又提言论自由

同时读到李光耀的专访和资中筠的专稿, 拿来一起看蛮有意思. 都是关于中国舆论的开放, 一个对外一个对内. 政府之所以在言论自由这个问题上"内忧外患," 关键是源自一种恐惧. 怕丢脸, 更怕煽动.对外的问题似乎关键还是方法思路上的革新, 对内的就完全无法预计了. 难怪李还能提出一些解决方法--先不论可行, 资却只能尖锐指出,牢骚满腹.

需要草根精神的PR

源起这篇文章的一点想法:

1.国家的形象工程是全方位的.正如文章里提到, 即使是像Weber & Shandwick 那样的大牌公关公司能做的也是有限的.换句话来说, 今次的被动究竟有多少是PR可以补救的? 许多牵涉到意识形态等等造成的误解和敌对, 不是仅仅靠包装就可以轻易改变的.

2.但是能够懂中国又讲国际语言的人也确实太少,或者说和中国的人口比起来,实在太悬殊.最近利用网络媒体的grassroots PR battle正如火如荼, 先不问影响力, 也不用害怕被动, 有觉醒就是第一步.

原来叫"非洲人"更加PC

The Shanghaiist is picking on Xu Jinglei's "Political Incorrectness", which I thought was quite funny. If he understands how the homogeneity of Chinese society has shaped people's perception on racism (or lack thereof), he will know how nitpicking he is in this case. Apparently, Lao Xu is already being all bonding and stuff with the "Hei Ren Xiong Di," which is already way more liberal than maybe 80% of the Chinese public. But on the other hand, I'm not saying that it's okay for Chinese people to hide in their own shell and be justified for the ignorance towards other ethnicities. Apparently, it's created some big troubles lately, as all of us know...

uhh...define the "American-ness"?

Saw Justin Davidson's guest piece at Alex Ross' blog, thought it was a tad snarky of him to conclude that these renowned Chinese artists represent "an American showcase" in their artwork.
It's true that Tan Dun's music has always blended in the western elements, and it's true that Cai Guo-Qiang's art is especially breathtaking in the way it embraces different cultures and perspectives, but I would hardly agree that a certain level of hodgepodge in their artwork is necessarily "American." I wouldn't even say that these arts are a Chinese showcase, even though their inspirations are deeply rooted in the ancient Chinese aesthetics and philosophy--the Taoism influence in Cai's paintings and the melancholy in Tan's music. What makes these transnational artists stand out is the profoundity they've gained in understanding both the East and the West, and the way they've created a melange of these different elements in their own artistic interpretation. Therefore, to overemphasize the American-ness--if truly so--in their art is quite biased and, I'd say, egoistic.