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Chinese Olympic ski team requested a Norway public library to remove books

61 points by datashow 7y ago

lidHanteyk 7y ago
> "They have said that if any of the Chinese skiers are caught with these books, they are afraid that they would risk being sent to labor camp or prison in China." So don't go to the library and check out those exact books, then.
- fvrghl 7y ago
  Reminds me of this: https://youtu.be/UwqV3NmD4ng?t=172 https://youtu.be/UwqV3NmD4ng?t=172
- Aperocky 7y ago
  Highly doubtful of this being the actual words being spoken. Likely translated from incentivized reporting. Getting in trouble? Sure. labor camp? If they existed past 2015 they’re highly unlikely to exist in official language.
hnarn 7y ago
The hubris of authoritarian states never ceases to amaze. I very much doubt Norway will comply with this, and they very well shouldn't.
- solveit 7y ago
  It's not hubris, it's showboating for internal politics. Not only will Norway not comply with such a ridiculous request, the ridiculousness of the request is the whole point because "only a true believer could request something so ridiculous".
VintageVibes 7y ago
tldr; Norway library politely tells Chinese book banners to go fuck themselves. Good. China's leaders need more push back in their overreach in censoring content around the world.
- mc32 7y ago
  It's not always easy if large amounts of money is involved especially for small countries. It's one thing to hold countries' feet over the fire over international conventions and other generally agreed upon conventions but this is basically international freedom of speech. Imagine if Japan demanded that China take down books about Nanjin/Nanking when Japan was ascendant and China was weak...
outside1234 7y ago
The sooner we push China over the edge to collapse the better
- jaimex2 7y ago
  Yep, plenty of other countries ready to take its place as the factory of the world.
- curiousgal 7y ago
  s/China/USA/ and watch everyone lose their shit, point being that everything is subjective. On a serious note, China is going nowhere.
  - foogazi 7y ago
    What is your point?
    - curiousgal 7y ago
      Considering a nation as a supervillain is subjective. For someone touched by the US' past horrible foreign policies, the answer is not China for example.
- dang 7y ago
  Nationalistic flamewar is not welcome here, regardless of which nation you have a problem with. Please don't post like this to Hacker News again. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
k_sze 7y ago
China trying to interfere with another country’s internal affairs. The irony.
Canada 7y ago
Something is fishy about this story. Why would a sports team in town for training care what is in the local library? Even if they went there, surely the team members would be well aware that drawing attention to a taboo subject has no personal upside. The librarian they quoted doesn't actually say that anyone associated with the team brought it up, and speaking of that interview, where did the reporter get this story idea from in the first place? Seems more likely that someone else is showing some faux concern to attract attention.
- netsharc 7y ago
  Interesting point. Maybe a Chinese student living in the city has come across the books and thought the visit would be a good excuse to get the books to disappear. Interestingly they'll probably moan about the city needing to be good hosts and cater to their guests' wishes, and maybe there'll be tantrum thrown about the Norwegians being rude and offensive...
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
netsharc 7y ago
“We have had three different inquiries from individuals who have asked us to remove that book. Two to three other books are also mentioned from our collection. They have said that if any of the Chinese skiers are caught with these books, they are afraid that they would risk being sent to labor camp or prison in China,” So.. is this like your kid's friend asking you to hide some books when he and his brother visit, because if his dad finds out his brother glanced at that book, the dad will beat him up? I.e. they know they live in a shitty regime, but they're helpless about it, and could you just help them avoid the wrath of the regime? It'd be funnier if the library removed the books and put up a sign explaining the reason and questioning what sort of life do you live if the regime is afraid about this, but I'm guessing many Chinese do actually think Falun Gong is like a virus that you must avoid learning about, because if you learn about them then your mind will be broken, so Chairman Pooh is actually just protecting them!
- masonic 7y ago
  They could just move it to the Reference section, making it available to read but not check out.
eesmith 7y ago
A common and more effective technique (at least in US libraries for books deemed by some as "pornographic", "evolutionist", "offensive", etc.) is to check it out and never return it, or to hide it somewhere in the library.

61 points by datashow 7y ago

> "They have said that if any of the Chinese skiers are caught with these books, they are afraid that they would risk being sent to labor camp or prison in China." So don't go to the library and check out those exact books, then.

fvrghl 7y ago
Reminds me of this: https://youtu.be/UwqV3NmD4ng?t=172 https://youtu.be/UwqV3NmD4ng?t=172
Aperocky 7y ago
Highly doubtful of this being the actual words being spoken. Likely translated from incentivized reporting. Getting in trouble? Sure. labor camp? If they existed past 2015 they’re highly unlikely to exist in official language.

hnarn 7y ago

The hubris of authoritarian states never ceases to amaze. I very much doubt Norway will comply with this, and they very well shouldn't.

solveit 7y ago
It's not hubris, it's showboating for internal politics. Not only will Norway not comply with such a ridiculous request, the ridiculousness of the request is the whole point because "only a true believer could request something so ridiculous".

VintageVibes 7y ago

tldr; Norway library politely tells Chinese book banners to go fuck themselves. Good. China's leaders need more push back in their overreach in censoring content around the world.

mc32 7y ago
It's not always easy if large amounts of money is involved especially for small countries. It's one thing to hold countries' feet over the fire over international conventions and other generally agreed upon conventions but this is basically international freedom of speech. Imagine if Japan demanded that China take down books about Nanjin/Nanking when Japan was ascendant and China was weak...

outside1234 7y ago

The sooner we push China over the edge to collapse the better

jaimex2 7y ago
Yep, plenty of other countries ready to take its place as the factory of the world.
curiousgal 7y ago
s/China/USA/ and watch everyone lose their shit, point being that everything is subjective. On a serious note, China is going nowhere.
- foogazi 7y ago
  What is your point?
  - curiousgal 7y ago
    Considering a nation as a supervillain is subjective. For someone touched by the US' past horrible foreign policies, the answer is not China for example.
dang 7y ago
Nationalistic flamewar is not welcome here, regardless of which nation you have a problem with. Please don't post like this to Hacker News again. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

k_sze 7y ago

China trying to interfere with another country’s internal affairs. The irony.

Canada 7y ago

Something is fishy about this story. Why would a sports team in town for training care what is in the local library? Even if they went there, surely the team members would be well aware that drawing attention to a taboo subject has no personal upside. The librarian they quoted doesn't actually say that anyone associated with the team brought it up, and speaking of that interview, where did the reporter get this story idea from in the first place? Seems more likely that someone else is showing some faux concern to attract attention.

netsharc 7y ago
Interesting point. Maybe a Chinese student living in the city has come across the books and thought the visit would be a good excuse to get the books to disappear. Interestingly they'll probably moan about the city needing to be good hosts and cater to their guests' wishes, and maybe there'll be tantrum thrown about the Norwegians being rude and offensive...
deleted 7y ago
[deleted]

netsharc 7y ago

“We have had three different inquiries from individuals who have asked us to remove that book. Two to three other books are also mentioned from our collection. They have said that if any of the Chinese skiers are caught with these books, they are afraid that they would risk being sent to labor camp or prison in China,” So.. is this like your kid's friend asking you to hide some books when he and his brother visit, because if his dad finds out his brother glanced at that book, the dad will beat him up? I.e. they know they live in a shitty regime, but they're helpless about it, and could you just help them avoid the wrath of the regime? It'd be funnier if the library removed the books and put up a sign explaining the reason and questioning what sort of life do you live if the regime is afraid about this, but I'm guessing many Chinese do actually think Falun Gong is like a virus that you must avoid learning about, because if you learn about them then your mind will be broken, so Chairman Pooh is actually just protecting them!

masonic 7y ago
They could just move it to the Reference section, making it available to read but not check out.

eesmith 7y ago

A common and more effective technique (at least in US libraries for books deemed by some as "pornographic", "evolutionist", "offensive", etc.) is to check it out and never return it, or to hide it somewhere in the library.