Chinese Regime Loses the P.R. Game Before the Opening Ceremony

A friend who recently visted China with his Chinese wife tells me that  today, there are banners in Beijing telling people in great detail how to make small talk and answer questions asked by foreigners.  Chinese are even instructed on what Hollywood celebreties they like.  That’s a lot of elaborate effort to go to only to screw up your P.R. effort this badly just before those other  games begin:

MEDIA RELATIONS:

The beating of two Japanese journalists by police in western China drew an official apology Tuesday, but Beijing also set new obstacles for news outlets wanting to report from Tiananmen Square in the latest sign of trouble for reporters covering the Olympics.  [….]  

In the latest restriction, the Beijing city government said on its Web site that Chinese and foreign journalists who want to report and film in Tiananmen “are advised to make advanced appointments by phone.” It said that will help ensure orderly newsgathering amid what are expected to be large crowds in the square on each day of the games, which start Friday.  [AP]

GLOBAL HOSPITALITY:

Beijing’s thousands of taxicabs are being fitted with video cameras and satellite technology that transmits a live audio feed of what is being said in the cab back to a computer for monitoring and linguistic analysis, according to industry sources.

“It was about two or three months ago. All the taxis in our company had this fitted,” an employee at a major Beijing cab company said. “There is a screen which displayes the exact location of the vehicle. The taxi is also able to send information back to us at the control station. All the taxis registered with us have had the modifications.”  [RFA]

CUSTOMER SERVICE:

China’s thousands of petitioners–people trying to lodge complaints over alleged wrongdoing by officials in their home region–are major targets. When lawsuits and local complaint procedures fail to win redress, thousands of petitioners try to take their cases directly to the capital. They are often intercepted en route by local police.
Those who get as far as the three main complaints offices in central Beijing have rarely been welcomed in the past, and have often been subjected to endless stonewalling and form-filling by officials. Since preparations began for the Olympics, however, they have been met with row upon row of official vehicles, armed police, and public security officials from around the country. [….]

“People were being invited in to discuss their cases and then were being detained and taken away via the back door. I saw this happening today, so I ran away and hid for fear of being detained,” she said.  One petitioner, Wu Tianli, said some petitioners had initially been surprised by what appeared to be a warm reception at the central government complaints offices in Beijing, where they were told to come into the center and register their personal details.  [RFA]

Those falling for this elaborate ruse were put into detention centers and bused home.