New information on Olympic censorship

I'm not surprised by this article in the New York Times today - the Chinese government loves to censor. The Chinese government originally promised all foreign journalists that they would be able to "report freely" while they're in China reporting on the Olympic games.

Here's a quote from the article:
"Since the Olympic Village press center opened Friday, reporters have been unable to access scores of Web pages — among them those that discuss Tibetan issues, Taiwanese independence, the violent crackdown on the protests in Tiananmen Square and the Web sites of Amnesty International, the BBC’s Chinese-language news, Radio Free Asia and several Hong Kong newspapers known for their freewheeling political discourse."

Now, to someone living in Shanghai - this is not shocking. The government does not want anyone to see anything that might be harmful to the countries "social stability". I hope the government changes their position on censorship for journalists, but I will be very surprised if that actually happens.

This screw up with internet censorship, the pollution in Beijing and all of the visa problems people are having are unfortunately putting a negative light on the Olympic games. Let's see if the government can pull something out of their you know what and turn things around.

Botox and Bridesmaids

Ok, this has nothing to do with China or myself but it's too interesting not to post.

Since I recently got married I know a bit about all the things brides ask their bridesmaids to go through...botox however is not one that I requested.

Check this article out!

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/24/fashion/24skin.html?em&ex=1217044800&en=6daca065fa34f19f&ei=5087%0A

You won't find this in the Chinese news...."hush money for greiving parents"

I'm getting ready to leave to head back to Shanghai, I've been in the USA for the last 2 weeks. I'm trying to get caught up on the news before I head out, luckily SFO has free wifi so I can stay connected literally until I step on the plane.

I just ran across this article on nytimes.com about the earthquake victims in China. I haven't seen too much in the Chinese news about the families of the children who died in schools, but I'm not surprised to see this article running in a western newspaper.

The little bit of information that has been shown in the Chinese news has talked a little bit about the children who died. Many children were in school when the earthquake hit, and many of the schools in the rural areas were not built according to code (for various reasons), or standards for earthquakes, so many of these school totally collapsed killing all of the children inside. I have seen a little bit about the angry parents who learned that the schools were built badly protesting in front of local and regional government offices, but from what I understand the government put a stop to the protests right away. Now it looks like they're trying to pay off the families to get them to stop speaking up about what happened to their children.

Click here to read the New York Times article

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/24/world/asia/24quake.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin

California woman is working to save Nepalese girls by using Piglets!

Click here for a really moving story about a California based woman named Olga Murray has been working to save young Nepalese girls from lives of domestic slavery by using piglets. Shows how something so simple can change so many lives.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/07/22/MNVJ11RHRQ.DTL

Chinese release 8 "don't ask" rules for the Olympics

I just ran across this article about posters that are springing up all over Beijing. Aimed toward the Chinese population, they are the government's 8 "don't ask" rules when talking to foreigners and disabled athletes. They seem pretty logical, but it makes sense. Many Chinese feel very comfortable asking foreigners about their incomes, love life & marriage and will freely comment on your health, etc. I've had to dodge more than one question about my husbands job, what he makes, etc. Just another cultural difference!

Some samples:

"Don’t ask about income or expenses, don’t ask about age, don’t ask about love life or marriage, don’t ask about health, don’t ask about someone’s home or address, don’t ask about personal experience, don’t ask about religious beliefs or political views, don’t ask what someone does. In addition, some general rules for etiquette with handicapped athletes:

1. You should use polite and standard forms of address for handicapped athletes.
2. Try to keep as light as you can with handicapped overtones.
3. Pay attention to how you congratulate handicapped athletes.

Pay attention to avoiding taboo subjects, quit using bad platitudes, and do not use insulting or discriminatory contemptuous or derogatory terms to address the disabled. Say things such as, “You are amazing,” or “You are really great.” When chatting with the visually impaired, do not say things like “It’s up ahead,” or “It’s over there.” When chatting with athletes who are paraplectic in their upper body, do not say things like “It’s behind you.”

French President Not Welcome in China

Looks like French President Sarkozy isn't welcome in China anytime soon. According to this article on Shanghaiist.com today, Chinese are saying "不是“爱来不来”，而是根本“不欢迎你来”！
~ It's not 'Come if you want,' it's basically 'You're not welcome."

The article goes on to say:

"That's the response of Chinese netizens to French President Sarkozy who said he will decide next week whether to attend the opening of the Beijing Olympics, with his choice depending on how talks go between Beijing and the Dalai Lama's envoys this week.

Sarkozy reiterated Monday that the events in Tibet were "not acceptable," but he also warned against angering a power of China's size.

"We absolutely must not push a population of 1.3 billion people into wounded nationalism," he said.

If Sarkozy does come, he may face a hostile crowd who'll be yelling "Va foutre le camp!" (Get outta here!!) According to an online survey by Chinese website Sina, more than 89 percent of the 173,527 respondents do not want Sarkozy to attend the Olympic opening ceremony. Over 88 percent of the surveyed said they found Sarkozy's remarks about China "extremely unfriendly" and "not fit for a leader of a major developed country", while about 10 percent consider his remarks only political rhetoric.

Either way, his presence or absence will be duly noted domestically and internationally with significant consequences. Whether they will be positive or negative, well, that will be very much up to le Président."

Anti-Terrorist Training in China

Here's a photo of Members of China's armed police demonstrate a rapid deployment during an anti-terrorist drill held in Jinan, capital of east China's Shandong Province July 2, 2008, roughly one month ahead of the Beijing Olympics. Click here to see more photos and read more.

http://chinadaily.com.cn/olympics/2008-07/03/content_6816695.htm

A Gay Love Story in China

A Date With Lu Yu《鲁豫有约》is one of the most influential talk shows in China which has been known to constantly push the envelope and to broach topics previously considered too hot to touch. One such episode is the one below which features two homosexual men from the Sichuan Province — who, long before the word "gay" had entered the Chinese lexicon — married each other, adopted a son and have been together for 21 years.

To see the interview click here:

http://shanghaiist.com/2008/06/29/shanghaiist_sunday_show_gay_love_st.php

China Consumer Research

If you're interested in learning more about the China and it's consumers, check out this blog site run by Helen Wang. She's a Chinese native, but lives in the Bay Area, California. I find her thoughts on the rise of the middle class and the spending habits of the Chinese very interesting and informative.

Check her out:
http://helenwang.rdvp.org/pacific/

Shaolin Temple expands it's online store

So, it looks like the Shaolin Temple is going online. Those business savvy monks have started their own online store at taobao.com (Sorry, in Chinese only). Check it out here:

http://store.taobao.com/shop/view_shop-bfd6068fcfcb8f8acb4b1517fb7d005a.htm

Weird Chinese News: Marriage at the Olympics

According to this article, more than 1,000 Chinese couples stood in line for hours to get a marriage license that will allow them to be married on August 8th.

Why? Well, the Chinese believe the number 8 is a lucky number which brings wealth because it sounds like the word "fa" which means "to get wealthy".

To read more click here...

Gay Shanghai?

Yes! China's gay population isn't as "out" there as many other gay communities (for various reasons) but it is here for sure. Every month one of the more popular free publications "City Weekend - Shanghai" has a column specifically dedicated to the gay community. And, in addition often I see postings on Shanghaiist.com like this one:

http://shanghaiist.com/2008/06/19/eye_on_gay_shanghai_chinas_homosexu.php

USA Bush Administration sneaky tactics in Iraq...

Please check these articles out - they outline an agreement the Bush Administration is trying to put together with Iraq.

To give you an idea of what's at stake here's a quote from a recent Al-Jazeera article:

"In particular, Iraqis are fighting a push by the administration of George Bush, the US president, for permanent military bases in the country and for US private security contractors to be given immunity from Iraqi law, Al Jazeera's Ghida Fakhry said."

And a quote from a recent New York Times article:

"WITH only perfunctory debate, the Bush administration is pressuring a divided Iraqi government to approve a security agreement that could haunt Washington’s relations with Baghdad for years to come. The “strategic alliance” that President Bush is proposing eerily resembles, in spirit and in letter, a failed 1930 treaty between Britain and Iraq that prompted a nationalist eruption in Baghdad, a pro-Nazi military coup and a pogrom that foreshadowed the elimination of Baghdad’s ancient Jewish community."

From what I understand, this issue isn't being heavily covered yet by US media, but it's quite serious and could have very significant repercussion's.

To read more:

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/75A72817-67CC-4503-B86C-DE96C61270B9.htm

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/17/opinion/17meyer.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin

http://www.reuters.com/article/featuredCrisis/idUSN04304912

Sex workers and the Olympics?

Call me naive, but I never even thought about sex workers coming to the Olympics, but it makes sense. There will be a HUGE influx of people coming in from all over the world for the events and naturally certain "businesses" would try to take advantage. But, the Beijing police are trying their best to keep any undesirables out of town.

"Last week, the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games released a legal guide that itemized the preferred parameters for foreign visits, and expressly denied entry to certain types of undesirable visitors."

Click here to see the rest of the article from Asia Times Online

Shanghai World Expo 2010

As Beijing prepares for the August Olympic Games to begin - Shanghai is preparing for our own event in 2010, the World Expo. You remember those old pictures of World Expos in the early 1900's, right? Well they're still going on - in fact when I lived in Nagoya, Japan the world expo came to town and it was pretty spectacular. I'm really looking forward to the 2010 Expo in Shanghai!

http://www.expo2010china.com/expo/expoenglish/oe/es/index.html