Archive
September 2, 2005
Previously-Shanghai-based Dutch journalist Fons Tuinstra's latest entry is an instant classic. No wonder people just give the man money to run around the world making podcasts and writing articles about China:
Long, long time ago, there were only two classes: the poor and the rich. Then, at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century the poor developed this nasty habit of beating the shit out of the rich every now and then. Some people called this a 'class struggle', but that word has been now become defunct because the rich came up with this beautiful idea of redefining the poor into the middle class. It was very un-middle class to beat the shit out of the rich, since the middle class people were a little bit rich themselves.
The my Chinese friends do not want to be middle class, they want to be rich
quote at the end is a real zinger, too.
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September 3, 2005
Some activists need to take courses in critical thinking and logic before they open their mouths to the media and do more harm than help to their cause. In the latest example, the Free Tibet campaign's Alison Reynolds in London make the following statement:
"Whatever new measures China comes up with to enhance Tibet's so-called autonomy or however much money China spends in Tibet, the Tibetan people will not be satisfied until there is political change which will give them genuine control of their own affairs," she said.
Since the autonomous region government was established, she pointed out, no Tibetan has held the most powerful position of regional party secretary. All have been Han Chinese.
OK, so first you make a statement implying that democracy, ie "genuine control" for the Tibetans, is the only acceptable outcome, and then you backtrack and say "and even if the Chinese are right, it's not so great" that a Tibetan has never held such and such a post. Huh? Decide which side you're on and stick to it!
Happens all the time. Look for it.
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September 13, 2005
My Daughter, Election Day, and the LDP:
Many expats send their kids to Japanese preschools so that they'll learn Japanese. Most (if they can afford it) pull the kids out after preschool and send them to international schools. Usually it's because they want their kids to be socialized in a way that matches the culture of the parents (if possible).
As for us, we intend to send our kids to Japanese school through elementary school at least. My wife is Japanese, so we want our kids to learn the language, including writing, and the culture to an extent. We'll have to decide when and if to put them in an international school. In an ideal world, maybe you'd let the kids decide for themselves what culture they'll be. But, in reality, the parents have to make key decisions while the kids are still quite young that will impact their future cultural identities.
The longer I think about it, the more I wonder whether parents with a proper bi-cultural perspective couldn't guide their kid through an Asian-style education without letting them get too acculturated by the local teaching style.
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September 15, 2005
From the BLUG mailing list:
Richard Stallman (aka RMS), the father of GNU, FSF, and Free and Open Source Software, is on a trip around China and will stop over to talk to the BLUG this coming Saturday, September 17th at Steak & Eggs at 17:00. (See http://www.cityweekend.com.cn/en/beijing/venues/Steak%20and%20Eggs for venue information)
He will talk from 17:00 to 18:00, and will most likely stay for dinner later. You're welcome to eat before or after the talk.
See ya there!
Lucky bums! We need a user group in Shanghai... (and the next day, this e-mail gets two responses, both from Shanghai-area Linux enthusiasts wondering if RMS will make it to their city. I win!)
From Sam Ruby's entry on his visit to Sri Lanka:
By Sri Lankan standards, Colombo is a fairly young city, with few buildings more than two to three hundred years old. The place where I gave my tutorial showed many signs of British colonial architecture. In the US such places are rare, and restored. Here they aren’t considered particularly old or rare, instead they are commonplace, and lived in.
I never thought of it like that, but Shanghai is this way too...
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September 16, 2005
Why does a Google Blogsearch for 上海 turn up so many Japanese weblog? And why are 90% of indexed Chinese-language weblogs hosted on MSN Spaces? Anyhow, through Blogsearch found a couple of neat Chinese language posts. First, a post on how callous the Shanghainese can be towards the poor and homeless, with this traditional poem attached:
有人说，如果是一个穷人，
那就在印度做一个穷人，
千万不要在中国做一个穷人。
在印度做一个穷人，
可以睡在皇宫前的台阶上，
警察不许赶你走，
没有人可以把你随便抓起来，
你有基本的安全和尊严。
而在中国，
要做一个穷人，
比死还难受。
Some people say, if you must be poor,
Then go to India to be poor,
But never in a million years consider being poor in China.
A poor person in India
Can sleep on the doorsteps of palaces,
The police won't make you go away,
Nobody can arrest you indiscriminately,
So you have your basic safety and security.
But in China,
If you're going to be poor,
You'll find it's worse than being dead.
And then second, another person complaining about higher metro ticket prices. And they do calculations! Hooray for numbers! And some interesting news:
钱耀忠介绍说：“从11月份起，我们将对使用公共交通卡的常乘客实行优惠。即在一个自然月内，凡刷卡乘坐轨道交通票款值满70元，超出70元后的票价打9折，就是将获得10%的折扣优惠。”
除此之外，今年年底前上海将完成站点“一票通”改造，到那时乘客们在同一站体的枢纽站换乘时，就能够买一次票，乘距连续计算，这样的话，乘客换乘不仅能够更加方便，乘车的成本也会随之降低。
So starting in November if you use your swipe card for more than RMB 70 in a single month you will get 10% off further ticket purchases. Which is a pittance in my opinion. The other news is that by the end of the year there will be a single ticketing system for riding the light rail and metro. That will be more convenient, and supposedly cheaper.
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September 21, 2005
The first report out of Beijing on computer visionary Richard Stallman's visit:
2005.9.16
今天上午，Richard Stallman在中科院软件所作演讲，题目是 Copyright VS Community in the Age of Computer Networks。我只是昨晚在水木得到的消息，当然不能错过了。我七点多起床，九点钟第一个到了报告厅门口，一个人也没有。说是十点的演讲，但是九点半了报告厅的门才打开，之前我们先来的还怕rms不来了呢。rms进来时候，才稀稀拉拉坐了十来个人。
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September 23, 2005
Score one for Shanghai! Through the Oriental-List comes a perfectly reasonable suggestion:
Sameach asked about traveling solo in China—
Yes, and Peter just answered most of your questions. I would add one thing. I would skip Hong Kong if possible and fly directly into Shanghai. Hong Kong is too commercial, too expensive, and too time consuming. Go directly to Shanghai. See the vestiges of the Jewish community and one of the last two synagogues in China. View the video that the caretaker (Chinese man who speaks perfect English) will show you and visit the museum adjoining. Walk around the neighborhood. Enjoy Shanghai and all it offers.
Still, that doesn't mean I'm not looking forward to my visa run. For long-time Shanghai residents, a trip to Hong Kong can be that comforting reminder of home without the cost of an trans-Pacific plane ticket.
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September 26, 2005
Ms Pitt on the Oriental-List has a great grasp on what it means to speak a foreign language when you are travelling:
Do not be afraid to say these short sentences in chinese. While a
normal Chinese person may not understand them, a ticket agent will,
because the ticket agent is only expecting you to say one of a few
things. So, learn how to pronounce pinyin more or less, and you will
be fine in these encounters. Do not be afraid of Chinese because you
think you are tone-deaf. Chinese people are not dumb and so if you
ask (even with a poor accent) a ticket agent about tickets or a hotel
manager clerk about hotel room prices, they will very likely understand.
And then just repeat yourself.
In fact, her whole e-mail on upgrading train tickets is priceless information for the China traveller.
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