I wrote before about Internet memes following the Wenzhou train collision. It’s no surprise that this incident has spawned another wave of Internet jokes.

This duilian (traditional Chinese couplet) which involves a bit of Chinglish, has been retweeted over 27,000 times:

Top: “Subway, railway, highway, way way to die.”
Bottom: “Officer, announcer, investigater [sic], word word to lie.”

A commenter suggested that the top scroll for this couplet should be: “Welcome to China.”

A funnier, though less retweeted joke comes from akid, the editor of Dongxi.net who kindly translated Fenwick Smith’s article about Let the Bullets Fly into Chinese. See how many references you get:

National Day Vacation Guide:

1. If you’re riding the fast train or the high speed and encounter stormy weather, get off immediately.

2. If you’re riding a regular train, do not anger the staff.

3. If you get to Beijing, you must make sure to ascertain whether those traveling or living with you are appealing to a higher court.

4. If you are a good person, please bring with you a contract. If you see an old person who has fallen, make them sign the contract saying that they fell of their own accord before helping them.

5. When driving, be extra careful around Audis and BMWs.

The list corresponds to the Wenzhou train accident, a passenger beaten to death on a Shenzhen train by train staff members, a Beijing tourist who was beaten after being mistaken for a petitioner, an old woman who sued a young man that tried to help her, and the Wang Shuo and Li Tianyi scandals, respectively.

It’s been a funny year in China. Hope you had a safe and enjoyable National Day.

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 and needed to hear from an American leader.

Past U.S. presidents have taken a hard line with China: criticizing them for human rights violations, scrutinizing their currency manipulation, decrying domestic territorial disputes. Though I, and I think most Americans, would agree with the criticisms, the message that ends up coming across is infuriating to the Chinese: arrogant white Americans yelling at China for sins they themselves committed in the past. They did not take the time to hear China’s side of the story; they did not respect the country. “What gives America the right to tell China how to act? Mind your own damn business!”

What Obama is doing is befriending the Chinese. And friendship is the first step towards progress. Instead of telling China they need to treat their women better, he points out that the U.S. also has some antiquated views on women’s rights. Instead of telling China to reduce greenhouse gases, he challenges both our countries to improve. This is diplomacy 101.

Obama, in wax form.

An antagonistic attitude breeds resentment and halts discourse. A conciliatory approach shows respect, patience, and diligence. This time around the Chinese are thinking: “Obama is humble. As he should be. He recognizes that America does not have all the answers. The U.S. does have a larger carbon footprint per capita than China, but maybe we can work together to solve our problems.”

It remains to be seen whether such an approach will prove fruitful. It is true that Obama risks appearing weak, even losing face, by kowtowing to China. The forum was censored throughout the country, reached a small percentage of the population, and was largely staged. But I think that by bringing up issues, not through attacks on Chinese policy but by grouping the U.S. and China as allies, Obama has a much greater chance of influencing China’s leaders.

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 students in Shanghai were shocked, appalled, incredulous, and generally uncomfortable at President Obama’s town hall meeting yesterday afternoon.

The audience, made up of carefully-screened students from several Shanghai universities, was stunned that a head of state could have a personality and speak to them as if they were real people. “We expected to be addressed en masse like subjects,” said Jiaotong University student Wang Jiabo. “I didn’t think he would look at or acknowledge us. It was incredibly alienating.”

21-year-old electrical engineering student and Communist Party member Liu Huajian was “absolutely mortified” that a head of state would deign to talk about his personal feelings. “I thought he was going to ignore us, plaster on a smile, and remain motionless for the duration of the hour but instead he harangued us endlessly about his feelings. Has he no shame?”

Students exiting the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum where the event was held noted that the American president looked “oddly human” when he took the stage and that Obama appeared comical standing on a low stage holding a microphone while taking questions from the audience. One student wondered, “I don’t understand. He’s the president. Why wasn’t he pontificating from the top of a tall gate erected in his honor or before an over-sized portrait of himself?”

Many were confused as to why a political figure would voluntarily interact with citizens not as part of a PR campaign after a natural disaster or a photo opportunity with children with balloons.

Zhang Yun, a third-year Fudan University student, expressed dismay at how ill-prepared Obama was. “He didn’t even have a sheaf of paper from which he could read from slowly and laboriously in a monotone. It’s like he wasn’t even trying.”

Students were not the only ones disappointed. Xiao Yang, a political commentator on state radio, described the event as “maudlin and unprofessional,” noting the distinct lack of interminable lists and empty platitudes.

In the end, it seemed that Obama was unable to please anyone. Shanghai residents took umbrage that streets around the museum were shut down. Said one local, “Some American decides to have a little show and tell and our streets get shut down. And for what? I couldn’t find coverage of it anywhere.”