挪威在那儿 | Where is Norway | Hvor er Norge?

挪威

The results from an opinion poll in China's government controlled Global Times show that 41% of the respondents think that China should "ignore and downplay" the award of the Nobel Prize to Liu Xiaobo, 31% are of the opinion that China should "condemn the Committee and accuse it of pushing a western agenda," 13.5% are "undecided" while 12.3% "accept the decision."

This is all the more extraordinary since the same poll found out "that 75 percent of respondents had no idea who the winner of this year's Nobel Peace Prize was."

I can imagine receiving a call from one of the pollsters:

- Hello, we are conducting a poll on Liu Xiaobo's nobel prize.
- I'm very embarrassed to tell you that I've never heard of him.
- He's the Chinese author who has been awarded the Nobel prize and who is always insulting our country.
- Ng! he has no shame. Why is he doing this, he's Chinese, isn't he proud of being Chinese?
- He's naive, the western powers are using him.
- What country is doing this?
- Norway.
- Where is Norway? Is it a big country?
- In Northern Europe, just under 5 millions.
- 5 millions! Didn't we try to change its mind?
- We did, we sent our vice-minister for Foreign Affairs to convince the Norwegian government to change its mind but they claim the Nobel Committee is independent from the government! How can that be!
- 5 millions and our country could not make it change its mind. Better ignore the whole thing. We don't want to look ridiculous.
- So, I'll put you down as "ignore" then?
- Of course, this never happened.


Even more startling is it to discover in the same article that "9 percent said Liu should be released immediately and go to Norway to accept the prize."

Some Chinese citizens don't have a clue.