A media activist, researcher and educator currently based in Hong Kong. My Twitter account is @oiwan and personal views are published on: patreon.com/oiwan
Latest posts by Oiwan Lam from April, 2011
China: Farmer Hangs Himself in Desperation
Olivia from ChinaHush reports on the vulnerable situation Chinese farmers are facing in the market. A recent incident has been the suicide of a 39 year-old farmer, Han Jin.
China: Centennial Celebration of Tsinghua University
Jing Gao from the Ministry of Tofu explains how the centennial celebration of Tsinghua University turns political.
China: Poem Dedicated to Lobsang Tsepak
High Peaks Pure Earth has translated a poem by Woeser dedicated to Lobsang Tsepak, a monk of Kirti Monastery, Ngaba, who was studying at Beijing's Central University for Nationalities and was arrested on March 25, 2011 for unclear reasons.
China: Come-and-go of Confucius
Jing Gao from the Ministry of Tofu explains the political implications of the appearance and disappearance of the sculpture of Confucius in Tiananmen Square.
China: Changing Pork into Beef
Fauna from ChinaSMACK looks into the latest food security scandal on beef extract addictive which can turn pork into beef.
China: Massive Strike by Truck Drivers at Shanghai Ports
Kenneth Tan from Shanghaiist posts photos and reports on the massive strike by truck drivers against rising fuel prices and higher handling fees charged by Shanghai ports.
China: Rescuing Dogs
Jing Gao from The Ministry of Tofu has summarized some micro-blog discussions on the recent dog rescuing action in Beijing.
China: The Murder Case of Yao Jiaxin
Over the past few months, the cold-blooded murder of a young woman, Zhang Miao, by affluent music student Yao Jiaxin, has been the most heated topic on the Chinese Internet. On the eve of the verdict in the murder trial, propaganda authorities have demanded that all media outlets use the Xinhua report as their only news source, as well as to monitor all related online discussions.
China: College mistress “price list” exposed
Chiafu Chen from Ministry of Tofu has translated a forum post from MOP about the exposure of college mistress “price list” and contract.
How China reports the Arab world
David Bandurski from China Media Project has translated al-Jazeera‘s chief correspondent, Ezzat Shahrour's excellent blog post raising questions on Chinese media's reports on the Arab world.
China: Clearing Urban Centers of ‘Unwanted’ People
From early 2011, major cities in China have started cleaning up "dangerous" and "low-end" elements of their populations. The proposal on "population control" was firstly introduced in the People's Congress held in Beijing in January 2011. It suggested that in the coming five years, the Chinese capital has to repress population growth; it has been estimated that more than 700,000 people living in the old city will be relocated to the city outskirts.
China: Dumping Meat
Ministry of Tofu posts a series of photos showing how Shuanghui Group, China’s largest meat processor, dumped tons of meat products, including ham sausages, into a huge pit it excavated and fills it with chemicals to destroy them after the food security scandal.
China: The Real Threat
C Custer from China Geeks points out that the real tension in China is between the privileged and the non-privileged classes.
China: Netizens’ Interpretation of Indecent Sculpture
Sophie from ChinaSMACK translated Chinese netizens’ interpretation of an indecent sculpture in Guilin city.
China: Cleaning Up Shenzhen
Mary Ann O'Donnell blogs about the recent urban cleansing movement in Shenzhen, which has rid 80,000 “dangerous people” out of Shenzhen city. While most of the mainstream media praised the city government's effort, critical voices can only be found in Weibo.
China: What Happened to Chinese Facebook Users on April 5, 2011
Shanghaiist found out from Social Bakers that on April 5, about 40% (250,000) of Chinese Facebookers disappeared.
China: Netizens’ Comments on Food Safety
China Geek translated some Chinese netizens’ comments on food safety.
China: Privilege Zone
Mary Ann O'Donnell has translated an essay on “Why is creating SEZs a logical fraud? The “Special Economic Zones (SEZs)” was designed as a testing ground for reforming and opening China. However, the article argues that it is a privilege zone for multinationals to explore workers.
Zhao Lianhai: we will not be silent
China Media Project has translated Chinese activist Zhao Lianhai's video calls for the release of Ai Weiwei and other Chinese dissidents who have been jailed and detained in recent months. Zhao is a victim of the 2008 poisoned milk scandal and has been sentenced to 2.5 years for “provoking social...
China: No More Time Travel Drama
The Chinese censor machine is not happy about time-travel drama, saying that it disrespects history. ChinaHush has translated the local news about the banning of the TV genre by the General Bureau of Radio, Film and Television.
China: Love the Future
China Digital Times has translated a number of netizens’ support messages for Ai Weiwei. Many Chinese netizens build their messages by including a phrase, “Love the Future,” which looks and sounds very similar to Ai Weiwei’s name in their microblogs.
