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Big mountain in big scandal: CCTV’s ‘poster boy’ implicated in Canadian cash affair
Though he has long been a household name in China, Mark Rowswell, AKA 大山, has finally hit the headlines in the outside world, though for all the wrong reasons; finding himself embroiled in a controversial ‘corruption’ scandal in his native Canada.
The controversy surrounds a sponsorship deal for the production of 随大山商访加拿大 (“Dashan and Friends in Canada”), a 26 part, 13 hour, Chinese and English language mini series hosted by Rowswell, and broadcast on Chinese state television during the late 1990s
The sponsorship deal, valued at approximately $US8 million, was provided from an official fund of US$201 million that was set up to sponsor causes that promoted federalism in Quebec, leading to some awkward questions, not least of all, how a non federalist mini series aimed at teaching Chinese to speak English, that was never intended for broadcast in Canada, came to receive sponsorship from the fund.
The matter has been brought before the Gomery commission, formerly the Commission of Inquiry into the Sponsorship Program and Advertising Activities, for investigation
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"There are not too many Quebec federalists in China," |
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Roswell has denied any links to the scandal, and testimonies before the Gomery commission so far suggest that the Canadian production company involved in随大山商访加拿大was issued the money because of its links to former Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien, though Critics suggested that Roswell had a close relationship with Chrétien at the time of the deal and may have influenced it.
If such a relationship did exist, Chrétien could have used the sponsorship deal it to win support in China through Rowswell.
Though a statement delivered via the internet, by Rowswell and his associates, stated that he had no involvement with 随大山商访加拿大, beyond hosting the series, it is known that he designed a significant proportion of the show himself.
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"I was not involved in the funding or budgeting of the TV serials. All these affairs were operated by [Vickers & Benson]" |
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Rowswell and his representatives have also stated that a proportion of the sponsorship was to promote Canada in other countries, which 随大山商访加拿大 does.
Rowswell?
Mark Rowswell, more commonly known by the Chinese name 大山 (Dashan), meaning big/large mountain, is a Canadian citizen who has been resident in China for over 20 years.
Though virtually unknown in the rest of the world, Rowswell rose to prominence as a television personality in China after his appearance on Chinese language a variety show, where he performed a culturally specific form of comedy skit known as ‘crosstalk’ that is virtually incomprehensible to most foreigners and, before Rowswell’s performance, was widely considerer to a comedy form that could only be mastered by natives.
Many consider Rowswell’s Chinese to be indistinguishable from native Mandarin and his knowledge of Chinese culture and cultural traits to rival that of full time scholars.
In addition to his role as a crosstalk comedian, Rowswell is well know as a television presenter and has also produced programs to help native English and Chinese speakers learn Chinese and English. 随大山商访加拿大 is one such production.
From Adulation to Abuse
While Rowswell is a popular figure among Chinese viewers, and is commonly promoted as being a ‘bridge between east and west’, he is less than popular with foreign audiences and is regularly presented as a figure of ridicule by western in China because of his overacted mannerisms, overtly cheerful style, and the perception that he has become too close to some of negative aspects of China, particularly corruption, and the propaganda, and blind acceptances.
Rowswell’s popularity among non Chinese remains low, in part, because many westerners associate the mannerisms that he uses, when presenting to a Chinese audience, with an individual who is being dishonest, disingenuous, or who is lacking intelligence; leading to him being unfavourably compared to a puppet whose string are being pulled by Beijing.
Rowswell has also been accused of being a mouthpiece for the Chinese state media, and of spreading propaganda.
These accusations largely stem from his ‘only good news’ approach to Chinese culture, history and politics, which purposefully sidesteps any form of criticism of the state and either avoids issues of controversy, or approaches them firmly from a strict state line that ignores current and historic realities.
Owning to these factors, many westerners feel that Rowswell presents white foreigners as being ‘insulting caricatures’ who blindly accept many of the aspects of Chinese history, culture and the Chinese government, that foreigners often find to be perplexing or questionable, and that he has ‘sold out’ to the Chinese government line in exchange for fame and fortune when he should be using his popularity to campaign for good causes.
A sign of feeling against Rowswell is that, despite only suggestions of a tertiary involvement in the scandal, news of Rowswell’s situation resulted in a wave of criticism from European and American China watchers, many of whom reacted as if he had personally received the money as a bribe, and accused him taking on board ‘too many bad habits’ from China, which is notorious for its high levels of political and economic corruption, and of being ‘an extension of the Chinese Ministry of Propaganda’ who glosses over issues of poverty, oppression, and the abuse of human rights, while serving to continue the distorted views of the west that are held by many Chinese.
In the eyes of many China watchers, the relationship between Rowswell and the Chinese government can be likened to the relationship between British Prime Minister Tony Blair and US president George Bush prior to, and during, their unsanctioned invasion of Iraq.
Despite criticism abroad, Rowswell remains a popular figure in China.
Good Job ACB!
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I didn't know any of that ACB. One question that did cross my mind was, I
don't suppose this is being reported within china? Are CCTV standing by
their man and doing the censoring for HIM for a change?!
Quebec Federalism Fund? Dashan ans Friends in China? You couldn't make this stuff up.
I'm not so sure about the Bush-Blair, Roswell-CCP comparison but
fair-play for mentioning the fact that nearly all china expats dislike the
man and
for clearly stating the reasons why.
The man's an idiot and has long since since sold his soul to the CCP, as you say, blindly accepting all of it's half-truths, distortions and mis-representations.
I read in an interview with him once that he lives in Canada all the time when he's not working, his chinese wife lives there all the time and the kids attend a Canadian school.
At least he shares something with the chinese people, given the choice, they would all send their kids to Canadian schools too!
Thanks
MaDing
MaDing
Actually, this story is being reported in China, it has been reported in Chinese at http://www.thebeijingnews.com/news/2005/0510/15@110907.html and http://news.sohu.com/20050510/n225502589.shtml, though of course neither of them mention that foreigners think that he looks like scot tracy after an accident with a trouser press, and they both put a Chinese slant on things.
I don't blame him for sending his kids to a school in Canada, I would rather have my children educated in a school run by the Nazi party than by the CCP, particurly as the CCP are so violently nationalistic these days and have practically erased the ability to think logically in many areas.
CCP schools are so tightly adherant to the state line that history, politics and litrature classes might just as well be propoganda classes, wait, they probably are.
ACB
Add to that, I would rather have my children taught from textbooks printed
by Fusosha, than text books printed in China. At least they would get
domestic history right.
ACB
True, the "Patriotic Education' was cranked up after 89 I believe as govt
feared they were losing their youth to US/overseas ideas of freedom etc. I
read that by the time a child is 12 in china, they'll have already visited
8 'sites of national humiliation'---each one twice. Or at least something
like that.
No, I was pretty much making a joke about chinese people wanting to sent their kids to Canada too.
MaDing
I thought the Chinese education system sounded pretty good if they're
producing a half a million engineers in the next few years. and the
engineers need to pass an english proficiency exam. Sounds like they're
looking to the future.
yuanme
yuanme
Don't you believe it. The Chinese education system does churn out people with qualifications and skills, but we are not talking about the same kind of people produced by western and other Asian countries. Don't get me wrong, they're not bad engineers etc , I couldn't do what they do, but they are not taught in the same way as other people are.
The Chinese system is all about rote learning and memorization, and is NOT about innovation and discovery. They can't produce much that is new, because they are not taught how to.
Have you ever noticed that many of the best Chinese scientists etc were partially trained in the US.
The Chinese system is all about figures and set ways of doing things. No discussion, no freedom, nothing coming out that wasn't in their before.
Also, the Chinese English proficiency levels are a bad joke. CETs etc are all about vocabulary rather than usage, and they are all about reading and writting rather than speaking. They are limited to a few core areas that many consider to be irrelevant or outdated. If a Chinese engineer can communicate effectively in English, it is because he or she studdied off of their own back outside the Chinese system, I know fluent Chinese English speakers who couldn't do CET6 because they hadn't memorized the correct thread of English to get it exactly right, and high level English candidates who couldn't hold a basic conversation with me in English.
ACB
Anon
AAAAARRRRGGGG, stop writing in french, you must write in Chinese, Japanese Korean or English. I'm going to start deleting your comments if you continue.
You also seem intent on writting only brief phrasebook snippets of French, so it doesn't seem likely that you are a native speaker.
Canada ce n'est pas arrogant, l'argent était pour le fedralism, si ce film est fedralist, j'ai besoin d'un nouveau dictionnaire.
Dashan ne peut pas avoir su que l'argent était mauvais, mais le didm et eux de quelqu'un d'autre l'ont pris.
ACB
ACB
I'm genuinely surprised that this story is being reported...and on such mainstream media outlets.
yuanme
The last thing china needs is more engineers.
Also, as well as (mentioned above) the educational system's total lack of teaching innovative, independent and free thinking, it's heavily slanted towards churning out good, patriotic, obedient, docile young adults.
I'm sorry if that sounds harsh but I find it really sad what the CCP are doing to these people.
Errr....and Dashan doesn't help! (back on topic, what nifty footwork!)
MaDing
MaDing
Don't worry, it's not harsh it's true.
Chiens eschools and colleges churn out millions of patriotic Chinese at the expense of inovation, free thinging and and the ability to work independantly from a set command hierachy.
The school system also does very little to prepare students for working life.
ACB
yuanme