Rumor has it that Li Changchun was in the building today. Boss informed us this morning that the building elevators would be out of service around 10 a.m. because a very senior official would be visiting. Shortly thereafter, we observed from our sixth floor window an armada of shiny black sedans and SUVs and beige vans parked all alongside our building, as well as an army of police. The lucky site was the floor above us, a mysterious place named China Illegal Internet Information Center, which basically censors the Internet. It also falls under the purview of CIPG, our website’s parent organization. Unfortunately, I did not catch a glimpse of Li, who, as one of the nine members of the Politburo, the cadre of seniors who run China, is the propaganda chief of the Communist Party. Or basically, the one who calls the shots regarding what can or cannot be said, on the internets and elsewhere. He’s so important that all the usual street vendors selling breakfast outside our office building were mysteriously absent this morning. And thus, this is how top officials are treated in China.
The Blue Devils come to town
August 23rd, 2011 | 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 | Leave comments | Filed in China, Food, LifeAt 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 | Leave comments | Filed in China, Current Events, Media, ReflectionsOh, 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 | Leave comments | Filed in China, Food, LifeI’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 | Leave comments | Filed in China, Current EventsJust 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.
Cultural dissemination
July 22nd, 2011 | Leave comments | Filed in China, Current Events, USA! USA!New York is turning into Beijing!
From the Times:
People did what they had to do. They sat through movies they did not really want to see. They walked around without shirts beneath umbrellas. Tony Gonzalez, a Manhattan doorman and restaurant repairman, had taken two showers by midday and planned on taking six or seven. Yana Galbshtein had no air-conditioning at her home in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, so she hopped on the subway. She was considering riding it all day.
Hope all you Americans are staying cool! It’s been grey and rainy/storming/foggy for the past 10 days now in Beijing … but still really hot. I miss sunshine and blue skies. Looks like we all have our weather problems.
Food I can cook: Guacamole
July 18th, 2011 | Leave comments | Filed in China, Food I can cook in China
Guess what this is going to become!
Technically, there’s no cooking involved. I know I’ve been complaining about the rise of food prices lately, but avocados are cheaper (for now)! I found them at the grocery store for 9.5 kuai ($1.47) each over the weekend. Usually they’re 15 kuai ($2.32) each or 55 kuai ($8.50!!) per kilogram. So naturally, I indulged and bought two. I got some rye bread to eat one with, and then I decided I would make guacamole with the other. I’m pretty much always craving guacamole, so I thought it was high time I got around to making it.
Whack-a-moley.
I tried really hard to not eat all of it, so I managed to save about half. But now that I’m writing about it, I really want some more! It’s just sitting there. The pictures don’t look so great, but it’s hella good! Really! (Even if I made it myself.) Mmmmm. Oh, fuck it, it’s better fresh anyway. I’ll just save a quarter.
Things I have eaten recently
July 16th, 2011 | Leave comments | Filed in China, Food, Life, USA! USA!A few weeks ago, I wished for decent goi cuon, the delicious, wonderfully fresh Vietnamese spring rolls. This is a summer staple in my family, and my mother made me all jealous and homesick when she told me they were making some on their beach holiday with a bunch of family friends. But HA. Enter Susu, a new upscale Vietnamese restaurant hidden in a hutong near the heart of the city. For less than 100 kuai, I can roll about eight of these babies myself. So last week, I did!
Clockwise from bottom left: Rice vermicelli, leafy veggies and rice paper wrapper, pork and shrimp, and the finished product.
Unfortunately the noodles were too crunchy, the pork and shrimp were tasteless, and the fish sauce was too sweet. (Plus I had to ask for more fish sauce after every single roll because they only gave me a tiny bit every time. WTF?) But still good enough to eat.
I also got around to having my Fourth of July hot dog about five days later. This is the same chili cheese hot dog that I got two years ago, on my first July 4th in China.
Yay America!
And finally. I returned from England with just a box of wine gums, to my dismay, and none of the other goodies England has to offer. But one morning, on a convenience store breakfast run before work, something caught my eye:
"Jia fa dan gao."
It’s a box of Jaffa cakes with Chinese characteristics. This cannot be good, I thought. Especially since it’s got blueberry jam, and not the usual orange. So I bought a box because I love Chinese bastardizations of Western crap, and sure enough, it was awful. Very crumbly. It was so bad that I can’t even remember what it tastes like, just the general feeling of regret for putting it in my mouth and chewing it. Oh well.
China is not cheap, part 2
July 13th, 2011 | 1 comment | Filed in China, Current Events, LifeChina’s rising cost of living has been dominating the news lately, if not overseas, then definitely domestically. First-half figures just released show that food prices alone jumped more than 11 percent over the first six months last year. When I first came to Beijing, my shao bing jia ji dan was 1.5 kuai; it’s now 2 kuai, or 33 percent more expensive. I’ve watched as zha jiang mian at Hai Wan Ju rose from something under 15 kuai two years ago to 16 kuai last year to 19 kuai now. Sometimes I skip meals just to save money (and who am I kidding, also because I’m lazy).
So it really comes as little surprise that Beijing ranks No. 20 on the newly released 2011 Worldwide Cost of Living survey by Mercer. It actually fell four places from last year. At any rate, it still ranks above New York, the only U.S. city in the top 50, Paris and Rome. This makes me feel slightly snobby, and I wonder if this might be the reason why I like living in Beijing, despite how horrible it is. Because it’s expensive. Probably!
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