Stories about Chinese from April, 2009
Mexico and Hong Kong: Fears over the fatal swine flu virus
I know I cannot affect your decision, but I understand your feeling at this moment as we are all Hong Kong people now on exchange in Mexico…..I really believe….we should leave now!!
China: A citizen campaign to reveal the forgotten dead
从车上下来的高举冲锋枪的警察高喊“把手举起来，原地不要动”这个只有大片中才有的场景让我有些不知所措。 The police rushing down from the car with a sub machine gun at hand shouted at me, ‘put your hands up, freeze!’ It was so astonishing a scene that I had only seen at American blockbuster. In his blog, Li Peifeng so recalled his encounter with the police in...
China: Tracking swine flu on Twitter
Swine flu for China so far is a chance to reflect [zh] on how SARS was prevented from becoming a pandemic, and the steps being taken now in Mexico and elsewhere. Wang Jiadong has a post [zh] looking at how social media have been used to track the spread of...
China: Peking University Humiliated
Veteran Party member and man of letters Ren Yanfang has spoken out [zh] online about the fate of an anthology set to commemorate the 110th anniversary of the founding of Peking University, in the spirit of the May Fourth Movement. Involving 188 high-profile academics and administrators, preparations began in 2004;...
China: Who is Siemen's Man in China?
Tword last week that a ban had been sent down on any reporting of the Siemens bribery case led netizens to realize that the case involves someone in China, and the growing [zh] consensus seems to rest on Jiang Zemin's son, Jiang Mianheng. ProPublica is still looking to name names.
Taiwan: “Luc Besson, you find the wrong guy”
TEIC(Taiwan Environmental Information Center) criticize French director Luc Besson‘s decision to invite Hau Lung-pin, the Mayor of Taipei City, to dub his latest documentary film about environment while Hau is actually a tree killer and nature destroyer(zh).
Jackie Chan: Chinese need control
“I'm mot sure if it's good to have freedom or not, I'm really confused now. If there is too much freedom, like the way Hong Kong is today, it is very chaotic; Taiwan is also chaotic. I'm gradually beginning to feel that we Chinese need to be controlled.” – Jackie...
China: Our right to be spared from fear
Blogger Lan Xiaohuan （兰小欢）, in his post ‘Bitter Smile’, reflects on how a nation permeated with fear has muzzled people's voice. Lamenting that the cost to claim the rights of a citizen is getting higher today, he also lampooned the infusing fear that crushes people's courage and love, concluding that...
Global Recession: The world is talking. Are we listening?
There is no lack of online articles about the various aspects of the global economic crisis. Many of them are written by economic experts and policymakers. What about the perspectives of ordinary bloggers? This global roundup of blogs gathers stories of people around the world who are struggling to survive the economic downturn.
China: Dialogue with Anti-CNN
On Monday (11 April), Rebecca MacKinnon, Global Voices Online co-founder and former CNN journalist, was interviewed by core members of Anti-CNN website. This is a significant event as the Anti-CNN website was launched to counter the western media's (represented by CNN) reports on the Tibetan unrest and crackdown in May...
Taiwan: If You Lost Your Job…
What would you feel if you are fired, your small business goes bankrupt, or you simply cannot find any way to make a living? In this most disastrous moment of economic downturn, many Taiwanese are losing their jobs and helplessly waiting for for all the dreadful news to stop. Some begin to blame themselves for being unemployed.
China: protest on children being kidnapped
Over 100 parents protested in Dong Guan to express the grief of losing their children. They complaint that their kids were kidnapped. The banner they held reads: ‘we are selling all we have to raise 10 million as reward of finding back our children’. It is said that since 2007...
China: Underage prostitution ring sparks public indignation
Teenage girls in high schools and even primary schools, being coaxed or threatened, were turned into prostitutes that serve local officials and teachers. The exposure of the entire prostitution ring in Xishui, Guizhou reveals the image of both moral and administrative degeneration of a Chinese town.
China: Psychiatry with Chinese characteristics
Peking University Law Professor specialized in forensics, Sun Dongdong, told China News Weekly on March 23 that 99% of China's petitioners (zh) are mentally ill and that he support for forced hospitalization of them. Update (April 8, 2009 @ 8:00): Internet monitor center issued a notice to webmasters of portals...
Taiwan: Preserving memories of Losheng
The action of saving the Losheng Sanatorium is not as successful as many people hoped. Many buildings in the sanatorium are being taken apart and taken away. However, many people keep caring about the people who have spent most of their life in the sanatorium. The Japanese frottage artist, Masao Okabe heard the story about the Losheng Sanatorium, and he decided to hold a frottage workshop to help people preserve their memory of Losheng.
Taiwan: Dancing with the glass eels
The adult eels live in rivers. During the reproduction season in summer, they swim downstream toward the deep sea thousands miles away (besides Philippine and the Mariana Islands) to lay their eggs. The eel larvae drift with the North Equatorial Current toward Philippine. They then drift with the Kuroshio toward north. Therefore, we can see people in different countries catch elvers along the way of the Kuroshio: Philippine, Taiwan, and Japan.
China: China-France communiqué and G20, a glorious defeat?
Chinese president Hu Jintao and French leader Sarkozy met ahead of the G2O summit on 1 April to repair the ties damaged since last year, when the torch relay was disrupted in Paris and President Sarkozy met with the Dalai Lama in spite of China's opposition. China and France unveiled...
Taiwan: Ganbade, Taiwanese Baseball Players in Japan
Today is the first day of a new baseball season in Japan Professional Baseball League(Nippon Pro Yakyu), 天聲禧語(Heavenly voices and joyful words) lists all Taiwanese baseball players playing in Japan and cheers them on.
About our Chinese coverage
Oi wan Lam is the North East Asia editor. Email her story ideas or volunteer to write.
