Execution of British National
On December 29, 2009, China executed by lethal injection Akmal Shaikh, a British national convicted of smuggling 9 pounds of heroin into the country, despite repeated pleas for clemency due to Shaikh’s history of mental disturbance. Is this due process, or China defiant in the face of Western pressure? Lack of human rights, or cultural imperialism? Added to all this is the historical resonance of Britain, China, and drugs. — Fenwick... Read More
Year-end Check Up
Karl Marx famously postulated that capitalism was a step on the road to socialism, but looking at the world today, one gets the impression that the road goes both ways. In America, a country that ostensibly sees life as an unalienable right, the battle over universal health care rages on, framed correctly but maliciously as a step toward socialism. But China, the only major “socialist” power left in the world, has seen the crumbling... Read More
Race Relations in China
Two things I saw this week made me think about prevailing race relations in China. First, the music video for American-made Chinese pop star Chloe Wang’s debut single “Uh Oh”. And secondly this headline article on CNN’s homepage about an aspiring mixed-race singer from Shanghai named Lou Jing. Chloe Wang, China's next big thing? Chloe Wang is an American in every sense of the word. She hails from Chicago, her father is Chinese, and her... Read More
Obama’s Trip to China
President Barack Obama recently completed a three-day tour of China as part of his week-long Asia trip. He held a town hall meeting with students in Shanghai and visited the Great Wall and the Forbidden City between meetings with Chinese leadership in Beijing. What can we glean about the future of these two countries based on his visit? — J.R. Siegel Every time an American President meets with a Chinese leader, there is an expectation that,... Read More
China: America’s New BFF
Yes, We Can Do It! Obama’s town hall in Shanghai pleased me greatly. His silver tongue was on full display in appeasing the Chinese with conciliatory praise and refined humility. Humility, a word I would rarely associate with American politicians, is an extremely important trait in Asian cultures. He was not forceful, he was not arrogant, and he was the first to point out America’s hypocrisies. I think that this was something the Chinese wanted... Read More
Chinese Students Shocked, Appalled at Obama’s Town Hall Meeting
Wang Zhuchen, a student in international relations at Fudan University, said he was surprised — and also impressed — to hear the U.S. president talk of his family and children. A Chinese leader, he said, would never discuss anything personal in public. Wang, a Party member, quickly added that this did not reflect badly on Chinese leaders but merely their “different traditions and culture.” - Washington Post SHANGHAI – Chinese... Read More
Expats to Street Food Vendors: “The Jig Is Up”
Foreigners outside metro stops citywide have been seen walking off in a huff, outraged by what seems to be an outbreak of race-related overcharging. “This is ludicrous,” muttered Daniel McKay of Portland, Oregon, rummaging through his wallet for another one-yuan note. “I don’t have time for this.” “Dwoh-shaow chee-yen?” McKay asked again, then leaned in and asked louder, forcing the baozi vendor to resort... Read More
Californication and the Age Illusion
Riffing on a concept here: When the first wave of American film studios set up shop in Los Angeles a century ago, one of the benefits (besides evading the clutches of Thomas Edison’s patent-enforcement goons) was the area’s diverse set of looks and locales. Deserts, forests, beaches, grasslands – you could find it all within an hour of the city. And since one of the basic laws of movie magic is that with enough money you can make... Read More
The Amazing And Spectacular Antics of the Roundeye
Imagine, if you will, flipping through channels and coming to a rest on this: a Chinese, an Arab, and an African man are facing off in a contest of English. The next question: “A _____ by any other name would smell as sweet?” *BZZT* “Frower!” says the Chinese guy. The audience groans in disappointment. Next up: the talent portion. The African announces proudly that he will sing the classic American ballad, “Love... Read More
Who Owns the Paracel Islands?
In the South China Sea there are a group of tiny, uninhabited islands known to the western world as the Paracel Islands (Quan Dao Hoang Sa in Vietnamese and Xisha Qundao in Chinese). The archipelago lies roughly 200 miles from the nearest mainland shore, equidistant from Vietnamese and Chinese coastlines, and is delineated into two groups: the Amphitrite group in the northeast and the Crescent group in the southwest. In total the geographic region... Read More
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