Letter From Paris: Funny Lady and Chinese Checkers

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From my perch in Paris, this is quite a juxtaposition:  One small town in France is honoring women cartoonists from around the globe for expressing themselves and the culture--for using humor as a catalyst to thoughtful change.  In fact, one of the goals of the RIDEP confab--that Amnesty International is co-sponsoring--in Carquefou is "providing the public with the occasion to reflect upon freedom of expression and Human Rights and other universal themes such as women or the environment." 

Then there is China--the most populated country in the world--whose minister just slapped U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's hand for criticizing China’s censorship of the Internet.  As we all know, the Chinese government's goal is to prevent thoughtful freedom of expression and Human Rights, unless officials approve of the subject and its content.  Watchers of the Internet such as PRI's The World: Technology from BBC/PRI/WGBH podcast regularly report on China's trying to "control information, especially online information."

Nothing funny about that, is there?  Not to those of us who relish Freedom of Speech in every form and format.

From the HuffingtonPost.com:

BEIJING — Beijing issued a stinging response Friday to U.S. criticism that it is jamming the free flow of words and ideas on the Internet, accusing the United States of damaging relations between the two countries by hoisting its "information imperialism" on China.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu defended China's policies regarding the Web, saying the nation's Internet regulations were in line with Chinese law and did not hamper the cyber activities of the world's largest online population. His remarks follow those made by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, who in a speech Thursday criticized countries engaging in cyberspace censorship, and urged China to investigate computer attacks against Google.

"Regarding comments that contradict facts and harm China-U.S. relations, we are firmly opposed," Ma said in a statement posted Friday on the ministry's Web site. "We urge the U.S. side to respect facts and stop using the so-called freedom of the Internet to make unjustified accusations against China."

I can see the crowds marching down the streets.  I can hear the cries of the protesters--Stop the so-called freedom of the Internet now!

The Chinese government has been drinking its own Kool-Aid for way too long.  They need some fresh blood to stir things up.  They need Dr. Frankenstein to put some new parts and ideas together for them. 

Back to France.  Since this is a week for women, I thought I'd include Liza Donnelly's press conference statement about being a cartoonist.  More specifically about being a woman cartoonist:

Along with being a terrific role model for young women, Ms. Donnelly has also provided us food for thought.  Do women cartoonists bring a different light to every subject?

And while China has exemplified the authoritarian state preventing its citizens from having basic human rights, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has demonstrated that she's ready to play a mean game of Chinese checkers.

“Countries or individuals that engage in cyber attacks should face consequences and international condemnation,” Clinton said. “In an interconnected world, an attack on one nation’s network can be an attack on all.”

What do you think?

                                   ---Beth Arnold in Paris

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