types of force: the force of routine, the force of opposition, and the force of corruption.

Routine kills voices. It cannot be more plain than in Zhao Yan's case. The New York Times employee was arrested on suspicion of leaking former President Jiang Zemin's plan of resignation. Suppose he did leak the secret, regardless of a lack of proof and the Times' claim that he had not been the source, the state had the need to arrest him in order to exercise regulation in the media sphere.

The Chinese law concerning secrecy in public media states that any one working in the government has to apply for permission before revealing information concerning state secrets to journalists. The confidential information of Jiang Zemin's plan for resignation was known only within the government. Since the state-controlled media had been kept away from it, it was therefore inevitably considered illegal for a Chinese journalist to pass on the information to foreign media without notifying the authorities.

The problem lies in a contradiction of news value and practices--what was considered news was held to be a state secret by the central government. Outsiders of the government may argue that the resignation of a former governmental leader was only a small piece of Party news; but to the insiders, it was not something that would contribute to press freedoms, instead, it could be a destroyer of peace, something always feared by the government.

The September 7 article written by Joseph Khan revealed not only the plan of resignation of a government leader, but also the possible existence of a power struggle within the outwardly peaceful central government. If such a power struggle existed, it was definitely not a good idea to let the citizens know what was happening, for it "threatens the stability of the state." If the power struggle didn't exist as spectators assumed, the government would still want to quell such rumors for they would still "threaten the stability of the state." The practice of journalism, according to the regulations, should be guided by the policies and strategies of the central government and the party, and represent the eyes and nose and throat and tongue of the party and the people.

Journalism in China is never considered, as in some western countries, to be the independent fourth power of the state, and to serve the citizen's interest. State and party has to come first. Although it's true that journalists are given the right of reporting freely, political matters are required to be reported under the rules of the Party; the disclosure of any unchecked information is bordering on leaking state secrets.

The western media's commonplace practice of uncovering "real" news from confidential sources within the government inevitably fails in China, labeled with spying. Secret, inside voices are routinely held dangerous on account of their potential to arouse rumors and unrest, and are hushed up with little regard for the general effect. But, people won't stop suspecting government without inside information; instead, they may fall deeper into disbelief and doubt when there are only hints of something wrong. What is meant to bring peace and stability might produce the opposite.

Opposition arrests a different kind of voice. Jiao Guobiao, a Peking University Professor, wrote a radical article mocking the propaganda ministry of the government and published it on the Internet more than half-a-year ago. The article enumerated 14 "diseases" of the propaganda ministry in offensive language, which became the main reason for the ban on his lectures.

Yu Jie and Liu Xiaobo were detained for several days and returned with the warning not to publish political arguments on the Internet. They were banned under a different charge: spreading criticism of the government. Their opposing views, whether right or not, were only meant to express their opinions, but were considered by the authorities to be a negative influence on the public.

The government's promise to allow more freedom of expression makes the arrest of such voices inexplicable. The growth of Chinese society has seen much intellectual progress, but tolerance and freedom are still coming up short. Nevertheless, the liberal trend is unlikely to turn back. With much confidence, we can say more criticisms are bound to be heard.

The cruelest arrests result from corruption. Jiang Weiping, a journalist who uncovered the corruption of Ma Xiangdong, the former leader in the local government of Dalian, Liaoning province, is still serving a six-year sentence for "leaking state secrets," even when the corruption was found out and the corrupted leader was sentenced. Jiang's sentence was a mistake, and remains so with no measures yet taken to release him. Surely, corruption does more harm than the "leaking of state secrets" in such a case.

If no prevention is taken, there will be no chance for those righteous voices to be heard, no matter how loud are the promises for freedom of expression. The reason why these righteous voices are so vulnerable is that they have little legal protection. China's media legislation is far from being mature; the lack of protection for journalists working to expose corruption places them in a precarious position between right and wrong. The tragedy of Jiang Weiping is not merely his own, but belongs to an entire generation of journalists.

It won't be possible for the state to be free and stable without different voices. It won't be possible to rid the unheard voices from prison without a fair government. And it won't be possible for more such voices to be heard without a harmonious political environment. What is needed by the journalists of tomorrow is a guarantee of their right to speak.

CHINA, JOURNALISM: A Free Press and a Strong Government? Note From the Editors

In September 2004, Zhao Yan, a native Chinese journalist working for The New York Times, was arrested by the Beijing State Security Bureau and accused of "revealing state secrets." Since it is a journalism story that goes to the heart of the ages-old conundrum of how to balance the people's right to know with the sworn duty of a government to protect national interests, as English language journalism majors, Mr. Zhao's case and his continued detention became a part of our studies. And our writing. Consequently, a series of opinion and commentary essays representing a wide range of thoughts on the issue will follow in these pages. We believe you will find much food for thought on a complex dilemma.

To bring you up to date on the Zhao case, below are three articles published in the New York Times.

Thank you,

The editors

* * *

The New York Times FOREIGN DESK | September 24, 2004, Friday

Researcher for The Times in China Is Detained

By ERIK ECKHOLM
Late Edition - Final , Section A , Page 9 , Column 1

A Chinese research assistant in the Beijing bureau of The New York Times has been detained on suspicion of revealing state secrets.

The research assistant, Zhao Yan, was detained on Sept. 17 while in Shanghai on personal business. His family received formal notice on Sept. 21, from the Beijing State Security Bureau, that Mr. Zhao was "in criminal detention under suspicion of illegally providing state secrets to foreigners."

"We are deeply, deeply concerned about the detention of Zhao Yan," said Susan Chira, foreign editor of The Times. "We are doing everything we can to assure his safety and we are helping his family get legal assistance."

"We can state categorically that Mr. Zhao has not provided any state secrets to our newspaper," Ms. Chira said.

Bill Keller, executive editor of The Times, has contacted the White House, the State Department and the Chinese government on Mr. Zhao's behalf.

Some Beijing journalists have speculated that the detention is linked to an article in The Times on Sept. 7 reporting the unexpected news that the former Communist Party chairman, Jiang Zemin, planned to resign his last position of power, as chairman of the Central Military Commission. The article cited unnamed sources with ties to the leadership.

Deliberations among party leaders are highly secretive in China, and leaks are considered a crime. In this case, the accuracy of the article was confirmed last Sunday, when Mr. Jiang relinquished his military post.

The Chinese authorities have not notified The Times about Mr. Zhao's detention and have not said what secret information he allegedly revealed, or to whom, Ms. Chira said.

Most foreign bureaus in China employ local people to help scour official sources, newspapers and the Internet for information, and to assist in translations. Some Chinese assistants have had trouble with the authorities over the years when the newspapers they worked for wrote on subjects considered politically sensitive.

But the criminal laws on leaking state secrets, while vague about the definition of a secret, are unusually severe, with lengthy prison terms possible for those convicted.

"We are eager to ensure that no local employee of The Times be held responsible for news coverage by our correspondents," Ms. Chira said.

Ms. Chira stressed that Mr. Zhao was employed as a researcher, to assist correspondents in gathering information, and that he had not functioned as a reporter or writer.

The Times's Beijing bureau hired Mr. Zhao in May of this year. He previously worked for China Reform, a magazine known for its articles on farmers' and labor rights, and he was known for aggressive reporting on government abuses of power.

* * *

Next we have an excerpt from the article in question, written by Joseph Kahn:

China Ex-President May Be Set to Yield Last Powerful Post

BEIJING, Sept. 6 - Jiang Zemin, China's military chief and senior leader, has told Communist Party officials that he plans to resign, prompting an intense and so far inconclusive struggle for control of the armed forces, two people with leadership connections say.

Mr. Jiang's offer to relinquish authority as chairman of the Central Military Commission potentially gives Hu Jintao - who succeeded Mr. Jiang as head of the Communist Party and president of China in 2002 and is now vice chairman of the military commission - a chance to become the country's undisputed top leader, commanding the state, the army and the ruling party.

But people here who were informed about a bargaining session under way at a government compound in western Beijing said it remained unclear whether Mr. Jiang genuinely intended to step aside, or if he would do so on terms acceptable to Mr. Hu.

Chinese political battles are often waged by indirection, with senior officials rarely stating their bottom line and often relying on supporters to represent their interests. Thus, one official said, it is possible that Mr. Jiang, 78, has calculated that he will be called on to remain military chief or to hold another position of influence.

Still, Mr. Jiang's planned resignation, which he announced to a meeting of senior party officials late last week, is an indication that the horse-trading under way before the convening of a national party meeting this month is the most contentious since a partial transfer of power to younger leaders took place in 2002, the people who were told about the proceedings said.

If Mr. Hu, who is 62, were to gain control of the armed forces, he could potentially carry out an agenda that some analysts say is more open to change at home and possibly less truculent in managing local hot spots like Hong Kong and Taiwan.

China's party-controlled news media have not reported on the secretive meetings. People who described the proceedings on condition of anonymity probably have only a partial understanding of what happened and have received their information from other individuals who have a vested interest in the outcome.

There are signs, though, that the jockeying goes beyond the closed-door deliberations that precede any major party meeting. A party official said he had been notified that the formal agenda for the coming meeting of the party's 198-member Central Committee - a discussion of how to improve party governance - had been scrapped, an indication that it had been overtaken by the broader power struggle. ...

For a fuller understanding of the issue, you should read the complete article at The New York Times.

* * *

Next comes a column written by Nicholas Kristof in The New York Times. Kristof, a former Beijing bureau chief for The New York Times, returns frequently to China, and writes frequently about China. In the American spectrum of political thought, he is considered solidly in the pro China camp. Notwithstanding the provocative title; and it did indeed provoke.

The New York Times EDITORIAL DESK | December 1, 2004, Wednesday

China's Donkey Droppings

By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF
Late Edition - Final , Section A , Page 31 , Column 6

For the last century, the title of "most important place in the world" has belonged to the United States, but that role seems likely to shift in this century to China.

So what are China's new leaders, Hu Jintao and Wen Jiabao, really like? Are they visionaries who are presiding over the greatest explosion of wealth the world has ever known? Or are they ruthless thugs who persecute Christians, Falun Gong adherents, labor leaders and journalists in a desperate attempt to maintain their dictatorship?

There's some evidence for both propositions, and they are probably both true to some degree.

When Mr. Hu and Mr. Wen rose to the helm of the Communist Party two years ago, many Chinese hoped they would bring a new openness to a nation that is dynamic economically but stagnant intellectually. Instead, China has become more repressive.

The repression has now engulfed a member of The New York Times's family. Zhao Yan, a researcher for the Beijing bureau of The Times, has been detained by the authorities since September and is not allowed to communicate with his family or lawyers.

Mr. Zhao is accused of leaking state secrets, a very serious charge that could lead to a decade in prison. China's government may believe that he was behind the September scoop by The Times's Beijing bureau chief, Joseph Kahn, that China's former leader, Jiang Zemin, was about to retire from his last formal position.

While The Times's policy is, wisely, never to comment on the sources of articles, my own private digging indicates that Mr. Zhao was not the source for that scoop. He is innocent of everything except being a fine journalist who, before joining The Times, wrote important articles in the Chinese press about corruption.

(In fairness, sending journalists to prison for doing their job is not an exclusively Chinese phenomenon. Several American journalists - Jim Taricani of NBC, Judith Miller of this newspaper and Matthew Cooper of Time - may be sent to U.S. prisons in the next month or two for refusing to reveal their sources.)

Mr. Zhao's case is depressingly similar to that of another Chinese journalist, Jiang Weiping. He is serving a six-year sentence for "revealing state secrets," even though his real crime was exposing corruption.

"China has changed so much economically, but not politically," Jiang Weiping's wife, Li Yanling, told me. "It's a puzzle to me."

The authorities ordered Ms. Li to keep quiet about her husband's arrest, and detained her when she didn't. The couple's daughter, now 15, was traumatized at losing first her father and then her mother to the Chinese prison system. When Ms. Li was finally released, the daughter called her constantly from school to make sure that she had not been arrested again.

Mr. Zhao's arrest is just the latest in a broad crackdown in China. The Committee to Protect Journalists reports that 42 journalists are now in prison in China, more than in any other country.

"There was a period of openness, a period of hope, when the new leaders first came to power," said Jiao Guobiao, a journalism professor at Beijing University. "But now they've consolidated power, and everything has closed up again."

Mr. Jiao should know. He wrote an essay this year denouncing censorship, and it was immediately censored. Now the government has banned Mr. Jiao from teaching.

I've felt this cooling as well. I was planning to visit China this month, but the government has declined to give me a visa. It's the first time I've been refused, and the State Security Ministry may have worried that I would write a column about its unjust imprisonment of Mr. Zhao.

I love China, and I share its officials' distaste for those who harm it. That's why I'm angry that hard-liners in Beijing are presenting China to the world as repressive, fragile, tyrannical and backward. They are also undermining China's long-term prospects by gagging its people.

China now dazzles visitors with luxury skyscrapers, five-star hotels and modern freeways. This boom is real and spectacular, but for China to be an advanced nation it needs not only spaceships, but also freedom.

Otherwise, all that dazzle is just a mirage. The Chinese leaders might recall an old peasant expression, "Lu fen dan'r, biaomian'r guang." It means, "On the outside, even donkey droppings gleam."

The New York Times

CHINA, RELIGION, OPINION: What We Believe

By Jin Ying

Throughout China's long history, most Chinese believed in Buddhism. But if we ask our parents or grandparents about their beliefs, their answers are most likely to be "Communism." But what do we, the young generation of Chinese, believe in?

As products of modern culture and education, very few of us have religious beliefs. A teacher told us that a British lady once asked about her beliefs. When the lady learned that our teacher didn't believe in anything, she was astonished and said, "How can you live without belief?" I prefer to say that we do believe in something--we believe in ourselves, though it is really hard to tell whether that is right or not.

Believing in ourselves, we well acknowledge that our fate is dependant upon our own behavior rather than that of a god. We can enhance our life only by the efforts of humans rather than any magical power. But on the other hand, religious belief can sometimes bring comfort.

I remember when a relative of mine died of cancer. Everyone at the funeral cried except her mother, a Christian who was over 80. Her peacefulness impressed me deeply. How lucky that such an old woman could face her daughter's death with composure. In her eyes, her daughter was going to paradise. Thus we can see that religious belief can truly bring comfort to people.

Many westerners with good family backgrounds and social status travel all over the world to serve the poor for religious reasons. I really admire their spirit as well as the spiritual power of their religions. However, there are things I cannot understand. For example, Christianity advocates "equality" for all races and nations. But George W. Bush, an ardent Christian, sent war to Iraq, and made people there suffer greatly. Is that equal? Is that Christian?

Religion confuses me, so I’d rather stick to a life without religion as most Chinese young people do, while at the same time respecting other's beliefs.

CHINA, ENTERTAINMENT, MUSIC: Hanson, After Seven Years, They Came

By Teru

In early December, Hanson, a pop music band from the USA, gave their fans in Beijing an unplugged show in the Beijing Exhibition Theater after their visit to Shanghai. It was the band's first tour in China, seven years after they debuted.

Hanson consists of three brothers: Isaac (Guitar), Taylor (Keyboard, Vocals) and Zac (Drums) Hanson. They come from Tulsa, a city in northeast Oklahoma. When they began their music career, Isaac, the eldest, was only 16. Their debut album, Middle Of Nowhere, brought audiences a musical shock and sold more than 8 million records worldwide. It also earned Hanson three Grammy Awards nominations.

Hanson's music style is between pop and rock, which was quite new to music lovers. We can feel their musical ideas in their hit songs such as "Mmmbop." After their initial success, they spent three years working on their second album, This Time Around, which did not disappoint their fans and was a truly wonderful album. Besides music production, they also tried their hand in video and graphic artworks. For them, releasing albums is not just to make money but also to let people know their music and their style. So they always take a longer time recording and producing their music than other pop bands. They spent 4 years on their new album, Underneath.

The main purpose of Hanson's world tour was to promote Underneath, their first album after establishing their own recording company, 3CG. They took the extra time to record this album because they wanted to bring their fans a whole new understanding of their musical style. During this world tour, they gave their fans, especially those in Asia, picture perfect performances.

The day before the concert in Beijing, Hanson held a mini press conference in the Kerry Center Hotel that was attended by a wide range of Chinese media. During the press conference, they talked about the years they spent developing their music career, which they explained was a long, difficult process. They also responded to media questions about the widely held point of view that they are a "boy band." They clarified that Hanson is not a band only to play pop music; they play Hanson's music in Hanson's style, which is totally different form a "boy band." They regard their music career as a career for life, and said they were very happy to perform in China.

The vocalist Taylor Hanson expressed his yearnings towards China and said that to climb the Great Wall had been a dream of he and his brothers since they were little, and that they were looking forward to doing it during their visit in Beijing. They said that since this was their first time performing in China they were surprised that their fans were so passionate. They promised to give the audience a wonderful night.

On the night of the concert, many fans arrived at the theater two hours early just to see Hanson's sound check. The passion of the audience, which included many fans from the provinces, inspired the band throughout the one-hour and fifteen-minute concert; they played 19 songs including "Where is the love," "Strong Enough to Break," "I Will Come to You," and "Run Away Run," besides the new songs from Underneath. The theater rocked with screaming and singing fans. The Hansons were visibly moved when fans sang both their old and new songs along with them. After the show, they promised to come back.

CHINA, BUSINESS: An Insiders' Point of view of the Lenovo & IBM Deal

By Cecilia Luo

Some people wonder how the Lenovo Group, the biggest PC Company in China, and one of the biggest in the world, could be the buyer of the well-known IBM PC Department. However, the people who spoke at the press conference about this issue were all from the top of the companies (Lenovo and IBM), so I thought that I should interview someone from the common staff of Lenovo. The staff member I interviewed did not want to be identified.

Q: I Know that all the staff at Lenovo were using the company's computers. If you were going to buy a computer for yourself, would you still choose Lenovo and why?

A: I think so. The first reason is that I can get the low discount from Lenovo because I work here. Another reason is that I know Lenovo better than other companies, so I can choose the perfect model with the right functions for myself. The last reason is that I trust Lenovo very much. It is one of the best in China, not only for its quality but also for its service. Besides, I also have some kind of emotion in it. You know!

Q: Have you ever suggested that others buy Lenovo computers?

A: Yes. I suggested to my friends to buy Lenovo computers and even convinced my relatives to buy it.

Q: Why don't you choose an IBM computer? Isn't it a good quality and service company?

A: To be frank, I agree that IBM is the best one among other computer companies; but for the expensive price, I give up.

Q: Do you think that is also common sense for Chinese customers?

A: Not for all. You know that the Chinese people are becoming more and more practical, especially for the people from the south part of China, and they know that the most expensive computer may not be that suitable considering the price.

Q: What do you suppose would happeen if the new brands of Lenovo & IBM should sell in the same market? Would the old customers continue to insist on Lenovo? Can you estimate the number of old customers which Lenovo may lose?

A: I suppose that the old customers of Lenovo will continue to insist upon us, but that some of the old customers of IBM will not switch to Lenovo in the short term. It is a fact of the processing of this merger. As for the percentage, I am not sure but it will be the standard of this merger whether it succeeds or not.

Q: The merger took place the 8th of December, but the Lenovo stocks surprisingly decreased to 3.7%. I heard that some of the staff from your company began to worry about their careers due to a reduction in the staff. Is that a rumor or a fact?

A: My company expected to earn a lot from the stock market, unfortunately, it failed. Anyway, it is just a temporary condition. We know that it will be better. About the reduction in staff, a lot of my colleagues will go home happily whenever the boss wants because they have enough ability to find another good job. Why not start one's own business with several months' salary?

Q: Have you ever discussed the merger with IBM with your friends? Do you think it was a good or bad idea and what was the main purpose for IBM making this deal?

A: The only thing I can see is that our company became larger than before. And the combining of the two companies was mainly for the purpose of advancement in areas of high-technology, which few people know about, such as R&D. As a marketing member in the company, I don't feel any differences now. IBM is not a loser at least. It has 19% of our stock now. It will show its power in the PC market whenever it wants. You watch and see.

CHINA, FOREIGN POLICY: Japan Should Seek a Balance in Multilateral Relations

By Dorothy Wong

Japan is preparing to levy penalties on North Korea, which handed over a box of mixed human bones as the remains of Megumi Yokota, a young Japanese woman kidnapped by North Korea long ago. As bystanders, we may quite well understand Junichiro Koizumi's government in terms of the strong patriotism that the typical Japanese has long possessed. However, is it the only driving force for them to do so?

As far as the Japan-U.S.A. alliance is concerned, the Japanese authorities nowadays are seeking to play a more decisive role than ever before in Asian political issues. From this perspective, it's urgent for Japan to interfere in other countries' domestic policies to prove itself the best friend of America in East Asia. Doubtless, the matter of Megumi Yokota's remains is a good opportunity to do so. It is not hard to see that Japan is making desperate efforts to cater to the United States, including sending troops to Iraq for peacekeeping

Though Japan in recent years has ranked among the top three nations in the economic field, they are still dissatisfied with their political status and influence in the world. As the absolute No. 1 world power in every aspect, the United States is the only one that can help Japan realize its everlasting political dream--dominance of East Asia. With this goal as their most crucial principle of behavior, Japan's recent foreign policies seem to be quite aggressive.

Beginning with the widespread debate over the revision of the constitution, the Koizumi administration is inclined to hold a rather hostile attitude towards some of the Asian countries, especially North Korea and China. Besides the fact that the document has officially announced the so-called "China Threat," Japan is planning to stop providing financial aid to China by 2006, as China's economy is developing so rapidly as to threaten Japan's leadership in Asia.

In my view, even concerning Japan's own interests, what the Japanese government has done is unreasonable. Take economic assistance for example, it is generally acknowledged as a two-win policy. On the one hand, most of the money is used to improve the basic infrastructure in China. On the other hand, through this financial aid, many Japanese companies gain precious, exclusive chances to invest in China.

By contrast, the Bush administration is wiser, treating political and economic ties with China in two different ways--criticizing some of the government's policies like human rights while bolstering mutual economic cooperation. Hence, it's particularly necessary for the Japanese government to seek a balance in multilateral relations rather than regarding the United States as their only political partner.

As it stands, the current hostile foreign policy will block Japan from participating in further regional affairs making the island nation more solitary than ever before.

MIDDLE EAST, COMMENTARY: What Arafat’s Passing Brought to the Middle East

By Peter Cui

Yasser Arafat was a symbol of his people's struggle for liberation. Now he is gone. What will his passing away bring to his people, his enemy, and the peace movement? To the Palestinians, they lost their leader, a leader who was almost like their father, who was, to a large extent, spiritually leading them to liberation and statehood. Now that their leader, their direction-star, has passed away, I haven't seen that they are near panic, but no doubt they feel lost. They are wondering where they are going, what they should do.

It’s true that there will be a new leader, but he or she can hardly be a star; for at least some years, there won't be a new star lighting up in Palestine. The people depended on Arafat for so long, and the whole authority had been a one-man operation for so long, it won't be easy for them to forget him.

To Israel, on the one hand, they are happy to see the death of Arafat as they’ve been longing to eliminate him for years. On the other hand, how they face Palestine without Arafat is a completely new circumstance to them. They now have no excuse to continue refusing to reopen the peace talks by saying that "we don't talk with Arafat, that distrustful man."

The death of Arafat has offered a chance to break the present deadlock in the Middle East peace movement. Doubtlessly this chance will bring changes, including good ones like reopening the peace talks and bad ones like panic, anarchy or even civil war.

Above all, I'd say that Arafat's death brings the Middle East an opportunity, a good one, to make a difference in the deadly status quo. However, as for what kind of difference, no one knows.

CHINA, SPORTS: White & Black--2004 China Sports Review

By Christina Liang

With the new year of 2005 upon us, it is time to review the sports events of China in 2004. In terms of sports, as far as I am concerned, 2004 was a "White & Black" year--the brightest and the darkest year in modern Chinese sports history.

WHITE:
32 Olympic gold medals! It is enough to fire enthusiasm in every Chinese heart. It was the most gold medals in the history of China’s participation in the Olympics. What’s more, we got second place in the medal list of all countries, only 3 gold medals less than the United States. Apart from our traditional ascendant games, such as table tennis, badminton, diving, weight lifting and shooting, we had several breakthroughs in other areas.

First of all, Liu Xiang, the most stirring name of 2004, gave us much more than a pleasant surprise. He broke the spell of the taunt: "Asians have no competitive edge in short races." His declaration of "Asia has me! China has me!" showed the confidence and strong will of Chinese sports, of the Chinese people. Another gold medal that should have an important place in Chinese sports history is the women's doubles tennis medal. None of us had ever imagined that our Chinese girls could beat the Williams sisters before the 2004 Olympics. Much less win a gold medal. Our exultation was totally beyond words. This big present was a tribute to the bright future of Chinese sports.

In sum, concerning our achievements in Athens, we experienced the brightest year ever.

BLACK:
As a soccer fan, I really hate to talk about this aspect of Chinese sports in 2004. Chinese football, especially the professional league, passed a dark year: the National team ending up so early in the 2006 World Cup qualifying tournament; the fierce battle between the CFA and the seven clubs of the Super League, which represent the capital; even the women team being beaten by Germany 0-8. It was an entire collapse. All of the above left Chinese football with the dismal prospect of there being hardly any international matches in the next few years. It was an absolute disaster to all people involved in Chinese football.

Football was the pioneer in Chinese sports professionalization, once admired by all other games. But it was that very professionalization, which was unsuccessful and malformed, that caused its collapse. Now that China has benefited so much from successful economic reform, how can football be caught in such a mess? It is time for all of the people involved--authorities, players, coaches, fans and the media--to seriously consider the whole thing.

May the darkest year be the prelude to a great future.

No matter white or black, for China, 2004 was a remarkable sports year.