Liu Xiabo

Liu Xiabo

DALI, CHINA “My blog is blocked,” I remind Mei. “Yes, that happens sometimes.” “Are you okay with that?” “Yes, I think so, because it’s necessary. There are many groups that want to cause trouble in China.” “But why my blog?” “I don’t know.” “Why, Bloomberg.com? That’s a business news site.” “I don’t know. Maybe they had trouble with that site.” “Do you think you have access to enough information to make informed decisions?” “I have enough information. I’m not interested in politics. I just want to live a good life.” “Then, I’m curious, do you know why the Tibetan monks are protesting?” “They want to create trouble for the government. They want their own country, but Tibet is and always has been a part of China.” “Did you hear about Liu Xiaobo, the 2010 Chinese Nobel Peace Prize winner?” “No.” “Then you don’t know that he’s in jail for proposing a Chinese Bill of Rights.” “No, I didn’t know that.” “Have you heard of the Tiananmen Square incident?” “Only from tourists, who always ask me that question?” “What’s the status of homosexuals in China?” “I don’t know. Why do you ask?” “Well, do you know any homosexuals?” “No.” “Have you ever seen a homosexual?” “I think once on television.” “You participate in a chat forum on Chinese and Japanese relations. You say, that everyone on the forum hates the Japanese. How do you know that dissenting opinions aren’t being blocked?” “Ah… I don’t think so.” “How do you know, that some of the opinions being expressed aren’t coming from the Chinese government?” “Ah… I don’t know. People really don’t concern themselves with these issues.”