The Mao Mix

"Chinese Sex Toy Market Explodes"

2009-08-20T17:27:00.001+08:00

"Neither Mao Zedong or Deng Xiaopeng could have seen the explosion in China'a sex toy industry."

You also get to see awkward Chinese guys discovering what a dildo is.

The Other Side of the Pacific

2009-08-11T01:56:00.002+08:00

View Larger Map

Biked from my place to the ocean a few weekends ago...pretty epic day if I say so myself. Took off around 10:30am and didn't get home until 8pm. Wasn't straight riding--we stopped for lunch and to relax at the "beach" when we got there--but I figure we spent 6-7 hours on the saddle all in all.

A few pics here...

The rest on Picasa. (Thanks to Libbie Cohn for the pics...)

Verticality

2009-08-06T12:15:00.004+08:00

Moved on from HK yesterday to Taipei, home of the Taipei 101, the world's tallest building. Still, HK's verticality will be hard to forget. A small sample of pics:

The IFC, made famous to North Americans in The Dark Knight when Batman kidnaps the Chinese bad guy.

Outside the IFC:

On one of the many skybridges downtown:

In an older area called Soho:

Climbed up to the roof of a nearby building and got some different views:

And one last one from "Sneaker Street", in a shopping area that the government is threatening to tear down to, of course, put up more highrises.

SH vs. HK: The Showdown

2009-08-02T22:03:00.003+08:00

Just a few differences I've noticed in my few days here so far...

Stuff is probably about 1.5x-2x more expensive in HK. My random sample: passport photos from a photo booth: RMB32 vs RMB18. A (very poorly named) sports drink called Pocari Sweat: RM8 vs RMB4.5. Drinks? Depends on the place, but usually in SH you can get 2-for-1 happy hour pints for about RMB40. In HK it's about the same price, but you only get the 333mL bottles.
Public transport is the biggest killer though. I've used probably RMB150 ($25 CAD) in four days. I took a RMB18 bus ride today; the most I've ever paid for a bus in Shanghai was RMB6, and that only happened once. It's also impossible to get around with a bike in HK.
On the flip side, the HK metro actually makes money. The Shanghai one almost certainly doesn't.
Exported stuff is much, much more accessible in HK. There's more selection, and it's all cheaper. For example, Kettle Chips are RMB18 at the supermarket here in HK, but in Shanghai, they're only available at the specialty export food market, and they're RMB40 ($6.50) a bag.
911 in North America, 119 in China, 999 in HK.
Basketball courts aren't always jam-packed here. But everyone still sucks.

Another huge difference, and one I'll explore more tomorrow when I go hiking, is that HK is surrounded by nature. To get out and see some actual trees and forest in Shanghai, you gotta go a couple hours out. In HK, physically a much smaller city, it's just a short metro ride away.

Postscript: One of the few things cheaper (or at least comparable in price) in HK? McD's. The difference? McD's is still somewhat novel to the Chinese, so they can price it at a premium. Not so much in HK. It's one of the cheapest meals you can eat (street noodles are a third the price in Shanghai).

A Tale of Two Cities: First Impressions

2009-07-31T02:37:00.004+08:00

When I first visited Shanghai, my mom told me the city was "like the New York of China". Psssssh. Like that could even come close to being right. Then I got there. And Shanghai turned out to be like New York, but in China. It's a fashion mecca, a financial capital, playground for the country's rich and famous, and a city with an amazingly rich international history.

*****************

The other Chinese city that's most often compared to New York is Hong Kong. And in a lot of ways that's a good comparison too. Hong Kong's another international financial titan, a hotbed for Asian fashion, and home to a self-created celebrity industry. That's why the two cities are so often compared with each other (though, obbbbbviously, Shanghai is hipper).

I'm in Hong Kong right now, my fourth time here. Usually my trips are fleeting visa visits or just a stop on my way home, so this is the first time I'll get to really explore on my own (I've got a little less than a week). But even with my rather sheltered experience of the city, it's obvious that Hong Kong, despite the structural similarities, is much different in character.

Shanghai is still a city in development--subway lines are still being installed and old neighbourhoods are still in the process of being replaced (for good or worse)--but Hong Kong is already way overdeveloped. Skyscrapers shoot up everywhere around you downtown, and skybridges connect one tower to the next. There are fewer back lanes and hidden corners, and even if you found one, there'd be nothing there. Maybe a bag of garbage or a dirty wall.

Part of Shanghai's charm is the city's barely-hidden "dark side"--the side the government would rather keep out of sight. A friend once mentioned, for example, that Shanghai was the only place she'd been where dark back alleys were beckoning instead of potentially dangerous. Even now, and even in popular downtown areas, you can get a glimpse of "real Shanghai" and the local residents who still haven't quite gotten the full effect of the supposedly quickly rising living standards. The yelling in the streets, the pushing of people everywhere you go, the constant construction, it all adds to the sense of chaos that the city thrives on.

Hong Kong is not at all like that. In Hong Kong, people are "civilized": the ask politely, they wait in lines. And even when it's impossibly busy, things stay under control. It has a sense of refinement that Shanghai's city officials have been trying to emulate for years.

*****************

Really, neither Hong Kong nor Shanghai are perfect comparisons for New York. There is certainly some overlap between all three cities, but they're all cut from a different cloth. The Shanghai-Hong Kong (or is it Hong Kong-Shanghai?) comparison is probably the tightest, though the cities' similarities also seem to accentuate their differences.

Personally, I kinda like to think of Shanghai and Hong Kong as hot girls. Hong Kong's that hot, successful girl with a middle-upper class upbringing, a private school education and family connections, while Shanghai's more like the hot girl that's just broken through and made it big. She's still not quite sure how high her star will rise (or if she'll come crashing back down) and she's got something of a hidden, troubled past, but somehow, that all just seems to add to the charm.

Postscript: I may think differently in a few days when I've explored a little more.

Censored.

2009-06-03T01:06:00.004+08:00

20th anniversary of Tiananmen coming up on June 4th...and everything's getting censored right now. Youtube, Blogspot, Tumblr, Livejournal, Xanga, Wordpress, Friendfeed, Flickr, Microsoft's Live.com and Twitter: all down.

They're even trying to stop newspapers from putting the numbers 6 and 4 together:

On the twentieth anniversary of June 4th, the mainland media are under tremendous pressure from the Publicity Department to screen for any related content to a hitherto unimaginable extent.

According to information, some newspapers have demanded their reporters to use the numbers 6 and 4 in their reports. Even if they need to cited, they cannot appear simultaneously within the article. In any case, they definitely cannot be used in the headlines in case the Publicity Department misunderstands.

Last year, there were two instances of June 4th-related incidents. In the first case, Beijing News published some photos of the work of former Associated Press photographer Liu Heungsing which included a photo of injured persons being taken to the hospital on June 4th. The other case is when Southern Metropolis Daily reported on unusual weather in Guangdong province with the headline of "4 storms in June."

In both cases, the principals insisted that it was carelessness. This caused the Publicity Department some headaches because there was no proof that someone was deliberately challenging the central government on its stance.

In order to avoid any embarrassing repeats, certain media have decided to go for the overkill in demanding that reporters and editors avoid the use '6' or '4' during this sensitive period.

According to information, the Internet censorship has clearly intensified. In the past, netizens can discuss the June 4th incident by butting certain meaning words or symbols between June and 4th to deceive the filtering software. This method is no longer effective, because even the single mention of either 6 or 4 is enough to arouse scrutiny. Therefore, the media may not be over-reacting by being allergic to the two numbers.

Many veteran reporters have even decided to go on vacation. Even if they have an explosive news story on hand, they would rather wait until after June 4th in case the authorities misunderstand that they were trying to cause trouble.
-From Ming Pao, translated by ESWN

I've talked to a few friends and other miscellaneous people about this, and really, there's not a whole lot of awareness. Some people know what happened on 6/4 (many are younger university graduates) but for the most part the reaction is either "everyone makes mistakes, let's move on" or "I don't really know enough about it to really say anything". You might as well be asking someone about that time they got drunk and made out with an ugly chick: they admit it happened, but either they don't really know the details or they're uncomfortable about it. Mostly, they just want to change the subject.

Anyways, point is that the government's done a great job of battening down the hatches and stopping the flow of information. I'm working off a proxy server right now, so that's why there's no picture for this post (too much hassle) and some of the links might not work (lemme know if they don't). It's been super annoying getting to news about the event, and for some people it's just not going to be worth the effort.

So by and large, in the days leading up to the anniversary of such a landmark moment in history, life has gone on as if nothing ever happened. And scarier still, we're getting cut off from things that are happening right now, like the riots in HK. It's now 20 years later, and the government's still up to their old tricks. And they're still working.

Postscript: There are a whole bunch of "China censorship = China evil" articles floating around, but that's not what I'm trying to get across. Of course I think it's the wrong thing to do, but from my view, the government is mainly concerned with covering its own ass. They fear that if they let this out, the backlash will significantly hurt them--and probably that, after 20 years of covering up, the backlash may even be stronger than it originally would have been. Either way, they've effectively backed themselves into a corner. Let it out and feel the wrath of 1.3 billion angry citizens, or keep it under wraps and let other countries glare at you and say you're evil. Not really a hard choice.

Postscript II: The Chinese government's "Great Firewall" is keenly aware of the power of the internet here: unlike in the Western world, where daily topics get a second life on the internet, many things instead go from the internet to daily life, like the cao ni ma--it started as an inside-joke type video but it's quickly gained hold in the "real" world with t-shirts and dolls.

Copycat Cars

2009-04-29T19:34:00.002+08:00

So I've written about copycat cars before, but it hit a whole new level for me when I visited the Shanghai Car Show yesterday.

BYD was the worst. They ripped off Mazdas, Toyotas, Hondas, even Mercedes:

Bu the worst was the Lamborghini/Ferrari ripoff:

It would be kind of cool if it wasn't so stupid. And if it didn't serve to stifle creativity. According to the WSJ,

...his company does no engineering or design work whatsoever. Instead, they tell an outside engineering consultant which existing model they want to copy, and ask them to come up with a product counterfeited in a way that it won’t attract intellectual property lawsuits. In some cases that means companies combining styling ideas from two separate cars into one.

Shouldn't car companies be putting more into R&D than lawyer fees?

Quote of the Day

2009-04-13T16:19:00.001+08:00

From Saturday's China Daily:

President Congratulates Kim on Reelection
President Hu Jintao on Friday congratulated Kim Jong-Il, the leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), on his reelection as chairman of the country's National Defense Commission.

Is it really a re-election if you're not running against anyone?

Springfield, China

2009-04-08T18:42:00.001+08:00

That's Blinky, the famous fucked-up fish from Springfield's nuclear-waste infected rivers.

That's a pig that was just born in Zhejiang, near Shanghai.

Quote of the Day

2009-03-23T23:33:00.001+08:00

"Driving BMWs and drinking polluted water is the bitter irony of our modernization."

-Zhou Shengxian, China's Minister of Environmental Protection

20 Years After...

2009-03-22T23:13:00.001+08:00

"Tell the world, they said to us."

This June 4th will mark the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre/"incident". And honestly, I can't believe this happened in my lifetime.

Anyways, look for China to up its censorship efforts in the coming months while coverage of the anniversary picks up. And further, any time there's an anniversary like this (or any other event that protesters may try to use as a stage) China will lock down Tiananmen Square too--a couple weeks ago I had a friend visit Beijing and she couldn't even see the square because the military set up a 2-block buffer zone around it during the National Congress.

Drinking and Ruling

2009-03-22T00:30:00.006+08:00

Day and night he drank strong liquor. Everyone from the aristocratic high officials to his own lowly clerks and retainers saw that Shen did not carry out his. duties. Everyone who came wanted to speak with him about it, but when they arrived Shen always offered them a cup of strong liquor. When, after a short while, they said they had something to say, he offered them more. Only once they were drunk did they leave, having spent the whole time unable to bring up the subject.

-Han Dynasty chancellor Cao Shen

Found that on Froginawall.net

Das Kapital: Coming Soon to an Opera Near You!

2009-03-20T00:02:00.004+08:00

Well, it's not really an opera, per se. It will, apparently, take elements both from Broadway musicals and Las Vegas shows as well. But yes, it will be about Marx's ever-popular 1,000 page treatise on Communism. And no, they're not going to be taking any "artistic liberties".

The show, whatever type of show it ends up being, will be directed by He Nian, and will be thoroughly vetted by Zhang Jun, an economics professor at Fudan University, before it's released to the proles. The story, actually adapted from a Manga comic about Marx's masterpiece, will revolve around a company where the workers come to realize that they're being taken advantage of by their boss. This inevitably divides the factory into different factions, with some continuing to work while others rebel or take to collective bargaining efforts. In the end, of course, they all learn to embrace Marx's theory of surplus value.

A German troupe tried something similar three years ago--they even gave out volumes of The Collected Works of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels at their shows--but it ultimately failed because (surprise, surprise) it was deemed to be too boring. According to He, however, this rendition will be "fun to watch".

It's not quite clear whether the show's 2010 debut will be in Shanghai or Beijing, but if you ask me, it'll be worth seeing either way.

Dirty Dirty China

2009-03-15T21:56:00.000+08:00

Another video showing just how shitty working conditions are in China. The only thing worse than this is this 6-part mini-series by VBS TV on Linfen, the "world's most polluted town".

The Legend of the Grass Mud Horse

2009-03-15T21:35:00.003+08:00

Reinforcements have arrived for Chinese netizens in their fight against the censorship efforts of the government...in the form of a mythical creature known only as the "Grass Mud Horse" (草泥马/cǎonǐmǎ). Originally conceived some two months ago by some anonymous party, the video has now drawn over 1.5 million hits on YouTube--and spawned countless other spinoffs, including t-shirts, dolls and other follow-ups like this cartoon rap.

Those of you with a basic knowledge of Chinese (or at least Chinese swear words) will quickly recognize that "caonima" is a homonym for "F*** your mother". The video, however, expands on the concept and tells of how these "fun-loving and nimble" horses fight to keep a horde of river crabs (河蟹/héxiè, a homonym for "harmony", the Chinese euphemism for censorship) out of their home territory, the Ma Le Desert (马勒戈壁/mǎlègēbì, a homonym for "Your Mother's C***").

The entire thing is simply meant to poke fun at the government's continued efforts to censor the internet, but according to Xiao Qiang, a professor of journalism at the University of California, Berkeley, the Grass Mud Horse “has become an icon of resistance to censorship.”

The expression and cartoon videos may seem like a juvenile response to an unreasonable rule. But the fact that the vast online population has joined the chorus, from serious scholars to usually politically apathetic urban white-collar workers, shows how strongly this expression resonates.

Cui Weiping, a prominent blogger and professor at the Beijing Film Academy, adds,

As for “Grass Mud Horse”, I applaud the one who invented such a pun. Its underlining tone is: I know you do not allow me to say certain things...So, I say “Grass Mud Horse”, not "f*** your mom". What is “Grass Mud Horse”? It always works hard in harsh conditions. See, it is from the vast grassland. I like it. I love it. This whole thing is too far away from you [the government], out of your jurisdiction. Oh well, why are you always staring at me? Am I not perfectly fine? I am innocent. I have not been snatched away by some crooked folks. I have not been put under their control. And I am not vulgar. Why do you have to worry so much about me?

I am singing a cute children’s song – I AM A GRASS MUD HORSE!

Update: Apparently there are two CaoNiMa's, MaLe and GeBi. And their offspring is called FaKeNiMa (NiMa sounds like "your mother" in Chinese). More from Shanghaiist .

ap·pre·ci·ate

2009-03-15T14:01:00.001+08:00

One of the things that I appreciate about Canada is daylight savings time. (The "spring forward" part of it anyways.) The end of winter is always kinda nebulous, and that extra hour really kicks it into spring...there's always a kind of a "worst is over" kind of feeling.

But anyways, there is no daylight savings time in China. In fact, there's no time changing anywhere anytime in this Country. Physically, China is almost 4 time zones wide . But the entire thing runs under Beijing time. It makes things a little more uniform, but it also makes for a couple weird quirks.

For one, when I visited Yunnan (2 time zones away) in February, the sun rose at around 7:30 every day...that was nice. You could wake up at a reasonable time every day at daybreak and feel like a champion.

On the other hand though, 3 hours makes things a real hassle if you live in the westernmost parts of China. Xinjiang, the province in the NW corner of the country, has actually adopted an unofficial "Xinjiang time", three hours behind Beijing time. So if you're ever traveling around there and booking train tickets or whatnot, you really got double check and be sure whether the time you're getting quoted is in Beijing or Xinjiang time. (P.S. Xinjiang also kind of wants out of China so the whole "having our own time zone" thing is also another way to shove it in the government's face.)

Better City, Better Life

2009-03-10T13:53:00.006+08:00

417 days to go until the 2010 Shanghai Expo, and I saw this today switching lines on the Metro:

Basically they've dressed guy up in an "Haibao " costume (the official Expo mascot and 2nd cousin of Towelie) and they've got others standing around with signs reminding/teaching/hammering it into people's heads that you should stand on the right side of escalators and pass on the left. Sounds stupid, but don't forget, "education programs" did help Beijing out with its pre-Olympic spitting problem.

Anyways, here's the latest and greatest on the Expo a year and a bit out:

China says confident [sic] US will be in 2010 Expo: America's participation in the event has been in doubt for a while. "U.S. organizers have been struggling to raise the $61 million needed for a pavilion at the event — a problem compounded because American law prohibits government funding of such events, which must instead be privately financed."

Taiwan pavilion's placement at World Expo could re-spark controversy: Taiwan's going to have two pavilions representing Taipei at the Expo, but just to make sure everyone knows that the "renegade province" is still a part of China, event organizers are going to put a Taiwan section in the Chinese exhibition too. Seems to me that if Taiwan can have its own Olympic team, China could just let this one go.
Most of the pavilion designs are up on the official website now...check them out here. Denmark's entry looks like it'll be cool; the Dutch one looks like it might just be a huge orange-themed dollhouse. Britain's is a floating orb, while Italy's looks like Beijing's Water Cube. Poland's just looks like origami.

No Can Do

2009-03-01T14:19:00.000+08:00

So yeah, learning Chinese is hard, but so is learning English. That's why, in the 17th century, they invented Pidgin English. Basically a bastardized form of English with a limited vocabulary and a more flexible syntax, it was used by traders to get their point across. Then the Chinese stopped using it because they realized people were making fun of them for using it. Not surprising if you've seen what Pidgin English looks like (via Shanghaiist):

Chinese Pidgin English (there are all types of Pidgin English depending on where it was used) did, however have the unintended and somewhat amusing reverse effect of creating some now-common English phrases, such as:

好久不见: word for word, "long time no see"

看见: word for word, "look-see"

不能做: word for word, "no can do"

不行: word for word, "no-go"

那去: word for word, "where to?"

Turns out the Chinese have been teaching you Engrish speakers your own language for years.

Ranguage Difficruties

2009-03-01T13:57:00.012+08:00

So I'm back in school part-time now (at Jiaotong University) to take some serious Chinese classes, and the more I learn, the more I'm amused by the construction of certain Chinese words/phrases. Some are amusing, some are just great in how much sense they make. I've gone through a few of these before, but here are a couple more examples for you guys:

出租车: taxi | literally, "hired out car"
安排: organize/plan | literally, "peaceful rows"
中国: China | literally, "central country"
长鼻王: a brand of egg rolls called Pinocchio | literally, "long-nose king"
牛仔裤: jeans | literally, "cowboy pants"
味精: MSG | literally, "essence of flavour"

Some of the slang is pretty funny too:

做飞机: roll a J | literally, to make an airplane

我飞了: I'm high... | literally, "I'm flying"

Which leads me to my current favourite:

pangcha (I don't know the characters): Techno music. As in, pangchapangchapangchapangchapanchga... say it a few times and you'll get it.

The construction of certain Chinese characters is pretty cool too. Loyalty, for example, is 忠, which is actually a compound character: the top half means "centre" (same as in 中国), and the bottom half is "heart". Pretty fitting if you ask me.

I Ate Dog Last Night

2009-02-12T18:23:00.000+08:00

Yes, really.

It was chewy.

Trains, Planes and Automobiles

2009-02-05T16:43:00.006+08:00

Alright, so this post is a bit late, and I don't really have an excuse. Chinese New Year was two Mondays ago on the 26th. CNY (also known as the Spring Festival even though it's really not even close to Spring yet) is by far the biggest holiday in China; it's like American Thanksgiving and Christmas all rolled into one. This year, Chinese people made over 2.3 billion trips in the month or so that travel really peaks. That's as many train trips as all of Britain made in 2005-06. Assuming that every passenger makes two trips (home and back), that still means that 85% of the population is moving around during this one month.

If you're thinking, "there's no way China's infrastructure can adequately move all those people", you're right. The daily capacity of China's rail system is "only" 3.4 million each day. They pull in some extra trains and all that, but still, there's a pretty significant shortfall. People line up for days to get tickets. (And scalpers, accordingly, can usually get 2-3x face value from desperate travelers.) And don't forget, if you're a migrant worker from NW China and you're looking to get home from Shanghai for the holidays, you're also probably going to be stuck on a hard seat or with just standing room for 2-3 days on the train if/when you can book a ride home.

Train stations are obviously a mess during this time, and worse, even kind of a health hazard. Every year a few people get crushed or trampled to death. Last year was historically bad because of severe snowstorms that hit a lot of the country; as you can imagine, bus and train schedules were all thrown off and cancellations stretched everything that much thinner.

This year was a good news/bad news year. Many people went home earlier than usual because of job layoffs and factory closures, so it spread out the flow of people a little. But on the flip side, many of those workers aren't even going to bother coming back since they don't have a job to come back to. There are 20 million newly unemployed migrant workers, and many will, for the first time in years, stay in their home provinces instead of returning to the big cities. Going forward, that will put a huge strain on the poorer provinces, since they'll have more mouths to feed and no real boost in resources to do it.

I'll have more on some of the traditions and stuff related with the New Year (mostly the fireworks) in a later post. One of the more interesting things is the concept of a benmingnian; if the New Year is the same sign of the zodiac as you are, it means you gotta watch your back a little. And yes, it is my benmingnian.

On the Road Again

2009-02-05T08:30:00.007+08:00

Off to Yunnan Province (云南, "south of the clouds") for 10 days, so will be MIA until after that. Will try to post, but will (hopefully) be going into some remote areas down near the Laos border so no promises.

SpongeBob in China

2009-01-25T17:46:00.000+08:00

Mix Lynx

2009-01-21T17:19:00.003+08:00

Ha! Get it? Links/Lynx? (Alright, I'm done.) A batch of links today, because I know if you're reading this you're probably bored. Or a fan of my bad jokes.

They just found a woman in southern China that's been pregnant with a miscarried baby for 60 years.
China has fake everything. Including Disneyland. (Though the real Disneyland is apparently coming to Shanghai soon.) Watch a crazy Japanese video about it here .
Some crazy guy called Matt Mayer made it his mission to hit every subway stop in Shanghai (all 9 lines) in one day. It took him 10 hours, 14 minutes and 42 seconds. Let's see him do that in 2020.
Starting June 1st this year, the human flesh search engine will be outlawed in the city of Xuzhou.
Some poor Chinese kid has been laughing for 12 years straight. He can't even talk. This is straight out of a "would you rather...".
The transcript of Obama's inauguration speech was apparently censored on some Chinese websites. Apparently it's not cool to say "communism" in China anymore.

China: crazy as ever.

Bruce Lee Can Kick Your Ass. In Ping Pong. With Nunchucks.

2009-01-20T15:12:00.000+08:00

What can't he do?

China's Stolen Children

2009-01-19T20:06:00.000+08:00

"I think there must be something wrong with treating children as goods, but I can't figure out what it is."

100% twisted. According to the 2007 documentary China's Stolen Children, 70,000 children are kidnapped every year. Police just recovered five children and arrested their 13 abductors Wednesday; the kids were apparently sold for anywhere between $126 and $3,800 USD. The price, I'm sure, depends both on the new family's ability to pay and the sex of the baby (boys go for more).

Cynics will blame the One Child Policy for the existence of this warped child-trade, and well, I guess I can't really disagree.

The World's First Plug-in Electric Hybrid...

2009-01-17T13:44:00.003+08:00

...is Chinese. And the most impressive thing about it is its battery: half-charge takes only 10 minutes, while a full charge is 8-9 hours and allows the driver to go 100km before it taps into its fuel reserves. The car made its North American debut at the Detroit Motor Show this week, and is expected to be available in the Western world by 2011. It's already been on sale for a month in China though, and Business Week has already gotten the chance to take it out for a test drive (video).

The F3DM is built by BYD ("Build Your Dreams"), a Shenzhen-based, HK-listed company that used to specialize in batteries. If you've heard of BYD before, it's probably because Warren Buffet bought a 10% stake in it for $230 million last September.

China's Moneyboys

2009-01-16T19:55:00.003+08:00

What's kind of funny is that in Chinese, girl prostitutes are called 鸡女 (ji nu), or "chicken-girl", while (heterosexual) guy prostitutes are 鸭子 (ya zi), "little ducks".

The Human Flesh Search Engine

2009-01-15T18:07:00.003+08:00

It's not really all that well named, but man does it work well. Basically, if something you do gets posted online and the Chinese netizens really want to find out more about you, the picture/video of you will get passed around different message boards, with everyone chipping in just a bit of information, until someone can track down exactly who you are. Takes a few weeks maybe, but it almost always gets done, whether you're a kitten killer (warning: it's pretty graphic) or a faceless hottie (warning: not so much of a hottie). Pretty amazing and scary all at once. And yes, Chinese people can be very nosy. (Especially the women.)

Wang Fei, the adulterer in the video, actually won his court case against the woman who identified him online and the website that hosted the message boards, and collected 8,000RMB in damages. It's the first successful lawsuit of its kind, and it's prompted the Chinese government to start looking into just how they can crack down on this kind of thing in the future.

Perhaps in response to the threat of punishment, the ""Human Flesh Search Informal Alliance" just released the "Human Flesh Search Pact version 1.0 beta". It states:

In order to reinforce the Internet moral awareness of netizens and to improve understand the proper meaning of human flesh search so that it will progress in the right direction to serve the people, this pact was written.

1. Love the motherland, love the Communist Party, obey the laws, follow the regulations, support and love each other, maintain Internet harmony.
2. Human flesh search should be follow the principles of honesty, safety, openness, fairness and justice in the pursuit of knowledge that will benefit people.
3. Internet morality should be abided and the privacy of individuals should not be intruded upon.
4. Exposure of privacy should be protected with the utmost effort and not disclosed to the public.
5. Anything related to "corruption," "graft," "praising the good" and "denouncing the bad" is not restricted by articles 3 and 4 above.
6. Human flesh search must yield accurate and trustworthy information, and the persons who provide the information must assume responsibility for its accuracy.
7. Civilized language should be used and malicious human flesh searches should not be highlighted or distributed; under suitable circumstances, the affected principals and the websites should be informed about what is happening.
8. Continuous effort will be made to increase proper awareness of human flesh search.

Update: The flesh engine is now busy at work looking for the killer of "Garfield".

If You're Happy And You Know It...

2009-01-14T15:47:00.000+08:00

Another day, another report of the government rigging a survey. This time, officials in Nanjing's Pukou District are being accused of fixing a phone questionnaire by putting out a list of "sample" answers and then cutting the phone lines of some of the poorer families (y'know, just in case).

The December 20th survey, run by the provincial Statistics Bureau, was intended to measure the well-being of the area's residents. However, days before it was expected to take place, officials distributed a list of "correct" responses to the sixteen questions, and offered residents 2,000RMB if they played along. Among the sample answers:

Item 3: "What was your total family income in 2008? Answer: more than 8,000 yuan."

Item 16: "If you were to measure happiness on a 100-point scale, how many points would you give yourself? Answer: between 90 and 100."

The town finished the survey with a satisfaction rating of 96%.

Reporter Chen Wen of the Nanjing Morning Post caught wind of the story and got the chance to question the town's Vice-Secretary on the accusations.

Wen: I noticed that every household here has a government-issued set of sample questions and answers to the well-being survey. When village officials passed them out, they told the people that they had to use these responses. Why was this done?

Secretary Zhu: Achieving overall well-being was a major task for Pukou District this year, so like other towns, we treated this inspection very seriously to make sure we'd pass. The samples were for educational purposes, so that people wouldn't make mistakes if they received a survey call.

Reporter: Many villagers said that on the day of the inspection, some poorer families suddenly discovered that their telephones weren't working. They said that this was done by the telecom office at the government's request out of fear that those poor families would tell the truth on the phone and influence the inspection. We'd like to know whether the government really asked for those lines to be cut.

Zhu: No, the government would never do that. The phones could really have had problems on that day.

See the full interview and Wen's article on Danwei.

Shanghai Metro

2009-01-13T18:41:00.001+08:00

This is what the system looks like now, with 9 lines:

The city plans to add 12(!) new lines in the next 12 years. So, by 2020, the metro system will look like this:

Insane.

Internet Banned-It

2009-01-13T16:59:00.001+08:00

When I first got here last March, navigating the Internet was a real hassle. Wikipedia, Blogspot and Wordpress blogs were all blocked, while Youtube just kinda-sorta worked. Even Fanhouse.com, a sports website, was completely shut off. (I got here right when the Tibet riots broke out.) Things opened up pretty steadily during 2008, owing mostly to the Olympics and the huge influx of visitors/journalists, but the government has come back in 2009 by cracking down on websites that distribute or otherwise direct you to "vulgar" content. But last week, 91 domestic websites were shut down , including popular Chinese blog-hosting site bullog.cn. Coincidentally, bullog.cn is also the home of several prominent bloggers who signed the pro-democracy Charter 08 . Search sites like Google, Baidu (Chinese Google) and MSN were also chastised (presumably for letting people look up porn) but not formally punished.

According to Rebecca MacKinnon, a former CNN correspondent and current assistant professor of journalism at Hong Kong University, this type of thing happens pretty regularly:

There are crackdowns from time to time. Generally, before Chinese New Year, there is some sort of anti-porn crackdown that takes place. It's a seasonal thing, not many people are entirely shocked. There was a crackdown on an online video site last March, which resulted in a 24-hour shutdown. Companies in China have expectations of these sorts of things and prepare to deal with it.

-CNN Asia

Beijing Graffiti

2009-01-12T20:03:00.001+08:00

It's generally pretty hard to find graffiti in China, but, as you can see, there are definitely places where this type of thing is still alive and well.

The 798 Art District is a central hub for Beijing's art community. Artists moved into the area some 15 years ago, and turned the district of abandoned factories into a haven for contemporary Chinese art. All pretty cool, but from what I hear, it's starting to lose some of its original spirit as it becomes more popular and the the whole thing becomes more gentrified. (I'd write more but I've never been. It's definitely on the list though.)

There's a similar area in Shanghai called TianZiFang, which gone through a total transformation since I arrived here. Set in an old-school neighbourhood of Shanghai, tiny art shops, cafes and art galleries are mixed in with locals who've lived there for decades. I spent a lot of time there in the summer, but between then and my last visit was in December, the entire back section of the area had been developed and settled by new storeowners. It'll only get worse as the city builds it up to be a feature site in the 2010 Expo.

Weird Asian News

2009-01-12T17:47:00.002+08:00

"The man had apparently thought it would be fun to have sex with one of the steel sit-up benches around the park. The bench had numerous holes in it, which Xing used to satisfy himself."

Weird Asian News is probably the greatest website ever, because, well, Asian people are weird. Don't believe me? Check some of this out:

And that's pretty much all I have to say about that.

...and I'm Back

2009-01-08T19:39:00.004+08:00

So yeah, I slacked a bit/a lot in December. Was a pretty busy month, and I ended up going home for half of it, so for at least that part of it there wasn't much to write about. I'm back in town now though, and my New Year's Resolution is to update at least three times a week, hopefully more if I'm up for it. We'll see how long it lasts...and yes, I do realize I already botched the first week. That's over 200 new posts if I keep it going until the Shanghai Expo (478 days and counting, and someone should tell the Americans).

Some assorted notes from my December meanderings...

Every time I go to Hong Kong, I can't escape the feeling that it's what Shanghai eventually wants to be. For a city of 7 million, HK has a lot going on: it's a financial hub and a fashion capital, and it's got a booming entertainment industry that pumps out a disproportionate number of movies and albums each year. In fact, the only Cantonese anyone knows around here is from HK movies or music. The Shanghai/National government keeps pouring money into the city to push it in that direction, but there's just no substitute for the huge head start HK got in opening up and westernizing itself.
Hong Kong is waaaay expensive, even compared to Shanghai, the most expensive Chinese city. If you go by the Big Mac Index, the two cities look pretty similar, but the difference is that McDonald's isn't the cheapest meal in Shanghai (you can pay Y5 for noodles on the street); it is in HK (Y18 for noodles).
There are as many foreigners in HK as there are Asians in Vancouver.
The characters for Tokyo are cribbed from Chinese: 东京. Pronounced dong jing, it means 'Eastern capital', and is named just like Nanjing (Southern capital) and Beijng (Northern capital) are.
Vancouver's airport has free wifi, and so does Hong Kong's. Tokyo (where I had a layover) makes you pay, but it has internet booths set up and desks if you want to pull out your laptop. Shanghai has nothing. Not a good showing for a city that considers itself world-class.

Back soon with more...

Rebuilding in Sichuan

2008-12-01T01:11:00.001+08:00

Boston.com has an amazing photo essay on the damage in Beichuan county, six months after the quake.

ap·pre·ci·ate

2008-11-30T23:12:00.002+08:00

Another thing I appreciate about living here:

The star-rating system for cabbies. Zero is the worst, four is the best (at least I think so; I've never seen a five). Zero-star cabbies may/may not really know the roads and will probably fumble around to get your change, whilethree-star cabbies usually speak some very basic English (Hello/left/right/straight...). Never tried a four-star cab, but the ratings are usually pretty accurate.

China Sharks Media Day

2008-11-27T15:16:00.000+08:00

Alright, so it wasn't really a Media Day. It was just me and a couple reporters from the Shanghai Times. But that's pretty much as good as it gets for a hockey team around here. Anyways, I got to interview a couple of the players while the Chinese media got to watch Peter, the Sharks' Assistant to the Coach (i.e. translator) strap on the pads and skate around clumsily.

Pretty amusing, actually. Anyways, I ended up having lunch with the coaches, and I talked my way into a gig as a video coach of some sorts. Not really sure what it is yet; I'll find out tonight.

From Child's Play to Convicts' Play

2008-11-27T00:38:00.000+08:00

Skid Row Photography Club, a project similar to the Malafi Photo Initiative has just popped up in LA.

Chinese Democracy

2008-11-25T23:32:00.002+08:00

Guns 'N Roses' new album, Chinese Democracy, was just released, and it is definitely not getting good reviews in China. The CD and its official website have been banned, though you can still get at it if you're down with Bittorrent or MySpace. No big deal though, since according to Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang, "Many people don't like this kind of music. It's too noisy and clamorous."

In general, the Chinese are really, really sensitive when it comes to foreigners suggesting that there are things wrong with China. Even my Dad's like that, and he's been living in Canada for more than 25 years now. And the fact that this album is art--something that usually gets artists a free pass in Western cultures--doesn't soften the perceived harshness of any criticisms. As New Matilda journalist Dan Edwards recently opined,

The attendant conception of art as a disruptive force that might challenge the assumptions by which we make sense of the world has little traction in China, and is actually regarded as a threatening notion by a significant number of people — not least those in positions of power.
-Dan Edwards, NewMatilda.com

Anyways, you can find the full lyrics of the title track here. Critical or not, the Falun Gong reference pretty much ensures that the government will do its best to bury the album.

The Chinese MC Hammer

2008-11-21T23:48:00.002+08:00

I love that the guy's mom is just sitting there knitting like it's no big deal. I mean, this dude must practice a lot.

Update: It gets better. Turns out "HammerXXX" has his own Youtube channel. Plus he's jacked.

Claude Comes to China

2008-11-21T00:14:00.000+08:00

Claude Lemieux, four time Stanley Cup Champion, Conn Smythe trophy winner and TSN's "most hated player" in NHL history, has just signed with the China Sharks. Lemieux had been looking to resurrect his NHL career in recent weeks, but apparently nobody was interested in a 43-year old who'd been retired for 4 years.

He's played in the Sharks' last two games (both in Korea), and recorded one assist. Ironically, the team the Sharks played was the same one that Esa Tikkanen was once a player-coach for.

Oh, and the video above isn't really a Lemieux vid, but whatever. I'll jump at any opportunity to post a goalie fight video.

Historical Chinglish

2008-11-20T17:38:00.001+08:00

I'm assuming the sign says "US Army! Go back your sweet home!". Picture taken in 1946.

By the way, I got this off Google, who has just teamed up with LIFE to put all the magazine's archived photos up online. Lots of great pics there.

Blogger's High

2008-11-19T00:37:00.004+08:00

China just became the first country to make internet addiction an official psychological disorder, and has even opened up treatment centres to help those who are afflicted. According to Dr. Tao Ran, the "leading expert" in this field, anyone who spends 6:07 hours a day online may have developed an over-dependence on the internet. Dr. Tao also somehow discovered that 76% of juvenile crime in Beijing can be traced back to Al Gore's series of tubes. On the upside, 80% of addicts are curable with 3-month rehab sessions.

Brings to mind the guy who died two years ago in an internet cafe after a three-day gaming binge.

Earthquake Orphans

2008-11-18T02:46:00.002+08:00

According to BBC, only 12 of the 600 children orphaned in the Wenchuan earthquake in May have been officially adopted. According to officials, most of the rest of the children would be placed with relatives, while the rest will eventually be picked up by the social system either through adoptions to non-relatives or orphanages. Those left in orphanages will receive RMB600 (less than $100) monthly from the government.

Here's hoping all the children get settled soon.

11/11

2008-11-13T03:50:00.000+08:00

November 11th: Remembrance Day in Canada, Memorial Day in the US, and Singles' Day (光棍节 Guanggun Jie) in China. Another way of saying it is that North Americans observed moments of silence while China went speed-dating.

ap·pre·ci·ate

2008-11-11T23:30:00.001+08:00

ap·pre·ci·ate

transitive verb

a: to grasp the nature, worth, quality, or significance of

b: to value or admire highly

c: to judge with heightened perception or understanding : be fully aware of

d: to recognize with gratitude
- Webster's Dictionary

When I was travelling in Spain, I met a guy who worked in a hostel who started a guestbook and asked visitors to write down seven things they appreciated. Except he didn't define appreciate like Webster's does. He defined it as something that made your life better, but not something that you actively wanted or missed not having when it was gone. I thought it was a great way to try to define those little things in life that make it worth living. I forget exactly what I wrote, but one of my entries was something about when a baby grabs your finger. It's not something I go running around looking for, but it's great when it happens.

Anyways, I think it's also a good way to help frame how you experience a new country and a new culture. I'm going to try to make this a running segment, and I'll start today with three things I've really appreciated about living in China.

Chinglish. Always unintentionally funny and something that never fails to crack me up.
Budging in line. Can't say I'm going to miss that. But I can't say I'm not going to miss it either.
Thunderstorms. They are totally badass here. The sky just explodes with thunder and lightning...there's no way you can't feel alive during one, even if you're sitting around nice and safe inside.

Six months...

2008-11-11T11:26:00.001+08:00

...since the earthquake in Sichuan. Here's hoping that things are getting somewhat back to normal for all those affected. In my mind, the picture above is one of the most touching images from that event; it's of a taxi driver in Beijing during the national moment of silence. Taxi drivers here (and everywhere I guess) are so hardened that it really hits home when you see one just totally break down.

Update: Al-Jazeera checks in on what's been going on in Sichuan.

A Case of the Mondays

2008-11-06T11:56:00.002+08:00

The best thing about Mondays in China? You get a 13 hour head start on North America. And there's nothing good to dick around on on the internet yet, so you actually get to work.

Been writing a bit for Shanghaiist (where I work); I made a quick post last week on AIDS in China if you're interested. Check it out here.

Word of the Day

2008-11-06T09:54:00.000+08:00

Chinese slang: 手淫 shǒu yín

Literal translation: obscene (excessive?) hand

Meaning: masturbating

I'm, uh, going to get back to what I was doing before I posted now.

Obama!

2008-11-05T21:43:00.006+08:00

I wasn't able to drag my ass out of bed or head downtown to catch the election coverage on CNN, but judging from this post by Shanghai Scrap, I think it's safe to say that Obama's victory was well-received here in Shanghai.

Chinese website Sohu.com reported earlier today that more than 240,000 Chinese netizens supported Obama, with only 90,000 backing McCain.

And a little reaction from Beijing:

"Congratulations on Obama's successful run for president!! I have been constantly amazed as I follow the elections along the way. What an achievement it truly is... no doubt he'll help restore America's image around the world.

At the same time I can't stop comparing. I can't envision a ethnic Tibetan, Uygur, Hui, or Mogol [sic] gets elected President of China, not in 60 years... that's how far apart the two countries are, in terms of maturity in political institutions."
-a local colleague of the writer of The Opposite End of China

"The crowd erupted in applause as Obama was declared the victor. Many Chinese - especially young students - waved Obama signs as state after state went his way."
-The Wall Street Journal

The Good Life...

2008-11-05T01:21:00.010+08:00

Kanye hit Shanghai last night, and guess who won ticket? Yup, that's right, me. And yes, I won ticket, not tickets (it was a dumb contest, but whatever, free is free). Anyways, the ticket got me second row seats behind the floor...until I hopped a fence and went right up to the stage.

The rest of my crew was way, way up in the rafters (suckers). Lotsa room to dance up there though; the place wasn't nearly full. None of my Chinese friends were even remotely excited for this show.

Kanye played most of Graduation, mixing it in with some older stuff (Get 'Em High, Hey Mama, All Falls Down) and a verse of his new one (Love Lockdown). The band even randomly threw in Don't Stop Believing while Kanye took a quick breather. Stronger and Good Life were the best tracks of the night though.

So yeah, pretty hard not to have a good time with a view like that, but the whole experience was, for lack of a better word, a little Chinese. It's hard for a lot of big names to make it over because of invisible government rules and whatnot (just ask Bjork), so when they do show up, they're playing by the house rules. In Kanye's case, that meant no swearing, one single (hilariously bad) opening act, and showing up on time for his set (dunno about you, but it's kinda weird when the headliner gets going by 9pm).

All in all though, not a night I'm going to forget anytime soon.

Bonus Mao Mix fact: Kanye lived in Nanjing for a year with his Mom when he was 10.

Asia League Ice Hockey

2008-11-03T21:22:00.006+08:00

Following up on my last post on the Sharks, I wanted to get a little more into the (extremely awkwardly-named) league they play in, Asia League Ice Hockey. You can find pro hockey all over the world now, but this has gotta be one of the more unique situations. The league was formed as an expansion of the Japan Ice Hockey League in 2003, and four of the seven current teams are still Japanese (the Sharks are Chinese and the remaining two teams hail from South Korea). It's been a turbulent 5 years for the league though, as the Russian team from Alex Mogilny's hometown of Khabarovsk* and three Beijing-based teams have already folded. The current edition of the China Sharks was just created this year as a merger between two of the defunct Beijing teams.

The Sharks, incidentally, are co-sponsored by the San Jose Sharks and the Chinese National Team. Nine of the Sharks also play for Team China, and goalie Wade Flaherty will be pulling double duty as a goalie coach during international competitions. The Sharks' GM is a San Jose employee who, as far as I can tell, lives primarily back in the US.

Most of the ALIH rules are adopted from the NHL (including 4-on-4 OTs and shootouts), though they did opt for no-touch icing and a 3-2-1-0 W-OTW-OTL-L point system. It seems to me that the rinks are a little bigger than the NHL standard, though I'm not completely sure on that. The regular season lasts 36 games, and is split up into three-game series played on weekends. Five of the seven teams make the playoffs, with the regular season champion gettting a bye all the way through to the best-of-seven finals.

In terms of team makeup, the Japanese clubs are capped at two import players each, but the Korean and Chinese squads are allowed to have four, presumably because they're weaker. And, as an added bonus for perenially sucking, the Sharks will be allowed to bring in up to seven foreigners during the 2009-2010 season. It seems to me that these import restrictions are a newer development though, since the now-defunct Nordic Vikings were chock full of Scandinavians as recently as 2005-06 (their only season).

I'll have to watch a few more games before I can really get into the style of play and all that, but something I'm definitely going to keep an eye on is the cultural dynamics that come into play in an Asian-dominated hockey league. As Dave King, a longtme NHL coach, said when he took over the GM post for Team Japan,

"The Japanese have a system in their culture where they respect the older people [and] it's the same in sports. The older athlete is a sempei, a younger player is a kohai. The kohai player would never embarrass a sempei player in practice, like in a one-on-one drill. Also, in a game, there's a tendency to give the puck to the oldest guy on the line. Again, it's that he should shoot, because it's a respect thing. This doesn't really work."

And as former NHL goalie Jamie McLennan reported during his time in Japan,

When I allowed a soft goal, the home crowd started chanting my name and cheering me. This was foreign territory for me - not surrendering a crappy goal, those happen to everyone - but the reaction of the fans.

Anyways, if I was a former-NHLer winding down my career or even just an ECHLer, I'd love to come out and play here. The list of NHL alums isn't long, but there are definitely a few recognizable names. Hall of Famer Esa Tikkanen came and played/coached in Korea for a while, Shjon Podein played in Japan, Tyson Nash and Jamie McLennan spent half a season with the Nippon Paper Cranes, and Steve McKenna, former bodyguard for both Gretzky and Lemieux (and veteran of both the Italian, British and Australian leagues as well), is currently in his second year here. Other notables include Martin Kariya, Paul's little brother, and Chris Allen, veteran of two NHL games and reigning winner of the PETA Sexiest Vegetarian Next Door Contest.

Going the other way, the AHIL's had its first alumnus make it to the NHL in 2006 when Yutaka Fukufuji played in four games for the LA Kings. Fukufuji's also the first Japanese-born player to ever play in the NHL.

* Seems to be as good a time as any to mention that Khabarovsk is only 20km from China. So if Mogilny had been born 21km south , it's conceivable that he would never have even played hockey.

Hockey Night in China

2008-11-02T13:48:00.006+08:00

With the NHL season now fully underway, I've started to really miss hockey. So I grabbed some friends headed out last night to see the China Sharks, Shanghai's entry in the Asia League of Ice Hockey. It's not anywhere near the NHL (or the AHL, or the ECHL, or even Major Junior) in terms of the level of play, but hey, when you're desperate, you'll take what you can get.

We got there a little late, but the place was already pretty lively by the time we arrived. The arena wasn't anywhere near full (and they were giving away tons of free tickets last week), but people were loud, they cheered in (mostly) the right spots, and everyone seemed to be having a good time. On the downside, only the top half of the arena was open, preventing fans from really getting intimate with the game. It's much easier to fall in love with hockey rinkside than 20 rows up.

Anyways, the game itself was pretty entertaining. The Sharks never led but ended up tying the game at 2 with 19 seconds left, forcing OT and eventually winning on Steve McKenna's shootout winner. Shark captain Adam Taylor scored a nice goal, Harvard alum Kevin Du showed some nice hands, and goalie Wade Flaherty made a couple key saves. On the downside, play was pretty sloppy overall (owing partly to some horrible ice), and a bunch of the scoring chances were the simply result of one guy bobbling the puck past three defenders and shoveling the puck on net. Oh, and not surprisingly, it wasn't a particularly physical game either.

Other quirks:

The Sharks only dressed 16 or so players. High 1 had at least 18 or 19. (NHL teams dress 20.)
They ran some ~~go-go dancers~~ cheerleaders out during the 1st intermission.
The rink was so warm that they had the players just skate around for a couple minutes at the beginning of each period to let the ice harden up. We literally had to sit there just watching the ice freeze.
High 1 (a Korean team) had a Japanese player with dreadlocks (seriously).

In the end, I think everyone left the rink pretty happy. The Sharks are still going through some growing pains both in the standings (they're dead last) and in the fan experience category (note to the team: neither the arena nor the beer should be at normal room temperature), but I'll probably be back whenever I'm jonesing for some more hockey.

Crazy Chinese Sex Pills

2008-11-02T13:30:00.004+08:00

ILLEGAL sex enhancement pills have killed six more men here in the past five months, bringing the drug's death toll to 10 this year.
The six men, aged between 35 and 84, were comatose when they died from complications such as infections and major organ failure.

Four other men died in a similar way in April and May.
-from the Straits Times

They're always selling this stuff on the streets here, and there are always old creepy guys checking it out. Though it's shocking (shocking!) to me that they're not the real deal.

Chinese Journalists: Keepin' it Real

2008-10-31T18:38:00.006+08:00

China has started to probe dozens of self-claimed "journalists" who asked for hush money from a colliery after an accident [at Huobaoganhe coal mine] which killed one miner, an official with north China's Shanxi Province said yesterday...

The colliery paid a total of 125,000 RMB ($18,255 USD) in six deals with self-claimed journalists within one month after the accident, in exchange for not publicizing the death report.

Investigation is continuing into a further five deals.

-from the Shanghai Daily

Wish I'd thought of that.

The Thing About the Chinese...

2008-10-29T21:37:00.002+08:00

...is that their condoms are solider than yours.

The Thing About the Chinese...

2008-10-29T09:35:00.000+08:00

...is that they share their video games.

Mao Lives On

2008-10-28T21:02:00.001+08:00

What is your definition of an "authentic" photo?
An authentic photo is one that reflects the person accurately...Technically, film cannot capture an image 100 percent accurately...Chairman Mao holds a special place in Chinese people's hearts. We must protect his glorious image, so a photo showing him old and tired is not authentic. Nor are photos showing him with black teeth. He was so busy, where could he find time to brush his teeth? Only by making his teeth white would the photo be an authentic reflection of Chariman Mao.

That was taken from a South China Morning Post (a HK paper) interview with Chen Shilin, a photograph retouching specialist who worked for China during the Mao/Cultural Revolution years and eventually became head of photo-processing at Xinhua, China's largest news agency. His Mao works include the 100RMB note and that big portrait at the Forbidden City.

Personally, I always just assumed Mao had a grill full of gold teeth. Guess I was wrong.

Cell Phone Shenanigans

2008-10-15T04:27:00.000+08:00

In China, you can get a 50MB internet plan each month for Y20 ($3CDN) and you don't even need a contract. In Canada, they're going to start charging you for incoming text messages.

If you're wondering, text messages here cost Y0.10 (1.6 cents) each; calls are Y0.70 (11 cents) a minute. That's why you see fifty old women texting on the subway everyday.

I am the Famous Wang Hao!

2008-10-14T11:20:00.006+08:00

First it was the badminton bad boy Dan Lin and his antics. Now Wang Hao, "a marquee player in China's premier table tennis league" and Olympic gold medallist, is getting in trouble. Wang was caught peeing outside a kareoke bar and tried to fight security when they apprehended him. A witness caught him shouting, "I am the famous Wang Hao! I am the world champion! Does it matter if I beat you?"

The Chinese national ping pong team has sent him in for counselling.

Two other things about this story that make me giggle uncontrollably:

Hao is a synonym for 'good' in Chinese. Wang Hao. Get it? It works on so many levels.
News reports with headlines like China's Wang to get Help After Karaoke Bar Brawl

Smog Report

2008-10-07T14:18:00.000+08:00

Much better today.

It's a Beautiful Day in the Neighbourhood...

2008-10-06T15:39:00.000+08:00

...or not. Today's one of the smoggiest days I've seen. That highway is a 7 minute walk from my house.

DO YOU UNDERSTAND THE WORDS THAT ARE COMING OUT OF MY MOUTH?

2008-10-06T14:26:00.006+08:00

Chinese is a really, really old language, and it's not especially flexible since it uses a (relatively) fixed number of characters. Some words from a long while ago are still in use, while other stuff has been chopped and changed over time. A small sample:

马上: soon | literally, (as soon as I get) on a horse
熊猫: panda | literally, bear-cat
电脑: computer | literally, electronic brain
上网: log-on (to the internet) | literally, to get up onto a web
大转: left turn (slang) | literally, big turn (works if you're in a car)
小转: right turn (slang) | literally, right turn

北京: Beijing | literally, "Northern Capital"
南京: Nanjing | literally, "Eastern Capital"
上海: Shanghai | literally, "On the Sea"

I just learned a good Tibetan word in Sichuan too: tashi dele, which literally means congratulations. But people use as hello, goodbye, thanks, you're welcome, whatever.

Will post on my trip in the next few days.

Scenic China

2008-09-22T23:36:00.003+08:00

China's National Day is October 1st, so everyone gets some time off. (Exactly how much time depends on your situation; some people have an entire week off while others have Wed-Sun off. Though if you get the full week off you're probably working this weekend to make up for it. Just how it works here.) Pretty much everyone travels during this time, either to go home or just somewhere new. I'm told it's super hectic pretty much anywhere you end up.

Anyways, was checking out places to go, and read up on Nanjing since it's close-ish to Shanghai. Taken directly from my guidebook:

"The other sight by Gulou is the Dazhong Ting (Great Bell Pavilion), immediately northeast of the junction behind the China Telecom building, sitting on a well-kept garden and also home to a pleasant teahouse. Enter just south of the McDonald's."

How romantic. That passage just got Nanjing booted out of my plans. Think I'm going to head to Guilin/Yangshou (Li River) or Sichuan (Pandas). Inner Mongolia's a dark horse in the race too.

Update: If anyone cares, I decided to go to Sichuan. Leaving Friday night, back on Thursday.

Chinese Matchmaking

2008-09-18T21:51:00.002+08:00

With 1.3 billion people in China, it really shouldn't be hard to find a date, right? Well apparently not. The matchmaking industry here is already bigger than the States', and there are over 20,000 dating companies registered in China, not including "family-run" dating services...

The social dynamics in Chinese households are a little different than in the Western world (i.e. Chinese people tend to be way more socially awkward), so not surprisingly, online matchmaking is hugely popular. One of the girls I play disc with has one of the top 10 most viewed dating profiles in town, and seems pretty damn proud of it.

Anyways, the larger point is: Chinese people are turning to the internet to find their soulmates, and a) they're not shy about it, and b) that doesn't necessarily make them desperate. Just check this post out. (Double eyelids, apparently, are no less popular online than they are in plastic surgery rooms.)

Update: The Shanghai Daily has a story out today detailing some of the shenanigans that these matchmaking companies get up to. Honesty is not their best policy, apparently.

The Thing About the Chinese...

2008-09-14T20:09:00.000+08:00

...is that they're fine with ripping off others' ideas (have we covered this yet?). What normally happens is that they'll just rip off someone else's idea, pump more money into marketing (since they're saving on R&D costs anyways) and try to trump the original. So needless to say, mergers and acquisitions aren't nearly as popular here as they are in the West. It's a business model that has really grown legs with the advent of the internet.

That oh so familiar homepage above is for xiaonei.com, a Facebook ~~ripoff~~ competitor. Apparently the Chinese version of hotornot.com (remember that?) is hugely popular too, though I can't seem to find the link right now.

The Thing About the Chinese...

2008-09-13T19:58:00.002+08:00

...is that they make lots of fake stuff. Including cars. This is a ~~Toyota Echo~~ Xiali 2000. A company called BYD also makes a Civic (yes, of course they ripped off the Civic) lookalike.

In all seriousness though, China's come a long way in auto manufacturing. It's worked closely with Toyota on hybrids in recent years, and now First Auto Works (FAW) has a factory in Mexico and is selling a pretty popular small car there. Watch out, GM.

Ballin' in China

2008-09-12T19:10:00.004+08:00

Whether you follow basketball fan or not, it was hard not to hear about the American "Redeem Team" winning gold at the Olympics. Put together to reclaim the States' lost dominance over the basketball world, it featured some of the world's most famous players and didn't lose a game the entire tournament. In fact, they played so well that some ~~idiots~~ intrepid reporters have argued that they're better than the original Dream Team from 1992. Yeah, the one that featured Jordan, Bird, Magic, Barkley, Stockton...do I have to keep going?

Anyways, the way I see it, performance aside, the big difference between the two lies in that the Dream Team clearly went to promote the game (and it worked, just look at how far basketball's come since), while the Redeem Team came more to promote the NBA and themselves. Yeah, it's nice and good to say you came to reclaim basketball glory, avenge past losses, etc.. but just look at what's come out in the half-month since the end of the tournament:

Jason Kidd, the team's starting point guard, just ditched Nike to sign with Chinese sneaker PEAK (also Shane Battier's sponsor).
Baron Davis, the newest NBA star to hit LA, similarly ditched RBK for Li-Ning. By my count, 8 NBA players now wear Chinese sneakers.
The NBA's announced plans to play another round of exhibition games in China.
The NBA's signed a sponsorship deal with Tsingtao, China's biggest beer manufacturer.

And in related news, the LA Lakers also signed Chinese guard Sun Yue (I'm not sure what shoes he wears.) China's the next great frontier for the NBA, and the league knows it.

Oh, and by the way, know how everyone hates Kobe in North America? He could probably care less. One of the best things about coming to China is that you've got a fresh marketing start. Kobe's got his own TV show here, Kobe's Disciples, and the top selling NBA jersey (ahead of both Yao and Yi).

The Thing About the Chinese...

2008-09-03T21:02:00.001+08:00

"A group of animal lovers became embroiled in a bizarre confrontation as its members rescued more than 800 cats destined for the dinner table over the weekend.

Six volunteers from the Shanghai Animal Protection Association confronted cat dealers in Jiaxing, Zhejiang Province, and spent a day and a night trying to rescue about 1,500 cats."
-Shanghai Daily, Sept 3

...is that they have a saying: 'we'll eat anything with four legs except the table'.

If you've been to China before, this shouldn't surprise you. I mean, I see people selling puppies at every Metro station. But somehow, there aren't that many dogs around...

Child's Play: Malafi Photo Initiative

2008-09-02T00:35:00.002+08:00

Been a little slow with the posts lately, but am working on a couple different things that'll hopefully get put up soon. Might have a couple two-parters on the way; not yet sure how I'm going to tackle what I got in mind.

In the meantime though, I've been getting involved with/helping to promote something called the Malafi Photo Initiative, and I've just posted about it at Shanghaiist.com, where I'm working now. Basically, a couple friends of friends went into rural Sichuan (where the earthquake was) and armed a bunch of kids with reloadable cameras (the old-school kind). Together with the kids, they put together an exhibition on village life in the area, and are now putting on an exhibition called "Through Yi Eyes". All the money from any prints sold there will go back to orphans in Sichuan, where it will help pay for schooling an other basic necessities.

It's really a great cause, so check it out online at malafi.org. And in case you're wondering, it costs only 500RMB (about $78) to support a child for a year. Makes you question whether you really need that new pair of shoes, doesn't it?

Herro?

2008-08-29T17:53:00.004+08:00

But "dou" is quicksand for the beginner [Cantonese speaker]. Depending where you place it and how you pitch it, it can mean here, there, where, more, how much, to, from, able to accomplish, able to reach, everybody, and also. It can also mean gamble and knife. Really, in Cantonese the dou is out of hand.
-Daisann McLane, Slate Magazine

Learning a new language can be a tricky thing. Sometimes it comes and sometimes it stalls. Like today, when I was flipping channels and stopped on a soap opera because for whatever reason I understood everything everyone was saying. Then I changed channels and was lost again. It's something that just takes time, I guess.

My native tongue is Cantonese (though I've let that slip), but I came to China with only some basic knowledge of Mandarin. And yeah, both those things help, but maybe not as much as some friends back home think. Cantonese, for example, has 8 different tones; Mandarin has "only" 5. The extra tones serve to make Cantonese "choppier"; people tend not to slur their words since more precision is needed. So I've been making the transition, but I'm still at the point where I can understand more than I can speak. (And to add to my struggles, I'm now learning words in Mandarin that I never knew in Cantonese. Very confusing sometimes.)

For the record, there is no universal "Chinese" language; there are only a countless number of local dialects (like it is in India). Cantonese is most popular in the southern province of Guangdong (i.e. Canton) and Hong Kong, Shanghainese is only spoken in Shanghai, Xi'an-nese is popular around Xi'an, and so on. Mandarin became the default dialect only because the government decided it would be (probably because it's the native tongue of Beijingers). In 1955, the government even renamed Mandarin putonghua, literally the "normal language". Now pretty much everyone speaks it because they had to take it in school.

A couple related notes:

If you're wondering why, if Mandarin is the dominant language, that there seem to be a disproportionate majority of Cantonese speakers in your Chinatown, it's because a vast majority of Chinese emigres used to come from Hong Kong. That's also why the West used to know the Chinese capital as Peking (the Cantonese pronunciation) instead of the now-standard Beijing (the putonghua pronunciation).

For what it's worth, ketchup/catsup is a Cantonese word too (literally, tomato juice). That's why nobody can quite figure out how to spell it.

Xi'an is not the same as xian. The apostrophes are used to split words up: xi is "west", and an is "peace". Together, they're the name of that city where the terracotta warriors were found. Xian (one word) could mean a few different things, like "first" or "fresh".

The Thing About the Chinese...

2008-08-28T11:13:00.000+08:00

...is that they're more wired than you. And it'll be like that for the next few years.

Picture taken in Hong Kong.

The Thing About the Chinese...

2008-08-27T13:28:00.000+08:00

...is that all you whities look the same to us.

Barbershop Reality Check

2008-08-27T13:06:00.001+08:00

Went to get a haircut last night, and ended up getting talked into getting a massage too (not that kind of massage). Barbershops in China are often like mini-spas; they have massage rooms in the back and you can get your nails and all that done too. Anyways, the whole thing really made me realize just what a fortunate situation I'm in here as a foreigner.

First of all, a haircut there (with a wash and rinse) costs Y15. That's like $2.50 back home. And that's already more than some people are willing to pay, since a haircut at home is free (the Chinese are really cheap). Y5 extra gets you a 10 minute shoulder/arm/back massage in the barber's chair. The full-body massage I got was Y48, so just more than $7. And that's really luxury treatment. Most locals don't ever get the chance to get one.

During the massage, I got to talking to my masseuse, and man do I have it good. My masseuse was 24, and had already been working for 4-5 years at various barbershops. She actually moved in from a smaller town 3-4 hours outside Shanghai to look for work. Turns out she lives in the same apartment complex (across from the barbershop) as I do, which surprised me since my spot (a 3-bedroomer loaned to me by a family friend) is pretty nice. How does that work? Well, it works if you share the flat with 9 other girls. I didn't ask how much she made, but suffice to say it's probably not a whole lot. She works 12-13 hours a day, 6 days a week.

Still, bar servers might have it worse. A friend here used to work at a bar (for Y50 a night), and he said that the girls working there made Y35 (no tips) for an 8-10 hour shift. A pint there costs Y40.

Update: A brave American blogger spent a month working at a local barbershop just to see what it'd be like; he wrote about it here.

Final Thoughts

2008-08-26T01:19:00.000+08:00

So the Beijing Olympics are finally now done and over with, and at least in my eyes, they were a great success (is it just me, or can I not see those words now without thinking of Borat?). From all accounts, everything was extremely well-organized, and I think most people there had a great time, despite the string of mini-controversies that followed the event.

Seems to me that's the general feeling around here too, from talking to friends and locals. Though, to be fair, they have a pretty biased view of the event; questions about the gymnasts' age, for example, were often dismissed offhand when I explained the situation (the papers haven't said a word about it here).

I've probably said enough about the media coverage already, but one thing I did find lacking was insight into what the locals thought. What do people here think about all the controversies? About all the stuff (human rights, pollution, etc...) that China was coming under fire for? The media has a great effect on what the public at home think about the Games,and I think adding that element would've helped those abroad better get a feel for the vibe in China. Tourists/expats generally live apart from the locals, and I understand language is an issue, but there are literally a billion people they could've talked to.

Geoffrey York of the Globe and Mail did an excellent job in this respect. He watched the Opening Ceremonies with a middle-class family, and got in with some Chinese to see how they sacrificed personally for the Games (and how the felt about it).

And by the way, someone poke Jacques Rogge to see if he's is still alive. I'm pretty sure he went through the entire Games with this look on his face the whole time.

The Final Say

2008-08-25T14:27:00.000+08:00

A good collection of Olympic "Report Cards" just went up on Shangahiist.com today. Link here.

A lot of "the Olympics were great, but..." articles. By and large, though, I'd say the Games went off pretty well.

Expat Pride

2008-08-25T09:03:00.002+08:00

Did you hear about those Americans who flew into Beijing wearing breathing masks? China should respect their human rights and buy them tickets to go straight home. If you want to protest, go back to the US!
-My Dad

One of the things I noticed going home is that there's a lot of pride in the Chinese expat community in these Olympics. Sometimes overly so, like when my Dad says stuff like that. (Clearly, there were concerns about the pollution in Beijing, and if you've been training your whole life for something, I can see why you'd want to do everything to protect your chances of winning. And anyways, how does wearing a mask have anything to do with protests or human rights?)

Must be frustrating at times to be a Chinese expat though. You're constantly getting the Western spin on things going on at home, which, to put it lightly, isn't always fair. Especially if you were raised to see it from the other side.

Closing Up Shop

2008-08-24T09:49:00.007+08:00

A rundown of news and notes as the Olympics wrap up, Sweet 'n Sour style:

Sweet: Gracious winners. Matthias Steiner, newly crowned world's strongest man, dedicates his victory to his recently deceased wife, choking back tears on the podium while holding her picture.
Sour: Sore losers. Cuban taekwando'er gets DQ'ed, kicks ref in face.

Sweet: Clear skies in Beijing. I really thought pollution would be a problem.
Sour: In retrospect, these guys look kind of stupid. I don't blame them though.

Sweet: China dominates gold medal count. Mass executions of disgraced Olympians canceled.
Sour: Chinese gymnastics scandal. "Chinese people are just smaller" doesn't quite hold up. And confessions of similar foibles at the 2000 Games don't help either.
Also sour: Bitching from Americans, especially when the gymnasts themselves are gracious in accepting the situation. Props to this reporter for making light of the situation. And by the way, if we're going to strip people of medals on circumstantial info, let's go back and take the 2000 baseball gold away from the Americans (since one of their top pitchers later got caught using steroids).

Sweet: Beijing set up sanctioned protest zones.
Sour: All applications to protest were rejected. Journalists were hassled for covering any protests that did happen. Multiple protesters detained and released without good cause.
Uber Sour: Two 70-year old elderly women who felt inadequately compensated for having their homes seized and redeveloped were sent to "re-education" camps after simply applying to protest in a protest zone.

Sweet: Beijing, by all accounts, has been a great Olympic host. China's ~~small~~ huge army of volunteers (half a million of them!) have been great, and the people themselves have been accommodating. No surprise for anyone who's ever visited China.
Sour: "Incidents" (1 and 2) in Western China. Frankly, I expected worse. Maybe this deserves to be in the Sweet category.

Sweet: Fantastic facilities, the Water Cube and Bird's Nest in particular.
Sour: The Coca-Cola National Stadium of China?

Sweet: Sex and the Olympic Village. Even if you don't medal, getting laid ain't a bad consolation prize.
Sour: No sour. Though I loved that this article, by the Bangkok Post, of all papers, interviewed a female athlete by the name of Sluitjier. And yes, actually, I have graduated from university. Why do you ask?

The Thing About the Chinese...

2008-08-23T18:10:00.002+08:00

...is that their food cooks itself now.

Bible Bind

2008-08-22T00:14:00.002+08:00

A group of American Christians who had more than 300 Bibles confiscated by Chinese customs officials left the airport Monday after a 26-hour standoff, saying they realized officials would not change their stance.
-AP

That doesn't make China look so hot. To be fair though, I went through that same airport in May, and had a travel book snatched from my bag after a post-arrival bag scan (unheard of elsewhere, but somewhat standard in China). The reason? The map inside had Taiwan coloured white. The rest of China was blue.

I eventually negotiated to pick the book up upon my exit, but maybe that's easier if you speak Chinese/look Chinese. And when I did get by book back, they made sure to escort me directly to my departure gate. It wouldn't do to give me the chance to spread my politically sensitive materials outside the airport, now would it?

Criticism and Cultural Gaps

2008-08-21T23:15:00.002+08:00

So are the media just being a little mean to China? It does at times feel akin to if coverage of the Atlanta Olympics were focused on the failings of the U.S. health care system and the plight of the American Indian. One foreign correspondent for a major American newspaper agreed, telling me, "In Athens the traffic jams were presented as the outgrowth of a hip Mediterranean lifestyle. Here they become yet another product of state repression."...

If you've ever done business in China, you know what fangwen (an "official visit") is all about—a kind of formal tour that is meant to show how great the host's facility is, while the guest says admiring things. China was hoping the Olympics would be a nationwide version of fangwen. Instead, it is mostly getting fangs...

China's idea of what makes for a better Olympics for foreign consumption—tightened security and cleaning up marginal elements—is exactly what makes Western reporters crazy. If you're showing off for the fangwen, you want to clean things up, but the West wants to see the dirt, not the rug it was swept under. It's the dishonesty, as much as the substance of what's wrong in China, that seems to get under the skin of Western reporters.

-Tim Wu, from Slate.com

Really, really good article on Slate dealing with the criticism China's received during the Olympics and the cultural differences that are playing into it.

Blot-ing Begrudingly

2008-08-21T13:59:00.001+08:00

But one afternoon two years later, [Bolt] ran too fast at a school field day and found himself on the track team, because Jamaica will compel a sprinter to sprint.
-CNNSI.com

Apparently China's not the only one that forces athletes to compete.

Life of Reilly

2008-08-21T09:03:00.007+08:00

Rick Reilly (formerly of Sports Illustrated, now of ESPN) is one of the most popular and respected sports journalists in America. He's done well for himself writing mostly puff pieces, and last month's article about Charles Barley's horrendous golf swing is pretty indicative of what he usually puts out.

That's why his latest piece surprised me.

He pretty much takes China apart, calling the Olympics the "Fauxlympics" and listing off the many reasons why he thinks the Games have been a farce. And don't get me wrong, China has handled some things poorly during these last couple weeks, but I think in general, it's gone pretty well. So I have some real problems with this article.

Firstly, he frames the piece by describing a building under construction in downtown Beijing that has been made to look finished through the use of tarps and computer projectors. It's apparently a microcosm of all the Olympic fakery that's been going on. What he fails to mention is that this is done in Europe all the time. I took this picture in London two years ago, and I took it because I was amused by it, not appalled. He's making this fake building thing into an issue when it really has nothing to do with anything (and especially not the Olympics).

He also ends it by casting a negative light on the cloud seeding China did to ensure clear skies for the Games (it's really worked, by the way). But it's not like China's the first one to do something like that. Russia, for example, seeded clouds to clear away the rain during the 2006 G8 summit. (It didn't work, but at least it ended better than that other time they tried it.)

The stuff in the middle is mostly accurate, but a lot of it's been slanted in a very non-flattering way. Yes, there are empty seats at the events, and "volunteer fans" are being used to fill them. But those seats were legitimately sold/given to sponsors; how would you solve that problem? Yes, China used CGI to spruce up the Opening Ceremonies. But what's the harm in that? The world wanted to see a show, and it got one. And yes, I can see how the Great Firewall adds to the "fakery" going on. But if you're going to rip the government for it, rip it for keeping it up during the Olympics, and not for putting it up in the first place. Internet censorship is just a part of life here, and that issue goes way above and beyond the scope of your article.

What's frustrating about this article is not its factual inaccuracy. It's that Reilly makes no effort to see the issue from the other side. These Games are really, really important to China. And though that doesn't justify all of what's happened, it does explain it a little. Given the huge cultural difference between the East and West, isn't it possible that some of China's try-hardness has just come off the wrong way?

Is Argentina in Spain?

2008-08-20T13:26:00.002+08:00

Sure looks like it (but don't take my word, I can barely see out of my slanty eyes).

Picture from Aug. 5th issue of Argentinian magazine Ole.

Update: Great article from ESPN about the culture of political incorrectness in Spain. Good to see the other side of the issue. The thing is, after getting burned for being "racist" so many times by the international community, shouldn't you learn? Especially if you're bidding for the 2016 Games?

Faster, Higher, Stronger, Prettier

2008-08-19T14:11:00.000+08:00

I was just reading the Vancouver Province from yesterday, and amazingly, there were three (that I saw) mentions of the girl who got replaced in the Opening Ceremonies by a lip-syncing counterpart with a prettier face. Seriously, is this such a big deal? That's news from five full days ago (what a horribly biased headline, by the way..."banned" is much too strong a word).

I haven't asked anyone here yet, but I get the feeling this really isn't that big a deal to the locals. Again, it goes back to the population problem: with so many people in the country, everyone's replaceable. So, what the Communist government gives, it can also easily take away. People know that, and as long as they're not too put out by it, and it seems to be for the common good (the Olympics clearly qualify) they're fine with it. I'm not saying it's right, but that's just the way it is. This kind of mentality is so ingrained in the Chinese culture that officials didn't even see a reason to lie about it.

“The reason why little Peiyi was not chosen to appear was because we wanted to project the right image. The reason was for the national interest."
-Chen Qigang, composer and music director for the Opening Ceremonies

Internet posters seem to feel for the girl that got replaced, but nobody seems too worked up about it. Even the guy who pushes for an apology seems to be doing it more to sate the international community than the girl who got shafted.

And don't give me crap about the girl's self-esteem. The Chinese have very little regard for wishy-washy feelings like that. Either you make it or you don't in a country of 1.3 billion. Live with it.

Office Olympics

2008-08-19T10:57:00.000+08:00

Gotta love Dwight.

Sweet Georgia!

2008-08-18T21:40:00.003+08:00

Is it just me, or does the international outcry against Russia's invasion of South Ossetia seem kind of muted? I mean, Russia is essentially just flexing its muscles, saying "dibs" and taking over. I understand that the Olympics are going to dominate the news, but given how much grief China's gotten in the 50 years since it moved into Tibet, shouldn't we be hearing a lot more from outraged politicians, celebrities and activist groups? Imagine what it'd be like if China tried to annex northern Thailand or something.

Oh yeah, Russia's now threatening to launch a nuclear attack on Poland too.

Liu Xiang Limps Off

2008-08-18T20:15:00.003+08:00

Liu Xiang, defending Olympic champion and former world record holder in the 110m hurdles, pulled up lame after a false start in the first round, disqualifying himself from contention early in the competition. Doesn't sound like a big deal to us in the Western world, but Liu Xiang was the Chinese star in these Olympics, the Michael Phelps of the host nation. The loss was taken so hard that many fans (and even Liu's coach) cried when it happened.

China isn't very strong in any of the track events, and this was their one chance to show their superiority in a (somewhat) marquee event. A couple more in-depth takes on this at ESPN and NYT.

Badass-minton

2008-08-18T19:48:00.004+08:00

China's Lin Dan is widely recognized as the Tiger Woods/Michael Jordan/Michael Phelps/etc... of badminton right now (sure, it's kind of like being the world's fastest tricyclist, but it's still a big deal in China), and he finally won his first Olympic gold on Sunday.

Why you should care about him:

He's also dating the world's #1 ranked female player.
He once threatened to bludgeon a South Korean coach with his racket.
He once punched his own coach during Olympic training.

He'd be a rockstar athlete if he was playing any other sport.

Update: After winning, Dan had this to say: "The gold medal has confirmed the fact that I am an outstanding sportsman."

Phelps' Phinish

2008-08-18T19:40:00.002+08:00

So apparently FINA, the governing body of swimming, is refusing to release the pictures that conclusively show Phelps' 0.01 second margin of victory in the 100m butterfly. Fortunately for us, we live in the 21st century, where we can use computers to break down video. CNNSI has the photo evidence here.

Gaokao: Part III

2008-08-17T02:32:00.000+08:00

Sure, it's easiest just to score high on the gaokao and get into your university of choice, but there are more exciting ways as well. Last Sunday, 500 students tried to get into Shanghai Normal University's School of Mathematics and Science using admission notices they'd received in the mail. Turns out, the school doesn't even send out admission notices. Nice try.

The Olympics So Far...

2008-08-17T01:43:00.006+08:00

Been doing my best to follow the Olympics from Canada...lots going on obviously, but here are the top 8 stories in my view:

Parts of the Opening Ceremonies were faked. Fireworks were drawn in with CGI, and they had a cute girl lip synch for an uglier one (who had a better voice). If it wasn't obvious before, there's a lot on the line here for China.
Michael Phelps is dominating. So much so that a Chinese blog removed a "How Many Medals Will Phelps Win?" post. We all know he's only winning cause he's a horrible cheater though.
Pollution. Not so much a story so far.
China's cheating (told ya so). It's been using underage gymnasts (the minimum age limit is 16). Can't defend it, but I guess if you can get away with it, why not. What's rarely mentioned in Western articles is that this is pretty common practice in sports, especially baseball (though to be fair, there's much less on the line there).
The Spanish are racist. Parts 1 (the basketball team) and 2 (the womens tennis team). Jose Calderon, a Spanish player who plays professionally in Toronto, a city with one of the largest Asian expat populations, defends his team by saying, "We thought it was something appropriate and that it would always be interpreted as somewhat loving." He goes on to say anyone thinking anything differently is "confused", and, of course, that "some of my best friends in Toronto are from China".
China is raking in the gold. It's got 27 golds to US's 16 (thanks in large part to Phelps), though it trails in total medals 48-54.
More trouble in Xinjiang. A bus "accident" killed 30 three days ago. Needless to say, probably not an accident. And probably not the last attempt for attention either (though I hope it is).
And finally, the 21 Edicts from the Government's Propoganda Unit. Wonder how they got this. Also means things like this get no coverage at all in China.

Fun links, on the day that Canada finally passes Tajikistan in the medal count:

Phelps eats a lot. Journalist tries to do same, fails.
Journalist eats assorted animal penises to get a taste for the local culture.
Bad Olympic jokes.
Chinese rower misses race, dq's himself from 2 shots at medals.
The Olympic Blue Screen of Death
A horrific (I'm really not kidding) weightlifting accident.

Olympic Predictions

2008-08-08T23:37:00.003+08:00

Had to go home to deal with some stuff, so I'm not actually in China right now. But I should be back closer to the end of the Games, when I hope to actually get to Beijing to get a feel for the vibe. Anyways, 8 predictions for the '08 Games:

China wins the total medal count. Maybe the gold medal count too.
Liu Xiang wins gold in the 110m hurdles. Barely.
Events have to be moved due to the smog.
Someone blames their losing on the smog.
No (successful) terrorist attacks, but
More and more coverage on Xinjiang and the Uighur separatist movement.
At least one successful rally/disturbance/uprising by a foreign protest group that gets international coverage.
Some scandal where China is accused of stealing medals by rigging the competition or tainting someone's blood test.

chī-nēz'

2008-08-05T11:48:00.003+08:00

In my view, one of the biggest problems China's going to have putting on a good show to visitors during the Olympics will be Chinese itself. It's not at all a language you can pick up quickly, and visitors often don't realize how few people speak even basic English here. In my experience, Westerners expect China to be a lot more Westernized than it is (or than they should), and the language issue is a pretty good indication of that.

The biggest difference between the two languages is that Chinese is based around the vowel sounds, while English focuses a lot more on the consonants. The Chinese word da, for example, could mean 'big' or 'to hit' (and a couple other things), depending on how you say the 'a'. But Westerners don't really have a concept of that. They only really see one way to say it, short of changing the volume of their voice or saying it as if it had a question mark or exclamation mark at the end of it (which can actually get you close).

Personally, I've been plenty frustrated myself when I get a Chinese address from my friend in pinyin and can't get the taxi driver to understand it because I don't know what tones to use. And I speak some Chinese. Imagine the frustration a white American with no sense of Chinese will have. The whole thing can easily taint a foreigner's experience in China, and that worries me a little, because all that is no fault of the Chinese people themselves, who are often earnestly trying to help you out.

Blue Skies in Beijing

2008-08-04T00:48:00.001+08:00

Just how clear are the skies in Beijing? The Asia Society has had a photographer taking pictures of the view/smog out her window every day for the last year. Check it out here.

Amazingly, only two of the top five clearest days were in 2008 (and so were three of the top five dirtiest days). Doesn't say a lot for the pollution measures they've got going.

Beijing 2018

2008-08-04T00:11:00.001+08:00

Don't screw with the SWAT teams in Beijing. Or they'll hunt you down in their Segways.

They've also got guns that can fire nets at people and elite squads called the Blue Sword Commando Unit and the Snow Leopard Commando Unit (those guys were even trained in a "secret camp" for five years). I'm still working to confirm whether or not this is actually a true story or if President Hu Jintao just had a crazy dream after reading some comic books.

And is it just me, or does it seem like the guys in that picture have Storm Trooper guns (complete with the laser ammo and the bew-bew-bew sound effects)?

Cheaters!

2008-08-03T13:19:00.000+08:00

In the days before their World Cup opener against host China last September, members of the Danish women's soccer team say they faced ongoing harassment that culminated in the discovery of two men attempting to secretly videotape a team meeting at their hotel through a two-way mirror.
-CNNSI.com

So I realize that I've become somewhat of a Chinese apologist since I got here, but this one's pretty indefensible. Plus I'm pretty sure the Danish coach's story is true. Inside the country, the Chinese government is pretty cocky and assumes (usually rightly) it can get away with just about anything.

I really really doubt China will try anything like this in Beijing though. Too much at stake.

The Thing About the Chinese...

2008-08-03T13:09:00.000+08:00

...is that one of them looks like Charlie Brown too.

"What I'm Looking Forward to at the 2008 Games"

2008-08-01T13:24:00.003+08:00

In China, authorities often act as scouts for an archaic Soviet-esque sports model, plucking children -- sometimes the only child of couples in a nation with birth limits -- from the low-income, rural reaches of the country. Possess stout legs? You're perfect for weightlifting. Wispy frame? You're made for a marathon. Able to catch butterflies? Badminton is calling you.

Under pressure, and with the riches of national glory as a carrot, parents surrender their children to the sports factories, where they are sealed off from their families for years.
-Selena Roberts, CNNSI.com

I can't really disagree with that statement, but at the same time, it's pretty bad journalism to paint everyone with a broad brush like that, isn't it? National pride is a huge (and often misunderstood) thing in China, especially during the Olympics, and as much as the government "forces" kids into rigorous training systems, there's often a strong push from the family as well. Watch the first six minutes of this excerpt from a Discovery Channel documentary:

"I'd be so happy if I made it to the national team, but I think my Dad would be even happier!"
-Gymnast Jin Yang

I love how the father laughs as he's talking about how he used to beat his kid.

Back to the point though. There's no doubt that Chinese athletes are pushed harder than their counterparts in the West, and I too have read stories about how Olympic athletes are forced to continue training long after they've lost the desire to. That's obviously not right. But look at it from this father's perspective: gymnastics are probably the only way your (only) child is going to make a name for herself, and given the competition there is in a country of 1.3 billion, you've got to take that chance. Jin Yang's father knows how hard it is to stand out in China, and by letting her quit, he's really failing as a father to give her the best chance at success.

If it's not obvious by now, "happiness" isn't quite as viewed the same in China as it is in the West. "Happiness" is being able to beat out the 200,000 others gunning for what you have to help your family survive. The Western, loosey-goosey "doing what makes you happy" attitude is more like a sure-fire way to fail. And I say that having lived with elements of that mentality in my family, and knowing that it still exists in a lot of families that have recently emigrated from China.