This is clever. So a few years ago Google enters China and is put under a global grilling lamp on whether or not it will adhere to local laws regarding censorship and its search results. Don’t Be Evil held for a little while, but 300+ million Chinese Internet users was bound to make anyone check …Read More
In October of 2010, I was invited to take a welcome break from my life on the hamster wheel that is Shanghai, and visit Jinhua’s famous Taoist temple and caves. I was very excited by this invitation, partly because of my interest in Taoism and its place in Chinese culture, and partly because I had …Read More
“You need to understand,” Walter said, lighting a cigarette. “Chinese love is real love.” “And American love isn’t?” Nick said. “Western love,” Walter said, “is not real love. Not in the Chinese sense. It’s not. Their love is deeper, truer.” “Yeah,” Nick said, “I can see what you mean.” He could too. One night at …Read More
Chinese authorities have stopped the issuance of permits for foreign travel to Tibet due to chilly weather and over-crowding. Probably has nothing to do with this. People’s Daily: The temporary measures on restricting foreign tourists to Tibet were mainly due to the current cold winter weather, limited accommodation capacity and safety concerns, a high-ranking official …Read More
I’ve been enjoying my past few months of being a new Android user; but residing in China entails some frustrations and difficulties in getting the most out of your Google-powered smartphone – especially with regards a lack of paid apps support, and some popular apps missing from the Chinese version of the Android market. Here …Read More
I was the first of my friends to jump on the man-bag fashion-wagon. Despite the constant “murse-wearing” ribbing I took, and the defensive protests that it’s not a “European carryall“; there’s no denying the practicality of not having to load all your modern man-gear into your pockets. That is to say, I’m quite open to …Read More
… He died an old man in a cold Chinese hospital an entire hemisphere removed from everyone and everything he had ever known. Surrounded by strangers, he couldn’t even have read his own obituary.Read More
There are no shortage of ways to trip yourself up in the emotionally saturated mire where animal cruelty meets cultural relativism. I’m usually happy to leave such mine fields alone, but rare is the opportunity for me to talk about my homeland, my nowland, and clubbing baby seals all in one breath. This past week …Read More
I had an English class once where this girl interrupted me to ask what I thought of Japan, and without waiting for an answer, proceeded to tell me that Japan had killed many Chinese people, that they hated China, they were jealous of China. Then she went into Korea. Korea “stole our culture”. You’d think imitation the sincerest form of flattery, but not this girl.
I didn’t know what to say. On one hand, listening to this recorded message, it dawned on me that I was 12,000 miles away from everyone and everything I had ever known…and that according to some people, this, this, blind allegiance, blatant censorship, and self-checking all in the name of “harmony”…this is the next superpower.
On the other hand, she was speaking. I take what I can get.Read More
Usually I love living in China, thirstily drinking the kool-aid that this place is changing for the better, improving a little bit every day. Sure it has its warts, but compared to 5 years ago, 15 years ago, 35 years ago… it’s definitely improving — right? Then Youtube gets blocked, Facebook and Twitter follow, as …Read More
Back in 2008 I added a new feature to Lost Laowai called the “China Blog Network”, with the simple premise of creating a Webring for China blogs. Membership consistently grew over the next year and a half, but the script that was handling the CBN was beginning to buckle under the pressure. Wanting a more …Read More
After the blast that was sepatakraw and field hockey, I knew that I needed more. Â The games were only around for two weeks, and when else would I get the chance? I mean, I don’t exactly have plans to move to London for 2012, or Rio for 2016. Â So I set out for more tickets, …Read More
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