24 Years Later, Found at Last

Guo was reunited with his son 24 years after searching for him

Guo Gangtang finally found his son after searching for him for 24 years. They along with Guo's wife had a tearful reunion in Liaocheng, Shandong province on Sunday after DNA samples confirmed the 26-year-old man was Guo Xinzhen. 

The child was only two years and five months old when he was abducted outside his home in a village in Liaocheng on September 21, 1997.

Guo distributed flyers with photos of his son

The shock of losing the boy resulted in Guo Gangtang losing weight from 80kg to 60kg and his hair turned white in the first month of the abduction.

He then went on a mission to find his son, printing pictures of him and basic information about the boy on leaflets he distributed, hoping to find clues of his whereabouts.

Guo also made banners of the boy's photo and information and put them on his motorcycle that he rode all over the mainland -- some 500,000km -- and wearing out 10 motorcycles -- in the hopes of finding his son.

"Only on the road, I felt I am a father," he told a Shandong-based newspaper in 2015. "I have no reason to stop [searching]. And it's impossible for me to stop."

Andy Lau played Guo in Lost and Love

His plight inspired the movie Lost and Love starring Andy Lau Tak-wah that year, and Lau waived his fees to play the part of Guo.

The film featured many incidents he faced, from road accidents, battling highway robbers, and sleeping near bridge pillars when he ran out of money for accommodation.

"Many people say I am a great father. But I am not great at all," said Guo. "I am helpless. I just lack the courage to restart life after experiencing tremendous hardship. Therefore I kept on searching."

A few years ago he set up a website to help other parents find their missing children. This led to the police finding over 100 abducted children. 

Apparently the couple that abducted Guo Xinzhen have been arrested.

The family is reunited but what are the next steps?

While this story is heartwarming, it is interesting to note this story came out today -- the fourth anniversary of Nobel Peace Laureate Liu Xiaobo's death. 

He died in 2017 of complications from liver cancer in a Shenyang hospital in Liaoning province and was carefully by state security.

The last time a Nobel Peace laureate died in state custody was in 1938, when pacifist Carl von Ossietzky died of tuberculosis under guard in a hospital in Nazi Germany.

Keeping Liu Xiaobo's Memory Alive

Rainy weather did not deter some 1,000 people from remembering Liu Xiaobo

Today's weather was unsettled with bursts of rain storms here and there.

But the inclement conditions didn't deter several hundred people who turned out at Tamar in Admiralty to mark the first anniversary of Nobel laureate Liu Xiaobo's death.

Originally the event was also supposed to be a rally directed at the Chinese government to free Liu's wife Liu Xia, but she was unexpectedly released and allowed to fly to Berlin on Tuesday.

The candlelight vigil was organized by the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements in China. Participants bowed at a statue of Liu Xiaobo, that has been seen in and around Causeway Bay.

It's interesting to note that while people in the mainland could not commemorate Liu, some representatives from the Chinese PEN Centre, that helped secure Liu Xia's release, were allowed to travel to Hong Kong to take part in tonight's event.

A candlelight vigil was held tonight at Tamar

Meanwhile, Lam Wing-kee, one of the five booksellers who was abducted in China in 2015, says after Liu Xia was released, human rights activist Qin Yongmin was jailed for 13 years for subversion of state power, which indicated China was not relaxing its policy towards dissidents, and that her ability to fly to Germany was an isolated case.

"I just fear Beijing's control will tighten in the future," he said. "But Liu Xia's release told Hongkongers that we need to hold on and strive for what's right, attend rallies or vigils whenever we can."

Today in Berlin, there are also events to commemorate the first anniversary of Liu Xiaobo's death, but Liu Xia will not be attending, partly because of health reasons and possibly not wanting to cause trouble for her brother, Liu Hui.

Liao Tianqi, the president of the Chinese PEN Centre, said Liu Xia expressed in a note of thanks to Hongkongers and for remembering her husband on the first anniversary of his death.

Liu Xiaobo died of liver cancer last July 13 while in custody in a hospital in Shenyang, Liaoning province. He was 61 years old.

He was serving an 11-year sentence for "inciting subversion of state power" since 2009, after he helped write a petition known as Charter 08, that called for sweeping political reforms.

Liu Xiaobo on Medical Parole

Devastating news today that Nobel Laureate Liu Xiaobo has terminal cancer

There was breaking news this afternoon that Nobel Peace prize winner Liu Xiaobo was being released on medical parole -- because he has terminal liver cancer.

It's bitter sweet to hear the 61-year-old is now being treated in hospital in Shenyang in Liaoning province after he was diagnosed with late stage cancer on May 23, according to one of his lawyers, Shang Baojun, citing Liu's brother.

"It seems to be very serious, very serious," Shang said. "If it was an early stage of cancer, then it would be easier to treat. But at this late stage, the treatment seems much more difficult."

The news of Liu's illness renewed calls for the academic to be released on compassionate grounds.

During the 2010 Nobel ceremony his chair was empty

"At a time when China wants to have a greater international role, it is only fitting that it should show humanity and compassion towards a man who has never committed any violent crime, but has dedicated his life to literature and free expression," PEN Hong Kong, the literature and free speech advocacy group said on its Facebook page.

Liu had previously served as president of Independent Chinese PEN, a sister organization of PEN Hong Kong.

Amnesty International's China researcher Patrick Poon said Beijing should ensure that Liu gets good medical care and access to family members, in particular his wife.

"The authorities must also stop their shameful and illegal house arrest of Liu Xiaobo's wife, Liu Xia," Poon said, "and ensure that she is able to receive visitors, travel freely and visit Liu Xiaobo."

According to friends of Liu Xia, she is worn out from isolation from house arrest, and is depressed and has a heart condition.

There is hope that Liu Xia is with her husband...

Another of Liu's lawyers Mo Shaoping said "in principle" Liu could receive visits from family members, but didn't know if his wife was with him.

Friends who know him were shocked to find out that the man they knew was so energetic before and now is seriously ill.

Apparently Liu is getting treatment from top cancer doctors now, but it's too little too late. With late stage cancer all they can do is try to ease his pain as much as possible.

This makes his imprisonment even more outrageous and cruel. He is so highly respected outside of China for his dedication to making his home country better by pushing for political liberalization with Charter 08 and yet he is condemned by Beijing and sent to prison for 11 years for "inciting subversion of state power".

At this point we can only hope his family, in particular his wife Liu Xia can finally see him without restrictions. He should at least be able to live his last days in dignity, though he probably conducted himself that way in prison too.

He said it best in his statement from his 2009 trial, titled: I Have No Enemies: My Final Statement that was read out as his Nobel lecture.

"Hatred can rot away at a person's intelligence and conscience," he wrote. "Enemy mentality will poison the spirit of a nation, incite cruel mortal struggles, destroy a society's tolerance and humanity, and hinder a nation's progress toward freedom and democracy. That is why I hope to be able to transcend my personal experiences as I look upon our nation's development and social change, to counter the regime's hostility with utmost good will, and to dispel hatred with love."

Liu Xiaobo, we will not forget you.

Beijing's Attempt to Control Two Elections

An editorial cartoon about electoral fraud in Liaoning's NPC

An interesting story from China is the 45 Liaoning deputies from the National People's Congress sacked last month -- and now it's been revealed it's because the provincial legislature rejected Beijing-backed candidates in an election three years ago.

Sources say top Communist Party leaders were enraged when unprecedented, widespread vote rigging in the Liaoning Provincial People's Congress in 2013 saw candidates favoured by the Party leadership failed to win the election.

The NPC Standing Committee infuriated by Liaoning results

The scale of the scandal alarmed Beijing -- where the Party's preferred candidates lost out to ones backed by bribe-paying business chiefs. If it was not dealt with, the leadership says, then it would have threatened to undermine President Xi Jinping's plan for the Party's national congress next year, where a major reshuffle of senior positions is expected.

"A few candidates designated by the central authorities as deputies to the National People's Congress failed to get enough votes from Liaoning provincial legislators in early 2013," says a former Liaoning congress deputy.

The incident has infuriated top Party officials and resulted in an investigation into electoral fraud in the northeastern province.

Zhang says election fraud challenged China's political system

NPC chairman Zhang Dejiang, who is also a member of the Politburo Standing Committee, told a special meeting of the NPC Standing Committee last month the election fraud had "challenged China's socialist democratic politics" and touched the "bottom line" of the country's political system.

This scandal is not the first of its kind, though the first time since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949 that dozens of NPC deputies have been sacked for election irregularities.

A mid-ranking official in the provincial capital of Shenyang said billionaires in Liaoning had been more than willing to spend big to secure NPC positions, which would then make it more difficult to launch investigations into their affairs and would gain them direct access to officials who could further their business interests.

Looks like it's game over for these billionaires...

It isn't clear how many candidates contested the 2013 NPC election or how many failed to win election, but apparently 3,000 deputies in the NPC were elected either by provincial-level people's congresses, or the People's Liberation Army, rather than by central authorities.

So think about it -- the province is corrupt with billionaires buying seats in the NPC, and even Beijing's efforts to control it by trying to elect its own endorsed people in is thwarted big time.

The solution? Beijing declares electoral fraud, when the Party itself is trying to have its own people voted in by its "socialist democracy".

It's very similar to Hong Kong's recent Legislative Council elections, but in this case, there was no electoral fraud, and while the pro-Beijing camp still has the majority in Legco, it lost three seats to localists, some of whom are advocating self-determination.

While it won't be hard for Beijing to rectify the problem in Liaoning by basically sacking everyone and starting over (by putting its own people in), Hong Kong is an entirely different kettle of fish.

Beijing must be racking its brains on how it can further exert its influence in the city. Stay tuned.

Review: Lang Lang: Journey of a Thousand Miles My Story

The book recounts the first 20 years of his life

I've always enjoyed pianist Lang Lang's playing. Some accuse him of being an entertainer, who makes dramatic gestures at the piano and acts like he's really into the music, others, particularly mainland Chinese, think he's elitist and lives a luxurious life that is completely detached from their own.

While I'm not a technical musician, I enjoy listening to classical music and if it's performed by an artist who evokes an emotional response, all the more memorable.

When I was in Beijing, a young friend of mine was totally in love with him, thinking he was very cute. We had the chance to attend an event he was at, sponsored by Montblanc, announcing an upcoming concert. She sat up front, trying to make eyes with him the whole time, while he tried desperately not to look in her direction...

I picked up a discounted copy of his autobiography, Lang Lang: Journey of a Thousand Miles My Story several months ago. It's a fast read and details life from before he was born to when he started playing the piano before the age of two until his professional career was well under way in his early 20s. And along the way there are people and circumstances he encounters that seem like fate or very good luck.

Lang Lang playing at home in Shenyang with no air con

His father is the nemesis character in this book -- absolutely driven to ensure that his son would be the number one pianist in Shenyang, then in Beijing, then in the country, then the world. His solution? Practice, practice, practice and practice.

He could not think of any other way to become a great musician except sheer hard work and discipline, and he ensured Lang Lang would not have a chance to slack off.

Lang Guoren was already ambitious when he was young and musical too, being a professional musician for the People's Liberation Army air force -- but that career only went so far. Lang Lang's mother Zhou Xiulan had nigh hopes of becoming a professional dancer, but her background was not considered politically correct as her grandfather was a landlord and previous generations as well.

With the couple's hopes dashed, they placed all their energy and dreams on Lang Lang.

Luckily he is competitive by nature, and so as a child, practicing was like a game, his father drumming it in his head to be number one. However, Lang Guoren's insistence on pushing Lang Lang constantly was the source of their friction.

At one point the father is so angry at his son for being late to practice the piano, saying it brought shame to the family, that he shouts at Lang Lang to swallow a bunch of pills and jump off the balcony of their Beijing apartment.

They had come to the Chinese capital, sacrificing Lang Guoren's job, and now depended on Zhou Xiulan's salary to support the three of them, which meant living at times in dire straits.

With his mother Zhou Xiulan

After the shocking incident, Lang Lang refused to touch the piano for several months, still angry with his father. But after a period of time Lang Lang realizes how much he misses it and slowly gets back to it. And eventually he wins a scholarship to the Music Conservatory.

Then the budding pianist starts competing in various music competitions and there are some stops and starts, but for the most part he is number one. Then when he was 12 years old he and his father scrapped up enough money to compete in Germany.

It was his first trip abroad and it opened his eyes to other musicians, particularly a blind Japanese pianist, who made him realize it was important to have the emotion of the music in his hands while playing.

Another seminal moment was going to a summer music camp in Walnut Hill, near Boston. Here was able to be a relatively normal teenager, pick up English, play tennis, basketball, swim, walk in the woods.

Once he had that taste of America, he wanted more and was determined to return -- which he did with a full scholarship to Curtis music school under the tutelage of Gary Graffman.

I have watched Graffman play and he's superb despite not being able to use much of his left hand. And in Lang Lang's book he also explains Graffman is very learned in Chinese culture which was interesting to know, helping the young pianist bridge the gap between East and West.

Again, Lang Lang learned more about the United States, from the history and culture, hip hop, slang, girls and Shakespeare. He met some wonderful mentors along the way who were there to answer his questions about everything.

Father and son, Lang Guoren and Lang Lang

During this time Lang Guoren was floundering, not being able to learn English as quickly as his son and feeling out of place in this country Lang Lang was so keen to live in. The cultural differences are interesting to read, as father now becomes more dependent on the son.

His big break came when he replaced Andre Watts in Ravinia and wowed the crowd with Maestro Christoph Eschenbach and violinist Isaac Stern on stage.

Lang Lang's career quickly took off, and luckily Graffman was there to guide him, to not take critics too seriously and enjoy the moment.

Interestingly when the young pianist returned to China, he expected to be treated like a star -- but instead was constantly questioned as to why he didn't compete to prove his worth -- which was a paradigm Lang Lang had moved away from. He tried to explain this was not done in the West, but not having this measurement of success made it difficult for the Chinese to embrace Lang Lang as their own.

But that hasn't stopped Lang Lang from performing in China and continues to do so on a regular basis. And he has moved on to traveling around the world, giving some insight into the life of a professional musician, that it's hard to maintain friendships with people he's just met, but the opportunity to play is what he cherishes the most.

Lang Lang has definitely lived a rags-to-riches life, but not all completely smooth sailing. He has paid the price of dealing with a tough father who wanted nothing but the best for his son -- as long as he practiced and practiced and practiced. In the end Lang Lang has turned out well and all the more appreciative of is family for making him who he is today.