"Photographer, paper say "sorry", chief editor quits over fake antelope picture"

"photographer Liu Weiqiang, 41, admitted he faked the picture and apologized to

the public.

 

Liu also resigned and published a personal statement on the Internet.

 

"I have no reason to continue my sacred career as a newsman. I am not

qualified for the job. I have sent in my resignation to the newspaper.

 

"I am deeply sorry for bringing bad influences on the media involved, for

the reviewers of the CCTV contest, for Daqing Evening News, the Daqing people

and the Heilongjiang news circle.""

 

More details at : http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-02/18/content_7623770.htm

Imagine that. Something from China being a fake, a counterfeit, a ... :-)

Most interesting. Honesty in China is a near-sacred quality. My former boss visited

the country some 15 years ago and was amazed at how one can leave anything

outside overnight in a city and find it again in the morning.

 

As the photographer is a literature major and a practicing painter, one can perhaps

pardon his desire to create. The context of its having been earmarked for a top

national prize also weighs in on this, as does the controversial China to Tibet railway

line and the acknowledged timidity of the antelope vis-a-vis manmade tructures and

railway noises.

 

 

Notwithstanding the Chinese penchant for honesty, these things have no doubt

politicised the situation, the image and led directly or indirectly to his admission.

Any links to the photo in question? I did a google search, but came up empty-handed.

Funny thing is he probably stole the photo from here.

Ok...so now we have our annual created image in a contest / news media outlet or internet winner. Hopefully that means we're immune for the rest of the year. :-)

 

Dave

Link to article with photo

http://www.zonaeuropa.com/20080216_1.htm

"Honesty in China is a near-sacred quality."

 

Heh.

 

Heh-heh.

 

And apparently as rare as anything truly sacred.

 

You don't suppose there was any connection between the faked photo, the photographer's former connection with the oil industry and the overall agenda of desperation by Chinese industry and government to promote their industry as clean, safe, humane and good for international trade?

 

Just ignore that lead in your kids' toys, insecticide in your dumplings and pet food, the fact that they flout every regulation imposed on U.S. domestic manufacturers, are one of the major sources of counterfeit products and have their propaganda machine working overtime to promote that warm fuzzy feeling. (Anyone else notice the proliferation of CRI's English language programming on shortwave radio? Heavy on promoting trade issues.)

 

This photographer didn't concoct this faked photo in a vacuum. Even if he wasn't instructed to produce a fake in order to put the best face on the environmental impact by Chinese industry, their propaganda machine influenced him to the extent that he actually believed this would be a good thing to do, if he could get away with it.

Lex, I am not so naive as to expect that organised human activity (corporate,

government) is better in China than anywhere else in the world. The observation of

my former boss when he was in China 15 years ago was related to the behaviour of

everyman, and not to his government or industry.

 

 

It may not be true in China today, but tell me where on our continent (I presume you

are from North America), other than perhaps in some small rural communities, can

you leave something outside and not have it disappear? I believe most citizens are

honest, but the few that are not stand out.

 

 

Are the Chinese as a people more honest? Does their culture contribute that?

Perhaps.

<i>"Honesty in China is a near-sacred quality."</i>

<p>

 

I don't think honesty is "sacred" in China! Totalitarian countries are often ridiculously safe, not because of some genetic or cultural predisposition, but because the populace is scared witless of disproportional punishment for any wrong. I've spent time in Laos and Burma, and this was the case in both of these places.

<p>

Go do business in China for a while and see if you believe this statement after a year or so.

Well, look at it this way - He can come to the US and work for any one of numerous magazines you can find at the grocery-store checkout counter.

I've heard that the English are also uncannily honest. They've been known to not steal the heads of executed political prisoners left on pikes for years at a time.

 

Why, the Chinese gummint has such faith in its people that it generously provides continual gong noises jamming the radio broadcasts of the opposition Falungong, courtesy of the infamous Firedrake.

 

OTOH, here in the U.S. we call our Firedrake jammers "Glenn Beck" and "Ann Coulter."

 

Yes, honesty is the best policy. They will tell us what is honest and we will dutifully believe them. Or else.