Wikipedia - Benutzerbeiträge [de]

David A. Clarke

2015-05-26T04:54:13Z

Yeokaiwei: /* Sheriff of Milwaukee */

{{BLP primary sources|date=April 2014}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|name = David A. Clarke, Jr.
|image = Sheriff Clarke.png
|caption = Sheriff Clarke at the NPS Graduation Ceremony in 2013
|office = 64th [[List of sheriffs of Milwaukee|Sheriff of Milwaukee]]
|term_start = March 2002
|term_end =
|predecessor = [[Leverett F. Baldwin]]
|successor =
|state1 = [[Wisconsin]]
|birth_date = 1956
|birth_place = [[Milwaukee, Wisconsin]]
|spouse = Julie Clarke
|alma_mater = [[Concordia University Wisconsin]]
|website = [http://www.thepeoplessheriff.com/ Campaign website]
}}

'''Sheriff David A. Clarke Jr.''' (born 1956) is the 64th Sheriff of [[Milwaukee County]]. In 2002, Clarke was appointed to a vacancy by Governor [[Scott McCallum]], and later elected that same year to his first four-year term. He was re-elected in November 2006, 2010, and 2014, and is currently serving his fourth full term.

== Early life, education, and early career ==
Clarke was born in the City of Milwaukee, attending [[Marquette University High School]]

He went on to earn a degree in Criminal Justice Management from [[Concordia University Wisconsin]], graduating summa cum laude. In 2003, Concordia University named him Wisconsin Alumnus of the Year. His postgraduate work includes graduating from the FBI National Academy and the National Executive Institute in Quantico, Virginia; completing the Program for Senior Executives in State and Local Government at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government; Driving Government Performance: Leadership Strategies that Produce Results at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government; and studying with Police Chief William Bratton and L.A. County Sheriff Lee Baca.<ref>{{cite web|title=SHERIFF DAVID CLARKE BIO, MILWAUKEE, A GREAT AMERICAN HERO|url=http://www.ministers-best-friend.com/CHRISTIPEDIA-TM--SHERIFF-DAVID-CLARKE-BIO--MILWAUKEE--A-GREAT-AMERICAN-HERO.html|website=http://www.ministers-best-friend.com|accessdate=5 August 2014}}</ref>

His career in law enforcement began in 1978 at the [[Milwaukee Police Department]] (MPD). After 11 years as a patrol officer, Clarke was promoted to Detective, making the Homicide Division less than 1 year later. In 1992, Clarke was again promoted to Lieutenant of Detectives. The next step was becoming Captain of Police for the MPD in 1996. In 1999, Clarke took over the post of Commanding Officer for MPD's Intelligence Division. Clarke then became Milwaukee County Sheriff in 2002, currently holding the same post.<ref name="milwaukee">{{cite web|url=http://county.milwaukee.gov/MeettheSheriff9152.htm|title=Meet the Sheriff|publisher=county.milwaukee.gov|accessdate=2014-03-30}}</ref>

== Sheriff of Milwaukee ==

=== Persona ===
As Sheriff, Clarke has been known for his outspokenness. Clarke frequently appears at public events on horseback wearing a cowboy hat. Among his controversial remarks were his assertions that Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele had “penis envy” and must have been on heroin when crafting the county budget.<ref name="Lisa Kaiser, 'Is It Time For a New Sheriff in Town?', Shepherd Express (July 23, 2014).">{{cite web|url=http://expressmilwaukee.com/article-permalink-23685.html|title=Is It Time For a New Sheriff in Town?|publisher=Shepherd Express|accessdate=2014-07-30}}</ref> In 2015, at an [[National Rifle Association|NRA]] event, he, according to Miranda Blue of [[Right Wing Watch]], proposed redesigning the [[Great Seal of the United States]] to include a semi-automatic rifle. <ref>{{cite news|last1=Blue|first1=Miranda|title=NRA Speaker Proposes Adding Semi-Automatic Rifle To US Seal|url=http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/nra-speaker-proposes-adding-semi-automatic-rifle-us-seal|accessdate=12 April 2015|publisher=Right-wing Watch|date=10 April 2015}}</ref>

=== Party affiliation ===
Clarke has been elected three times to the Sheriff's office as a Democrat, despite not belonging to any party. This has spurred criticism from the local Democratic Party.<ref name="Lisa Kaiser, 'Is It Time For a New Sheriff in Town?', Shepherd Express (July 23, 2014)."/>

Clarke explains his choice to run as a Democrat thusly on his website:

"Like me, most people question why the Office of Sheriff is a partisan election. I have never asked a person to vote for me because I run as a Democrat. I ask them to vote for me based on my 35-year commitment to keeping citizens safe. Most voters get it when it comes to public safety. There is no Democrat or Republican way to be a sheriff. The enemy is not the opposing party; the enemy is the criminal."<ref>{{cite news|last1=Bice|first1=Daniel|title=Sheriff David Clarke files for re-election amid talk of other offices|url=http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/news/261361241.html|accessdate=20 August 2014|work=Journal Sentinel|date=31 May 2014}}</ref>

=== Budget cuts and service reductions ===
In response to budget cuts prompted by the Milwaukee County Pension Scandal,<ref>{{cite web|title=Ten Stories That Changed Our Lives: #6 Milwaukee Co. Pension Scandal|url=http://www.620wtmj.com/news/local/79307597.html|website=http://www.620wtmj.com|accessdate=3 August 2014}}</ref> Clarke began eliminating Department units to save money. He eliminated the gun crime unit, drug unit, and witness protection unit. Many of these units duplicate services provided by municipal departments.<ref>{{cite web|title=Reforming Milwaukee County – Response to the Fiscal Crisis A Report by the Greater Milwaukee Committee|url=http://www.gmconline.org/images/stories/PDF_files/gmcmkecntypowerpoint.pdf|website=http://www.gmconline.org|accessdate=3 August 2014}}</ref>

Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele has consistently cut the Sheriff's budget further. A Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel news story reports that "County Executive Chris Abele's 2014 budget takes direct aim at Sheriff David A. Clarke Jr.'s office, cutting more than $12 million and 69 jobs, shifting park patrols, emergency management, 911 communications and training divisions elsewhere." <ref>{{cite web|title=Abele wants to cut Clarke's budget; sheriff calls exec 'vindictive little man'|url=http://www.jsonline.com/news/abele-wants-5-million-to-end-long-term-care-at-mental-health-complex-b99107268z1-225351372.html|website=http://www.jsonline.com/|accessdate=4 August 2014}}</ref>

=== House of Corrections turnaround ===
In January 2008, before the Milwaukee County House of Corrections was placed under the management of Sheriff Clarke, a National Institute of Corrections audit of the Milwaukee County House of Correction identified 44 areas of concern, including serious security, morale, and management issues, and described the facility, as “dysfunctional.”

In 2009, Sheriff Clarke took over the facility and quickly overcame a $5 million deficit, as well as most of the issues brought up in the audit, including lack of discipline, poor supervision, employee sick use abuse, inmate fights, and excessive and unnecessary overtime use.

Clarke received praise for rapidly correcting the issues.<ref name="Steve Schultze, 'Sheriff cleans House to address audit's critiques', Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel (April 10, 2009)">{{cite web|url=http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/42833992.html|title=Sheriff cleans House to address audit's critiques|publisher=Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel|accessdate=2014-07-30}}</ref>

=== Support for self-defense and Second Amendment rights ===
In January 2013, Sheriff Clarke was featured on a series of public radio ads that said citizens could no longer rely on the police for timely protection and should arm themselves. Later that month Clarke appeared on the CNN program Piers Morgan, with Milwaukee Mayor and gun-control advocate Tom Barrett, who attacked the notion that citizens could no longer rely on calling [[9-1-1]]. The appearance sent David Clarke into the national spotlight.<ref name="jsonline">{{cite web|url=http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/clarke-barrett-square-off-over-guns-on-cnn-h98inr1-188955951.html|title=David Clarke, Tom Barrett square off over guns on CNN|publisher=jsonline.com|accessdate=2014-03-30}}</ref>

=== Christian Centurians lawsuit ===
In 2006, Clarke invited members of a Protestant sectarian organization to speak at mandatory roll calls, over the objections of the Deputies' union and members of various faiths. This resulted in a federal lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, which Clarke lost and subsequently appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, who upheld the lower court's ruling in 2009. The sheriff did not seek review in the U.S. Supreme Court.<ref>{{cite web|title=Milwaukee Deputy Sheriffs Association v. Clarke|url=https://www.au.org/our-work/legal/lawsuits/milwaukee-deputy-sheriffs-association-v-clarke|website=https://www.au.org/|accessdate=4 August 2014}}</ref><ref name="Milwaukee Deputy Sheriffs' Association v. Clarke, No. 08-1515">{{cite web|url=http://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-7th-circuit/1499070.html|title=Milwaukee Deputy Sheriffs' Association v. Clarke, No. 08-1515|accessdate=2014-07-30}}</ref>

=== Constitutional Sheriffs Association Award ===
In 2013, Clarke was honored with the Sheriff of the Year Award by the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association. The official statement credited Clarke with, “Demonstrating true leadership and courage...staying true to his oath, true to his badge, and true to the people he has promised to serve and protect.”<ref name="cspoa">{{cite web|url=http://cspoa.org/|title=Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association | CSPOA - Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association|publisher=cspoa.org|accessdate=2014-03-30}}</ref> Though Clarke lists the award in his autobiography on the Sheriff’s official website,<ref name="Meet the Sheriff">{{cite web|url=http://county.milwaukee.gov/MeettheSheriff9152.htm|title=Meet the Sheriff|accessdate=2014-07-30}}</ref> it has been a source of controversy,<ref name="Lisa Kaiser, 'Is It Time For a New Sheriff in Town?', Shepherd Express (July 23, 2014)."/> because the CSPOA is thought by some to be a fringe group, even though 484 Sheriffs in 36 states, and 16 state Sheriff's Associations have expressed their support for CSPOA positions.

=== Stance on Marijuana ===
In 2015, during a House Judiciary hearing on police reform by Rep. Steve Cohen, Clarke refused to say that marijuana was less destructive to society than methamphetamine or cocaine.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=31&v=nEYP5YAPViM</ref>

== Future ==
In January 2014, Sheriff Clarke announced he is considering a run for [[Mayor of Milwaukee]] in 2016.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://fox6now.com/2014/01/31/milwaukee-co-sheriff-david-clarke-considers-2016-run-for-mayor/|title=Milwaukee Co. Sheriff David Clarke considers 2016 run for mayor|work=FOX6Now.com}}</ref>

== Personal ==
David Clarke and his wife live on the northwest side of Milwaukee.

== Electoral history ==

=== Milwaukee County Sheriff Elections (2002-2014) ===

==== 2002 Democratic Primary ====
*'''David Clarke''' - 59%
*Pete Misko - 26%
*Mark Hayes - 15%<ref name="Milw Election Results">{{cite web|title=Election Results|url=http://city.milwaukee.gov/ElectionResults1717.htm#.U-uMf_ldV8E|website=City of Milwaukee|accessdate=13 August 2014}}</ref>

==== 2002 General Election ====
*'''David Clarke''' (D) - 74%
*Ken Bohn (R), 25%<ref name="Milw Election Results" />

==== 2006 Democratic Primary ====
*'''David Clarke''' - 54%
*Vincent Bobot - 46%<ref name="Milw Election Results" />

==== 2006 General Election ====
*'''David Clarke''' (D) - 78%
*Don Holt (R), 21%<ref name="Milw Election Results" />

==== 2010 Democratic Primary ====
*'''David Clarke''' - 53%
*Chris Moews - 47%<ref name="jsonline2">{{cite web|url=http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/102928759.html|title=Election 2010 | Milwaukee County Sheriff - Clarke defeats Moews in Milwaukee County sheriff's primary|publisher=jsonline.com|accessdate=2014-03-30}}</ref>

==== 2010 General Election ====
*'''David Clarke''' (D) - 74%
*Steven Duckhorn (R) - 25%<ref name="milwaukee2">{{cite web|url=http://county.milwaukee.gov/ElectionResults23729/2010ElectionResults.htm#Sept14|title=2010 Election Results|publisher=county.milwaukee.gov|accessdate=2014-03-30}}</ref>

==== 2014 Democratic Primary ====
*'''David Clarke''' - 52%
*Chris Moews - 48%<ref>{{cite web|title=Wisconsin 2014 fall primary election results|url=http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/wisconsin-2014-fall-primary-election-results-253583691.html#Milwaukee_Sheriff_Dem_Primary|website=JS Online|accessdate=13 August 2014}}</ref>

==== 2014 General Election ====
*'''David Clarke''' (D) - 79%
*Angela Walker (I) - 21%<ref>{{cite web|title=Wisconsin 2014 fall general election results|url=http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/wisconsin-2014-fall-general-election-results-272052351.html#Milwaukee_Sheriff|website=http://www.jsonline.com|accessdate=12 December 2014}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
*[http://www.thepeoplessheriff.com Campaign website]

{{Persondata
| NAME = Clarke, David A., Jr
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES = David Clarke
| SHORT DESCRIPTION = American sheriff
| DATE OF BIRTH = 1956
| PLACE OF BIRTH = [[Milwaukee]], [[Wisconsin]], [[United States|U.S.]]
| DATE OF DEATH =
| PLACE OF DEATH =
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clarke, David A.}}
[[Category:1956 births]]
[[Category:American gun rights advocates]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:People from Milwaukee, Wisconsin]]
[[Category:Concordia University Wisconsin alumni]]
[[Category:Wisconsin sheriffs]]
[[Category:African Americans in law enforcement]]

Qian Xiuling

2015-04-23T12:05:33Z

Yeokaiwei: /* Legacy */

{{Infobox Person
| name = Qian Xiuling
| image = Qian Xiuling cropped square in 1933.JPG
| image_size =
| caption = Qian Xiuling
| birth_name =
| birth_date = 1912
| birth_place = [[Yixing]], [[Jiangsu]], China
| death_date = 2008
| death_place =
| death_cause =
| residence =
| other_names = Siou-Ling Tsien de Perlinghi
| known_for = Saving lives during World War II in Belgium
| education =
| religion =
| spouse = Grégoire de Perlinghi
| children =
| parents =
| relatives =
| footnotes =
| nationality = Chinese and Belgian
}}
{{Chinese name|[[Qian (surname)|Qian (Tsien)]]}}

'''Qian Xiuling''' ({{zh|t=錢秀玲}}; 1912–2008), or '''Siou-Ling Tsien de Perlinghi''', was a [[Chinese people|Chinese]]-Belgian scientist who won a medal for saving nearly 100 lives during [[World War II]] in [[Belgium]]. She had a street named after her and a sixteen episode TV drama was made of her life for Chinese television.

==Life==
[[File:Qian Xiuling.jpg|left|thumb|upright|Qian Xiuling in 1930]]
Qian was born in [[Yixing]] in [[Jiangsu Province]] in 1912 to a large and well connected family. Her older cousin, Lieutenant General [[Qian Zhuolun]], had been the chief of the First General Office of Defense Ministry of the Kuomintang (KMT) Administration and director of Chief of the Staff Office.<ref>http://china.org.cn/english/NM-e/30626.htm</ref>

In 1929 she left for Europe to study chemistry in Belgium at the [[Catholic University of Leuven (1834–1968)|Catholic University of Leuven]].<ref name=woc/>

In 1933 she married Grégoire de Perlinghi, a Belgian doctor,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.7sur7.be/7s7/fr/1506/Sciences/article/detail/366913/2008/08/01/Deces-de-Siou-Ling-Tsien-qui-avait-sauve-Ecaussinnes-des-nazis.dhtml |title=Décès de Siou-Ling Tsien, qui avait sauvé Ecaussinnes des nazis |date=1 August 2008 |publisher=7sur7 |language=French}}</ref> after breaking her engagement to her Chinese fiancé,<ref name=qin>{{cite journal|last1=Qin|first1=Bo|title=The History And Context Of Chinese-Western Intercultural Marriage In Modern And Contemporary China (From 1840 To The 21st Century)|journal=Rozenburg Quarterly - Asia Studies|volume=3|issue=Chinese-Western Intimacy and Marriage – An Invisible International Hierarchy|url=http://eh-verlag.de/singleBook.php?id=1750|accessdate=1 April 2015}}</ref> and they went to live in [[Herbeumont]].

In 1939, she travelled to Paris in hopes of studying in [[Marie Curie]]'s laboratory but the whole facility had been moved to the United States because of the war.<ref name=woc/>

[[File:Qian Xiuling and her husband marrying in 1933 from a Chinese source.jpg|thumb|upright|Qian marrying Grégoire de Perlinghi in 1933]]
In June 1940, her town of Herbeumont was occupied by the German army when a Belgian youth blew up a military train by burying a mine under the railway. The youth was sentenced to death, but Qian realised that she knew the German general who was in charge of Belgium. She had known General [[Alexander von Falkenhausen]] when he was working in China<ref name=corg/> as part of the [[Sino-German cooperation until 1941|Sino-German cooperation]]. Falkenhausen had been an advisor to [[Chiang Kai-Shek]]<ref name=spartacus>[http://spartacus-educational.com/GERfalkenhausen.htm Alexander von Falkenhausen], spartacus-educational.com, retrieved 1 April 2015</ref> and he worked closely with Qian's elder cousin, Lieutenant General Qian Zhuolun. She wrote a letter and travelled to see Falkenhausen, who decided to use his authority to spare the boy for reasons of humanity.<ref name=corg>{{cite web |url=http://www.china.org.cn/english/2002/Apr/30512.htm |title=A Story of World War II Heroism Comes Home to China |work=China.org.cn |date=April 2002 |accessdate=1 April 2015 }}</ref><ref>http://china.org.cn/english/NM-e/30626.htm</ref>

On 7 June 1944, Qian was contacted again when the Germans had taken 97 Belgians prisoner under sentence of death in revenge for three Gestapo officers who had been killed in the nearby town of [[Ecaussinnes]].<ref name=woc/> Despite being pregnant with her first child she again travelled to see Falkenhausen and asked him to intervene.<ref name=woc/> He hesitated but eventually agreed to release the people, although he knew that he was disobeying an order. The general was summoned to Berlin to explain his insubordination.<ref name=woc/> Falkenhausen was spared German trial and punishment by the war's end, but was arrested for war crimes. He was tried in Belgium in 1951.<ref name=spartacus/>

Qian appeared at the trial and pleaded for Falkenhausen's good character.<ref name=woc>[http://www.womenofchina.cn/womenofchina/html1/people/history/1409/552-1.htm Qian Xiuling: World War II Hero], Frank Zhao, 15 September 2014, Women of China, retrieved 1 April 2015</ref> He was sentenced for twelve years for executing hostages and deporting Jews, but was released after three weeks and retired to Germany where he died in 1966.<ref name=spartacus/>

==Legacy==
{{external media | width = 150px | align = right | headerimage= [[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 146-2008-0155, Alexander von Falkenhausen.jpg|140px]] | video1 = [http://english.cntv.cn/2014/06/06/VIDE1402032721643651.shtml “Qian Xiuling: China’s female Schindler in Belgium during WWII”], CCTV.com}}

The Belgian government awarded Qian the "Hero of the State" medal and the King and Queen of Belgium also presented her with signed photographs. The citizens of Ecaussinnes named a downtown street in her honor "Ms. Qian Street" to express their thanks to the Chinese lady.<ref>http://china.org.cn/english/NM-e/30626.htm</ref>

Qian's story was made into a sixteen-episode Chinese TV drama, ''Chinese Woman Facing Gestapo's Gun'', starring [[Xu Qing]].<ref name=corg/> She was given a medal by the Belgians after the war but she never told her family in China of her story.

In 2003, Qian's granddaughter, Tatiana de Perlinghi, made a [[documentary film]] entitled ''Ma grand-mère, une héroïne?'' (My grandma, a heroine?).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rtbf.be/tv/guide-tv/detail_ma-grand-mere-une-heroine?idshedule=2da8285f8eb9e3ce7b936d1ff93ac352&uid=52723048668 |title=Ma grand-mère, une héroïne? |accessdate=2 April 2015 |publisher=RTBF |language=French}}</ref>

In 2005, she was thanked by [[Zhang Qiyue]] the Chinese Ambassador to Belgium who visited the rest home where she lived.<ref name=amb>[http://en.people.cn/200507/25/eng20050725_198121.html The "Chinese Schindlers"], 25 July 2005, retrieved 1 April 2015</ref> Qian's husband had died in 1966. There is a street named ''Rue Perlinghi'' in her honour in the city of Ecaussinnes.<ref name=rue>[http://usa.chinadaily.com.cn/opinion/2012-10/27/content_15850892.htm Map stamps claim over islands], China Daily, Liao Liqiang,. 27 October 2012, retrieved 1 April 2015</ref> A novel by Zhang Yawen was published in 2003 with the English title of ''Chinese Woman at Gestapo Gunpoint ''.<ref name=haiyan>{{cite book|last1=Haiyan|first1=Written by Zhang Yawen Translated by Chen|last2=Ziliang|first2=Li|title=A Chinese Woman at Gestapo Gunpoint|date=2003|publisher=Foreign Language Press|location=Beijing|isbn=7119031597|url=http://www.worldcat.org/title/chinese-woman-at-gestapo-gunpoint/oclc/491515630}}</ref>

==References==
{{commonscat}}
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://news.sohu.com/s2005/qianxiuling.shtml Sohu special report on Qian Xiuling] {{zh icon}}

{{Persondata
|NAME=Qian, Xiuling
|ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
|SHORT DESCRIPTION=Scientist who won medals in Belgium
|DATE OF BIRTH=1912
|PLACE OF BIRTH=[[Yixing]], [[Jiangsu]], China
|DATE OF DEATH=2008
|PLACE OF DEATH=
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Qian, Xiuling}}
[[Category:1912 births]]
[[Category:2008 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Yixing]]
[[Category:People from Herbeumont]]
[[Category:Chinese women scientists]]
[[Category:Belgian women scientists]]
[[Category:Catholic University of Leuven alumni (pre-1968)]]

Qian Xiuling

2015-04-23T12:04:17Z

Yeokaiwei: /* Life */

{{Infobox Person
| name = Qian Xiuling
| image = Qian Xiuling cropped square in 1933.JPG
| image_size =
| caption = Qian Xiuling
| birth_name =
| birth_date = 1912
| birth_place = [[Yixing]], [[Jiangsu]], China
| death_date = 2008
| death_place =
| death_cause =
| residence =
| other_names = Siou-Ling Tsien de Perlinghi
| known_for = Saving lives during World War II in Belgium
| education =
| religion =
| spouse = Grégoire de Perlinghi
| children =
| parents =
| relatives =
| footnotes =
| nationality = Chinese and Belgian
}}
{{Chinese name|[[Qian (surname)|Qian (Tsien)]]}}

'''Qian Xiuling''' ({{zh|t=錢秀玲}}; 1912–2008), or '''Siou-Ling Tsien de Perlinghi''', was a [[Chinese people|Chinese]]-Belgian scientist who won a medal for saving nearly 100 lives during [[World War II]] in [[Belgium]]. She had a street named after her and a sixteen episode TV drama was made of her life for Chinese television.

==Life==
[[File:Qian Xiuling.jpg|left|thumb|upright|Qian Xiuling in 1930]]
Qian was born in [[Yixing]] in [[Jiangsu Province]] in 1912 to a large and well connected family. Her older cousin, Lieutenant General [[Qian Zhuolun]], had been the chief of the First General Office of Defense Ministry of the Kuomintang (KMT) Administration and director of Chief of the Staff Office.<ref>http://china.org.cn/english/NM-e/30626.htm</ref>

In 1929 she left for Europe to study chemistry in Belgium at the [[Catholic University of Leuven (1834–1968)|Catholic University of Leuven]].<ref name=woc/>

In 1933 she married Grégoire de Perlinghi, a Belgian doctor,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.7sur7.be/7s7/fr/1506/Sciences/article/detail/366913/2008/08/01/Deces-de-Siou-Ling-Tsien-qui-avait-sauve-Ecaussinnes-des-nazis.dhtml |title=Décès de Siou-Ling Tsien, qui avait sauvé Ecaussinnes des nazis |date=1 August 2008 |publisher=7sur7 |language=French}}</ref> after breaking her engagement to her Chinese fiancé,<ref name=qin>{{cite journal|last1=Qin|first1=Bo|title=The History And Context Of Chinese-Western Intercultural Marriage In Modern And Contemporary China (From 1840 To The 21st Century)|journal=Rozenburg Quarterly - Asia Studies|volume=3|issue=Chinese-Western Intimacy and Marriage – An Invisible International Hierarchy|url=http://eh-verlag.de/singleBook.php?id=1750|accessdate=1 April 2015}}</ref> and they went to live in [[Herbeumont]].

In 1939, she travelled to Paris in hopes of studying in [[Marie Curie]]'s laboratory but the whole facility had been moved to the United States because of the war.<ref name=woc/>

[[File:Qian Xiuling and her husband marrying in 1933 from a Chinese source.jpg|thumb|upright|Qian marrying Grégoire de Perlinghi in 1933]]
In June 1940, her town of Herbeumont was occupied by the German army when a Belgian youth blew up a military train by burying a mine under the railway. The youth was sentenced to death, but Qian realised that she knew the German general who was in charge of Belgium. She had known General [[Alexander von Falkenhausen]] when he was working in China<ref name=corg/> as part of the [[Sino-German cooperation until 1941|Sino-German cooperation]]. Falkenhausen had been an advisor to [[Chiang Kai-Shek]]<ref name=spartacus>[http://spartacus-educational.com/GERfalkenhausen.htm Alexander von Falkenhausen], spartacus-educational.com, retrieved 1 April 2015</ref> and he worked closely with Qian's elder cousin, Lieutenant General Qian Zhuolun. She wrote a letter and travelled to see Falkenhausen, who decided to use his authority to spare the boy for reasons of humanity.<ref name=corg>{{cite web |url=http://www.china.org.cn/english/2002/Apr/30512.htm |title=A Story of World War II Heroism Comes Home to China |work=China.org.cn |date=April 2002 |accessdate=1 April 2015 }}</ref><ref>http://china.org.cn/english/NM-e/30626.htm</ref>

On 7 June 1944, Qian was contacted again when the Germans had taken 97 Belgians prisoner under sentence of death in revenge for three Gestapo officers who had been killed in the nearby town of [[Ecaussinnes]].<ref name=woc/> Despite being pregnant with her first child she again travelled to see Falkenhausen and asked him to intervene.<ref name=woc/> He hesitated but eventually agreed to release the people, although he knew that he was disobeying an order. The general was summoned to Berlin to explain his insubordination.<ref name=woc/> Falkenhausen was spared German trial and punishment by the war's end, but was arrested for war crimes. He was tried in Belgium in 1951.<ref name=spartacus/>

Qian appeared at the trial and pleaded for Falkenhausen's good character.<ref name=woc>[http://www.womenofchina.cn/womenofchina/html1/people/history/1409/552-1.htm Qian Xiuling: World War II Hero], Frank Zhao, 15 September 2014, Women of China, retrieved 1 April 2015</ref> He was sentenced for twelve years for executing hostages and deporting Jews, but was released after three weeks and retired to Germany where he died in 1966.<ref name=spartacus/>

==Legacy==
{{external media | width = 150px | align = right | headerimage= [[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 146-2008-0155, Alexander von Falkenhausen.jpg|140px]] | video1 = [http://english.cntv.cn/2014/06/06/VIDE1402032721643651.shtml “Qian Xiuling: China’s female Schindler in Belgium during WWII”], CCTV.com}}

Qian's story was made into a sixteen-episode Chinese TV drama, ''Chinese Woman Facing Gestapo's Gun'', starring [[Xu Qing]].<ref name=corg/> She was given a medal by the Belgians after the war but she never told her family in China of her story.

In 2003, Qian's granddaughter, Tatiana de Perlinghi, made a [[documentary film]] entitled ''Ma grand-mère, une héroïne?'' (My grandma, a heroine?).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rtbf.be/tv/guide-tv/detail_ma-grand-mere-une-heroine?idshedule=2da8285f8eb9e3ce7b936d1ff93ac352&uid=52723048668 |title=Ma grand-mère, une héroïne? |accessdate=2 April 2015 |publisher=RTBF |language=French}}</ref>

In 2005, she was thanked by [[Zhang Qiyue]] the Chinese Ambassador to Belgium who visited the rest home where she lived.<ref name=amb>[http://en.people.cn/200507/25/eng20050725_198121.html The "Chinese Schindlers"], 25 July 2005, retrieved 1 April 2015</ref> Qian's husband had died in 1966. There is a street named ''Rue Perlinghi'' in her honour in the city of Ecaussinnes.<ref name=rue>[http://usa.chinadaily.com.cn/opinion/2012-10/27/content_15850892.htm Map stamps claim over islands], China Daily, Liao Liqiang,. 27 October 2012, retrieved 1 April 2015</ref> A novel by Zhang Yawen was published in 2003 with the English title of ''Chinese Woman at Gestapo Gunpoint ''.<ref name=haiyan>{{cite book|last1=Haiyan|first1=Written by Zhang Yawen Translated by Chen|last2=Ziliang|first2=Li|title=A Chinese Woman at Gestapo Gunpoint|date=2003|publisher=Foreign Language Press|location=Beijing|isbn=7119031597|url=http://www.worldcat.org/title/chinese-woman-at-gestapo-gunpoint/oclc/491515630}}</ref>

==References==
{{commonscat}}
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://news.sohu.com/s2005/qianxiuling.shtml Sohu special report on Qian Xiuling] {{zh icon}}

{{Persondata
|NAME=Qian, Xiuling
|ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
|SHORT DESCRIPTION=Scientist who won medals in Belgium
|DATE OF BIRTH=1912
|PLACE OF BIRTH=[[Yixing]], [[Jiangsu]], China
|DATE OF DEATH=2008
|PLACE OF DEATH=
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Qian, Xiuling}}
[[Category:1912 births]]
[[Category:2008 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Yixing]]
[[Category:People from Herbeumont]]
[[Category:Chinese women scientists]]
[[Category:Belgian women scientists]]
[[Category:Catholic University of Leuven alumni (pre-1968)]]

Qian Xiuling

2015-04-23T12:02:06Z

Yeokaiwei: /* Life */

{{Infobox Person
| name = Qian Xiuling
| image = Qian Xiuling cropped square in 1933.JPG
| image_size =
| caption = Qian Xiuling
| birth_name =
| birth_date = 1912
| birth_place = [[Yixing]], [[Jiangsu]], China
| death_date = 2008
| death_place =
| death_cause =
| residence =
| other_names = Siou-Ling Tsien de Perlinghi
| known_for = Saving lives during World War II in Belgium
| education =
| religion =
| spouse = Grégoire de Perlinghi
| children =
| parents =
| relatives =
| footnotes =
| nationality = Chinese and Belgian
}}
{{Chinese name|[[Qian (surname)|Qian (Tsien)]]}}

'''Qian Xiuling''' ({{zh|t=錢秀玲}}; 1912–2008), or '''Siou-Ling Tsien de Perlinghi''', was a [[Chinese people|Chinese]]-Belgian scientist who won a medal for saving nearly 100 lives during [[World War II]] in [[Belgium]]. She had a street named after her and a sixteen episode TV drama was made of her life for Chinese television.

==Life==
[[File:Qian Xiuling.jpg|left|thumb|upright|Qian Xiuling in 1930]]
Qian was born in [[Yixing]] in [[Jiangsu Province]] in 1912 to a large and well connected family. Her older cousin, Lieutenant General [[Qian Zhuolun]], had been the chief of the First General Office of Defense Ministry of the Kuomintang (KMT) Administration and director of Chief of the Staff Office.<ref>http://china.org.cn/english/NM-e/30626.htm</ref>

In 1929 she left for Europe to study chemistry in Belgium at the [[Catholic University of Leuven (1834–1968)|Catholic University of Leuven]].<ref name=woc/>

In 1933 she married Grégoire de Perlinghi, a Belgian doctor,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.7sur7.be/7s7/fr/1506/Sciences/article/detail/366913/2008/08/01/Deces-de-Siou-Ling-Tsien-qui-avait-sauve-Ecaussinnes-des-nazis.dhtml |title=Décès de Siou-Ling Tsien, qui avait sauvé Ecaussinnes des nazis |date=1 August 2008 |publisher=7sur7 |language=French}}</ref> after breaking her engagement to her Chinese fiancé,<ref name=qin>{{cite journal|last1=Qin|first1=Bo|title=The History And Context Of Chinese-Western Intercultural Marriage In Modern And Contemporary China (From 1840 To The 21st Century)|journal=Rozenburg Quarterly - Asia Studies|volume=3|issue=Chinese-Western Intimacy and Marriage – An Invisible International Hierarchy|url=http://eh-verlag.de/singleBook.php?id=1750|accessdate=1 April 2015}}</ref> and they went to live in [[Herbeumont]].

In 1939, she travelled to Paris in hopes of studying in [[Marie Curie]]'s laboratory but the whole facility had been moved to the United States because of the war.<ref name=woc/>

[[File:Qian Xiuling and her husband marrying in 1933 from a Chinese source.jpg|thumb|upright|Qian marrying Grégoire de Perlinghi in 1933]]
Her town of Herbeumont was occupied by the German army when a youth blew up a military train with a mine. The youth was sentenced to death, but Qian realised that she knew the German general who was in charge of Belgium. She had known General [[Alexander von Falkenhausen]] when he was working in China<ref name=corg/> as part of the [[Sino-German cooperation until 1941|Sino-German cooperation]]. Falkenhausen had been an advisor to [[Chiang Kai-Shek]]<ref name=spartacus>[http://spartacus-educational.com/GERfalkenhausen.htm Alexander von Falkenhausen], spartacus-educational.com, retrieved 1 April 2015</ref> and he worked closely with Qian's elder cousin, Lieutenant General Qian Zhuolun. She wrote a letter and travelled to see Falkenhausen, who decided to use his authority to spare the boy for reasons of humanity.<ref name=corg>{{cite web |url=http://www.china.org.cn/english/2002/Apr/30512.htm |title=A Story of World War II Heroism Comes Home to China |work=China.org.cn |date=April 2002 |accessdate=1 April 2015 }}</ref>

On 7 June 1944, Qian was contacted again when the Germans had taken 97 Belgians prisoner under sentence of death in revenge for three Gestapo officers who had been killed in the nearby town of [[Ecaussinnes]].<ref name=woc/> Despite being pregnant with her first child she again travelled to see Falkenhausen and asked him to intervene.<ref name=woc/> He hesitated but eventually agreed to release the people, although he knew that he was disobeying an order. The general was summoned to Berlin to explain his insubordination.<ref name=woc/> Falkenhausen was spared German trial and punishment by the war's end, but was arrested for war crimes. He was tried in Belgium in 1951.<ref name=spartacus/>

Qian appeared at the trial and pleaded for Falkenhausen's good character.<ref name=woc>[http://www.womenofchina.cn/womenofchina/html1/people/history/1409/552-1.htm Qian Xiuling: World War II Hero], Frank Zhao, 15 September 2014, Women of China, retrieved 1 April 2015</ref> He was sentenced for twelve years for executing hostages and deporting Jews, but was released after three weeks and retired to Germany where he died in 1966.<ref name=spartacus/>

==Legacy==
{{external media | width = 150px | align = right | headerimage= [[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 146-2008-0155, Alexander von Falkenhausen.jpg|140px]] | video1 = [http://english.cntv.cn/2014/06/06/VIDE1402032721643651.shtml “Qian Xiuling: China’s female Schindler in Belgium during WWII”], CCTV.com}}

Qian's story was made into a sixteen-episode Chinese TV drama, ''Chinese Woman Facing Gestapo's Gun'', starring [[Xu Qing]].<ref name=corg/> She was given a medal by the Belgians after the war but she never told her family in China of her story.

In 2003, Qian's granddaughter, Tatiana de Perlinghi, made a [[documentary film]] entitled ''Ma grand-mère, une héroïne?'' (My grandma, a heroine?).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rtbf.be/tv/guide-tv/detail_ma-grand-mere-une-heroine?idshedule=2da8285f8eb9e3ce7b936d1ff93ac352&uid=52723048668 |title=Ma grand-mère, une héroïne? |accessdate=2 April 2015 |publisher=RTBF |language=French}}</ref>

In 2005, she was thanked by [[Zhang Qiyue]] the Chinese Ambassador to Belgium who visited the rest home where she lived.<ref name=amb>[http://en.people.cn/200507/25/eng20050725_198121.html The "Chinese Schindlers"], 25 July 2005, retrieved 1 April 2015</ref> Qian's husband had died in 1966. There is a street named ''Rue Perlinghi'' in her honour in the city of Ecaussinnes.<ref name=rue>[http://usa.chinadaily.com.cn/opinion/2012-10/27/content_15850892.htm Map stamps claim over islands], China Daily, Liao Liqiang,. 27 October 2012, retrieved 1 April 2015</ref> A novel by Zhang Yawen was published in 2003 with the English title of ''Chinese Woman at Gestapo Gunpoint ''.<ref name=haiyan>{{cite book|last1=Haiyan|first1=Written by Zhang Yawen Translated by Chen|last2=Ziliang|first2=Li|title=A Chinese Woman at Gestapo Gunpoint|date=2003|publisher=Foreign Language Press|location=Beijing|isbn=7119031597|url=http://www.worldcat.org/title/chinese-woman-at-gestapo-gunpoint/oclc/491515630}}</ref>

==References==
{{commonscat}}
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://news.sohu.com/s2005/qianxiuling.shtml Sohu special report on Qian Xiuling] {{zh icon}}

{{Persondata
|NAME=Qian, Xiuling
|ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
|SHORT DESCRIPTION=Scientist who won medals in Belgium
|DATE OF BIRTH=1912
|PLACE OF BIRTH=[[Yixing]], [[Jiangsu]], China
|DATE OF DEATH=2008
|PLACE OF DEATH=
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Qian, Xiuling}}
[[Category:1912 births]]
[[Category:2008 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Yixing]]
[[Category:People from Herbeumont]]
[[Category:Chinese women scientists]]
[[Category:Belgian women scientists]]
[[Category:Catholic University of Leuven alumni (pre-1968)]]

Qian Xiuling

2015-04-23T12:01:45Z

Yeokaiwei: /* Life */

{{Infobox Person
| name = Qian Xiuling
| image = Qian Xiuling cropped square in 1933.JPG
| image_size =
| caption = Qian Xiuling
| birth_name =
| birth_date = 1912
| birth_place = [[Yixing]], [[Jiangsu]], China
| death_date = 2008
| death_place =
| death_cause =
| residence =
| other_names = Siou-Ling Tsien de Perlinghi
| known_for = Saving lives during World War II in Belgium
| education =
| religion =
| spouse = Grégoire de Perlinghi
| children =
| parents =
| relatives =
| footnotes =
| nationality = Chinese and Belgian
}}
{{Chinese name|[[Qian (surname)|Qian (Tsien)]]}}

'''Qian Xiuling''' ({{zh|t=錢秀玲}}; 1912–2008), or '''Siou-Ling Tsien de Perlinghi''', was a [[Chinese people|Chinese]]-Belgian scientist who won a medal for saving nearly 100 lives during [[World War II]] in [[Belgium]]. She had a street named after her and a sixteen episode TV drama was made of her life for Chinese television.

==Life==
[[File:Qian Xiuling.jpg|left|thumb|upright|Qian Xiuling in 1930]]
Qian was born in [[Yixing]] in [[Jiangsu Province]] in 1912 to a large and well connected family. Her older cousin, Lieutenant General Qian Zhuolun, had been the chief of the First General Office of Defense Ministry of the Kuomintang (KMT) Administration and director of Chief of the Staff Office.<ref>http://china.org.cn/english/NM-e/30626.htm</ref>

In 1929 she left for Europe to study chemistry in Belgium at the [[Catholic University of Leuven (1834–1968)|Catholic University of Leuven]].<ref name=woc/>

In 1933 she married Grégoire de Perlinghi, a Belgian doctor,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.7sur7.be/7s7/fr/1506/Sciences/article/detail/366913/2008/08/01/Deces-de-Siou-Ling-Tsien-qui-avait-sauve-Ecaussinnes-des-nazis.dhtml |title=Décès de Siou-Ling Tsien, qui avait sauvé Ecaussinnes des nazis |date=1 August 2008 |publisher=7sur7 |language=French}}</ref> after breaking her engagement to her Chinese fiancé,<ref name=qin>{{cite journal|last1=Qin|first1=Bo|title=The History And Context Of Chinese-Western Intercultural Marriage In Modern And Contemporary China (From 1840 To The 21st Century)|journal=Rozenburg Quarterly - Asia Studies|volume=3|issue=Chinese-Western Intimacy and Marriage – An Invisible International Hierarchy|url=http://eh-verlag.de/singleBook.php?id=1750|accessdate=1 April 2015}}</ref> and they went to live in [[Herbeumont]].

In 1939, she travelled to Paris in hopes of studying in [[Marie Curie]]'s laboratory but the whole facility had been moved to the United States because of the war.<ref name=woc/>

[[File:Qian Xiuling and her husband marrying in 1933 from a Chinese source.jpg|thumb|upright|Qian marrying Grégoire de Perlinghi in 1933]]
Her town of Herbeumont was occupied by the German army when a youth blew up a military train with a mine. The youth was sentenced to death, but Qian realised that she knew the German general who was in charge of Belgium. She had known General [[Alexander von Falkenhausen]] when he was working in China<ref name=corg/> as part of the [[Sino-German cooperation until 1941|Sino-German cooperation]]. Falkenhausen had been an advisor to [[Chiang Kai-Shek]]<ref name=spartacus>[http://spartacus-educational.com/GERfalkenhausen.htm Alexander von Falkenhausen], spartacus-educational.com, retrieved 1 April 2015</ref> and he worked closely with Qian's elder cousin, Lieutenant General Qian Zhuolun. She wrote a letter and travelled to see Falkenhausen, who decided to use his authority to spare the boy for reasons of humanity.<ref name=corg>{{cite web |url=http://www.china.org.cn/english/2002/Apr/30512.htm |title=A Story of World War II Heroism Comes Home to China |work=China.org.cn |date=April 2002 |accessdate=1 April 2015 }}</ref>

On 7 June 1944, Qian was contacted again when the Germans had taken 97 Belgians prisoner under sentence of death in revenge for three Gestapo officers who had been killed in the nearby town of [[Ecaussinnes]].<ref name=woc/> Despite being pregnant with her first child she again travelled to see Falkenhausen and asked him to intervene.<ref name=woc/> He hesitated but eventually agreed to release the people, although he knew that he was disobeying an order. The general was summoned to Berlin to explain his insubordination.<ref name=woc/> Falkenhausen was spared German trial and punishment by the war's end, but was arrested for war crimes. He was tried in Belgium in 1951.<ref name=spartacus/>

Qian appeared at the trial and pleaded for Falkenhausen's good character.<ref name=woc>[http://www.womenofchina.cn/womenofchina/html1/people/history/1409/552-1.htm Qian Xiuling: World War II Hero], Frank Zhao, 15 September 2014, Women of China, retrieved 1 April 2015</ref> He was sentenced for twelve years for executing hostages and deporting Jews, but was released after three weeks and retired to Germany where he died in 1966.<ref name=spartacus/>

==Legacy==
{{external media | width = 150px | align = right | headerimage= [[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 146-2008-0155, Alexander von Falkenhausen.jpg|140px]] | video1 = [http://english.cntv.cn/2014/06/06/VIDE1402032721643651.shtml “Qian Xiuling: China’s female Schindler in Belgium during WWII”], CCTV.com}}

Qian's story was made into a sixteen-episode Chinese TV drama, ''Chinese Woman Facing Gestapo's Gun'', starring [[Xu Qing]].<ref name=corg/> She was given a medal by the Belgians after the war but she never told her family in China of her story.

In 2003, Qian's granddaughter, Tatiana de Perlinghi, made a [[documentary film]] entitled ''Ma grand-mère, une héroïne?'' (My grandma, a heroine?).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rtbf.be/tv/guide-tv/detail_ma-grand-mere-une-heroine?idshedule=2da8285f8eb9e3ce7b936d1ff93ac352&uid=52723048668 |title=Ma grand-mère, une héroïne? |accessdate=2 April 2015 |publisher=RTBF |language=French}}</ref>

In 2005, she was thanked by [[Zhang Qiyue]] the Chinese Ambassador to Belgium who visited the rest home where she lived.<ref name=amb>[http://en.people.cn/200507/25/eng20050725_198121.html The "Chinese Schindlers"], 25 July 2005, retrieved 1 April 2015</ref> Qian's husband had died in 1966. There is a street named ''Rue Perlinghi'' in her honour in the city of Ecaussinnes.<ref name=rue>[http://usa.chinadaily.com.cn/opinion/2012-10/27/content_15850892.htm Map stamps claim over islands], China Daily, Liao Liqiang,. 27 October 2012, retrieved 1 April 2015</ref> A novel by Zhang Yawen was published in 2003 with the English title of ''Chinese Woman at Gestapo Gunpoint ''.<ref name=haiyan>{{cite book|last1=Haiyan|first1=Written by Zhang Yawen Translated by Chen|last2=Ziliang|first2=Li|title=A Chinese Woman at Gestapo Gunpoint|date=2003|publisher=Foreign Language Press|location=Beijing|isbn=7119031597|url=http://www.worldcat.org/title/chinese-woman-at-gestapo-gunpoint/oclc/491515630}}</ref>

==References==
{{commonscat}}
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://news.sohu.com/s2005/qianxiuling.shtml Sohu special report on Qian Xiuling] {{zh icon}}

{{Persondata
|NAME=Qian, Xiuling
|ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
|SHORT DESCRIPTION=Scientist who won medals in Belgium
|DATE OF BIRTH=1912
|PLACE OF BIRTH=[[Yixing]], [[Jiangsu]], China
|DATE OF DEATH=2008
|PLACE OF DEATH=
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Qian, Xiuling}}
[[Category:1912 births]]
[[Category:2008 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Yixing]]
[[Category:People from Herbeumont]]
[[Category:Chinese women scientists]]
[[Category:Belgian women scientists]]
[[Category:Catholic University of Leuven alumni (pre-1968)]]

Qian Xiuling

2015-04-23T12:00:10Z

Yeokaiwei: Ease of timeline reference

{{Infobox Person
| name = Qian Xiuling
| image = Qian Xiuling cropped square in 1933.JPG
| image_size =
| caption = Qian Xiuling
| birth_name =
| birth_date = 1912
| birth_place = [[Yixing]], [[Jiangsu]], China
| death_date = 2008
| death_place =
| death_cause =
| residence =
| other_names = Siou-Ling Tsien de Perlinghi
| known_for = Saving lives during World War II in Belgium
| education =
| religion =
| spouse = Grégoire de Perlinghi
| children =
| parents =
| relatives =
| footnotes =
| nationality = Chinese and Belgian
}}
{{Chinese name|[[Qian (surname)|Qian (Tsien)]]}}

'''Qian Xiuling''' ({{zh|t=錢秀玲}}; 1912–2008), or '''Siou-Ling Tsien de Perlinghi''', was a [[Chinese people|Chinese]]-Belgian scientist who won a medal for saving nearly 100 lives during [[World War II]] in [[Belgium]]. She had a street named after her and a sixteen episode TV drama was made of her life for Chinese television.

==Life==
[[File:Qian Xiuling.jpg|left|thumb|upright|Qian Xiuling in 1930]]
Qian was born in [[Yixing]] in [[Jiangsu Province]] in 1912 to a large and well connected family.

In 1929 she left for Europe to study chemistry in Belgium at the [[Catholic University of Leuven (1834–1968)|Catholic University of Leuven]].<ref name=woc/>

In 1933 she married Grégoire de Perlinghi, a Belgian doctor,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.7sur7.be/7s7/fr/1506/Sciences/article/detail/366913/2008/08/01/Deces-de-Siou-Ling-Tsien-qui-avait-sauve-Ecaussinnes-des-nazis.dhtml |title=Décès de Siou-Ling Tsien, qui avait sauvé Ecaussinnes des nazis |date=1 August 2008 |publisher=7sur7 |language=French}}</ref> after breaking her engagement to her Chinese fiancé,<ref name=qin>{{cite journal|last1=Qin|first1=Bo|title=The History And Context Of Chinese-Western Intercultural Marriage In Modern And Contemporary China (From 1840 To The 21st Century)|journal=Rozenburg Quarterly - Asia Studies|volume=3|issue=Chinese-Western Intimacy and Marriage – An Invisible International Hierarchy|url=http://eh-verlag.de/singleBook.php?id=1750|accessdate=1 April 2015}}</ref> and they went to live in [[Herbeumont]].

In 1939, she travelled to Paris in hopes of studying in [[Marie Curie]]'s laboratory but the whole facility had been moved to the United States because of the war.<ref name=woc/>

[[File:Qian Xiuling and her husband marrying in 1933 from a Chinese source.jpg|thumb|upright|Qian marrying Grégoire de Perlinghi in 1933]]
Her town of Herbeumont was occupied by the German army when a youth blew up a military train with a mine. The youth was sentenced to death, but Qian realised that she knew the German general who was in charge of Belgium. She had known General [[Alexander von Falkenhausen]] when he was working in China<ref name=corg/> as part of the [[Sino-German cooperation until 1941|Sino-German cooperation]]. Falkenhausen had been an advisor to [[Chiang Kai-Shek]]<ref name=spartacus>[http://spartacus-educational.com/GERfalkenhausen.htm Alexander von Falkenhausen], spartacus-educational.com, retrieved 1 April 2015</ref> and he worked closely with Qian's elder cousin, Lieutenant General Qian Zhuolun. She wrote a letter and travelled to see Falkenhausen, who decided to use his authority to spare the boy for reasons of humanity.<ref name=corg>{{cite web |url=http://www.china.org.cn/english/2002/Apr/30512.htm |title=A Story of World War II Heroism Comes Home to China |work=China.org.cn |date=April 2002 |accessdate=1 April 2015 }}</ref>

On 7 June 1944, Qian was contacted again when the Germans had taken 97 Belgians prisoner under sentence of death in revenge for three Gestapo officers who had been killed in the nearby town of [[Ecaussinnes]].<ref name=woc/> Despite being pregnant with her first child she again travelled to see Falkenhausen and asked him to intervene.<ref name=woc/> He hesitated but eventually agreed to release the people, although he knew that he was disobeying an order. The general was summoned to Berlin to explain his insubordination.<ref name=woc/> Falkenhausen was spared German trial and punishment by the war's end, but was arrested for war crimes. He was tried in Belgium in 1951.<ref name=spartacus/>

Qian appeared at the trial and pleaded for Falkenhausen's good character.<ref name=woc>[http://www.womenofchina.cn/womenofchina/html1/people/history/1409/552-1.htm Qian Xiuling: World War II Hero], Frank Zhao, 15 September 2014, Women of China, retrieved 1 April 2015</ref> He was sentenced for twelve years for executing hostages and deporting Jews, but was released after three weeks and retired to Germany where he died in 1966.<ref name=spartacus/>

==Legacy==
{{external media | width = 150px | align = right | headerimage= [[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 146-2008-0155, Alexander von Falkenhausen.jpg|140px]] | video1 = [http://english.cntv.cn/2014/06/06/VIDE1402032721643651.shtml “Qian Xiuling: China’s female Schindler in Belgium during WWII”], CCTV.com}}

Qian's story was made into a sixteen-episode Chinese TV drama, ''Chinese Woman Facing Gestapo's Gun'', starring [[Xu Qing]].<ref name=corg/> She was given a medal by the Belgians after the war but she never told her family in China of her story.

In 2003, Qian's granddaughter, Tatiana de Perlinghi, made a [[documentary film]] entitled ''Ma grand-mère, une héroïne?'' (My grandma, a heroine?).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rtbf.be/tv/guide-tv/detail_ma-grand-mere-une-heroine?idshedule=2da8285f8eb9e3ce7b936d1ff93ac352&uid=52723048668 |title=Ma grand-mère, une héroïne? |accessdate=2 April 2015 |publisher=RTBF |language=French}}</ref>

In 2005, she was thanked by [[Zhang Qiyue]] the Chinese Ambassador to Belgium who visited the rest home where she lived.<ref name=amb>[http://en.people.cn/200507/25/eng20050725_198121.html The "Chinese Schindlers"], 25 July 2005, retrieved 1 April 2015</ref> Qian's husband had died in 1966. There is a street named ''Rue Perlinghi'' in her honour in the city of Ecaussinnes.<ref name=rue>[http://usa.chinadaily.com.cn/opinion/2012-10/27/content_15850892.htm Map stamps claim over islands], China Daily, Liao Liqiang,. 27 October 2012, retrieved 1 April 2015</ref> A novel by Zhang Yawen was published in 2003 with the English title of ''Chinese Woman at Gestapo Gunpoint ''.<ref name=haiyan>{{cite book|last1=Haiyan|first1=Written by Zhang Yawen Translated by Chen|last2=Ziliang|first2=Li|title=A Chinese Woman at Gestapo Gunpoint|date=2003|publisher=Foreign Language Press|location=Beijing|isbn=7119031597|url=http://www.worldcat.org/title/chinese-woman-at-gestapo-gunpoint/oclc/491515630}}</ref>

==References==
{{commonscat}}
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://news.sohu.com/s2005/qianxiuling.shtml Sohu special report on Qian Xiuling] {{zh icon}}

{{Persondata
|NAME=Qian, Xiuling
|ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
|SHORT DESCRIPTION=Scientist who won medals in Belgium
|DATE OF BIRTH=1912
|PLACE OF BIRTH=[[Yixing]], [[Jiangsu]], China
|DATE OF DEATH=2008
|PLACE OF DEATH=
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Qian, Xiuling}}
[[Category:1912 births]]
[[Category:2008 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Yixing]]
[[Category:People from Herbeumont]]
[[Category:Chinese women scientists]]
[[Category:Belgian women scientists]]
[[Category:Catholic University of Leuven alumni (pre-1968)]]

The Root of All Evil?

2007-02-10T16:13:42Z

Yeokaiwei: /* Colorado Springs */

{{Infobox Film
| name = The Root of All Evil?
| image = Richard Dawkins (screenshot).jpg
| caption = Writer and presenter [[Richard Dawkins]]
| director =
| producer = [[Alan Clements]]
| writer = Richard Dawkins
| starring = Richard Dawkins,<br/>Yousef al-Khattab,<br/>[[Ted Haggard]],<br/>[[Richard Harries]]
| music =
| cinematography =
| editing =
| distributor = [[Channel 4]]
| released = [[January 2006]]
| runtime =
| country =
| awards =
| language =
| budget =
| preceded_by =
| followed_by =
| amg_id =
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}}
'''''The Root of All Evil?''''' is a [[television]] documentary, written and presented by [[Richard Dawkins]], in which he argues that the world would be better off without [[religion]]. The documentary was first broadcast in [[January 2006]], in the form of two 45 minute episodes (excluding advertisement breaks), on [[Channel 4]] in the [[United Kingdom|UK]]. Dawkins has said that the title "The Root of All Evil?" was not his preferred choice, but that Channel 4 had insisted on it to create controversy.<ref>The Jeremy Vine Show, BBC Radio 2. January 5, 2006.</ref> His sole concession from the producers on the title was the addition of the question mark. Dawkins has stated that the notion of anything being the root of ''all'' evil is ridiculous.<ref>[http://www.pointofinquiry.org/?p=36 ''Point of Inquiry'' Podcast]. February 10, 2006.</ref> Dawkins' book ''[[The God Delusion]]'', released in September 2006, goes on to examine the topics raised in the documentary in greater detail.

==Part 1: The God Delusion==
''The God Delusion'' explores the unproven beliefs that are treated as factual by many religions and the extremes to which some followers have taken them. Dawkins opens the programme by describing the "would-be murderers . . . who want to kill you and me, and themselves, because they're motivated by what they think is the highest ideal." Dawkins argues that "the process of non-thinking called faith" is not a way of understanding the world, but instead stands in fundamental opposition to modern [[science]] and the [[scientific method]], and is divisive and dangerous.

===Lourdes===
[[Image:Lourdes Grotte.jpg|thumb|[[Pilgrimage|Pilgrim]]s at [[Lourdes]]]]
Dawkins first visits the shrine of [[Lourdes]] in southern [[France]], where he joins a candlelit procession of pilgrims singing, "Laudate Maria!" He is particularly struck by the sense of group solidarity, which he contrasts with the lonely delusion of believing that one is [[Napoleon I of France|Napoleon]], for example. At daybreak, Dawkins surveys the faithful queuing up for healing water, and says that they are more likely to catch a disease than find a cure. He speaks to an [[Republic of Ireland|Irish]] lady who has found the experience beneficial.

Dawkins then quizzes Father Liam Griffin about the number of [[Our Lady of Lourdes|miraculous cures]] which have taken place over the years. Griffin reports 66 declared [[miracle]]s and about 2,000 unexplained cures (out of approximately 80,000 sick visitors per year over more than a century) but claims that millions more have been healed spiritually. Dawkins remains sceptical, and remarks afterwards that nobody has ever reported the miraculous re-growing of a severed leg. Instead he claims that the cures invariably comprise afflictions that might have improved anyway.

===Faith versus science===
Dawkins continues with a discussion of what he sees as a conflict between [[faith]] and [[science]]. He points out that science involves a process of constantly testing and revising [[Theory|theories]] in the light of new evidence, while faith, in his view, makes a virtue out of believing unprovable and often improbable propositions. For an example of faith, Dawkins takes the [[Papal infallibility|infallible]] doctrine of the [[Assumption of Mary|Assumption]], which [[Pope Pius XII]] declared in 1950 simply by relying upon [[tradition]]. He contrasts this with the [[scientific method]], which he describes as a system whereby [[Hypothesis|working assumptions]] may be [[Falsifiability|falsified]] by recourse to [[reason]] and [[evidence]]. Dawkins provides an example from his [[Undergraduate education|undergraduate]] study, when a visiting researcher disproved a hypothesis of a professor, who accepted the outcome with "My dear fellow, I wish to thank you, I have been wrong these fifteen years."

Dawkins then considers a scientific theory of great significance to him – [[Charles Darwin]]'s theory of [[evolution]] – which he discusses by reference to his [[Climbing Mount Improbable|Mount Improbable]] analogy. The notion that the full complexity of life emerged either through blind chance or by the hand of an [[intelligent designer]], he likens to leaping up the sheer face of a mountain in one bound. By contrast, he suggests that Darwin's theory of design by [[natural selection]] provides an explanation which is akin to climbing a mountain gradually, via a gentle gradient. Dawkins also comments that the design hypothesis raises another question: who made the designer?

===Colorado Springs===
[[Image:Ted Haggard (ROAE).jpg|thumb|[[Ted Haggard]] as seen in the programme.]]
Next, Dawkins visits [[Colorado Springs, Colorado|Colorado Springs]] to discuss the rise of [[fundamentalist Christianity]] in the [[United States]] where, according to polls, 45 percent of the population believe the universe to be less than 10,000 years old. He visits the [[New Life Church, Colorado|New Life Church]], an $18 million worship centre where Pastor [[Ted Haggard]] at the time presided over a 14,000 strong congregation. Haggard was at the time chairman of the [[National Association of Evangelicals]] and, according to Dawkins, Haggard claimed to have a weekly conference call with United States President [[George W. Bush]].<ref>According to Jeff Sharlet, Haggard actually talked to [[George W. Bush|Bush]] or his advisers every Monday: {{cite journal | author=Jeff Sharlet | title=Soldiers of Christ: I. Inside America's most powerful megachurch | journal=Harper's | volume=310 | issue=1860 | year=2005 | pages=41-54}} p. 42. On [[November 3]], [[2006]], Haggard resigned his positions: see [[Ted Haggard]] for details.</ref>

Dawkins interviews Haggard and begins by likening the worship experience to a [[Nuremberg Rally]] of which [[Joseph Goebbels|Goebbels]] might have been proud. Haggard says he knows nothing of the Nuremberg Rallies and goes on to say that some evangelicals think of his services as something akin to [[rock concert]]s. Haggard claims that the Bible is true and doesn't contradict itself (A hotly [[Internal consistency and the Bible|debated issue]]), as science supposedly does. Dawkins, however, contends that the advantage of science is that new evidence changes ideas, allowing the advancement of human knowledge, something that religion does not allow. Steadily the exchanges become increasingly fractious.

Haggard says that American [[Evangelicalism|evangelicals]] fully embrace the [[scientific method]], expecting it to show how God created the heavens and the earth. Dawkins asks if he accepts the scientific demonstration that the earth is [[Age of the Earth|4.5 billion years old]]. According to Haggard, this is merely one view accepted by a portion of the scientific community. He goes on to contend that Dawkins' own grandchildren may laugh at him upon hearing this claim. Dawkins responds "do you want to bet?" Haggard insists that some "evolutionists" believe that the eye "just formed itself somehow." Dawkins replies that not a single evolutionary biologist he knows would think that, and that Haggard clearly knows nothing about [[evolution of the eye|the subject]]. In response Haggard implies that some (unnamed) "evolutionists" he’s met have said that. The meeting takes a markedly contentious turn with Haggard asserting that "this issue" of "intellectual arrogance" is the reason why people like Dawkins, and others who dispute creationism, have a problem with people of faith. This scene ends with Haggard telling Dawkins that as he [Dawkins] ages he will find himself "wrong on some things, right on some other things", and so he shouldn't be arrogant.

[[Image:Dawins and Haggard.jpg|thumb|150px|left|Dawkins and Haggard]]
As Dawkins and his film crew pack up to leave, there is a brief altercation in the car park. It is reported that Haggard ordered Dawkins' crew off his land with threats of legal action and confiscation of their recording hardware, along with the statement "you called my children animals." Dawkins retrospectively interprets this as saying that the evolutionary standpoint indeed amounts to saying that Haggard's flock were animals, which all humans are.

Dawkins then attends a meeting of [[Freethought|freethinkers]], where a [[biology]] teacher reveals that he has been labelled "[[Satan]]'s incarnate" for teaching evolution, and another freethinker compares the present situation to the [[McCarthyism|McCarthy era]].

In November 2006, Ted Haggard resigned or was removed from all of his leadership positions after allegations of homosexual sex and drug abuse were made by Mike Jones, a former male prostitute. Initially Haggard denied even knowing Mike Jones, but as a media investigation proceeded he acknowledged that some, but not all, of the allegations (e.g., purchasing drugs), were true. He later added "sexual immorality" to his list of confessions.

===Jerusalem===
[[Image:Dome of the rock distance.jpg|thumb|220px|[[Jerusalem]] – the [[Dome of the Rock]]]]
Finally, Dawkins visits [[Jerusalem]], which he regards as a microcosm of everything that is wrong with [[religion]]. He is taken on a guided tour of the [[Church of the Holy Sepulchre]]. This church is considered by some [[Christians]] to be the site of the [[crucifixion]] and burial of [[Jesus]]. Dawkins comments on what he calls the "edgy watchfulness" in the [[Jerusalem's Old City walls|Old City]]. One area in particular lies under heavy guard: the [[Temple Mount]], enclosing both the [[Al-Aqsa Mosque]] and the [[Dome of the Rock]]. The same ground is also the site of the ancient Jewish [[Temple in Jerusalem|Holy Temple]], which has been a source of tension between the religious communities.

Dawkins listens to people from both sides of the [[Israeli-Palestinian conflict|divide]] – first, Jewish representative Yisrael Medad and then, the [[Grand Mufti]] of [[Palestine]], Sheikh [[Ekrima Sa'id Sabri]].<ref> In the caption, Sabri is mistakenly referred to as [[Mohammad Amin al-Husayni|Amin al-Husseini]], who was also Grand Mufti but died in 1974.</ref> The two sides appear irreconcilable. Hoping to meet someone who might be able to see both viewpoints, Dawkins interviews Yousef al-Khattab, formerly Joseph Cohen, an American-born [[Jew]] who came to [[Israel]] as a settler before converting to [[Islam]]. After offering Dawkins a cheerful welcome, al-Khattab explains his views relating to the decadence of [[Western world|Western]] values.

Al-Khattab has two major concerns. Firstly, he wants all the [[Kafir|non-Muslim]]s off the [[Divisions of the world in Islam#Dar al-Islam|lands of Muhammad]]. Secondly, he is concerned about the manner women are dressed – or rather, how Western men allow "their women" to dress. He doesn't want to see women dressed "like [[Prostitution|whores]]," as he puts it, or "bouncing around on television [[Toplessness|topless]]." When asked for his thoughts on the [[September 11, 2001 attacks|September 11 attacks]], he traces the blame back to the creation of the state of [[Israel]]. "Fix your society, fix your women!" is his parting advice.

===Russell's teapot===
Dawkins rounds off this episode with a presentation of [[Bertrand Russell]]'s [[Russell's teapot|celestial teapot]] analogy. Just because [[science]] has not yet answered every conceivable question about the [[universe]], there is no need, he argues, to turn to [[faith]] which, in his view, has never answered anything of significance.

==Part 2: The Virus of Faith==
In ''The Virus of Faith'', Dawkins opines that the [[morality|moral framework]] of [[religion]]s is warped, and argues against the religious indoctrination of children. The title of this episode comes from ''[[The Selfish Gene]]'', in which Dawkins discussed the concept of [[meme]]s.

===Sectarian education===
Dawkins discusses what he considers as the divisive influence of [[Parochial school|sectarian education]], with children segregated and labelled by their religion. He describes the [[Hasidic Judaism|Hasidic Jewish]] community of [[North London]] as cloistered away from external influences such as television, with children attending exclusive religious schools. He questions Rabbi Herschel Gluck to find if their culture allows children to access scientific ideas.

Gluck believes that it is important for a minority group to have a space in which to learn and express their culture and beliefs. Dawkins states that he would prefer traditions taught without imposing demonstrable falsehoods. Gluck emphasises that although they believe that [[Creationism|God created the world]] in six days, the children have studied [[evolution]], although he goes on to say that the majority of students will not believe in it when they leave the school. Gluck contrasts the tradition of Judaism with scientists who "have their tradition". Dawkins facial expression at this point seems to suggest he is taken aback at the assertion that science is based solely on “tradition”. Gluck then goes on to contend that it's called the "theory of evolution" rather than the "law of evolution".<ref>A [[theory]] in common usage can mean a conjecture, while in science it means a testable explanation. To a philosopher a [[Norm (philosophy)|law]] can prescribe how the world should be, but a [[Physical law|scientific law]] is a generalization based on empirical observations.</ref> When Dawkins points out that the term is used in a technical sense and describes evolution as a fact, Gluck suggests he's a “fundamentalist believer”.

Dawkins expresses concern about increasing religious influence in British schools with over 7,000 faith schools already and the government encouraging more, so over half of the new [[Academy (England)|City Academies]] are expected to be sponsored by religious organisations. He says that the most worrying development is a new wave of private Evangelical schools that have adopted the American Baptist [[Accelerated Christian Education]] curriculum, and as an example calls on Phoenix Academy in [[London]].<ref>[http://www.phoenixacademy.co.uk/home.html Phoenix Academy] independent Christian schools: [http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/reports/index.cfm?fuseaction=summary&id=134580 Ofsted description]</ref> Dawkins is shown around the school by head teacher Adrian Hawkes and remarks on how the teaching material appears to mention [[God]] or [[Jesus]] on almost every page; such as a reference to [[Noah's Ark]] in a [[science]] textbook. Hawkes responds by saying that the stories could have a lot to do with science if you believe in them, and that the science he was taught at school is laughable today. As an example, he mentions that he was taught that the moon came from the Earth's ocean and was “somehow flung out into space” during the early years of the Earth’s life. Dawkins says that it should have been presented as a strong current theory.<ref>A similar hypothesis, Generally referred today as the [[giant impact hypothesis]], is still accepted today: see [http://solarsystem.jpl.nasa.gov/planets/profile.cfm?Object=Moon&Display=Overview NASA fact sheet] on the origin of the moon.</ref> Another lesson talks about [[AIDS]] as being the "wages of sin," so Dawkins inquires whether this might not be mixing [[health education]] with moralistic preaching. Hawkes responds that without a law-giver, “Why is rape wrong? Why is paedophilia wrong?” and that if people believe they can get away with committing bad deeds then they will tend to do them. Dawkins responds to this claim by asking Hawkes if the only reason he doesn't do these things is that he's frightened of God and subsequently suggests that this attitude is characteristic of the warped morality that religion tends to instill in people.

===Religion as a virus===
Next, Dawkins discusses specifically the idea of [[religion]] seen as a [[virus]] in the sense of a [[meme]]. He begins by explaining how he considers the mind of a child to be genetically pre-programmed to believe without questioning the word of authority figures, especially parents – the evolutionary imperative being that no child would survive by adopting a sceptical attitude towards everything their elders said. But this same imperative, he claims, leaves children open to "infection" by religion.

Dawkins meets the psychologist Jill Mytton who suffered an abusive religious upbringing – she now helps to rehabilitate similarly affected children. Mytton explains how, for a child, images of [[Hell|hell fire]] are in no sense metaphorical, but instead inspire real terror. She portrays her own childhood as one "dominated by fear." When pressed by Dawkins to describe the realities of Hell, Mytton hesitates, explaining that the images of eternal damnation which she absorbed as a child still have the power to affect her now.

Then Dawkins visits Pastor Keenan Roberts, who has been running the [[Hell house|Hell House]] Outreach programme for 15 years, producing theatre shows aimed at giving children of twelve or older an indelible impression that "sin destroys". We see rehearsal scenes depicting doctors forcing an [[abortion]] on a woman despite her changing her mind, and a [[lesbian]] [[Same-sex marriage|gay marriage]] ceremony presided over by [[Satan]] in which the women swear to “never believe that you are normal” and Satan cites [[First Epistle to the Corinthians|First Corinthians]] 6 as God saying homosexuality equals sin. Roberts absolutely and unapologetically believes the scriptures about sin, and when Dawkins questions this basis for morality, replies that it is a faith issue.

===Biblical morality===
[[Image:Sorrow5crop.jpg|thumb|151px|[[Jesus]] on the cross]]
Next, Dawkins questions whether the [[Bible]] really does provide a suitable [[Morality|moral framework]], and contends that the texts are of dubious origin and veracity, are internally contradictory and, examined closely, describe a system of morals that any civilised person should find poisonous. He describes the [[Old Testament]] as the root of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, and as example readings are given of [[Deuteronomy]] 13 which instructs believers to kill any friend or family member who favours serving other gods, and [[Book of Numbers|Numbers]] 31 where [[Moses]], angered at the mercy his victorious forces show in taking women and children captive, instructs them to kill all save virgin girls: an act Dawkins describes as genocide. Dawkins also questions another story from [[Book of Judges|Judges]] 19 in which a lesser character, an old man, offers his maiden daughter out to an angry mob of "wicked men" to be [[raped]] and humiliated to save his male guest from being raped by the "wicked men". In Dawkins' opinion, God must be the most unpleasant character in all fiction.

Dawkins then discusses the [[New Testament]] which, at first, he describes as being a huge improvement from the moral viewpoint. But he is repelled by what he calls [[Paul of Tarsus|St Paul]]'s nasty [[sadomasochism|sadomasochistic]] doctrine that [[Jesus]] had to be hideously tortured and killed so that we might be redeemed – the doctrine of [[atonement]] for [[original sin]] – and asks “if God wanted to forgive our sins, why not just forgive them? Who is God trying to impress?" He says that modern science shows that the alleged perpetrators [[Adam and Eve]] never even existed, undermining St Paul's doctrine.

Dawkins then interviews [[Michael Bray]] who interprets the Bible literally – he would like to see [[capital punishment]] enforced for the sin of [[adultery]], for instance. Bray was a friend of [[Paul Jennings Hill|Paul Hill]], who was executed in 2003 for murdering a doctor who performed [[abortion]] and the doctor's armed escort, James Barrett. Bray defends Hill's actions and speculates that he is now "doing well" in [[Heaven]]. Later, Dawkins converses with his friend [[Richard Harries, Baron Harries of Pentregarth|Richard Harries]], the former [[Bishop of Oxford]] and a liberal [[Anglicanism|Anglican]]. Harries sees the scriptures as texts which should be read in the context of the time they were written, and interpreted in the light of modern insights. Dawkins asks Harries about his attitude towards [[miracle]]s – does he believe in the [[Virgin Birth]], for instance? It's not "on a par with" the [[Resurrection of Jesus|resurrection]], says Harries.

===Secular morality===
Finally, Dawkins searches for an explanation of [[morality]] based upon [[evolutionary biology]], which he considers more hopeful than ancient texts. Together with the [[Evolutionary psychology|evolutionary psychologist]] [[Oliver Curry]], he discusses the primordial morality to be found among [[chimpanzee]]s. Curry explains his view that we don't need religion to explain morality and if anything it simply gets in the way. Instead, he claims, a more convincing explanation is to be found in the concepts of [[reciprocal altruism]] and [[kin selection]].

After briefly addressing the rise of [[Secularism|secular]] values, Dawkins goes on to discuss morality with the novelist [[Ian McEwan]]. McEwan takes as his starting point the mortality of human life, which he says should naturally lead to a morality based on [[empathy]] – one which he claims should confer upon us a clear sense of responsibility for our brief span on earth.

Dawkins finishes by arguing that atheism is not a recipe for despair but just the opposite; rather than viewing life as a trial that must be endured before reaching a mythical hereafter, an atheist sees this life as all we have, and by disclaiming a next life can take more excitement in this one. Atheism, Dawkins concludes, is life-affirming in a way that religion can never be.

==Quotations==

{{cquote|The time has come for people of reason to say: enough is enough. Religious faith discourages independent thought, it's divisive, and it's dangerous.}}

{{cquote|For many people, part of growing up is killing off the virus of faith with a good strong dose of rational thinking. But if an individual doesn't succeed in shaking it off, his mind is stuck in a permanent state of infancy, and there is a real danger that he will infect the next generation.}}

{{cquote|The god of the Old Testament has got to be the most unpleasant character in all fiction: jealous and proud of it, petty, vindictive, unjust, unforgiving, racist, an ethnic-cleanser urging his people on to acts of genocide.}}

{{cquote|Fundamentalist Christianity is on the rise among the electorate of the world's only superpower, right up to and including the President. If you believe the surveys, 45 percent of Americans, that's about 135 million people, believe the universe is less than ten thousand years old.}}

{{cquote|We are all atheists about most of the gods that societies have ever believed in. Some of us just go one god further.}}

{{cquote|We are going to die, and that makes us the lucky ones. Most people are never going to die, because they are never going to be born. The number of people who could be here in my place outnumber the sand grains of [[Sahara desert|Sahara]]. If you think about all the different ways our genes could be permuted, you and I are quite grotesquely lucky to be here... We are privileged to be alive, and we should make the most of our time on this world.}}

==Critical Reception==
Writing in the ''[[New Statesman]]'', Dawkins stated that Channel 4's correspondence in response to the documentary had been running at two to one in favour.<ref name=diary>Richard Dawkins, 2006. "[http://www.newstatesman.com/200601300002 Diary]." ''New Statesman''.</ref> Journalists including [[Howard Jacobson]] had accused Dawkins of giving voice to extremists,<ref>Howard Jacobson, 2006. "[http://comment.independent.co.uk/columnists_a_l/howard_jacobson/article340034.ece Nothing like an unimaginative scientist to get non-believers running back to God]." ''The Independent''.</ref> a claim Dawkins responded to by noting that the [[National Association of Evangelicals]] has some 30 million members, and also that he had invited the main UK religious leaders to participate, but they all declined.<ref name=diary/>

[[Madeleine Bunting]] produced a scathing review for ''[[The Guardian]]'', in which she described the documentary as "a piece of intellectually lazy polemic not worthy of a great scientist."<ref>Madeleine Bunting, 2006. "[http://www.guardian.co.uk/Columnists/Column/0,5673,1681235,00.html No wonder atheists are angry: they seem ready to believe anything]." ''The Guardian''.</ref> In ''[[The Tablet]]'', [[Keith Ward]] criticised Dawkins for what he considered to be an indiscriminate and simplistic approach to religion.<ref>Keith Ward, 2006. "[http://www.thetablet.co.uk/articles/501 Faith, hype and a lack of clarity]." ''The Tablet''.</ref> But an appreciation came from [[Johann Hari]] for ''[[The Independent]]''. "We have never needed Richard Dawkins more than now" he said.<ref>Johann Hari, 2006. "[http://comment.independent.co.uk/columnists_a_l/johann_hari/article337590.ece Why Richard Dawkins is heroic]." ''The Independent''.</ref>

In a video log posted on [[Youtube]], Youssef Al Khattab alleges that the producers altered and misconscrued the interview with him which resulted in irrational answers to Dawkins seemingly rational questions.[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KTsJeVLSZs]

Prof [[Keith Ward]]'s book ''[[Is Religion Dangerous?]]'', responding to the Dawkins programme, analyses the claim that religion does more harm than good and suggests that "such assertions ... ignore the available evidence... and substitute rhetoric for analysis"<ref>[[Keith Ward]]''[[Is Religion Dangerous?]]''p8</ref>

==See also==
*[[Criticism of religion]]

==References==

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==External links==
*[http://www.channel4.com/culture/microsites/C/can_you_believe_it/debates/rootofevil.html ''The Root of All Evil?''] at [[channel4.com]]
*[http://huderon.blogspot.com/2006/12/root-of-all-evil-by-richard-dawkins.html Part 1 and part 2 in streaming]
*[http://www.antonioedward.net/component/option,com_remository/Itemid,28/func,fileinfo/filecatid,50/parent,category Part 1] and [http://www.antonioedward.net/component/option,com_remository/Itemid,28/func,fileinfo/filecatid,49/parent,category Part 2] mp4 video downloads
*{{imdb title|0774118}}

{{Dawkins}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Root of All Evil?, The}}
[[Category:Channel 4 television programmes]]
[[Category:Documentary television series]]
[[Category:Criticism of religion]]
[[Category:Atheistic films]]
[[pt:The Root of All Evil?]]