DisOrientated - A Weblog by Philip Sen - "A Sense of Humour, a Sense of History and a Sense of Struggle"

October 31, 2004

"A Sense of Humour, a Sense of History and a Sense of Struggle"

These were the words of Joan Hinton (Han Chun), an American nuclear physicist who defected to China in the 1940s and has just been granted a green card.

Rarely do I turn on CCTV 9 these days, but with my DVD player inoperative I thought I'd take a look. On the interview programme, Dialogue, appeared this frail 83-year-old widow, chuckling at her own aphorisms, so used to speaking Chinese that she struggled to find the English words, spouting her theories on the progress of communism.

It does strike you as a little odd that it took 56 years for her to get a residence permit. Also odd that a scientist with experience on the Oppenheimer project was assigned to agricultural development by the new communist authorities (though she understandably said she did not wish to participate in further nuclear research). Bizarre too that the wartime government in the US didn't pick up on the fact that one of its people had a close friend fighting with the communists against the KMT.

While I accept Hinton's motivation to defect, a horrified response to Hiroshima and Nagaski, the rest of what she said seemed very suspect.

Great Leap Forward? "I didn't see any problems where I was." Yep, she saw a whole bottle of milk carried across a river. Didn't get that bit I must admit.

On the Cultural Revolution, Hinton not only denied that she was subjected to any persecution but even said that she participated, implying that she betrayed an escaping "counter-revolutionary" priest to the authorities. At times it even seemed that normally wooden presenter Yang Rui was pressuring her to say something a bit bolder.

And quizzed on whether she felt betrayed herself at China's capitalist revolution she turned to her script - you actually saw the pages flick across the desk - and said that young people need "a sense of humour, a sense of history and a sense of struggle". Shenme?

She's getting on. But to dismiss everything over the last 55 years as merely "fascinating" is to deny some pretty major things.

Still, such an original and unusual perspective can only help to objectify the debate on what really happened and what is really happening.

For articles in the western press see The Atom Spy That Got Away and this downloadable NPR audio (scroll down the page - Real Player required) where she does seem to come out against the modern days yuppies and cash cows. "Young people these days... all they want is money!" Well, I'm with her on that one.

Posted by Sendover at October 31, 2004 08:09 PM | TrackBack

Comments

Great discussion. Just a slight change in the subject. You may be interested in one of these seasonal tax topics: Federal Income Tax - Federal Income Tax - http://federal-income-tax.irs-us.net ; HR Block - HR Block - http://hr-block.irs-us.net ; Income Tax Filing - Income Tax Filing - http://income-tax-filing.irs-us.net ; Income Tax Online - Income Tax Online - http://income-tax-online.irs-us.net ; Income Tax Preparation - Income Tax Preparation - http://income-tax-preparation.irs-us.net ; Income Tax Return - Income Tax Return - http://income-tax-return.irs-us.net ; Income Tax Software - Income Tax Software - http://income-tax-software.irs-us.net ; Online Tax Filing - Online Tax Filing - http://online-tax-filing.irs-us.net ; Online Tax Prep - Online Tax Prep - http://online-tax-prep.irs-us.net ; Online Tax Preparation - Online Tax Preparation - http://online-tax-preparation.irs-us.net ; Online Tax Return - Online Tax Return - http://online-tax-return.irs-us.net ; Online Tax Service - Online Tax Service - http://online-tax-service.irs-us.net ; Online Tax Software - Online Tax Software - http://online-tax-software.irs-us.net ; Tax Calculator - Tax Calculator - http://tax-calculator.irs-us.net ; Tax Cut - Tax Cut - http://tax-cut.irs-us.net ; Tax Deduction - Tax Deduction - http://tax-deduction.irs-us.net ; Tax Filing - Tax Filing - http://tax-filing.irs-us.net ; Tax Forms - Tax Forms - http://tax-forms.irs-us.net ; Tax Preparation Service - Tax Preparation Service - http://tax-preparation-service.irs-us.net ; Tax Preparation Software - Tax Preparation Software - http://tax-preparation-software.irs-us.net ; Tax Preparation - Tax Preparation - http://tax-preparation.irs-us.net ; Tax Programs - Tax Programs - http://tax-programs.irs-us.net ; Tax Refund - Tax Refund - http://tax-refund.irs-us.net ; Tax Return Preparation - Tax Return Preparation - http://tax-return-preparation.irs-us.net ; Tax Return Software - Tax Return Software - http://tax-return-software.irs-us.net ; Tax Return - Tax Return - http://tax-return.irs-us.net ; Tax Software - Tax Software - http://tax-software.irs-us.net ; TaxCut - TaxCut - http://taxcut.irs-us.net ; Turbo Tax - Turbo Tax - http://turbo-tax.irs-us.net ; TurboTax - TurboTax - http://turbotax.irs-us.net ; Thank you for your interest.

Posted by: Uncle Sam at January 18, 2005 08:18 PM

Hey

I agree with what you're saying. Thanks for sharing the info with us.

Posted by: webcam at March 4, 2005 04:55 AM

The ProSolution Pill system is guaranteed to increase your penis size by 1-3 inches. Utilizing doctor recommended ingredients and paired with a bonus membership to an online techniques website, this is the most successful system on the market.

Posted by: pro solution pills at March 6, 2005 12:54 PM

The ProSolution Pill system is guaranteed to increase your penis size by 1-3 inches. Utilizing doctor recommended ingredients and paired. WITH a bonus membership to an online techniques website, this is the most successful system on the market.The repercussions of possessing a small penis are damaging and far-reaching. Luckily, this condition is treatable. In the beginning, ProSolution saw a need. Many men everywhere suffer from feelings of inadequacy resulting from their penis.

Posted by: penis enlargement at March 7, 2005 08:29 PM