tc.thebearandthedragon-第100部分

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ause　they　hadn't　managed　to　get　Barry　Wise's　attention　on　the　side…band　audio　circuit。　The　signal　went　up　to　the　satellite；　then　down　to　Atlanta；　and　back　up　to　a　total　of　four　orbiting　birds；　then　it　came　down　all　over　the　world；　and　one　of　the　places　it　came　to　was　Beijing。
　The　members　of　the　Chinese　Politburo　all　had　televisions　in　their　offices；　and　all　of　them　had　access　to　the　American　CNN；　which　was　for　them　a　prime　source　of　political　intelligence。　It　came　down　also　to　the　various　hotels　in　the　city；　crowded　as　they　were　with　businessmen　and　other　visitors；　and　even　some　Chinese　citizens　had　access　to　it；　especially　business　people　who　conducted　their　affairs　both　within　and　without　the　People's　Republic　and　needed　to　know　what　was　happening　in　the　outside　world。
　In　his　office；　Fang　Gan　looked　up　from　his　desk　to　the　TV　that　was　always　kept　on　while　he　was　there。　He　lifted　the　controller　to　get　the　sound；　and　heard　English；　with　some　Chinese　language　in　the　background　that　he　could　not　quite　understand。　His　English　wasn't　very　good；　and　he　called　Ming　into　his　office　to　translate。
　〃Minister；　this　is　coverage　of　something　right　here　in　Beijing；〃　she　told　him　first　of　all。
　〃I　can　see　that；　girl！〃　he　snapped　back　at　her。　〃What　is　being　said？〃
　〃Ah；　yes。　It　is　associates　of　the　man　Yu　who　was　shot　by　the　police　two　days　ago　。。。　also　his　widow　。　。　。　this　is　evidently　a　funeral　ceremony　of　some　sort…oh；　they　say　that　Yu's　body　was　cremated　and　scattered；　and　so　his　widow　has　nothing　to　bury；　and　that　explains　her　added　grief；　they　say。〃
　〃What　lunatic　did　that？〃　Fang　wondered　aloud。　He　was　not　by　nature　a　very　passionate　man；　but　a　wise　man　did　not　go　out　of　his　way　to　be　cruel；　either。　〃Go　on；　girl！〃
　〃They　are　reading　from　the　Christian　Bible；　I　can't　make　out　the　words；　the　English　speaker　is　blanking　them　out　。　。　。　the　narrator　is　mainly　repeating　himself；　saying　。。。　ah；　yes；　saying　they　are　trying　to　establish　contact　with　their　reporter　Wise　here　in　Beijing　but　they　are　having　technical　difficulties　。　。　。　just　repeating　what　he　has　already　said；　a　memorial　ceremony　for　the　man　Yu；　friends　。　。　。　no；　members　of　his　worship　group；　and　that　is　all；　really。　They　are　now　repeating　what　happened　before　at　the　Longfu　hospital；　menting　also　on　the　Italian　churchman　whose　body　will　soon　arrive　back　in　Italy。〃
　Fang　grumbled　and　lifted　his　phone；　calling　for　the　Interior　Minister。
　〃Turn　on　your　TV！〃　he　told　his　Politburo　colleague　at　once。　〃You　need　to　get　control　of　this　situation；　but　do　so　intelligently！　This　could　be　ruinous　for　us；　the　worst　since　those　foolish　students　at　Tiananmen　Square。〃
　Ming　saw　her　boss　grimace　before　setting　the　phone　down　and　mutter；　〃Fool！〃　after　he　did　so；　then　shake　his　head　with　a　mixture　of　anger　and　sorrow。
　〃That　will　be　all；　Ming；〃　he　told　her；　after　another　minute。
　His　secretary　went　back　to　her　desk　and　puter；　wondering　what　was　happening　with　the　aftermath　of　the　man　Yu's　death。　Certainly　it　had　seemed　sad　at　the　time；　a　singularly　pointless　pair　of　deaths　which　had　upset　and　offended　her　minister　for　their　stupidity。　He'd　even　advocated　punishing　the　trigger…happy　policemen；　but　that　suggestion　had　e　to　nothing；　for　fear　of　losing　face　for　their　country。　With　that　thought；　she　shrugged　and　went　back　to　her　daily　work。
　The　word　from　the　Interior　Minister　went　out　fast；　but　Barry　Wise　couldn't　see　that。　It　took　another　minute　for　him　to　hear　the　voices　from　Atlanta　on　his　IFB　earphone。　Immediately　thereafter；　he　went　live　on　audio　and　started　again　to　do　his　own　on…the…scene　mentary　for　a　global　audience。　He　kept　turning　his　head　while　Pete　Nichols　centered　the　video　on　this　rump　religious　meeting　in　a　narrow；　dirty　street。　Wise　saw　the　police　lieutenant　talk　into　his　portable　radio…it　looked　like　a　Motorola；　just　like　American　cops　used。　He　talked；　listened；　talked　again；　then　got　something　confirmed。　With　that；　he　holstered　the　radio　and　came　walking　directly　to　the　CNN　reporter。　There　was　determination　on　his　face；　a　look　Wise　didn't　wele；　all　the　more　so　that　on　the　way　over；　this　Lieutenant　Rong　spoke　discreetly　with　his　men；　who　turned　in　the　same　direction；　staying　still　but　with　a　similar　look　of　determination　on　their　faces　as　they　flexed　their　muscles　in　preparation　for　something。
　〃You　must　turn　camera　off；〃　Rong　told　Wise。
　〃Excuse　me？〃
　〃Camera；　turn　off；〃　the　police　lieutenant　repeated。
　〃Why？〃　Wise　asked；　his　mind　going　immediately　into　race　mode。
　〃Orders；〃　Rong　explained　tersely。
　〃What　orders？〃
　〃Orders　from　police　headquarter；〃　Rong　said　further。
　〃Oh；　okay；〃　Wise　replied。　Then　he　held　out　his　hand。
　〃Turn　off　camera　now！〃　Lieutenant　Rong　insisted；　wondering　what　the　extended　hand　was　all　about。
　〃Where　is　the　order？〃
　〃What？〃
　〃I　cannot　turn　my　camera　off　without　a　written　order。　It　is　a　rule　for　my　pany。　Do　you　have　a　written　order？〃
　〃No；〃　Rong　said；　suddenly　nonplussed。
　〃And　the　order　must　be　signed　by　a　captain。　A　major　would　be　better；　but　it　must　be　a　captain　at　least　to　sign　the　order；〃　Wise　went　on。　〃It　is　a　rule　of　my　pany。〃
　〃Ah；〃　Rong　managed　to　say　next。　It　was　as　if　he'd　walked　headfirst　into　an　invisible　wall。　He　shook　his　head；　as　though　to　shake　off　the　force　of　a　physical　impact；　and　walked　five　meters　away；　pulling　out　his　radio　again　to　report　to　someone　elsewhere。　The　exchange　took　about　a　minute；　then　Rong　came　back。　〃Order　e　soon；〃　the　lieutenant　informed　the　American。
　〃Thank　you；〃　Wise　responded；　with　a　polite　smile　and　half　bow。
　Lieutenant　Rong　went　off　again；　looking　somewhat　confused　until　he　grouped　his　men　together。　He　had　instructions　to　carry　out　now；　and　they　were　instructions　he　and　they　understood；　which　was　usually　a　good　feeling　for　citizens　of　the　PRC；　especially　those　in　uniform。
　〃Trouble；　Barry；〃　Nichols　said；　turning　the　camera　toward　the　cops。　He'd　caught　the　discussion　of　the　written　order；　and　managed　to　keep　his　face　straight　only　by　biting　his　tongue　hard。　Barry　had　a　way　of　confounding　people。　He'd　even　done　it　to　presidents　more　than　once。
　〃I　see　it。　Keep　rolling；〃　Wise　replied　off…mike。　Then　to　Atlanta：　〃Something's　going　to　happen　here；　and　I　don't　like　the　looks　of　it。　The　police　appear　to　have　gotten　an　order　from　someone。　As　you　just　heard；　they　asked　us　to　turn　our　camera　off　and　we　managed　to　refuse　the　request　until　we　get　a　written　order　from　a　superior　police　official；　in　keeping　with　CNN　policy；〃　Wise　went　on；　knowing　that　someone　in　Beijing　was　watching　this。　The　thing　about　munists；　he　knew；　was　that　they　were　maniacally　organized；　and　found　a　request　in　writing　to　be　pletely　reasonable；　however　crazy　it　might　appear　to　an　outsider。　The　only　question　now；　he　knew；　was　whether　they'd　follow　their　verbal　radioed　order　before　the　draft　for　the　CNN　crew　came。　Which　priority　came　first。。。？
　The　immediate　priority；　of　course；　was　maintaining　order　in　their　own　city。　The　cops　took　out　their　batons　and　started　heading　toward　the　Baptists。
　〃Where　do　I　stand；　Barry？〃　Pete　Nichols　asked。
　〃Not　too　close。　Make　sure　you　can　sweep　the　whole　playing　field；〃　Wise　ordered。
　〃Gotcha；〃　the　cameraman　responded。
　They　tracked　Lieutenant　Rong　right　up　to　Wen　Zhong；　where　a　verbal　order　was　given；　and　just　as　quickly　rejected。　The　order　was　given　again。　The　shotgun　mike　on　the　camera　just　barely　caught　the　reply　for　the　third　iteration：
　〃Diao　ren；　chou　ni　ma　di　be！〃　the　overweight　Chinese　shouted　into　the　face　of　the　police　official。　Whatever　the　imprecation　meant；　it　made　a　few　eyes　go　wide　among　the　worshippers。　It　also　earned　Wen　a　smashed　cheekbone　from　Rong's　personal　baton。　He　fell　to　his　knees；　blood　already　streaming　from　the　ripped　skin；　but　then　Wen　struggled　back　to　his　feet；　turned　his　back　on　the　cop；　and　turned　to　yet　another　page　in　his　Bible。　Nichols　changed　position　so　that　he　could　zoom　in　on　the　testament；　and　the　blood　dripping　onto　the　pages。
　Having　the　man　turn　his　back　to　him　only　enraged　Lieutenant　Rong　more。　His　next　swing　came　down　on　the　back　of　Wen's　head。　That　one　buckled　his　knees；　but　amazingly　failed　to　drop　him。　This　time；　Rong　grabbed　his　shoulder　with　his　left　hand　and　spun　him　about；　and　the　third　blow　from　the　baton　rammed　directly　into　the　man's　solar　plexus。　That　sort　of　blow　will　fell　a　professional　boxer；　and　it　did　so　to　this　restaurateur。　A　blink　later；　he　was　on　his　knees；　one　hand　holding　his　Bible；　the　other　grasping　at　his　upper　abdomen。
　By　this　time；　the　other　cops　were　moving　in　on　the　remainder　of　the　crowd；　swinging　their　own　nightsticks　at　people　who　cringed　but　didn't　run。　Yu　Chun　was　the　first　of　them。　Not　a　tall　woman　even　by　Chinese　standards；　she　took　the　full　force　of　a　blow　squarely　in　the　face；　which　broke　her　nose　and　shot　blood　out　as　though　from　a　garden　sprinkler。
　It　didn't　take　long。　There　were　thirty…four　parishioners　and　twelve　cops；　and　the　Christians　didn't　resist　effectively；　not　so　much　because　of　their　religious　beliefs　as　because　of　their　societal　conditioning　not　to　resist　the　forces　of　order　in　their　culture。　And　so；　uniformly　they　stood；　and　uniformly　they　took　the　blows　with　no　more　defense　than　a　cringe；　and　uniformly　they　collapsed　to　the　street　with　bleeding　faces。　The　policemen　withdrew　almost　immediately；　as　though　to　display　their　work　to　the　CNN　camera；　which　duly　took　the　shots　and　transmitted　them　around　the　world　in　a　matter　of　seconds。
　〃You　getting　this？〃　Wise　asked　Atlanta。
　〃Blood　and　all；　Barry；〃　the　director　replied；　from　his　swivel　chair　at　CNN　headquarters。　〃Tell　Nichols　I　owe　him　a　beer。〃
　〃Roger　that。〃
　〃It　seems　that　the　local　police　had　orders　to　break　up　this　religious　meeting；　which　they　regard　as　something　of　a　political　nature；　and　politically　threatening　to　their　government。　As　you　can　see；　none　of　these　people　are　armed；　and　none　resisted　the　attack　by　the　police　in　any　way。　Now…〃　He　paused　on　seeing　another　bicycle　speed　its　way　up　the　street　to　where　they　were。　A　uniformed　cop　jumped　off　and　handed　something　to　Lieutenant　Rong。　This　the　lieutenant　carried　to　Barry　Wise。
　〃Here　order。　Turn　camera　off！〃　he　demanded。
　〃Please；　allow　me　to　look　at　the　order；〃　Wise　replied；　so　angry　at　what　he'd　just　seen　that　he　was　willing　to　risk　a　cracke