AP reports that Steven Spielberg has quit his role as “artistic adviser” for the Beijing Olympics, citing China’s continued relationship (trade, arms and otherwise) with the regime in Sudan.
Leaving aside for the moment the upsetting disaster that is Darfur and the shady activities of the Sudanese government, what in the heck was Spielberg’s exact role? Nothing I’ve read went into any details other than a flowery adviser title and his association with the organizing committee. I liken his involvement to the foreigners brought in to stand on the stage at various Olympic countdown events (Nator: anything to add here?). No matter who is involved, the opening and closing ceremonies will be an awful cheese-fest. I appreciate Spielberg’s gesture, though I can’t say that the political situation has changed much since he accepted the “position” as famous-artistic-foreigner-who-will-be associated-with-dancing-and-singing-at-the-Olympics.
Will the opening and closing ceremonies suck now? Sorry Spielberg - as long as the Fuwa (Friendlies) are involved, I’d say it’s only a question of how awesome the performances will be.
What better way to inaugurate TFF’s first Hong Kong-related post than this little nugget? I was strolling this evening in Wanchai by the Hopewell Centre on Queen’s Road East and was almost knocked on my behind by the “opening soon” sign on the building across the road. That’s right - Fatburger. Hong Kong has a few solid burger places, among them Triple O’s White Spot (a Canadian chain), but this is something to be excited about. Fatburger ranks up there with In-N-Out. Not sure when it is scheduled to open, but I will be there . . . with a pair of Zubaz to accommodate my soon-to-be expanding waistline.
Update: Shangahiist tells us a second location will open in Causeway Bay and future locations in Beijing and Shanghai.
There’s plenty of information out there on the Darkie/Darlie story–check out Danwei and Sinosplice, for example. I had no idea the brand was so old, though. Check out this Late Night with David Letterman clip (the Darkie reference is several minutes in, but the whole clip is enjoyable, so just watch all of it):
However, the Chinese name of the brand, 黑人牙膏 (in English, “Black Man Toothpaste”), has not changed; a Chinese-language advertising campaign reassured customers that “Black Man Toothpaste is still Black Man Toothpaste”. This is because the term 黑人 does not have any negative meaning in Chinese. The phrase 黑人 (hēi rén) in Chinese is a general term for persons of African descent.
While in many cases heiren carries no negative meaning, in many other cases it does. In the latter usage, it’s somewhat analogous to the term “Chinaman”, which Wikipedia admits is both neutral and offensive in meaning, depending on who you ask.
Sharon Lockwood writes about her teaching experience in Wuhan. I only take exception to one sentence:
For the record, North American Chinese takeout isn’t even close to traditional Chinese food, and you may want to consider a fish and/or vegetarian diet if you’re staying for any length of time.
Wrong. Please ignore this woman’s advice, ESPECIALLY if you’re going to be living in Wuhan. The food’s great! Unless she means that you should eat only fish and vegetables because they’re so tasty. In that case I agree with her.
CNN ran a sad story a couple of weeks ago about a man killed in Hubei Province:
Wei Wenhua was beaten to death after he filmed a streetside fracas between villagers and authorities.
Police have detained 24 municipal inspectors and are investigating more than 100 in the death of Wei Wenhua, a 41-year-old construction company executive, Xinhua reported on Friday… Read the rest of this entry »
Mul’s recent post on pollution got me thinking a bit. It’s pretty obvious to anyone who comes to Beijing, or any number of places in China, that the air is terrible. A few weeks ago, Steve Andrews released a study, apparently done on his own, claiming that the government had been playing with the pollution numbers:
The study, written by an American environmental consultant, found flaws in Beijing’s “Blue Sky” system of air quality monitoring stations and noted that the city changed its method for measuring pollution in 2006. In particular, officials stopped including readings from two stations in polluted areas and began using readings in three other stations in less polluted locales…
“Irregularities in the monitoring of air quality account for all reported improvements over the last nine years,” said Steven Q. Andrews, the author of the study, in a telephone interview.
I have met Steve once or twice here in Beijing; he seems like a smart and honest guy, and I don’t doubt the veracity of his findings. What’s fascinating to me is how the debate on this topic, especially in the run-up to the Olympics, is focused on the government’s goals of “blue sky days”, the pollution index, etc.
When the pollution here gets bad, you can see it. You can smell it. So why are so many people caught up arguing over numbers with the government? Even by winning this argument, what has been proven, other than that there were a lower number of “blue sky days”? As Steve’s report shows, the numbers were likely fudged to begin with. I can’t see how the government lets pollution stop the Games, and I can’t see any real solution to the pollution problem in the coming years. Beijing alone isn’t the problem; you can find horribly dirty air in many rural areas far from big cities. China’s in trouble, and it’s going to be many years before things get better.
