Don't expect Sharon Stone's apology to be sincere. What? you expect her to get dirty and be among the rubble and dirt, don't be naive. When it is time really time to call for her help, she will say her schedule are full. If she is sincere, she would pledge donation from her personal bank account otherwise, it is just cheap talk.

The problem is the message of whom those people are protesting against.   Richard Gere, Steven Speilberg, and Mia Farrow are going against the wrongs against the Chinese Government.  Even the Chinese understand that their government is not perfect so some people do understand them.  However, Sharon Stone's message seems to be gloating over the deaths of tens of thousands of people.

Just some personal considerations re. Sharon Stone's Fatal Retraction.  Apart from the pun, I must say I like the choice of words 'Fatal Retraction' as they are right in line with my train of thought.  Namely, that all these govts who are kowtowing to the almighty USD, CAD, JPY, EUR, ETC via trade with China are carrying on a very dangerous practice every time they waffle when threatened every-which-way by the dictatorship of hysterical masses who feel offended by this or that slight in relation to themselves and declare retaliatory measures such as boycotting tourism to such and such country, or "wait till we overtake you" and do such and such to you, put you in your place, blah blah.  What we are seeing here is the birth of rampant nationalism at its worst kind of start.  But it is not something that we should try to defuse by shutting up.  Of course, Sharon Stone made an abysmal mistake.  An apology?  A dignified and gracious, sincere apology...perfectly fine.  But she needn't crawl to their altar of submission.  Rather, she should know the other side of the coin is that the world is going to be mulling over the whole matter of karma -- which is not necessarily a bad prospect.

Of course, underlying the recent outburst of the Chinese populace is the condition of ignorance they have been placed in by the long-term propagandizing of their govt which has always seen China as a victim.  This would key up any collective psyche to dangerously tense levels.  And this psyche will have to deny any alternate view as a threat to its vast ego.  Imagine having to abandon, in the face of differing truths, all that it had been taught by its masters in Beijing.  A frightening thought, no doubt. This is why Fate works to lay very low all that try to stand tall on the basis of hubris.  Only in this way can the lesson be learn, if other chances are forsaken -- as karma brings truth.  And this will apply throughout the whole of human existence (including the good old U S of A).  Karma is an impersonal force...very unsentimental, to say the least.

As for Tian Qingyou below who calls Melinda Liu yellow-skinned.  Sounds pretty categorical.  She doesn't look yellow-skinned to me.  I see only lovely flesh tones.  Maybe Tian Qingyou is a little too thin-skinned.  I know he has his facts wrong.  China is only 1/6 the world's population.  Not only that, but India is slated to overtake China in numbers in the not-to-distant future.  They're very close as it is already, but you don't hear India going on about its situation.  Maybe because they are a real democracy (and not a misnomer like the PRC) they have true confidence without a complex (mind you they still have their caste system issues).  Tian Qingyou has other facts wrong (in another post elsewhere), but I don't have enough time to do justice to a proper correction.

One last thought:  Most people are not anti-Chinese.  We hope the Chinese will make that distinction as well.  On the other hand, a lot of non-Chinese think the Beijing regime is the real pits.  Therefore, it behooves the govts of other nations to not put all their economic eggs in one basket until that regime climbs out of its dark hole.