Beijing has launched a 100-day campaign to “clean out” foreigners living or working illegally in the city amid a fervent online debate over the behavior, both good and bad, of outsiders in China.
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Beijing Pledges to ‘Clean Out’ Illegal Foreigners
China Real Time Report15 May 2012 | 8:06 am -
Report: Economic and Social Survey of Asia-Pacific Region 2012
2point6billion.com - Foreign Direct Investment in Asia14 May 2012 | 1:19 amThe 2012 edition of the Economic and Social Survey of Asia and the Pacific scales down the economic growth of the region to 6.5 percent in 2012, with China and India expanding their economy by 8.6 percent and 7.5 percent, respectively. Continue reading → -
Necessary Brainwashing? Hong Kong’s Patriotism Lessons
China Real Time Report16 May 2012 | 2:37 amA call to teach Hong Kong children about the “great tradition of loving the motherland" is drawing renewed critics and defenders. -
David Cameron meets Dalai Lama, hurts feelings of the Chinese people
Danwei16 May 2012 | 2:32 amThe Beijing Morning Post is a commercial daily under the Beijing DailyPress Group, controlled by municipal authorities. Today’s front page features the following assortment of headlines: “China strongly condemns the British Prime Minister’s meeting the Dalai Lama”, “Subsidized housing that is being rented out or left idle must be reported” and “Electronic passports have arrived!” In the first article, the newspaper reports that China’s Vice-Foreign Minister, Song Tao, held an emergency meeting with the British Ambassador to express the nation’s opposition to Prime Minister… -
'Goodbye to China, country of contradictions'
Hao Hao Report - Published news12 May 2012 | 5:32 amAl Jazeera's ex-Beijing correspondent Melissa Chan writes her farewell to China after her press credentials were revoked, without explanation, by the Chinese government.
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China Real Time Report
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Hong Kong Chief Executive’s Proposed Salary: US$620,843
16 May 2012 | 5:21 amHong Kong’s political leaders, already among the best-paid in the world, are in line for a pay raise. -
Necessary Brainwashing? Hong Kong’s Patriotism Lessons
16 May 2012 | 2:37 amA call to teach Hong Kong children about the “great tradition of loving the motherland" is drawing renewed critics and defenders. -
Chinese Property Giant’s Foreign ‘Tryout’
16 May 2012 | 1:59 amChinese property developer Vanke's new interest in markets outside China raises a question: Is the company hinting that its view of the domestic Chinese market is souring? -
Top China Stories from WSJ: Tension Over Uighurs, Chen Cites Progress, FDI Falls
15 May 2012 | 8:21 pmSigns of tension are returning to relations between Japan and China over a conference in Japan of what China calls a "separatist organization"; blind activist Chen Guangcheng said he has made some progress in his effort to leave China; foreign direct investment into China fell for the sixth straight month. -
Beijing Pledges to ‘Clean Out’ Illegal Foreigners
15 May 2012 | 8:06 amBeijing has launched a 100-day campaign to “clean out” foreigners living or working illegally in the city amid a fervent online debate over the behavior, both good and bad, of outsiders in China.
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Silicon Hutong
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Jacques and the Need for China to Change
26 Apr 2012 | 4:07 amDeng Xiaoping bust in the Zhuhai High-Tech Zone (Photo credit: Wikipedia) China’s path to reform | Martin Jacques | Comment is free | The Guardian. In this well-written editorial, Martin Jacques captures why the Party’s next generation of leaders needs to engage in a rethink. The key graf: First, the era of cheap labour and low value-added production is coming to an end as the economy becomes increasingly sophisticated: a major shift in economic strategy is under way. Second, China has acquired a panoply of global interests that require its foreign policy, presently based on… -
The Economist Nails the Case for Elections in Hong Kong
26 Apr 2012 | 4:06 amConsultation Document on the Methods for Selecting the Chief Executive and for Forming the LegCo in 2012 (Photo credit: Wikipedia) Leaving aside any ideological preferences one might have, The Economist makes a realist’s case for elections in Hong Kong. In this case, though, there are practical reasons for China allowing a proper election, with non-acceptable candidates running too. It would bolster the mainland’s pitch to Taiwan: that “one country, two systems” means what it says. Full democracy may also be the safest option in Hong Kong. The uneasy coalition of Beijing’s… -
photo
27 Mar 2012 | 3:01 amReblogged from strategicaffairswa: Pictures like this make clear that China is the country most threatened by North Korean missiles, and thus have the most to lose if North Korea goes rogue. China is undoubtedly doing something to keep this from happening, but what? -
Not Just China: Russian Government Mobilizing a Cyber-Militia
19 Feb 2012 | 8:17 pmDarkness Botnet and Russian Politics. A fascinating look into the organized – and likely government-supported – world of Russian Hacking. Apart from the fact that it was a surprise to read an article on cybersecurity that didn’t even mention China, it provides a glimpse at how Putin seems to be building his own cyber militia. While that capability is aimed internally in this story, how hard would it be for the Russian government to switch targets to overseas servers? Probably not very. As tempting as it is to make China the world’s cyber-boogeyman, as this NPR article… -
When Life Should Imitate Art
19 Feb 2012 | 6:16 pmImage via Wikipedia In the Hutong Mahndei, Mahndei 0815 hrs. In a brilliant essay in The Atlantic by Orville Schell, the Arthur Ross Director of the Center on U.S.-China Relations at the Asia Society, the venerable China scholar captures a spontaneous moment in a performance in Beijing by Meryl Streep and Yo-Yo Ma and turns it into the best deconstruction of Chinese international relations that I have read in a very long time. Every paragraph in the essay is a gem, but my favorite by far is this one, which elegantly encapsulates the conundrum of international relations in the 21st century:…
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Danwei
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David Cameron meets Dalai Lama, hurts feelings of the Chinese people
16 May 2012 | 2:32 amThe Beijing Morning Post is a commercial daily under the Beijing DailyPress Group, controlled by municipal authorities. Today’s front page features the following assortment of headlines: “China strongly condemns the British Prime Minister’s meeting the Dalai Lama”, “Subsidized housing that is being rented out or left idle must be reported” and “Electronic passports have arrived!” In the first article, the newspaper reports that China’s Vice-Foreign Minister, Song Tao, held an emergency meeting with the British Ambassador to express the nation’s opposition to Prime Minister… -
Wang Yang: Look online for constructive feedback on governance
15 May 2012 | 4:05 amThe Dongguan Times is a commercial daily affiliated with the Party news group in the southern manufacturing city of Dongguan. Today the front page features a picture of Wang Yang, Provincial Party Secretary of Guangdong Province and CPC Central Committee member. The headline is: “Wang Yang says online criticisms can help us lead with more clarity.” Wang was recently reelected to the post of Guangdong Party Secretary, and yesterday was the first meeting of the new Provincial Standing Committee. In his opening speech, he told the new Standing Committee they must fulfill their… -
China’s hospitals up security in the face of rising patient-to-doctor violence
14 May 2012 | 4:23 amThe China Youth Daily is a commercial daily run by the Communist Youth League. On the right hand side of today’s front page is a tiny headline: “how to restore the harmonious doctor-patient relationship,” along with a thumbnail picture of a medical worker learning self-defense from a policeman at the Women and Children’s Hospital, Ningbo City. The article notes there have been several cases of patients killing doctors in the past few years. In response, the Ministry of Health has issued an emergency notice that requires health administrative departments at all levels to increase… -
China apprehends Waxy Kang, a prominent drug lord in the Mekong River
11 May 2012 | 5:15 amThe China Youth Daily is a commercial daily newspaper run by the Communist Youth League. Today the front page features a picture of Naw Kahn (sometimes known as ‘Waxy Kang’ or Nuo Kang, 糯康), a prominent drug lord in the notorious ‘Golden Triangle’ area of the Mekong River, being escorted off a plane to Beijing by Chinese authorities. The headline reads, “Waxy Kang, the main culprit behind the Mekong murder was escorted to Beijing.” The Mekong murder refers to an incident last October where a group of renegade Thai soldiers supposedly colluded with Khan’s group to… -
Wang Yang says its not the Party’s role to bestow happiness on the people
10 May 2012 | 4:52 amThe Southern Metropolis Daily is a Guangdong-based newspaper with a big print circulation in its home province, and a wide national audience online. The front page headline today is: “At the Party Congress, Wangyang said we must let go of the false idea that the party and government are responsible for providing people’s happiness.” This has been circulated all over the Chinese Internet since last night, when it first appeared. Wang Yang is the Provincial Party Secretary of Guangdong Province, and a member of the CPC Central Committee. He is the representative of what has been called…
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Imagethief
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Rectified.name: The Devil’s Air Conditioner and Other Tales of Woe
14 May 2012 | 9:50 pmSometimes life in Beijing is like one of those Japanese game shows where they see how much torture people are willing to endure for surprisingly mediocre prizes. Picture the following and you’ve more or less got it: “Mr. Ishihara, for a new desktop dumpling fridge you’ve been strapped naked to a hospital gurney in the burning sun for twelve hours. You’re pinking up nicely. Do you wish to continue?” “Yes!” “Then it’s time to raise the bar! Here comes a team of lingerie models to glue Gabonese fire ants to your testicles!” “I can take it! Must…have…tiny…fridge!”… -
Rectified.Name: Good News! The Press is Out to Get You!
11 May 2012 | 1:29 amA couple of weeks ago I gave a talk about PR in China to a journalism class at Beijing Foreign Studies University. In any student talk the Q&A is always the most fun, and this group was no exception. Among the many good questions asked was whether it was easier to do PR in China because, as I had discussed in my talk, the Chinese media is generally cozier with businesses than their Western counterparts. Easier to get stories? Yes. Easier to achieve meaningful results with the public? No. I was reminded of this question by the recent expulsion of hard-charging Al Jazeera English… -
Rectified.name: In Defense of the Fuzz
1 May 2012 | 7:40 pmFor many years I lived in Singapore, which is right on the equator and has roughly two seasons: slightly more rainy, and slightly less rainy. Otherwise, it was pretty much hot and humid throughout, which always used to freak me out a bit at Christmas. To an American, encountering Santa Claus in 30C heat is unexpected, like finding a live rattlesnake in your refrigerator. It’s always struck me as somewhat unnatural that Australians see Christmas as a summer phenomenon. What else do they do backwards? Maybe on Christmas morning, they randomly steal things and slap people. One of the things I… -
Sinica: Muckraking with Chinese characteristics
13 Apr 2012 | 5:01 amAnother Sinica podcast this week, this time focusing mostly on a favorite topic of mine: Media corruption in China. We were lucky to have Caixin editor Li Xin as a guest. Caixin is one of the handful of Chinese publications that distinguishes itself by its ethics, but her perspective as an experienced Chinese journalist was great to have. Here’s the blurb: In one of the juicier quotes making the rounds on social networks this week a private equity investor in Shanghai savaged the Chinese media for its unblinking corruption, quipping to the New York Times that “if one of my… -
Rectified.Name: Facebook + Instagram + China = Take a Deep Breath
11 Apr 2012 | 4:51 amSo, Facebook bought Instagram for a billion bucks. Awesome for those guys. I, alas, did not get rich in either of the Internet startups I participated in. But you can’t put a price on experience, right? Deep sigh. Anyway, Instagram is freely accessible here in China, at least for the moment, and apparently has a small but growing user base. It’s been limited to a certain slice of the China market by being an iOS-only app until last week. It may get picked up more now that it’s on Android as well, especially given Android’s whomping share of the smartphone market in…
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China Law Blog
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Selling Your Product Into China. What You Need To Know.
16 May 2012 | 9:30 amABC News is pushing (I received two different emails from ABC on it) a Diane Sawyer/ABC News clip entitled, “‘Made in America’ Products Selling in China.” Though it is the proverbial 3.28 minute puff piece, it is right on the big picture. There are huge opportunities to sell American product and American products are viewed very highly in China. It starts out noting how “the Chinese spent $104 billion in U.S. exports in the last year — up 542 percent from 10 years ago.” For more on how China has been greatly increasing its purchases of American… -
Aussiewood Film Finance And China Co-Productions. Ever The Twain Shall Meet?
15 May 2012 | 5:34 pmBy: Mathew Alderson During the Beijing International Film Festival last month, several Hollywood executives and film producers expressed interest in the Australian producer offset and asked me whether their films might qualify for it. Though these sorts of inquiries tend to arise in connection with official Chinese co-productions, they also come up in connection with Hollywood projects with no immediate China connection. In this post I will look at the Australian producer offset generally. There are significant exceptions to the rules in the case of an official Chinese co-production so I… -
News Corp Buys Into Bona Film Group And Gets What? The Disclosure Statement Might Tell Us.
14 May 2012 | 3:09 pmJust back from Los Angeles, where I met with countless people in the movie industry and discussed with nearly all of them how Chinese entertainment companies are and will be buying into Western entertainment companies, and vice-versa. In just the past week, we are hearing of Wanda (China) looking to buy into AMC Entertainment (U.S.) and News Corporation (Rupert Murdoch’s company) having just announced that it will be buying approximately 20% of Bona Film Group, a China-based movie distributor and producer. And that is where things get complicated. As soon as I heard about the Bona film… -
China Luxury Spending Seminar. New York City On May 16, 2012.
12 May 2012 | 11:12 pmJust got back from Los Angeles, where I met with long-time China hands, Sage Brennan and Renee Hartmann. Since returning to the United States, Sage and Renee have formed China Luxury Advisors, a consultancy focused on helping luxury goods companies market to Chinese consumers both within and outside China. These days its difficult to find any consumer brand that is not at least considering the potential to sell to Chinese consumers — whether by entering the China market or by targeting the hordes of wealthy Chinese shopping and traveling overseas. In the luxury industry, interest is… -
How To Save Face In China. The Book.
11 May 2012 | 12:45 pmUnless you have a perfect mastery of Chinese language, symbolism, and social nuances (and who even has that of their own country, anyway?), consider picking up a copy of Anne-Laure Monfret’s Saving Face in China, a practical book aimed at aiding you in making a decent impression on your Chinese business contacts. Monfret is a French management and HR specialist who spent eight years in China. Her book addresses the trickiest areas of Chinese culture through thoughtful explanations and first-hand stories. As she illustrates, it takes a whole lot more than common courtesy to navigate…
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All Roads Lead to China - Business News, Analysis, and Insights from China
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China to Increase Visa Checks. Again
16 May 2012 | 12:55 amTwitter was all a buzz with news of a 100 day campaign to root out foreigners living in China illegally. According to the China Daily: Popular Beijing spots for foreigners, such as Sanlitun and university areas, will be targeted by police in a fresh drive against visitors who commit crimes, outstay their visas or gain illegal employment, authorities said on Monday. For some, it was a sign that China was after “them”, a feeling that certainly has resonated in the journo community following the Melissa Chen affair, but after 10 years in China and a memory of 3-4 formal visa check… -
Twitter Weekly Updates for 2012-05-14
14 May 2012 | 6:25 pm[well worth the listen!] China’s insatiable thirst for #energy http://t.co/ieUleS34 #China #coal #cleantech # HK High-Speed Rail Station (open 2015) looks AWESOME http://t.co/AkWt3f9b #hongkong #rail #transportation # RT @TheAtlantic: #China #039;s biggest challenge isn't military or economic: it's basic #governance http://t.co/QYA3DCjG # Update on Bringing Jobs Back to the United States http://t.co/Ug2B1kGS #insourcing #jobs #madeinusa # Catering to the Self-Expressive Chinese Consumer http://t.co/BVUoCzgy #china #marketing #trends # Writing post of 10 things I won't eat in… -
10 Foods I (Try to) Avoid in China
14 May 2012 | 11:10 amFollowing last week’s post, I was reminded by a reader about a post I wrote a couple years back , and I decided to update it as the core of the post was a list of foods that I generally avoid in China. It is a list that has changed over time, but in looking back, I have done well to stick to it pretty well: 1) Domestic Dairy and Soy Milk product – I wasn’t worried about melamine, I was worried about hormones/ antibiotics use. This is one of those things that I have been looking at for a while. What I have found interesting through this crisis in confidence is that no one… -
Food. The Reason Some Are Looking to Leave China
9 May 2012 | 9:37 amSpeak to anyone who had a child while they were in China, and one of the first issues that comes up is food safety. Beyond air pollution, there is no topic that (in general) I have more discussions about… and more often than not I am being asked what I eat and where do I get it from. It has become such a concern that many (I speak with) are considering leaving China, and the recent Xinhua aritcle detailing the fact that cabbage in China is laced with formaldehyde is certainly not going to help matters one bit. Zhao says he uses the chemical to keep the cabbage in good condition during a… -
Twitter Weekly Updates for 2012-05-07
7 May 2012 | 6:25 pm[ge stagnates in China] GE Turns Eye to Australia http://t.co/xvJLXe9U # china $ge # Hey everyone. I'm now on G+. Follow me and I promise to follow back. http://t.co/VwMh8spd # How to follow All Roads Lead to China on Linkedin, Twitter, Google+, and RSS http://t.co/veqclYmG # Soaring Meat Consumption in #China Has Global Implications http://t.co/EDDTrKMu @allroads #agriculture #food #trade # My questions about what is going on in Beijing right now. http://t.co/s2HQHT4K # Local banker view on getting profits out of China "only one official way (which is difficult), but many…
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China Herald
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"Foreigner hunt" nothing new - Jeremy Goldkorn
16 May 2012 | 2:10 amJeremy Goldkorn China's capital Beijing has set off a hunt against illegal, jobless foreigners. Actually, nothing really new, says Beijing veteran Jeremy Goldkorn, who has seen it all before, he tells the Wall Street Journal. The Wall Street Journal: Beijing has conducted one city-wide sweep of illegal foreigners before, just ahead of the 2008 Olympics. Prior to that, Beijing police have been known to crack down on a district level. “The online reaction is a little scary, but what the police are doing isn’t particularly new,” said Jeremy Goldkorn, founder of the Chinese… -
What Chinese want - Tom Doctoroff
14 May 2012 | 2:58 amTom Doctoroff (Photo credit: Fantake) China advertisement guru Tom Doctoroff dives in his upcoming book What Chinese Want: Culture, Communism and China's Modern Consumer into one of the crucial questions concerning China. The Star-Telegram summarizes the key issues. The more the Chinese change, the more they remain the same. To interact successfully with the business and political leaders and the consumers of post-Cultural Revolution China, Western businesses, government leaders and visitors must keep that paradoxical truth in mind, says Tom Doctoroff, Greater China CEO for J. Walter… -
A government-organized slow-down - Shaun Rein
12 May 2012 | 3:53 amShaun Rein The latest data from China signal a slowdown of the economy. Is this the hard landing, economists have been predicting? No, says business analyst Shaun Rein in CNBC. This is exactly the scenario the central government has been wanting to see. Shaun Rein is currently on a book tour in the US, promoting his book The End of Cheap China: Economic and Cultural Trends that will Disrupt the World. More on Storify. Shaun Rein is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need him at your meeting or conference? Do get in touch or fill in our speakers request form. Related… -
Most of Shanghai's rich are business owners - Rupert Hoogewerf
12 May 2012 | 3:14 amRupert Hoogewerf The number of rich and super rich is growing fast in Shanghai, tells Hurun founder Rupert Hoogewerf in The China Daily. But unlike their global colleagues, Shanghai rich tend to be business owners, and to a lesser degree real estate developers. The China Daily: Business owners, real estate investors and professional investors are the wealthiest people inShanghai, according to Shanghai Wealth Report 2012, published on Friday by Hurun Report… -
Fake eyelashes hit China - Bill Dodson
11 May 2012 | 2:13 amBill Dodson Profound changes are sometimes illustrated by very small changes, like fake eyelashes, China veteran Bill Dodson discovered in his favorite Starbucks in Suzhou, where his favorite waitress underwent a change, he reports on his weblog. Fake eyelashes seemed to have fluttered into the fashion scene in a big way here in China about a year ago. They’ve apparently been popular throughout East Asia for years, starting with young Japanese girls. Slight women with slight features suddenly were able to bat eyelashes that were large enough to fan a pharaoh cool. In the West, false…
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The China Vortex
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Links for 2012-05-15 [del.icio.us]
16 May 2012 | 2:00 amBBC News - China: Trouble at the top? BBC News - China: Trouble at the top? http://t.co/b41mnuFi Electricity data suggests brakes have been put on China | Asian Business Daily RT @chinasolved: Electricity data suggests brakes have been put on China http://t.co/URyAgsrV via @asianbizdaily My answer to: Are China's big banks "built on quicksand"? http://t.co/XLrSOaxC on @Quora JP Morgan: justice department opens investigation into $2bn trading losses | Business | guardian.co.uk JP Morgan: justice department opens investigation into $2bn trading losses http://t.co/YHDmTVlZ via… -
Links for 2012-05-14 [del.icio.us]
15 May 2012 | 2:00 amCharlie Brooker | When you lose touch with popular culture, it's tough to get back | Comment is free | The Guardian Charlie Brooker | When you lose touch with popular culture, it's tough to get back http://t.co/vlQXMbuK via @guardian Wild Elephants gather inexplicably, mourn death of “Elephant Whisperer” | Delight Makers Wild Elephants gather inexplicably, mourn death of “Elephant Whisperer” | Delight Makers: http://t.co/r1Fpq7oo Eurozone crisis live: Markets slide as Greek euro exit looms | Business | guardian.co.uk Eurozone crisis live: Markets slide as Greek euro exit looms… -
Links for 2012-05-13 [del.icio.us]
14 May 2012 | 2:00 amNorth Korean Leader Kim Jong-Un Has An Explosive Family Secret - Business Insider North Korean Leader Kim Jong-Un Has An Explosive Family Secret http://t.co/LabKIJGw via @BI_Military China's transparency laws: a death sentence for the Yangtze sturgeon | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk RT @samgeall: Latest dam on the Yangtze shows the hollowness of China's 'breakthrough' FoI legislation: by me in the @guardian http://t. ... Exclusive: Yahoo’s Thompson Out; Levinsohn In; Board Settlement With Loeb Nears Completion - Kara Swisher - News - AllThingsD RT @Techmeme: Exclusive: Yahoo's… -
Links for 2012-05-12 [del.icio.us]
13 May 2012 | 2:00 am世界新聞網-北美華文新聞、華商資訊 - 薄熙來人氣未衰 胡錦濤頭痛 薄熙來人氣未衰 胡錦濤頭痛: http://t.co/WjFAlwiY Only Mitt Romney Can Stave Off A New Debt Ceiling Fiasco - Business Insider It's More Clear Than Ever That If Romney Loses, The Economy Is Going To Implode http://t.co/tjAr0pY2 via @bi_politics Thousands march against economic gloom in Spain, UK | Reuters Thousands march against economic gloom in Spain, UK… -
Links for 2012-05-11 [del.icio.us]
12 May 2012 | 2:00 amAsia Times Online :: Plutonomy and the precariat Asia Times Online :: Plutonomy and the precariat: http://t.co/25FQFClJ Asia Times Online :: Chen case exposes a shared weakness Asia Times Online :: Chen case exposes a shared weakness: http://t.co/0STQrcg8 Asia Times Online :: China News, China Business News, Taiwan and Hong Kong News and Business. Asia Times Online :: China News, China Business News, Taiwan and Hong Kong News and Business.: http://t.co/fqg4cZVl Apple, the Other Cult in Hollywood - Businessweek Apple, the Other Cult in Hollywood http://t.co/0qFAdmgN via @BW Siri says Nokia…
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ChinaTechNews.com
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China's Huawei Hires Consulting Company For Expansion In U.S.
16 May 2012 | 11:37 amHuawei has reportedly hired Jack Morton Worldwide, a global brand consulting company, aiming to promote its marketing activities in the U.S. market in the second half of 2012. According to reports in local media, Huawei has limited brand awareness among consumers outside of China. To change this situation, the company is planning a large marketing [...] -
UCWeb Plans Operating Platform In America In 2012
16 May 2012 | 2:37 amUCWeb, a leading provider of mobile Internet software technology and browser services in China, plans to establish its operating platform in America in 2012. Yu Yongfu, chief executive officer of UCWeb, claimed in a speech that UCWeb's browser product has gained over 50% market share in China, including 60 million active users from the Android [...] -
Wuhan Will Be Lenovo's New Industrial Base In China
14 May 2012 | 8:13 pmChinese technology company Lenovo has signed an agreement with the municipal government of Wuhan and announced the founding of its new industrial base in the city. Lenovo's new industrial base in Wuhan is reportedly a comprehensive base that integrates research, development, manufacturing, and sales of mobile Internet devices. Over the next five years, this base [...] -
NetQin To Acquire 55% Stake In Beijing NationSky
13 May 2012 | 12:09 pmNetQin Mobile Inc., a mobile Internet services focusing on security, privacy and productivity, has announced plans to acquire a 55% stake in Beijing NationSky Network Technology, Inc., a provider of mobile services to enterprises in China. This transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2012. NetQin Mobile reportedly has over 60% market [...] -
Lenovo Teams With VeriFone For POS Payment System
11 May 2012 | 2:06 amChina's Lenovo Group and America's VeriFone Systems have jointly announced that the two parties will provide ThinkPad Mobile POS mobile payment solution to retailers in the United States. Based on Lenovo's tablet computer, ThinkPad Mobile POS system is a customized version of PAYware, the enterprise mobile payment solution developed by VeriFone. Via this payment system, [...]
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Hao Hao Report - Published news
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They Don’t Make Propaganda Posters Like This Anymore
13 May 2012 | 9:22 amSome bitterly ironic vintage propaganda posters circa 1958-61, around the time of the Great Leap Forward. -
'Goodbye to China, country of contradictions'
12 May 2012 | 5:32 amAl Jazeera's ex-Beijing correspondent Melissa Chan writes her farewell to China after her press credentials were revoked, without explanation, by the Chinese government. -
Chinese netizens, “Corruption is Mr. Locke’s only way to gain favor in China”
8 May 2012 | 12:48 amThe case of China’s escaped blind human rights activist Chen Guangchen has brought Gary Locke, US ambassador to China, to the center of media bashing from Beijing. Chinese netizens come to Mr. Locke’s rescue and find him a solution – corruption. -
Netizens Sickened That Exported Capsules Contained Baby Flesh
8 May 2012 | 12:07 amChinese netizens react to the horrifying news that intercepted Chinese pills bound for Korean markets contained the powdered flesh of human babies. -
US ambassador derided as 'banana' by Chinese TV reporter
7 May 2012 | 5:18 amGary Locke, the United States ambassador to China in Beijing, has been derided as a "banana" by Qin Feng, the niece of former Chiense foreign minister Li Zhaoxing.
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China Digital Times (CDT)
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Word of the Week: The Law is not a Shield
16 May 2012 | 2:00 pmEditor’s Note: The Word of the Week comes from China Digital Space’s Grass-Mud Horse Lexicon, a glossary of terms created by Chinese netizens and frequently encountered in online political discussions. These are the words of China’s online “resistance discourse,” used to mock and subvert the official language around censorship and political correctness.If you are interested in participating in this project by submitting and/or translating terms, please contact the CDT editors at CDT [at] chinadigitaltimes [dot] net.法律不是挡箭牌 (fǎ lǜ bú shì dǎng jiàn pái): the… -
Is China Squandering its Soft Power Investments?
16 May 2012 | 3:10 amFollowing a series of damaging stories this year, notably the ousting of Bo Xilai and escape of Chen Guangcheng, The Atlantic’s Damien Ma argues that “for all the financial muscle thrown behind shaping its global image, Beijing may have squandered more soft power in the last few months than it has accrued in years“:… The collective global attention paid to the world’s number-two economy has increased drastically in the media and within policy circles. Call it the “post-Olympics effect.” The triumphalism of the 2008 Beijing Games and the ensuing collapse of the global… -
Beijing to “Clean Up” Illegal Foreigners
16 May 2012 | 3:07 amBeijing authorities have announced the start of a 100-day campaign to “clean up” foreigners who fall into the “3 Have-Not” categories: no valid visa, no valid residence permit, or (where applicable) no valid work permit. From China Daily, with CDT’s emphasis:Popular Beijing spots for foreigners, such as Sanlitun and university areas, will be targeted by police in a fresh drive against visitors who commit crimes, outstay their visas or gain illegal employment, authorities said on Monday ….Foreigners must carry passports and accommodation registration documents… -
Photo: A beach in Qingdao, by Christopher Cherry
15 May 2012 | 5:55 pmA beach in Qingdao© Sophie Beach for China Digital Times (CDT), 2012. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us Post tags: Download Tools to Circumvent the Great Firewall -
China and the Philippines Both Impose Fishing Bans
15 May 2012 | 5:38 pmTensions between China and the Philippines are continuing to escalate over the Scarborough Shoal, a series of tiny islands in the South China Sea that is home to numerous minerals and oil reserves. The New York Times provides some background on the dispute: The recent bout of trouble began in April, when Philippine Navy personnel boarded Chinese fishing vessels at Scarborough Shoal, an area about 800 kilometers, or 500 miles, south of China and over 160 kilometers west of the Philippines that is claimed by both countries.The Philippines claimed to have found large quantities of illegal coral…
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Sinosplice » Life
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China Ammo for argumentum ad antiquitam
13 May 2012 | 7:57 pmThe summer between 7th and 8th grade, I went to a somewhat unusual “nerd camp.” I attended a 6-week “enrichment course” at the University of Tampa entitled “Logic and Critical Thinking.” We covered quite thoroughly the different types of logical syllogisms and logical fallacies. It was a singularly eye-opening experience for me, as many of the arguments I’d heard many times before were suddenly and for the first time exposed for what they were. In another sense, it was a new form of power. Adults rule the world, but they’re not above logic. -
Back to Jing’an (thoughts)
10 May 2012 | 10:10 pmWhen I first moved to Shanghai, I lived in the Jing’an Temple area, behind the Portman Ritz Carlton Hotel on Nanjing Road. It was a cool place to start out my Shanghai experience, and I enjoyed my time there (even if there weren’t many good eating options nearby). I discovered the joys of Shanghai morning walks to work there, and the whole “familiar strangers” thing was interesting. Later, though, I moved to the Zhongshan Park area, where I’ve been living for about 7 years now. photo by Neil Noland Well, now that the AllSet Learning office has established its new… -
Peking Opera Masks
1 May 2012 | 8:11 pmRecently Brendan put up a post called Peking Opera Masks and the London Book Fair on the new “Beijing Avengers” group blog, Rectified.name. It’s an insightful take on how contemporary Chinese literature is being represented (and not represented) abroad. I especially enjoyed the explanation toward the end of his use of “Peking Opera masks”: A few years ago, a few other translators and I were talking with employees of a Chinese publishing house who said that they had some books that they wanted to translate into English — things that they said would show… -
Mike Sui’s Video
29 Apr 2012 | 7:48 pmA half-Chinese, half-American actor by the name of Mike Sui (Mike ) has been making quite a stir on Weibo and on the Chinese web with his recent video in which he plays the part of 12 different nationalities/personalities. He does various accents in both English and Chinese (and he’s clearly fluent in both). My favorite is the Taiwanese one (starting at around 7 minutes). Take a look if you haven’t seen it already: (More details about the video and the Chinese reaction are on ChinaSMACK.) Interestingly, the video is being promoted in a way that refers to him as a (foreigner), but… -
Character Set Hodge-Podge
24 Apr 2012 | 7:55 pmWhen I started studying Chinese at the University of Florida in 1998, we were allowed to choose to learn to write either traditional or simplified characters, but once we chose one set, we weren’t allowed to mix them together. Apparently the creator of this sign (spotted on in Shanghai) is not so restricted: The text (as is): 245弄 The text in simplified characters: 245弄 The text in traditional characters: 245弄 If you carefully examine those characters, they should all make sense except maybe for this one: (). It was part of the second round of simplified Chinese characters which…
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TechNodeTechNode | TechNode
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Baidu To Release a New Mobile OS and A New Phone With a Secret Partner
16 May 2012 | 10:36 amBaidu the leading Chinese search engine seems to be determined to enter the smartphone market. The company was said to release a new mobile operating system Baidu Yun next week with a hardware vendor to jointly announce a device based on the OS. Rumors said that the partner is ZTE (a leading Chinese telecom equipment provider), although Wang Jin, vice-president of Baidu only revealed that they are working with a “global manufacturer”. Earlier last year, Baidu released a mobile operating system called Baidu Yi, which is modeled on Google’s Android system and later cooperated… -
Beijing Start-up, CloudAcc Can Save Online Video Streaming Sites Like Youku and Hulu 50% on Bandwidth Costs
16 May 2012 | 10:00 amChina indeed has a fiercelycompetitiveonlinevideomarket. Last month it was reported that the number one video site, Youku acquired the number two video site Tudou. Shortly after, news broke out of the newly formed alliance between Tencent’s v.qq.com, tv.Sohu and Baidu’s iQiyi. A big reason for the flurry of M&A activity has been the difficulty to make profit due to rising operating costs, forcing some players to succumb to stronger players. To win in the long run, companies must achieve profitability and notjustburnmoneyformarketshare. To become profitable, these video sites must… -
Tencent Weixin’s Open Platform Launched
15 May 2012 | 2:06 pmOnce you built your brand and reached certain good amount of users, the next to-do might be to launch an open platform to integrate various services from third-parties. If you can manage this open platform well and make it the no.1 choice for third parties, you will see a brilliant future ahead. That’s what Facebook taught us. And Tencent’s Weixin, is following what Facebook has done in the mobile space. We reported that Weixin’s to launch its open API. About 1 hour ago, the official site for Weixin’s open platform has been launched. The introduction, the… -
Qihoo Phone to Continue the Same Profit-Making Story on Mobile Front
15 May 2012 | 6:44 amLike I said, don’t claim yourself to be a major Internet company in China now if you haven’t come up with your own brand smart phone. With Tencent, Alibaba, Baidu and so on all debuted their device for quite a while, Qihoo 360 the digital world‘s safeguard unexpectedly made public its smartphone scheme lately in the wake of a rumor asserting that gaming operator Shanda would announce a Shanda phone in next month. So either you have a smartphone in the plate or at least in the plan. Otherwise it’s not convincible enough that you’re a mainstream Chinese Internet company. Joke aside,… -
Baidu to Launch Cloud-Powered Photo Sharing Service: Baidu Xiangce
15 May 2012 | 3:10 amA new photo sharing service Baidu Xiangce (translates to Baidu Album) was launched secretly by Baidu lately. This is part of the broad strategy of the search giant to expand its business into cloud forefronts. According to Wang Jing, the vice president of its engineering division and head of mobile, “We have a few partnerships coming up and will announce it in a week.” Two months ago, Baidu just released its cloud storage service Baidu Netdisk. The new service is still in beta testing and looks similar to Baidu Netdisk for they both provide the service of storing files and…
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The Peking Duck
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Beijing
13 May 2012 | 10:32 amThat’s where I am now, and shortly after I landed I remembered all the things I love and hate about it. Not that I ever really forgot. And I definitely love it more than I hate it. But there were the usual frustrations. Like when my taxi driver dropped me off at the hotel from the airport and drove away without giving me my change. It was only ten kuai, but still. I decided to make this a budget trip and booked my hotel reservation at Ru Jia at Jiaodaokou. I stayed there with Lisa several months ago and we liked it. What’s not to like for 248 kuai a night at a good location? Alas,… -
The Chinese Dream
10 May 2012 | 12:55 amGo now and read James Fallows’ latest. Superb; I don’t see how anyone can disagree with a single word. I leave yet again for a trip tonight and may not be around much for a couple of weeks. Use this as another open thread. -
Do Westerners care about human rights in China?
4 May 2012 | 2:42 pmThis journalist clearly believes they do not. Let’s stop jacking the Chinese around. We do not care a whit now — nor have we ever cared — about their human rights or any other aspect of their lives as long as they satiate our unbridled appetites. To pretend otherwise is to deny centuries of exploitative history in which the West drugged the Middle Kingdom and plundered it for its resources and cheap labor while obliterating any sign of popular resistance to our imperial sway. From the Opium Wars to the contemplation of using nuclear weapons to bomb China back to the Stone… -
Say anything
27 Apr 2012 | 10:57 amThis is an open thread, presuming I have any readers left who may want to chat. Apologies about the post below. Talk about Chen Guangcheng’s incredible escape, or the Bo Xilai soap opera or anything else. -
Bo Xilai Through the Eyes of the Chongqing People
25 Apr 2012 | 6:59 pmI am traveling now and will be for nearly the entire month. But let me direct you to a brilliant post by one of my favorite bloggers about a topic all of us are interested in. Xujun, who’s from Chongqing, puts into perspective a complex story in a truly must-read post.
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China Hearsay
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Beijing Kicks Off Anti-Cult Month
16 May 2012 | 1:39 amI don’t know whether this one is real or not. It’s a Beijing Evening News/Global Times story, so I’d tend to say “no,” but one never knows about these things. Moreover, after writing an entire fake news post this morning, my bullshit detector is all out of whack. Hell, either way, this is great entertainment: In the latest battle against cultish beliefs, the city is bringing a campaign into communities, turning families into the new beachhead in its war on heresy. Beijing will focus work on promoting the “families say no to cults” campaign in the… -
Implausible Rumor Dept.: China Greenlights Government Smartphone
15 May 2012 | 11:43 pmI fabricate, you decide. Dateline: tomorrow – - Following the formal announcement of the launch of Baidu’s cloudish smartphone, which follows similar moves by every other incorporated business entity in the People’s Republic of China, including that guy on the corner selling “lamb” kebabs, the government has decided to stop messing around with its bloated domestic security budget, cut out the middleman, and jump into the market directly. Enter the Little Red Phone®, a joint project between the powerful Ministry of Public Security and the secretive Information… -
The Daily Twit (@chinahearsay Twitter feed) – 2012-05-16
15 May 2012 | 10:59 pmRT @GraniteStudio: @eosnos on the five best China books of 2012 (so far). http://t.co/cwINlwDd -> RT @GE_Anderson: Images — Chinese Creativity – http://t.co/SqPG7YNP (via #sociablesite) http://t.co/SqPG7YNP @tealeafnation -> BBC: China: Trouble at the top? http://t.co/tQLoDXAK @dngbbc -> US politicians start micro blogs in China http://t.co/wyN3xVgU Mayor of Omaha now on Weibo. Strange world. -> Fake stewed pig ears pose health risks http://t.co/zc7zn9YZ I'm more likely to consume tainted baby formula but thankful for warning anyway. -> Economic Observer:… -
The Daily Twit (@chinahearsay Twitter feed) – 2012-05-16
15 May 2012 | 10:59 pmRT @GraniteStudio: @eosnos on the five best China books of 2012 (so far). http://t.co/cwINlwDd -> RT @GE_Anderson: Images — Chinese Creativity – http://t.co/SqPG7YNP (via #sociablesite) http://t.co/SqPG7YNP @tealeafnation -> BBC: China: Trouble at the top? http://t.co/tQLoDXAK @dngbbc -> US politicians start micro blogs in China http://t.co/wyN3xVgU Mayor of Omaha now on Weibo. Strange world. -> Fake stewed pig ears pose health risks http://t.co/zc7zn9YZ I'm more likely to consume tainted baby formula but thankful for warning anyway. -> Economic Observer:… -
Formalism Be Damned: Suing Usernames in Jiangxi Courts
15 May 2012 | 5:19 amThis legal issue may not be relevant to many of my readers, but that’s never stopped me before. But for those of you who have come up against the formalism of the Chinese legal system, or even just its often maddening bureaucratic nature, you’ll be happy to hear that some folks out there are trying to make the system slightly more flexible. FYI, when I use the term “formalism” when talking about Chinese law, I’m not really using it the right way. My general meaning is that the system here tends to be overly bureaucratic and technical, and that folks can easily be…
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China Rises: Notes from the Middle Kingdom
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Postcard from covering the Chen Guangcheng story
6 May 2012 | 11:15 pmI took a few photographs last week that got lost in the mix of covering the Chen story, and wanted to pass them along ... Security, after herding reporters away from area where Chen was being treated on Wednesday. An unidentified gentleman filming reporters in the designated press area across the street from Chaoyang Hospital on Friday. Secretary Clinton at press conference at the J.W. Marriott on Friday evening. The wing of Chaoyang Hospital where Chen was thought to be staying. Two of three in U.S. diplomatic visit to Chaoyang Hospital on Thursday (Robert Wang, deputy chief of mission for… -
China and images through a dark glass
26 Apr 2012 | 1:45 amI've learned that there's no quicker way for a reporting trip to get nipped in the bud than to be spotted taking photographs of Chinese police. So, on stories where that's a consideration I now try to get my snaps while riding from one interview to the next. Sitting in the back of a vehicle with tinted windows, the results are often ... not sharp. But as I was going through photos from my trip to a district of the Chongqing municipality last week, well, I sort of liked the fuzziness. Thought I'd pass them along: -
Tibetans, the police and China
23 Mar 2012 | 10:22 pmI travelled recently to Tongren, an ethnic Tibetan town in Qinghai Province where two men set themselves on fire last week. I wanted to pass along a few sections of my article and some images of the place: "If they gave us more freedom there probably wouldn't be more self-immolations," said a 37-year-old businessman who lives at the outskirts of Tongren. Speaking on Tuesday, the man said that two days earlier he'd tried to drive into town only to be turned back by police. It'd been a day since the latest self-immolation and he figured the roads would be open. -
Postcards from Wukan, a few days late
5 Mar 2012 | 9:06 pmI'd wanted to post these from the elections in Wukan, but my work on Saturday ran late, Sunday was taken up with travel back to Beijing and then yesterday I was at the National People's Congress. So, just think of these as having been delayed a bit in the mail. Xue Jianwan, the daughter of Xue Jinbo, a Wukan activist who died in police custody in December. When I took this photo on Friday, Xue said she was going to continue her run for office in Wukan despite official pressure to drop out of the race. She appeared to back out of the race the next day, a development that's since… -
Postcards from the National People's Congress
5 Mar 2012 | 5:54 amWanted to pass along some quick shots from the NPC, the annual meeting of China's rubber stamp congress. Ceiling in auditorium of Great Hall of the People. Firemen on Tiananmen Square. Radio booth. Guard on Tiananmen Square. National People's Congress. Great Hall of the People. Wen Jiabao. National People's Congress. Great Hall of the People.
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China Supertrends
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Today’s Links: China’s stimulus plan, surge in luxury brand sales, Bright acquires Weetabix
13 May 2012 | 8:46 pmDespite the fact that many luxury and electronic brands such as Apple are experiencing growth in sales, “consumption in China is actually severely depressed…To reduce taxes and stimulate consumption, China will likely increase the minimum deductible salary, increase wages and give more subsidies or tax cuts to small and medium enterprises.” (Chapter 1 of China’s Economic Supertrends). Today’s China links: Chinese Food Company takes a big bite out of Weetabix US Treasury Secretary urges China to focus on domestic consumption to sustain China’s economic… -
Photo of the Day: 88686
3 May 2012 | 9:39 amPlates with auspicious numbers such as 888 are even more expensive and can go for astronomical amounts. Photo credit: DK Wong “Monthly auctions during the last two years saw high demand and high prices for plates. In fact, the price of a plate can be as much as eight to 16 months’ salary for a typical office worker… Sixes and eights are important in Chinese numerology, so plates with auspicious numbers such as 888 are even more expensive and can go for astronomical amounts.” ~ from Chapter 6 of China’s Economic Supertrends by Jason Inch -
Today’s Links: Chinawood, manufacturing hits a high, Mongolia slows down exploration and mining activities, netizens at the firewall
3 May 2012 | 2:48 amPhotographer: Han Yi China’s Great Firewall will continue to face challenges in the future. In the meantime, Mongolia may be putting up its own walls to stem the flow of Chinese foreign investment. Today’s China News Links: US and Chinese film industries join forces to build Chinawood, a $1.27 bn movie making complex in Tianjin. China’s PMI rises indicating re-energizing of manufacturing output. Resource rich Mongolia suspends exploration and mining activities at flagship mine in a possible move to wean itself off from Chinese foreign investment. GE shifts attention… -
Today’s Links: China as the next art superpower, luxury cars, Hollywood bribes
25 Apr 2012 | 11:52 amArt Scene in China Today’s Links: China to become the next art superpower? The auto industry ramps up production of luxury cars in China. On a related note, GM will also open an additional 600 dealerships as well. Huawei’s net profit falls by 53 % Chinese manufacturers begin to experience a rebound Hollywood’s move to the East to hit a possible roadblock with bribe investigations LVMH launches new site to reach Chinese consumers The Lancet’s China themed issue takes a look at the healthcare system Photo credit: nuomi -
Today’s China Links: Middle class spending habits, property bubble deflates, electric cars, Sino-American film studio joint ventures
20 Apr 2012 | 7:10 am"China is simply crazy for cars. With just over 100 private motor vehicles per 1,000 people (versus 750 cars per 1,000 in the United States and 120 per 1,000 globally) China's personal car ownership market is expected to grow quickly." - Jason Inch (Chapter 5 - The New Manufacturing Supertrend, pg 181) Photo credit: China Supertrends Photography Project Here are today’s China’s news links: The property bubble deflates as home prices continue to fall Scrimp or splurge syndrome: the real spending habits of China’s middle class China’s TCL partners with IKEA…
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The China Sourcing Blog
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Juxtaposition: China in the Fortune 500 vs. the Beijing Subway System
24 Apr 2012 | 4:25 amHere's a little mental leap. In the last few years Beijing's subway has expanded substantially, especially after a building blitz before the 2008 Olympics. At the time, Chinese companies have entered the Fortune 500 in increasing numbers. What if you would literally put these two completely disparate phenomena together?The result is this infographic. It illustrates the progression of Chinese companies in the Fortune 500 from 1994 (when the first Chinese company joined the list) with a visual reference to the expansion of the Beijing subway system from 1971. All but two of Beijing’s current… -
The China Analyst - April 2012
4 Apr 2012 | 3:46 amThis is the new edition of The China Analyst - April 2012. In this edition we ask you to prepare for a more competitive China. We ask you to change your perspective on China. How competitive is China really? It has changed a lot in the last three decades, yet now it is aiming to transition to innovation-driven competitiveness. If you apply a little imagination and envision where current trends are heading, you might be induced to change your opinion on China. This process has started happening in a number of industries, such as heavy and construction equipment, where Chinese companies… -
China's Shipbuilding Industry: Tough at the Top
15 Feb 2012 | 10:10 pmThe shipbuilding industry has been the scene for a major uptick in Chinese export market share in the period 2007-10. The OECD countries that China captured market share from were in this case Japan and South Korea. These two, in their turn, were responsible for capturing the market from Europe as early as the 1970s, but it was only in 2010 that South Korea was surpassed by China as the world's leading shipbuilder. The chart above illustrates how rapidly this occurred in the period 2007-10. According to the global shipping services provider Clarksons, in 2011 China accounted for… -
China and India: Comparing Export Growth
8 Feb 2012 | 9:11 pmIts always tempting to compare economic aspects of China and India, as we have done before. Exports is one area that is commonly compared; the chart below summarises briefly China and India's performance over the last decade. There are some striking observations. Firstly, the scale indicates that India's exports are dwarfed by China's, yet both Chinese and Indian exports have increased substantially in the last decade. China's advance in exports was mainly situated in the Machinery and Electrical Equipment category, in which it has gained market share all over the world (i.e. in… -
The Rise of China's Second Tier, Part I: Henan/Zhengzhou
7 Feb 2012 | 4:15 amThis is the first in a new series of posts looking at certain trade and industrial 'hotspots' in China.If you look at trade statistics for Chinese provinces in 2011, it is clear that something is happening in Henan, an emerging central province, and particularly in its provincial capital of Zhengzhou, one of China's 20 fastest growing cities. Zhengzhou is what some might call a typical second-tier Chinese city (Bentley and Louis Vuitton have just set up shop there). Provincial Value Added of Industry growth was a solid 19.6% in the first eleven months of 2011, yet what sets the province apart…
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Silk Road International Blog
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Guanxi and Contracts–A Chinese explaination from the US.
10 May 2012 | 11:51 pmSome fantastic opportunities to learn about China are more and more available in the US. While in the US this month I attended a couple of sessions of the UVU Doing Business with China seminar in Utah. First, Andrew Hupert presented a great keynote address on Guanxi. All that needs to be said/known about this can be read in his great ebook: Guanxi for the Busy American. You can buy it at Smashwords. Some highlights include: 1. Relationships come before any contract (Guanxi as Due Diligence). 2. Relationships come after all contracts and work are completed (Guanxi Best Practices). 3. -
“Would you make the same decisions in a foreign language as you would in your native tongue?”
24 Apr 2012 | 9:24 pm“Would you make the same decisions in a foreign language as you would in your native tongue?” asked psychologists led by Boaz Keysar of the University of Chicago in an April 18 Psychological Science study. “It may be intuitive that people would make the same choices regardless of the language they are using, or that the difficulty of using a foreign language would make decisions less systematic. We discovered, however, that the opposite is true: Using a foreign language reduces decision-making biases,” wrote Keysar’s team. Originally from Wired Magazine, I’m wondering how does… -
Un-Fair!
13 Apr 2012 | 12:18 amYou’re playing with a stacked deck when you go to fairs and trade-shows. It’s best to do some due diligence work beforehand and keep you cards close to your vest while there. Part of the problem is that you likely don’t speak Chinese, and English may or may not be good enough to negotiate quality or delivery issues. Sure, everyone speaks “numbers.” But quality, packaging and any degree of customization can be next to impossible to confirm without help. Another issue is who you’re really talking to. Often times groups of small suppliers (vendors, factories, trading… -
Talk with People who really know (i.e. people who are here)
27 Mar 2012 | 12:10 pmTivo is great. I can watch TV from the US on my computer in China. One of my favorite commercials from the US that I’ve seen while watching the NCAA Tourney at 4AM list last month is the direct TV commercial that ends, “Don’t have a grandson with a dog collar.“ Yup, using the wrong service provider can lead to many unintended consequences. So choosing who you listen to and work with is of vital importance when you’re new to China. It’s pretty easy to tell the difference between people who really know about working in China and those who are just… -
Who do you like to work with?
16 Feb 2012 | 7:54 pmProbably who you identify most easily with. A year or so ago my then 5 year-old told me, in all seriousness, “Dad I’m like Kobe, not white like you.” Suppressing laughter I responded, “Actually, you’re more like Yaoming than Kobe.” But he was insistent. He was “black like Kobe” he told me. Now he wants a Knicks jersey–bet you can guess which number. Yup, 17. Jeremy Lin. My boys are all over him. Of course so is everyone else with any connection to China. Or the NBA for that matter. But it makes sense. Not only is he good,…
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Global Voices » China
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China: Motor-Powered Breakfast Crepes
16 May 2012 | 12:28 amThe Presurfer shares a video where we can see how the Beijing Jianbing is made. This large breakfast crepe is made possible thanks to a very steady hand and a motorized wheel that allows a really large and thin crepe to be evenly cooked. Written by Juliana Rincón Parra · comments (0) Share: Donate · facebook · twitter · reddit · StumbleUpon · delicious · Instapaper -
China: Propaganda Against U.S. Ambassador Backfires
15 May 2012 | 9:56 amSince the escape of blind civic rights activist Chen Guangcheng into the U.S embassy, the U.S Ambassador Gary Locke has become the major target for media attack in Bejing. However, so far each piece of political propaganda has resulted in a backfire. A number of state-controlled newspapers are involved in the propaganda campaign but Beijing Daily is the most high sounding one. On May 4, 2012 it published an editorial, “Reading the Measly Performance of U.S. Politicians through the Chen Guangcheng Affair” and openly criticized Gary Locke for playing “little tricks” (via… -
China: Mother's Day
14 May 2012 | 7:48 amDavid Wertime from Tea Leaf Nation blogs about Weibo users' expression of love towards their mothers in May 13 mother's day. Written by Oiwan Lam · comments (0) Share: Donate · facebook · twitter · reddit · StumbleUpon · delicious · Instapaper -
China: Domestic Violence
14 May 2012 | 1:45 amShards of China blogs about the problem of domestic violence in China. Even though the government has acknowledged the problem, little has been done to protect abused wives. Written by Oiwan Lam · comments (0) Share: Donate · facebook · twitter · reddit · StumbleUpon · delicious · Instapaper -
China: Foreigner beaten by Beijingers for sexually assaulting a woman in public
14 May 2012 | 1:36 amA video, showing a drunken foreigner beaten up by a number of passersby for sexually assaulting a woman in public, has been circulated widely on line. Ministry of Tofu translated some of the online comments. Written by Oiwan Lam · comments (0) Share: Donate · facebook · twitter · reddit · StumbleUpon · delicious · Instapaper
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ChinaDialogue Latest Articles
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Reviving the valley
15 May 2012 | 10:22 amTourism offers an opportunity to rebuild the local economy of Pakistan’s Swat Valley, ravaged by conflicts and floods. But can it also restore its rivers and forests? Rina Saeed Khan reports.For years, Pakistan’s former princely state of Swat, famous for its fruit orchards, snow-clad mountains, Buddhist stupas and trout-filled rivers, was a popular tourist destination. Its hotels were clean and its people well educated, at least in the main towns. Then the Taliban came. First, they shut down the hotels. Then they started destroying them, along with the schools. “They blew up… -
A yam between two rocks
15 May 2012 | 2:00 amBeijing and New Delhi are competing for influence in Nepal. Navin Khadka asks how this rivalry will shape the country’s hydropower policies.Editor’s note: in February, Nepal signed a US$1.6 billion agreement with China to develop the 760-megawatt West Seti hydropower project within its borders. This marked a major push by China into Nepal’s water and power sector, which has long been dominated by India. It came as several other major dam projects, mainly developed with Indian investment, have stalled for various reasons, including protests by a faction of Nepal's ruling… -
China’s stunted children
15 May 2012 | 1:46 amDespite the unprecedented economic boom, millions of impoverished kids are suffering the irreversible effects of malnutrition. Yuan Ying and Wang Jingyi report from Qinghai province.Ledu county in western China lies 80 kilometres from Xining, the capital of Qinghai province. A yellow-hued river divides the territory and its 300,000 residents into two halves: Nanshan and Beishan. Three-year-old Rong Tongxi lives with his grandparents in Nanshan, in a typical village of the impoverished north-west called Shangzhangfang. Playing among a group of children, Rong appears markedly smaller than his… -
Keeping an eye on China’s bankers
14 May 2012 | 1:36 amThe financial industry remains secretive about the loans it makes, but tireless campaigning by green groups offers hope for change. Wang Haotong reports on the latest civil-society assessment of Chinese banks.Last August, a major pollution story broke in China: 5,000 tonnes of toxic chromium tailings had been dumped near a Yunnan reservoir, contaminating water supplies and killing livestock. Worse revelations were to come. The company behind the incident, Luliang Chemicals, had been illegally discarding chromium slag by south China’s Nanpan River for more than a decade – 280,000… -
Consumer power for China?
11 May 2012 | 11:44 amPartial victories in the campaign to clean up Apple highlight civil society’s potential to constrain the worst polluters. Meng Si and Xu Nan report.A vigorous campaign to clean up pollution in electronics giant Apple’s supply chain, waged through 2011, ended up as one of the year’s hottest topics of public debate in China. With good reason: a series of reports published by a coalition of domestic green groups exposed serious violations at some of the company’s contractors and seized the attention of the global media. (See chinadialogue’s latest report on…
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Shanghaied Weblog
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US Consulate now tweets Shanghai pollution levels – today’s level is already unhealthy
14 May 2012 | 1:41 amA couple of months ago I wrote an article on air pollution in Shanghai, and afterward I received quite some mails from people planning to move here who got worried about the air quality in Shanghai. At least one person told me he decided not to move to China, but I am sure that because of the air quality a lot more people already made that decision. And I personally know several people that left Shanghai because of the air quality – and like I said in the article, I will probably also not stay here for years anymore, especially because of the pollution. When I wrote the post there were… -
It’s a small world
13 May 2012 | 6:27 amAfter our trip to Hong Kong Disneyland a few weeks ago, the kids keep on singing It’s A Small World. They have a video on their iPads that we shot inside the It’s A Small World ride, and they watch that video often while singing along to the tunes of the song. When they sing it I regularly muse about this world being really small – or that my network is really big? – because everywhere I go I meet people that I already know. Last night was a good example. I organized a small bbq party and had among others invited Nicky Koopman to join. Nicky works for Dutch media… -
Speaking at NextStep Tuesday tonight
7 May 2012 | 10:54 pmA few weeks ago Joe Constanty restarted the successful NextStep Tuesday events and I agreed to speak at tonight’s one at Kartel in Shanghai. Topic will mainly be online fashion start-up unitedstyles.com (last time I spoke at NextStep I already talked about Tudou and Spil Games), but feel free to ask any other questions after the event. NextStep starts at 7 PM and I will give a short talk at 7:30 PM. Free entrance & drinks are 50% off, so no reason not to come. See you there! See also: http://nschina.tumblr.com/post/21322587084/nschina-on-tuesday-may-8th-we-will-host Location:KARTEL… -
Innovative Thai Advertising
3 May 2012 | 7:49 amI am spending a few days on Koh Samui with my family, one of my favorite tropical islands. The place has everything: from unspoiled beaches and endless coconut plantations, to high-end dining and a good night life. Although I was here mainly for business related reasons I had a great time. This morning I drove from our villa to the French bakery to buy a baguette for breakfast and then wanted to get gas, when I realized I did not bring enough cash. So I stopped at an ATM (every 7-11 and Family Mart has an ATM here, meaning that you are never more than a few hundred meters away from one) to… -
A potentially life threatening mistake
24 Apr 2012 | 1:44 amEarly this morning I was doing my emails in my study, when I suddenly heard my wife arguing with someone downstairs. The arguing got louder and louder and I heard one of the nannies scream at Grace. I had no idea what was going on, and because the kids were also downstairs I walked down to see what was happening. It seemed that Grace was extremely angry, and I heard something about medicine but could not really figure out what the whole thing was about. The kids pretended they did not hear anything and talked to me as if nobody else was in the room (“Good morning daddy, shall we…
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China Business Blog
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ChinaBlogTweets Twitter Updates for 2012-05-13
13 May 2012 | 4:00 pmThe china-business-tweeps Daily is out! http://t.co/xkyWjQ4I ▸ Top stories today via @jamesfallows @rmack @andylee @thepekingorder # RT @BullishChina: China acts to boost loans, bolster flagging economy – Reuters http://t.co/CdCSq51A # The china-business-tweeps Daily is out! http://t.co/xkyWjQ4I ▸ Top stories today via @greenlawchina @jameslmcgregor @caixin # RT @KaiserKuo: Latest Sinica Podcast now up: "Interesting Times," with @gadyepstein, @comradewong & @goldkorn http://t.co/hs8f0zSj # RT @chinahearsay: China Accounting Blog: Local Big Four partners face a big… -
ChinaBlogTweets Twitter Updates for 2012-05-06
6 May 2012 | 4:00 pmThe china-business-tweeps Daily is out! http://t.co/xkyWjQ4I ▸ Top stories today via @malcolmmoore @chinavoices # RT @vshih2: “@niubi: The Economist | China’s banks: Storing up trouble http://t.co/K3K8Iahq @vshih2 would agree” yes # RT @comradewong: NYTimes: Chongqing in limbo & the erasing of Bo Xilai's pet projects http://t.co/Z66IDz6A by Dan Levin # The china-business-tweeps Daily is out! http://t.co/xkyWjQ4I ▸ Top stories today via @juccce @fuzheado @chinabeat @chinalawpolicy @niubi # RT @chinasolved: China allows foreigners full access to auto insurance… -
ChinaBlogTweets Twitter Updates for 2012-04-29
29 Apr 2012 | 4:00 pmBank of Communications est. RT @China_Daily: April CPI to ease to 3.3 pct: Bank http://t.co/qQUNnIHq # RT @BullishChina: China regulator unveils new IPO guidelines – Marketwatch http://t.co/HxP7kgsW # The china-business-tweeps Daily is out! http://t.co/xkyWjQ4I ▸ Top stories today via @sagebrennan @renmedia @fonstuinstra # The china-business-tweeps Daily is out! http://t.co/xkyWjQ4I # RT @China_Daily: Foreign trade situation 'far from optimistic': MOC[1]|http://t.co/omi9t7VT http://t.co/ukVwclQ4 # RT @shanghaidaily: 3 Chinese cities (HK, SH and BJ) rank among world's… -
ChinaBlogTweets Twitter Updates for 2012-04-22
22 Apr 2012 | 4:00 pmThe china-business-tweeps Daily is out! http://t.co/xkyWjQ4I ▸ Top stories today via @chinabeat @chinavoices @chinacsr @vshih2 # RT @larsonchristina: Jonathan Watts on "the world's most important story": http://t.co/22JpCKVI # The china-business-tweeps Daily is out! http://t.co/xkyWjQ4I ▸ Top stories today via @blackchinahand @sinosplice # The china-business-tweeps Daily is out! http://t.co/xkyWjQ4I ▸ Top stories today via @greenlawchina @andylee @billdodson88 @imagethief # RT @eobserver: The Best Podcasts on China – http://t.co/AqvkJVTm – the EO's list… -
ChinaBlogTweets Twitter Updates for 2012-04-15
15 Apr 2012 | 4:00 pmThe china-business-tweeps Daily is out! http://t.co/xkyWjQ4I ▸ Top stories today via @blackchinahand @sinosplice @thepekingorder # RT @fonstuinstra: Beijing sees world's largest price hike in office rents｜Economy｜News｜http://t.co/K2MCWxs1 http://t.co/selZot74 # RT @chinacontact: NYT piece about our partners @Affinitychina and luxury retail sales to Chinese http://t.co/ziaaM8dG # #RMB RT @BullishChina: China Doubling Yuan Band Signals Drive for Convertibility – Bloomberg http://t.co/yomcQqZ9 # The china-business-tweeps Daily is out! http://t.co/xkyWjQ4I ▸ Top stories today…
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Wangjianshuo's blog
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Yifan Loves Taking Photos
16 May 2012 | 11:02 amWhen Yifang got a chance to take photos with iPhone, he will carefully point to any object that got his attention and take photos of it. Everyday, he generate a lot of "garbage pictures" on my iPhone. However, I decided not to delete them. I am going to keep them forever, at least to safely transfer the photos to Yifan when he grows up, and he can make the decisions later. I created a folder called "Yifan's World" in my laptop, and drag all the pictures he took there. Here are some samples of what he took. -
Migrating MovableType to WordPress
13 May 2012 | 9:15 amThis is a migration guide I wrote solely for the benefit of myself. Although I don't think I need it the second time, to have a detailed reproduce steps written and modify to reflect the actual steps are the basic skills of a support engineer (by training). The Problems The basic export/import stuff works for MovableType to WordPress - pretty straight forward. There are only three minor issues that prevent the smooth transition. Problems 1: URL change. My MovableType uses a naming system I created, not the default. The Individual Entry Archive page URL was: _.htm After exporting, the URL is… -
Thinking about Switching to Wordpress
11 May 2012 | 11:39 pmI am a one with emotions. I have been using MovableType for almost 10 years - daily. There are many great memories with MovableType. I know their founders (well, met briefly during my first Silicon Valley trip), and I know many of their people (well, early employees, not sure if they are still there). They even hosted a 6 year blogging anniversary for me in their office. I am using MovableType daily for so long. To be short, I loved MovableType, and the team. However, recently I really got pissed off by the slowness of MovableType and its almost stopping on development. There are still bug… -
Over Optimistic and Over Pessimistic
11 May 2012 | 10:14 amBased on my observation on the International companies in China, which failed, or failing, they are swinging from the over optimistic mode to over pessimistic mode. eBay is an example, and Google is another. They start with big ambition to get the whole country in few months, or 1 year, but it quickly find out that it is mission impossible and then they quickly switch to the over pessimistic mode and claim the failure. They are actually not. What they need is neither of the two - they just need to be realistic. -
New Traditional Industry Leaders Meetup
10 May 2012 | 10:46 amThis is an interesting gathering - a group of CEOs of Internet companies in Shanghai agreed to meet quarterly. We joked the industry has become a new "traditional industry", because it has been labor intensive, unlike the traditional internet business model. Here is the final photo: From the left to right are: Afu, CEO of JJDD.com Zhang Tao, CEO of Dianping.com Bill Yao, CEO of PPTV.com Mike Liang, CEO of Anjuke.com Jian Shuo Wang, CEO of Baixing.com It is good to catch up, always. Drawing As expected, people don't come promptly, so I used the time to draw the corner of the room.
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Lost Laowai China Blog
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Video: Rude Laowai arguing with Chinese on a train
16 May 2012 | 1:08 pmYet another for our “Bad Laowai” category. From Shanghaiist: A video now going viral on iFeng.com shows a white blonde male putting his feet over the seat before him and a Chinese female passenger’s head on a train from Shenyang to Beijing. It is not clear what happened before the start of this video, but the woman was clearly irritated by the man’s behavior. She stood up, turned around, and hit the man’s feet with a magazine, saying “you are a big shame to your country.” (“你真给你国家丢人”) However, the foreign man showed no… -
Photo: Ceramics
29 Apr 2012 | 8:52 pmA beautifully colourful shot from Australian-born John Horstman. The photo was taken in the Panjiayuan Markets, Beijing, China. Submit Your Photos Every week(ish) we’ll feature an interesting, funny, beautiful or otherwise noteworthy photo here. If you have a photo you think might make a good Photo of the Week, throw it in the pool at the Lost Laowai flickr Group and if you’ve got a great caption for it, send that to us as well. -
Crackdown on illegal foreigners in China coming, reports say
26 Apr 2012 | 8:12 pmWe know you are here legally. No no, please put your passport away. We don’t need to see it. But for that friend of a friend that’s working on an F or an L visa, you may want to pay attention to the following: Articles across the English-language state media are reporting that the government intends to crack down on illegal foreigners in China. China is getting tougher over foreigners illegally entering, living or working in China, Vice Minister of Public Security Yang Huanning said yesterday. When delivering a report on the administration of entry-exit, residence and employment… -
New Chinese superstitions: horoscopes and blood groups
25 Apr 2012 | 12:50 amOne thing you find out pretty soon if you come into contact with Chinese society is that although most Chinese may not follow any organized religion, that does not mean they are immune from holding superstitious beliefs of all kinds. Superstitions relating to traditional Chinese medicine or to feng shui are of course widespread, although in some cases they arguably do contain a kernel of truth. What is more striking is the popularity which certain modern or imported superstitions seem to have, especially among young and urban sectors of the population. One of the things which I find hardest… -
Killing me with kindness
21 Apr 2012 | 1:30 amThey want to help. They really want to help. And whether you want it or not, they are going to help. It’s one of the best things about being in China, and one of the worst. There are always people around willing to lend a hand. And not just willing. They are determined. When we went to the Longmen Grottoes last Friday, we did our usual thing of strolling out of the station and looking a bit lost. In the past this has meant being instantly accosted by touts shouting random words at us. (I don’t mind the shouting. There’s one creepy guy who sidles up to you at Gongyi station, looking…
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bezdomny ex patria
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Fonterra and China
24 Apr 2012 | 1:57 amCQ News has a tiny, little report on Fonterra’s plans for investing in China. There’s not a lot in it, but there are some impressive numbers. A quick summary (which is really all the original article is, anyway): Apparently Fonterra plans to build safe, high-quality local milk supply bases with a goal of producing 1 billion litres of milk annually by 2020. Fonterra currently has two farms in Hebei and a third under construction and in the future will invest 100 million New Zealand dollars to build two more. China’s milk consumption is projected to reach 70 billion litres… -
the ghost bus of Beijing
21 Apr 2012 | 10:03 pmThis week I got my students to tell me stories about mysteries. Two separate students in two separate classes on two separate days both whipped out their cellphones and Baidu’ed them up an old story they obviously knew about, but couldn’t remember all the details of. Here it is, based on my memory of what these two students told me: One night back in 1995, the last bus of the night left Yuanmingyuan bus station bound for Xiangshan. It picked up a few people, including an elderly couple and a young man. It was an unusually quiet night with very few people around. Then three people… -
criticism? almost
21 Apr 2012 | 9:55 pmGeez, even an article attributed to Global Times and headlined “New Zealand government approval of Chinese company’s purchase of farms criticised by opposition parties” can manage only the most painfully tepid attempt at criticism: 中国上海鹏欣集团购买新西兰牧场可谓一波三折。今年1月，新政府首次批准该交易，在新西兰国内引发激烈争议，反对者担心外国投资商进入新西兰会导致新重要的农业用地被屡屡“抢购”。2月，新西兰最高法院驳回交易，要求政府重新考虑。 China’s Shanghai… -
an end to the saga?
21 Apr 2012 | 12:11 amCould it be? Has the Shanghai Pengxin/Crafar Farms saga finally come to an end? Netease has a report so balanced and fair it’s boring reporting the NZ government’s approval of the sale of the Crafar farms to Shanghai Pengxin. No mention of any kerfuffle or controversy. No mention of Michael Fay and his nonsense, nor of the blatantly sinophobic kneejerk of the Greens, nor the populist-spiced-with-xenophobia ranting of Labour or New Zealand First. Simply, the government approved the sale to Shanghai Pengxin and the conditions of the sale. Then the NZ Herald has a piece by Claire… -
getting attention
17 Apr 2012 | 5:49 amYes, I know, it’s getting to be all Jia Qinglin all the time around here, but here are a couple of things that amused me: The NZ Herald states that Jia did not raise the Crafar farms in official talks yesterday, has Acting Prime Minister Bill English not expecting the farms to be raised, and quotes English as describing yesterday’s intemperate outburst from Green co-leader as a “conspiracy theory”. Global Times (《环球时报》, via Sina) quotes Prime Minister John Key as describing Norman’s sudden rush of blood to the pharynx as “纯属胡说” – and…
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China Post Online - Taiwan , News , Taiwan newspaper
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Greeks pull funds from banks over concerns of possible exit from euro
16 May 2012 | 11:18 am(ChinaPost.com.tw) - Greece's president spoke of “fear that could develop into panic” at the country's banks in the weeks before fresh elections that could precipitate Athens' exit from the eurozone. -
MSCI downgrades Taiwan's weighting on two key indexes
16 May 2012 | 11:18 am(ChinaPost.com.tw) - The benchmark Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) index provider yesterday announced it has lowered Taiwan's weighting in two of its key indexes as part of a half-yearly review. -
China urges N. Korea to scrap nuke test
16 May 2012 | 11:18 am(ChinaPost.com.tw) - China has been quietly and gently pressuring North Korea to scrap plans for a third nuclear test, said two sources with knowledge of closed-door discussions between the countries, but there is no indication how the North will react. -
Chen stymies Yankees to get 4th win of year
16 May 2012 | 11:18 am(ChinaPost.com.tw) - Taiwanese pitcher Wei-Yin Chen maintained his strong early season form and improved his record to 4-0 in leading the Baltimore Orioles to a 5-2 win over the New York Yankees and the previously undefeated C.C. Sabathia on Tuesday.
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Thomas Crampton
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Job Opportunities: Social@Ogilvy Asia
13 May 2012 | 2:39 amWe have a number of openings in our team, this one is fairly senior and quite urgent. We are also looking for people elsewhere in the region. Let us know if you are interested. To get an idea about our team dynamic, you can look at this YouTube video. Send a CV and cover letter to: jonathan.nguyen AT ogilvy.com. Organization: Social@Ogilvy, Ogilvy & Mather Asia-Pacific Title: Social@Ogilvy, Director of Operations, Asia Pacific Job Summary Do you want to help build a next-generation social media team in the heart of the largest marketing and communications agency in the Asia-Pacific… -
Updated: Facebook Asia Stats Infographic
10 May 2012 | 3:52 amAs part of the ongoing project I started on the growth of Facebook in Asia, here is the latest update. You can download high resolution versions of these images by clicking on them or via slideshare. Enjoy! -
China’s Online Dating Booms, To Reduce Choice
8 May 2012 | 4:35 amIn contrast to online dating in the United States and Europe – where people turn to the Internet to increase choice – Evan Osnos writes in The New Yorker this week about how Chinese netizens use dating sites to narrow their choices. “I once watched a twenty-three-year-old woman search for dates in Beijing, where there are four hundred thousand male users,” the chief engineer from Jiayuan told Osnos. “She narrowed it down by blood type and height and zodiac sign and everything else until, at last, she had a pool of eighty-three men.” Jiayuan asks people to define their… -
Standing up at work again
7 May 2012 | 3:55 amWhile a foreign correspondent, I often worked standing up. I find that you remain more alert while vertical, instead of slumping down in a chair. The French newspaper Le Monde famously holds its editorial meetings standing up, which keeps the meeting quicker. Now, I am standing up once again, thanks to a colleague who pointed me to these 138 RMB laptop platforms that you can get from the Chinese e-commerce website Taobao. It is working out really well and allows me to have both a sit-down and stand up desk. An article in The New York Times recently extolled the health benefits of a stand-up… -
Why the best WPP Fellows should work at Social@Ogilvy APAC
22 Mar 2012 | 2:02 pmI run the regional Social@Ogilvy team at Ogilvy & Mather Asia-Pacific. Our team is a highly dynamic, entrepreneurial and creative group specialized in helping companies understand, strategize and execute in social media. Team members include the 448th person to join Facebook, a YouTube music star, a former professional football (soccer to you) player and an iPhone hacker. This video is intended to lay out the case why this year’s WPP fellows should consider coming out to join us. The rapid growth and success of our team has been fueled by the dynamism, intelligence and sense of fun…
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Simpson's Paradox
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Words With Friends, GChatting Edition
15 May 2012 | 4:46 pmRoy: Why is the Muppet show theme song stuck in my head now? Meg: because it’s time to play the music? it’s time to light the lights? From the blog Simpson's Paradox, please comment here:Words With Friends, GChatting Edition Tweet this! -
This American Life
14 May 2012 | 3:12 pmListening to This American Life is usually a solitary activity. I started listening to TAL regularly when I lived in North Carolina, and I was convinced that Ira Glass was sending dispatches from the urban world directly to me (and to Stick), reminding me that I was not actually Ovid in exile on the Black Sea. Now I usually listen to podcasts on headphones while I work, but it’s still solitary. Last week, I went to the This American Life show with Harold, Roy, and Roy’s friend Simone, who all listen to TAL independently, and we sat down in a theater full of NPR hipsters,… -
Look, A Three-Headed Monkey!
11 May 2012 | 3:20 pmI’ve recently learned that it’s actually much harder to work How appropriate, you fight like a cow. into the dialogue for a tropical island game than Monkey Island might lead one to believe. Just in case you were wondering. From the blog Simpson's Paradox, please comment here:Look, A Three-Headed Monkey! Tweet this! -
(I Attack The Darkness)
4 May 2012 | 5:16 pmMeg: Hi, *New beta tester*, was *endless grind assignment* the least fun you’ve ever had playing a videogame? New Beta Tester: No. Yesterday Caitlin had me swimming underwater to take pictures of the darkness. From the blog Simpson's Paradox, please comment here:(I Attack The Darkness) Tweet this! -
Sunshine Challenged
3 May 2012 | 3:29 pmI ended up with my apartment in Bed-Stuy because it was close to the train to my office work, walking distance to Harold and to Roy, and near lots and lots of hipster coffeeshops, but my bedroom happens to have a skylight. It’s a walk-up, without a dishwasher, and the laundry is down the street, and my room is just barely big enough for my bed and my clothes, but there’s a gorgeous skylight over my bed. As the days get lighter, I’ve begun waking up earlier. You’d think this is going to be a delightful story about waking up in the middle of the city, with sunshine on my…
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Absurdity, Allegory and China
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Losing the Wheels
1 May 2012 | 6:13 pmThe swirling stories of the red Ferrari that have been linked to Bo Guagua, Bo Xilai’s still-moneyed son in the U.S., have begun to be questioned. Guagua issued An Exclusive Statement from Bo Guagua to the Harvard Crimson on April 24, 2012 refuting the claim that he showed up at the U.S. Embassy in a tuxedo to take the daughter of Jon Huntsman, Jr, then U.S Ambassador to China, out for a night on the town: I have never driven a Ferrari. I have also not been to the U.S. Embassy in Beijing since 1998 (when I obtained a previous U.S. Visa), nor have I ever been to the U.S. Ambassador’s… -
Another Week in the Hu & Wen Cave
28 Apr 2012 | 8:13 pmIt’s been another busy Spring 2012 Chinese news week as the final days of Hu and Wen have finally become the gift that keeps on giving. The latest story is the escape of the world’s most famous blind man, Chen Guangcheng, from extrajudicial home detention while under the watchful eyes of a Chinese ‘security’ detail that patrolled the fields and backroads of Chen’s neighborhood/village of Dongshigu keeping away through brute force, intimidation and physical beatings anyone who tried to visit him and his family, including Chen’s neighbors who tried to help… -
Koolhaas, Bigness and Beijing
23 Apr 2012 | 11:06 pmThe Master of Bigness by Martin Filler in the May 2012 issue of The New York Review of Books is well worth a look for two good reasons. One is the publication itself, the NYRB, which is always worth a look. Two, it’s a very good piece on Rem Koolhaas and his architectural team at the Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA), who have invariably changed the face of Beijing, whether we like it or not, with the construction of the controversial CCTV Headquarters Building, the prime draw of the complex of OMA-designed buildings that dominate the east side of the Third Ring Road in… -
Juicing the Beasts
22 Apr 2012 | 9:52 pmThe China Daily ran a story this morning (h/t @kinablog) entitled “The meat athletes eat can get them branded as cheats“. An official from the General Administration of Sport of China (GASC) denied reports that athletes were banned in January from eating untested pork, beef and lamb in an attempt to avoid doping scandals in the run-up to the London Olympics. Still, extreme caution is in order. “The administration has never banned athletes from eating meat. It just reminded them to be on alert,” said Chen Zhiyu, head of the general office of GASC’s science and… -
The Long March to Ferrari
17 Apr 2012 | 7:02 pmOn May 12, 1993 the Wall Street Journal ran a front page story by staff reporters Jacob M. Schlesinger in Tokyo and James McGregor (@jamesLmcgregor) in Beijing entitled, “Unlikely Friends: Sino-Japanese Trade Soars as Old Enemies Cautiously Embrace.” The story concerned the budding business relations between Japan and China, specifically the blossoming opportunities in Dalian, in China’s northeast. Dalian had just received a new mayor, the “clean-cut 44-year-old,” Bo Xilai. In what seems to have been a prescient though disingenuous bit of political-speak, Bo,…
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China Bystander
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Stilling Rough Waters In The South China Sea
15 May 2012 | 10:49 amChina and the Philippines have said they will impose simultaneous temporary fishing bans in parts of the South China Sea. It is a way to diffuse their maritime stand-off near the Scarborough Shoal (Huangyan Island to China). While neither side … Continue reading → -
Beijing, Tokyo and Seoul To Start Formal Free Trade Pact Talks
13 May 2012 | 12:19 pmAs regular readers will know, we have been following the progress on a potential free trade agreement between China, South Korea and Japan for some time–and the shadow play for economic influence in the Asia-Pacific region being acted out through … Continue reading → -
China Trims Banks’ Reserve Requirements
12 May 2012 | 11:07 pmChina’s central bank is cutting the capital reserve ratio for the country’s banks by 50 basis points, effective May 18th, a further cautious easing of monetary policy in the face of a slowing economy. The biggest banks’ capital ratios will … Continue reading → -
China’s Falling Inflation Still Demands Policy Caution
11 May 2012 | 10:12 amApril’s consumer price inflation numbers released Friday follow weak trade and industrial production figures that all point to the slowdown in China’s economy continuing. The question is whether that slowdown is running to plan, or whether it is slowing more … Continue reading → -
Laos Extradites Suspected Mekong Murders Mastermind
10 May 2012 | 11:12 amLaos has handed over to Chinese police a drug lord suspected of masterminding the execution-like killing of 13 Chinese seamen last October on the Mekong River. Naw Kham, seen, right, in transit at Vientiane airport, is a Burmese in his … Continue reading →
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The China Teaching Web
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Job tips for English speaking Asians in China
3 May 2012 | 2:01 amWhy is it difficult for English speaking Asians to find a teaching job in China? This is a question I get many times from fellow teachers of Asian descent. Let’s face it. We Asians don’t make good poster boys or girls for schools that want to attract more students. Many schools in China want Caucasian teachers because many Chinese believe that only Caucasians can teach English. Having a Caucasian also brings in more revenue for the school. In other words, more Caucasians + more students = more revenue. All is not lost, however. If you are willing to put up with lots of inconveniences and… -
Is it legal to have two jobs (or more) in China?
23 Apr 2012 | 3:32 am“I make almost 30,000 RMB per month,” a new foreign teacher friend recently bragged to me. I was somewhat taken aback by this figure. As a university teacher here, I make less than 1/4 of that amount. “How in the world do you manage that?”, I asked. “Are you so good at teaching that they just can’t throwing money at you?” “Not at all”, came the answer. “I have four jobs. One main job and three jobs in the evening and on the weekends”. Four jobs? I could hardly believe it. For me, one job was enough to sap my energy away. The… -
Are Chinese people rude or are we just too ethnocentric?
4 Apr 2012 | 2:41 amMy weekly lunches with a foreign co-worker have too often degenerated into a recap of all of the ‘rude’ behavior that we have observed (or been subjected to) since we last met. Like being shoved into the side of a bus by a crowd or having someone almost run us over with their scooter as we crossed a campus street. Or seeing someone spit right in front of our shoes on the sidewalk. Sometimes we don’t even have to talk about such behavior in the past tense. It is happening even as we eat lunch. A boy lets a door slam in a girl’s face (and then they go and sit down to… -
Are we teachers or entertainers?
15 Jan 2012 | 8:37 amOr can we be both? Most of my university students hate their Chinese teachers. I don’t blame them. And I don’t blame their Chinese teachers either. I blame the system. In China, classes are taught around exams which means that they are predictably boring and sleep inducing. That’s why foreign teachers in China are lucky. We can prepare lessons that are more creative and imaginative. We can push students to think critically and form their own opinions – something which rarely happens in Chinese classes. “We are actually entertainers”, complained one of my… -
January 2012 China Visa Update
12 Jan 2012 | 9:03 pmIt’s time for an update on the current visa situation in China. This post is based on emails that we receive here at the China Teaching Web as well as conversations that I have had with teachers and schools around China. Choose carefully before you come to teach here. Due to the increased difficulties of obtaining a visa to teach in China (and finding teachers), schools are not just going to let you walk away from your contract. I have a friend who tried to break his contract recently (for what I thought was a pretty compelling reason) but his school threatened to take all sorts of…
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旧书店
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Riparian Ecosystems
15 May 2012 | 10:05 amA typical riparian ecosystem consists of life that has evolved in flowing freshwater rather than in static waters. Any ecosystem that has adapted to living in running water is called a loticecosystem. Part of the riparian ecosystem also consists of animals that use areas as migration corridors and feed on riparian plants and animals. Riparian ecosystems represent edges, a place where two different habitats meet. Lush and shady conditions next to a stream, for example, differ from the sunny dry meadow a short distance from the stream. Some predators seek edges because they contain a greater… -
Three Gorges Dam
13 May 2012 | 8:35 amChina’s massive project to construct the Three Gorges Dam across the flood-prone Yangtze River brings together almost all of environmentalists’ fears. The Three Gorges Dam controls a drainage area of 386,300 square miles (1 million km2) and when complete it will be the world’s largest water conservation structure. The project’s leaders have assured their country and the world that the Three Gorges Dam will be a masterpiece of flood control and energy generation. Critics have cited other factors associated with the dam that will have worse effects on the environment. Criticism of the… -
Dams
9 May 2012 | 8:30 amOne of the most dramatic physical alterations of waterways arises from the building of dams. Large dam projects began in the United States in the 1930s with good intentions, but ecologists now realize that dams affect ecosystems, natural water flows, and water conservation in both good and bad ways. Dams provide benefits in water management in the following ways: (1) They conserve water by storing it in reservoirs; (2) they supply irrigation water; and (3) they reduce flooding downstream. In addition, many dams have been built for the main purpose of producing electricity. All of these… -
Salmon
4 May 2012 | 10:10 amThe general names salmon and trout represent a number of different fish species that are born in freshwater, migrate to the ocean to mature, and then migrate back to inland freshwaters to reproduce. This migration is called a salmon run. Reproduction consists of a female laying eggs in a streambed’s gravel, the male fertilizing the eggs, and then the development of young fish; the entire process is called spawning. Salmon populations exist in the Atlantic Ocean, the Pacific Ocean, and some large lakes, but all salmon populations have undergone declines over the past century, possibly due to… -
Threats to Waterways
1 May 2012 | 10:04 amWaterway pollution threatens the health of the biota that depend on aquatic habitat and the people that depend on the waterway as a drinking water source. In developing regions, chemical pollution and sewage have created a serious threat to both habitat and people. More than half of the rivers in India, Africa, and Latin America contain heavy pollution, but the greatest problem may be in China, where most of the coasts, rivers, canals, and lakes contain industrial pollutants. Hundreds of thousands of people in China turn to bottled water because no other safe water source exists, but the…
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Silicon Dragon
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Startup Asia Deals Count in 1/4 of Forbes Midas List of 100 Top 100 VCs
12 May 2012 | 5:02 pmWhat a difference it makes to have China and India included in the Forbes’ Midas List 2012. Of the top 100 venture capitalists who scored in this annual ranking, 12 who have funded startups in China are new on the 2012 list from last year. Two VCs active in India emerged on the 2012 ranks. DCM and IDG Accel were among those firms that excelled with the expansion of China to the mix in 2012. The inclusion of India this year propelled Accel India and Mayfield Fund in the 2012 rankings. The list reflects the importance of China and India as emerging hotspots of technology innovation, as well… -
Silicon Dragon Beijing 2012: Serial Entrepreneurs Set up Shop in China
26 Apr 2012 | 2:38 pmIf at first you do succeed, try, try again! That must be the motto of a growing group of startup founders in China who just won’t quit! More and more young entrepreneurs are racing to do their second or third startup in China’s highly energized markets — before this opportunity to catch the wave is gone.The first generation who made it with Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent, Sina and Renren are moving on to do their second or third startup in China. It’s one more sign that China’s Silicon Valley is growing up fast! and becoming more and more like the original.In the Valley, I often meet… -
Startup Asia Tips for Entrepreneurs: Kai-Fu Lee
15 Mar 2012 | 9:19 pmThe following is an excerpt from my Startup Asia interview with Kai-Fu Lee, founder of Innovation Works, in China. Based on his experience as former president of Google China and now head of his own incubator and venture fund in Beijing, he shares three key lessons for the next generation of Chinese entrepreneurs.Startup Asia writer Rebecca Fannin withKai-Fu Lee of Innovation WorksAny advice for tomorrow’s entrepreneurs coming up in China?My first advice is don’t think your idea will change the world, but understand the trend. That’s much more important. If you are growing in an… -
Startup Asia tour shines on India
19 Feb 2012 | 6:39 amMy tour of India's innovation hubs is generating some press. Check out the media coverage here: Wall Street Journal @ LiveMintFirstPostIn the first six days of the trip, I traveled from Mumbai to Delhi back to Mumbai and then to Bangalore! Check out some photos from the Startup Asia events here: Startup Asia TourOn February 21, I will be in Mumbai again, this time to moderate a Startup Asia panel discussion on India's rise in tech entrepreneurship. Panelists are venture investors Sandeep Singhal of Nexus Venture Partners, Shailesh Lakhani of Sequoia Capital and Hemir Doshi of IDG… -
Days 1 & 2 of Silicon Dragon ventures in India
14 Feb 2012 | 10:23 amDay 2 in India and already what an amazing experience! Yes, I’ve been here before . . . so I have some idea of what I'm getting intoLate yesterday morning, while I was fighting jetlag, my PC crashed and all my files disappeared. As luck would have it, a call to my good contact at Tie Mumbai managed to find a willing and able IT guy to rescue me. By mid-afternoon, this well-trained Indian software engineer showed up at my hotel, and in less than one hour – I am not kidding – my computer was back, better than before. Turns out my trusty laptop had picked up a nasty virus. A…
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chinaSMACK
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Singapore Ferrari Crash: Rich Mainland Chinese Man Kills 3
16 May 2012 | 9:51 amCurrently with over 600k views after being uploaded a day earlier on popular Chinese video sharing website Youku… From QQ: Vehicle Monitoring Camera Captures Rich Mainland Chinese Man Driving Ferrari in Singapore Crashing Into Taxi At 4am in the early morning on the 12th, a speeding red Ferrari sports car ran the red light at an intersection in Singapore, crashing into a taxi. Apart from the Ferrari owner who died on the spot, the 52-year-old Singaporean taxi driver and a Japanese passenger who were in the taxi also died after been taken to the hospital. United Evening News of Singapore… -
Macedonia Praises Quality of School Buses Donated By China
15 May 2012 | 9:00 pmFrom NetEase: Macedonian Prime Minister Praises Quality of School Buses Given by China 2011 November, news about China donating 23 school buses to Macedonia after frequent [domestic] school bus accidents attracted society’s attention. May 14th in Beijing, the Macedonian Prime Minister expressed that the quality of the school buses donated by China were very good and the school buses are currently being put to good use at schools in Macedonia. Macedonia has already purchased 202 buses produced in Zhengzhou, used to improve its country’s public transportation situation. From… -
China Ranked 5th in BBC Global Popularity Survey, Above USA
15 May 2012 | 8:19 amFrom QQ News: Survey of Worldwide Popularity Ranks China 5th, Surpassing USA and EU As shown in a recent global survey conducted by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), China’s global popularity has increased, surpassing France and the United States, and is now ranked fifth in the world’s most popular countries. The results of this survey are drawn from the answers of 24,000 respondents in 22 countries. Compared to the results of the 2011 survey, this year shows that the percentage of those who hold a positive view of China rose from 46 percent to 50 percent, allowing China… -
Chinese Driver Fined for Being on Highway Over 12 hours
14 May 2012 | 9:00 pmFrom NetEase: Driver has to pay 375 yuan overtime fee for sleeping overnight at a highway rest stop Having to pay a toll when driving on a highway is something drivers all know about, but if while you were exiting a highway and the toll booth worker says to you, “You’ve exceeded your time, you have to pay an overtime fee”, would you be surprised? Recently, a Mr. Gao from Shijiazhuang of Hebei is a bit unhappy because of this “overtime fine”. It was after 8pm at night when Mr. Gao left Luquan of Hebei and headed towards home in Xingtang county of Shijiazhuang on… -
Mentally Ill Homeless Woman Gives Birth Outdoors, Refuses Help
14 May 2012 | 2:54 amFrom NetEase: Guangzhou homeless woman gives birth outdoors, refuses help Early morning May 10th, in an alley next to Longgui Food Market in Baiyun district of Guangzhou, a homeless woman gave birth to an infant boy. This woman may have an mental illness, but utterly resisted hospital assistance. Photographs by Southern Metropolis Daily Reporter Liang Weipei. According to nearby residents, this woman has been seen around the food market for 2-3 months now, and on May 10th, many people discovered that this one pregnant woman now had a filthy little infant boy in her arms. At first the woman…
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China Briefing News
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China Releases 12th Five-Year Plan for Oceanic Affairs
16 May 2012 | 3:45 amBy Xiaolei Gu May 16 – China’s State Oceanic Administration and the Standardization Administration of the People’s Republic of China jointly released “The 12th Five-Year Plan for the Standardization of Oceanic Affairs (hereinafter referred as the Plan)” to work out a set of standards on oceanic affairs covering ocean planning, ocean investigation, ocean energy utilization, and island development. Eight Tasks The Plan specifies eight major tasks for the standardization of oceanic affairs: 1. Constructing multi-layered and systematic marine standards The government is committed to… -
Chinese Outward Foreign Investments in Europe
15 May 2012 | 5:38 pmOpinion: Daniela Gorza May 16 – While developing economies account for only roughly 17 percent of global outward direct investment (ODI), this segment is beginning to gain ground. Within this group, China is among the most active outward investors, along with other emerging economies such as India and Brazil. Although China’s ODI into Europe remains modest, it is growing rapidly with major acquisitions and investments making global headlines. The country’s Greenfield investments, for example, have increased by 500 percent since 2000, but are still considered modest. China accounted… -
China Orders ‘Big Four’ Auditors to Restructure
15 May 2012 | 1:53 amChina now requires the “Big Four” auditing companies of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, Ernst & Young, KPMG and PricewaterhouseCoopers to “localize” their staff in line with Chinese laws that specify the qualifications, age and experience of their management. Continue reading → -
China-Japan-South Korea Sign Trilateral Agreement and Launch FTA Talks
14 May 2012 | 6:16 amBy Xiaolei Gu May 14 – Leaders from China, Japan, and South Korea concluded the Fifth Trilateral Summit Meeting and signed the Trilateral Agreement for the Promotion, Facilitation and Protection of Investment (hereinafter referred as the Trilateral Agreement) at a summit in Beijing yesterday. The Trilateral Agreement represents a stepping stone towards a three-way free trade pact to counter global economic turbulence and to boost economic growth in Asia. According to a joint declaration, the three nations will further enhance the “future-oriented comprehensive cooperative partnership”… -
China’s PBC to Cut Reserve Rate Requirement by 0.5 Percentage Points
14 May 2012 | 3:27 amMay 14 – The People’s Bank of China announced on May 13 that it would cut the amount of cash that banks must hold as reserves by 0.5 percentage points (50 basis points) recently released statistics pointed to a sharper-than-expected slowdown of the economy. The cut, which is the second this year following the first cut in February, will be effective from May 18, 2012. With this latest adjustment, the bank reserve requirement ratio will be reduced from 20.5 percent to 20 percent for large banks, while smaller banks will be required to maintain 16.5 percent of reserves. The move ……
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2point6billion.com - Foreign Direct Investment in Asia
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India Set to Overtake China, Vietnam and Thailand as World’s Top Rice Exporter
15 May 2012 | 5:09 amIndia is expected to overtake China as the world’s largest rice exporter this year as the Indian harvest has had a major boost from both the weather and the government, pushing prices to record highs. Continue reading → -
Myanmar to Lift Global Payment Restrictions
15 May 2012 | 12:57 amMove will boost ability for businesses to buy and sell May 15 – Myanmar will lift its existing restrictions concerning international payments and transfers by the end of this year, according to the International Monetary Fund, making it easier for businesses to trade in and with the country. The government is expected to finalize the unification of the existing system of multiple exchange rates also by this time, following the Central Bank’s decision to scrap the 35-year-old fixed exchange rate last month. The fixed rate had created a huge black market for U.S. dollars within a country… -
Report: Economic and Social Survey of Asia-Pacific Region 2012
14 May 2012 | 1:19 amThe 2012 edition of the Economic and Social Survey of Asia and the Pacific scales down the economic growth of the region to 6.5 percent in 2012, with China and India expanding their economy by 8.6 percent and 7.5 percent, respectively. Continue reading → -
China-Philippines Standoff: Territorial Tension in the South China Sea
10 May 2012 | 6:03 amThe South China Sea continues to act as a regional flashpoint in the Asia Pacific, recently exemplified by the ongoing naval standoff between China and the Philippines. The current standoff began at the beginning of April when the Filipino navy intercepted Chinese fishing vessels in Scarborough Shoal, who they claimed were illegally operating inside of its 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone. Photo: China Daily Continue reading → -
Exit China, Enter India – Expat Transitions: Part IV
4 May 2012 | 5:34 amOlaf Griese has spent six years with Dezan Shira & Associates in Shanghai and has just recently relocated to Delhi. In this series of articles, he will detail the differences, as well as the pros and cons, of living in both China and India. This is Part IV: Second-Tier City Beat - From Hangzhou to Pune Continue reading →
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ChinaTravel.net Features
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Ctrip writing contest: My Chengdu Story
27 Apr 2012 | 4:33 pmWe are now accepting submissions for My Chengdu Story, a battle to the literary-death over cups of tea, semi-warm glasses of beer and plates of huí guō ròu (回鍋肉). The contest gates have opened; let the words flood in like armies to the battlefield. The contest works like this: you drop the fly-est, most brilliant words your dainty little pen can muster. Take the spawn of your brai ... -
Springtime in Hangzhou
23 Apr 2012 | 10:27 amOut front of a restaurant overlooking the tea plantations of Hangzhou, an old Chinese man churned leaves in an electric bowl while our tour guide lectured in front of him. The guide's name was Yu, and he described the churning process being undertaken behind him. The old man was pressing the freshly picked leaves into the hot bowl with his bare hands, flattening them. Yu explained to my group ... -
Tibet to reopen to foreigners beginning April 2012
9 Apr 2012 | 2:26 pm[UPDATE: 10 April 2012] The Ctrip activities department has informed us that Tibetan travel permits are only being issued to foreign groups of three or more, and every member of the tour group must be of the same nationality or part of one family. As traveling in Tibet can be an expensive trip (all foreigners are required to travel by private vehicle, with a personal guide/driver), it is comm ... -
Train travel in post-Wenzhou China: on the Hubei collapse and the safety of the high-speed rail network
22 Mar 2012 | 5:40 pmLast Monday, 12 March 2012, news trickled down the various Chinese and English media organs about a section of high-speed rail that collapsed in Hubei Province, with the affected section ranging in length from the officially announced 300 meters (238 yards) to a local official's statement of 4.3 miles (6.9 kilometers). What was surprising about this revelation was not, unfortunately, that a br ... -
Tales from the Tea Horse Road: a conversation with Jeff Fuchs
16 Mar 2012 | 10:02 amMark Twain's quote "Really great people make you feel that you, too, can become great" sums up how I felt when I sat across from the adventurer, tea aficionado, photographer, author and climber Jeff Fuchs over a cappuccino in the lobby restaurant of his Shanghai hotel. I heard him speak days earlier at the Yew Chung International School of Shanghai (YCIS) about his extensive travels as ...
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China Expat - Chinese Cultural Observations From The Western Perspective
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China’s Ten Richest Cities
15 May 2012 | 9:42 pmThe Richest Place in China? -by Ernie Diaz A list of China’s wealthiest cities recently came out, with hardly a place recognizable to the average westerner. Many Chinese themselves were surprised to notice Beijing and Shanghai nowhere on the list, mistaking GDP, a more abstract yet more publicized form of wealth, for a more personal, tangible form – per capita income. Here are the top ten: why they’re making so much money, and why you might want to know more about them. #10 Changzhou: Why It’s Rich: What, you’ve never heard of the… -
China’s Top Female Folk Singers
10 May 2012 | 7:26 pmSa Dingding, Funky Chinese Folk Singer -by Ernie Diaz Anyone mind if we bash pop music in general for a bit, and Mando-pop in particular? In an age when everything is manufactured cheap, shiny and disposable, buying into the same kind of music is an act of surrender. At least your average western pop chanteuse makes an effort at sincerity. Oh, a Mando-pop singer will look genuinely pained, warbling through the interchangeable love song some anonymous schlep wrote. But the singer is drawing on the pain of not yet being a movie star, and the yearning to someday be an… -
The Glasses
10 May 2012 | 4:58 am-from “The Glasses”, by Lao She (b.1899-d.1966) Although Sung Xiushen was a science student, he was not particularly scientific in his daily habits. He took no trouble, for instance, to keep away the flies from his food; he seemed to believe that they had been disinfected. He was near-sighted but never wore his glasses except when he did his studies, because he shared the traditional belief that the more you wear glasses the worse your eyes become. If he couldn’t see what was going on around him, it was just too bad. One morning he was walking close to the… -
Tulous and True Beauty
9 May 2012 | 8:16 am-by Ernie Diaz Beijing and Shanghai’s rise in fortunes has been aptly mirrored in the pin-cushion’s-worth of internationally-designed buildings that have sprung up apace. Grand, these buildings, staggering even, but not beautiful, not truly beautiful. You’ll rarely see anyone outside Beijing’s CCTV building taking photographs, and then usually only for commercial purposes. Impressive, yes. Beautiful? Not so much. Everyone with a schoolboy’s grasp of architecture has heard it, but how many have listened? “Form follows function.” It doesn’t… -
James Bond 007 Skyfall: It’s Set in Shanghai
4 May 2012 | 4:45 amThe new James Bond film Skyfall, starring Daniel Craig, is to be mainly set in Shanghai and Macau, Empire Magazine has revealed in interviews with producer Sam Mendes. Bond will mostly likely be revealed anew in a scene set in the “Golden Dragon Casino,” featuring an impressive display of pyrotechnics, red and gold chrysanthemum decor, massive Chinese dragons heads and huge stone-carved lions. Bond is set to arrive via a small boat, punted by a Chinese coolie, then step into the casino where….whatever, its apparently to be the most memorable opening Bond sequence since…
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Xinjiang: Far West China
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A Hiker’s Guide to Xinjiang, China
25 Apr 2012 | 8:48 amIn September 2011, my parents and I arrived in Xinjiang for a two-week stay. We had been discussing the trip for nearly four years and our primary goal was to spend time in the Tian Shan. We accomplished this goal, but not in the way or to the extent we had hoped for. I am writing this article to explain our experiences to other would-be trekkers, and reflect on what we could have done differently, or what other people in different circumstances could do, to better experience the Tian Shan. A Brief Introduction My family is fond of hiking. Although we are not fiercely avid trekkers, my… -
A Glimpse of China’s Richest City
4 Apr 2012 | 7:30 amWhen you think of China’s richest cities, no doubt visions of Beijing’s grandeur, Shanghai’s skyline and Hong Kong’s beauty come to mind. According to the latest research, however, those visions would be incorrect. In fact, you’d be on the wrong side of the country. Try looking west toward Xinjiang, China’s largest – generally unknown – region. Welcome to Karamay, China’s richest city in 2012. Karamay, aka “Black Oil” Located about 4 hours northwest of Xinjiang’s capital of Urumqi and less than 230 kilometers (~140 miles)… -
What is a Yurt and How Can I Stay in One?
20 Mar 2012 | 7:30 amWhat is a yurt? If you’re traveling to Xinjiang (China), Mongolia, Kazakhstan or any other Central Asian country, it’s more than likely that you’re going to run into one of them. Technically, a yurt is a portable housing structure constructed with a wooden frame and wool covering. They are traditionally used by Turkic nomads who make their living herding sheep in the rich grasslands. For the majority of us, however, a yurt is something completely different. A yurt is an experience. It is a replacement for a hotel and a glimpse into another culture. Simply put, a yurt is an… -
Xinjiang Budget Travel: 5 Money-Saving Tips
14 Mar 2012 | 7:30 amFor most people who travel to Xinjiang and around China, there are two concerns that direct how they plan their entire journey: time and money. There’s not much I can do about your time, but what if I could help you with some simple yet very effective ways to save you money? Many of these tips can generally be applied to travel all across China, but there are a few “tricks of the trade” I’ve learned during my years in Xinjiang that I hope you’ll find useful. Tip #1: Travel at Night There is nothing I hate worse than wasting daylight hours traveling in a bus or… -
Stabbings and Shootings in Kashgar Kill 20
1 Mar 2012 | 7:30 amOn Tuesday, February 28th in the Yacheng county of Kashgar, Xinjiang, a riot and/or public demonstration ended in the deaths of over 20 people. As expected, local news portals make little-to-no mention of the incident and had you picked up a copy of the local Kashgar newspaper on February 29th, you’d think that everything in the city was absolutely perfect: On Xinhua, China’s official press agency, the following headline displayed an article not about unrest, but rather about the great economic development that was happening around the city: Of course, the reality of what was…
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China concerts
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Tuesday 22nd: Lawrence Collins Band at Southern Belle china
16 May 2012 | 3:40 pmLawrence Collins Band china : Southern Belle on 2012-05-22
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The China Observer
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Forecasting Growth of China’s Middle-Class Consumers
9 May 2012 | 4:48 pmCompanies like Yum! Brands are betting on the rise of middle-class consumers around the world. According to analysis conducted by Jana.com the size of the global middle-class could increase from 1.8 billion to 3.2 billion by 2020 and to 4.9 billion by 2030. Asia will account for nearly 85 percent of this growth, with China and India experiencing the most significant increase. The image above is from a recent infographic created by Jana which highlights key findings for marketers about opportunities for mobile advertising in emerging markets like China. -
Fanta: Interactive Gaming Drives Chinese Youth Engagement
2 May 2012 | 8:48 pmFanta is a global brand of fruit-flavored carbonated soft drinks which is part of The Coca-Cola Company. Coca-Cola started doing business in China shortly after the ‘reform and opening’ in 1978 and established its first bottling plant in Beijing three years later. By April 2012, Coca-Cola celebrated the grand opening of its 42nd bottling plant in the northeastern city of Yingkou. It is one of the most successful Western multinational companies operating in China with ambitious plans to invest four billion more dollars in China over the next three years. The Coca Cola Company markets a… -
DATA: Where do Chinese Luxury Consumers Live?
23 Apr 2012 | 7:24 pmThe Hurun Report, in conjunction with the Industrial Bank Co.(兴业银行), recently released a report on China’s luxury consumer market. In particular, the report examines High Net Worth Individuals (HNWIs) defined as individuals with an excess of 6 million renminbi (approximately 950,000 USD). Beijing is home to the most HNWIs with 460,000 people. There is also a high density of HNWIs located in China’s coastal provinces from Jiangsu down to Guangdong. The map above illustrates the distribution of HNWIs across China. -
Samsung: Product Placement in Custom Short Films Boosts Brand Recognition
18 Apr 2012 | 8:28 pmSamsung Electronics, based in South Korea, has been the world’s largest technology company by revenue since overtaking Hewlett-Packard in 2009. Samsung opened its first manufacturing facility in China in 1992 after China and South Korea normalized diplomatic relations in August of that year. Like many multinational companies, Samsung’s focus shifted quickly from leveraging China solely as a production base, to selling directly to Chinese consumers. Two decades later, Samsung has experienced a great deal of success in China, with its total sales there growing 32% year-over-year to 9.5… -
DATA: Foreign Clothing Retailers’ China Expansion
28 Mar 2012 | 4:14 pmRetail in China 2011 View more PowerPoint from TheChinaObserver
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Tai Shan
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Crosstalk: Poems of Mourning
15 May 2012 | 9:48 amIn this installment of “Crosstalk,” a series of posts in the middle of each month that aims to show some connections or parallels between English/American literature and Chinese culture (mostly pop culture), we’ll move away a bit from pop culture and look at Edgar Allan Poe’s poem “Annabel Lee” alongside the Chinese poem《江城子》 (Jiang Cheng Zi), with Burton Watson’s English translation attached, and with a translation by Ren Zhiji. The poems have been pulled together by Lily Sun, who has for many years been using this sort of activity to help… -
Converting Your Overseas Driving License to a Chinese License
12 May 2012 | 10:50 amI recently converted my overseas driver’s license to a Chinese license. It’s a rather involved procedure, and I was given a fair bit of misinformation along the way. Here’s a few short notes on the procedures involved (valid as of April 2012, but who knows when they might change): the place to get the job done is not in Pudong anymore, but at 1330 Hami Lu expect to take a half day on your first visit, when you will need to join numerous queues and go through several hectic procedures on the first day, you will have your photo made, then go to fill up an application, then go… -
More Photos from Zuibaichi Garden, Songjiang
9 May 2012 | 11:24 amZuibaichi is Shanghai’s oldest garden. It’s really a beautiful spot and is much quieter than Yuyuan (and honestly, the crowds are the only thing to dislike about Yuyuan). This is a favorite technique of the garden, layering one window/door behind another: The trees, flowers, and plants around the pond near the entrance (not the original entrance to the garden) are pretty amazing: I love this spring, as it is like a complete overview of a river’s flow from the source to the sea The 2 pavilions on either side of the corridor running through the pond are… -
Open Door Guide to Shanghai
6 May 2012 | 9:47 pmThe Open Door Guide to Shanghai, the book I’ve been working on for more than a year and a half, co-authored with Nick Land and Sun Li (with some contributions from a few others as well), is finally out. The book looks really good. It’s another fine job done by Urbanatomy. Copies should be available online from Urbanatomy’s site. Check here for more details. You should also be able to find Suzhou Basics, the guide I authored a few years ago, at that link. -
A Response to Jia Bao Yu / Awakening
3 May 2012 | 11:48 amJia Bao Yu (Awakening) recently played in Shanghai. I was fortunate enough to be at the final performance. The play, an Edward Lam adaptation of Dream of the Red Mansions, featured an all-female cast, including singer Denise Ho in the title role of Jia Bao Yu, the male protagonist of Red Mansions. I enjoyed the performance, especially the modernized adaptation of the story. It was clever, and wickedly funny. I was pleasantly surprised by the performance, and it made me sorry that Journey to the West and Outlaws of the Marsh didn’t come to Shanghai (and also made me want to see…
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jensjaeger.com
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Hacking javascript: a contact form in a google maps info window
6 May 2012 | 1:20 pmOne of my goals last year was to be a better javascript programmer. After I finished the travel map I searched for ideas for new small projects. I came up with the idea to add a contact from to a google maps info window. Beside the google maps api and jquery mapped contact form uses jquery.validate for fancy offline validation. Jquery.form is used to send and ajax request with the entries to a simple php backend. The backend php script just sends an email with the input. It was a bit tricky to make the form and the jquery plugins playing well inside the map info window. But finally i found a… -
Quote: The Top of my Todo List
3 May 2012 | 3:55 pmDon’t ignore your dreams. Don’t work too much. Say what you think. Cultivate friendships. Be happy. - Paul Graham – The Top of my Todo List -
Hibernate relations and event listeners
24 Jan 2012 | 3:07 amIn my current project I work on a Java EE application with a hibernate backend. The applications supports two databases MSSql and Oracle. The development started with MSSql. One of my tasks was to migrate the application to Oracle. We expected some problems with Spring ACLs which uses SQL instead of OR Mapping. To fix that I just had to write some custom SQL for Oracle. After handling the ACLs I got transaction problems with oracle, we hadn’t with MSSql. After some tests and research I found out that to fix this I had to add a entityManager.flush(); to the persist and merge method of… -
4Gewinnt Vanilla for iOS
18 Jan 2012 | 4:34 pmChristoph just released his first iOS game. A awesome iOS implementation of connect four called 4Gewinnt Vanilla. On the strongest game level there is almost no chance to win against the computer. But in the middle levels it’s a perfect entertaining game. The app is designed for both iPhone and iPad and available in the app store: 4Gewinnt Vanilla in the app store -
Article published in OBJEKTspektrum
17 Jan 2012 | 3:55 pmTogether with André I wrote an article for the german computer journal Objektspektrum. The article with the name “Code-Flavours: Nützliche Java-Idiome” is published in the current issue. A code flavour is the opposite of a code smell. Similar to anti-pattern v.s. design pattern. In the article we discuss some useful code flavours for the java programming language. The concepts might work for other languages to. You can order the issue of object spectrum here or just buy the article as a pdf version here.
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ChinaBizGov
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Thoughts on the 2012 Beijing Auto Show
14 May 2012 | 3:00 pmI recently traveled to Beijing to attend the 2012 Beijing Auto Show as well as to attend the Automotive News China Conference. While no one can expect to gain a full understanding of China during a quick trip like this one (indeed, one must live there for an extended period in order to learn that he can never fully understand China), such trips are often helpful for taking the pulse of what's going on at the moment.First, a bit about the conference. Like most industry conferences, this one is basically a big networking opportunity surrounded by presentations from industry notables. My… -
GM is getting its 1% back, and it won't be cheap
18 Apr 2012 | 6:35 pmBack in January, GM announced it wanted to buy back the 1% it had sold to its partner, Shanghai Auto (SAIC). In the post I wrote at that time, here was my prediction:The only way I can see this happening is if GM were to agree to set up the sales organization that SAIC had first proposed, which may be possible now that the US government is no longer a majority owner in GM (though still technically the controlling owner).As it turns out, this is exactly what is happening. According to an article (free registration required) from Automotive News China:Company CEO Dan Akerson told the… -
Wen Jiabao gets it, but no one cares
5 Apr 2012 | 10:09 pmOn Tuesday (3 April 2012) major media outlets reported that Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao was getting ready to take on China's giant state-owned banks. He was quoted in an article in the Wall Street Journal:Let me be frank. Our banks earn profit too easily. Why? Because a small number of large banks have a monopoly...To break the monopoly we must allow private capital to flow into the finance sector.Setting aside the fact that there are too many banks in China for any one to have a monopoly (let us not forget that the "mono" part of monopoly means "one") Wen's criticism was definitely warranted. -
Part of me is on Facebook now
29 Mar 2012 | 12:47 pmLong-time followers of this blog may have noted that I don't post as often as I did during 2009, my first year of blogging. There are a couple of reasons for this.First, once I set about writing my dissertation in 2010, I would spend entire days writing, so it became difficult also to take the time to write blog posts. Now that I am working, I still find it hard to post more than 2-3 times a month, but I will continue to post here when I identify issues that deserve more analysis than is provided in the mainstream media.Secondly, my increased use of Facebook allows me to make… -
Is GM handing China another win?
28 Mar 2012 | 4:22 pmGeneral Motors announced today that it has signed a memorandum of understanding with the China Automotive Technology and Research Center (CATARC) in which CATARC will reportedly......manage GM’s fleet of demonstration Volts and will assist GM China in meeting certain objectives.These [objectives] will include gaining the support of key decision makers crafting vehicle electrification policy in China.Who is CATARC? From their English website:China Automotive Technology and Research Center (CATARC) was established in 1985 response to the need of the state for the management of auto…
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Digital Marketing Inner Circle
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Google Drive Launched… and Blocked in China
25 Apr 2012 | 9:03 pmSome interesting news out this week with Google launching their new service, Google Drive. However, a few hours later… Google Drive was blocked in China. Chinese Internet users will not get the chance to use Google’s latest offering, Google Drive, which allows users to store files on Google's servers, unless using a VPN (as many of us in China do). While Google’s social networking service Google+ made a brief appearance in China this February, functioning for a couple of weeks, Google Drive was not as fortunate, only accessible for mere… -
Talking of Brand Equity & Brand Value
10 Apr 2012 | 6:18 amBrand value and brand equity represent two different, yet intricately linked, concepts. Brand value is the net present value of future cash flows from a branded product minus the net present value of future cash flows from a similar unbranded product—or, in simpler terms, what the brand is worth to management and shareholders. Brand equity is a set of perceptions, knowledge and behavior on the part of customers that creates demand and/or a price premium for a branded product—in other words, what the brand is worth to a customer. But with the social web having such a… -
Interview with Derek Ling, Founder & CEO of Tianji.
29 Mar 2012 | 1:54 amThis week, we have a great interview with Derek Ling, Founder & CEO of Tianji in China. As interest in digital media continues to grow, it is interesting to get some views from one of the major Internet and social media entrepreneurs in China. Through his role with the Tianji, Derek is well positioned to monitor the ever-evolving industry and give us some insights into the forward challenges and issues we face in China. -
Social Media Flying High
19 Mar 2012 | 2:50 amThis news is quite exciting for some and quite frightening for others.... Now, for those wanting to find interesting people who are on the same flight, Dutch airline KLM are offering a new service called ‘Meet & Seat’ where you can view other passengers’ Facebook or LinkedIn profile details and see where they’ll be sitting. -
Digital Jungle hits Geneva Motor Show
8 Mar 2012 | 11:31 pmMembers of the Digital Jungle team have been invited as guests of Bentley Motors to attend the 82nd International Geneva Motor Show. As special guests of Bentley Motors, Digital Jungle will have privileged access to Bentley’s new EXP 9 F concept SUV, which is being revealed at the motor show.
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China Private Equity
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Funny, You Don’t Look American
8 May 2012 | 12:50 amwww.chinafirstcapital.com/blog If I had one minute of national air time in China and could provide a single piece of information to correct a deep cultural misunderstanding, here’s what I would say, “You like to try, but it’s really hard, maybe impossible, to guess a white person’s nationality.” Just about every Chinese I meet asks me where I’m from. My usual response is “Where do you think?”. What then follows, almost invariably, is “You look like you are from…” following by the name of various countries inhabited by large numbers of white people. Canada, France,… -
Private Equity in China, 2012: CFC’s New Research Report
26 Apr 2012 | 5:49 pmwww.chinafirstcapital.com/blog Around the time of Confucius 2,500 years ago, the Greek philosopher Heraclitus wrote, “Nothing is permanent except change.” It’s a perfect quick summary of the private equity industry in China. In its short 20 year history, PE in China has undergone continuous transformation: from dollars to Renminbi; from a focus on technology companies to a preference for traditional industries; from overseas IPO exits to domestic listings; from a minor financing channel to a main artery of capital to profitable private companies competing in the most dynamic and… -
Chinese Private Equity Moves from IPO to IRR
10 Apr 2012 | 5:39 amwww.chinafirstcapital.com/blog Most investors, including me, would be delighted to make 15% to 20% per year, year after year. But, for many private equity firms active in China, that kind of return would be cause for shame. The reason is that recent past returns from Chinese PE , and so the expectations of LPs, is much higher, often overall annual increases of 40%-60% a year, with successful individual deals increasing by 100% a year in value during a typical three to five year holding period. But, it is quickly becoming much more challenging to earn those +40% annual rates of return. My… -
“If You Are Going to Do Something, Do It Big”
27 Mar 2012 | 5:25 amwww.chinafirstcapital.com/blog The first thing that strikes you is complete geographic implausibility of it all. In a rural corner of China’s barren, sparsely-populated and dusty Loess Plateau, sits an enormous complex of factories, dormitories, roads, and train tracks occupying an area of 38 square kilometers (14.6 square miles, almost 19 million square feet). That’s over half the size of Manhattan, 58 times larger than LA’s Disneyland, three times larger than the world’s busiest international airport, Heathrow in London. The site belongs to a single Chinese company. It’s private,… -
Why I Love What I DO
15 Mar 2012 | 7:31 pmwww.chinafirstcapital.com/blog My love story began 25 years ago on a bus barreling down the Mass Pike highway in Western Massachusetts. It continues to this day, stronger and more captivating than ever. It has provided the joy, the passion, the inspiration, the endless study and purpose of my life. I’m talking about my love affair with entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship. Twenty-five years ago I was a newly-hatched baby reporter at Forbes Magazine in New York, on my first proper reporting assignment. An editor asked me to look into what was then still a small New England bus company with…
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China Internet Watch
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CHARTS: Credit Card Payment in China
14 May 2012 | 10:26 pmChina Banking Association recently released a study “Chinese Credit Card Industry Development Blue Book 2009-2011″ showing that total credit card transactions in 2011 totaled 7.56 trillion yuan (about USD 1.2 trillion). There were about 290 million credit cards issued last year, up 24.3% from 2010. Over three million merchants with over 4.8 million POS terminals accept payment by credit card last year. The number of transactions totaled 2.85 billion in 2011. Copyright © 2011 China Internet Watch Subscribe to CIW Whitepaper Newsletter here. (Digital Fingerprint:… -
Sina Weibo Launched Social Ads
9 May 2012 | 12:41 amThe launch of social ads on Sina Weibo is definitely not a surprise to many people in China digital marketing industry considering the long existence of social ads on Facebook and eager “learning habit” of China Internet companies. Sina Weibo social ads have two types: top and bottom banner ads, and promotion ads of topics, events, videos and products. Sina social ads will utilize the demographic profile of Weibo users for more accurate targeting. Reports on ads performance will also be available on reach, CTR, engagement, earned reach and engagement as well as quality and growth… -
China Online Shopping Market in Q1 Reached 228.2 Billion Yuan
8 May 2012 | 9:26 pmChina’s first quarter online shopping transactions was 228.2 billion yuan, down 0.8% over the previous quarter but up 40.9% over the same period last year. Transactions on C2C sites totaled 166 billion yuan (72.8%) and B2C totaled 62.2 billion yuan (27.2%). Taobao continues to dominate the C2C market with over 95% revenue share and tmall (previously Taobao Mall) leads B2C platform trading with 51.5% market share. Copyright © 2011 China Internet Watch Subscribe to CIW Whitepaper Newsletter here. (Digital Fingerprint: ce3119404a5ce2598bdc0ba364f770c3)Original URL:China Online… -
China Mobile Market Update for Q1 2012
7 May 2012 | 9:09 pmThe first quarter China mobile market in 2012 totaled 15.87 billion yuan (USD 2.5 billion). Mobile marketing spend is also growing fast as some top advertisers gradually allocate more budget on mobile. Copyright © 2011 China Internet Watch Subscribe to CIW Whitepaper Newsletter here. (Digital Fingerprint: ce3119404a5ce2598bdc0ba364f770c3)Original URL:China Mobile Market Update for Q1 2012Also read:: China Mobile Internet Market Update Q1 2011 -
Social Media Usage for Recruitment in China
4 May 2012 | 10:14 pmWith the growth of China’s economy also comes the increase of connectivity. According to China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC), there are over 513 million internet users and 356 million mobile internet users in China. Almost half of the internet users (48.7%) spend about half of their time online on SNS and microblogs. The growing usage of social networks is generating business opportunities across many industries. As the country’s labor market is experiencing a fierce war on talent, we as an advertising agency specialized in employer branding and recruitment marketing,…
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EngagingChina
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Caterpillar loses track in China
3 May 2012 | 11:27 amCould this be a trend? US construction equipment giant Caterpillar became the latest western manufacturer to report disappointment in ChinaRead the Rest... -
Casarte gets brand boost with BM
3 May 2012 | 10:02 amBurson-Marsteller, the US PR giant, has won a one-year contract from white goods manufacturer Haier to support a brand communicationsRead the Rest... -
ICBC tiptoes into Spain
3 May 2012 | 5:39 amICBC, the world’s largest bank by market value, is out to win the hearts — and pocketbooks — of SpanishRead the Rest... -
China Auto Rental IPO hits the road
12 Apr 2012 | 10:39 amFor once, a Chinese company plans a US IPO with an old-fashioned business model that any investor can understand –Read the Rest... -
A billion mouths to feed
11 Apr 2012 | 12:37 pmIt had to happen sooner or later, of course. Nevertheless, news that China has overtaken the US as the world’sRead the Rest...
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China Hope Live
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Eating Bitterness: an intro to the unprecedented Chinese migrant worker phenomenon
10 May 2012 | 2:48 pmIf you’re unfamiliar with the urban migrant phenomenon in China — as in, the people who make the stuff you buy and their lives — then China’s Urban Immigrants: A Diet of Bitterness is a fine overview with lots of links for further reading. “Chinese metropolises are now home to an estimated 200 million rural-to-urban migrants . . . who occupy a precarious place in the urban hierarchy: while urbanites appreciate their labor, they are less enthusiastic about the migrants’ presence in their cities.” For more on this topic you can browse our Migrant Workers… -
Chairman Mao enshrined — literally
8 May 2012 | 3:19 pmWhen one of my young, very privileged Party-family students passionately told me, “Chairman Mao is like a god to us!” I understood he meant it as a simile. And the god metaphor is common when discussing Mao and his Cultural Revolution personality cult. But as it turns out, in some incredible irony, some other Chinese mean it literally. I heard about this before, but this is the first time I’ve found pictures — Mao actually enshrined in a local temple: Mao Temple in China – Chairman Mao Becomes Local God. For more about Mao and the Mao Era, you can browse these… -
A deeper look into the dynamics of living with Chinese propaganda
6 May 2012 | 10:17 amTwo insightful posts from Seeing Red in China, which is probably my current favourite China blog, about living in an aggressively and explicitly propagandized environment, and how Chinese try to deal with it. The propaganda still works, but in ways different than us foreigners probably tend to assume. Without further ado: Poisoned By Propaganda An Angry Father I tell [my daughter] that she must not be afraid to take a clear moral stand. “If you see someone is being bullied,” I said, “speak up for that person.” “Be the keeper of the good.” [But] Chinese parents would have to think… -
Defining You (Pt. 2): Pick your poison
18 Apr 2012 | 1:00 pmThis might read better if you put on a tinfoil hat first. :) The Self: Eastern and Western The first Defining “You” post contrasted typical Western and East Asian understandings of the self as explained by psychologist Richard Nisbett in The Geography of Thought. To briefly recap, here are some excerpts: …Westerners and Asians literally experience the world in very different ways. Westerners are the protagonists of their autobiographical novels; Asians are merely cast members in movies touching on their existence (87). To the Westerner, it makes sense to speak of a person as having… -
Would you rather…? (Gutter Oil 2.0)
13 Apr 2012 | 6:21 pmGutter oil, aka , is back in the news again (again), but this time with a twist. Instead of buying the waste oil out the back of restaurants at night or scooping it out of the manholes where restaurants discard their used oil, this time they’re making cooking oil from animal waste fat, rotten meat and viscera from slaughter houses. The China Daily reports that a recent crackdown netted 13 underground workshops, 3200 tonnes of oil, and over 100 suspects. Would you rather have the sewer version or the slaughterhouse version? Over 100 arrested for making ‘gutter oil’ Previously…
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ChinaHush
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Man diagnosed with “abnormal menstruation”
11 May 2012 | 1:08 amFrom Yahoo: It was May 5, when Weibo user @HBG林舟 posted his medical examination report which said he had abnormal menstruation after a full physical exam in hospital of traditional Chinese medicine in Hainan Province. Next morning, the hospital’s Safety Service Department Dean Tang explained that one of the doctors on duty made a mistake because he was too busy. Many patients went to hospital to have CT that day. Especially, the patient before Lin was also a female named Lin, who was diagnosed with abnormal menstruation. The doctor hurried to draw the conclusion without noticing the… -
Foreigner sexually assaulting woman in street of Beijing, beaten up by angry pedestrians
10 May 2012 | 2:01 amOn May 8, 2012, around 11:20 pm a drunken bald foreigner was sexually assaulting a woman in public near Xuanwumen subway station across street from Sogo Department Store in Beijing. A video captured him being questioned and stopped by a couple of pedestrians passing by. In rage, Beijing pedestrians hit him and he passed out in the street until the police arrived to the sense. This video quickly spread on the Internet especially on Weibo and received much attention from the Netizens. Netizen @烧完美好青春 also exposed photos of this same foreigner sexually harassing women on the Beijing… -
Getting amino acids? Student receiving IV drips during study
8 May 2012 | 3:31 amFrom Wenxue City: As the national college entrance examination is approaching, there are a bunch of students who seem to be the hardest working ones to prepare for it because they get intravenous (IV) drips while studying in class. The pictures on internet are all from Hubei Xiaogan No. 1 Middle School. The school is saying that students received the amino acids for energy. One of the netizen “边云锦witHu” said the students are willing to do this. This happens every year and just for the sake of receiving energy. In the pictures, the classroom is bright and desks are piled with books. -
Woman pretends to be artillery solider flaunting wealth on micro-blog faces legal action
3 May 2012 | 2:46 amFrom Netease: April 26, Sina Weibo verified account named “Second Artillery Liu Yuanyuan” exposed herself of drunk driving on micro-blog which attracted many Chinese netizens’ attention. Claimed a member of Second Artillery Corps Art and Cultural Troupe she also “flaunted wealth” by sharing her personal photos. People’s Liberation Army Second Artillery Corps Political Department and Propaganda Department News Director Chen Shoufu made a public statement that the Second Artillery Corps did not have such person named Liu Yuanyuan. so-called “Second… -
How much are multinational companies dependent on China?
21 Apr 2012 | 8:10 pmFrom Netease: Report on Wednesday said, the ambitious Starbucks is continuously expanding in China, but customers staying in Starbucks not leaving is a major obstacle of expanding in China – “Customers love these shops too much, they sit there for hour after hour, and sometimes without buying any coffee at all.” In fact, although these multinational companies have amazing rate of expanding in China, looking at the sales numbers comparing with total global sales, China is still relatively a small market, this probably has little to do with customers staying in the shop for too…
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GoChengdoo
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Love in Sichuan [videos]
16 May 2012 | 1:00 amA new(ish) "Love in Sichuan" 《爱,在四川》 series of short films showcases local places and culture so that all of the world (or at least those with any interest in watching Chinese video sites) can see and bask in the glory of Sichuan culture with the help of bilingual subtitles. The film series is a joint project between the Sichuan Provincial Tourism Bureau and China National Travel magazine. All the four films incorporate stories of romantic relationship in Sichuan and Chengdu, and have been officially released on video-sharing sites in succession and are viewable online only. -
Dandoval's Fast Food Trials: McDonald's
15 May 2012 | 3:40 amDandoval's mission is now complete. Over the past two years, Dandoval has eaten his way through of Chengdu's fast-food establishments, and to reward him, we took him to one of his favorite restaurants in Chengdu: McDonald's. Actually, we wanted him to eat the new mashed-potato burger, but the cashier impatiently informed us that the mashed-potato burger was last month's special. Regardless, Dandoval's excitement at the prospect of eating at McDonald's—a habit he has cut down to "about three times a month"—on our tab was obvious. A bite into his meal, Dandoval happily proclaimed, "I like… -
The Rat and the Roach
10 May 2012 | 8:55 pmThis is a story I was told one evening in the company of a few friends and three or four bottles of good wine. I didn't know the storyteller well, and he was the type of person who enjoyed telling tales. He had spent years working on ships, surely the birthplace of many a legend. I spent the whole evening wondering, in a slight daze, whether to believe it or not. In the end, I'm still undecided. "If a rat is in pain, it makes a noise that signals other rats to stay away from the danger. The frequency is so high that humans can't hear it. They make CDs for this—you play it at night, and the… -
What's on Chengdu May 11 to May 13
9 May 2012 | 8:05 pmFRIDAY | MAY 11 Zoo @ Xiongmao with Narxy B a.k.a Nero. NuDisco from Japan. Support: Dragon, Songfei & VCD. RMB30. Starts at 9.30 p.m. Bob Marley in my Heart Part1 @ Hemp House with Gramaphonetics, Natural Growth, Geezer, Kovak Yan & Solar Pavilon. RMB60. Starts at 7 p.m. Ashura @ Little Bar Local pop/rock. Support: Huanrong aka Buffer Solution. RMB60. Starts at 8 p.m. Shihuaiganen @ New Music House Chinese folk. RMB40 (Students RMB30). Starts at 8.30 p.m. Trance Universe @ Lan Town with DJ Symm (Australia). Free entrance. Starts at 9 p.m. SATURDAY | MAY 12 Bob Marley in my Heart Part2 @ Hemp… -
Luodai: New-ancient jade-belt town
9 May 2012 | 10:00 amLuodai (洛带), 45 minutes east of Chengdu, is one of the many "ancient towns" surrounding Chengdu city proper that has been fully rebuilt as a tourist attraction. While it's not particularly a place to acquire a wealth of historical knowledge, it's cute enough to stroll around with your friends or family on a sunny day. Said to be founded 2,000 years ago, the town has seen several immigration waves of Hakka people throughout the centuries. Starting as early as the 4th century and peaking during the Qing Dynasty 300 years ago, these waves brought Hakkas from various provinces. Although more…
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Quality inspection and sourcing advice in China & Asia
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QC Inspectors cannot follow different quality standards
16 May 2012 | 10:58 amTwo weeks ago, I wrote that different importers have different quality standards. I even listed 3 tips to explain your quality standard to QC inspectors. So, is it enough to explain what the different standards are? The more I think about it, the more it seems unmanageable for a professional inspection firm to assign the same inspectors for different buyers who have vastly different standards. The spectrum in the importers’ requirements is pretty wide. To simplify, there are 3 cases: Case 1: buyer has very, very minimal expectations. For example, he purchases bags for a very low price,… -
Is the market for quality inspections in China still growing?
13 May 2012 | 9:27 pmOver the past 20 years, an entire industry has appeared in China to offer quality inspection services. It was a response to the lack of reliability of most suppliers, as well as their refusal to take responsibility for problems found after shipment. But I am wondering if the inspection market is still growing. Long-term trend of the third-party QC inspection market Phase 1: Some large companies start buying directly. Quality control firms like Bureau Veritas or Intertek hire thousands of inspectors to cope with the demand from large retailers (and the importers who sell to these retailers). -
Bans on dangerous substances: how Chinese factories react
11 May 2012 | 6:40 amAbout two months ago, I was discussing with a French importer about his requirements regarding the glue in his products. He buys packaging for wine. Air pollution is a common cause of corked wine (yes, it doesn’t always come from the cork). So he insists on using water-based glue. And, on their side, Chinese manufacturers reject this idea because water-based glue is too slow to dry. Chinese suppliers will have to comply because California state just passed a regulation to that effect (and other states and countries will probably follow). But, for the time being, they ignore it and… -
How importers can improve their margin: Q&A with an expert
9 May 2012 | 7:34 amI recently had a good talk with Wouter de Roos, from WSDR. Wouter is a consultant who helps importers optimize their operational effectiveness. His goal: better margin for less risks! I asked Wouter 4 questions: Q: What are the most common mistakes you see small and midsize importers do? Mistake 1: Sourcing based on cheapest FOB price only instead of value for money! Many people forget that the cost price of a product is more than only FOB. You can monitor this by making a clear after calculation for your import and compare it with your initial calculation. Mistake 2: Many companies forget… -
RMB settlement for paying Chinese suppliers
7 May 2012 | 11:20 amThe possibility to pay Chinese suppliers in RMB is a recent development that importers should be aware of. Last week I attended an excellent seminar organized by the French Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong. RMB settlement was a hot topic. There are no restrictions at all for Hong Kong-based companies to convert their dollars or euros into Chinese yuan (RMB), and to pay Chinese supplier directly in that currency. An HSBC representative told the audience that most importers, including many of the largest ones, are not fully aware of the current situation. The finance director of Tesco…
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Joop.in China
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Question: Multi-Master MySQL setup, avoiding the GFW or a huge headache?
4 May 2012 | 6:31 amThis is a shout-out to my fellow IT people out there reading this. As it’s Friday and the specific problem below finds little answers through search engines, I’ve decided to share a problem we stumbled upon. Hopefully, one of you has some related experience and can point me in the right direction. The problem: (AKA Challenge as Barney Stinson would call it) As the Chinese market is really enthusiastic about unitedstyles we are currently planning to roll out a version for this market. It’s not the first localisation we have done, as you might have heard we’ve launched… -
In search of sunrise at HuangShan, Anhui
30 Apr 2012 | 10:12 amEven though we have been in Shanghai for a while, a trip to the infamous Huangshan (yellow mountain) had maricously never occurred. The mountain range, described by one blogger to “have influenced most paintings in Chinese restaurants” This labor holiday, we had a look for ourselves and scratched it of our todo list. First about the trip: We had our entire provision, including instant noodles, bread and chocolate in our backpacks and left room for one celebration meal at return. The plan was as follows: leave in the early morning by bus in Shanghai and aim to be at the our… -
Dj at queensday party
26 Apr 2012 | 8:57 pmYour browser does not support the video tag -
Sunday afternoon in Chong Ming
22 Apr 2012 | 9:49 amBack to Chongming with Suna, the perfect place (lake) to read a book (thanks Marc for borrowing me his copy of Isaacsons biography of Steve Jobs) and enjoy barbecue on a Sunday afternoon! -
Unitedstyles Is Looking For An IT Operations & Development Manager
20 Apr 2012 | 11:26 pmUnitedstyles is still a very lean organization (14 full-time employees), but we now decided that we need to hire an additional senior IT person in our Shanghai office. We put the profile on a few career sites today, so of course I also put it on my blog. Please forward to anybody that would be a fit for this position! IT operations and development manager About us Unitedstyles has developed a fashion customization platform on unitedstyles.com and also in an iframe on other websites. Users can design, share and buy their own creations, soon they should be able to sell using our affiliate…
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MyBrownBaby
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Speaking of Breastfeeding, Alicia Keys Says No One Told Her About the Pain
16 May 2012 | 8:34 amAlicia Keys sat down with Amanda de Cadenet just a few days before Mother’s Day to talk about body image, motherhood and even sex. The usually private Keys opened up on an episode of the new Lifetime... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]] -
Halle Berry Wants President Obama To Stop Paparazzi On the School Pick-up Line
16 May 2012 | 8:23 amHalle Berry is ticked that paparazzi got way too close to her and her daughter, Nahla, last week while she was picking her child up from school—so much so that she’s thinking about tapping into... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]] -
Maternity Leave Laws: The Best and Worst States For Working Moms
16 May 2012 | 7:00 amSo basically, it sucks to be a working mom in America. That’s according to a new report by The National Partnership for Women & Families, which handed out “F” grades to 18 states for failing to... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]] -
What’s In a Baby Name? For Some of Them, No Interview
15 May 2012 | 7:00 amBy NICK CHILES The Social Security Administration released the list of top baby names for 2011 and as I perused the list, I thought about the oft-repeated line among black parents when it comes to... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]] -
Jada Pinkett-Smith Explains Willow Smith’s Independence, Quirkiness In Red Table Talk Series
14 May 2012 | 9:17 amDuring my Mother’s Day yesterday, I was taking a much-needed book writing break and tooling around on the internet when I stumbled on Jada Pinkett-Smith’s new Red Table Talk project, a... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
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Speaking of China
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Somatized
14 May 2012 | 3:08 am(photo from hanneorla's Flickr)Sometime in April, I watched in horror as my husband pulled his shirt up. Sure enough, the rash had migrated across his chest up into his armpits, and even his shoulder.“Oh, Sweetie,” I said to him. “I’m so sorry to see you this way.” I rubbed lotion all over the rash to soothe it, though I knew that as long as the pressure remained, the rash would only move once again.In Chinese, he always called his condition shénjīngxìngpíyán (神经性皮炎), sensory neurodermatitis. Over the years, I came to know this — along with those sudden… -
Ask the Yangxifu: On Placing Ads To Find Western Women
11 May 2012 | 3:08 am(Image from iVinay's Flickr)Over the past few months, I’ve gotten a number of e-mails from Chinese men in China that go like this:I want to find Western women to date, but I’m too busy and don’t really have the time/resources to go out and meet them like you suggested. I was thinking about placing an advertisement online to find myself a yangxifu. What do you think?I’m all for anyone taking a step towards love, even if it means placing an ad online in an expat magazine like the Beijinger. But should you rely on ads alone to find the yangxifu of your dreams? Not unless you’re… -
Anna Sophie Loewenberg Interview + Exclusive Interview Extras Here
8 May 2012 | 1:54 pmAnna Sophie Loewenberg (photo by Sheila Zhao, provided courtesy of Anna Sophie Loewenberg)My Anna Sophie Loewenberg interview just hit the presses yesterday in Asian Jewish Life. It’s called Loewenberg: On Screen, Off Screen & Behind the Scenes. My special thanks to Erica Lyons for doing a fantastic job with the editing, and also giving me a huge helping hand with the photographs for the piece. Thanks also to Susan Blumberg-Kason, who contacted me about doing the interview.Additionally, since the entire interview didn’t make it into Asian Jewish Life, Erica gave me the… -
On Deadline, But Check Out My Posts on Babies in China
7 May 2012 | 3:08 am(photo by Onclebob)Because I’m currently on deadline for two paid articles (I write for a corporate magazine, they’re both due tomorrow, I’m in the crunch, Yikes!), I’m unable to drum up a fresh post for today.However, one thing to look forward to — my exclusive interview with Anna Sophie Loewenberg should be coming out shortly (I’m hoping sometime this week). If you’re curious about what she’s been up to and what her latest 30-minute documentary is about, stay tuned.In the meantime, if you’re looking for a good read, I’m going to… -
Ask the Yangxifu: He Won’t Speak Chinese With Me?
4 May 2012 | 3:08 am(photo by Julia Freeman-Woolpert)Lana asks:I’ve been dating this Chinese guy in Beijing recently. We have this great chemistry and he’s wonderful to me in every possible way except one thing….he doesn’t really want to speak Chinese with me. Whenever I would try to talk w/ him in Chinese, he would answer back in English, so we would just usually end up speaking only English. He knows I studied Chinese before, and I asked him if we could speak a little more often….he always says he will, but we never do. I know my Chinese isn’t perfect but it’s not that bad. What…
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Hidden Harmonies China Blog
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Symbolic victory: Bush & Co guilty of war crimes
15 May 2012 | 3:48 pmA court In Kuala Lumpur has found Bush and many of his administration and his advisers, tried in absentia, guilty of war crimes. Of course, that is not surprising considering that the evidence is overwhelmingly against them. Many of Obama’s administration including the commander in chief are almost certainly just as guilty. This represents a symbolic victory because currently international law lacks a lot of enforcement. But symbolic victories do count in law because they set important precedents. As the prosecutor explained, he was hopeful that other countries may follow suite in… -
Lacking insight in James Fallows’ piece, “What Is the Chinese Dream?”
14 May 2012 | 7:30 pmJames Fallows is one of the most accomplished journalists in the West. His talents were demonstrated very early on in his career, being former U.S. President Jimmy Carter’s chief speechwriter; the youngest person to ever hold such a job. Personally, I admire his understanding of the Western media. For example, his take on the “new media” is totally excellent. However, Fallows doesn’t ‘get’ China. As humans, our imagination is often limited by our biases, and in his latest article, “What Is the Chinese Dream?” he dared implying a nation of 1.3… -
Chinese physicists break new record in exploiting quantum entanglement
12 May 2012 | 4:04 amQuantum entanglement is a curious physical property of our universe where paired quantum objects, regardless where they are, instantly reflect one another. Albert Einstein called this “Spooky action at a distance.” Photons (light particles) are quantum objects. Physicists have experimentally confirmed this entanglement phenomenon. One way is to split a photon into two lower-energy photons, and the resulting pair becomes entangled. (Here is a good explanation.) Photons have various properties. When a property in the entangled pair is altered, the other’s same property… -
On Chinese Women Dating / Marrying White Men
10 May 2012 | 2:01 amI usually don’t have much problems with Chinese women dating and marrying white men. Traditionally I typically view them on an individual basis. If the relationship last and works out for both parties, it’s a win-win for all – who cares about if two people are of different races? Sure, I don’t deny that the phenomenon of Chinese women looking to date and marry white men do raise some broader potential social / cultural issues for me. Why does it seem like some Chinese women are purposefully shunning Chinese men? Why are so many white men successful in looking to… -
So they eat babies?
8 May 2012 | 8:38 pmAnother common meme to dehumanize and defame the Chinese people is that they are cannibals and specifically eat babies. The Nazi analogy, the cruelty to animals meme and this meme have been very successfully employed in getting people to see the Chinese people as less than human. After all, what’s more worthy of white folk’s’ sympathies than Tibetans, cute furry animals and babies? What’s more worthy of condemnation and foam-at-the-mouth vitriol than any perceived harm done to those most venerable groups of innocent beings? The latest epidemic in this last infestation…
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Shanghai > Articles
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Weibo Watch: Beijing Police Start Clearing Out Illegal Foreigners
16 May 2012 | 4:43 amDate: May 16th 2012 5:06p.m. Contributed by: amberwoo In Weibo Watch, City Weekend takes a look at the most talked about topic circulating China's biggest microblogging site. This week everyone is talking about cleaning out illegal foreigners. What's that about? Laowais in Beijing need to watch out. According to Xinhua news on May 14, Beijing police announced that from May 15 to the end of August, they will concentrate on cleaning up illegal immigrants in Beijing. It’s known as the “100-Day Campaign”. Essentially, it's a quest to root out "illegal foreigners," meaning people who have… -
Book Review: Dipika Mukherjee’s Debut Novel "Thunder Demons"
16 May 2012 | 4:30 amDate: May 16th 2012 5:12p.m. Contributed by: tristamarie Race, politics and family history intertwine in Dipika Mukherjee’s debut novel Thunder Demons. In the dead of night, Colonel S straps explosives to the mistress of a senior Malay minister and presses the detonator. Cold and calculating, his character is perhaps aptly described as both a mad military scientist and devoted fanatic. On behalf of his high-ranking political buddies, he is waging war against Malaysia’s disenfranchised Indian, Bengali and Chinese minorities, and the war is escalating. One part political thriller, one part… -
Pinghe Bilingual School 2nd Annual Science Fair
16 May 2012 | 4:00 amDate: May 16th 2012 4:36p.m. Contributed by: lyeh86 Students embraced their inner Einstein at Pinghe Bilingual School's 2nd annual science fair, which showcased exhibits and experiments based on the theme of creating a cleaner and more environmentally-friendly world. Exhibits included everything from learning about matter by popping balloons to studying different natural pesticides. Winners took home trophies and ribbons for their successful displays. -
Check It Out: College Plays Yuyintang Tonight
15 May 2012 | 11:00 pmDate: May 16th 2012 10:30a.m. Contributed by: clairebared If you've seen the film Drive, you probably fell in love with Ryan Gosling the sublime soundtrack. Tonight the French electro artist College will be at Yuyintang and he'll be pumping out that "Real Hero" tune from the movie. Can't remember what it sounds like? Plug your headphones in and check it out below. Delicious, right? If you're looking for something to do tonight, head along to Yuyintang and indulge in some mid-week music. DETAILS What: College Asia Tour Where: Yuyintang When: Wednesday, May 16 | 9pm How much: RMB60 on the door -
How to Find and Manage an Ayi in Shanghai
15 May 2012 | 10:51 pmDate: May 14th 2012 5:24p.m. Contributed by: cityweekend Finding an ayi and developing a good relationship with her is critical for maintaining an easy life in Shanghai. Here we've listed our top tips for finding and managing your ayi, check it out below. Finding an ayi There are a number of ways to find your ayi. Here are some of the more popular: 1: Speak to your friends and coworkers Do they like their ayi? They might be able to recommend their trusted ayis to work for you, too. 2: Speak to your real estate agent Your real estate agent who helped you find your apartment may be able to help…
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Foreign Entrepreneurs in China
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China 101
12 May 2012 | 5:13 pmNext week, I start a series of posts themed “China 101″. The articles in this series will cover a wide range of topics relevant to foreign businesses in China: what you should consider when deciding on your legal entity, tax issues, quality control, negotiation – just to mention a few. In order to bring these articles to you I have contacted a number of experts in different fields, and they have crafted their articles trying to sum up all the basic information they feel you should know about their areas of expertise. If you are not already a subscriber, do not forget… -
A China Joint Venture Success Story (Part II)
9 May 2012 | 5:23 amToday I bring you the second part of “A China joint venture success story”, an anonymous guest post by somebody who has been a partner in a joint venture in the manufacturing sector in China for over ten years. Make sure you do not miss the first part. You can read it here. A China Joint Venture Success Story (Part II)- The Lessons I Have Learnt Over the past 12 years of dealing with the Chinese, I have learned three lessons which have been very useful to me. 1. “When in China, do as the Chinese do” The first is the BIG cross cultural issue of “when in China, do as the… -
A China Joint Venture Success Story (Part I)
1 May 2012 | 4:45 pmA few months back I wrote a series of posts entitled “A China Joint Venture Survival Guide”. It was based on the story of a joint venture that had gone very wrong (you can read it here). As soon as I finished the articles, I started looking for a joint venture success story, and I soon found it amongst my readers. Today I start a series entitled “A Joint Venture Success Story”, for which I´ve only written this introduction. This is an anonymous guest post by somebody who owns a Chinese Joint Venture, and although he wants to keep his company identity anonymous he has been very… -
21 Steps To Follow When Sourcing from China (Part II)
29 Apr 2012 | 6:06 pmThis is the second part of “21 Steps to follow when sourcing from China”, a guest post by Barbara Cisneros who worked as Chief Representative in China for four year, mainly in the sourcing area. You can read the first part here (steps 1 to 12) 21 STEPS TO FOLLOW WHEN SOURCING FROM CHINA (PART II) by Barbara Cisneros Once the production has started: 13. Do Quality Control, often. Check several times. Go to the factory, even plan some “surprise” visits, so you can confirm that things are running properly, mainly in terms of quality and delivery times. 14. Do not relax… -
China: Is It All About Who You Know?
25 Apr 2012 | 5:31 amLast week I wrote a post recommending a book about guanxi. Everybody talks about guanxi and there is a good reason for it: Guanxi is one of many important China business skills and concepts. Mastering guanxi does not guarantee success, but if you cannot build relationships, you will fail in China. Excerpt from “Guanxi for the Busy American” by Andrew Hupert Today I will not be sharing a “business case study” but a personal story written by a reader. Ella Reynders is Lecturer Intercultural Communication – IBC at Karel de Grote Hogeschool. I would like to thank Ella…
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Nicely Made in China
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LuRu HOME / NANKEEN
14 May 2012 | 12:16 pmImagine giving a new lease of life to a three thousand year old Chinese tradition! This is exactly what Liza Serratore and Claire Russo – two young American entrepreneurs based in Shanghai – have done with ‘Nankeen’ in creating LuRu Home. They are determined to make it a household name, not just in China but way beyond too. Nicely Made in China (NMiC) recently spoke with them to find out more about it. Liza, Claire, how did you discover Nankeen? In China you just need to keep your eyes open to see Nankeen all around you: it appears on a wide array of products like… -
NOOKHA / BAMBOO FURNITURE
5 May 2012 | 5:34 amBamboo groves have been a feature of Chinese flora for thousands of years. And humans have found many different uses for this, the largest member of the grass family, varying from building material to medicine and musical instruments. Its many qualities have long been favored by furniture designers too, among them Christine Richard, a Hong Kong-based « design publisher » (« editeur de design” in French) who recently launched Nookha, a designer furniture brand. In this interview with Nicely Made in China (NMiC) she tells us why she chooses to use bamboo and… -
NEW ARTICLE ON PARTNERS.NICELYMADEINCHINA.COM
30 Apr 2012 | 1:49 amVirginie Fournier, Shanghai Trio founder. Dear readers It’s our pleasure to announce that Nicely Made in China has a new partnership. This time it is with the handcraft company Shanghai Trio. An article giving the latest news and development about the company is on our other website www.partners.nicelymadeinchina.com. We hope you’ll enjoy reading Virginie Fournier ‘s recent interview- see picture. -
HAPPY BIRTHDAY! NICELY MADE IN CHINA SECOND ANNIVERSARY.
22 Apr 2012 | 5:46 amHappy birthday!! Today Nicely Made in China (NMiC) celebrates its second birthday. On 22nd April 2010 the new website bearing the unlikely name with ‘Nicely Made’ and ‘China’ in the same sentence, raised a few eyebrows and recorded its first visits – 13 to be precise – from 9 unique visitors. Two years later we are proud to report over 100,000 visits – from 74,000 unique visitors! 2 years is a long time by Internet standards. Our proudest achievement is that over the last 24 months Nicely Made in China has become a reference point for those searching for quality… -
NICELY MADE IN CHINA’S « EXPERT’S CORNER »: TRAVELS
30 Mar 2012 | 9:06 amSpring is here! And at Nicely Made in China (NMiC) it’s around this time of year that we get itchy feet! A trip, be it on horseback in far flung lands or a stay at auntie’s beach bungalow, needs careful preparation: tickets have to be booked and the right clothes have to be packed. We spoke to NMiC’s partner Serge Pierrard, CEO of Beijing-based Travel Stone (Asia-specialist travel agency) about the dos and don’ts for a memorable trip. Serge, what’s the first thing you do when you prepare for a holiday? Something very basic but often forgotten – I check that…
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Red Luxury
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Chinese Are Growing Weary of Domestic Brands
16 May 2012 | 1:20 pmIn a recent research report Barclays Capital says that after continued double-digit wage hikes, many more mainland Chinese aren’t just getting wealthier, but also more discerning on how they spend. Increasingly, they are looking at premium products and often, foreign ones. This, they say, applies to both staples and discretionary consumers brands. Mainland companies who haven’t [...] -
Jean Paul Gaultier’s First Beijing Show
15 May 2012 | 12:29 pmMiss World Zhang Zilin, actress Jennifer Tse, actor Simon Yam and model Qi Q, and about a thousand other spectators swarmed in to see Jean Paul Gaultier’s first Beijing fashion show at the new Chaoyang Urban Planning Museum. Gautlier’s fall-winter men’s and women’s ready-to-wear and couture collections were proudly displayed. The raucous audience included [...] -
Why Chinese Firms Are Reviving Western Luxury Brands
14 May 2012 | 3:57 pmWith most of the growth in the fashion and luxury sectors for the next decade posed to come from China, Asian firms are snapping up Western heritage brands for the Chinese market and in some cases, become global luxury players. Many of these brands are trophy assets that are in need of revival. Since they already [...] -
All Aboard: Luxury Yacht Companies Seek Captains and Crew for China
11 May 2012 | 9:47 amWith the Azimut Benetti Group, which hopes to sell 4 to 5 yachts in China this year, and Sunseeker International Ltd., who sold 10 yachts to China last year, there’s no shortage of luxury vessels in the country. However, as these companies expand, it is becoming increasingly difficult to find seasoned captains and crew for [...] -
Group Buying Loses Some Luster in China
10 May 2012 | 1:05 pmChina’s group buying market is overcrowded. In December 2011, 3,909 Groupon-like group-buying websites existed in China. Now, half of them have shut down, and experts say only the top 10 will survive an ongoing shuffle. A recent report from tuan800.com, a leading group-buying service navigation site in China, says that more than 2,000 of the sites [...]
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China Talking Points
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CTP Podcast: International Perspectives on Bo Xilai Case
1 May 2012 | 9:29 amEric & Michael discuss the international media coverage and public perceptions of the Bo Xilai case. The Bo Xilai scandal and the Western media by ChinaAfricaProject -
[AUDIO] CTP Podcast – China’s bin-Laden Aftermath
11 May 2011 | 4:20 pmAlmost no one is focusing on this huge story over how the Chinese are taking advantage of the rift in U.S.-Pakistan ties in the wake of Osama bin Laden’s killing to increase their influence in Afghanistan/Pakistan. We had a great discussion in our latest CTP Podcast. Let us know what you think. China Talking Points Podcast: China’s post-bin Laden Foreign Policy by ChinaTalkingPoints -
[AUDIO] CTP Podcast-China’s ‘Haves-and-Have Nots’
29 Mar 2011 | 10:48 pmThe yawning gap between the rich and poor in China is now taking center stage at a central policy challenge for the government. Beijing’s recent decision to ban certain forms of luxury goods marketing is just the latest effort to contain a growing unease over the divisons that between’s society’s haves and have-nots. In this edition of the China Talking Points podcast, Michael explains three key points on what to look out for in this sensitive political debate. -
[VIDEO] BBC: The Chinese are Coming (part 1)
26 Mar 2011 | 12:10 pmIn this three part series on China’s surging international reach, the BBC’s Justin Rowland travels across a slice of Africa to explore the impact that the Chinese are having on the continent. He does an excellent job conveying the complexities of Sino-African ties, particularly at the grassroots level. -
[AUDIO] CTP Podcast: China’s Libya Policy-A Debrief with Deborah Brautigam
26 Mar 2011 | 11:52 am
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Dragon Business Network's China Blog
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New Way to Get Buyers & Distributors for Your Products in China
10 May 2012 | 7:32 pmThe Chinese Government is actively encouraging increased import of foreign goods. Now a new initiative from the China Import Development Center offers an easy, low-cost way to develop China business and sales without having to set up a China business, rent an office or acquire staff. Details below. What is CIDC? China Import Development Center (CIDC) is a partner organization of Suzhou Industrial Procurement Center (SIPC), a new, permanent product exhibition and import services center located in Suzhou Industrial Park (SIP). This international trading platform is designed to help overseas… -
First Bstarts Business Networking Event, May 16, Shanghai
10 May 2012 | 4:39 pmNew to Shanghai? Are you an Entrepreneur? A Service Provider or just looking for a job? And want to expand your business circle of friends? Welcome to Bstarts very first networking event. Our motive is to bring together people from all walks of life all over Shanghai, Senior or Junior management, entrepreneurs and businessmen alike, to meet and to understand different aspects of starting a business in Shanghai over food and drinks. Here are the Event Details, Come Join Us! Steak Point Vienna Restaurant 4Floor, No.98 Changshu Road, (Julu lu Cross Road) Click here to view map Date: 05/16/2012… -
Download China Greentech Report 2012
10 May 2012 | 4:32 pmToday The China Greentech Initiative releases The China Greentech Report 2012, the third in the series of annual China Greentech Reports. Each edition is the culmination of the annual collaborative research and development effort undertaken by CGTI's Partner Program community of 100+ commercial and policy organizations. Starting today, The China Greentech Report 2012 is available for free download at www.china-greentech.com/report. Some of the highlights from The China Greentech Report 2012 include: - Vast unconventional domestic gas reserves, including shale gas and coal-bed methane, could… -
Hong Kong Stock Guru Cho to Appear at GCFF Conference in Vancouver
9 May 2012 | 2:12 pmSince 2000, Global Chinese Financial Forum has been the largest Chinese-English bilingual financial trade shows in North America. The forum is dedicated to connecting capital markets of North America and China, and provides local investors in Vancouver and Toronto with investment education and intelligence. Tightly following the success of an earlier GCFF Vancouver Conference held in spring, the team behind the event is keen to roll out their second Vancouver show in 2012. More focused on investment and wealth management this time around, GCFF Vancouver 2012 – Wealth Management and… -
Event Announcement: 'One Step at a Time' CSR Event Series, Shanghai
7 May 2012 | 4:01 pmJoin AustCham Shanghai, Stewart Dellar from BlueScope Steel and Norwell Coquillard from SIFE China for a breakfast seminar on how to support both your business and the community through your CSR activities. Stewart will cover: - The Link between CSR and Business Strategy “ BlueScope Steel China – SIFE Environmental Sustainability Program” - The Importance of “The Right People to achieve the Right Strategic Outcome” - The Talent Pool – “Sink or Swim” Norwell will cover: - Introduction of SIFE and how the organisation brings together students, businesses and universities to…
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This is China! blog
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BBC Interview on China and Its Shoal Mates
11 May 2012 | 2:40 amThere never seems to be a dull moment in the anointed South China Sea. With China and the Philippines still caught up in the Palawan shoals over mineral resource rights in the region, things are only bound to become more contentious over time. Catch the BBC Radio 5 Live interview in which I discuss the various interests involved in this convoluted embrace. The interview begins at the 03:16:48 point in the show. -
Those Fluttering Eyelashes
10 May 2012 | 8:43 pmShe looked different to me, though I couldn’t quite decide how. I saw her frequently enough, serving Starbucks at one of the chain’s establishments in Suzhou, and always found bantering with her fun. The twenty-one year old student had a very slight build and from behind and at a distance could be unpardonably confused for a 13-year old boy. Her long ponytail, however, was a clear exclamation mark of her sexuality. Then she batted her eyelashes at me. Oh, I realized, that’s what it is that’s different. False eyelashes. Fake eyelashes seemed to have fluttered into the… -
From Human Flesh Searches to Human Flesh Pills
7 May 2012 | 8:51 pmI devoted much of the first chapter of my book “China Inside Out” to the nuclear power of Human Flesh Searches in China. Human Flesh Searches involve hundreds if not thousands of internet users unearthing personal information about individuals who have insulted their sensibilities. Ant-like, they swarm through cyberspace piecing together work histories, buying habits, home addresses, phone numbers and more. Then they hound the individual to the ends of the earth, publishing many of the details online so others may be able to participate in the cyber-lynching. In some instances,… -
In Urbanizing China the Luxury SUV is Emperor
6 May 2012 | 9:05 pmMichael Dunne, president of Dunne & Company, a Hong Kong-based consultancy specializing in Asian car markets, wrote a nice piece in the Wall Street Journal recently about the explosive growth in the luxury SUV automotive sector. He writes: Chinese consumers will buy an estimated 310,000 luxury SUVs this year — spending, on average, more than $80,000 a pop — according to forecasting group LMC Automotive. Before going any further, let’s do the math on that: The cash that Chinese will spend on luxury SUVs this year alone is enough buy all 20,000 homes currently for sale in… -
The Sole of Yogurt in China
2 May 2012 | 8:50 pmChinese web sites and television reports have of late been relentless about how yogurt in China is really made by domestic producers. A Chinese associate named Marie told me she was concerned about the health of her son, who is in middle school, and who loves to eat yogurt. Coincidentally – or not, given the amount of media coverage on the topic – my (Chinese) wife had just called me a couple hours before to tell me she had been talking with a neighbor that very same afternoon about yogurt made in China. The locals are getting restless, and are boycotting purchases…
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Gadgets from China - Reviews - New Gadgets - Blog
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Working on launching the new website
23 Apr 2012 | 6:39 amHello! You might wonder, what happened to Gadgetsfromchina.com? We have experienced some technical difficulties and we are restarting the website. So please keep your patience and we will be back online fully functioning soon again.
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Bikedan in Asia
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China: Chengdu 65km Road Race
14 May 2012 | 12:15 amAs my previous blog posting indicated, China has a large number of Amateur events scattered throughout the largest country in the world. Out of the five that was listed, I managed to attend two – one in Yiwu and the other in Chengdu. The event in Chengdu required me to take a flight from Hangzhou to Chengdu and it became a long journey due to flight delays! I ended up reaching the race hotel at 4am in the morning! Not ideal preparation ahead of the race with only three hours sleep. The winners group... Laochemi (translated as “Old Fans Cycling Club”) was established in… -
China: Sportive Cycling Events
6 May 2012 | 9:47 pmThis is who you will be racing against here in China… … actually just kidding, there is in fact a thriving amateur racing scene in China that anyone can participate in if they can find the races. I recently read on CyclingIQ about race events in China and the chances of finding one is slim while visiting on business or leisure. I don’t find this to be 100% accurate as in my opinion, the chances of ‘stumbling’ across a cycling event is, in fact, quite high. The Chinese government, particularly the local provincial governments are very keen to showcase their… -
China: 2012 Yellow Mountain MTB Race
9 Apr 2012 | 6:01 amYellow Mountain Mountain Bike Race If you are looking for a picturesque mountain bike race combining ancient villages and traditional Chinese countryside, then the Yellow Mountain event is the race that has it all. The start/finish area is right by the famous Hongcun, where the opening scene of Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon is shot. Many of the old narrow cobblestoned streets of Hongcun are utilized to enhance the cultural feel of the popular region. The region is also famous for China’s most famous mountain, Yellow Mountain and many Chinese will tell you that if you have been to all… -
China: Specialized 29er MTB Series
5 Apr 2012 | 12:23 amSpecialized China kicked off their mountain bike series in Shanghai on April 2nd with a focus on racing 29er bikes. Since Format started with their inaugural 29er specific race in Guangzhou late 2011, the interest in 29er bikes has surged significantly and this has prompted Specialized China to host their own 29er MTB series in the Shanghai region in conjunction with Shanghairace.net. Representing WTB, I made the train trip from Hangzhou to attend this special race. More than 60 riders from all the categories raced over the very short 1.1km circuit that was largely on a bull-dozed area and… -
Malaysia: Tour de Langkawi Stage Three
27 Feb 2012 | 10:43 amI can never get enough done here at the Tour de Langkawi especially when you go out on bike rides of epic proportions after the pro racing has finished! Cam Whiting, a fellow cycling journalist and analyst in Asia-Pacific, and I went out on a road bike ride that turned into a 3-hour adventure with tropical rain-storms, jungle riding and getting a little lost before eventually finding our way back to the media hotel. It was one of those epic rides that won’t be forgotten in a while. Yesterday was my first time on the media motorbike and, frankly, I find it more tiring than bike racing…
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The China Observer
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Forecasting Growth of China’s Middle-Class Consumers
9 May 2012 | 4:48 pmCompanies like Yum! Brands are betting on the rise of middle-class consumers around the world. According to analysis conducted by Jana.com the size of the global middle-class could increase from 1.8 billion to 3.2 billion by 2020 and to 4.9 billion by 2030. Asia will account for nearly 85 percent of this growth, with China and India experiencing the most significant increase. The image above is from a recent infographic created by Jana which highlights key findings for marketers about opportunities for mobile advertising in emerging markets like China. -
Fanta: Interactive Gaming Drives Chinese Youth Engagement
2 May 2012 | 8:48 pmFanta is a global brand of fruit-flavored carbonated soft drinks which is part of The Coca-Cola Company. Coca-Cola started doing business in China shortly after the ‘reform and opening’ in 1978 and established its first bottling plant in Beijing three years later. By April 2012, Coca-Cola celebrated the grand opening of its 42nd bottling plant in the northeastern city of Yingkou. It is one of the most successful Western multinational companies operating in China with ambitious plans to invest four billion more dollars in China over the next three years. The Coca Cola Company markets a… -
DATA: Where do Chinese Luxury Consumers Live?
23 Apr 2012 | 7:24 pmThe Hurun Report, in conjunction with the Industrial Bank Co.(兴业银行), recently released a report on China’s luxury consumer market. In particular, the report examines High Net Worth Individuals (HNWIs) defined as individuals with an excess of 6 million renminbi (approximately 950,000 USD). Beijing is home to the most HNWIs with 460,000 people. There is also a high density of HNWIs located in China’s coastal provinces from Jiangsu down to Guangdong. The map above illustrates the distribution of HNWIs across China. -
Samsung: Product Placement in Custom Short Films Boosts Brand Recognition
18 Apr 2012 | 8:28 pmSamsung Electronics, based in South Korea, has been the world’s largest technology company by revenue since overtaking Hewlett-Packard in 2009. Samsung opened its first manufacturing facility in China in 1992 after China and South Korea normalized diplomatic relations in August of that year. Like many multinational companies, Samsung’s focus shifted quickly from leveraging China solely as a production base, to selling directly to Chinese consumers. Two decades later, Samsung has experienced a great deal of success in China, with its total sales there growing 32% year-over-year to 9.5… -
DATA: Foreign Clothing Retailers’ China Expansion
28 Mar 2012 | 4:14 pmRetail in China 2011 View more PowerPoint from TheChinaObserver
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The Bergstrom Group
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A NEW TAKE ON CHOPSTICKS
16 May 2012 | 7:54 amRecently, we spotted unique chopsticks on offer at a local chain store. The company Oriental Chopsticks has introduced a sizable variety customized with astrological signs, Chinese zodiac signs, and even people's Chinese last names. -
MAGAZINE TWINS: THE NEW YORKER AND SKY GOLFER
23 Apr 2012 | 9:55 pmWe noticed a new magazine recently. Although the topic is golf, we think it looks similar to The New Yorker. Imitation is the highest form of flattery right? -
HOW TO PRESENT iPHONE STATUS (WITHOUT SELLING A KIDNEY)
10 Apr 2012 | 12:10 amThere was a ruckus recently about a Chinese youth who sold a kidney for an iPhone and iPad. (NPR: Chinese Teen Sells Kidney For iPad And iPhone) In reality, this is not a "new" story. We recall several cases of young Chinese willing to trade a kidney for a shiny iGadget. While not common, it does reflect the importance of keeping up and the close connection between consumer goods and status. Online, we have seen two ways that consumers "fake" an iPhone signature online. 7 steps for a DIY user: #1 find and save an iPhone sign-in logo from the Internet (or simply a screenshot from QQ friend who… -
FIELD NOTES FROM THE 2012 SHANGHAI SEX PRODUCTS EXPO
29 Mar 2012 | 1:10 amChina supplies the majority of the world's sex toys and also has a booming domestic market that has gotten more sophisticated since 2008 (thanks in part to China's first pop icon sex scandal, Edison-gate). We decided to check out the 9th China International Adult Toys and Reproductive Health Exhibition in Shanghai to take a look at the industry from the inside. What we noticed: 1. The expo was full enough to spill booths onto the second floor for the first time 2. Many different ideas about sexuality (from romantic to silly, artistic to technological) 3. No surprise, booths with AV stars… -
INTERVIEW: LONG-DISTANCE LOVE AFFAIR
1 Mar 2012 | 10:35 pmKitty, a 20 year old Shanghainese university student is in a long-distance relationship. She has been in a committed relationship with her boyfriend of 10 months, Kelvin. Kelvin studies in the US and Kitty plans to join him next year. In the meantime, they have decised means to stay close. We spoke with her about her views on long distance relationships, gift giving and sex. The Bergstrom Group: What do you think a typical Shanghainese boyfriend or husband should be like? Kitty: He should study hard and have a good job. He should not play computer games or video games. They are too…
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East Asia Student
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白居易 問劉十九 translation: Inviting Liu Shijiu, by Bai Juyi
14 May 2012 | 5:37 amThis is a translation and annotation of the poem 問劉十九 (Wèn Liú Shíjiǔ), by the Tang dynasty poet 白居易 (Bai Juyi). The poem is #246 in the collection 300 Tang Poems, and is also known by its first line: 綠螘新醅酒 (Lǜ Yǐ Xīn Pēi Jiǔ). Wèn Liú Shíjiǔ [invite] [Liu] [Shi] [Jiu] Inviting Liu Shijiu Lǜ yǐ xīn pēi jiǔ, [green] [ant] [new] [unfiltered] [rice wine] Green foam on fresh, unfiltered rice wine, hóng ní xiǎo huǒlú. [red] [clay] [small] [fire] [stove] on a little terracotta stove. Wǎn lái tiān yù xuě, [late] [come] [sky] [want]… -
10 hanzi you thought you knew how to write correctly
7 May 2012 | 10:30 pmThere was a small piece in one of the Qingdao newspapers the other day about Chinese characters that are commonly written with incorrect stroke orders. I can’t remember which paper now, unfortunately, but I’ve listed the characters and their correct stroke orders here.The article was aimed at Chinese readers, not foreign learners, so it was interesting to see what native speakers consider correct and incorrect. 1. 方 (fāng) How most people write it:How it should be written: Yep, that ㇆ stroke comes before the 丿. The 丿stroke is called 撇 (‘slant’),… -
Speed up pinyin input: be incomplete!
7 May 2012 | 3:21 amI made a big discovery about typing Chinese the other day. I use pinyin input to type hanzi (despite singing the praises of Wubi), and up till now have been typing out each pinyin syllable in full.There is actually a faster way. You may have noticed that most pinyin input systems have an option called “allow incomplete pinyin” or something similar. That’s what it’s called in SCIM anyway, or “允许不完整拼音” if you’ve got your operating system in Chinese:Perhaps this was common knowledge to everyone else, and I’ve been blundering on in… -
蘇軾 辛丑十一月十九日，既與子由別于鄭州西門之外，馬上賦詩一篇寄之 translation
26 Apr 2012 | 5:40 amThis is a translation and annotation of the poem 辛丑十一月十九日，既與子由別于鄭州西門之外，馬上賦詩一篇寄之, by the Song dynasty poet 蘇軾 (Su Shi). The poem was written to Su Shi’s brother upon his departure, and is also known by its first line 不飲胡為醉兀兀. Xīnchǒu shíyīyuè shíjiǔrì, [1061AD][] [November][][] [19th][][] November 19th 1061, jì yǔ Zǐyóu bié yú Zhèngzhōu xīmén zhī wài, [since] [with] [Zi] [You] [part] [at] [Zheng] [Zhou] [west] [gate] ['s] [outside] After Parting with Ziyou outside Zhengzhou’s… -
沈佺期 雜詩 translation: Miscellaneous Poem, by Shen Quanqi
25 Apr 2012 | 1:42 amThis is a translation and annotation of the poem 雜詩 (Zá Shī), by the Tang dynasty poet 沈佺期 (Shen Quanqi) (also known as 雲卿). The poem is #95 in the collection 300 Tang Poems, and is also known by its first line: 聞道黃龍戍 (Wéndào Huánglóng Shù). Zá Shī [miscellaneous] [poem] Miscellaneous Poem Wéndào Huánglóng shù, [hear] [say] [Yellow] [Dragon] [garrison] One hears of the Yellow Dragon garrison; pín nián bù jiě bīng. [repeat] [year] [not] [dissolve] [army] for many years they have not been granted leave. Kělián guī lǐ yuè, [can] [pity]…
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Notes From Xi'an 西安随感
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Village Development And Bob Dylan “Talkin’ World War III Blues”
10 May 2012 | 9:53 pmThis is going to be one of those more personal Notes From Xi’an. During the May holiday I was back in my wife’s village for a few days and, over and above it being our first year wedding anniversary, it was a particularly pleasant and significant trip. When we were last back at Ling’s home [...] -
Taking The New Yorker’s Excellent China Correspondent, Evan Osnos, As A Lead – Part I
3 May 2012 | 11:41 pmI don’t really follow the news cycle and I haven’t kept up to twitter-speed with all the developing aspects of the Chen Guangcheng case, although, I am of course aware it is going on, and that it will continue to go on for years to come, whatever happens in the next few days and weeks. [...] -
China Life “As Is” – Anton Hazewinkel’s Photographs Over At Chinesense.com
30 Apr 2012 | 10:18 amThis Note just gives me a chance to enjoy another moment of reflected glory (previous opportunities were found here and here), although, it does mean I cannot claim any ownership over the images I have included below. The pictures are all courtesy of Dutch photographer Anton Hazewinkel, of Chinesense.com. A few weeks ago, I came across his photographic blog [...] -
The Dàzú Rock Carvings (大足石刻): A Mini-Wonder Of The World – In Pictures
19 Apr 2012 | 8:18 pmThis is just a quick Note to introduce a few pictures I took of the Dàzú Rock Carvings at Bǎodǐngshān (宝顶山), or maybe more importantly it is a quick Note to remind anyone heading to Chongqing that this UNESCO World Heritage site is worth checking out (link, link, link). We nearly did not make it ourselves, as time was short, but Ling [...] -
Impressions Of Chóngqìng
15 Apr 2012 | 8:09 pmWhen it comes to traveling, and when you have traveled a reasonable amount, there is something to be said for first impressions of places. They are often the ones that stay with you and they do, quite often, get right to it in terms of getting a true sense of somewhere. So, with that excuse [...]
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IN PRAISE OF CHINA
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CHINA IN AFRICA
16 May 2012 | 12:03 amAs with most things about China, there are many myths about its activities and intentions in Africa. This post will help you find sources that are more reliable than the hostile media of the former colonial powers that did so much to destroy Africa. Then there's an excellent article, below, from China Daily. But first, here are two sources of dedicated, ongoing information: CHINA IN AFRICA: THE REAL STORY By far the most authoritative source of solidly-researched information, by Deborah Brautigam, the Washington, DC–based Professor at American University, Int'l. Dev. Program,… -
CHINA'S SOFT POWER RISING
15 May 2012 | 3:22 amBBC GRAPHIC YOU HAVE TO ADMIST IT'S GETTING BETTER... An increasing number of people in Western countries view China's influence in a favorable light, according to a BBC World Service poll published on Friday. The percentage of people in the United Kingdom who view China's influence as positive grew from 38 percent in 2011 to 57 percent in 2012. Similar increases were reported in Australia (43 to 61 percent), Canada (35 to 53 percent) and Germany (24 to 42 percent). In the United States, the percentage of people holding negative views of China dropped from 51 percent to 46 percent during the… -
CHINA'S INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
11 May 2012 | 11:37 pmInnovation at Work After World War II Japan copied American goods and Americans complained bitterly about Japanese patent infringement. For many years it was said that the Japanese were good at copying things but not inventing them. Recently we heard similar complaints about the Chinese--for whom the whole idea of "intellectual property" is a completely new idea. Considering that China invented most of the basic devices that we use today, we should have waited a little longer before complaining. What a difference a few years have made, as the stories quoted below… -
CHINA'S ECONOMY: A PROGRESS REPORT
1 Mar 2012 | 9:37 pmTRANSPARENCY China, the world's strongest economy, requested and has just received a checkup from the world Bank. By doing so China opened its books to an institution that is dominated by the USA and Europe. The Bank predictably recommended that China follow America's example, but the significance lies in the invitation itself. That the world's fastest-growing, second-largest economy would subject itself to 'foreign' scrutiny and examination is remarkable. Let's hope that the USA follows China's example. Another of the Bank's recommendations, that China avoid the "middle income… -
XI JINPING: CHINESE MANDELA?
14 Feb 2012 | 6:08 pmXi Jinpeng I would put him in the Nelson Mandela class of persons. A person with enormous emotional stability who does not allow his personal misfortunes or sufferings affect his judgment. In other words, he is impressive--Lee Kwan Yew, Founder of Singapore. China's greatest contribution to the human race is to keep its 1.3 billion people from hunger. China doesn't export Revolution; China doesn't export hunger and poverty; China doesn't come and cause you headaches. What more is there to be said?-Xi Jinping, Future President of China. Hu Jintao, China's current president, was recognized…
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ChinaUnleashed.com
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The New York Times
6 May 2012 | 12:05 pmSales in China Fuel BMW’s Profit Bayerische Motoren Werke said Thursday that its first-quarter profit increased 18 percent as China surpassed the United States as the carmaker’s largest market, helping it defy the economic crisis in Europe. -
BBC
4 May 2012 | 2:35 pmWeetabix bought by China’s Bright Food China’s Bright Food has bought a controlling stake in Weetabix, which owns the breakfast cereal brand as well as Alpen and Ready Brek. Bright Food will take a 60% stake in Weetabix in a deal that values the company at £1.2bn. -
International Business Times
23 Apr 2012 | 12:50 pmGM Bets Big on Cadillac In Chinese Luxury Market, Expands Dealership Network General Motors Co. will open 600 Chinese dealerships this year, almost 10 percent of which will be for the Cadillac brand, CEO Dan Akerson said Monday. -
Seeking Alpha
22 Apr 2012 | 1:28 pm3 Ways To Profit From China’s Exploding Internet Population With over 1.3 billion people and a rapidly developing middle class, China’s current internet population of 500 million is expected to expand in the years ahead and strengthen further financially. -
Financial Post
29 Oct 2011 | 7:05 amChina’s luxury boom a force to be reckoned with The size of China’s luxury boom is absolutely incredible. Here are some facts based on a UBS report.
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Notes From Xi'an 西安随感
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Village Development And Bob Dylan “Talkin’ World War III Blues”
10 May 2012 | 9:53 pmThis is going to be one of those more personal Notes From Xi’an. During the May holiday I was back in my wife’s village for a few days and, over and above it being our first year wedding anniversary, it was a particularly pleasant and significant trip. When we were last back at Ling’s home [...] -
Taking The New Yorker’s Excellent China Correspondent, Evan Osnos, As A Lead – Part I
3 May 2012 | 11:41 pmI don’t really follow the news cycle and I haven’t kept up to twitter-speed with all the developing aspects of the Chen Guangcheng case, although, I am of course aware it is going on, and that it will continue to go on for years to come, whatever happens in the next few days and weeks. [...] -
China Life “As Is” – Anton Hazewinkel’s Photographs Over At Chinesense.com
30 Apr 2012 | 10:18 amThis Note just gives me a chance to enjoy another moment of reflected glory (previous opportunities were found here and here), although, it does mean I cannot claim any ownership over the images I have included below. The pictures are all courtesy of Dutch photographer Anton Hazewinkel, of Chinesense.com. A few weeks ago, I came across his photographic blog [...] -
The Dàzú Rock Carvings (大足石刻): A Mini-Wonder Of The World – In Pictures
19 Apr 2012 | 8:18 pmThis is just a quick Note to introduce a few pictures I took of the Dàzú Rock Carvings at Bǎodǐngshān (宝顶山), or maybe more importantly it is a quick Note to remind anyone heading to Chongqing that this UNESCO World Heritage site is worth checking out (link, link, link). We nearly did not make it ourselves, as time was short, but Ling [...] -
Impressions Of Chóngqìng
15 Apr 2012 | 8:09 pmWhen it comes to traveling, and when you have traveled a reasonable amount, there is something to be said for first impressions of places. They are often the ones that stay with you and they do, quite often, get right to it in terms of getting a true sense of somewhere. So, with that excuse [...]
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Speaking of China
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Somatized
14 May 2012 | 3:08 am(photo from hanneorla's Flickr)Sometime in April, I watched in horror as my husband pulled his shirt up. Sure enough, the rash had migrated across his chest up into his armpits, and even his shoulder.“Oh, Sweetie,” I said to him. “I’m so sorry to see you this way.” I rubbed lotion all over the rash to soothe it, though I knew that as long as the pressure remained, the rash would only move once again.In Chinese, he always called his condition shénjīngxìngpíyán (神经性皮炎), sensory neurodermatitis. Over the years, I came to know this — along with those sudden… -
Ask the Yangxifu: On Placing Ads To Find Western Women
11 May 2012 | 3:08 am(Image from iVinay's Flickr)Over the past few months, I’ve gotten a number of e-mails from Chinese men in China that go like this:I want to find Western women to date, but I’m too busy and don’t really have the time/resources to go out and meet them like you suggested. I was thinking about placing an advertisement online to find myself a yangxifu. What do you think?I’m all for anyone taking a step towards love, even if it means placing an ad online in an expat magazine like the Beijinger. But should you rely on ads alone to find the yangxifu of your dreams? Not unless you’re… -
Anna Sophie Loewenberg Interview + Exclusive Interview Extras Here
8 May 2012 | 1:54 pmAnna Sophie Loewenberg (photo by Sheila Zhao, provided courtesy of Anna Sophie Loewenberg)My Anna Sophie Loewenberg interview just hit the presses yesterday in Asian Jewish Life. It’s called Loewenberg: On Screen, Off Screen & Behind the Scenes. My special thanks to Erica Lyons for doing a fantastic job with the editing, and also giving me a huge helping hand with the photographs for the piece. Thanks also to Susan Blumberg-Kason, who contacted me about doing the interview.Additionally, since the entire interview didn’t make it into Asian Jewish Life, Erica gave me the… -
On Deadline, But Check Out My Posts on Babies in China
7 May 2012 | 3:08 am(photo by Onclebob)Because I’m currently on deadline for two paid articles (I write for a corporate magazine, they’re both due tomorrow, I’m in the crunch, Yikes!), I’m unable to drum up a fresh post for today.However, one thing to look forward to — my exclusive interview with Anna Sophie Loewenberg should be coming out shortly (I’m hoping sometime this week). If you’re curious about what she’s been up to and what her latest 30-minute documentary is about, stay tuned.In the meantime, if you’re looking for a good read, I’m going to… -
Ask the Yangxifu: He Won’t Speak Chinese With Me?
4 May 2012 | 3:08 am(photo by Julia Freeman-Woolpert)Lana asks:I’ve been dating this Chinese guy in Beijing recently. We have this great chemistry and he’s wonderful to me in every possible way except one thing….he doesn’t really want to speak Chinese with me. Whenever I would try to talk w/ him in Chinese, he would answer back in English, so we would just usually end up speaking only English. He knows I studied Chinese before, and I asked him if we could speak a little more often….he always says he will, but we never do. I know my Chinese isn’t perfect but it’s not that bad. What…
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Seeing Red in China
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What I learned slogging through China’s official version of history
16 May 2012 | 5:21 amOver the past three days we’ve had a chance to look at the full version of the story the Party tells about China’s past 170 years. I divided it into three sections that weren’t broken up in the National Museum, but that allowed reflection on logical chunks – The Opium war up to the founding of the Republic; The founding of the Party through the Mao years; and finally, 30 years of opening up. I wanted to wait to comment on the text until you all had had a chance to read it and form some of your own impressions (which I hope you’ll share below). The first thing… -
China’s Party approved version of history part 3 – “Socialism is the only way to save China”
15 May 2012 | 3:00 am…Continued Ushering in a new era of development in the cause of socialism 5.1 The Third Plenary Session of the 11th CPC Central Committee was a significant transition in the history of the party and the state since the founding of the People’s Republic of China. the CPC central collective leadership with Comrade Deng Xiaoping as its core throroughly reviewed the lessons from its experience in socialist construction, emancipated their minds, sought truth from facts, made the historic decision to shift the focus of the Party and country’s work to economic development and to… -
China’s official history part 2 – An earth-shattering event and delusions of grandeur
13 May 2012 | 10:31 pm…Continued from part 1 An earth-shattering event 3.1 The imperialist powers invasion shattered China’s dream of learning from the West. The October Revolution in Russia sent Marxism to China and cause progressive Chinese to turn their attention from the West to the East, and from bourgeois democracy to socialism. The May 4th Movement furthered the spread of Marxism, and the working class appeared on the stage of history as an independent political force. The integration of Marxism with the workers movement gave birth to the CPC. The founding of the CPC was an earth-shattering… -
The Road to Rejuvenation – the full text of China’s Party approved history
10 May 2012 | 9:01 pmThe following is copied word for word from the exhibit “The Road to Rejuvenation” at The Chinese National Museum in Beijing (and as far as I know has not been published online prior to this). The exhibit focuses on China’s history from 1840 to the present. The Chinese National Museum reopened in March 2011, offering the most official and most recent account of China’s history as told by the Communist Party (for more on the museum I recommend this excellent NYT piece about the difficulties the Party had in agreeing on how the past should be portrayed). This is the… -
Yin-Yang: American Perspectives on Living in China – Book Review
10 May 2012 | 4:31 amA few months ago I reviewed Yes China! by Neil Clark, and when a friend asked me to review another book about teaching English in China I was a little hesitant to commit to reading what to me has already become a familiar story. Yet, I was pleasantly surprised to find Yin-Yang: American Perspectives on Living in China filled with thoughtful reflections packaged in an altogether new format. Colorado China Council (CCC) Executive Director and author of this book, Alice Renouf, collects letters from former teachers and organizes them into a wide range of topics, and sorts them by location and…
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Digital Marketing Inner Circle
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Google Drive Launched… and Blocked in China
25 Apr 2012 | 9:03 pmSome interesting news out this week with Google launching their new service, Google Drive. However, a few hours later… Google Drive was blocked in China. Chinese Internet users will not get the chance to use Google’s latest offering, Google Drive, which allows users to store files on Google's servers, unless using a VPN (as many of us in China do). While Google’s social networking service Google+ made a brief appearance in China this February, functioning for a couple of weeks, Google Drive was not as fortunate, only accessible for mere… -
Talking of Brand Equity & Brand Value
10 Apr 2012 | 6:18 amBrand value and brand equity represent two different, yet intricately linked, concepts. Brand value is the net present value of future cash flows from a branded product minus the net present value of future cash flows from a similar unbranded product—or, in simpler terms, what the brand is worth to management and shareholders. Brand equity is a set of perceptions, knowledge and behavior on the part of customers that creates demand and/or a price premium for a branded product—in other words, what the brand is worth to a customer. But with the social web having such a… -
Interview with Derek Ling, Founder & CEO of Tianji.
29 Mar 2012 | 1:54 amThis week, we have a great interview with Derek Ling, Founder & CEO of Tianji in China. As interest in digital media continues to grow, it is interesting to get some views from one of the major Internet and social media entrepreneurs in China. Through his role with the Tianji, Derek is well positioned to monitor the ever-evolving industry and give us some insights into the forward challenges and issues we face in China. -
Social Media Flying High
19 Mar 2012 | 2:50 amThis news is quite exciting for some and quite frightening for others.... Now, for those wanting to find interesting people who are on the same flight, Dutch airline KLM are offering a new service called ‘Meet & Seat’ where you can view other passengers’ Facebook or LinkedIn profile details and see where they’ll be sitting. -
Digital Jungle hits Geneva Motor Show
8 Mar 2012 | 11:31 pmMembers of the Digital Jungle team have been invited as guests of Bentley Motors to attend the 82nd International Geneva Motor Show. As special guests of Bentley Motors, Digital Jungle will have privileged access to Bentley’s new EXP 9 F concept SUV, which is being revealed at the motor show.
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Oli's Shanghai Blog
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Photo – Weekend!
12 May 2012 | 4:49 am -
Photo – Challenge accepted
11 May 2012 | 1:21 pm -
Photo – Fluffy
10 May 2012 | 1:40 pm -
Photo – Summer (coming soon!)
9 May 2012 | 1:55 am -
Photo – Flexing
6 May 2012 | 7:14 am
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X-RAY China:
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London’s Olympic Doom And Gloom
14 May 2012 | 4:59 amPhotos: Ray Ally I just got back from UK, where it rained everyday and was the wettest April on record. But what was more disappointing was the general atmosphere of doom and gloom about the London Olympics. I expected to find the city buzzing with excitement and sporting energy. However, most people didn’t seem bothered and lacked any interest. The most important topics were; the rising cost of the games; the impossibility of getting tickets and the worry about transport congestion during the event. Most newspaper columnists also took negative views on the games. Discussing the ugly… -
Shanghai’s Go-Fast Brand Image
13 Apr 2012 | 10:09 amImage: Ray Ally This weekend the Formula One (F1) circus comes to China with the Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai. Hosting global events is one of the many ways cities in China seek to enhance their brand image at home and overseas. Sporting occasions are particularly attractive, but not every city can host an Olympic games (Beijing 2008) or an Asian Games (Guangzhou 2010) as they are expensive to organise and run. Often requiring large investments in infrastructure, transport and the building of new stadiums. Shanghai’s International Circuit was purpose built for F1, at a cost of US$450… -
Changing Geography Of China’s Brandscape
9 Apr 2012 | 12:53 amPhoto: Ray Ally When most people talk about China, they often think of it as one country. After all Mao Tse-tung and the communist party have spent the last 60 years trying to unite the country. Creating one party, one political system and introduced one language, Putonghua (common speech) to achieve this goal. However, for those of us that live and work in China, we think of it as being made up of smaller countries called provinces. Many of these are bigger than European nations, with far larger populations and have their own language dialect, customs and traditions. When foreign brands… -
Benetton’s Kissing Presidents: Make Love Not War
29 Nov 2011 | 8:14 pmPHOTOS: BENETTON Public displays of affection like kissing or even holding hands between the sexes use to be taboo in China. This gradually relaxed with the opening up of China in the late eighties, though attitudes to homosexuality remain in the closet. The latest ads from Benetton would definitely be frowned upon, as they show China’s President Hu Jintao kissing America’s President Obama. While partnerships between the US and China has been improving, I wouldn’t say they were yet at the hugging stage of the relationship. However these controversial ads wont be published in China, as… -
No Medals For London’s Olympic Posters
24 Nov 2011 | 8:19 amThe official posters for the London 2012 Olympics were unveiled earlier this month in London. Despite being created by some of Britain’s best artists, the response from the public and the press has been largely negative. With comments ranging from “absolute rubbish” to “my two year old baby could of done better”. Art has always been subjective and even controversial. Dividing people between those who prefer a classical realistic style with others who favour a modern abstract approach to art. The British public may not be the best judge of art, but they have been very vocal in their…
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China Debate
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Debate: Four Experts And A Poll On What China’s Weak April Numbers Mean
15 May 2012 | 10:55 amExperts differ on what China’s weak April economic numbers. Here are four plus a Reuters poll. 1. ’China Needs More Fiscal Stimulus: Dariusz Kowalczyk on Bloomberg video 2. China lacks the firepower to avoid slowdown: JPMorgan, Adrian Mowat on Reuters video 3. China’s Tight-Rope Walk: Balancing the Contradictions in Chinese Growth: Max Fisher 4. ’Analysis: China Growth Risks Signal Need For Fiscal Action’: Nick Edwards 5. Reuters Poll: China Growth to Bottom in Second Quarter 1. ‘China Needs More Fiscal Stimulus: Dariusz… -
Reuters’ Poll: China Growth to Bottom in Second Quarter’
14 May 2012 | 5:34 pmIn the Reuters poll, economists expect the annual rate of economic growth to be 7.9 percent between April and June, the first dip below 8 percent since 2009, a level regarded by many investors as the minimum growth needed to ensure sufficient job creation. -
‘Analysis: China Growth Risks Signal Need For Fiscal Action’: Nick Edwards
14 May 2012 | 5:34 pm‘China may need a back-up plan to stop economic growth being cut short by a surprise dip in demand at home and abroad that suggests monetary policy easing steps taken since the final quarter of last year are insufficient to deal with the downturn.’ -
‘China’s Tight-Rope Walk: Balancing the Contradictions in Chinese Growth’: Max Fisher
14 May 2012 | 5:18 pm‘It’s a tight-rope walk that economists call the “transition trap.” It’s a transition from an economy based on exports (which relies on Chinese goods, and thus the Chinese currency, staying cheap), to an economy based on domestic consumption and investment. It’s a transition from state capitalism, which can marshal amazing industrial output at the flick of a central planner’s pen, to something a little more market-based, where private businesses and private consumers drive growth.’ -
‘China Lacks The Firepower To Avoid Slowdown’: Adrian Mowat
14 May 2012 | 4:58 pmBeijing is unlikely to spend big on infrastructure to reverse an economic slowdown, says Adrian Mowat of JPMorgan.
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Mark Tanner's Chinese Adventures
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Koh Rong Island, Cambodia: Paradise … for the Time Being
3 May 2012 | 3:15 amSomething I love about travelling in places like Asia, the Nile River and even New Zealand, is discovering those jaw-droppingly-magical places that are still unspoiled from the tentacles of development. We were lucky to stumble upon another gem, Koh Rong Island, in a recent trip to Cambodia. One of Koh Rong Island's 23 beautiful beaches Like much of Asia, Cambodia has experienced blistering development of late. With the big-hitting attraction of Angkor Wot, and close proximity to billions of increasingly wealthy Asians, tourism in Cambodia has received a big share of… -
English Names for Chinese: “Hi I’m Rambo, nice to meet you”
3 Apr 2012 | 9:59 pmImagine you were the top engineering student at one of China’s best universities. You’ve studied hard, hoping some day you’ll work for a multinational and possibly get transferred to America. Fortunately, there are many graduate jobs advertised for multinationals looking for the exact skills and qualifications you have. You submit your resume, both in Chinese and English, with your English name atop, followed by your impressive credentials. Days pass, you hear nothing. Weeks follow, without a word. One by one, you call up the companies you applied to. In perfect… -
Chinese Chicken Love
8 Mar 2012 | 8:16 amThere are an infinite amount of staggering China statistics. One of my favourites is the quantity of meat. Over a billion pigs are in China, more than every other country combined, and 12 million of them are eaten every week. On average, a small Chinese village eats more hog than Egypt’s entire population living along the Nile. But to think that China is just about animals that oink would be unnecessarily underselling that other well-known white meat, the chicken. Who's the Colonel in China? As you read this blog, there will be over a billion chickens in China busily… -
Winter in Tibet – the best time to visit?
7 Feb 2012 | 12:29 amMention Tibet and most people will picture snowy ranges, icy-bearded mountaineers and hardy locals wrapped in yak hides. That’s with good reason; generally the higher you go, the colder it gets, and Tibet is high. Tibet isn’t called the Roof of the World for nothing. The Tibetan Plateau is the highest and largest plateau in the world with an average altitude of 4,500 metres (14,800 feet). Just 36 countries have a mountain that reaches that height. Yet at that altitude, even in January, much of Tibet is surprisingly pleasant. Winter sun in Tibet … -
Chinese Year of the Dragon – The Top-6 Reasons to go Shopping
4 Jan 2012 | 6:01 pmThe new moon on 23 January 2012 will welcome in the Year of the Dragon and see another round of the largest human migration on the planet, billions of boiled dumplings, gargantuan fireworks and enough red decorations to plaster the Great Wall of China 87-times over. While doomsayers have been stocking up on tinned asparagus in preparation for the world-ending catastrophe of 2012, the Chinese have been preparing for the biggest of their 12 zodiac years. The Year of the Dragon is the most auspicious year of the Chinese lunar cycle and the one that is associated with wealth and power.
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Ministry of Tofu 豆腐部
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72.7% of Chinese are satisfied with crackdown on corruption? Netizens: ‘My @ss!’
16 May 2012 | 7:33 amFrom Sina NetEase 72.2 percent of Chinese are satisfied with China’s anti-corruption work in 2011, compared with only 51.9 percent in 2003, said Cui Hairong, deputy director of China’s National Bureau of Corruption Prevention at an international conference hosted by Hong Kong’s Independent Commission Against Corruption. The news met with unanimous derision, sarcasm and outrage from Chinese netizens. (Comments translated below.) Cui said that from 1982 to 2011, a total of 4.2 million Chinese government officials were punished for violation of the Communist Party’s disciplines. In the… -
Beijing starts cleanup of three-have-nots foreign expats
15 May 2012 | 10:44 amFrom Sohu Beijing’s Bureau of Public Security has announced a hundred-day crackdown on foreign nationals who have no valid visa, residence permit or work permit, which lasts from May 15 to the end of August. Beijing residents are encouraged to inform against any such three-have-nots foreigner. This special strike-hard campaign is believed to have much to do with the recent sexual assault on a Chinese woman committed by a British tourist. The bureau explained that many criminal offenders of foreign nationalities are ‘lurking among foreign expat communities,’ many of whom belong to the… -
Over a million Chinese families lost their only adult children, end up with an empty nest
10 May 2012 | 11:28 amFrom Guangzhou Daily They are mostly in their 50s. For over 20 years, they had lived happily with their only children. Just as they started to prepare new homes and dowry for their progeny, unexpected calamities took away lives of these children. From then on, they have been living with sufferings and pangs of pain unimaginable to other people: at their age, it is practically impossible for them to conceive again. On festive occasions for reunion of the extended family, they avoid relatives and friends, as it agonizes them to see people enjoying quality time. But images of their children… -
Video: Foreigner beaten by Beijingers for sexually assaulting a Chinese woman in public
9 May 2012 | 11:50 amUpdate: It has been confirmed by Beijing Police that the foreigner in the video, a Briton, did commit sexual assault and has been detained. He was also seen sexually harassing five other women on the subway train by rubbing his genitals against their bodies on the same day prior to the rape attempt. Foreigner expats in China are really making headlines on Sina Weibo these days. First, there was the Brazilian good Samaritan ganged up by thieves in Dongguan. Then, an American became the Internet sensation for friendly breaking bread and chatting with an old beggar. Now, a video of a… -
Photos: Shanghai offers hand car wash by bikini-clad girls
8 May 2012 | 10:54 amFrom NetEase A parking garage on Shanghai’s Xietu Road offers car wash by “hot girls.” On May 7, the opening day, cars flooded in for a taste of the service provided by women wearing stiletto heels, sunglasses and, above all, bikinis. Top comments on NetEase 党的政策惠万家 [网易陕西省西安市网友]：2012-05-08 08:45:30 发表 Do they offer car shake service too? (Slang for car sex) 网易黑龙江省哈尔滨市网友 ip：221.212.*.*2012-05-09 08:51:45 发表 The last picture tells it all. 442379179 [网易香港手机网友]：2012-05-08 08:55:40 发表 Wow, that’s…
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Asia Healthcare Blog
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Talking Turkey with Kevin Ryan
15 May 2012 | 5:58 pmAt the recent Ageing Asia Investment Forum in Singapore, one of the speakers I particularly enjoyed hearing was Kevin Ryan the Managing Director of Waterbrook Lifestyle Resort and Waterbrook China. Kevin has established himself as a very successful developer and operator in Australia and is eager to see whether his approach can be successfully exported to China. When we spoke again last week, Kevin was quick to point out that “we [the industry] are learning as we go … no one has a handle on this … we are going to burn our hands a bit … anyone who says they know what is going to… -
Getting Your Senior Care Facility Licensed in China
10 May 2012 | 12:18 pmFor long-time China watchers who have been closely monitoring the country’s ongoing effort to modernize its healthcare system, the role of the government as regulator and payer is critical to understand. Navigating these waters is especially important for senior care operators who are creating a market almost from scratch, with all the promise and peril this suggests. The closest analog to what foreign senior care operators should at a minimum be aware of are the experiences foreign investors have had with the nascent efforts on China’s behalf to open private for-profit hospitals. A… -
Another Perspective on Geriatric Care in China
6 May 2012 | 1:12 pmFollowing my recent interview with Dr. Sean Leng, I wanted to pursue another voice who would be willing to provide additional context to the challenges unique to delivering quality clinical geriatric care in China. Fortunately, Dr. Yuli Wang was willing to answer some questions related to this topic. Dr. Wang holds a MD in Western Medicine from Chongqing Medical School and Beijing Staff Medical College, a Bachelors Degree in Medical Sciences and Clinical Medicine and a Masters in Gerontology from the University of Arkansas. She has been accepted at UCLA for a PhD program studying aging… -
May 2, Beijing event: A Discussion with Robert Scherpbier, UNICEF China
30 Apr 2012 | 9:17 pmFor those unfamiliar with Beijing Healthcare Forum (BHF), it is an organization for academics and professionals engaged in projects and enterprises related to health care services. Its goal is to better inform members and others about emerging trends in the Chinese health care system and market while building a network of professional contacts and resources.The group was founded in 2009 by a couple of Fullbrighters. When the original founders moved back to the United States, in 2009, to further pursue their studies and the group leadership was given over to several individuals, one of whom… -
Start at the Beginning: A Conversation with Dr. Sean Leng
30 Apr 2012 | 1:06 pmAs my research into China’s senior care market has continued, one of the questions I have been eager to explore is how Western providers should come to understand the geriatric training that already exists for doctors, nurses and vocational bed-side staff within China. Senior care would not be the first industry to peer into China, see immense opportunities, only to have a series of high-profile failures follow, all because basic assumptions about access to trained personnel were made incorrectly. Western models, in particular those that emphasize franchises and licenses as their…
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Chengdu Living
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An American Artist in Chengdu: Interview with Will Kerr
18 Apr 2012 | 11:46 pmWe discovered Will Kerr through an article in Framingham’s Metro West Daily News titled Framingham man lands job as artist in residence at China’s Sichuan University - Never heard of Framingham? Neither had we. But we followed the story up and met with Will Kerr and talked to him about his residency at Sichuan University, the Chinese art scene, how this experience is influencing his own art and what he has planned for the future. Interview with Will Kerr CL: Could you give us a quick introduction? My name is Will Kerr, I’m a painter from Boston. I’m painting every… -
Chengdu and China’s New Future
11 Apr 2012 | 8:30 pmFortune Magazine and the city of Chengdu held a joint press conference here on April 10th announcing Chengdu as the site of the 2013 Fortune Global Forum. This is the fourth FGF held in China since 1999, with the most recent eight years ago in Beijing in 2005. This time around the FGF chose Chengdu, a city known best for pandas, spicy food and the 2008 earthquake. The focus throughout the day-long press conference was on the question, Why Chengdu? The conference assembled a team of speakers to address that question, including outgoing Mayor Ge Hong Ling, managing editor of Fortune Magazine… -
Yang Mian’s Art
9 Apr 2012 | 1:44 amYang Mian led me downstairs to his studio in the giant loft in Hetang Yuese belonging to his family, late on a Spring evening. I immediately had the sensation of treading into Dinosaur territory. The space itself feels like an aircraft landing pad, the over-sized paint tubes and palettes looking cartoon-like in their bins. He left for awhile to get some coffee, and I basked in the towering glow of an almost story-high painting from his CMYK series. Its thousands and thousands of brightly colored dots against the canvas made me blink. There is a critical legacy in Yang Mian’s family:… -
Kung Fu Dreams
23 Mar 2012 | 12:01 amWe have written a few times about Kung Fu in Chengdu on this site and the word has spread slowly that a school exists here that teaches the “real” gong fu that kids all over the world dream of. Just recently, one of those kids showed up at Master Li Cuan’s door via KnowledgeMust’s placing service, a 20 year old French kid named Hugo Boue from a tiny town in the Provence. Hugo is one of those special students that has the determination to go with his dreams. A lot of us would love to train with a master, but how many of us would hunt down a school, save the cash for a… -
It’s in the Plan: The Chengdu-Chongqing Economic Zone
15 Mar 2012 | 12:11 pmChongqing has been in the news these past few weeks, but only as the backdrop to political rivalries that ended in the city’s famous princeling boss Bo Xilai getting the sack yesterday. The succession politics are important and help to paint a picture of China’s general direction over the next few years, but far more important to the average inhabitant of Chongqing and environs are the plans for a massive economic zone that stretches from Chongqing across into Sichuan Province and engulfs several small cities on its way to Chengdu. Sure, it’s more exciting to talk about…
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eWallstreeter
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Nine dragons stirring up the South China Sea
16 May 2012 | 1:34 pmA proliferation of agencies – not the government itself – may be pushing the boundaries of China’s policy, writes David Pilling - Selected by eWallstreeter.com - -
China injects vigour into carbon debate
16 May 2012 | 11:57 amWorld’s second-largest economy, which produces more carbon dioxide emissions than any other country, plans to start seven pilot trading schemes - Selected by eWallstreeter.com - -
China Yuan Down Late On Dollar Gains Offshore, Greek Woes
16 May 2012 | 8:36 amVs Parity Previous USD/CNY Central Parity 6.3205 6.3110 USD/CNY OTC 0830 GMT 6.3222 +0.03% 6.3182 High 6.3280 +0.12% Low 6.3198 -0.01%China's yuan fell against the U.S. dollar late Wednesday, guided by a daily reference rate that reflected the dollar'... - Selected by eWallstreeter.com - -
Tencent (HKG:0700): end-Mar QQ IM active acc up 12% YoY
16 May 2012 | 8:02 amActive user accounts of Tencent Holdings' (HKG:0700) QQ IM (instant messaging), the largest online community in China, was 752 million at the end of March 2012, representing year-on-year growth of 12%, the company said in its first-quarter results announcement. PCU (peak concurrent user accounts) for the quarter increased by 22% year-on-year to 167 million. ... - Selected by eWallstreeter.com - -
NCI (HKG:1336) 4-month gross premium income RMB41.685B
16 May 2012 | 7:58 amNew China Life Insurance Company Ltd. (HKG:1336) announces that the accumulated gross premium income of the company for the period between 1 January 2012 and 30 April 2012 was RMB41.685 billion. ... - Selected by eWallstreeter.com -
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China Bubble Watch
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People’s Daily’s IPO Farce: Washing People’s Brain with People’s Money
6 May 2012 | 9:11 amThe website of People’s Daily, the mouthpiece of the CCP, is now a listed company in the Shanghai Stock Exchange. The company raised 1.4 billion yuan (US$222.2 million) in its IPO, nearly three times the amount it hoped for. On the first day of its trading, its stock price surged 76%. Before People’s Daily’s IPO, some pro-democracy activists said that no citizen would buy the stock of a propaganda machine whose profit comes solely from government subsidy. But they couldn’t be more wrong. Hu Xijin (胡锡进), the Chief Editor of Global Times and a shareholder of… -
Squeezed Middle Class in China
6 May 2012 | 7:30 amI wrote an article for China Economic Review’s March issue on China’s income tax reform. In the article I emphasized that the voices of middle class discontent on the Internet have led to some efforts by the government to alleviate the tax burden of the middle class and improve the transparency of how taxpayer money is spent. But I increasingly feel that maybe I have over-estimated the power of the middle class in China. More and more evidence is showing that China is a very polarized countries, with over 80% of the total wealth concentrated in the hands of the top 10%, and the… -
Niall Ferguson Warned about “Shrill Nationalism” in the Documentary “China: Triumph and Turmoil”
10 Apr 2012 | 11:42 pmIn the documentary China: Triumph and Turmoil, just aired in UK on Channel 4, Niall Ferguson stated that the Internet and China’s integration into global economy didn’t really spread democratic values in China, instead, they facilitated a growing “unofficial nationalism”, particularly among young Chinese. Ferguson says, “It is one of our comforting and enduring myths that as China becomes more modern and sophisticated, more like us, it will come to adopt our values. I’m not sure it’s going to be like that. [Chinese students during the Lhasa riots in 2008] were… -
Internet PR Company Sued for Hiring Hackers
10 Apr 2012 | 8:23 amRecently in the court of Shanghai Qingpu district, an “Internet public relations” company was found guilty of violating the article on Computer System Security in China’s Criminal Law. What this company did was to force a website to delete negative records of its client by hiring a hacker to attack the website. “Internet PR” is a thriving industry. What’s special about Chinese Internet PR companies is that they don’t just manage social media publicity like their Western peers, they also offer water army service, post deleting service, and even hacking… -
Empty Five Star Hotels
9 Apr 2012 | 7:46 amA new article on New Fortune (新财富）reports that there are already 651 five star hotels in China, but there are about 500 more that are under construction right now. The average occupancy rate for these hotels is only 61%, the lowest in Asia. The International chains, from InterContinental, Marriott, to Hilton and Shangri-La, are all increasing their presence in China. But often they are just selling their licenses and managing service, the true investors of most of the new hotels are Chinese real estate developers. Most of these hotel projects are not nearly as profitable as selling…
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China-Family-Adventure.com News
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Life in China - A day at the Local Market
24 Apr 2012 | 5:36 amA staple of Life in China is the Local Market. Of course you find supermarkets and department stores in the cities, even Walmarts, but not far from them, you will always find the local market or shopping alleys, which is not necessarily just for shopping, folks come to socialize, these are essential meeting places for the local communities. Here's a picture tour of the local market and shopping streets in the village of Jiu Jiang. -
Celebrate Earth Day: Check out the Panda Cubs on Explore.org live cam
22 Apr 2012 | 5:44 amIt's Earth Day! And to celebrate, Explore.org is releasing a live cam of five Giant Pandas from the Bifengxia Reserve. The Bifengxia Reserve is one of the largest Panda Reserve and Research Centers in the world. Facilities include include a Panda Kindergarten, a Panda House and Breeding and Research Stations. Best times to watch the live cams and the Pandas in action are mornings and early afternoons China time: 9:30am - 11:30am & 2:30pm - 4:30pm China Time 9:30pm - 11:30pm and 2:30 am - 4:30 am Eastern Time in the U.S. 2:30am - 4:30am and 7:30 am - 9:30 am London Time 11:30am - 1:30pm &… -
Planning your trip to China: China Visa - Who needs one, Where to get it
17 Apr 2012 | 6:41 amA China Visa is needed by all foreign passport holders upon entry into China with very few exceptions. At the time of this writing, a Chinese visa is not required for passport holders from the following countries: Singapore Brunei Japan for a visit of up to 15 days for business, sightseeing, visiting relatives and friends or transit. All other nationalities are required to obtain a China Visa to enter the PRC. For visa purposes, Hong Kong and Macau are separate Special Administrative Regions and most Western nationals do not require a visa. If traveling to Tibet, an additional permit is… -
Where to Stay in China?
28 Mar 2012 | 2:04 amSo flights are all booked? Let's move on and take a look at the different kinds of accomodation in China. When looking where to stay in China, you will find that there is no shortage of options. Tourism in China, although a fledgling industry relatively speaking, is fast becoming one of the top travel markets in the world for both domestic and international travelers alike. Hotel companies are racing there and accommodations in a wide range of options are popping up to the benefit of travelers with standards that rival and in many cases, surpass the West. As far as your accommodations in… -
Booking your Flights to China
27 Mar 2012 | 3:02 amA new hub for travel into China specially if you are going to the Giant Panda Reserves or the interior of China is Chengdu City which now operates direct flights from the Netherlands, Singapore, the Philippines, South Korea, Thailand, and the UAE, with direct flights from the United States and Australia planned for this year. Traditionally the main hubs for travel into China have been concentrated along the Eastern coast: Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Guangzhou. The development of Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport (CTU) is a major step in connecting China's interior to the rest of…
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Beijing Cream
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Naive Or Dumb? MSNBC Tries To Make A Thing Out Of China’s English-Teacher-Hiring Practices
16 May 2012 | 1:00 pmWill Evans, courtesy Liz Thomas, via MSNBC story MSNBC has a China blog called “Behind the Wall,” and as the name might suggest, it targets an American audience that may not be as familiar with China as those of us here on the ground (“behind the wall” sounds a lot like “other side of the world,” i.e. a throwaway cliche one scribbles on the back of a postcard). There is a need for websites like Behind the Wall, I suppose, because I do sense a generally healthy interest in China from my friends back home. A problem arises, however, when the people covering… -
Mid-Week Links, Part 2: Retired CCP members ask for Zhou Yongkang and Liu Yunshan to resign, Salman Rushdie on censorship, and “anti-cult month”
16 May 2012 | 11:35 amVia the Beijinger It was the 46th anniversary of the Cultural Revolution yesterday. With that in mind, Part 2 of the Mid-Week links. Big news of the moment: “In a rare sign of open opposition against two of China’s most powerful leaders, a group of retired Communist Party members have called for the resignation of the country’s security boss, Zhou Yongkang, and a top propaganda official, Liu Yunshan.” [NY Times] Salman Rushdie on censorship. “The Ministry of Truth in present-day China has successfully persuaded a very large part of the Chinese public that the heroes of… -
Mid-Week Links, Part 1: Gary Locke still endearing himself, adventures with baijiu, and actually uplifting stories from China
16 May 2012 | 6:04 amVia China Media Project, featuring a cute essay by third-grader Yang Zhimei about the above photo. There were so many reads from the past two days that these Mid-Week Links will be presented in two parts. In this first part: Monday night to Tuesday afternoon (mostly) links. Beijing Daily has not had a good week. “Responding yesterday to a Weibo post suggesting Gary Locke is among America’s super-rich and that his common-man antics in Beijing are just a ‘show,’ Beijing Daily wrote on its official Sina Weibo account: ‘Won’t Gary Locke please disclose his personal… -
Sofa Car Man Can Now Be Experienced In His Full Glory As A GIF
16 May 2012 | 2:25 amRemember that Sofa Car video we brought to you last week? Someone over at Reddit has created/uncovered a GIF of it, and it’s great (h/t Katie). I’m pretty sure there’s only one appropriate soundtrack to accompany this: -
Voting Ends Today For The Beijing Cream Bar And Club Awards
16 May 2012 | 1:54 amVoting for the BJC Bar and Club Awards ends at midnight tonight. Vote now if you haven’t already, it’s easy — the ballot is above. Also: we will officially celebrate the winners on Saturday at 11 pm at a party at the Sanlitun Kro’s Nest. We guarantee ours will be rowdier and drunker than the Beijinger‘s afternoon shindig for their thingymajig. Coverage of the BJC Bar and Club Awards isn’t over. Stay tuned. Thanks to all our guest columnists: Piper Fisco, writing about the bars in the Dross category E, writing about Repugnance Kevin Reitz, writing…
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Everyone's Blog Posts - Study More Chinese
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How to say Mother's Day in Mandarin Chinese & the origin of the carnation flower name
12 May 2012 | 3:30 amWhat is the perfect flower for Mother's Day? Carnations! To celebrate this special holiday, don't forget to buy your mom a bouquet of carnations; if the cost is too great, then, draw her a card full of carnations then :) (photo credit davedehetre) On Mother's Day, I am going to buy my mom a bouquet of bright red carnations. Mǔqīnjié dàngtiān , Wǒ yào mǎi yī shù xiānhóng de kāng nǎi xīn sòng gěi Wǒ māma. Mǔqīnjié (母亲节 Mǔqīn mother, jié holiday; Mǔqīnjié means Mother's Day) dàngtiān (当天 that day) , Wǒ (我pronoun, I) yào (要 verb, want or would… -
How to ask, "How was the movie?" in Chinese - 20 Questions to Basic Fluency #19
10 May 2012 | 9:00 pmLast time we took a look at how to say, "What is she like?" in Chinese. If you missed that discussion, take some time to go back and check it out. Today we are catching up with a friend about what we did over the weekend and we are asking, "How was the movie?" Here is the question and answer: Question Zhè bù diànyǐng zěnmeyàng? How was the movie? Answer Wǒ juéde hěn yǒu yìsi. I thought it was very interesting. We’ve come a long way in only 19 question. When we started out we could only ask and tell our names, and now we are about to give our opinions on films. It feels… -
Places to go in China -Part 2
9 May 2012 | 1:00 amOk we saw the video from 九寨沟's sceneries last week. Aren't they breathtaking? If you haven't, you can check in out by clicking here! Now if you're ready, let's go and take a look at another must-see-place! You've most probably heard this place but it's spectacular so I must mention it again! Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses 俑 It is Chinese Qin Dynasty Emperor Qin Shi Huang's tomb situated at Xi'an (known as Chang'an before Ming dynasty) and it's one of the oldest city in Shaanxi province in China. Qin Shu Huang ascended the throne when he's 13years old, and he started to build… -
Chinese Fan Dance 扇子舞 shanzi wu - video
7 May 2012 | 1:00 pmThere are indeed a lot of endless frangments to show you guys about Chinese Cultures. In this blog, Iet me introduce this Chinese traditional dance, 扇子舞 shànzi wǔ Fan Dance. It's very hard to get the video with good quality but I came across this video with contempory Chinese Fan Dance along to the song 茉莉花 mòlìhuā "Jasmine". It's combined with a little bit of ballet but it is so beautiful and graceful! The dancers are from Atlanta Professional Dance Academy and it's a dance performance for spring show. Enjoy! If the video embed of the dance below does not work, watch on… -
The key to memorize Chinese idioms - good understanding of the analogy
5 May 2012 | 3:00 pmChinese idioms are full of analogies. If you are struggling with memorizing them, why not slow down first and see if there's any analogy in the idiom. Just like in English and any other languages, using analogy can help people to vividly picture the concept in their mind without too much explanation. Today I'll use an example to show you how to build the connection in your mind through the analogy in the idiom to enforce your memory on Chinese idioms. We all know a snake ( in the grass ( is a hiding danger. If we spot one and want to have a closer look (a brave soul you have), we need to be…
