By Makhdoom Babar
(Editor-in-Chief)
In its International Edition on weekend, US Newspaper New York Times published an article, titled ‘Shame on China”, written by a rather controversial writer Murong Xuecun. According to New York Times, this article was written in Chinese language and was published by the newspaper with the English translation by some Harvey Thomlinson. In the said article, government of China has been strongly criticized for introducing anti-corruption and anti-graft reforms in China. The article targets the Chinese leadership for exposing the corrupt elements in different sectors of society. The article goes further harsh on Chinese leaders for introducing a practice of giving the busted corrupt elements for apologizing to the nation for the corruption and wrong things they did to harm the country and the society. The writer, in the said article, quoting his own example from his school days, terms it very harsh for asking a guilty element to admit his or her crime, dishonesty or deliberate wrongdoing, publically.
Now for reading this article, first of all one has to be sure that the translator, in this case, some Harvey Thomlinson, has made the translation with utmost accuracy and authentication. Once it is established then one needs to discuss the said article.
If it is perceived that the article is authentically translated then comes the first observation which is that the writer himself exposes his own very character as he says that during his school days, he was punished by his class teacher for his wrong doing and was made to admit the same in front of the entire School so that no one should indulge into any such wrong doing in future. So it stands confirmed that writer was indulging into bad social practices since his childhood and since then, he feels very badly for those who expose such wrong doings, be it a school teacher or a President of the country.
Going further into the article, the writer tries to portray as if all the corrupt officials of social individuals of China, who have been apologizing to the nation for the wrong doings and mistake they made, were forced by the government to do so. However, the writer fails to bring any evidence to support his claims and allegations. For a practice that the Chinese leadership has introduced to let the guilty hearts get a vent and to get an opportunity to apologize to the nation and to urge upon others for not doing what they did, the writer has instead criticized the government by terming the provision of such an opportunity as the violation of the privacy of the citizens.
Being a Pakistani media organization that enjoys agreements of professional collaboration with top media organizations of China, The Daily Mail is very much in picture of the actual state of affairs in this regard. The Daily Mail believes that the Chinese leadership must be saluted for introducing such a practice which could be very effective for ridding the society of social evils and also provides the right to express to those who have been found guilty of any corruption or wrong doing. It is setting examples for others and making a very positive impact on the society and the general public.
It remains a fact that the new Chinese leadership with President Xi Jinping as President and Li Kiqiang as the Premier, has also introduced a system of reviewing even the mistaken convictions. China’s top court has said that it amended judgments for convicts in 9,635 cases last year and ordered to retrials to another 4,281, according to the annual report of the Supreme People’s Court (SPC).
“Wrongful verdicts have been corrected in a timely manner,” the report said, adding that Chinese courts last year rectified 10 major cases including a rape-murder case in 1996, in which an 18-year-old man was executed. Last year, Chinese courts had upheld independence and advanced judicial reform centering on the goal of “let the people feel fairness and justice in every case,” said the report.
The Daily Mail believes that if a journalist is found guilty in a court of law in Pakistan or United States, of blackmailing a private company through the pen to extort money, he or she would straight away be sent to prison for the prescribed term, without getting a chance to apologize for the same and without getting a chance to interact with the nation or fellow community member for apologizing to let them down. But in China, government is providing this chance to all those individuals whose apology matters on restructuring the society. The Daily Mail, thus, hails this practice, introduced by the Chinese government and expects that the same would be followed by the other countries in the region and across the globe. To The Daily Mail, it is not a matter of shame for China but something to take pride of indeed.
