Kong Qingdong
Kong Qingdong is a controversial Chinese academic, author, talk show host, and social commentator. Kong is a prominent Chinese media figure, known for his vulgar and often brusque critiques on political issues and various individuals and groups. Kong has often been portrayed in the media as a figure of the Chinese New Left, calling for a reversal of Chinese economic reforms and a return to Mao-style policies.
Biography
Kong was born to a worker's family during the Cultural Revolution era,and was devoted to studying Lu Xun early in his academic career.Kong first achieved fame as the author of various books describing his graduate student life in Peking University, in which the self-described "Drunkard of Peking University" commentated on many Chinese social issues. An avid reader and researcher of Chinese wuxia fiction, Kong briefly lectured on wuxia author Jin Yong on CCTV's Lecture Room series, as well as giving a talk on the Chinese essayist and language reformer Lu Xun on the same series. Kong Qingdong was a participant in the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, and after he was named a professor of Chinese studies by Peking University, Kong began publishing essays in which he espoused Chinese patriotism and communist orthodoxy. Kong has praised the North Korean government on various occasions, claiming that the Koreans "will surely die off", if not for "the great leader and his Workers' Party". Additionally, Kong has organized study groups on juche, the official ideology in North Korea, at Peking University; some sources, such as Southern Metropolis Daily, accuse the group of providing intelligence to North Korea.
In the 2000s, Kong spent 2 years in South Korea, teaching at the Ewha Womans University.
Kong hosts a talk show program and his microblog has a large following.
Involvement with the Confucius Peace Prize
Kong Qingdong has been involved in the Confucius Peace Prize, a Chinese prize set up in response to Nobel Peace Prize, which was awarded to the Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo amid China's protest. Kong claims that the prize, which was awarded to Lien Chan and Vladimir Putin in its first two years, accurately reflects Confucius's vision of peace.Political views
Kong, in addition to being described as a nationalist, has also been described as a figure of the Chinese New Left, a political faction that believes China's economic reforms have gone too far and the country needs to revert to a more socialist and egalitarian society with heavy state control. He was a supporter of quasi-Maoist political figure Bo Xilai prior to and after the politician's disgrace. He has criticized the Chinese government, calling it "shameless", ostensibly for its pursuit of capitalist-style policies.Controversies
Kong is notorious for numerous forthright and expletive-ridden rants against a number of groups and individuals, and his polarizing views have frequently generated controversy, but have also rallied supporters.Personal Attacks
Kong once called former United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton a "bitch", and performing artist Jiang Kun a xiasanlan, a derogatory term for "three dirty professions" of prostitution, beggars, and street artists).Attacks on Media
Kong has repeatedly criticized China's liberal media, particularly Southern Chinese journals and newspapers, as "hanjian media". Kong has also called CCTV "inhuman".In November 2011, Southern Weekly, described as a 'beachhead' for China's liberal media, reached out to Kong for an interview. Rejecting the request, Kong published on his microblog that "the treasonous newspaper has harassed me once again by asking to interview me"; Kong answered the request with a Chinese expression of profanity using the word 'mom' three times. The use of profanity drew Kong considerable criticism online, to the point of calling for his resignation, although he also received widespread support, with some online straw polls turning out in favor of Kong. Commentators pointed out that Kong's popularity is a symptom of the widespread resentment of the elite liberal media, which often run editorials critical of poor people and make economic arguments to justify the increasing wealth gap.
Kong himself asserted he used the expletives deliberately to 'lure out' his enemies in the liberal Chinese media, having predicted that they would respond to him vehemently with what he called "counterrevolutionary encirclement." Some eighty media outlets reportedly criticized Kong for his remarks. Following the barrage of negative media attention, Kong then directly criticized the state-run Xinhua News Agency, saying that it was no longer under the control of the Party's Central Committee but taking orders from Guangdong party chief Wang Yang, seen as the representative of China's political 'right.' The journalist in question later defended Kong, claiming that the profanity is "a later embellishment when Kong published his microblog post". Overseas media speculated that Kong's remarks was merely part of a much larger battle between the political left and right in China. His singling out of Wang Yang by name was cited as evidence of the intensifying struggle for China's future political direction.
Attack on Journalist
In November 2008, Qian Liexian, a journalist at New Beijing, a newspaper affiliated with Southern Daily at the time, alleged in his blog that Kong Qingdong has been interrogated by the Beijing police for spying for North Korea. A few months later, in February 2009, Qian was assaulted and stabbed by Yang Chun, a personal assistant of Kong Qingdong, who accused Qian of offending "a friend". Southern Metropolis Daily, another newspaper affiliated with Southern Daily, criticized Kong Qingdong's involvement in the affairs.Attacks on Government
Kong has criticized the Shenzhen municipal government as "reactionary", and the Chinese government "shameless."Support for Bo Xilai
In March 2012, upon the dismissal of Bo Xilai, a renowned leftist figure in China, Kong showered Bo with praise on his talk show, calling Bo a "mob-fighting hero." Kong called Bo's dismissal by the Chinese authorities "a counterrevolutionary coup." Kong also took a moment to "criticize the people, the masses... what have you done to construct socialism? What have you done for Chongqing, for China? If you are a supporter of Bo Xilai, then what have you done to support Bo Xilai? What have you done to save the country from sinking into the abyss of capitalism? Don't just sit there waiting for a lecture from professor Kong and lament the state of affairs, this world isn't just for heroes to save!"North Korea
Kong has expressed admiration for the North Korean Juche ideology, in addition to its late leader Kim Jong-il.Western Culture
Kong is critical of Western culture. He has supported a boycott of the film Kung Fu Panda 2, calling it an instrument of cultural invasion by the West. After the Apple Inc. co-founder and CEO Steve Jobs died in 2011, Kong remarked that "the more people like Steve Jobs die, the better".Anti-Rightist Movement
In 2007, the liberal writer Zhang Yihe published the now banned Past Histories of Peking Opera Stars, in which she criticized the Anti-Rightist Movement and affirmed that she "will not give up the defense of my basic civil rights, because it affects the dignity and conscience of a person". Kong fiercely attacked Zhang in a lecture, referring to Zhang's social class as "the enemy of our government." Kong further defended the Anti-Rightist Movement and addressed to the "Old rightists" that "you think that you are proper heroes, so why are you asking the Communist Party for vindication? … our cases have been overturned after the reforms began, but why do the big rightists want to demand hundreds more times in compensation from the people?"Hong Kong
In January 2012, Kong commented on a viral video on his talk show. In the video, a Mainland Chinese mother on a Hong Kong MTR train engaged in an argument with a fellow passenger, a native Hong Konger who tried to stop her young child from eating on the train. Kong lashed out on the Hong Kong passenger, criticizing the man's use of Cantonese and calling him a "colonial elitist" and a "bastard." He went on to make sweeping remarks about Hong Kong people in general, saying multiple times that "many Hong Kongers" are "bastards," and "dogs."Kong further claimed that the Hong Kong people are "willing dogs of the British … To this day they think that they are dogs, not people". Kong stated that in their purported 'colonial mentality,' Hong Kong people are "dogs in front of the British, but wolves in front of the Chinese," comparing them to Korean and Taiwanese supporters of the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II. Kong pointed out that the reaction on the MTR would not have been the same had a white person, i.e., a Briton or an American, been in the same situation, rather than a person from Mainland Chinese. Kong asserted that Hong Kong had some "positive traits," one of which is rule of law, which was enforced only because "the British spanked them " if they broke the law; and, in response to Hong Kong's society, Kong said of Hong Kong people: "your society's order is maintained by law, which means that you have no self-restraint, which means that you are a vile people". The remarks circulated widely on social media sites in Hong Kong and became the focus of controversy and protests in the territory in early 2012, causing further tensions in what were already strained Mainland Chinese-Hong Kong relations. Two candidates of the 2012 Hong Kong Chief Executive election, Leung Chun-Ying and Henry Tang, criticized Kong. Reactions were mixed in Mainland China to Kong's remarks. Some prominent Chinese academics came out to criticize Kong, but he also received support on the internet.
Several days later, Kong fired back at the criticism leveled at him, saying that the media and internet users were on a witch hunt to 'cherry pick' his words in order to attack him, asserting that he did not mean to say that Hong Kong people are dogs, or that non-Mandarin Chinese-speakers are dogs. He also said that he was confident the "majority of Hong Kongers" were not critical of him and that the internet backlash to be part of a well-executed conspiracy by fringe activists to silence him. In his defence, he stated that "there are good people and bad people everywhere; there are dogs everywhere. Some Beijing people are dogs."