Misplaced Pages

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METUS EST PLENA TYRANNIS

The purpose of Misplaced Pages is to create a high-quality, free-content encyclopedia in an atmosphere of camaraderie and mutual respect among contributors.

Nothing which is intuited in space is a thing in itself, and space is not a form which belongs as a property to things; but objects are quite unknown to us in themselves, and what we call outward objects are nothing else but mere representations of our sensibility, whose form is space, but whose real correlated thing in itself is not known by means of these representations, nor ever can be, but respecting which, in experience, no inquiry is ever made.

The things which we intuit are not in themselves the same as our representation of them in intuition, nor are their relations in themselves so constituted as they appear to us; and if we take away the subject, or even only the subjective constitution of our senses in general, then not only the nature and relations of objects in space and time disappear, but even space and time themselves.

What may be the nature of objects considered as things in themselves and without reference to the receptivity of our sensibility is quite unknown to us. We know nothing more than our own mode of perceiving them, which is peculiar to us and which though not of necessity pertaining to every animated being, is so to the whole human race.

Supposing that we should carry our empirical intuition even to the very highest degree of clearness we should not thereby advance one step nearer to the constitution of objects as things in themselves.

— Immanuel Kant, A Critique of Pure Reason

Info

I never consciously do more than one revert of the same dispute within 24 hours, and preferably not at all; certainly not waiting for 24 hours to pass then reverting. I probably won't do that. I will discuss the issues and edit for a compromise (given the sources, etc.). I don't count it as a "revert" when I add something, it's removed, then I add it with a different source, or add the second part of it which was not explicitly disputed, etc. I don't count that as the same dispute, since the points of contention were different. Overall, just advise if I'm being a dick and I'll pull myself into line very quickly.

Significant contributions

I'm always surprised by both the paucity of good research, writing, and overall quality of some of the key articles related to the activities and structure of the Chinese Communist Party. I will continue to edit these articles with all relevant Misplaced Pages policy in mind. Oh, and a thick skin. These are the kind of places where you get slammed for adding research, sometimes. My other contributions are mostly Falun Gong articles. I'll list some here, but I have not made significant contributions to some of the articles in their current forms.

• Mass line
• Corruption in the People's Republic of China
• Propaganda Department of the Communist Party of China
• Organization Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee
• Propaganda in the People's Republic of China
• Falun Gong
• Persecution of Falun Gong
• Falun Gong outside mainland China
• Teachings of Falun Gong

In my sights

Have not done much with yet, but will either create, or work on a lot.

• Gao Zhisheng
• Thought reform in the People's Republic of China

hmm, that's all I can think of right now. I have a big appetite though. There's definitely more than that.

Notes on taste

• I value contributors who do their research, present their views civilly, and deal with disagreements in a calm, neutral, and objective way. Don't target the person; talk about the research and the policies.
• I find it quite irksome when policy is ignored on some simple things like article names, or whether certain articles should exist. I wouldn't be opposed to the creation of a crack unit of bureaucrats who arbitrated a focused set of issues, like deletion discussions, and move discussions. They would be able to identify who is actually basing their comment on policy and who is just stating an opinion completely unrelated. Certain things like making it opt-in would help dispel the uneasiness about this level of control. And those guys would be voted in; incorruptible philosopher-kings.
• When I think of something good I'll put it here.

Misplaced Pages hierarchy

So the hierarchy goes something like (I) acknowledged user who respects the rules, (II) acknowledged user who doesn't respect the rules, (III) perceived SPA who respects the rules, (IV) perceived SPA who doesn't respect the rules.

Read this

The Chinese government’s United Front Campaign has been so effective that some foreign individuals and organizations are willing to turn a blind eye to human rights abuses in China and sing the government’s praises in order to further their own interests. I do not wish to dwell on those who bow to the regime, because their kind has existed throughout human history. Yet even in the darkest eras, there have always been people willing to put aside personal interests for the sake of justice and humanity.

A few international human rights organizations have campaigned tirelessly for human rights in China, particularly Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the Committee to Protect Journalists, Reporters Without Borders, and Human Rights in China. The factual information these nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) collect and disseminate under extremely difficult circumstances is a powerful antidote to the disinformation spread by the foreign admirers of the Chinese government. To cite just one example: Freedom in the World 2004: The Annual Survey of Political Rights and Civil Liberties (2004 Edition), a report published by the U.S.-based NGO Freedom House, ranked Taiwan the “most free” among Asian countries, fractionally behind Japan. Mainland China was ranked among Asia’s “least free,” only slightly better than North Korea and Saudi Arabia. It is also thanks to the unceasing efforts of these human rights organizations that the treatment of China’s prisoners of conscience has improved since the days of Mao Zedong.

I must also express my admiration for the men and women within China who have never compromised with the regime. Coming from China, I know all too well the price paid by those who refuse to compromise, including being isolated by intellectuals who fear associating with “heretics.” This book names and pays homage to many Chinese journalists who have been imprisoned for their efforts to expose corruption. These men and women of conscience are like a lamp with an ever-burning flame. Others have devoted themselves passionately to furthering freedom of speech, some even paying with their lives. Liu Chengjun, a Falun Gong practitioner, was one of them. On March 5, 2002, Liu and some friends managed to intercept eight cable television networks in Changchun City and Songyuan City, Jilin Province, and televised a program entitled “Self-Immolation or a Staged Act?” exposing the Chinese government’s cover-up of its persecution of Falun Gong and the staged immolation the government claimed was the action of practitioners. Liu was arrested and subjected to 21 months of torture that led directly to his death. He paid with his life, but thanks to his sacrifice, many people learned the truth about the government’s persecution of Falun Gong.

China’s hope lies with the brave men and women who continue to struggle for freedom. This book gives an account of the sacrifices made by heroes in the cause of freedom of the press. Their efforts are changing China little by little. I have learned from a number of World War II documentaries that the Nazi persecution of Jews was welcomed in many European countries because it served the short-term interests of certain governments that collaborated shamefully with Nazi rule. It is my fervent hope that ever fewer foreign companies, organizations, and individuals will sacrifice principle for expediency in regard to China, because the Chinese people desperately need the international support of those who champion democracy and justice. A China grounded on a solid foundation of constitutional democracy and integrity in government and politics would make a far more positive contribution to world civilization than today’s China, ruled by a corrupt dictatorship that regards ordinary citizens as worthless, pursues an unprincipled foreign policy, and cares only about its own political interests.

I hope that this book will help lift the veil covering China. Only those who understand the real China can effectively assist the Chinese people in building a free and democratic nation.

I would like to especially express my gratitude to Human Rights in China, the NGO that commissioned, supported, and published my research project on media control in China. The first report I wrote was published in Chinese by HRIC in November 2004.Working on this project, in addition to reading numerous articles and other materials, helped to sort out my own experiences during the many years I worked as a journalist in China, in combination with many articles and other materials I read. For the deeper understanding I gained of the principle of freedom of the press and the history of media control in China, I express my heartfelt thanks to Human Rights in China.

—He Qinglian, United States, January 6, 2008

Third party recognition

I'm not going to put in nice things people have said here. This is ugly.

Love letters from my bestest friends

• "...you should not be editing this article at all and I suggest you would be best advised to revert yourself." Simonm223 (talk) 14:47, 10 February 2010 (UTC)
• "I will be honest. I have given up on trying to work with Asdfg12345. There is no working with Asdfg12345 unless you are willing to accept the FLG is entirely right and the PRC is a bunch of evil, organ stealing demons." Simonm223 (talk) 02:38, 15 January 2010 (UTC)
• "Despite his civil facade and repeated denials, it takes at most one or two threads of discussion before an outsider to the Falun Gong wikispace realizes that Asdfg is not editing in good faith... Asdfg has become more careful in not violating the letter of the arbitration while willfully violating its principles. Only those who haven't dealt with the Falun Gong articles will believe his defences. It would be naive at this point to not carry out a topic-ban." Colipon+(Talk) 13:58, 15 January 2010 (UTC)
• "Asdfg12345 is an unabashed single-purpose account dedicated to polishing Falun Gong's image. He does so with such round-the-clock dedication that I can only conclude that his employer allows him to patrol Misplaced Pages during office hours." Martin Rundkvist (talk) 22:18, 15 January 2010 (UTC)"
• "Asdfg12345 has exhausted the patience and good faith of other editors to the point where, in the last weeks, the other editors have finally resorted to blanket reverting the bleedingly obvious POV pushing that Asdfg12345 has been trying to insert into Falun Gong... In short, Asdfg12345 is a disruptive POV-pushing SPA with A COI ... and the FG articles will be much better without him." Enric Naval (talk) 03:16, 15 January 2010 (UTC)

Otherwise

		The Barnstar of Good Humor
		I hereby award you with this barnstar as an appreciation of your indefatigable good humour. Thanks for your encouragement to stay cool, to persevere in the face of hostility, seize the challenge of the Falun Gong series of articles. Above all, thank you for teaching me that it's not just the end result which matters, but that the journey is equally if not more important. Ohconfucius 08:11, 11 October 2007 (UTC)

		The Human Rights Barnstar
		I, Olaf Stephanos, grant you this barnstar for your work on the Persecution of Falun Gong, expressing gratitude for your efforts to seek out reliable sources and tirelessly initiate rational discussion based on Misplaced Pages policies and guidelines.