There’s little doubt that the 2008 Beijing Olympics have become more a political affair galvanizing views of China between “Western bias” and “blind Chinese nationalism” than anything even remotely resembling a global, peace-celebrating sporting event.

Because of this, there’s been an endless barrage of reporting and blogging that has gone a long way to inciting these two opposing ends. So, it was with a bit of surprise and refreshment that I read Kai Pan’s well-said “Utter Idiots and Why the United States Will Not Boycott the Beijing Olympics” at CNReviews.

Those on the polarized ends will never see eye-to-eye, nor do they care to. The battle has always been and will always be for those in the middle. I’d …

I’ve just received the following press release release from the British Embassy in Beijing.

It appears to me that the office has taken some heat from home about tracking down their nationals in natural disasters, and is now very concerned you may get crushed in a shoddily-built school or swept away in a flood - and that just does not happen to Brits. It’s just not… proper.

Neither is the cost of an airlift out of a danger zone.

While they’re at it, maybe they can help this woman.

CALLING ALL BRITS IN CHINA OR GOING TO BE IN CHINA OVER SUMMER!!!

If you, your family or friends are travelling to China this summer, get them …

Teaching ESL at a university in China is a good gig: low hours, long holidays, weekends and more than enough money to survive on.

If you’ve chosen this route you’ll find that most universities (and agents on their behalf) are very happy to offer basic terms, conditions and vague information to hurry you through signing a contract and securing you for a year.

There’s still a high level of incompetency in the hiring of ESL teachers across the board and I can’t help but think that we (ESL teachers!) are at least part of the problem. Go to any forum these days and you’ll be able to read the stories of digruntled teachers who got more than they bargained for, and you …

In what can only be assumed to be fear over increased problems related to the Olympic games, China has cut off multiple entry travel visas, and limited them to 30 days.

As Journey to Nowhere reports from the SCMP (which stoically continues to charge for online content):
Beijing has stopped issuing multiple-entry visas, risking major inconvenience to foreigners who travel to the mainland regularly, especially on business. Hong Kong travel agents say the ban will stay in place until after the Olympic Games.

Travelers are now restricted to single- or double-entry visas valid for 30 days. Multiple-entry visas that have not expired are still valid.

Andrew Work, executive director of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, said the ban …

If you’ve been using the Firefox addon Access Flickr, which allows you view Flickr photos while being behind the Great Firewall, you may have noticed some photos display just fine and some wont at all.

Since posting last june about the fantastic solution for us shutterbugs in China, Flickr has added a new “farm” for photo storage - essentially a different sub-domain of the Flickr site. Unless you are using the latest version of the addon, currently 1.9, you will have sporadic broken images in your browser.

To fix this, simply upgrade to Access Flickr 1.9 or higher.

Not using Firefox yet? Why the heck not? Download it free.

Related
An interesting article with …

Chinese skills that develop so quickly it’s like they’re on steroids. Reading essays that provide a glimpse into this strange country. Blossoming friendships with students named Gorge, Pudding, and Glenn Chestnut.
Oh, the glamorous life I led in my head before I actually started teaching.

If you’re like me or several of my friends, and your newfound teaching gig in China is the first time you’ve stepped in front of the classroom, you’ve probably gotten your hands on a copy of Peter Hessler’s Rivertown. While I would suggest this beautifully written book as good background reading, it only does a somewhat decent job preparing you for what lays ahead….

Xinhuanet is dead right about one thing, it may be three weeks ago now, but I really am only just getting over my “gasp” at Zhang Ziyi’s dress on the phenomenon that is CCTV’s annual Spring Festival gala, they were just wrong about the reason. Bowled over by the fairy-pinkness of it yes, but the skirt was 3 bloody metres in diameter, hardly practical for such “ordinary girls” as me who need to get on buses and stuff. It’s wider than my bathroom for God’s sake!
Talking of the gala, I’d better get to my lead-in…did anyone see Chinese girl band SHE perform, or more importantly, actually listen? Well, …

Finally. Finally a journalist has sat down and hashed out a detailed, sourced explanation of how China’s Internet censorship works. May I just say, thank you Mr. Fallows.

James Fallows is The Atlantic’s “man in China”, and his article “The Connection Has Been Reset” is the first article I’ve seen that has given an extensive rundown of the technologies and policies the Chinese government employs in its battle with keeping the Internet a sanitary and “harmonized” place.

Fallows explains the censorship breaks down into four levels: 1. the DNS block, 2. the “Connect” Phase, 3. the …

With us expats in China deep into the country’s chilly months, perhaps we’re a little late for these tips - but none the less, here’s a bit of advice for anyone currently reading this with gloves on.

Now, quite obviously these don’t apply to big-salary expats that are living in apartments with floor-heating and double-glazed windows. But for the rest of us poor whelps that frequently get blown over by the drafts running through our apartments, some of these might help.

Several times recently I’ve been out at restaurants that I’ve been to frequently, only to discover they’ve been ripping me off for ages.

The trick is a smooth one and I can only blame my unfailing trust in humanity for allowing it to happen. The scam? The Laowai Menu.

Living in a tourism-supported city like Suzhou, even the smallest food spots in the downtown core tend to sport some form of English menu. Perhaps because the menus are quite clearly far-too-direct translations of Chinese dishes (ie. “the pig’s intestines soup”, “couple lung slices”, etc.), I always assumed the prices were as well.

However, after recently A-Bing the English and Chinese …