Jump to content

Kong Qingdong: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Content deleted Content added
Zzarch (talk | contribs)
Zzarch (talk | contribs)
Expanding article
Line 79: Line 79:
| box_width =
| box_width =
}}
}}
'''Kong Qingdong''' ({{zh|s=孔庆东|t=孔慶東|p=kŏngqìngdōng}}) is a professor of [[Chinese studies]] at [[Peking University]], whose [[Chinese nationalist]] views and frequent use of [[profanity]] in public have been the focus of various controversies. A descendant of the Chinese philosopher [[Confucius]]<ref name="confucius_family">{{cite book|last=Kong|first=Deyong|title=Confucius Family Tree|year=2009|isbn=9787503937897}}</ref>, Kong has been a vocal supporter of [[Communist Party of China]] [[orthodoxy]], and he has expressed [[anti-America]] and anti-[[Western world|Western]] sentiments, calling the [[U.S.]] [[Secretary of State]] [[Hillary Clinton]] “a bitch”<ref name="epoch_profanity">{{Cite news|url=http://www.epochtimes.com/b5/11/11/19/n3435150.htm杜君立-孔慶東時代的北大|author=Du, Junli|title=杜君立:孔慶東時代的北大|date=19 November 2011|accessdate=23 January 2012}}</ref>. A critic of the [[free press]], Kong has famously lashed out at ''[[Southern Weekly]]'' and its related newspapers, often regarded as some of the more [[Chinese liberalism|liberal]] media outlets in China, as well as suggesting that if China's “journalists were all lined up and shot, I would feel heartache for not a single one of them”<ref>{{cite web|last=Chow|first=Elaine|title=Quote of the Day: ''Unhappy China'' author hates journalists|url=http://shanghaiist.com/2010/12/06/quote_of_the_day_unhappy_china_auth.php|publisher=[[Shanghaiist]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Bandurski|first=David|title=Are Chinese media a public nuisance?|url=http://cmp.hku.hk/2010/12/06/8762/|work=China Media Project|publisher=[[Hong Kong University]]|accessdate=22 January 2012}}</ref>.
'''Kong Qingdong''' ({{zh|s=孔庆东|t=孔慶東|p=kŏngqìngdōng}}) is a professor of [[Chinese studies]] at [[Peking University]], whose [[Chinese nationalist]] views have been the focus of various controversies.

A descendant of the Chinese philosopher [[Confucius]]<ref name="confucius_family">{{cite book|last=Kong|first=Deyong|title=Confucius Family Tree|year=2009|isbn=9787503937897}}</ref>, Kong has been a vocal supporter of [[Communist Party of China]] [[orthodoxy]], and he has expressed [[anti-America]] and anti-[[Western world|Western]] sentiments. A critic of the [[free press]], Kong has famously lashed out at ''[[Southern Weekly]]'' and its related newspapers, often regarded as some of the more [[Chinese liberalism|liberal]] media outlets in China, as well as suggesting that if China's “journalists were all lined up and shot, I would feel heartache for not a single one of them”<ref>{{cite web|last=Chow|first=Elaine|title=Quote of the Day: ''Unhappy China'' author hates journalists|url=http://shanghaiist.com/2010/12/06/quote_of_the_day_unhappy_china_auth.php|publisher=[[Shanghaiist]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Bandurski|first=David|title=Are Chinese media a public nuisance?|url=http://cmp.hku.hk/2010/12/06/8762/|work=China Media Project|publisher=[[Hong Kong University]]|accessdate=22 January 2012}}</ref>.
While Kong has mostly espoused [[Communist Party of China|Party]] ideology, he is also known to criticize China's [[Economic reform in China|economic reform]], calling the current Chinese government “shameless”<ref name="epoch_profanity" />. Kong has also expressed admiration for the [[North Korea|North Korean]] government, calling it “three times better than (China’s)”<ref name="epoch_profanity" /><ref name="kong_blog_nk" />. In response to claims of starvation in North Korea, Kong claimed that “the North Korean people are living at a lower standard, but who said that they are starving? Their living standard is about the same as China’s in the early 1990s. Were you starving in the early 1990s?”<ref name="epoch_profanity" />


==Biography==
==Biography==
Kong Qingdong, recognized as the 73rd-generation descendant of [[Confucius]] by contemporary historians<ref name="confucius_family" />, first achieved fame as the author of various books describing his graduate student life in [[Peking University]]<ref>{{cite book|last=Kong|first=Qingdong|title=47樓207——北大醉侠的浪漫宣言|year=1998|publisher=内蒙古教育出版社|isbn=9787531136774}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Wu|first=Zhong|title=The writing is on the wall|url=http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China/IE23Ad01.html|publisher=Asian Times Online|accessdate=22 January 2012}}</ref>, in which the self-described “Drunken Hero of Peking University” commentated on many Chinese social issues. An avid reader and researcher of Chinese ''[[wuxia]]'' fiction, Kong briefly lectured on ''[[wuxia]]'' author [[Jin Yong]] on [[China Central Television|CCTV]]'s ''[[Lecture Room]]'' series, as well as giving a talk on the Chinese [[essayist]] and [[language reform|language reformer]] [[Lu Xun]] on the same series, although his lecture on [[Lu Xun]] has been criticized as being factually loose<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ent.sina.com.cn/x/2008-03-10/02301941734.shtml| title=孔庆东讲鲁迅穿帮多|publisher=华龙网-重庆晚报|date=10 March 2008|accessdate=2 June 2010}}</ref>.
Kong Qingdong, recognized as the 73rd-generation descendant of [[Confucius]] by contemporary historians<ref name="confucius_family" />, first achieved fame as the author of various books describing his graduate student life in [[Peking University]]<ref>{{cite book|last=Kong|first=Qingdong|title=47樓207——北大醉侠的浪漫宣言|year=1998|publisher=内蒙古教育出版社|isbn=9787531136774}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Wu|first=Zhong|title=The writing is on the wall|url=http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China/IE23Ad01.html|publisher=Asian Times Online|accessdate=22 January 2012}}</ref>, in which the self-described “Drunken Hero of Peking University” commentated on many Chinese social issues. An avid reader and researcher of Chinese ''[[wuxia]]'' fiction, Kong briefly lectured on ''[[wuxia]]'' author [[Jin Yong]] on [[China Central Television|CCTV]]'s ''[[Lecture Room]]'' series, as well as giving a talk on the Chinese [[essayist]] and [[language reform|language reformer]] [[Lu Xun]] on the same series, although his lecture on [[Lu Xun]] has been criticized as being factually loose<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ent.sina.com.cn/x/2008-03-10/02301941734.shtml| title=孔庆东讲鲁迅穿帮多|publisher=华龙网-重庆晚报|date=10 March 2008|accessdate=2 June 2010}}</ref>.


Although Kong Qingdong was a participant in the [[Tiananmen Square protests of 1989]]<ref name="apple">{{cite news|title=孔慶東狡辯再罵港人冇腦|url=http://hk.apple.nextmedia.com/template/apple/art_main.php?iss_id=20120122&sec_id=4104&subsec_id=11866&art_id=16006673|accessdate=22 January 2012|newspaper=[[Apple Daily]]}}</ref> , after he was named a professor of [[Chinese studies]] by [[Peking University]], Kong began publishing essays in which he espoused [[Chinese nationalism]] and [[Communist Party of China]] [[orthodoxy]]. Kong has praised the [[North Korea|North Korean]] regime on various occasions, claiming that the Koreans “will surely die off”, if not for “the great leader ([[Kim Jong-il]]) and his [[North Korean Workers' Party|Workers' Party]]”<ref>{{cite web|url=http://blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_476da36101000300.html|author=Kong, Qingdong|title=听我唱段十三亲|publisher=Kong Qingdong's blog|date=8 April 2006|accessdate=2 June 2010}}</ref>. Additionally, Kong has organized study groups on ''[[juche]]'', the official ideology in [[North Korea]], at Peking University; some sources, such as ''[[Southern Metropolis Daily]]'', accuse the group of providing [[military intelligence|intelligence]] to North Korea<ref name="stabbing" />.
Although Kong Qingdong was a participant in the [[Tiananmen Square protests of 1989]]<ref name="apple">{{cite news|title=孔慶東狡辯再罵港人冇腦|url=http://hk.apple.nextmedia.com/template/apple/art_main.php?iss_id=20120122&sec_id=4104&subsec_id=11866&art_id=16006673|accessdate=22 January 2012|newspaper=[[Apple Daily]]}}</ref> , after he was named a professor of [[Chinese studies]] by [[Peking University]], Kong began publishing essays in which he espoused [[Chinese nationalism]] and [[Communist Party of China]] [[orthodoxy]]. Kong has praised the [[North Korea|North Korean]] regime on various occasions, claiming that the Koreans “will surely die off”, if not for “the great leader ([[Kim Jong-il]]) and his [[North Korean Workers' Party|Workers' Party]]”<ref name="epoch_profanity" /><ref name="kong_blog_nk">{{cite web|url=http://blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_476da36101000300.html|author=Kong, Qingdong|title=听我唱段十三亲|publisher=Kong Qingdong's blog|date=8 April 2006|accessdate=2 June 2010}}</ref>. Additionally, Kong has organized study groups on ''[[juche]]'', the official ideology in [[North Korea]], at Peking University; some sources, such as ''[[Southern Metropolis Daily]]'', accuse the group of providing [[military intelligence|intelligence]] to North Korea<ref name="stabbing" />.


A critic of [[Western culture]] and especially its [[entertainment]], Kong Qingdong lent his voice in a campaign to [[boycott]] the film ''[[Kung Fu Panda 2]]'', calling it an instrument of [[cultural invasion]] by the West<ref>{{cite news|title=Kung Fu Panda 2 Film Criticised In China|url=http://news.sky.com/home/showbiz-news/article/16002861|accessdate=22 January 2012|newspaper=[[Sky News]]|date=31 May 2011}}</ref>.
A critic of [[Western culture]] and especially its [[entertainment]], Kong Qingdong lent his voice in a campaign to [[boycott]] the film ''[[Kung Fu Panda 2]]'', calling it an instrument of [[cultural invasion]] by the West<ref>{{cite news|title=Kung Fu Panda 2 Film Criticised In China|url=http://news.sky.com/home/showbiz-news/article/16002861|accessdate=22 January 2012|newspaper=[[Sky News]]|date=31 May 2011}}</ref>. After the [[Apple Inc.]] co-founder and [[CEO]] [[Steve Jobs]] died in 2011, Kong remarked that “the more people like Steve Jobs die, the better”<ref name="epoch_profanity" />.


Kong Qingdong has been involved in the [[Confucius Peace Prize]], a Chinese prize set up in response to [[Nobel Peace Prize]], which was awarded to the [[Human rights in the People's Republic of China|Chinese dissident]] [[Liu Xiaobo]] amid China's protest. Kong claims that the prize, which was awarded to [[Lien Chan]] and [[Vladimir Putin]] in its first two years (none of whom accepted it)<ref>{{cite news|last=Wong|first=Edward|title=For Putin, a Peace Prize for a Decision to Go to War|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/16/world/asia/chinas-confucius-prize-awarded-to-vladimir-putin.html|accessdate=22 January 2012|newspaper=[[New York Times]]|date=15 November 2011}}</ref>, accurately reflects [[Confucius]]’s vision of peace<ref>{{cite news|title=孔子和平奖二次颁发 获奖者再度缺席|url=http://www.voanews.com/chinese/news/20111209-Peace-Prize-Putin-135310893.html|author=Zhang, Nan|accessdate=22 January 2012|date=9 December 2011}}</ref>.
Kong Qingdong has been involved in the [[Confucius Peace Prize]], a Chinese prize set up in response to [[Nobel Peace Prize]], which was awarded to the [[Human rights in the People's Republic of China|Chinese dissident]] [[Liu Xiaobo]] amid China's protest. Kong claims that the prize, which was awarded to [[Lien Chan]] and [[Vladimir Putin]] in its first two years (none of whom accepted it)<ref>{{cite news|last=Wong|first=Edward|title=For Putin, a Peace Prize for a Decision to Go to War|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/16/world/asia/chinas-confucius-prize-awarded-to-vladimir-putin.html|accessdate=22 January 2012|newspaper=[[New York Times]]|date=15 November 2011}}</ref>, accurately reflects [[Confucius]]’s vision of peace<ref>{{cite news|title=孔子和平奖二次颁发 获奖者再度缺席|url=http://www.voanews.com/chinese/news/20111209-Peace-Prize-Putin-135310893.html|author=Zhang, Nan|accessdate=22 January 2012|date=9 December 2011}}</ref>.
Line 96: Line 97:


===Attack on Xu Lai===
===Attack on Xu Lai===
In November 2008, Xu Lai (primarily known under the pen name "Qian Liexian"), a journalist at ''New Beijing'', a newspaper affiliated with ''[[Southern Daily]]'' at the time, alleged in his blog that Kong Qingdong has been interrogated by the Beijing police for [[espionage|spying]] for [[North Korea]]. A few months later, in February 2009, Xu was assaulted and stabbed by Yang Chun, a personal assistant of Kong Qingdong, who accused Xu of offending “a friend”<ref>{{cite news|last=Branigan|first=Tania|title=Chinese blogger Xu Lai stabbed in Beijing bookshop|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/feb/15/china-blogger-xu-lai-stabbed|accessdate=22 January 2012|newspaper=[[The Guardian|Guardian]]|date=15 February 2009}}</ref>. ''[[Southern Metropolis Daily]]'', another newspaper affiliated with ''[[Southern Daily]]'', criticized Kong Qingdong's involvement in the affairs<ref name="stabbing">{{cite web|url=http://ent.nfdaily.cn/content/2009-08/07/content_5509329.htm| title=孔庆东被曝泄露情报 助理刺伤媒体人获刑四年半|publisher=京华时报|date=7 August 2009|accessdate=15 May 2010}}</ref>.
In November 2008, Xu Lai (primarily known under the pen name “Qian Liexian”), a journalist at ''New Beijing'', a newspaper affiliated with ''[[Southern Daily]]'' at the time, alleged in his blog that Kong Qingdong has been interrogated by the Beijing police for [[espionage|spying]] for [[North Korea]]. A few months later, in February 2009, Xu was assaulted and stabbed by Yang Chun, a personal assistant of Kong Qingdong, who accused Xu of offending “a friend”<ref>{{cite news|last=Branigan|first=Tania|title=Chinese blogger Xu Lai stabbed in Beijing bookshop|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/feb/15/china-blogger-xu-lai-stabbed|accessdate=22 January 2012|newspaper=[[The Guardian|Guardian]]|date=15 February 2009}}</ref>. ''[[Southern Metropolis Daily]]'', another newspaper affiliated with ''[[Southern Daily]]'', criticized Kong Qingdong's involvement in the affairs<ref name="stabbing">{{cite web|url=http://ent.nfdaily.cn/content/2009-08/07/content_5509329.htm| title=孔庆东被曝泄露情报 助理刺伤媒体人获刑四年半|publisher=京华时报|date=7 August 2009|accessdate=15 May 2010}}</ref>.


===Southern Weekly interview request===
===Southern Weekly interview request===
Line 102: Line 103:


===Insult on Hong Kong people===
===Insult on Hong Kong people===
In an online video show posted in January 2012, Kong commented on a [[viral video]] in China, in which a [[mainland Chinese]] mother on a [[Hong Kong]] train engaged in an argument with a fellow passenger, a native [[Hong Kong people|Hong Kong resident]] who tried to stop her son from eating on the train. Kong lashed out on the Hong Kong passenger, criticizing the man’s use of [[Cantonese]] (as opposed to the [[government of China|Chinese government]]’s preferred dialect of [[Mandarin]]) and calling him a “colonial elitist”, as well as claiming multiple times that “many Hong Kong people are bastards, dogs, and thieves”<ref>{{cite news|last=Chan|first=Minnie|title=HK people labeled as dogs by mainlander|url=http://topics.scmp.com/news/china-news-watch/article/HK-people--labelled-as--dogs-by--mainlander|accessdate=22 January 2012|newspaper=[[South China Morning Post]]|date=21 January 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://shanghaiist.com/2012/01/20/kong-qingdong-hk-bastards-dogs.php|title=Kong Qingdong: Hong Kongers are bastards, dogs and thieves|author=Tan, Kenneth|publisher=[[Shanghaiist]]|date=21 January 2012|accessdate=22 January 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.163.com/12/0121/10/7O9KLPHG00014JB6.html |title=北大教授孔庆东骂“部分香港人是狗”|author=中国新闻网 |publisher=网易新闻 |date=21 January 2012 |accessdate=21 January 2012}}</ref>. Hong Kong’s ''[[Ming Pao]]'' reported that Kong further claimed that the Hong Kong people are “willing dogs of the British … To this day they think that they are dogs, not people”; in response to Hong Kong’s society, Kong claimed (to the Hong Kong people) that “your society's order is maintained by law, which means that you have no self-restraint, which means that you are a vile (賤) people”<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.mingpao.com/20120121/gaa1.htm|title=北大惹火教授罵港人是狗 時事評論員﹕中港矛盾深化 促政策介入|publisher=[[Ming Pao]]|accessdate=22 January 2012|quote=「(港人)給人家英國殖民者當走狗當慣了,到現在都是狗,你們不是人 … 凡是用法治維持起來的秩序,說明你們的人沒有素質、沒有自覺……一個字:賤。」}}</ref>. Many Hong Kong citizens were infuriated by his remarks<ref>{{cite news|title=唐英年批孔慶東應有教授品格|url=http://news.chinatimes.com/mainland/11050501/112012012200099.html|accessdate=22 January 2012|newspaper=Want Daily|date=22 January 2012}}</ref>, and Hong Kong's ''Open'' magazine openly asked for Kong to be [[Banishment|banished]] from Hong Kong, as well as suggesting that the [[Communist Party of China]] has been supporting Kong Qingdong behind the scene<ref name="ntdtv">{{cite news|title=孔慶東否認罵港人是狗 轉向南方報系開火|url=http://www.ntdtv.com/xtr/b5/2012/01/22/a649919.html.-孔慶東否認罵港人是狗-轉向南方報系開火.html|accessdate=22 January 2012|newspaper=New Tang Dynasty Television|date=22 January 2012}}</ref>. The [[Hong Kong cinema|Hong Kong actor]] [[Anthony Wong (Hong Kong actor)|Anthony Wong]] also rebuked Kong's remarks, suggesting that “if the Hong Kong people are dogs, then Kong Qingdong is a blood relative of dogs”<ref name="epoch">{{Cite news|url=http://www.epochtimes.com/b5/12/1/21/n3492865.htm孔慶東粗暴「狗言論」%E3%80%80港人怒吼|title=孔慶東粗暴「狗言論」港人將圍堵中聯辦|publisher=[[Epoch Times]]|accessdate=22 January 2012|date=21 January 2012}}</ref>. In his video, Kong also compared the relationship of Hong Kong and Britain as similar to that of Taiwan and Korea to Japan{{Clarify|date=January 2012}}{{Citation needed|date=January 2012}}.
In an online video show posted in January 2012, Kong commented on a [[viral video]] in China, in which a [[mainland Chinese]] mother on a [[Hong Kong]] train engaged in an argument with a fellow passenger, a native [[Hong Kong people|Hong Kong resident]] who tried to stop her son from eating on the train. Kong lashed out on the Hong Kong passenger, criticizing the man’s use of [[Cantonese]] (as opposed to the [[government of China|Chinese government]]’s preferred dialect of [[Mandarin]]) and calling him a “colonial elitist”, as well as claiming multiple times that “many Hong Kong people are bastards, dogs, and thieves”<ref>{{cite news|last=Chan|first=Minnie|title=HK people labeled as dogs by mainlander|url=http://topics.scmp.com/news/china-news-watch/article/HK-people--labelled-as--dogs-by--mainlander|accessdate=22 January 2012|newspaper=[[South China Morning Post]]|date=21 January 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://shanghaiist.com/2012/01/20/kong-qingdong-hk-bastards-dogs.php|title=Kong Qingdong: Hong Kongers are bastards, dogs and thieves|author=Tan, Kenneth|publisher=[[Shanghaiist]]|date=21 January 2012|accessdate=22 January 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.163.com/12/0121/10/7O9KLPHG00014JB6.html |title=北大教授孔庆东骂“部分香港人是狗”|author=中国新闻网 |publisher=网易新闻 |date=21 January 2012 |accessdate=21 January 2012}}</ref>. Hong Kong’s ''[[Ming Pao]]'' reported that Kong further claimed that the Hong Kong people are “willing dogs of the British … To this day they think that they are dogs, not people”<ref name="pku_prof_dog" />; that “how did the British treat the Hong Kong dogs? If they don't listen, the British spank them”<ref name="expel" />; and, in response to Hong Kong’s society, Kong claimed (to the Hong Kong people) that “your society's order is maintained by law, which means that you have no self-restraint, which means that you are a vile (賤) people”<ref name="pku_prof_dog">{{cite news|url=http://news.mingpao.com/20120121/gaa1.htm|title=北大惹火教授罵港人是狗 時事評論員﹕中港矛盾深化 促政策介入|publisher=[[Ming Pao]]|accessdate=22 January 2012|quote=「(港人)給人家英國殖民者當走狗當慣了,到現在都是狗,你們不是人 … 凡是用法治維持起來的秩序,說明你們的人沒有素質、沒有自覺……一個字:賤。」}}</ref>. Many Hong Kong citizens were infuriated by his remarks<ref>{{cite news|title=唐英年批孔慶東應有教授品格|url=http://news.chinatimes.com/mainland/11050501/112012012200099.html|accessdate=22 January 2012|newspaper=Want Daily|date=22 January 2012}}</ref>, and Hong Kong's ''Open'' magazine openly asked for Kong to be [[Banishment|banished]] from Hong Kong, as well as suggesting that the [[Communist Party of China]] has been supporting Kong Qingdong behind the scene<ref name="ntdtv">{{cite news|title=孔慶東否認罵港人是狗 轉向南方報系開火|url=http://www.ntdtv.com/xtr/b5/2012/01/22/a649919.html.-孔慶東否認罵港人是狗-轉向南方報系開火.html|accessdate=22 January 2012|newspaper=New Tang Dynasty Television|date=22 January 2012}}</ref>. The [[Hong Kong cinema|Hong Kong actor]] [[Anthony Wong (Hong Kong actor)|Anthony Wong]] also rebuked Kong's remarks, suggesting that “if the Hong Kong people are dogs, then Kong Qingdong is a blood relative of dogs”<ref name="epoch">{{Cite news|url=http://www.epochtimes.com/b5/12/1/21/n3492865.htm孔慶東粗暴「狗言論」%E3%80%80港人怒吼|title=孔慶東粗暴「狗言論」港人將圍堵中聯辦|publisher=[[Epoch Times]]|accessdate=22 January 2012|date=21 January 2012}}</ref>. Petitions for expelling Kong from [[Peking University]], which was previously called for when he rejected the ''[[Southern Weekly]]'' interview with an expression of profanity, was also renewed<ref name=expel>{{cite news|title=請北大開除孔慶東|url=http://www.chinareviewnews.com/crn-webapp/mag/docDetail.jsp?coluid=0&docid=101988741|accessdate=23 January 2012|newspaper=中國評論月刊|date=23 January 2012}}</ref> . In his video, Kong also compared the relationship of Hong Kong and Britain as similar to that of Taiwan and Korea to Japan{{Clarify|date=January 2012}}{{Citation needed|date=January 2012}}.


After exposure by the media, however, Kong Qingdong claimed that he only made the remarks for the [[Hong Kong people]]’s benefit, and that he only called “some” Hong Kong people dogs; according to ''[[Ming Pao]]'', Kong claimed that “normal people–educated people–people who claim that they are people” should all understand what he meant; and that he thinks “every place has some people who are dogs. Some Beijing people are dogs. If someone really says that all Hong Kong people are dogs, then I agree, that person should apologize. Since the only party claiming that Hong Kong people are dogs is ''Southern Daily'', I demand that they apologize to both the Hong Kong people and me!”<ref name="ntdtv" /><ref>{{cite news|url=http://hk.news.yahoo.com/孔慶東回應-香港為什麼老虎屁股摸不得-211025155.html|publisher=[[Ming Pao]]|accessdate=22 January 2012|date=21 January 2012|quote=(孔慶東)相信「正常人、受過教育的人、自稱是人的人」都會清楚其言論的真正意思。}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.mingpao.com/20120122/gaa1.htm|title=東鐵罵戰主角籲勿分化 孔慶東堅稱「部分港人是狗」|publisher=[[Ming Pao]]|accessdate=22 January 2012|quote=「我說過香港人是狗嗎?沒有! … 我說哪裏都有一部份人是狗,北京也有一部份是狗 … 假如真有一個人說『香港人是狗』,那這個人應該道歉。而這句話恰好是南方報系說的,所以我鄭重要求南方報系向我並同時向香港人民道歉。支持南方報系認罪的舉手!」}}</ref> The online video network that published Kong’s remarks later claimed that Kong’s views do not represent the network’s<ref name="epoch" />.
After exposure by the media, however, Kong Qingdong claimed that he only made the remarks for the [[Hong Kong people]]’s benefit, and that he only called “some” Hong Kong people dogs; according to ''[[Ming Pao]]'', Kong claimed that “normal people–educated people–people who claim that they are people” should all understand what he meant; and that he thinks “every place has some people who are dogs. Some Beijing people are dogs. If someone really says that all Hong Kong people are dogs, then I agree, that person should apologize. Since the only party claiming that Hong Kong people are dogs is ''Southern Daily'', I demand that they apologize to both the Hong Kong people and me!”<ref name="ntdtv" /><ref>{{cite news|url=http://hk.news.yahoo.com/孔慶東回應-香港為什麼老虎屁股摸不得-211025155.html|publisher=[[Ming Pao]]|accessdate=22 January 2012|date=21 January 2012|quote=(孔慶東)相信「正常人、受過教育的人、自稱是人的人」都會清楚其言論的真正意思。}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.mingpao.com/20120122/gaa1.htm|title=東鐵罵戰主角籲勿分化 孔慶東堅稱「部分港人是狗」|publisher=[[Ming Pao]]|accessdate=22 January 2012|quote=「我說過香港人是狗嗎?沒有! … 我說哪裏都有一部份人是狗,北京也有一部份是狗 … 假如真有一個人說『香港人是狗』,那這個人應該道歉。而這句話恰好是南方報系說的,所以我鄭重要求南方報系向我並同時向香港人民道歉。支持南方報系認罪的舉手!」}}</ref> The online video network that published Kong’s remarks later claimed that Kong’s views do not represent the network’s<ref name="epoch" />.

Revision as of 04:51, 23 January 2012

Template:Chinese-name

Kong Qingdong
孔庆东
Kong Qingdong
Kong Qingdong; photo by Voice of America.
Born (1964-09-22) September 22, 1964 (age 59)
NationalityChinese
Other names“Kong the Monk
CitizenshipChina
EducationPh.D. in Chinese studies
Alma materPeking University
OccupationProfessor of Chinese studies
EmployerPeking University
Known forDescendant of Confucius
Social commentary

Kong Qingdong (simplified Chinese: 孔庆东; traditional Chinese: 孔慶東; pinyin: kŏngqìngdōng) is a professor of Chinese studies at Peking University, whose Chinese nationalist views and frequent use of profanity in public have been the focus of various controversies. A descendant of the Chinese philosopher Confucius[1], Kong has been a vocal supporter of Communist Party of China orthodoxy, and he has expressed anti-America and anti-Western sentiments, calling the U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton “a bitch”[2]. A critic of the free press, Kong has famously lashed out at Southern Weekly and its related newspapers, often regarded as some of the more liberal media outlets in China, as well as suggesting that if China's “journalists were all lined up and shot, I would feel heartache for not a single one of them”[3][4].

While Kong has mostly espoused Party ideology, he is also known to criticize China's economic reform, calling the current Chinese government “shameless”[2]. Kong has also expressed admiration for the North Korean government, calling it “three times better than (China’s)”[2][5]. In response to claims of starvation in North Korea, Kong claimed that “the North Korean people are living at a lower standard, but who said that they are starving? Their living standard is about the same as China’s in the early 1990s. Were you starving in the early 1990s?”[2]

Biography

Kong Qingdong, recognized as the 73rd-generation descendant of Confucius by contemporary historians[1], first achieved fame as the author of various books describing his graduate student life in Peking University[6][7], in which the self-described “Drunken Hero of Peking University” commentated on many Chinese social issues. An avid reader and researcher of Chinese wuxia fiction, Kong briefly lectured on wuxia author Jin Yong on CCTV's Lecture Room series, as well as giving a talk on the Chinese essayist and language reformer Lu Xun on the same series, although his lecture on Lu Xun has been criticized as being factually loose[8].

Although Kong Qingdong was a participant in the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989[9] , after he was named a professor of Chinese studies by Peking University, Kong began publishing essays in which he espoused Chinese nationalism and Communist Party of China orthodoxy. Kong has praised the North Korean regime on various occasions, claiming that the Koreans “will surely die off”, if not for “the great leader (Kim Jong-il) and his Workers' Party[2][5]. Additionally, Kong has organized study groups on juche, the official ideology in North Korea, at Peking University; some sources, such as Southern Metropolis Daily, accuse the group of providing intelligence to North Korea[10].

A critic of Western culture and especially its entertainment, Kong Qingdong lent his voice in a campaign to boycott the film Kung Fu Panda 2, calling it an instrument of cultural invasion by the West[11]. After the Apple Inc. co-founder and CEO Steve Jobs died in 2011, Kong remarked that “the more people like Steve Jobs die, the better”[2].

Kong Qingdong has been involved in the Confucius Peace Prize, a Chinese prize set up in response to Nobel Peace Prize, which was awarded to the Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo amid China's protest. Kong claims that the prize, which was awarded to Lien Chan and Vladimir Putin in its first two years (none of whom accepted it)[12], accurately reflects Confucius’s vision of peace[13].

Controversies

Anti-Rightist Movement

In 2007, the liberal writer Zhang Yihe (Chinese: 章诒和, daughter of Zhang Bojun, a notable Chinese intellectual and victim of Mao Zedong’s Anti-Rightist Movement) published the now banned[14] Past Histories of Peking Opera Stars, in which she criticized the Anti-Rightist Movement and affirmed that she “will not give up the defense of my basic civil rights, because it affects the dignity and conscience of a person”[15]. Kong fiercely attacked Zhang in a lecture, referring to Zhang’s class as "the enemy of our government." Kong further defended the Anti-Rightist Movement and addressed to the “Old rightists” that “you (the rightists) think that you are proper heroes, so why are you asking the Communist Party for vindication? … our cases have been overturned after the reforms began, but why do the big rightists want to demand hundreds more times in compensation from the people?”[16]

Attack on Xu Lai

In November 2008, Xu Lai (primarily known under the pen name “Qian Liexian”), a journalist at New Beijing, a newspaper affiliated with Southern Daily at the time, alleged in his blog that Kong Qingdong has been interrogated by the Beijing police for spying for North Korea. A few months later, in February 2009, Xu was assaulted and stabbed by Yang Chun, a personal assistant of Kong Qingdong, who accused Xu of offending “a friend”[17]. Southern Metropolis Daily, another newspaper affiliated with Southern Daily, criticized Kong Qingdong's involvement in the affairs[10].

Southern Weekly interview request

In November 2011, Southern Weekly reached out to Kong for an interview. Rejecting the request, Kong published on his microblog that “the treasonous newspaper has harassed me once again by asking to interview me”; Kong answered the request with a Chinese expression of profanity (“去你妈的!滚你妈的!操你妈的!”) [18][19]. The use of profanity drew Kong considerable criticism[20][21], to the point of calling for his resignation[22], although online straw polls have turned out in favor of Kong[23][24]. The journalist in question later defended Kong, claiming that the profanity is “a later embellishment when Kong published his microblog post”[25].

Insult on Hong Kong people

In an online video show posted in January 2012, Kong commented on a viral video in China, in which a mainland Chinese mother on a Hong Kong train engaged in an argument with a fellow passenger, a native Hong Kong resident who tried to stop her son from eating on the train. Kong lashed out on the Hong Kong passenger, criticizing the man’s use of Cantonese (as opposed to the Chinese government’s preferred dialect of Mandarin) and calling him a “colonial elitist”, as well as claiming multiple times that “many Hong Kong people are bastards, dogs, and thieves”[26][27][28]. Hong Kong’s Ming Pao reported that Kong further claimed that the Hong Kong people are “willing dogs of the British … To this day they think that they are dogs, not people”[29]; that “how did the British treat the Hong Kong dogs? If they don't listen, the British spank them”[30]; and, in response to Hong Kong’s society, Kong claimed (to the Hong Kong people) that “your society's order is maintained by law, which means that you have no self-restraint, which means that you are a vile (賤) people”[29]. Many Hong Kong citizens were infuriated by his remarks[31], and Hong Kong's Open magazine openly asked for Kong to be banished from Hong Kong, as well as suggesting that the Communist Party of China has been supporting Kong Qingdong behind the scene[32]. The Hong Kong actor Anthony Wong also rebuked Kong's remarks, suggesting that “if the Hong Kong people are dogs, then Kong Qingdong is a blood relative of dogs”[33]. Petitions for expelling Kong from Peking University, which was previously called for when he rejected the Southern Weekly interview with an expression of profanity, was also renewed[30] . In his video, Kong also compared the relationship of Hong Kong and Britain as similar to that of Taiwan and Korea to Japan[clarification needed][citation needed].

After exposure by the media, however, Kong Qingdong claimed that he only made the remarks for the Hong Kong people’s benefit, and that he only called “some” Hong Kong people dogs; according to Ming Pao, Kong claimed that “normal people–educated people–people who claim that they are people” should all understand what he meant; and that he thinks “every place has some people who are dogs. Some Beijing people are dogs. If someone really says that all Hong Kong people are dogs, then I agree, that person should apologize. Since the only party claiming that Hong Kong people are dogs is Southern Daily, I demand that they apologize to both the Hong Kong people and me!”[32][34][35] The online video network that published Kong’s remarks later claimed that Kong’s views do not represent the network’s[33].

References

  1. ^ a b Kong, Deyong (2009). Confucius Family Tree. ISBN 9787503937897.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Du, Junli (19 November 2011). "杜君立:孔慶東時代的北大". Retrieved 23 January 2012.
  3. ^ Chow, Elaine. "Quote of the Day: Unhappy China author hates journalists". Shanghaiist.
  4. ^ Bandurski, David. "Are Chinese media a public nuisance?". China Media Project. Hong Kong University. Retrieved 22 January 2012.
  5. ^ a b Kong, Qingdong (8 April 2006). "听我唱段十三亲". Kong Qingdong's blog. Retrieved 2 June 2010.
  6. ^ Kong, Qingdong (1998). 47樓207——北大醉侠的浪漫宣言. 内蒙古教育出版社. ISBN 9787531136774.
  7. ^ Wu, Zhong. "The writing is on the wall". Asian Times Online. Retrieved 22 January 2012.
  8. ^ "孔庆东讲鲁迅穿帮多". 华龙网-重庆晚报. 10 March 2008. Retrieved 2 June 2010.
  9. ^ "孔慶東狡辯再罵港人冇腦". Apple Daily. Retrieved 22 January 2012.
  10. ^ a b "孔庆东被曝泄露情报 助理刺伤媒体人获刑四年半". 京华时报. 7 August 2009. Retrieved 15 May 2010.
  11. ^ "Kung Fu Panda 2 Film Criticised In China". Sky News. 31 May 2011. Retrieved 22 January 2012.
  12. ^ Wong, Edward (15 November 2011). "For Putin, a Peace Prize for a Decision to Go to War". New York Times. Retrieved 22 January 2012.
  13. ^ Zhang, Nan (9 December 2011). "孔子和平奖二次颁发 获奖者再度缺席". Retrieved 22 January 2012.
  14. ^ Martinsen, Joel (19 January 2007). "History books get the axe; another Zhang Yihe title falls". Danwei. Retrieved 22 January 2012.
  15. ^ "Zhang Yihe's statement and position". EastSouthWestNorth. Retrieved 22 January 2012.
  16. ^ Crane, Sam. "China: No Longer a Legalist Society". The Useless Tree. Retrieved 22 January 2012.
  17. ^ Branigan, Tania (15 February 2009). "Chinese blogger Xu Lai stabbed in Beijing bookshop". Guardian. Retrieved 22 January 2012.
  18. ^ "评论:中国媒体右倾政治左转?". BBC Chinese. Retrieved 17 November 2017. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  19. ^ Xu, Pingting. "Hot online: wolf dad, Kong swears, ova trade, bus safety". China Daily. Retrieved 22 January 2012.
  20. ^ Liu, Yineng. "What has Professor Kong Qingdong done this time?". Peking University. Retrieved 22 January 2012.
  21. ^ "Professor's tart reply sets off controversy". Eastday.
  22. ^ Liu, Yi (8 November 2011). "北大教授孔庆东用排比粗口骂记者激怒网友". Phoenix Television. Retrieved 22 January 2012.
  23. ^ "粗口教授孔庆东". Phoenix Television. Retrieved 11 November 2011. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  24. ^ "为何6成网友支持孔庆东骂记者". 腾讯网. 11 November 2011. Retrieved 11 November 2011.
  25. ^ "双面孔庆东". 中华网. Retrieved 11 November 2011. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  26. ^ Chan, Minnie (21 January 2012). "HK people labeled as dogs by mainlander". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 22 January 2012.
  27. ^ Tan, Kenneth (21 January 2012). "Kong Qingdong: Hong Kongers are bastards, dogs and thieves". Shanghaiist. Retrieved 22 January 2012.
  28. ^ 中国新闻网 (21 January 2012). "北大教授孔庆东骂"部分香港人是狗"". 网易新闻. Retrieved 21 January 2012.
  29. ^ a b "北大惹火教授罵港人是狗 時事評論員﹕中港矛盾深化 促政策介入". Ming Pao. Retrieved 22 January 2012. 「(港人)給人家英國殖民者當走狗當慣了,到現在都是狗,你們不是人 … 凡是用法治維持起來的秩序,說明你們的人沒有素質、沒有自覺……一個字:賤。」
  30. ^ a b "請北大開除孔慶東". 中國評論月刊. 23 January 2012. Retrieved 23 January 2012.
  31. ^ "唐英年批孔慶東應有教授品格". Want Daily. 22 January 2012. Retrieved 22 January 2012.
  32. ^ a b "孔慶東否認罵港人是狗 轉向南方報系開火". New Tang Dynasty Television. 22 January 2012. Retrieved 22 January 2012.
  33. ^ a b "孔慶東粗暴「狗言論」港人將圍堵中聯辦". Epoch Times. 21 January 2012. Retrieved 22 January 2012.
  34. ^ . Ming Pao. 21 January 2012 http://hk.news.yahoo.com/孔慶東回應-香港為什麼老虎屁股摸不得-211025155.html. Retrieved 22 January 2012. (孔慶東)相信「正常人、受過教育的人、自稱是人的人」都會清楚其言論的真正意思。 {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  35. ^ "東鐵罵戰主角籲勿分化 孔慶東堅稱「部分港人是狗」". Ming Pao. Retrieved 22 January 2012. 「我說過香港人是狗嗎?沒有! … 我說哪裏都有一部份人是狗,北京也有一部份是狗 … 假如真有一個人說『香港人是狗』,那這個人應該道歉。而這句話恰好是南方報系說的,所以我鄭重要求南方報系向我並同時向香港人民道歉。支持南方報系認罪的舉手!」