Taxicab Confession

Though this is being posted much later, the events recounted in this piece took place one week after the Sichuan Earthquake, on 19 May, 2008. On that day the flags were flying at half mast, a three-day ban on public entertainment had begun, and a three-minute moment of silence, beginning at 2:28 in the afternoon, was asked of the entire nation. Those in cars blared their horns with the air raid sirens to symbolize a wail of grief. For more background... Read More

On The Run

Fan Meizhong is one of China’s most infamous people. Much like Sharon Stone and real estate tycoon Wang Shi, “Running Fan” has been mercilessly chided in the Chinese blogosphere since his conduct during the earthquake became public. A teacher in Dujiangyan city, he fled his classroom before any of his students had a chance to leave when the earthquake struck. Although the official line is that his school fired him, it is obvious... Read More

The Apology

In my previous post about the karma fiasco, I remarked tongue-in-cheek that we should boycott Sharon Stone’s movies. Well apparently that is becoming a reality, which reinforces my belief that one day satire will no longer be necessary because the world itself will have become a farce. Read More  Read More

Stone Cold

I’m not in the habit of posting YouTube videos but this one warrants some discussion. Let me address potential criticisms first: I know celebrities are not reliable sources on politics. I know celebrities say stupid things—in fact, some even seem to be in the business of saying stupid things. And yes, if you’ll allow me an ad hominem attack, it is ridiculous for a woman whose initial claim to fame was flashing her vagina on film to... Read More

Nobody to Blame

Many are surprised by the Chinese government’s open response to the quake disaster. They laud the government for having what seems to be an almost miraculous reversal of policy compared to other natural disasters—in 1976, the Chinese tried to suppress news of the Tangshan earthquake that killed 240,000 people. It covered up the Yellow River floods of the last decade, the SARS epidemic of several years ago, and the railway crash of this year.... Read More