Beijing’s Nobel reaction spawns Nazi comparison
Dec. 12 (New Yorker/by Evan Osnos): On Dec. 10, China did not watch the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony. The event didn’t appear on Chinese television, and, in scattered homes and hotels that receive foreign networks, many screens went dark at the mention of the prize and its winner, Liu Xiaobo.
I’ve seen versions of the black screen over the years in China, but there is something especially dispiriting about the farce this time. Decades ago, the parallel world in the state-run press was, in its own way, an accurate reflection of China’s delusions. But this time the falsehoods are an end in themselves, self-invented lies dressed up as flamboyant demonstrations of defiance. Chinese leaders know that they are harming their reputation around the world, but they are calculating that the damage is temporary, and that they will ride it out. Perhaps, but the harm is substantial this time.
China is not Hitler’s Germany, and now the comparison will endure in history.
Full story: http://nyr.kr/fGxp0S