Comments on: Harvard graduate Julie’s Petitioning in China

By: CT

CT — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 08:24:03 +0000

the most sensible comment here

By: neil

neil — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 11:02:30 +0000

I admire Ms. Harms spirit and commitment to rights in the law. But I dont think this is a good strategy to get her boyfriend released. I just think that diplomatically no progress will be made until she backs down. I might be wrong but thats the way I am reading this situation.

By: Chrystal

Chrystal — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 10:20:47 +0000

I have a hard time believing this post was written by a native english speaker. The grammer is a bit awkward, and does not flow like it would of a Harvard graduate.
Who is the ghost writer of this girl’s story?

By: Mr Wolf

Mr Wolf — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 11:46:41 +0000

There are two ways out of this – either make enough noise to annoy the right people so they let him out… which is simply dangerous as there may be longer term consequences or…
Fly to the nearest big city to the jail, find the local school or university that employs foreign teachers… make friends with them (don’t mention the case)… offer to teach one of their classes / play some sports / get connected & make friends with them and their students… (Some of those students will be seriously connected if they have foreign teachers in a second city – find out gently, which ones) make friends… do not speak much if an mandarin… be a bumbling, friendly, sweet foreigner… later mention that your boyfriend is in jail and that you’d love to see him soon but you dont know what is going on (dont mention any petitioning)… ask for help… meet their parents if possible… let it slip that you went to Harvard and that getting in is actually really easy if you know how to write a good application form… mention your boyfriend but be vague about the details of the case… see who can help… offer to pay for dinner (you might not even have to).
From my experience if you find the right person, no matter which department or organisation they are high up in, they can often pull strings and the matter will be resolved in one phone call. If this works foreign media may request an update… don’t give it… decisions can be reversed. Good luck!

By: Jaajaaf

Jaajaaf — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 11:20:31 +0000

When you read such stories, certain questions fill up your mind with no answer. Jullie you are strong woman and my prayers are with you.

By: Key

Key — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 14:45:48 +0000

thanks and fixed

By: zjin

zjin — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 13:43:44 +0000

Well, here is what I read from Chinese internet on this story. This girl’s boyfriend brought 5 thugs (and employed some local thugs too) from Shenzhen to deal with his neighbor. And clearly her boyfriend’s neighbor did not see that her boyfriend with thugs to go to his home as “a casual visit”. Ironically his neighbor actually went through the petition system to get her boyfriend arrested.

As far as I can see, many people believed the other side of story. Her boyfriend is the bully and the justice is served.

By: meerkat-

meerkat- — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 08:22:02 +0000

heh, I thought you could bypass that and see it, but here goes the youtube info of it:

“The best bit from my favourite film as a child; ‘The Twelve Tasks Of Asterix’ in which the mighty warriors Asterix & Obelix must face a series of 12 Herculean tasks of superhuman skill in order to prove their godhood.

After facing athletic champions, beasts, magicians and sirens, Asterix & Obelix must face the deadliest challenge of all…….bureaucracy, accountancy, and bad customer service.”

By: Antelope

Antelope — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 06:52:01 +0000

Much too long and dull, so I didn’t read.

This is not journalism, just web-logging.

Mr ESWN must have a lot of time on his hands to recommend drivel like this.

Well-written, there might have been a story here, however.

By: Maria

Maria — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 03:26:11 +0000

It seems like her name in English should be spelled “Julie Harms”.

Thanks for a great translation and for raising this issue!

By: Petitioning for justice – 四海为家

Petitioning for justice – 四海为家 — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 03:21:20 +0000

[...] (Here’s another article on the case, here’s a story in Chinese from 南部周刊, and here’s a translation of the 南部周刊 story into English). He was apparently arrested following a [...]

By: Fred

Fred — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 23:55:37 +0000

Hi,guys, you’d better check the link of NPR which Key had given above for this issue,and recommend you guys to see what native American people’s opinion aabout it.really insightful……\

Thanks again Key, you really a warm-hearted man,with a brilliant job!!

By: Fred

Fred — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 23:43:51 +0000

Thank you so much,Key!

It’s unbelieveable that NPR give a report of this classic issue!! It’s great!!

By: Dr. Jones Jr.

Dr. Jones Jr. — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 16:01:22 +0000

She may well have known some Neimenggu-ren, or even have spent significant time there. While it’s unlikely she’d recognize every accent in China, there are some very special ones that are quite easy to recognize. Example: despite being a laowai, I can easily recognize the accent of a Sichuan/Chongqing-ren due to having lived in CQ for a year and a half; the accent is quite distinctive.

By: beowulf

beowulf — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 14:55:21 +0000

“your story will get out!!!”

This is the worst thing to do. The Chinese Government will never back up just because she is a foreigner and speaks with western Journalists.

Her own Words:

“Did I mess up everything?

I am petitioning in Beijing, and made Liu Shiliang’s attorney Liu Yongmei very unhappy. She said, this case was very simple to begin with, but because Liu Shiliang had a soon-to-be-wife from the United States continuously petitioning and also contacting the media, now the simple matter is made to be complicated.”

Answer – Yes, you f**ed up big time. Try to avoid Journalist and take a low profile.

By: dude

dude — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 14:16:28 +0000

http://www.digg.com or reddit.com

By: Lili

Lili — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 09:02:46 +0000

jia you julie! persevere. even though it is an uphill battle, your story will get out!!!

By: MF

MF — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 06:50:56 +0000

:/ Even somebody who’s been in China like a year can tell if somebody’s from the north or the south. If she’s been in China for a long time I don’t know why she wouldn’t be able to tell somebody is from Hohot if she’s been there and has heard the accent. I can tell if somebody is from Wuhan even though I haven’t been there, and figuring out what region people are from is usually pretty simple. As soon as somebody opens their mouth, you can know if they are from Fujian or from around Beijing, or from Guangdong, right?

As for dating a security guard, I’ve noticed that the coolest men in China are usually not university graduates. I think Chinese school just knocks the life out of people.

By: Key

Key — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 06:02:36 +0000

Toad, As skeptical as you have the right to be, Southern Metropolis Weekly is a reputable publisher in China, if you don’t believe China, how about NPR, San Diego Union-Tribune? check out NPR Union-Tribune

By: Toad

Toad — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 05:34:08 +0000

I think this whole story is fake for sure. So a foreigner woman can tella Houhot accent huh?!! Sure! Oh Sure!

Usual internet imaginations of someone with more time than a job. Take some pictures from MySpace to show the girl with her boyfriend. Harvard grad meets security guard and falls in love. From Anhui too!! sure!