Out for a walk in our local park, Si De, I came across this poster.
It's aimed at educating the public in what to do if there is a 'sudden incident' - which means anything from a fire to a snowstorm to a riot to a public health emergency. This picture, below, illustrates an instructi… more »
My son is feeling very glum. We had tickets for an Oasis concert in early April, but it's been cancelled. The reasons for the cancellation remain unclear. According to Oasis, the Chinese authorities suddenly realised that Noel Gallagher had taken part in a pro-Tibet concert in 1997. B… more »
Now this is very strange. A man named Li Qiaoming has died of head wounds in police custody. The official cause of his death? He was playing hide and seek, and ran blindfold into a wall.
Yes, your reaction is much the same as that of China's netizens, who are now sending the phrase &… more »
A couple walks through Chaoyang Park for a chilly morning of taking wedding shots. These photos are not taken on the wedding day itself, and the clothes are usually hired for the occasion from the photographic studio. At the wedding dinner, it is traditional for the bride to wear a red cheongsam.… more »
Here is a very interesting piece by the Telegraph's correspondent in Shanghai, Malcolm Moore, about the undignified exits that some foreign entrepreneurs are making from Shanghai. His evidenceis anecdotal, but that's how it is at the moment. This mornin… more »
...it's the unemployment statistics that count (and, most importantly, the potential fallout in terms of social unrest). As the FT reports here, there are twenty million rural migrants who are now unemployed after their export-oriented manufacturing jobs vanished in the global crisis.… more »
Charter 08, a radical call by 300 intellectuals for an end to one party rule was widely expected to die a quiet death. Instead, it seems to be taking on a life of it's own. Read this article in the Washington Post about the kinds of people who are adding their names... Eight thousand people is … more »
The excellent Danwei.org links to the China Central Television live coverage of Barack Obama's inaugural address...
Just moments after Obama said that the US had stood up to both fascism and communism, the station abruptly broke away from the speech and a rather surprised looking announcer &nbs… more »
People often ask me how I do research. We subscribe to the excellent Hong Kong newspaper the South China Morning Post . Over the festive season we've let them pile up. In an effort to clear a path to the sofa, I've just had a quick clipping session, paying par… more »
Well into New Year 2009 Liu Xiaobo is still in detention for his part in Charter 2008, the petition signed late last year by many Chinese intellectuals calling for sweeping democratic change in China. According to this, the Chinese government is trying to suppress all discussion of the charter.… more »