MCLC: London Book Fair criticized (1)

[Denton, Kirk]

MCLC LIST
From: joe alvaro (jjalvaro at student.cityu.edu.hk)
Subject: London Book Fair criticized (1)
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It seems strange Bei Ling would be shocked or scandalized by the British
Council pandering to the Chinese government¹s demand that only their
state-approved writers should attend the London Book Fair. It appears that
Bei is analyzing the situation through a distorted glass of morality, i.e.
what is right. Judging by what would be considered Œright¹ does not apply
in this situation because of nature of the two parties involved: the BC
and GAPP.

The British Council subscribes to a new criterion for guiding
decision-making. It is a Œnew morality¹, i.e. ³if it is good our bottom
line, then it is moral². By taking a stand against Chinese state-approved
representatives, the BC would jeopardize a very very lucrative situation
for itself as in China, it makes zillions of dollars (and growing) a year
on language testing (IELTS, similar to TOEFL) and related businesses. Any
sort of political stand would endanger this as the business depends on the
good graces of China's Ministry of Education. I know this because I worked
for the BC in China for over 12 years. The British Council is utterly
market-driven. If you follow the money, you will understand the BC and
their reasons for doing things.

The British Council is shrewd in justifying its actions because only
people Œliving and writing in China¹, were asked to attend the LBF, as the
Guardian quotes BC rep, Ms Nicklin. This gives them a politically correct
validation for avoiding blame as Œliving in China¹ legitimately
disqualifies exiled dissidents from attending.

Joe Alvaro