How Chinese (secret) police talk about their jobs when they think the camera isn't rolling
When a Sky News reporter broadcasting live from Tiananmen Square mentioned the 1989 protests, Chinese secret
police swooped down on his and hustled him and his cameraman into the
back of a van, and kidnapped them to a distant park where they were
polite but Orwellian in their explanation for their deeds (they didn't
realize he was still broadcasting, and thought it was all going to disc
or tape whence it could be scrubbed):
At this point, the police do something Orwellian in its brilliance. An
officer who speaks English informs Stone that they have to stop filming
because they don’t have official permission. Stone disagrees, saying
that they sought and received permission to film in Tiananmen Square.
But the officer counters that they’re not in Tiananmen anymore. They’re
in a park where the police have brought Stone against his will, and he
doesn’t have permission to record in that park, so regrettably the
police have no choice but to insist the camera be switched off. Who
could have possibly foreseen that little complication?
The officer then takes the Orwellianism to the next level by explaining
that Stone and his team are neither being detained nor are they free to
go. They can do whatever they like, except that they must go sit in an
empty classroom and wait for some unnamed officials to show up.
This reminds me of nothing so much as the DHS checkpoint officials
who won't tell you if you're being detained, won't tell you if you're
legally required to answer their questions about your citizenship, but
also won't let you go.
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