Oct 27, 2012

Romney Changes His China Views

Saturday, October 27, 2012
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I've recently become a fan of a website called China Daily Show which offers humorous, parodic (and usually completely made-up) news stories. Since I tend to appreciate this form of highly sarcastic humor (which, despite the clearly fake nature of the stories, usually implies at least some element of truth or reality), I can't resist posting a link to one particular article - Desperate Romney Changes Mind on China. In the article, Romney attacks president Obama's "socialist welfare state" policies, praises China's lacks of social welfare, and is shown posing in a photo with a poor Chinese peasant family whose main social welfare will be their young children. In addition to making fun of Romney, this piece also pokes fun at China's largely lacking socialism in some elements of society (which poses a future threat as China's massive population experiences a demographic shift - more older people with a smaller working-age percentage of the population to support them).


Mitt in a photoshopped pose with a Chinese peasant family
Here are a few quotes from the article:
  • “China’s emphasis on standardized testing ensures the country will always have a pool of unskilled laborers, thankful for work under any conditions; laborers who lack the critical skills to see through nationalistic rhetoric that blames their problems on other countries, instead of structural inequities."
  • “Under Obama, US regulators over-enforce the law and kill jobs . . . In China, it’s the complete opposite. There is an official embedded in the heart of every major enterprise, asking: ‘How can we work together to make even more money?"
  • "Republicans and Beijing officials have more in common than one might think, said one senior Romney staffer on condition of complete deniability. Both favor low taxes – with the ultra-rich often paying none at all – while China’s minimal enforcement of environmental and safety regulations have led to double-digit economic growth. For those who gain the most, the benefits outweigh the many hazards."
On a slightly more serious note, I've been asked recently what Chinese people think about the American presidential candidates. I don't have a clear answer to this since I haven't talked to enough Chinese people about it and opinions vary, but my general impression is that more favor Obama rather than Romney. While Obama doesn't have the adulation he did 4 years ago and some Chinese are critical of him, the general feeling on Romney seems to be that he'll represent the rich (maybe a bit similar to the way many Chinese people feel about many of their own leaders). 

Oct 25, 2012

Google Music's Chinese Demise

Thursday, October 25, 2012
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"Imagine a post-Napster world in which you can search for whatever song or album you want and then download it for free from within the results page. You then own that music, the official version, and can take it with you wherever you want. That world exists, ladies and gentleman. It’s called China.


The quote above is from an article about Google's decision to end its free music service in China. Music in China is a very strange business and a very small one. That's primarily because almost no one pays for recorded music in any form (MP3 downloads, CDs, etc.). 

Google began its free music service in China 3 years ago in an effort to try to increase its search engine market share (unlike most of the rest of the world, Chinese people don't generally "google" to search for stuff on the Internet - instead, they use a Chinese search engine called Baidu). For years, Baidu provided links to illegally available music files which was one of the reasons it initially became so popular (and limited Google's popularity and growth in China). Although sued by Chinese and foreign record companies, Chinese copyright law apparently doesn't make it illegal to link to infringing material (even when there's evidence of encouraging and helping people to download illegally). Actually, this isn't completely clear since there was an appeal of the case and a few different Chinese court decisions have reached contradictory decisions, but at least for Baidu, it didn't seem to be clearly illegal. 

Google, however, decided to offer a legal alternative - offering music downloads for free, but obtaining permission of copyright owners and agreeing to pay them a portion of advertising revenues. This may have seemed like a good idea to Google as well as the music industry and it was a truly novel business model available nowhere other than in China. But it simply didn't work. In a world where people never pay for music, the fact that you're giving music to them for free really isn't a big deal. Google may have thought that making this legal would be a big advantage and, in theory, it should be. But most Chinese people that download music have always done it illegally although they may not understand that there's any such thing as illegal downloading and, if they do, just don't care (as is true of many millions of people all over the world). To my knowledge, no one has ever been sued for illegally downloading music in mainland China so there's little awareness of the issue and no practical penalties. As a result, Google's free music service likely attracted few users and generated very little income for music companies and creators. 

To make matters worse for Google, after pressure from Chinese musicians and authors in 2011, Baidu finally decided to mend its (technically probably not illegal) ways by offering music in a more conventionally legal way (essentially copying the Google Music model). Baidu reached agreement with major international record labels to pay copyright owners for downloads and streams of their music through its new music service (Baidu Ting) as well as its general search service. This agreement apparently also ended an appeal over the Baidu court decision excusing it from liability for copyright infringement.

So the end result is that there is still free legal music in China, offered ironically not by the company that pioneered this business model (Google), but the company that pioneered and profited by the illegal one. According to this article, Google Music's closure might provide a significant revenue boost to Baidu. Poor Google just can't get a break here in the Middle Kingdom.

Oct 20, 2012

Apple Opens Largest Store in Asia

Saturday, October 20, 2012
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A new Apple Store has just opened in Beijing which is the biggest in AsiaThe store is guaranteed to be successful due to rich and upwardly mobile, highly image-conscious Chinese consumers and its location at the very popular Wangfujing pedestrian street and shopping area for foreign tourists and upscale Chinese. 


So far, Apple Stores in China seem to be limited to Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong so we don't have one here in Xiamen yet. I imagine that will change before too long, but for now we'll just have to be satisfied with a local substitute, mr. frog. 


At first, I thought this mr. frog with the nice Apple logo entrance might be an Apple knockoff store. Although I have no iProducts, I went inside to take a look out of sheer curiosity and didn't find any iPhones, iPads or even iFrogs (or live frogs which can instead be found in many grocery stores). Instead, the store sells mainly cellphone and iPad accessories such as cases. Apparently, this store (and other Chinese businesses) believe that the famous Apple image is so popular among Chinese consumers that you can sell just about anything by putting a once-bitten apple on it.

To celebrate the opening of the Wangfujing store, there was the currently obligatory performance of the Korean song Gangnam style with its silly horse dance (just can't escape this song wherever you go nowadays). The store takes up 2300 square meters (24,750 square feet for any Americans that can't visualize meters) and features a 3-floor, all-glass staircase.

A frontal view of Beijing's newest and biggest iStore

Oct 8, 2012

Chinese Authoritarian Capitalism

Monday, October 08, 2012
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very interesting article entitled No Ancient Wisdom for China by James McGregor from his book, No Ancient Wisdom, No Followers: The Challenges of Chinese Authoritarian Capitalism. The title of the article is basically saying that modern China can't rely on its ancient past which contradicts almost all of China's long history of revering its so-called ancient wisdom. According to Chinese myth (or history, depending on how you wish to view it), very ancient China (4000 or so years ago) was a perfect society ruled by wise, moral leaders. Since the time of Confucius, these beliefs have greatly influenced Chinese philosophy, morality and social life. Whenever China has experienced major problems and challenges, one way of dealing with them has been to look back to the wisdom of these ancient rulers.


McGregor's article, however, implies that China can no longer rely on this ideal of following ancient wisdom. China has simply changed too much, too fast and become something that is hard to describe economically as well as in other ways. I've found through teaching in China that Chinese college students (among others) have a hard time describing China's economic system. The Chinese government calls it socialism with Chinese characteristics, Chinese college students usually just call it socialism probably due to their indoctrination and possibly inability to express the "Chinese characteristics" add-on in English. However, China is hardly socialist in many respects and certainly not Communist anymore. Of course, its certainly not pure capitalism either due to a large amount of government economic control. In McGregor's words, China's economic system can be called Authoritarian Capitalism - essentially capitalism albeit largely controlled and/or dominated by government owned or controlled entities. 

McGregor points out some of the challenges facing China and concludes that its system, whatever one chooses to call it, is unsustainable. Here are a few quotes:

"The much-vaunted China Model has morphed in the past decade to a one-of-a-kind system of authoritarian capitalism that is in danger of terminating itself – and taking the world down with it. It is also proving incompatible with global trade and business governance, and threatening multinationals that fear losing technology and business secrets to China’s mammoth state-owned enterprises (SOEs) they are forced to partner with."

"The past decade has been China’s version of America’s Robber Baron Era and Gilded Age – compressed, compounded and intensified."

Sep 23, 2012

Expendables 2 in China

Sunday, September 23, 2012
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There aren't many American movies in theaters here in China. Usually, you can find one (maybe 2 or at most 3 in big theaters). There also isn't much variety in American movies shown in Chinese theaters - they're almost always blockbuster action films. Last week was no exception when I happened to walk by a theater on the campus of nearby Chengyi College and noticed this poster advertising  The Expendables 2 which was the only English-language film in this theater.



The Expendables 2 is a perfect example of how Hollywood can virtually guarantee a film's success in China. Action films are the best bet for the Chinese market since they are generally simple to understand. Although English-language films here are shown with Chinese subtitles, Chinese viewers could understand most of the plot even without understanding the dialog. For films like The Expendables 2, plot isn't really relevant in the first place - its the action and stunts audiences want to see and Chinese can appreciate fight scenes (especially if there's martial arts thrown in), gunfights, car chases and crashes, buildings being blown up, etc. as much as anyone else. 

In addition to having a bunch of old American action stars (Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Chuck Norris, etc.), The Expendables 2 also has a couple of Chinese stars thrown in for good measure (quite possibly to ensure box office success in China). As in the first Expendables, Jet Li has a role although he's very expendable in the sequel, appearing only for a few minutes at the beginning. Giving such short screen time to one of China's few internationally known film stars might not go over well with Chinese moviegoers, but The Expendables 2 saved itself by also casting Chinese actress Yu Nan (余男) who plays a safe-cracking, gun-toting, ass-kicking female member of the Expendables group. 
Ms. Yu is a popular actress in Chinese films and Chinese viewers have responded well to her character in The Expendables 2. I imagine that's in part because she beats up Western villains which is a nice change to the stereotypical Hollywood portrayal of Chinese characters over the past century (evil villains that must be defeated by Western heroes). Although Yu Nan's Expendables role doesn't really show much of her acting skills, she has been critically acclaimed for some her Chinese films such as Tuya's Marriage where she plays a Mongolian woman from a sheep raising family who has to divorce her disabled husband and marry a new one who will take care of her family (including the disabled, former husband) - If you're interested, it might be available on Netflix.

So far, The Expendables 2 has taken in over $40 million in Chinese theaters ($40 million as of September 16th). That's almost half of the U.S. box office receipts of $81,562 as of September 20th. Since China is now the second biggest film market in the world (after the United States), we're likely to see more big-budget Hollywood films with Chinese characters and plot elements.

One other thing that can make American movies in China confusing is that they often have different titles in Chinese.For example, since the word expendable would probably mean nothing to most Chinese people, the Chinese title becomes  敢死队2 (Death Squad 2 or Suicide Squad 2) which is a more descriptive and easily understood title.

Sep 20, 2012

Chinglish: "FUBO Burns the Fairy Grass"

Thursday, September 20, 2012
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Here's the second in my series of Chinglish photos. This photo graces the front of a small store on the campus of nearby Chengyi College at Jimei University in the city of Xiamen. Being the only foreigner around, I surreptitiously took this photo, wondering whether the Chinese college students inside were scheming to somehow help resurrect Mitt Romney's presidential election campaign after he alienated at least 47% of the American (non-taxpaying) public



At least in America, FUBO is an acronym used by people who (to put it kindly) aren't too crazy about President Obama (F*** you Barrack Obama if you need it semi-spelled out). For a more detailed explanation, you can take a look at this FUBO websiteNow before any other patriotic Americans get upset about their commander in chief being publicly insulted in China (or other patriotic Americans get too happy about it), I thought I should investigate this matter in the interests of preserving U.S.-Sino relations before some ignorant idiots decide to start a FUBO-related war (or celebration). 

Here in China, many translations of Chinese into English make absolutely no sense. Its a fact of life that English speakers living in China must simply accept. In addition to signs, I often see Chinese people wearing shirts with English slogans or expressions on them which make no sense at all. On a few occasions I've asked people what the expression means and the invariable answer is "我不知道" or "I don't know"). They also usually looked puzzled that I ask because in China, people wear shirts with English simply because it looks cool or fashionable. It doesn't matter what it says, what it means, or whether it means anything at all (maybe no different from Americans wearing shirts displaying Chinese characters without any idea of their meaning). I've even thought of starting a business making T-Shirts with random and/or made-up English words printed on them - come to think of it, "the fubo burns the fairy grass" could be a good example of this.

Anyway, in an effort to discover the truth behind this mysterious and potentially anti-American slogan, I asked a Chinese friend who was with me when I took this controversial FUBO photo what the sign means. She couldn't really explain it, but did explain that it is a literal translation of the Chinese which simply doesn't make sense in English. As I've found out from my admittedly limited knowledge of Chinese, its a very different language from English and some things just don't translate literally.

After some research, I think I have a rough idea of what this sign means. The first character 福 (fu) can be used as an abbreviation for Fujian (福建) Province and can also mean luck or happiness. The second character in fubo, 伯 (bo), can mean father's elder brother or be used as a respectful form of address. According to my Chinese friend, in this instance, it seems to be used as a brand name (Fujian/lucky uncle). 

But whoever this Fubo is, what is he doing burning grass jelly? And what exactly is grass jelly?  Grass jelly is actually another misleading name since its apparently not made of grass. Instead, its a kind of dessert (in America, I think we'd call it jello) which I think is sometimes also mixed into tea or milk-based drinks. 


Here's a grass jelly drink (not sure whether its FUBO or not)
So basically, I think the sign is just advertising a brand of jelly drink called Fubo. Nothing to do with President Obama, no reason for World Trade Organization complaints or to send SEAL Team 6 to China. I hope this information has saved us all from a USA/China trade war or (even more seriously) WWIII over the FUBO incident.

Disclaimer: This post is intended solely for informational (and potentially humorous) purposes and is not intended as a political message or as an endorsement of FUBO jelly drinks.

Sep 16, 2012

Anti-Japan Protests Turn Violent in China

Sunday, September 16, 2012
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Things have been pretty violent throughout much of the world lately and sadly China is no exception although things are still much safer here than most countries in the world. One relatively good thing (at least from my perspective of self-interest) is that, unlike much of the world, here in China the violence isn't directed at Americans. Instead, young Chinese are venting their anger at Japan. When I visited the city of Xi'an in the past, I stayed at a hotel near the Bell Tower, a busy but pleasant and peaceful area. Here's some photos of this area during a recent protest showing Japanese brand automobiles turned over and set on fire.



Protests like this have been going on in many Chinese cities lately. Some have been peaceful demonstrations (as in the city of Xiamen where I'm living), but others have gotten violent with Japanese owned businesses being looted and the Japanese embassy in Beijing being assaulted by a crowd throwing rocks and eggs (fortunately I don't think the violence has resulted in any loss of lives as has tragically occurred in recent anti-American protests).

What is causing all this anger and violence? Well, that's probably a complicated question to answer. The simple answer is a group of small, (until lately) uninhabited islands in the South China Sea - the Diaoyu Islands if you're Chinese and the Senkaku Islands if you're Japanese. For a good explanation of the dispute over the Diaoyu Islands as well as a dispute between China and the Philippines over some other islands, see this NPR article.

To an extent, the dispute is also being fueled by politics. The Japanese government recently escalated the tension by purchasing the islands from private Japanese owners. Not surprisingly, this further incensed the Chinese to the extent that lots of young, hotheaded Chinese boys want to declare war and go kill Japanese. The Chinese state-controlled media are playing up Japan's actions and encouraging Chinese nationalism, possibly to divert attention from rumored internal discord over the presumptive soon-to-be new president Xi Jinping and the future leadership of the Chinese Communist Party and government.

Shanghaist has posted some video clips as well as photos of the protests here. 

The feelings of Chinese people toward Japan are probably unfathomable to most Westerners who are largely ignorant of history in this part of the world. In fact, while Chinese are clearly angry about Japan's assertion of control over the Diaoyu Islands, I believe that the anger rearing its head in protests today has much more to do with the past than the present. It is due in large part to justified resentment of Japan's invasion of China in the 1930s and horrendous atrocities committed by the Japanese army (rivaling their Nazi allies in Europe). However, modern anti-Japanese sentiment is also fueled largely by state propaganda which programs all young Chinese to hate Japanese. From what I've heard and read, the current protests have been, to some extent, encouraged by Chinese government and law enforcement authorities. While I'm sure the Chinese government doesn't want these protest to get too out of hand and violent, what better way to keep the Chinese public from protesting anything that might be occurring in China than by giving them a foreign enemy to protest against. 


Sep 15, 2012

Xi's Back: China's President-To-Be Reappears

Saturday, September 15, 2012
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China will soon have a new president. Unlike the United States, there's no election involved and therefore no political campaigning going on (from what I've been following back in America, that's a blessing!). While Obama, Romney and all their campaign mouthpieces are slinging mud around, China's political scene has been very quiet. Chinese politicians are actually very smart about this - by saying nothing in public, you can't really say anything stupid, be misquoted, or have what you say misinterpreted. 


VP Biden (and other American political candidates) could learn from VP Xi
It is, however, possible even in China, to go too far and be too quiet and invisible. Assumed president-to-be (and current vice-president), Xi Jinping (习近平), has apparently realized this after a 2 week disappearing act that would make Houdini jealous. He even blew off visits by foreign diplomats including Hillary Clinton. The Chinese blogosphere was consequently filled with rumors of what had become of Xi (from heart problems to assassination) until the Chinese blogocensors tried their best to eliminate such cyber-speculation. 

It turns out, at least according to the unofficial government story, that Mr. Xi has simply spent the last 2 weeks in bed, a perfectly logical place for a Chinese vice-president to be shortly before he is expected to be announced as the new president. Apparently, Xi hurt his back swimming and was ordered by his doctor to stay in bed. Nothing at all suspicious about this - as we all know, swimming often leads to back injuries requiring 2 weeks of bed rest. This must be why Chinese people don't swim, unless they're in the Olympics - in which case they promptly go to bed for several weeks after competing.

And of course, its also perfectly logical that the Chinese government made no effort to inform the public of why Xi disappeared. The health of government leaders is a state secret that must be protected. This does seem to counter Communist doctrine under former leader, Mao Zedong, who made swimming a huge public spectacle when he braved the waters of the mighty Yangtze River to show off his health and leadership strength.

Anyway, staying in bed seems to have worked since Xi finally made a public appearance yesterday in Beijing and, according to one observer, he looked healthy. Although I haven't found anything to corroborate this, I'd bet that his doctor also ordered him to "drink hot water" since that's the Chinese cure for all ailments.

Obama, Biden, Romney, Ryan and all related cronies - please go to bed. Set your alarm clocks for the morning after the election takes place. Think of the benefits - whoever wins will be well-rested, whoever loses can just turn over and go back to sleep and America will undoubtedly be a better place as a result.

Disclaimer: This post involves sarcasm and satire. While I believe in democracy and the American election system, I also believe that presidential campaigns have become a joke and (almost) believe that the Chinese system is better (in some ways). I'm also glad that Mr. Xi is ok and respectfully encourage him to stop swimming in water and keep drinking hot water.


Sep 11, 2012

Top Chinese Celebrities of 2012

Tuesday, September 11, 2012
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While many of the most famous American celebrities are fairly well-known in China (the Chinese, like most of the rest of the world are goo goo for Lady Gaga), the reverse is not true. The vast majority of Chinese celebrities are virtually unknown to most Americans (and others outside China). One reason for this is that the Chinese language is not as internationally common as English so unless a Chinese celebrity is also reasonably fluent in English (e.g., Jackie Chan, Zhang Ziyi), there's little chance of achieving worldwide celebrity status. Another reason is that the entertainment industries in China are not as well developed as in the United States and many other Western countries. Regardless, with its over 1.3 billion population, its possible for Chinese celebrities to have more fans than many celebrities that are much more well known internationally.

So here's a short summary of the top 10 Chinese celebrities of 2012 according to the Forbes Top 20 list. My guess is that most Americans will know who 2 of the top 10 are (maybe 3 if you're a serious tennis fan). 

1. Jay Chou (Singer): very popular throughout much of Asia although pretty much unknown in America. He's also acted in a few movies in the past few years including a forgettable role in his one forgettable Hollywood film, The Green Hornet.


This song is a bit old, but its called "Fragrant Rice" - can't get more Chinese than that

2. Andy Lau (Actor/Singer): From Hong Kong, Lau has been one of the most popular Chinese actors for the past 30 years or so. I think Lau has been in every Chinese movie made over the past 30 years (I'm exaggerating, but only slightly). He's also one of the most popular Cantopop singers in Hong Kong.


2011 film trailer for "Shaolin" starring Andy Lau and the much more well known in the West, Jackie Chan

3. Fan Bingbing (Actress): She's considered by many Chinese to be one of the most beautiful Chinese women due to her perfectly shaped face (according to some Chinese ideal).


4. Faye Wong (Singer/Actress): Wong sort of retired in 2005, but has remained exceptionally popular in China and performed a series of sold out concerts in 2010. She also appeared in a few critically acclaimed Chinese films, including. Here's a video clip from one of her films,  Chungking Express, with Faye acting as well as her Cantonese cover of a Cranberries song as the musical background.



5. Li Na (Tennis Player): Her 2011 French Open win made her a star in China, but she hasn't played all that great since.

6. Zhao Benshan (Sitcom actor): If you don't watch Chinese TV, you're not likely to have ever seen him.

7. Jolin Tsai (Taiwan pop singer): Very typical teen-oriented Chinese pop.

8. Yao Ming (Retired NBA Basketball Player): Most Americans know big Yao (7'6") who played for the Houston Rockets before injuries to his big foot led to his retirement and return to China in 2011.

9. Jackie Chan (Actor): Chan is probably the most internationally known Chinese celebrity due to his roles in many Hollywood movies (Rush Hour, Shanghai Noon, etc.) and his blend of kung fu martial arts skills and comedic persona. What you may not know is that in China, he's also famous as a singer.

10. Lin Chi-ling (Taiwan model/actress): Very pretty; she's been in some movies and lots of commercials in China.

Out of the rest of the Chinese celebrities in the Forbes 2012 Top 100, I'd estimate that most Americans might know some of the following five:
How many do you know? If more than 7, I'd say you're probably above average. Here's a link to the Top 100 list in Chinese (sorry, couldn't find an English version, but use Google Translate if you're interested and illiterate in Chinese).

Sep 7, 2012

Modern Art in Beijing

Friday, September 07, 2012
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While in Beijing recently for a conference, I visited the 798 Art District (798 艺术区),  an interesting area of eclectic galleries and shops housed in some interesting old buildings.


Strange art in Beijing
The 798 Art District consists of many buildings that were formerly military factories that were part of a 1950s military/industrial partnership between the new People's Republic of China and the Soviet Union. After China started "opening up" and privatizing business, the factories had a tough time and were mostly out of business by the early 1990s.


Slideshow of photos from 798 Art Zone

In the mid 1990s, Beijing's Central Academy of Fine Arts moved into one of the abandoned factories and other avant garde artistic ventures followed until the area ultimately emerged as the center of Beijing's modern art community. Many of the buildings have been renovated and now house art galleries, crafts and souvenir shops, clothing stores, coffee shops and restaurants.

Although the area has become more upscale and touristy in recent years, it still retains much of its eclectic appeal and is well worth a visit if you happen to be in Beijing.

Sep 6, 2012

China 'Pissed' on America Military in Asia

Thursday, September 06, 2012
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While recently attending the 2012 East West Center International Conference in Beijing, I heard U.S. Ambassador to China Gary Locke's keynote speech. Overall, Locke's speech was very diplomatic, urging cooperation between China and the United States and I agreed with almost all of his points in that regard. However, Locke made one statement that struck me as a serious exaggeration - indicating that everyone is in agreement about the U.S. military presence in Asia being positive for the security of the region. Locke may have been referring to the United States' role in fighting the Japanese in WWII which many Asians may be appreciative of, but that appreciation doesn't necessarily extend to the U.S. military presence in the more recent era. Two days after hearing Locke's speech, I went to the 798 Art District in Beijing and saw the following artwork in one of the many galleries.


Chinese girl pissing on American aircraft carrier
I'm no art afficionado, but I think the sentiment behind this creation is pretty clear and the artist who created would probably vehemently disagree with Ambassador Locke's view of peoples' opinions about the American military providing security in Asia. Of course, some might say that the expanding military power of China is the threat that needs to be protected against. 

Ambassador Gary Locke at East-West Center Conference in Beijing
According to an Asia Pacific Bulletin article, South China Sea: Not Just About Free Navigation, the United States is trying to ensue that smaller countries don't get steamrolled by China's increasing military might in the region.This may be at least partly true as illustrated by the U.S. involvement in the recent dispute between China and the Philippines over sovereignty of certain South China Sea islands.

However, its not only China that can be unenthusiastic about American military presence in Asia. For example, while the Philippines may currently be considering allowing some American military aid to help deter China, it is important to remember that the Philippines kicked the American military out in the 1990s. While the Philippines may now view the U.S. as the lesser of two evils in terms of foreign military presence, this doesn't mean that Filipinos (or other Asians) want increased American military presence or view it as generally positive. Although it might be necessary in some instances to protect smaller countries, I think virtually all people would ideally prefer no foreign military presence within or near their borders.

Sep 1, 2012

Gary Locke at East-West Center Conference

Saturday, September 01, 2012
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I'm in Beijing for a conference hosted by the East-West Center and Peking University which started this morning with a keynote speech by U.S. Ambassador to China, Gary Locke (the first Chinese-American ambassador to China).


Locke has been the American ambassador to China for a year now and seems to be fairly popular with the Chinese, at least to the extent that they're aware of him. At first, many Chinese were puzzled by some of Locke' actions, not in his diplomatic role, but as a human being. As a high-level diplomat, Locke seemed to be behaving like an average person - waiting in line to buy coffee at Starbucks, flying economy class and carrying his own bag. This goes completely against the Chinese view of diplomats who are and expect to be treated like royalty. The Chinese with obsession with status and showing off that status can't be adequately described in words - you have to observe it to begin to appreciate its importance.


Locke's average guy persona certainly earned him some initial admiration among many Chinese as reflected by postings on Weibo, a Chinese microblogging/social networking site. According to a Washington Post article, the reason for the Chinese fascination with Locke is that "they see everything their own leaders are not. A Chinese parking lot security guard interviewed in this article stated that, after seeing a picture of Locke with his wife and children in an airport carrying their luggage, "Its unimaginable for a high Chinese official to move abroad like that." 


Locke's speech this morning at the East-West Center Conference was quite diplomatic, mostly stressing the need for cooperation between China and the U.S. He did, however, make a few controversial points - for example, suggesting that America's role in the security of Asia is readily acknowledged as a positive one. I'm pretty sure that quite a few Chinese (and other Asians) would disagree with this and instead wish that America would stick more to the role of minding its own business.


There were quite a large number of Chinese academics in the audience as well as those from the U.S. and other countries and Locke's speech seemed to go over pretty well. I'm not sure if he carried his own bag while at the conference, but I did notice one U.S. diplomatic vehicle parked outside the conference center which looked less ostentatious than the row of Audis and Mercedes (the two most popular automobile brands of Chinese officials). So, I don't think its too likely that Locke's average guy image will be able to bridge the Chinese-American cultural divide in the near future.

Aug 30, 2012

China Welcomes Kevin Garnett

Thursday, August 30, 2012
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Just saw a story/press release about NBA superstar Kevin Garnett coming to China. No, not permanently - he isn't leaving the Boston and the Celtics for the CBA (Chinese Basketball Association). Instead, its just a short visit sponsored by one of his sponsors, Chinese sportswear company Anta which is headquartered in Fujian Province (my current home). Garnett blew off Addias (his former shoe sponsor) for Anta in 2010 and I assume that decision had at least as much to do with money as it did with shoe quality or preferences.


 
Kevin Garnett in Chinese Anta commercial with English subtitles

Surprisingly, one of the four cities Garnett is supposed to make a stop at is Zhengzhou, where I worked for a year before moving to my current home in Xiamen. Zhengzhou certainly isn't a well-known city to foreigners (or even to many Chinese) and isn't one of the nicest cities in China to spend time in - its a dirty, gloomy city, overpopulated city (like many in China) although I found the people to be very nice and it does have some interesting ancient history going back to the Shang Dynasty. Anyway basketball is huge in China so I'm sure KG will have no problem drawing humongous Chinese-sized crowds in Zhengzhou and any other cities he appears in.

Me in one of the scenic parts of Zhengzhou



Aug 20, 2012

Shanghai in the 1930s v. Today

Monday, August 20, 2012
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A view of part of modern Shanghai's skyline on a hazy day
"While the rest of the world faded into black and white during the Great Depression, Shanghai in the 1930s was a glittering metropolis of 3 million people studded with cabarets, nightclubs and legendary bordellos . . . Legend has it that Christian missionaries in the city would shake their heads and muse, 'If God allowed Shanghai to endure, he owes Sodom and Gomorrah an apology.'"

This quote is from Once Upon a Time in Shanghai which I saw after finding a link in a short article Shanghai in the '30s and Now: My Father's CityOnce Upon a Time in Shanghai has a slideshow of black and white photographs of Shanghai in the 1930s. At the time, Shanghai was one of the most populous and cosmopolitan cities in the world. Things changed considerably after the Japanese invasion and the domestic chaos that followed culminating in the Cultural Revolution. However, today's Shanghai has a lot in common with its 1930s ancestor. Shanghai is again one of the most modern cities in the world with it ever-expanding skyline of skyscrapers. Shanghai also probably has one of the largest populations of any city in the world - estimated at over 20 million. I guess this just reflects the truth in the old saying that "the more things change, the more they remain the same."

Aug 19, 2012

Chinglish Sign #1

Sunday, August 19, 2012
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One of the many things I like to take photos of in China are signs translated into English or, more accurately, mistranslated into English. Chinese mistranslated into English is sometimes referred to as Chinglish. Sometimes these are the result of a poor translator, other times the Chinese just doesn't translate into English, and I can't help suspecting that sometimes people do this just to be funny (though I may be assuming more intelligence or sense of humor than warranted). Whatever the reason, I often find these signs quite amusing so I thought I'd start sharing.


Here's my first example:


This photo was taken at Lamma Island, small scenic island which is part of Hong Kong. At first, I was onfused because although they cook just about anything in China, butterflies don't seem to have much meat on them. Upon entering, I found that the place was just a little garden which included some butterflies, but no butterflies being barbecued as far as I could tell. Why do they call it this - Who knows? Its just one of the many mysteries of China. 

I'll try to post some more amusing Chinglish signs in future.

Jul 23, 2012

Colorado Shooting

Monday, July 23, 2012
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While in the Dubai airport on my way back to China a few days ago, I happened to look at one of the TV monitors in the waiting area and saw the news about the Colorado movie theater massacre that took place that day. Like most people, I felt shock and sadness about the tragedy, but I also felt a bit embarrassed because news like this seems to happen rather frequently in America. Whether American, Chinese or any other nationality, I imagine that the vast majority of people worldwide sympathize with the victims and struggle to understand what could possibly motivate someone to randomly gun down people for no apparent reason.


In China, in addition to shock and sympathy, there's also another reaction - a confirmation of the belief that America is a violent and dangerous country. Sadly (at least to me), this view is largely correct. Comparatively, China has is much safer than America (at least in terms of violent crime). 


I often talk with Chinese college students trying to get an idea of what their perceptions of Americans are and while there are also many positive views, one of the most common responses is that Americans all have guns. In discussion sessions about American culture, the most common question I hear is "why do Americans all have guns?" I try to answer logically by first explaining that the notion that all Americans have guns is an exaggeration. Then, I try to explain some of the justifications offered for gun ownership in America (self defense, sport, hunting). Having grown up watching American films and TV shows (many of which feature guns being used by people to kill others), they seem to have a hard time accepting my explanations (I guess I can't blame them). 


To Chinese people, there's a very simple way to prevent tragedies such as that which occurred in Colorado and they can't understand why we let these things continue to happen in America. When they ask why the government doesn't stop people from owning guns, I try to explain that owning guns also involves a very important American ideal of individual freedom. While no one has ever put it this bluntly to me, my guess is that they view the notion that freedom includes the right to own guns as ridiculous.


While I certainly value freedom, I have to admit that I'd voluntarily sacrifice some of my freedom to reduce the amount of pointless slaughter that occurs when idiots and lunatics like James Holmes have easy access to guns. Without debating the Constitutional issue of the right to bear arms (although I wish people would actually read the whole second amendment to the Constitution which grants this right for the purpose of forming a militia to provide security), I think we have gone beyond the realm of sanity in America at least in terms of allowing people such easy access to guns and especially automatic weapons. Today, I came across a Twitter post by Jason Alexander (best known for his role in the TV show Seinfeld). Its kind of sad when George Costanza is the voice of reason for America, especially knowing that this voice will continue to be mostly ignored.

Jul 19, 2012

Xiamen Boardwalk Photos

Thursday, July 19, 2012
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A few months ago I took some photos one evening while walking along the boardwalk in Xiamen (厦门).

A shot taken from Xiamen looking toward Gulangyu Island
Gulangyu Island has an interesting history. In 1842, after the First Opium War (in which the then mighty British empire fought for its right to smuggle opium into China), China was forced to open  several ports to foreign trade, one of which was Xiamen. The small island of Gulangyu (which is very close to the coast of Xiamen) then became the home of many of the early European businessmen and their families. Gulangyu still boast some old European style buildings and is now one of Xiamen's main tourist attractions. Here's a few more shots of the boardwalk in a slideshow:

View all          Get your own

Jul 17, 2012

Crouching Actress, Hidden Scandal?

Tuesday, July 17, 2012
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Chinese, like most people, love rumors and scandals, especially when they involve world famous celebrities and government leaders. So a recent rumor that famous actress Zhang Ziyi (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Hero, Rush Hour 2, etc.) has been prostituting herself for $1.5 million per transaction with Bo Xilai (former politician currently under arrest) has created quite a stir in the not-so-traditional Chinese media (i.e., the Chinese blogosphere).


An animated video humorously depicting the story


Bo Xilai is a former Chinese Communist party (CCP) leader who was recently removed from power and detained (arrested?) in connection with various corruption allegations (as well as his wife's suspected connection to the murder of a British businessman). The rumor has it that Zhang Ziyi was introduced to Bo by a friend of Bo's (who she also allegedly also slept with, but  for a mere $1 million in this case). 


Zhang has vehemently denied the allegations and in all likelihood, the story is merely rumor since there's apparently no proof. There is also good reason to be suspicious of this rumor since Zhang, although the most internationally known Chinese actress, has proven to be less popular in China and has been the subject of quite a few slanderous rumors. There's also no shortage of Chinese people fed up with corruption by government officials and Bo Xilai therefore makes a very attractive target to vent on (especially since the CCP has arrested him).


While Zhang certainly looks good in this photo, $1.5 million seems a bit pricey to me, but of course I'm in a much different income-level than Bo Xilai and I guess some men are willing to pay just about anything for beauty, fame and their own ego.

Jul 15, 2012

Scenic Yangshuo

Sunday, July 15, 2012
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Several years ago, I visited the town of Yangshuo which is part of Guilin, located in Guanxi Province of southern China. Yangshuo is famous for its scenery, especially the karst peaks. Many visitors to Yangshuo come from Guilin by boat along the scenic Li River which is a great way to travel and enjoy the Chinese countryside.

Like many scenic areas in China, Yangshuo has become a popular tourist attraction and has sadly become overly commercialized. The main streets are packed with shops and vendors selling highly overpriced items of all sorts to naive tourists. Even those smart enough to bargain for prices are still likely to get gouged (I tried to buy a few souvenir gifts, but gave up after about 20 minutes of bargaining to little avail since the vendor's starting price was ridiculously high). 

In addition to the countryside scenery (and ripoff shopping experience if you're into that), another fun thing to do is attend an outdoor performance called Impression Liu Sanjie which was co-produced by famous Chinese film director Zhang Yimou. The performance is an incredible experience, with the audience seated in front of a river and mountain. Most of the show is acted out by about 600 singers and dancers on the water with the mountain providing the background. 
Here's YouTube clip of part of the Liu Sanjie show
Yangshuo isn't one of the best known places in China and its quite a distance for most foreign visitors who stick to Beijing, Shanghai and other more northern oriented cities, but its certainly worth a short visit if you're in Guilin (which makes a nice sidetrip from Hong Kong or Shenzhen).