08.28.08
Posted in Law and Order, Politics, Rumors, USA at 15:55 by Little Herschel
Here’s a fascinating story from Caijing about alleged money transfers to terrorist groups through Bank of China accounts:
More than 100 terror victims filed a class action lawsuit August 21 against the Los Angeles branch of Bank of China (BOC) for allowing millions of dollars to be wired by Hamas and the Palestine Islamic Jihad (PIJ). Hamas and PIJ are designated terrorist organizations by the U.S. government, and such wire transfers are a crime under American law…
The plaintiffs allege that beginning in 2003, BOC executed dozens of wire transfers for the Hamas and PIJ totaling several million dollars. These dollar transfers were initiated by PIJ and Hamas leadership in Iran and Syria, were processed through BOC’s branches in the United States, and were sent on to a BOC account operated by a senior operative of the Hamas and PIJ in southern China’s Guangzhou City. If the accusation is true, BOC would have facilitated the funding of terrorist activities.
In 2005, Israel counter-terrorism officers met with officials from the Chinese Ministry of Public Security and BOC regarding these wire transfers. Despite Israeli warnings, BOC persisted in wiring funds for Hamas and PIJ.
If true, this is another example of how China’s “internal affairs” (in this case, corruption and lack of oversight) inevitably become external problems that affect the rest of the world.
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Posted in Law and Order, Politics, Wuhan at 15:01 by Nator
This article about Ghanaians in China popped up in my Google news alert yesterday. It contains some letters from Ghanians currently stuck in China, including this one from someone currently in Wuhan:
There are a lot of Ghanaians who are stranded here in China.
Most of them have no food to eat let alone job to do. Especially in Guangzhou many Ghanaians are behind bars for overstaying their visas. . . .
Most of the people here cannot even locate their passport, the reason being either they have been cheated by agents who promise to renew it and could not, so making away with the passport and the money or giving out to a friend to use and could not locate the friend again. . . .
I am writing from Wuhan a province in China. My passport has expired for a year now and I want to go home but I cannot. There is no work for me to do too, I have been hiding here for almost three months without a job.
I have posted before about the experiences of an American black man in China, but I rarely see much about Africans here. The girls at Pizza Buffet! did a podcast about Guangzhou earlier this year, and that was the first time I had heard about the large number of Africans living in Guangzhou, many illegally.
A few weeks ago SHTig and I were discussing immigration to and from China–for the last couple hundred years, there has been a lot of the latter but almost none of the former. Aside from North Korean refugees, the only other people coming to China in search of a better life are the Africans.
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08.10.08
Posted in Olympics, Politics, Sports at 12:29 by ODB
As reported by The Jerusalem Post, an Iranian swimmer refused to race in the fourth heat of the 100 meter breaststroke alongside an Israeli swimmer.
“This isn’t the first time this has happened and it doesn’t surprise me anymore,” Olympic Committee of Israel General Secretary Efraim Zinger told The Jerusalem Post.
“My heart goes out to the Iranian athletes. In the Athens Olympics one of their sportsmen, who was a gold medal favorite, had to pull out because he was drawn against an Israeli.”
“There’s no place for this kind of behavior in the Olympic movement and it’s a shame it continues.”
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08.09.08
Posted in Beijing, Chinese Nationalism, Internet and Media, Olympics, Politics, Sports, Technology, USA, Wenchuan Earthquake at 13:49 by Nator
“Finally” was a word that stuck out a lot in last night’s opening ceremonies. The announcers said it over and over, talking about the long wait for the Oympics. And after slogging through four hours last night (aside from a short nap during Rogge’s speech), I woke up this morning a bit more relaxed, knowing that the big event was finally here and had started without any major problems.
Even thought the first thing I did after I woke was turn on the Slingbox and watch the NBC broadcast, I couldn’t get that excited about this year’s ceremonies. Having lived in Beijing for most of the last seven years, I have definitely become a bit sick of the endless preparations and was just looking forward to being finished with the whole thing. I’m also not as impressed by certain features of the ceremony that are fairly common in China–large crowds moving in unison, for example.
Knowing all this, I was still surprised to hear Bob Costas say that this event should ”retire the trophy” for opening ceremonies and to read Pat Forde’s glowing praise on ESPN.com (though I did agree with most of his article on opening ceremony fashion). Granted, both of them viewed the spectacle in person, and perhaps many of the best moments just didn’t translate well onto TV. But isn’t TV what really matters? Even in Beijing, 99% of the audience probably watched it on a TV or outdoor screen.
Below are a few of my specific reactions to various parts of the ceremonies:
Surprised: That NBC didn’t bother showing the opening ceremonies live. Highlights were available everywhere online immediately after the event finished, and I imagine that many casual viewers in the US simply watched a couple minutes at work and didn’t bother with the four-hour evening event. I had NBC on via Slingbox all evening, and they just showed The Today Show as usual. They even had a couple hosts talking live from a dark Beijing, while the event was going on somewhere nearby.
Impressed: By the giant screen that ran all the way around the top of the stadium and showed various images during the ceremony–a clever touch, though from the TV broadcast it was often hard to make out what was being shown on the screen….The people flying around, suspended by wires, early on (though not later on–see below for more on that)….The two dancers who painted swirls on the ground with their feet and ands–it was simple yet effective; and it had the China element without hitting viewers over the head….The Olympic rings logo that started flat on the ground, then slowly peeled upward to float vertically in the air….The opening string of fireworks, and the swirling flame racing up to light the the cauldron.
Underwhelmed: The opening drum-light sequence. It looked like they were using flourescent lights, many of which flickered for a few seconds before coming on. And they didn’t really do anything with the lights except to stage confusing countdown with the kind of graphics normally found on ODB’s calculator wristwatch. The countdown started at “60″ but we thought it might have said “GO”. Then they went to 50, 40, 30, 20, 10, 9, 8 (by this time the crowd had finally figured out what was going on and started yelling out the numbers) and down to zero. But the time between the jumps of 1 and of 10 was exactly the same–just odd.
Baffled: Several bands took turns playing music during the athletes’ walk-in: a group of Chinese ladies who looked a lot like the 女子十二乐坊 (“Twelve Girls Band“) and played squawky Chinese stuff that I tuned out and that JZ said was commonly heard at Chinese weddings; a group of African(?) drummers, by far the best of the lot; and, inexplicably, some bagpipers, who I never actually saw. I missed NBC’s introduction to this part and didn’t hear any explanation from the Chinese announcers, so I still have no idea why these groups were chosen. It was jarring to hear the switch to a new band every three minutes. And they seemed to have only prepared a song or two each–the bagpipers definitely played at least one well-known bagpiper song (and how many of them are there?) more than once.
Nodding: In agreement at the repeated use of children in the festivities. Not exactly the boldest choice, but surely the among the safest.
Annoyed: At the often frazzled camera work from CCTV. Several times they switched to cameras that weren’t ready–where the cameraman was walking along, getting into position, or not focused on anything. During several sequences, they cut to different shots every second or two, almost like a music video, with no rhyme or reason. A number of views that came without explanation, such as the multiple shots of a certain athete during the “march of nations” without ever telling us who he or she was, or the repeated shots of blue-shirted volunteers/cheerleaders awkwardly dancing and waving as the crowd around them sat in silence. NBC did a much better job, going for longer shots and and generally choosing better angles for most of the scenes. The NBC crew also reacted quickly, switching cameras within seconds to someone whose name had just been mentioned by the announcers. It may have all been scripted, but it felt natural.
Amused: At the difference in the Chinese and US announcers’ handling of the event, especially during the athletes’ walk-in. The Chinese announcers stayed far away from any controversy and introduced each country by listing its strongest events, number of medals won, and other simple (and boring) facts. NBC’s crew, in contrast, used a lot of political background and human interest stories. As China’s athletes entered the stadium, for example, the young boy walking with Yao Ming got more face time than anyone on NBC’s broadcast and allowed Costas and others to talk about China’s population, economic growth, the Wenchuan earthquake, the torch protests, and all sorts of other anecdotes.
Horrified: At the goose-stepping soldiers. I know it’s normal here and in many other countries, but it instantly makes me think of Nazis, and I imagine most other Americans have a similar reaction.
Embarrassed: The birds’ nest and flying dove segment was a hot tranny mess. I’m sure both were very difficult technically and required months of practice. But the ”flapping” of the bird’s wings looked pretty amateur from CCTV’s camera angles, and the human version of the Bird’s Nest stadium made me feel that the hosts were just a little too proud of their new stadium. It’s impressive enough on its own–reproducing it just felt a bit over the top.
Patiently waiting: For audience reaction during the final stages of the torch relay. I didn’t recognize any of the torchbearers, but I expected that the crowd would. Aside from shoe salesman Li Ning, who actually lit the cauldron, however, none of the runners got much applause from the audience.
Giggling: For me, the goofiest part of the evening was the sight of Li Ning flying into the air. Compared to the elegant air dancing in the first part of the show, he looked awkward and clumsy, like some of the poorer flying scenes from the old Superman movies. Except this was a slightly overweight middle-aged guy. The giggling turned into belly-laughing when he started his sideways, slow-motion run. It didn’t help when they had problems aligning his speed with that of a video scroll that was unrolling on the screen behind him. The whole thing caught me completely by surprise, in a bad way. I can’t think of another time when I’ve seen someone of his stature in China do much more than stand politely and perhaps wave to the crowd in a public event….For me, Muhammad Ali’s shaking arm in Atlanta and the flaming arrow in Barcelona were the two most memorable torch lightings.
Overall, there were very few ”gasp inducing scenes” (to borrow Pat Forde’s phrase) for me this year. It seemed that way as well among the crowd in attendance, at least from what I heard and saw on TV (though the NBC broadcast and several other reports I’ve read since indicate otherwise). It was telling that Kobe Bryant got one of the loudest cheers of the night when the camera switched to him for a fews during the walk-in.
What did the rest of you think?
UPDATE: Shanghaiist has a nice collection of reactions to the opening ceremonies from major media outlets and blogs, most of them far more positive than my comments….I wasn’t the only person surprised that NBC didn’t offer a live broadcast of the opening ceremonies….Chad Catacchio has set up a handy feed for the Beijing Olympics on Friendfeed….An American was killed right around the corner today.
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07.13.08
Posted in Food, Politics, Shanghai at 21:37 by SHTig
Have you ever noticed the “help wanted” signs in China, you know, the ones that say “wanted, female, ages 18-25″? These jobs invariably involve minor clerical or waitress type work. It’s more important that she be a certain height (often 160cm) than to have any formal schooling certificates.
Today I had lunch at the “Steak & Eggs” diner in Shanghai (the American-run restaurant that started in Beijing). There was a new waitress who was very polite, decent, and – most amazing for China – she hustled. I mean, she really moved swiftly around the two story dining room. Judging by her face she had to be at least 35 (though from behind she could pass for 22, ohhh Chinese women…). The main point was not how attentive she was, but that she was “old” for this line of work. It helps that the owners are an American-Chinese mix, I believe, and that they themselves are late middle age. That is, we’d expect less age discrimination in this set up. But it led me to come here to ask what has crossed my mind from time to time. What do these girls do after they hit 28 or so and leave their original job? Obviously some enter the throes of motherhood and homemaker, but what about the rest? What does a woman in China do who has no education beyond high school, doesn’t know English, and doesn’t have tangible job skills?
NATOR ADDS: Hotpoter kind of said it in the comments, but I’ll be more specific: they get married. An American woman in a similar situation would probably think marriage is her best option; the typical Chinese woman will be a lot poorer and thus more likely to look to marriage. Also, China remains very conservative about certain things, and marriage is one of them. (Though I’d add with more emphasis on “till death do us part” and less on ”to love and to cherish”.) And finally, Chinese women are increasingly outnumbered due to the combination of the one child policy and a traditional preference for males. More than ever before, China’s women will be able to “marry up”. So I think Hotpoter’s point is valid. Most of these women are going to want to get married, and they will get married, and they’ll have a better (financial) life than before.
I’m far more worried about China’s men with little education. What will these men–and there are already tens of millions of them–do when they get older and can’t even find a wife?
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Posted in Law and Order, Politics, USA at 17:37 by Nator
I just read a post on the Oriental-List (a highly recommended mailing list about travel in China) from an “APEC Business Travel Card” holder asking if he would need to apply for a visa before coming into China. According to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation website, the ABTC acts as one’s visa for China and many other countries:
Fast and efficient travel for business people within the APEC region contributes to APEC’s goal of free and open trade and investment. To this end APEC has created an APEC Business Travel Card (ABTC). The ABTC allows business travelers pre-cleared, facilitated short-term entry to participating member economies. The ABTC removes the need to individually apply for visas or entry permits, saving valuable time, and allows multiple entries into participating economies during the three years the card is valid. Card holders also benefit from faster immigration processing on arrival via access to fast-track entry and exit through special APEC lanes at major airports in participating economies.
We Americans can’t get one yet, however:
When can U.S. citizens apply for an ABTC? Where do I apply? How much does it cost?
- We are still exploring options on how U.S. citizens may be issued the ABTC and hope to have more information for you soon. The ABTC is not yet being issued to U.S. citizens.
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06.20.08
Posted in Internet and Media, Politics at 17:24 by SHTig
President HU Jintao went onto the People’s Net Powerful Nation Forum (人民网强国论坛) to answer some questions from China’s netizens. He only stayed to answer a few questions, telling netizens that he typically gets online in the morning to check domestic and international news. In the Chinese media’s typical provincial way, Hu was sure to say “The People’s Net Powerful Nation Forum is one of the sites that I must read on a regular basis”.
The only semi interesting question was whether he reads the massive amounts of comments from Chinese netizens. Hu said that yes they do, that national policy is formulated on what the people need and think, and that the net is one way to understand the people, so it is an important channel.
Good answer. So if you like to understand the people, Mr. Hu, I’d like to know why so many domestic and international websites are then blocked? Especially stuff about Teabet and Tiewon. Oh and porn too. Let me know next time you’re online and I’ll ask.
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06.18.08
Posted in Environment, Politics, USA at 20:38 by SHTig
John McCain says that the US has 21 billion barrels of proven oil reserves, and that exploration and drilling should be opened up in areas where a moratorium restricts disallows it (Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR)). This is one of the ways he would respond to high energy prices in the US.
Well, it wouldn’t. And it’s a bad idea.
Bloomberg reported in January ’08 that worldwide oil consumption is 88 million barrels a day. If you accept the rough math and oversimplification, and you’ll see that this means the US’ proven reserves could supply the world’s need for all of about 8 months.
Does that sound like a lot of oil to you? Does it sound like its worth ripping up ANWR for? And what would it accomplish?
I say it would serve to bring down the price of oil ever so slightly, ever so shortly. And it would the typical politics of ‘give it to me now and pretend there are no consequences.’ And when that oil runs dry quickly, the crisis will be deeper and energy prices higher, and Americans will still need to get off oil. I really hate that about high level American politics. (Obama/Deomcrats are just as bad or worse, his pandering theme this week in Wisconsin is “Change that Works for You“).
If McCain wants to be a leader on this issue, he should be focusing more on how to really bring energy alternatives to market quickly. And if those alternatives can’t be brought about quickly, then I’d like to see the US hold on to ANWR oil for a true rainy day. You know, it could get a lot worse than $4/gallon gas…
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06.12.08
Posted in Chinese Nationalism, Politics, Religion at 18:18 by Little Herschel
I subscribe to daily news alerts from MEMRI – the Middle East Media Research Institute, and an email I got a few days ago was about Islamic fundamentalism in Xinjiang. I’ll let you read the original article on their website, as it is filled with several terms that can get our site blocked.
NATOR ADDS: Check out The Opposite End of China for excellent coverage of Xinjiang.
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05.28.08
Posted in Politics, Wenchuan Earthquake at 21:10 by Mul
Let’s face it. Sharon Stone is famous for one reason and one reason only: she flashed her vagina to the entire world in Basic Instinct. Does this qualify her to share her political views? In Hollywood, I guess the answer is a big fat Marv Albert-style “Yes!”.
At a red carpet event in Cannes, Stone weighed in on the karmic connection between the violent suppression of protests in Tibet and the recent earthquake. Stone’s vagina commented:
“I’m not happy about the way the Chinese are treating the Tibetans because I don’t think anyone should be unkind to anyone else,” Stone said Thursday during a Cannes Film Festival red-carpet interview with Hong Kong’s Cable Entertainment News. “And then this earthquake and all this stuff happened, and then I thought, is that karma? When you’re not nice that the bad things happen to you?”
Thanks for putting that together for us Sharon Stone. Please, for the sake of humanity, can you now turn your attention to global warming or solving the mysteries of cold fusion?
Of course, we get an immediate response from the usual gang of idiots who have announced plans to boycott Sharon Stone movies and remove advertisements featuring her in China. That hurts. I bet her movies do really well in China. At least the Chinese Foreign Ministry gives the dignified response: silence.
UPDATE: Christian Dior announces that they will no longer feature Sharon Stone in their advertisements . . . in China. Sharon Stone apologizes and offers to assist with earthquake relief work. And the Foreign Ministry can’t resist and has to comment. Full story here. The New York Times also nicely manages to compare Stone’s foot in mouth affecting her endorsements with the recent Edison Chen scandal in Hong Kong (naked pics lost him Pepsi and Disney) and Ronaldo in Brazil (trannie encounters lost him a mobile phone sponsorship).
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