Archive for August, 2011

The Blue Devils come to town

August 23rd, 2011 by Johanna | Leave comments | Filed in China, Life, USA! USA!

Two-and-a-half years after I saw them last play in person, the Dookies still stir up some feeling of contempt and hatred within me. There they were last night, a whole new class of players, in Beijing of all places! I wore a white top with a light blue skirt and proudly stuck a Tarheel sticker on my cheek. Maybe a hundred Duke alum congregated at Wukesong Arena to cheer on their alma mater, which was playing in a series of friendly matches between U.S. universities and Chinese professional teams. Another large group of UNC supporters also showed up for their chance to root for whoever isn’t Duke. In this case, it was the Chinese Olympic team. All I have to say is, zhong guo jia you!

Alas, wow, Chinese professional athletes are pretty bad. I mean, they seemed slow and a little confused against the Duke players. They were also sloppy: more than once, a Duke player just poked the ball out of a Chinese player’s hands while he was deciding his next move. And as much as I don’t want to admit it, the Dookies were a very athletic team with a good chemistry. Lots of theatrical dunks and alley-oops for the crowd, which gobbled them up with generous applause. There was a time when Duke was up 13-3 and another time, a short time after the first time, when it was up 28-6. But China did battle back, coming to within three points in the third quarter. But they lost 93-78.

Of course, what everyone was hoping for didn’t happen. My friends and I were sitting nearer to the top, 24 rows back from the court, so we couldn’t hear what was going on, on the court. But according to a friend of a friend, who works for a U.S. broadcaster, there were cursing, dirty looks and rage, especially on the part of one Coach K. There also were, like in the Georgetown/Bayi match, an unusually high number of fouls called, especially on Duke. In the end, the only heckling came from us, when during a quieter period, we resorted to college antics and yelled a two-word phrase containing a curse word and “Duke.” And lest anyone take us too seriously, trash-talking is just a light-hearted way to stir up one of the country’s greatest rivalries in sports. It’s fun.

Speaking of light-heartedness, what’s up with the video game sound effects they use? A made free throw provokes a sound reminiscent of Mario getting a gold coin on Super NES or leveling up. A three-point attempt gets a pheeeeewoooop swooshy sound. And then, during play, they blasted snippets of random songs. They included Jibbs’s “Chain Hang Low” and — I’m not kidding — a sort of techno’d version of “If You’re Happy and You Know It.” Now I wonder if this is something they do at all matches, or just these friendlies, to you know, make it seem friendly.

Signs of life!

August 17th, 2011 by Johanna | Leave comments | Filed in China, Food, Life

At some point last week, I peered into my basil pot and saw that the soil was all dry and had receded. I mean, the soil line was, like, a good inch lower than it was when I first filled the pot. I’m not really sure why.

I panicked. I was so busy keeping the temperature constant that I’d forgotten to water my plant! So I swooped up the pot and ran to the kitchen sink and blasted the tiny, helpless seeds with water. Ugh. Now there were water holes in the soil, and I’d flooded the seeds. There really is something wrong with me. Dismayed, I tried to smooth out the soil with my fingers and un-bury my future basil plants.

Then, on Sunday, seven days after I’d sowed the seeds, I tentatively peered into the cup. I thought I was seeing things! So I put on my glasses and looked again. Something’s totally growing in there! Look:

One week old.

I did it! I got something to grow! My killer green thumb is now doing the opposite. Onto the next step. Something about selecting the stronger-looking ones and getting rid of the pussies. Right. When am I supposed to do that?

Another petty shot from China

August 10th, 2011 by Johanna | Leave comments | Filed in China, Current Events, Media, Reflections

Oh, China, you’re never too quick to point out the hypocrisy of Western media. First, when Rupert Murdoch was getting grilled by Parliament, you pointed out how the News of the World hacking scandal showed that freedom of the press in the West was all a farce. And now, according to you, the Western media is once again showing its bias by calling the London riots, well, “riots” — instead of a “revolution.” In the Global Times:

If it had happened somewhere else, the chaos would have been given a name, such as “chrysanthemum revolution.”  Instead, it was described as overnight violence followed by looting in local media.

The Chinese could provide much needed criticism of the West, but their arguments often fall flat. They miss the point and employ twisted (imaginary) logic that highlights their misunderstandings of Western society (including laws, political systems and culture) rather than enlighten the reader with an alternative appraisal of the West.

For example:

Violence similar to that which London experienced at the weekend can be found in many other places, from Africa to China.

From this premise, the Global Times points out the supposed hypocrisy that the media’s narrative is not focusing on oppression of the demonstrators or framed as people fighting for their rights. It also mentions that British media is not concerned about ethnic tensions or the riots’ impact on authority — traditional narratives employed when recent riots/demonstrations occurred in other countries.

But the Global Times never takes a more nuanced look at the riots in London and how they might differ from the Arab uprisings and the numerous daily demonstrations in China. Instead, it automatically lumps them all in the same category because they share similar violent manifestations, which makes Chinese media just as guilty of what they’re accusing Western media of doing and does nothing to improve their own image.

Exercising my green thumb

August 8th, 2011 by Johanna | Leave comments | Filed in China, Food, Life

I’m growing basil. Well, I’m TRYING to grow basil. I have a notorious killer green thumb. I bought this basil pot in, like, February, so I hope it’s still growable. Anyway, now you can follow its progress with me!

Please, please something grow.

Here it is, at planting time. Maybe I should name it? But I’m going to eat it, so maybe not.

The instructions say that basil will begin sprouting after about seven to 10 consecutive days of temperatures between 21 degrees to 25 degrees Celsius. And that’s it! Not very instructive. Unfortunately, it’s about 10 degrees Celsius warmer in Beijing. Does this mean I should turn on the air conditioner to make it a constant 25 degrees? Or will it be OK with the temperature fluctuations? Help! I need advice!

On the Wenzhou train crash

August 1st, 2011 by Johanna | Leave comments | Filed in China, Current Events

Just wanted to make a quick point on the Wenzhou train crash. People are livid, and government — that is CPC — response has never seemed so inadequate or out of touch. Minitruth directives that have been leaked — and to be fair, all governments try to set agendas and frame news coverage, though they are often more delicate about it — reinforce the stereotype that China is shady and the people are blind followers.

But this may become a potential turning point for China’s social reforms. Despite government attempts to frame and kill news coverage (the angle is “In the face of great tragedy, there’s great love”), many media outlets did not follow orders. Via Shanghaiist, the front pages of some city dailies the day after the crash:

Click to enlarge. (Weibo/lishacn)

Over the following week, several notable people in the state media began speaking out, as well, voicing their disapproval and beseeching the government to answer questions.

Finally, after a late Friday night directive that essentially banned any non-positive story that didn’t come from official sources (i.e., a newspaper’s own investigative reporting) and that led to dozens of papers scrapping hundreds of pages, one leading weekly went ahead with their original copy. The front page featured a letter to the “miracle” child, a 2-year-old girl who was found hours after the government had called a stop to the rescue searches. An excerpt, translated by the WSJ’s China Real Time Report:

To live – to live with dignity – is that rainbow you get to see only after suffering through the wind and the rain. Yiyi, when you’re older maybe you’ll realize that dark night of July 23 was when things started to change. After that day, we won’t simply complain, but instead learn how to advocate and act. We understand that we have rights, we respect these rights and are will spare no effort to protect them.

The Internet has revolutionized the way the Chinese interact with their government and arguably has given them a platform to express themselves more freely. It has led to acts of advocacy in such cases as animal welfare and environmental protection. But whether the Weibo fury over the train crash will translate into real “change” and teach the Chinese how to “advocate and act” won’t be known for a few years.