I remember there was a time when a blocking of a site was a covert and dreadful thing. A bit of a sign that you had “made it” as someone fighting the good fight.
“Blocked in China” seemed like such a ‘thing to be’. Sure Amnesty was; and pro dem sites, those were a given. The BBC, meh… ok… they had sneaked some inquisitive reporters into the backwaters and had to be shown a lesson… and well porn - porn is known to melt the eyes of Chinese (it’s genetic). It all made sense.
But now it would seem that in an effort to create a more harmonious society, everything is getting out of tune. There’s not a major free blog provider …
So, it looks like everyone’s favorite Angel has gotten herself in a bit of Peruvian hot water when she wore a bag with Mao’s famous slogan “为人民服务” on it while visiting the lost Inca city - Machu Picchu.
Ya see, Peru had some issues with the commies during the 80s, when the Peruvian Communist Party (more commonly known as ‘Shining Path’ - likely for wanting to avoid confusion with trailerpark cookhouses) attempted to take over the country. The Maoists launched a guerrilla war against the ruling “bourgeois”, and pretty much every other Peruvian that even remotely stood in their way (or didn’t give their 110% support). Communist “for the people” revolutions are funny …
In the theme of our recent group writing project, The China Expat blog has launched his own group writing project - “What comes after China?”
Now before you get huffy and/or puffy about participating in another group writing project so soon, consider that on any given day most of us just write a bunch of “today I went and ate noodles…” or “… can you believe how much they spit here?” posts. God knows I do.
These writing projects are a way for us as a ’sphere to focus on a topic that is both relevant to the readership at large and that there’s lots of room to add original, thought provoking discussion to.
As …
Well, there’s been a secret little project brewing lately. fiLi and I have been conspiring to create the latest incarnation of the China Blog Awards.
fiLi, as some may know, is the brains behind the Chinalyst, a community/aggregator for English-language China blogs. It seems that his site is therefore the perfect venue to get these awards off the ground.
There have been attempts in the past for a blog awards focused completely on China, but for whatever reason, they seem to have fizzled.
For my part in this, I’ve designed the award itself (see the picture above), and my site, the Hao Hao Report, will be hosting the …
Some of you may have heard about the ambitious, big-in-heart, project my friend Tom has been devoting every waking hour to - The Library Project.
When I wrote about it at its inception last November, I admit, I didn’t have half the vision towards it that Tom so obviously does.
I thought it would be a small local charity in north-eastern China, and a really nice thing to do. But Tom saw things differently, and continues to do so. He saw, rightfully, that these libraries are a real opportunity to make a difference, and bring positive change to poverty-stricken areas.
In the intervening months he has expanded what was then supplying just two Dalian orphanages with books into what he plans …
And so marks the end of the first Lost Laowai group writing project. We received a total of twelve submissions - not at all bad for our first go at this.
We had a last minute submission from Liu Kaiqin:
出乎意料之外?? （in China) :: By Liu Kaiqin
Who also sported some rather creative Chinese for the project, which I’m about to borrow.
Be sure to check out the complete list of of submissions here:
“工乍 工 长门巨山 丁升巨门 山升闩丁 工 长门口山 门口山”
I really appreciate everyone’s hard work at helping fill in this topic with a solid amount of interesting and informative content.
If you read any of the posts, or have anything to add about this project and how we can improve the next group …
Just a quick reminder that the group writing project will officially end at the end of the day tomorrow (Monday).
So, if you’re still interested in sharing your misconceptions or what you “thought you knew” about China before you came here, please write it up, post it on your blog and then send us the link.
Jut a reminder that it doesn’t have to follow the same format as the other submissions - you are absolutely free to interpret this project in any way you see fit.
Get the full details at the related post. And see what others are writing at the Official “If I Knew Then What I Know Now” Submissions page.
A big thanks …
In my first post here at Lost Laowai, I wrote about a student of mine who calls herself Nazi. She is, in most ways, a pleasant girl who studies hard and takes responsibility for her class. Despite bureaucratic tendencies, she hardly seems totalitarian.
But a lot of friends, both online and off, told me I couldn’t let the year pass without telling her to change her name, and they’re right. So, with the semester ending next week, I decided it was time to have that little talk:
Me: I think you should change your English name.
Nazi: But my Chinese name is ….娜 (that’s all I’ll include here)
Me: You know what the word means?
Nazi: (saying it in Chinese): It was Hitler’s party.
Me: …
I was chillin’ out at the bottom of my blog when I noticed a little feature I had installed ages ago that shows me a post from that day a year previous. Well, imagine my surprise when the post is none other than the Lost Laowai inception announcement.
Yep. My little baby is one year old today (ish).
I can’t believe it’s only been a year since I started putting together this site, it feels like a lifetime ago. Then again, for all the parts that aren’t finished, maybe I should be a little surprised so much time has passed.
Much has changed with LLW over the last 365 days, and with few exceptions, the changes have been for the better….
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