My powerpoint is unstoppable

The Staufenbergers have started a new game with their latest fab post and I've risen to their challenge. I wonder what my prize will be!

Paquita

Earlier this evening, the Ballet de l'Opera national de Paris danced a 'Paquita' for a predominantly Chinese crowd at the Beijing National Theatre for Performing Arts (The Egg). Quite astonishingly (to me) they played with the narrative on two notable occasions.

They were spectacular, fluid, and yet tight when it counted. Gutsy in a word.

At the end of the first act through a triangle shaped formation, the dancers hopped violently backwards and receeding back into the stage, with peaked caps, bathed in the deepest hues of revolutionary red, and saluting violently to the audience whose spontaneous applause they won through sheer bravery given the context of the protests by China against the French in the last few days that is bordering on rage and insanity.

For a brief few seconds, it was as if the French were saying to the overwhelmingly Beijing intellectual-elite audience plus a few oiks myself, "is this what you want?", "is this how you want France to be?", "jumping up and down every time China starts to wave a stick?" ...."haven't you, you of all people, had enough abuse of power?"

It was the most creative thing I have ever seen and I will never forget it.

Bravo!

如果你是学生 - If you are a student

如果你是学生，你是大学生，我个人建议，东西你爱买不买，但是不要上街，不要集会。

游行和集会是可以上瘾的。今天你可以打着爱国的旗号对外，明天你就可以打着爱国的旗号……，所以，你是得不到支持的，整个过程里你只能面对中国人 民和中国防暴警察，你连一根黄毛都看不见。不要发生无畏的伤亡。爱国主义不是免死金牌，爱国主义有时候反而送你一程。在和平年代的激进爱国者和偶像的粉丝 是没有区别的，但他们还不能选择偶像，所以势必更加疯狂。

以前我觉得煽动是政府的一个托词，现在我相信人真的是可以被轻易煽动的。当然，人不容易被煽动，但是人立志要做炮灰的时候，灰就容易被煽起来。不要把现在和五四相提并论，情况是完全完全不一样的。我们现在需要安定，暂时不要再有任何的篓子，不要出任何的乱子，这是无谓的。

复述一次，这不是出口，也没有出路，现在还不是时候，现在还不是时候。

我愿被你们说成是汉奸和走狗，只为告诉你们，保留你们的热情，拿出你们的温柔，接受不同的声音，现在还不是时候

If you are a student

If you are a student, a university student, I have a suggestion for you. If you like something, buy it; if you don't like something then don't buy it, but don't demonstrate on the streets.

Protests and rallies are addictive. Today you carry the flag of patriotism against the outside world, tomorrow you carry the flag of patriotism against...

So you won't get support. During the whole process, all you can do is face the Chinese people and the Chinese riot police. You won't even see one blonde hair [i.e. foreigners]. Don't let pointless injury or death happen. Patriotism is not a golden talisman that will protect you from dying. In fact patriotism can be the death of you.

In an era of peace, radical patriotism is no different from a fan's adoration of his idol. But because people don't choose the object of their patriotic love, it's bound to be ever crazier. Previously, I thought inciting the masses was just government rhetoric, a pretext, but now I realize that people can be stirred up rashly. Of course, it's not easy to incite people but when they are determined to be cannon fodder, it's easy for them to blow up. Don't equate the current situation with the May Fourth movement [when patriotic students protested the Versailles treaty in 1919].

Student protest - May 4, 1919

The two situations are totally different. Right now what we need is stability. Don't cause disturbances or stir up trouble, it's pointless.

To repeat: that's not the way forward, now is not the time.

I am willing to be called a traitor or a running dog, if only to give you this message: hold back your passions and show a gentle face, accept different voices. It's not yet the time now.

by Han Han

Han Han (韩寒) is a novelist with a huge and dedicated fan base. He is also a racing driver and a blogger.

On his blog he has recently been discouraging his compatriots from getting too passionate about their patriotism. Here is a translation of a blog post he published on April 25

By way of the excellent Danwei