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A list: Memorable things to do (or avoid doing) in Asia...

In Vietnam.
Chugging up the Mekong river, devastated by the absolute poverty and yet at the same time wondering where Colonel Kurtz was hiding himself. “Never get out of the boat.”

In Nepal.
Realising, after having launched into a five-minute tirade against China and the continued prominence of Chairman Mao, that the person I was speaking to in Kathmandu was actually a Nepalese Maoist, and I was, in essence, being
held for money. My response? Think fast and backtrack quickly.

In India.
Being rudely woken in the middle of the night as our bus shot off the road and crashed into the jungle. After disembarking to make sure everyone was unharmed, we very quickly barricaded ourselves back on board when an angry group
of screaming monkeys – teeth bared and out for blood – came swinging from the trees. We were huddled there for hours.

In Tibet.
Getting scolded by an old Tibetan woman in Lhasa for speaking Mandarin. My mistake. She understood me perfectly but said she preferred to use basic hand signals rather than 'that' language.

In Malaysia.
Cleverly escaping to Malaysia to avoid the oppressive Chinese New Year celebrations, only to discover that nearly a quarter of the population of Malaysia are ethnically Chinese anyway.

In Korea.
Hunting up and down the Han river in Seoul for the famous monster. Yes I know it's fictional – but you'd be surprised how many locals didn't.
Very funny.

In Thailand.
Multiple awkward occasions. Do I say 'he' or 'she'? I just don't know.

In Indonesia.
Finally reaching the smoking crater at the top of furious Krakatoa, smelling the sulphur and suddenly realising that the rubber on my shoes had melted. You try climbing down the side of an active volcano without shoes.

In Cambodia.
The awkward moment when, just a few miles away from the truly humbling 'Killing Fields', we were taken into a barn, given AK47s and told that for just a few dollars we could shoot a cow. Ending a chickens life with a hand grenade
was even cheaper. Needless to say, we declined the offer.

In the Himalayas.
Wrapped in Yak skins, gasping for breath at 5,100 metres above sea level, with the mercury hitting -30 degrees and a trek to Everest to look forward to the following day. Quite possibly the longest night of my life.

China; taking our breath away...

WHAT could be more unsettling than the thought that a 'Communist' totalitarian superpower may actually posses military hardware to match that of the democratic countries of 'The West'?

Obviously with such ongoing critiscism of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan that may be a controversial opening in itself, but nobody can deny the increasing relevance of China's military in the asia-pacific region and indeed in the world today.

It is highly illegal to photograph military hardware in China,
 but a leaked photo made the world aware
of the Chinese J-20 prototye

When Hu Jintao finally admitted that China was indeed developing their own stealth fighter- the J-20 (seemingly named after a soft drink), alarm bells rang for many around the world. Although it was well known that the Chinese were actively pursuing their first aircraft carrier - something which would give them considerable bargaining power in their constant maritime disputes and border clashes - the thought that something as advanced and 'American' as a stealth jet was being built by them hadn't even entered the West's collective mind.

It wasn't long, however, before fingers were pointed and the familiar cry of 'knock-off' could be heard. China's reputation for copying successful products, illegally manufacturing them and selling them domestically is well known, and it seemed this wasn't just limited to shanzhai ipods and dodgy clothes brands. Soon came claims that the technology behind the Chinese J-20 Stealth was stolen from a US F-117 stealth jet which was shot down over Serbia. Of course the Chinese rejected these claims, as they always do, but it is not difficult to imagine Beijing going out of it's way to acquire the wreckage for their own ends.

And today, a rather humourous chapter is added to the ongoing coverage of China's air force. The hilarious news that China's state-run broadcaster- CCTV -  has tried to pass off scenes from the 80s movie 'Top Gun' as video footage of their own air force have done little for their credability on the world stage.

The Wall Street Journal has compared the 'news' footage with the movie scene in question:




So, as China seeks the attention of the rest of the world, trumpeting their advances in technology and military might, it is rather unfortunate for them to be caught attempting to pass off Hollywood movie footage from 30 years ago as footage of their own air force.

Beijing often utilises it's air force in displays of power - hoping that the sheer scale and noise of the jets will impress and intimidate the people enough - it is a tactic they employ on a daily basis too. It is not uncommon to be forced to stop a conversation in Shanghai's city centre and wait for the deafening noice of a fighter jet, passing overhead, to fade.

The military maintain a constant presence over

 cities such as Shanghai - Footage by Joe Briscoe, 2010



The oppressive 'big brother' in the sky is something that most city residents are used to, hardly noticing the warplanes circling above. But the younger generation seem to be more than aware of it.

One student I spoke to in Shanghai, who wished to remain anonymous, said: "It always comes over in the class time. So many times we have to wait for it to go over so we can hear the teacher. It's so unnecessary I think. Are we at war with someone?"

But how important does this 12 yr old think it is to have such a rapidly expanding military?: "China needs to be strong" he said, "but so many poor people are more important I think. Give them a house and doctor first, then we can spend on other things."

Fighter jets constantly circle heavily populated areas of China - 

an ominous reminder of power to the people below.

- Footage by Joe Briscoe, 2010

So while the country continues its long quest for an aircraft carrier and presses forward with designing it's own fleet of stealth jets, it seems that the sharp-eyed youth of today who spotted the cinematic addition to their news report and the students who grow tired of the military presence interrupting their classes are less than excited by the prospect of more money being spent on airborne machines of death.

Even if Tom Cruise is, unknowingly, the posterboy.

Chinese New Year 2011

Year of the Rabbit

As Chinese New Year approaches, Portsmouth is preparing it's own celebrations. But many are critical of the lack of council help with the festivities.

Video Report by Joe Briscoe

The Life and Death of Qian Yunhui.

And so, another tragic blow is dealt to Chinese 'people power'.
Yet, the resulting fury has highlighted how such movements, existing in cyberspace, are gathering astonishing momentum...

by Joe Briscoe

QIAN YUNHUI was not a man most people in 'the west' would have heard of.


In fact, he was not even a person that most people in China would have heard of.
Until he died, in a most terrible way, on Christmas day.


A shrine to Qian Yunhui



He was, by all means, just a 53-year old guy from Yueqing - a small village in Eastern China, who back in 2004 encouraged villagers to stand up against the local government.

 

He protested against the unfair seizure of their land and was subsequently imprisoned twice, only to continue the protest upon his release. Travelling to Beijing, he even attempted to petition the central government.

Mr Qian was, by all accounts, a good man. Someone who knew right from wrong, and stepped forwards when others stood still. A conscience that had the courage to speak out when others weaker than himself remained silent.


Although Christmas is not generally celebrated as a particularly meaningful festival in China, there is growing awareness of it's significance as a time for those who are inclined, to celebrate the birth of their religious saviour.

Christmas morning 2010 saw not the birth, but the death of a true Chinese hero. Not a decorated war veteran, nor a celebrated government elder. And not a Chinese olympic champion sporting a gold medal. 


For figures such as these,  thrust upon the people, are but products of deceitful and manipulative propaganda.

Mr Qian was the rarest of things. A true, honest to God Chinese person. One who is unable to watch inequality and abuse, unable to wait while others around are walked over. One who was not content to be kept down.

And, in the true style of 'Modern China', he was murdered for this very reason, by those around him who call themselves Chinese but are in fact barely human.

This Christmas day, the mystery surrounding the death of Joanna Yeates was the top news story, and yet, on the other side of the world, a larger, more rotten web of lies and evil was being spun around the grisly corpse of Mr Qian, which was photographed mangled beneath the wheels of a truck in Yueqing village.


Official government versions of how Mr Qian came to meet his end under the vehicle describe an unfortunate accident. Eyewitnesses however, claimed that it had been no such thing. Huang Deyan, 黄迪燕 claimed she saw four uniformed men with gloves struggle with Qian and then put his body under the front tire by force. The driver of the vehicle, Fei Liangyu (费良玉) was detained by the police, for questioning the investigation and even Qian's daughter was taken away.


But the mystery and suspicion surrounding the case refused to go away. The photos which were taken at the scene showed Qian in his last position, clawing his way out from under the giant tyres. Hardly the actions of a man who was hit by a truck at speed.


Decide for yourself.



Photos taken at the scene have been removed from
search engines such as Baidu, but some websites still
carry them... Click here.


The online furore of Chinese netizens has kept the case of Qian Yunhui very much in the public eye, investigating in a way that journalists in China are unable to.

Wu Gan, a rights activist told CNN: "This death really shows that the bottom line of what is intolerable keeps getting lower," he said.

A bookstore owner holds up the first and only issue
of Han Han's 'Party' Magazine.

On the credibility of the official government statements, blogger Ran Yunfei writes, “Be careful when you claim that your result is the truth. Basically truth cannot be found in our repressive society, which is full of information control, corruptions and vested interests of the government. The so-called truth as told by the government has little credibility.”

As if to confirm the statement, just a few days after the incident happened, news came that a magazine published by influential cultural icon Han Han - known for his subtle critiscisms of China - had been shut down after only a single issue.

And, at almost the same time, it was reported on the BBC that China had accepted the problem of corruption among it's officials to be "still very serious". The government acknowledged that tacking it would be a very difficult task, but cited an official report, published on the xinhua website that since 2003, 200,000 cases of corruption had been investigated.

Of course, a realist such as myself would then wonder how much the officials had needed to pay to have the investigations called off(!) 



While there is truth to the much repeated soundbite that "attitudes in China are changing", unfortunately the cruel willingness among those with power to kill and abuse their own people continues. And lest we forget, these people, the ones limiting the information and crushing good men under heavy vehicles, are themselves Chinese.

When the problem exists within the people themselves, how does one begin to solve it?

The story of Qian Yunhui can be found on CNN and, with all original images, on ChinaSmack.