“The tea was really bitter”
March 3, 2013 8:52 PM Subscribe
I blogged with Oiwan Lam on Global Voices during the early days of the website. At one point he was abducted by police and disappeared for quite some time. He knows what he is talking about. Massive respect.
posted by KokuRyu at 9:41 PM on March 3, 2013 [6 favorites]
posted by KokuRyu at 9:41 PM on March 3, 2013 [6 favorites]
3. Tell the police that you believe in what you have done and that you are prepared to face the consequences.
“Admitting guilt” (renzui) is a well-established ritual, in which the alleged criminal is forced to sign a written statement about his supposed crimes.
"They interrogated me in an office of the foreign ministry used for dealing with reporters. The whole session lasted ten minutes and was not frightening. Confess, I was told. Tell me what to say and I will sign it, I replied. They repeated that I was in Tibet without permission. I wrote that down, added that it had been dictated to me, and signed. That was enough, and I was free to stay in the Autonomous Region."
....
"Anyone who has lived through political campaigns in recent Chinese history knows this much about the confession culture: solving a “problem” has little if anything to do with actual repentance or admission of guilt. … “confessions” in this culture are formalities. They have more to do with face than with actual negotiations. On the same principle, then, if Deng really wanted to solve the Fang Lizhi problem, there was no reason why I shouldn’t give him a bit of face in order to let it happen. So, on my own initiative, I wrote out an “account” in two parts: “concerning the past” and “concerning the future.” Not a word of it admitted any mistake or confessed any crime, but it was verbiage and it might serve a purpose."
posted by three blind mice at 1:11 AM on March 4, 2013 [2 favorites]
“Admitting guilt” (renzui) is a well-established ritual, in which the alleged criminal is forced to sign a written statement about his supposed crimes.
"They interrogated me in an office of the foreign ministry used for dealing with reporters. The whole session lasted ten minutes and was not frightening. Confess, I was told. Tell me what to say and I will sign it, I replied. They repeated that I was in Tibet without permission. I wrote that down, added that it had been dictated to me, and signed. That was enough, and I was free to stay in the Autonomous Region."
....
"Anyone who has lived through political campaigns in recent Chinese history knows this much about the confession culture: solving a “problem” has little if anything to do with actual repentance or admission of guilt. … “confessions” in this culture are formalities. They have more to do with face than with actual negotiations. On the same principle, then, if Deng really wanted to solve the Fang Lizhi problem, there was no reason why I shouldn’t give him a bit of face in order to let it happen. So, on my own initiative, I wrote out an “account” in two parts: “concerning the past” and “concerning the future.” Not a word of it admitted any mistake or confessed any crime, but it was verbiage and it might serve a purpose."
posted by three blind mice at 1:11 AM on March 4, 2013 [2 favorites]
thsmchnekllsfascists: "Looks like he just fucked up on #5 and #7."How so? #5 is (as far as I understand) about specific individuals. Nobody (except probably big bosses) cares about impersonal attacks, but if you write that Xu Wu of the so-and-so police department is a violent, corrupt dirtbag you've broken #5.
For #7 it says the document isn't legally binding, and it doesn't say that he signed such a "guarantee" anyway.
posted by brokkr at 1:53 AM on March 4, 2013
#8 is fairly clever, though. Kudos for using the system against itself.
posted by brokkr at 1:55 AM on March 4, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by brokkr at 1:55 AM on March 4, 2013 [1 favorite]
American version : Don't Talk To Cops
posted by jeffburdges at 3:32 AM on March 4, 2013 [3 favorites]
posted by jeffburdges at 3:32 AM on March 4, 2013 [3 favorites]
#8 is fairly clever, though. Kudos for using the system against itself.
posted by tksh at 5:19 AM on March 4, 2013
8. If you want to minimize risk, avoid getting involved in local incidents. Pay attention to other provinces as you are outside their jurisdiction. [Internal security police usually operate at the provincial level. The standard procedure for carrying out cross-border operations has to go through the local police unit, which requires a lot of paper work.]Less than upright police deterred by... paperwork. Really?
posted by tksh at 5:19 AM on March 4, 2013
With bureaucrats (police included), anything that can be written off as Somebody Else's Problem will rarely get done.
posted by brokkr at 5:22 AM on March 4, 2013 [4 favorites]
posted by brokkr at 5:22 AM on March 4, 2013 [4 favorites]
Yes, paperwork is a pretty universal deterrent! Maximising the paperwork required for action is a good preventative measure in all kinds of circumstances, in every country.
I'm just watching the "Don't Talk To Cops" link, that's extremely interesting even though I'm not in the US - perhaps my procrastination today will lead me to discovering how much of it applies to the UK.
posted by dickasso at 5:30 AM on March 4, 2013 [2 favorites]
I'm just watching the "Don't Talk To Cops" link, that's extremely interesting even though I'm not in the US - perhaps my procrastination today will lead me to discovering how much of it applies to the UK.
posted by dickasso at 5:30 AM on March 4, 2013 [2 favorites]
« Older He picked up mad rhymes at the Penington School | The gun of the fearful Newer »
This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments
posted by thsmchnekllsfascists at 9:01 PM on March 3, 2013