iLook China recently ran a guest post by Lionel Carver (no idea if that’s a pseudonym or not), which details the writer’s experience being a guest of the government in a Chinese jail. Subtitled with “A Cautionary Tale for Expats in China“, I was curious to read both what Carver endured and, perhaps most voyeuristically, …Read More
I’m trying to be a good citizen or resident or businesswoman or whatever you want to call me. I figure I use the things that tax money buys. I use the roads and the street lights at night. I use the parks and the heavily subsidized public transportation. So I figure it’s only right that …Read More
According to a post on Global Voices, Sven Englund, a Swede studying in Shanghai’s Fudan University, has been interrogated and has had his passport confiscated by Shanghai police after writing a “letter” to the Chinese President Hu Jintao in his Chinese-language blog. Not wishing to bring any undue wrath down on me or mine, I’ll …Read More
Some Gems: “Chinese people need to learn brains.” “It’s 2011. Chairman Mao is dead.” And the kicker: “See, I’m Canadian, I don’t have to shut up. Chinese people have to shut up. Canada people [sic] don’t have to shut up.”Read More
Should we get involved? A question that has plagued foreigners living in China since time immemorial. Do we step in when we see some gross injustice, or simply let it pass as “not our fight?” It’s a tough question, and one not easily answered — unless you’re a rollerblading laowai in southern China’s Guangzhou. Being …Read More
There are no shortage of ways to trip yourself up in the emotionally saturated mire where animal cruelty meets cultural relativism. I’m usually happy to leave such mine fields alone, but rare is the opportunity for me to talk about my homeland, my nowland, and clubbing baby seals all in one breath. This past week …Read More
Tom Lasseter, who in 2009 took over the Beijing bureau chief spot for McClatchy Newspapers from long-timer Tim Johnson, has a great post on his blog about the GFW. Due to a computer glitch, Tom lost his VPN the other night and without it decided to traipse around the Internet as viewed from inside China …Read More
Part 2 of my two-part rip off of a Forbes article of a similar name.  Did I mention there are two parts?  This is the second one (of two). 7. The Internet I’m a freedom-loving American, so the whole idea of the The Great Fire Wall is a great annoyance to me and my values.  It …Read More
Today I read part 1 of the Forbes China Tracker Blog article Weird Things That People Get Used to in China (a translation of a Chinese article on NetEase).  I suppose it is about things that Chinese people get used to, but since I’m leaving soon (countdown: 4 days), I figured I’d write one based on the …Read More
So, nice way to end the week — my neighbours might be going to war. Fuck. I’ve been operating with newsblinders on lately as I try to keep everything on the rails with a new baby in the house (apologies for a lack of updates, but that’s why). As such, it hit me off guard …Read More
What the hell is going on? I know times are tough, I know there is huge economic disparity between the rich and the poor, I know nobody likes you, I know your boss made you lose face, I know society looks down on you, I know your parents beat you. But why the fuck do …Read More
Charles at ChinaGeeks pointed me to the following video in his most recent post, “What an Idiot Foreigner Shows Us About Xenophobia and Sexism in China.” The video shows an extremely drunk foreigner stumbling down the street, having an incredibly patient cop try to help him out, exclaiming he loves China, hugging said cop, kicking …Read More
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