Mao Claus and the Commie Carol

I know the plan was to keep this blog focused on food and style, but sometimes I just can't help it. Is it just me or is China getting into the Christmas spirit in a unique way? I don't know about any other subway stations, but I've walked through the Guomao station (the Line 2 portion) a few times lately and heard muzak that sounded a lot like Christmas carols (lots of strings and horns, what sounds like 4 year olds singing, etc) except when I get closer and take a good listen, it turns out they are renditions of such classics as “Song for a Hero" （英雄赞歌) or "I Love You, Motherland" (我爱你，祖国).

There's nothing wrong with this except that its sudden appearance during the "holiday" season is really messing with my mind...

No I Don't Want to Have Relations With My Mother (ie Let's Make the Grass Mud Horse Extinct)

Recently, over a glass of wine some of the editors of this blog had a discussion with close friends on Chinese politics. These friends are white collar workers who are enjoying the fruits of the Chinese economic miracle and are equally now concerned about how harshly the economic crisis will attack China. Neither were familiar with the "caonima" craze and both were dismissive of Charter 08. Despite some debate, at the end of the day we all came to the conclusion that too many of these phenomena are focused on the ivory towers of Beijing's campuses and rarely disseminate down to the masses.

In China, revolution comes from the countryside and the feeling is that nothing has changed, despite China's advancements and globalization. If those in the countryside are happy, or at least not taking up their pitchforks, the country (and the Party) will remain safe. No matter how hard the economic crisis hits China, no matter how many middle management types in cities like Beijing and Shanghai get fired, the general feeling was that these people will not protest or cause problems for the government. For many, who are making tens of thousands of RMB a month, the feeling is that they know they're fooling their employers and would be perfectly happy with far less.

Intellectuals will always stir things up and create documents like Charter 08 and net-savvy, snarky young people will come up with things like "caonima", but neither will be very effective or be known widely. If you stop people randomly on the street in Beijing, less than 25% would understand "caonima" as anything other than a vulgar swear word, even if you stop people in the CBD, where many are considered more "world-weary" the number wouldn't be much different.

The "caonima" video/story is vulgar, juvenile, and can only elicit one or two small tee-hees. And unlike a lot of instant internet hits, this one got on the government's radar and was shut down fairly fast. The opinion of these friends, who feel the Chinese government has weathered the storm of the crisis well, was the same as what you'd hear in China a lot over the past 18 years after what happened in 1989, "why bother with politics, things are good now."

7 Deaths...

The sudden announcement of the death of Yang Jia, the Beijinger who entered a Shanghai police station armed with a knife, killed 6 officers, and injured 4 others, brought about a storm of online thoughts. The story of Yang is far more complicated than just the facts, it includes having been arrested a few times and roughed up by the police despite his claims of innocence. It shocked many around China, though surprisingly many supported him or, at the very least, could sympathize with him.

I am not surprised by the reaction of working class Chinese, migrant laborers, and others who deal with being looked down on and mistreated by the police and others in power on a regular basis. However, when I saw this passionate entry by the popular middle class, white collar blogger, Wang Jianshuo, who almost never writes anything remotely "political", it did make me do a double take.

It doesn't matter what class you are or what your background is, it seems, abuses of power are just too common in China and people recognize the frustration that must have took over Yang, even if they don't agree with the end result. It is never okay to kill 6 people, but all the facts behind Yang's case (check out Black and White Cat below for more details), make it shocking that the government acted so swiftly, carrying out the execution less than 6 months from when Yang committed the horrific act.

I've been thinking about this for the past few days and I'm still at a loss as to what to say, so read the coverage from other fine sources:
NY Times
WSJ China Journal
Black and White Cat

When Old Red Friends Meet

It's always interesting when China meets with the two Communist strongholds that represent the old order of things, Cuba and North Korea. These sort of meetings attract attention not only among China hands, but watchers of global politics in general as comparisons between the progress of "Communist" China and Communist North Korea/Cuba can't be helped.

Currently, Hu Jintao is on a state visit to Cuba to meet with the island's new head, Raul Castro. Classic lines like "China adopted market economics long ago while Cuba still has a Soviet-style command system where more than 90 percent of the economy is in state hands" can't be avoided by reporters. While China will openly acknowledge the "strategic" relationship between the two countries, in reality, it always feels like China is playing the role of the big brother who simply can't bring himself to cut his younger, hard up, loser brother off due to the strength of familial ties.

While I am optimistic enough to believe that more and more university student exchanges between the US and China will promote understanding, I'm not one to believe that China will serve as a model for reforms in these other countries. China would be able to help, of course, especially in the Cuban situation as there are similar advantages (ie a large population of often highly educated, or at the very least rich, emigres living in the US who would love to help Cuba out or even return just as soon as the government changes), yet it would mean another competitor and potentially the loss of a market as China would likely have to go head-to-head against the US.

Those in China are sure to "enjoy" a night or two with lots of news images of Hu shaking hands with Cuban leaders, embassy meetings, etc, but whether anything really comes from this is yet to be seen. At the same time, its hard not to pay attention when these nations meet.

Change Gonna Come

We've followed Xujun Eberlein's blog for awhile and she often has some very interesting posts, though a recent one particularly struck me. The post in question is titled "Spider Web in Tiananmen" and takes a look at what is seemingly a new openness among the Party censors to take a look at the Tiananmen uprising that took place during Qing Ming in 1976, shortly after Zhou Enlai's death. For many, the events have all but been forgotten, overshadowed by the larger events that happened in the Square 20 over 10 years later, but it was a significant moment in Chinese history.

As Eberlein points out, its extremely strange for those events to suddenly be addressed now (for those that don't know Qing Ming is in April). There is no major anniversary, or party leader dying, or anything else that would make it seem appropriate for a redress of those events in October 2008. In the past, it was always about reading between the lines in China that told you more than what the actual sentences in the paper said. However, is that really the case today? Next year is the 20th anniversary of those fateful events of 1989, is this signalling the first step on the (most likely slow) path to changing official policy regarding that year?

It would seem to me that if 1989 was going to be looked at again, doing it this year, in the leadup to the Olympics, may have been the best time to take away a story and let China shine in the media (though some may argue it would have brought the story back to the fore). Having spent a lot of time lately in the "suburbs" of Beijing (far different from what those in the US would think of as a suburb, more like the countryside), it still shocks me (although it shouldn't) that there are many people who don't have a clue as to what happened in 1989.

To borrow the immortal words of Sam, "it's been a long, long time coming, but I know, a change is going to come."

Who Are the Games For Anyways?

Perhaps this is a rant out of frustration more than anything, but more than broken promises over the internet, more than the pollution, the story that should get reported is about what these festivities mean to the average person, the laobaixing, and who has a chance to enjoy them.

Last night, the final rehearsal of the Opening Ceremonies took place at the Bird's Nest. There were numerous news stories about this ahead of time and it seemed like BOCOG was hoping for people to come out and try to experience it, even if it was just watching the fireworks from outside the stadium. Unfortunately, unlike previous rehearsals, those who wished to catch a look at the preparations were forced to sneak a peak from far away from the venue as security was out in force. I can understand the security risk on August 8th, but why weren't the common people allowed to get within a mile of the stadium last night?

Then there was the beginning of the Beijing leg of the torch relay in Tiananmen Square this morning, unfortunately if you were not bused in by the government or an official sponsor, you couldn't get anywhere near Changan Road. Does the government think they are fooling people with the evenly spaced wavers of the Chinese flag and the Beijing Olympics flag? This Potemkin relay, closed to the general public, kills the spirit and the whole point of the torch relay, to let the masses get a taste of the Olympic spirit and enjoy the festivities. It was a bleak picture of the "Olympic spirit" as a large group of common people gathered around a small tv in a shop and watched the torch pass by just off Changan Rd, even though the torch was only 200 feet away from where they were standing, a huge contingent of police and soldiers prevented them from getting anywhere near Changan Rd. It's a disgrace...

The Secret is (Half) Out the Bag

In yet another glaring example of the inept security in Beijing, a Korean reporter was able to get a camera into the Bird's Nest to record last night's rehearsal and the video spread like wildfire on the net, until it met its demise. All Chinese video sites took it down and it was even taken off of Youtube, no doubt after the government called them up and threatened another block of the site.

I'm one of the biggest cheerleaders for China there is, but one has to wonder about a country where those taking part or with access to information about the Opening Ceremony were sworn to secrecy and could face up to 7 years in jail if they reveal any of the secrets. Typically, state secrets involve issues of the utmost national security, while the Olympics are an important event, at the end of the day, they are still a frivolous sporting event and nobody is going to remember the Opening Ceremony that closely in 10 months, let alone 10 years.

Why can't they be more concerned about the air, which once again is bad today?

Remembering ALL the Victims

Almost 20 years ago, an event happened in central/western Beijing that changed China and its people forever. Many people died in this event, but the exact number is not known, though the number could never compare to the number of deaths in the earthquake. I'm not saying if those people were right or wrong, I'm not going to guess as to what would have happened if those people would have won out, I believe in the government, but I also believe those people shouldn't have died.

This event had a greater impact than any other event that has taken place over the last 20 years, and probably beyond. Whether the Olympics or earthquake will displace it at the top is yet to be seen, but unlike those two events, this event isn't one that anybody talks about, at least not openly. It feels strange when talking to a coworker, a boss, and telling him where I'm living and his response being, "oh, I know that area, I had a friend who died there." What can you say, though, this city is still haunted with those ghosts.

I read yesterday that there are plans to build an Earthquake Museum in Sichuan and found that unusual. I sympathize with the need to remember what happened, but typically this would be done with some kind of memorial, not a museum. I can understand the desire to honor these people, especially in light of the current national sentiment, but at the same time, couldn't the money be spent helping the ones still living instead of honoring the dead? A memorial wall or statute costs much less than a big museum, and it is difficult to imagine what this museum really could have on display. It's about finding ways to remember the dead.

There is no way to publicly remember those who died on this day and the days that followed 19 years ago, there are no monuments, no museums, no public memorials, and those who try to honor them will find themselves in trouble. Whether their actions were proper, whether what they were fighting for was right, these things don't matter, what matters is what happened to them and what happened afterwords. If China didn't have that day, today would look different, the sentiment after the earthquake would have been different, the spirit of this city, on this day, would be different.

Remember the victims of the earthquake, but remember the victims of this day, and of Tangshan, and of the Cultural Revolution and everything else, for one victim is not less important than the other victim. Let us just hope monuments and museums will one day be built for these other victims.

Where Does One Begin?

At this point, the earthquake is likely to be the story of 2008 in China, even overshadowing the that magical day in August when the Summer Olympics kick off. It's already two weeks since that afternoon, but it still weighs heavily on everyone's mind. The absolute tragedy of it all, the sudden shock, the loss of 60,00+ and rising by the day, it's very difficult to put into perspective.

We've avoided writing about the subject for the most part so far, but have since decided its time to do our best and tackle it. There are a number of different perspectives to look at this from and we'll try to analyze it from all, or at least many, of them.

For the Chinese government, the earthquake was an absolute tragedy, but the size and nature of the tragedy and the government's response to it (especially as compared to Burma's response to the cyclone) caused the international community to do a complete 180 in their view of China. Even the Dala! Lama may (or may not) have changed his position on attending the Opening Ceremonies of the Olympics. The world community has stood alongside China, donating money and goods in huge number while the government has been very organized in putting together relief effort and aid. However, lest this outpouring of goodwill be forgotten and threaten to give Beijing's Olympics a black eye (like during those rough days in March), BOCOG has rerouted the torch so that its final stop before ending up in Beijing will be Sichuan. Sure it made sense to change the scheduling (the torch was originally supposed to go through Sichuan in early June), but a bit of the cynic is coming out and seeing this as a very (well) calculated move by BOCOG and the Chinese government. At the same time, this tragedy is sure to have major consequences for the Chinese economy during the 3rd and 4th quarter of this year and beyond, especially compounded with the Olympics hit China is sure to take.

The people are another story. There was an unbelievable outpouring of communal grief and patriotism, the likes of which I have never seen. While some may have originally written it off as disingenuous or government inspired, almost all of it was extremely heart felt, personal, and grueling. Donation campaigns started around the city almost immediately and charity events continue to this day. Sudden vigils/remembrances were popping up around Beijing each night, as well as a number of other cities. The political implications of the 3 days of mourning and the lowering the flags to half staff are also very important. The decision was unprecedented in Chinese history, this was the first time these actions were taken to honor ordinary citizens, it was the Chinese government recognizing that it has citizens. I think it was for this reason that after a procession that started in Tiananmen and went around the city on the first night of mourning, the police presence around the city was heightened to levels I haven't seen in a long time, especially in/around Tiananmen on day two (don't forget, we're not that far away from a certain day in June). Yet those events aren't on the minds of most people, perhaps down the road, this will be remembered as an unbelievable first step, but for the time being, everyone was concentrated on mourning and rebuilding.

Some of our contributors and friends witnessed the US response and the outpouring that took place after 9/11 and said that could hardly compare in terms of grief and true feelings to the response that ordinary Chinese felt after the earthquake. Of course the numbers and causes were very different, but the fear, the bravery, and the defiance were there in both cases, but so much stronger in China. The Chinese sense of patriotism and brotherhood is stirring, if not a little scary if you're a foreigner.

In the coming days, we'll take a look at how the media reacted to this and compare/contrast this response with US/foreign media. Even composing this was hard, right now, our hearts go out to all the people in Sichuan, Gansu, and other affected areas. We hope that this event stays in people's minds and the oversight that is required as the rebuilding begins will take place and people won't let this slip away.

UPDATE: Being extremely lazy lately and ignoring Chinalyst over the Memorial Day holiday, I've just found out some others have been saying similar things as we said here.

All a Matter of Perspective

A point was hit home to me in a conversation with a friend the other day. Whether you love or hate the Chinese Communist Party (or fall somewhere in between), over the past 30 years, it has accomplished something absolutely amazing. The number of people who lived in poverty, many in absolutely disparate conditions, and no longer do thanks to the government's "reform and opening up" is larger than any society in human history has been able to accomplish. That figure has went from 250 million in 1978 to around 20 million today. Let me repeat that, in 1978 the figure was 250 million, today it is around 20 million (possibly even less). From 1997 to 2003, China went from 50 million people living below the poverty line to 25 million below the poverty line. These statistics are amazing and even when broken down to a percentage of the population, they are still unmatched.

Within that huge figure, there are a large number of Tibetans and other minorities included, something that is lost on many of the people currently protesting. China, because of its Communist government, is under a microscope where its many accomplishments ignored and its mistakes broadcast and bolded all over the world.

Things need to be kept in perspective.

Step 1: Aim Gun At Foot, Step 2: Pull Trigger...

Why, why, why? Chinese government, Xinhua, why do you do this to me? I do my best to try and defend you logically against all comers and then you do something, some idiotic PR mistake, that is just shooting yourself in the foot and making things next to impossible for me.

So here we go, I come into the office and see the headline: International Community Supports China's Handling of Lhasa Riots. Okay, I'm interested, but I see its from Xinhua, oh well, I'll read it anyways, maybe some foreign leaders have started thinking logically about the situation in Tibet.

Great, leaders are coming to their senses, but who are they? The leaders (or foreign ministers) of Madagascar, Antigua and Barbuda, and Burundi top the list. Nope, that's not a list of major world powers or influence makers, unfortunately. Oh yes, most of all, China has the strong support of, sound the trumpets, the Sudan, read on:

A spokesman for the Sudanese Foreign Ministry said that to maintain social
stability and safety, any country is obliged to respond when overseas forces
instigate domestic separatists to resort to violence.

Why? Why does Xinhua want to publish this tosh, especially in English? Don't they know that people who read this, even their supporters, are simply going to laugh at them? Don't they know what the world thinks about Sudan? Do they just not care?

Deng Gets Promoted, Hurrah!

So while all the focus is on Wen Jiabao's press conference (I'd love a Chinese or English transcript of it, but have yet to find one), in a lesser story, Deng Pufang, son of Deng Xiaoping and head of China's Disabled Federation, was the first disabled person to be elected CPPCC Vice-Chairman, the highest position a disabled person has ever held in the government.

Wow, more indifference from me today, despite the title (very sarcastic), I don't know what to think. Does Deng rule the Disabled Federation as his own little fiefdom and receive treatment as if he's a feudal lord, never having to come across the problems most disabled people come across in China? You betcha! Even if he wanted to affect change and despite his "important" title, could he? Probably not...

I would love to see some power for the Disabled Federation and having such a famous patron should help, but it didn't pay any divdends when Deng's father was alive and it won't now. Basically, its not news...

Remind me why I'm blogging about it? A slow night at the Rickshaw...

Priorities, Priorities

Every morning and evening, I get a great short news text message to my phone that includes the weather and top stories in different areas (domestic news, sports, entertainment, etc.). For the past 2 weeks, I've also gotten a message each afternoon informing me about the days goings on at the "Two Meetings" taking place here in Beijing. Before Wen Jiabao's major news conference today, yesterday's post carried 10 "Questions from the People". They were on the following topics and in the following order:

1. the Olympics
2. Environmental Protection
3. Arable Land
4. the Price of Goods
5. Salary
6. Housing Costs
7. Employment
8. Education
9. Medical treatment
10. Service Oriented Governance

I am not sure who came up with the list, the questions were submitted by readers, and I'm guessing as the service is through China Mobile, somebody at Xinhua or below organized the list and picked the questions.

Is the list reflective? I don't think arable land is a big concern in Beijing or Shanghai and I think it would be replaced by food safety, but in the countryside, which makes up the majority of the country, I can imagine it being a concern. The rest, with one glaring exception (guess which one?) are probably pretty accurate and, honestly, reflect the concerns of most people in China and, I'd venture to say, a poll of what concerns US citizens in the leadup to Election 2008 would look fairly similar.

The glaring exception, if you guessed number 1, we have a winner! I was extremely proud when Beijing won the Olympics and despite all the hassles it will bring, I'm looking forward to August, but, especially in light of recent events, its time to start downplaying this as China's Games and leave the focus on Beijing (a nearly impossible task). Beer bottle collectors in Bengbu, factory workers in Dongguan, and school teachers in Anshan are NOT concerned about the Olympics (let alone people in Xinjiang, Qinghai, and that large area south of Qinghai). At this point, is there anybody who actually believes the Olympics will be pulled off without a hitch? I would love to think so, but with China's PR bluffs, thousands of athletes and visitors, and cultural differences (just look at the problems Korean autograph seekers faced at the baseball game over the weekend), at this point (way too late), its time for China to really start lowering expectations. BOCOG should say things like, "if the Olympics come and go and the world hasn't been blown up, we'd count that as a success." Sure, it might sound crazy, but on the other hand, with the first minor blowup, the media is sure to be condemning China.

Flip that list upside down and, with the exception of the environment, now we're talking. Leave the Olympics to Beijing and let the government focus once again on 为人民服务 ("Serving the People").

Anyone else have any thoughts on the list?

Admission of Guilt

I don't understand Tibet. I could talk for weeks about Beijing and different landmarks or "historical sites" that few know, I could talk for days about Chinese soccer and one painful event after another (most recently the 3-3 draw against Thailand, great prep for the Aussies!), I could even sit you down and talk for hours about politics and law, the tough cases and campaigns, the big victories, the bitter losses. I cannot talk to you about Tibet. I love music, I love fashion, but I have very little understanding of them, using Justice Blackmun's famous words "I know it when I see it", I know what I like, but I can't really tell you why. With Tibet, I have no idea where to begin.

There are only so many hours in a day and my brain can only hold so much knowledge, on Tibet, I'm indifferent. China is an interesting, huge country and there is a lot to see, for whatever reason, I've never really had an interest in going to Tibet. It's far, its high, its a pain to get to, its expensive, and as a foodie, its boring, yak this and yak that. If, one day, friends or relatives want to go there, I'd join them, but for me, I'd much rather go to Xinjiang, to Gansu, to other places. If not for Sabriye Tenberken and her work, I'd be even more indifferent to the situation there.

I went to university in a small, midwestern town which was unique in that the school is the US' preeminent university for Tibetan studies, the DL's older brother was a former professor and Eliot Sperling is one of the country's most respected scholars on Tibet. I came in knowing about Princess Wencheng and the Tang, about the Yuan, the connections between Tibet and the Ming, the Qing garrisons, the then DL sending representatives to the Nationalist government. The class was full of "Free Tibet" types who idolized Sperling, I came in looking for a fight, but the result was disappointing. I came out feeling even more confused about Tibet, on one hand, Chinese do have a legitimate claim, at the same time, Tibet also has a legitimate argument. Sperling was an excellent teacher and tried to play things right down the middle, the question really breaks either way, though he obviously leans toward the Tibetan side. It's all about a lack of understanding, if the Communists went into Tibet shortly after taking power in '49 and only set up the military there, or even just pushed their reforms only on citizens, instead of monks, things may have been different (then again, the Cultural Revolution would probably have broken the peace).

Tibet's just not black and white, it wasn't before 1949, it wasn't in 1959, it wasn't in 1989, and after these protests in 2008, it still isn't. I never really thought China had an "original sin", like the US and slavery, and while the effects of slavery are far deeper in the US, is the Tibet issue China's "original sin"? It's certainly a major volcano that is constantly simmering, but rarely explodes. I still don't understand how different Tibet and Hawaii are and I like what Jeremiah said at one point (I believe on Peking Duck), China should just give up the historical claims to Tibet, no matter how strong or weak you think they are, and say, screw it, it's ours, period. If they treated the monks better, if they weren't insistent on such strict control of the religion, most civilians and even some of the monks would accept the situation. It sometimes feels like the government is waiting for the DL to just die, but this situation needs to be taken care of before that, if the government forces a successor, that could be the tectonic shift that causes the volcano to erupt.

I come from a family of cadres and soldiers, of Party members since before the Party took over "New China." Yes, I'm more likely to take the side of the Party, but I won't do it blindly. There is enough historic evidence that claiming Tibet as a part of China is nothing overly radical. At the same time, Tibet as cause is all about Hollywood liberals (I shouldn't be so hard on them, they were often the best contributors to campaigns I worked on), hippies, and new agers who are just looking for a cause celebre, are looking for something "new." They like to think about Tibet in black and white terms, they like to look at the DL and his talks of peace and think about the "suffering of poor Tibetans", ignoring how a previous DL massacred fellow Tibetans so one sect could take over. The DL is a religious leader, but in the West his connection to the religion and what that means is ignored. Instead, hippies (and neo-hippies) and people like Richard Gere have turned him into an innocent, new age self help guru who goes around wearing a gold Rolex, not the leader of a major world religion. I can't understand, I simply cannot understand the "Free Tibet" people. How can it be wrong of me to take the side of the Party, when the flock on the other side blindly believes in something that many Tibetans in Tibet don't fully support.

If there is one thing I learned from Professor Sperling, it's that this issue isn't black and white, the real answer needs to come from China and the DL, Han and Tibetan trying to work things out together, protests will not lead to a solution, but only more misery and embarrassment.

Postscript: Sometimes I don't even know why I keep this blog. I've been thinking about how to write this post since last night, got up extra early, beat the sandstorm that has enveloped Beijing, and started writing. I clicked send and started looking around the web, only then did I find out that China Law Blog basically said what I wanted to say, did so more clearly, and in fewer words.

Wrong On All Sides...

It was a strange feeling after having a wonderful weekend to come into the office today and be greeted with tons and tons of articles about unrest in that southwestern special autonomous region in China with all the mountains whose name begins with a T.

Leaders in the Tibetan government have claimed that protesters have killed multiple people, and created extensive damage burning and looting around Lhasa. While the killings appear to be unconfirmed (the government has a strong grip on the region, especially when it comes to foreign media), from what I've read and heard, the looting of stores and burning of cars and other property has been supported. This appears to not be something brought on by any specific policy of the Chinese government, simply a "remembrance" of 1959. From the reports, it appears the Chinese government has done a pretty restrained job of dealing with some pretty unruly protests, though rubber bullets may have been used.

If this is really the case, if the government has been restrained and the protesters have behaved so horribly, why not lift the veil and let the people know? What better way to sway opinion onto your side? Something tells me that its because the truth lies somewhere in the middle. It's kind of interesting how the Great Firewall is working overtime now, I could access a story on IHT, but was unable to feature another one about that 73 year old who won the Nobel Prize and who left Tibet to go to India, let's call him the DL, even with anonymouse. In fact, trying to view a number of sites, it appears anonymouse wasn't able to defeat the firewall.

I may sound like a shill for the government, but I don't care. I'm most disappointed in the role that the DL is playing in all of this. If anybody has the ability to stop this, it's him, and yet he's pretending that he is "powerless" and has no role in any of the events. Dollars to doughnuts, if these protests weren't started by an order from him, they were definitely approved by him. Not only isn't he trying to stop them, but he's trying to stir the pot with statements about "cultural genocide." It's also an incredibly smart strategy to do this now, with less than 150 days to the Olympics, when it is certain that the media will pay attention and nuts the world over will start saying China is "unfit" to hold the Olympics. Great way to hijack coverage...

A Little Around The Web Action For Ya...

First off, the Yilishen tale has finally been picked up by a US newspaper (hat tip to Granite Studio). The story had everything US papers usually love writing about when it comes to China: government corruption, large worker protests, scandal, working people getting fleeced by big business, celebrity, ants(?). However, the Global Voices blog had a great writeup summarizing Chinese blogs almost 2 months ago that told me everything the LA Times story did (and more) and included pictures. US media has almost completely ignored the story, beyond a brief writeup in Reuters (the UK did a better job) as far as I've seen, despite this being called the "perfect China story." The blog coverage in late November of this story and the subsequent lag before traditional media started picking up the story is yet another demonstration of how blogs are, in some cases, replacing traditional media, or at least usurping their territory.

Next we have Imagethief on plastic bags. I agree that the oft discussed recent government measure is a step in the right direction, at least PR-wise, but I doubt it will lead to much change when it takes effect. Although one only hopes it causes the public to pay attention to the issue and possibly at least lead some individuals to consider reusable shopping bags.

The NY Times/IHT carried an article about poverty in China yesterday. It doesn't say much of anything new, but I have a feeling that we'll be seeing many of these articles in the leadup to the Olympics as they provide such great contrast to articles like the Tim Johnson article on nouveau riche spending. I do think the most interesting point from the article is the fact that much of the government's poverty relief programs have been focused on development in western China and little has been done to help the interior provinces that are struggling with the dual problems of large migration to the cities and lack of opportunity/markets at home.

Finally, a China Daily story on Mojo. Despite my regular travels to Shanghai and the music scene there, I've yet to meet the man. Though I know there are some haters out there, I respect anyone trying to bring the message of real hip hop to the Chinese masses, instead of the overly commercial crap that regularly gets played over here. His pushing that the "next big thing in China" will be hip hop is another of those tired plaudits that seem to be popping up in a number of the articles I'm looking at today. It would be great to see, but its going to take time, Common came over and was basically ignored, the Roots had a largely Western audience, and Talib's show didn't get the love it should have. Anyways, to take a closer look at the man called Mojo, you can check out his blog.

Welcome to Our Shitlist, Population: You!

In all the time since this blog was started, we've never had the need for a shit list, never got into scuffles with other blogs and were pretty peaceful overall, but now the time has come for the formation of one, and rocketing to the top of that list is one Hong Lao Wai ("Red Foreigner"). I didn't get involved when he started out singing revolutionary hits, nor did I really care about his "attempts" at Jay Chou (if you can really call them that), though when he starts blaring out about Lei Feng, wearing a silly/strange hat, he's committed a blasphemy that can't be overlooked. I, as much as the next guy, hate Dashan and think he's a total joke, but I must admit, his Chinese is damn good, even if he's just a big Canadian poof. As for Dashan's progenitor, though not very long, they were all just spinoffs whose Chinese were always worse and who did crazy stunts (a la working in a barber shop).

Hong Lao Wai is completely different. His "self taught" Chinese is barely passable and the kid's never been to China. If he's doing it for an offer of a free trip from CCTV or something like that, the kid's got a plan, but is it worth making a fool out of yourself? Do you really want to be that guy, Xiao Hong? Study Chinese, come to China, we'll take you off the list and we might even be able to have a drink together, but keep up what you're doing and you'll continually be one giant running joke, replacing even Dashan.

A Strange Moment, Passed...

The events of 1989 affected my family deeply in a number of different ways. People willing to help the students or who were close to the students suffered silent (and not so silent) embarrassment and retribution at work and in their community. I've heard stories about some of the partners who I work alongside and their connection to the events of that summer, always on the periphery, but they knew what really happened.

That said, it was kind of strange at lunch yesterday when I mentioned the location of my new apartment only to be told by the partner I was eating with, "Oh, there...I had a friend who was injured there, well...was shot there."

Looking out from my office window at JianWai and ChangAn in the distance, it still feels like there are ghosts in this city.

Are the Baozi "Fake" or is the Media "Fake"?

Beijing's had a tough few weeks. First it was news about "fake" water, then it was a rehashing of stories about "fake" yangrou chuanr (I must admit, this one was extremely hard to take), but when there were reports of baozi filled with chemically inhanced cardboard, including great investigative reporter cam shots, that was going a bit too far.

Now it seems that perhaps those reports were made up by a reporter looking to "break" a big story and drum up a bigger audience. The mind fairly boggles. With all the negative attention in the west on Chinese products and health standards, why would this reporter make things appear to be even worse? Doesn't that violate his patriotic duty? Are things so bad that we're at the point that there are even fake news stories? This is truly over the top.

I have a suspicion, and I really hope this isn't the case, but that story just went too far in scaring people from eating what is a common breakfeast or snack all over China. I hope China learned from SARS and this isn't some kind of cover up. I can see it now, the government bigwigs feel this is too much and so to minimize fear among the public, insist that the story was fabricated, while cleaning things up their own way without the Chinese and foreign press all over the story.

Either way, its a scary proposition.

And Hu's on First...

A much lighter post (sorry for that title choice, but I couldn't pass it up), while Premier Wen Jiabao was in Japan, he took the time to travel to a university campus and while there, met with the baseball team, donned a jersey, and played some ball.
It appears that Wen has game, but why the batting glove on the right hand? And somebody should have told him the wind breaker under the jersey look isn't a good one...

The above is exactly why this isn't a serious blog. With all the stories or possible topics that could be discussed about Wen's visit to Japan, this is all I have to offer. Its more fun this way...