Flat Cat Controversy in China Ends
( Please note there is a new post on this topic: Flat Cat Continues to Live on Paper, and Face has been lost )
Science on its Nov 2007 issue published a photo named “flat cat?” and a column article RARE-TIGER PHOTO FLAP MAKES FUR FLY IN CHINA. They were about the claimed discovery of South China Tiger, which had been believed extinct in the wilds. The photo as well as the article stirred up the already chaotic situation in China.
The story started from earlier this year. On October 12th, the Forestry Bureau of Shaanxi Province claimed that a South China tiger (Panthera tigris amoyensis) was spotted–and photographed–in the wilds of Shaanxi Province. The photos were provided by a local hunter Zhou Zhenglong. After being examined and approved by a group experts appointed by the Shaanxi Forestry Bureau, the photos–71 in total including 40 digital and 31 film ones–were soon turned to the National Forest Bureau of China for application of a grant to establish a reservation for the South China Tiger. Two of them were published on newspapers and internet.
Zhou Zhenglong was happy, for he got an award of 20,000 RMB (2,666$) as promised by the government. Officials from the local government, the City of Zhenping, were even happier. They had been trying to boost Zhenping’s economy for a long time. The newly discovered tiger would become a great resource for the city’s tourist industry. No wonder that only one day after the tiger photos were approved, the mayor of Zhenping City convened a meeting of local government officials and and presented a development plan based on the tiger. As a part of the plan, a new agency was established in a surprisingly speedy way–within 2 days–named “the office of Zhenping City for Protecting South China Tiger.”
Shaanxi Forestry Bureau (SFB) showed strong support since the first day. Its motivation was obvious: as an officials told a journalist, SFB considered the tiger evidence that it had done a great job of environment protection. “Shaanxi is proud for the tiger, China is proud for the tiger, and the world is proud for the tiger,” said an official. He did not mention, however, that if the preservation were approved and established, SFB would financially benefit much from it–the profits derived from tourist industry would split between this agency and Zhenping City.
While various levels of the government officials were celebrating for the tiger photos, netizens in China and elsewhere declared it only a “paper tiger” after scrutinizing the two available images. They claimed since the tiger in the two different photos had remained the same position and same gesture, it most likely would be a paper tiger.
Other voices joined in, along with the “paper tiger” challenge from internet, to generate skepticism. Fu Dezhi, a Scientist from China Academy of Science, wrote on his blog, “I can guarantee with my head that the tiger photos are fake.” Another scientist Xie Yan told journalists that he had examined the footprints, claimed tiger dejecta and tiger hair. Xie found they were not from South China tiger. Hu Huijian, a professional photographer, commented that the photos were definitely fake judging from the artificial color of the tiger’s eyes on the two photos. Some other photographers did an experiment of shooting a paper tiger. The photos from the experiment turned out to be surprisingly similar to the two published photos.
Zhou Zhenglong, therefore, was put on spot. The poor “hunter,” who actually was found currently an ordinary peasant, had never been surrounded by journalists. He was constantly asked to provide original evidence for the tiger photos. Zhou kept silence, except for countering the “head guarantee.” He said with regard to the authenticity of the photos he would like to put his head on the scale, too.
Greater challenge was made to the credibility of SFB. But SFB surely had a better way to respond to the journalists’ questions and netizens’ inquiries than poor Zhou Zhenglong. Guan Ke, a propaganda official of Shaanxi Forestry bureau, published more evidence through his blog and some journalists to defend the government. He announced that Shaanxi Forestry Bureau had sent him and other investigators to Zhenping City to carry out a judicious collection of evidence. Consequently, he reported, the photos were once again proved to be authentic, and no doubt should be sustained. Experts from Shaanxi were shut up, reported by journalists, after being told by their supervisors respectively.
When journalists realized they could get no more useful information could from SFB, they turned to the National Forestry Bureau of China(NFB) . NFB officials, facing all sorts of inquiries from journalists, dismissed them by the following rhetoric: NFB does not have any duty to examine the photos, so it won’t comment on them; NFB does have duties on investigating the existence of South China Tiger, so it will to it; the investigation–which will take a long time–has not got anything, and therefore nothing NFB can say.
Netizens thought the response from NFB avoided the important points and dwelled on the trivial. One of them, disappointed by the answer, went straight to court to sue NFB for its “administrative inaction.” So far no follow-up news came out.
As all these interactions going on, one dramatic discovery by a netizen changed the landscape of paper tiger debate. On Nov. 15, a netizen reported that the tiger looked surprisingly similar to the one from a mass-produced decoration painting, which was hung on the wall of his living room. He then took a picture of the painting and published on the internet.
Some other netizens did a little bit more comparison using the basic photoshop software. After a bit analysis, it was clear that they were the same one.
The immediate response from SFB was to deny. Seeing no effect, it then accused the netizen who reported the discovery, arguing the painting was made from the published tiger photos.
Before the accusation by the Shaanxi government got circulated, discovery of another copy of the same painting was reported. Within 2 days 20 such reports were made. Some netizens went further to look for the producer. Their actions were quick. Within 24 hours the producer was found. The painting was printed by a company from Zhejiang, named Yiwu Weisite Print and Wrap Co. The original painting was found and demonstrated to th journalists by the manager Luo. The result was published on internet immediately.
No further did Shaanxi Forestry Bureau go. Nothing more would Chinese citizens believe. Flat Cat Controversy thus ends with a clear period. The only thing left for the world to see is what the government will say about it. No matter what the government is going to say, one thing the government for sure doesn’t like has happened: that the phrase “paper tiger” has forever changed its meaning, after Chairman Mao defined it 50 years ago.
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The article from the Journal of Science, the column of Random Sample
RARE-TIGER PHOTO FLAP MAKES FUR FLY IN CHINA
Flat cat?
CREDIT: ZHOU ZHENGLONG
A few weeks ago, tiger researchers celebrated the news that a South China tiger (Panthera tigris amoyensis) had been spotted–and photographed–in the wilds of Shaanxi Province. But netizens in China and elsewhere have declared it only a “paper tiger” after scrutinizing the two available images.
Although the species has been declared “functionally extinct,” reports of tiger activity in the heavily forested Qinba Mountains prompted Shaanxi officials to offer a reward to anyone able to photograph one of the tigers.
At a 12 October press conference in Xian, Zhou Zhenglong, a former hunter, told a rapt audience of his quest to photograph the beast, crawling to within 20 meters of one and snapping 71 images. When the camera’s flash went off, the tiger roared and disappeared, he said.
Skeptics, citing factors such as the tiger’s tame-looking expression and unreal coat color–as well as the fact that the two photos portray exactly the same tiger but differently positioned foliage– think it’s more likely that someone planted a cardboard tiger in the bushes. Fu Dezhi, a botanist at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, adds that the plants are not to scale in relation to the tiger. Zhou, who was paid 20,000 yuan ($2666) for the images, says, “I guarantee with my head that the photographs are authentic.”
The Shaanxi Forestry Bureau is pushing ahead with plans for a thorough survey and a tiger reserve. “It’s tremendously exciting news, if it can be substantiated,” says tiger expert Gary Koehler of Washington state’s Department of Fish and Wildlife (Science, 7 September, p. 1312). But first, “they need to look for hair snags or scat” for genetic verification.
中国网民是无敌的！华南虎为证！
作者：老幺
中国网民是无敌的！从2003年的孙志刚案、刘涌案、宝马撞人案、京沪铁路大辩论，到2007年的崔英杰案、黑砖窑案、“人桥老师”照、华南虎照，中国网民热议纷纷，从一个胜利走向了另一个胜利。
谁说中国道德沦丧？谁说中国只问金钱？谁说国人不关心时事？谁说国人对未来失去信心？正如凯迪网友8584076所评，“ 黄河之滨，集合着一群中华民族优秀的子孙；互联网上，会聚着一堂嘻笑怒骂开朗的人才。”
可不是嘛！一个月的打虎战役，充分映证了无耻者的无耻—-圆一个谎，需要再造十个谎。“盛世出国虎，神虎壮国威”， “一个冒着生命危险为我国科学发 现作出突出贡献的善良的老人”，一群“ 验证了3天3夜”的专家，一位“没料到网友会如此不信任政府发布的消息”的主任，一位认为“华南虎照是真的不能再 真的，但凡不是眼瞎了的都能看出来”“已经愤怒了”的记者，一团“照片的真假不重要，重要的是保护华南虎”的稀泥 … …
与之相对应的是，是较真者的较真—植物学家对树叶的疑惑，动物学家对瞳孔、习性的分析，摄影爱好者对色彩、焦距的还原，更多的是用常识思考、用良心说 话的千万网民，从看客到论客，你护虎来我打虎，热闹之中展现的是：对真的爱，对假的恨，不明真相不罢休的精神！这是国之魂，民之气，天下之大幸！
当华南虎照片漏洞百出之际，有人试图将华南虎问题政治化，对质疑求真的网民扣以“网络暴民”的大帽，什么“身逢五千年来最好的盛世，又出了威猛无比的猛 虎，正是说明了我们身处和谐社会的一片祥和气象，你们的所作所为就是故意抹黑当下的和谐，这是与主流的声音背道而驰的。”如凯迪网友“肥猫上树”所说，网 民“面对着镇,市,省乃至国家级别机构以及无数专家的狼狈为奸,指鹿为马，面对着一个省级宣传干部所动用的强大舆论资源”。
网民从科学分析，用证据说话，终于从攀枝花、东莞、山东再到一夜成名的浙江威斯特彩印包装公司，消息不断出现，真相终于大白。虽然当事人依然坚持，“护虎同盟”已作鸟兽散。这就象第二次世界大战，盟军已经成功登陆诺曼底，法西斯虽然负隅顽抗，其战败却是不可避免的了。
黎明在《华南虎事件见证网民力量》一文中写道，“（打虎）这个辉煌的“文明工程”，依赖民间的努力和民间的能力解决全部疑难问题，没花国家一分钱…证明了“群众的眼睛是雪亮的”，见证了互联网工具的优越性和中国网民的伟大力量”
老幺不才，收集了一些“打虎英雄”的精彩语录，如“色影无忌”的网友所说，“看到这样的人和文字，是后世的希望”。立此存照，欢迎大家补充：
（一）前戏
1. 植物学家傅德志 — 这个照片是假的，否则砍我脑袋
2. 动物学家解炎 — “实际上没有太多材料，有一些脚印、粪便之类的照片啊，但是我们看了之后呢，（认为）都不是华南虎。”
3. 广东专家胡慧建 — 结合老虎眼睛的解剖学和成像学原理、自己在野外和动物园拍摄的猫科动物的照片经验, 陕西农民周正龙所摄华南虎照片百分之百是作假
4. “alwayssong”—-把自己模拟拍摄结果发表在论坛上，照片中出现老虎色温与环境色温相比偏高的现象（即老虎色彩偏蓝，草叶偏黄），与周正龙所拍摄照片一般无二。
5. 铁证如山 —- 一张纸板平面虎,不论怎么变化视角,透视关系和姿态都不变的模型的荒唐照片, 用来侮辱你智商的拍摄过程,大白天近距离拍了几十分钟 打了2次闪光,老虎还很乖的神情不变,这样的荒唐可笑的过程. 纸板华南虎的照片,是鉴定你是不是够弱智,够脑瘫,够荒唐无耻的标准线！
（二）升温
6. zhuizhuzhe002 —是否有华南虎的存在已经不重要，到现在，真正重要的是照片的真假和事情的真相！
7. 孔孟就是国难—-（有人说，真相是可以公布出来的）真相只能被判断出来，公布出来的只能叫做“信息”，不能称为“真相”
8. 侧评—真相是争论出来的！
9. 冰血獸人—對著這樣一張比女明星換頭色情照高明不了多少的ps照片，我們怎么就那么難揭穿它？為什么呢？在林林總總的“打虎派”和“挺虎派”之間，我 們發現了一個身影：陜西省林業廳。這個官方身份的身影所代表的權威性，是我等網絡小民所不敢質疑的。官方說從未懷疑照片的真實性，官方給周正龍發獎金，官 方派出考察組，官方……
10. 俟名—对镇坪的环境保护做投资，我是不反对的，但是，不能以华南虎保护区的名义来做这个投资，这是对公民智商的侮辱。你不能强奸我还要我叫床，侮辱了我的人格还要侮辱我的智商！
（三）胶着
11. 网易北京网友—社会诚信比老虎更重要，不要回避话题，一味地说找老虎重要
12. 色影无忌网友—其实良心比学识重要
13. 一剑有血—骗来的钱，只会落到骗子的手里，难道会到老虎口里？
14. 俟名—一个人活在世界上，竟然能够如此不面对自己的灵魂，实在是一场悲哀。
15. 俟名—一大家要允许弱智说话，这是个民 主的国家
16. 缙云樵夫—-一大撮明白真相的群众在这里闹事
17. ‘青山恋 —当皇帝穿着‘新衣’来到公众面前的时候，终究会有人大声喊出‘你什么也没穿’。…针对‘华南虎照片’事件，众多网友投入精力试验和寻找证 据都是自愿的，自费的，自觉地。没人给他们报酬，没有哪个权威机构给他们奖励。 推动他们做这些事的动力是寻找真相。这种对真理探索的精神难道不值得我们 感动？看到这一切，我感动，我相信：中国有希望，因为有互联网，因为有广大良心在内心的网民。
（四）高潮
18. 骆光临— “这只虎在哪里见过啊！特别是那一对眼睛，总觉得熟悉！”
19. 牧云归—盛世出纸虎，年画振国威。
20. 网上疯 —看来中国人不是这么好骗的
21. 黎明—-中国网民这一次是“为国争光”了，…骗过了官方和学者的骗子及其骗术，却骗不过连“乌合之众”也称不上的网民。在中国，谣言和假相一旦上网，就意味着无数能人介入甄别和批判，意味着假相被揭穿的时刻就要到来。
22. 俟名—一场如同电影一样的游戏,该结束了
（五）展望
23. BigBianGun—压一压黑手的气焰，扬一扬正气，这一个多月，也不算白费。
24. 为君呻吟—为所有不依不饶、不舍不弃、穷追猛打寻求真相的朋友而骄傲!
25. Peteryang—对穷追不舍的中国网民,我只有泪水,只有赞叹,只有掌声,只有敬佩,只有许多难以言语的表达.
26. 愤怒的番茄 —纸老虎终于打回原形！
27. 新浪福建厦门网友—我们还有多少纸老虎?
28. 女鬼林华–全民打纸老虎只是全民打假的开端。
http://club2.cat898.com/newbbs/dispbbs.asp?BoardID=1&ID=1940153
老幺2018 发表于：2007-11-19 12:53:00
人头担保，照片绝对是真的
道德底线网友收集的护虎言行录
“我可以拿我的人头担保，照片绝对是真的。”―周正龙面对质疑时的回应
“我认为他是英雄，人家武松打虎还要一支哨棒，一瓶酒，而周正龙只是靠两部照相机。”—名人陕西省林业厅信息宣传中心主任关克
“我们的拍虎英雄，就这样被扭曲成了一个丑八怪！我们中国人的脸，就这样通过卫星信号丢到国际上去了！”—关克
“这将是我们镇坪最闪亮的名片。”―陕西省镇坪县林业局局长覃大鹏
“盛世出国虎，虎啸振国威。”——陕西省镇坪县县长吴平
“弄清华南虎照片真假并不重要，重要的是保护老虎。”―央视某栏目记者
“国家林业局只是对保护区存不存在老虎这个事情，来做一个考察论证，照片真假并不是国家林业局需要确定的范围。”—国家林业局新闻发言人曹清尧
“保护华南虎的信心和决定永不动摇，这是最关键最重要的工作。”—国家林业局副局长殷红
“考察华南虎的踪迹，比辨认华南虎照片真伪更为重要。”—陕西省省长袁纯清
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韩寒: 华南虎还是灭绝了吧
华南虎事件已经闹了很长时间，关于照片的真假，我想应该智商达到可以注册开通成功博客的人都能够辨别。如果这是真的，那那组照片也充分揭示了华南虎变成超稀有物种的原因，吐着舌头看着一个人正面被拍照半个小时都不带换个姿势的老虎，它不灭绝谁灭绝。
这组照片这么假，但依然有不少政府官员用脑袋和脑袋上的乌纱帽来担保这是真的，原因莫过于如果证实有华南虎的存在，说不定可以划为保护区或者得到国家财政补助。有人提出新颖的观点，说照片真的假的不重要，重要的是华南虎是否存在啊。
我觉得恰恰是相反的，华南虎并不重要，重要的是照片的真假。而且照片真假的重要性的意义远远大于有没有华南虎。我们 政府的诚信现在一再的降低，虽然陕西的林业厅不能完全代表政府，但它无疑传递这一个鲜活的形象，就是政府部门开始明着就已成事实的东西带头撒谎和偷换概 念，手段之不高明，观点之不鲜明，做法之不聪明都让人觉得惭愧。人家国家也经常有政府掩盖事实的事情，但人家往往能弄成一个千古悬案，众说纷纭最后成为传 奇事件。政府撒谎其实没有什么，而且往往也能造成好的结果，如果明天这个世界大家都讲彻头彻尾的真话，很多人会马上崩溃。但是，说谎也是有科技含量的，不 要以为用上了数码相机就是科技。
至于华南虎，历来一直存在着争议，首先，国际上质疑我们的老虎是否有必要划分的那么详细，如果再详细一点，比如上海 狼，北京朝阳区野猪等，那也肯定是极度濒危动物。但是，野生华南虎的确已经非常非常稀少甚至可能没有真是事实。不过我们想开一点，如果在近几十年内，几乎 没有受到人类大规模猎杀和环境的影响，一个物种在大自然里变的极为稀少到灭绝，那也是大自然的选择，它被淘汰了。我们要接受这样的事实。除了在动物园里养 着它，我们没有别的办法，某地某部门也不要劳命伤财再去山里找老虎了，让它去吧，它已经是历史了，把这人员费用和科研的钱留着，给现在更需要保护和可以看 见成效的动物吧。野生华南虎IS OVER.你我都没有错，它自己就OVER了。
至于周正龙，他也是个可怜人，我甚至相信快门都不是他按的。当时没人想到事情会闹这么大，政府想给他点小钱，然后向 上级弄点大钱的动机也可以理解，到现在事情搞到下不了台，大家都很为难，只希望不要出人命。而且党其实可以完全相信，周正龙同志是可靠的，经的住考验的， 是捉奸在床都死不承认的好同志，可以委以重任，而他抱着雪耻的心，熬过了这个人生的关卡，不要想不开，未来的成就也难以估量，小则拍到天池水怪，中则拍到 外星生物，大则拍到多啦A梦，都不是没有可能。
而我们的一些政府部门，如果继续不高明的胡说八道，恐怕以后嫦娥卫星传来的照片大家都不相信是真的了，而华南虎，还是任它灭绝了吧。
哈哈, 痛快, 噹噹响!