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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08.09.08
Posted in Beijing, Chinese Nationalism, Media/Internet, Olympics, Politics, Sports, Technology, The Wenchuan Earthquake, USA 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 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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06.18.08
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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05.28.08
Posted in Environment, Industry, Law and Order, Politics, USA at 10:01 by SHTig
Everyone knows that China has been under pressure for years, led by the US Congress, to allow the value of its currency, the RMB or yuan, to appreciate. But the “weak” RMB that hurts American exporters is not likely to be the main issue of concern to American voters. They’ll be more worried about $4/gallon (or higher!) gasoline. And this (Chinese article) is a big reason why. China has price controls on diesel and other fuels, such that there is now an RMB6000 (US$870) disparity between what a ton of diesel goes for in China and what it goes for abroad. Chinese oil refiners like Sinopec are getting slammed, since their costs are rising but the sale price of fuel is controlled by the Chinese government. The government is responding with measures to import more oil to help ease pressures.
Why does China control prices? Well, it’s obviously a good way to spur growth, and it’s been working as the country has been growing at 10%+ for over a decade. It’s also a way to over pollute the country and congest the roads. And it’s contributing to the skyrocketing oil prices worldwide, since 25% of the world’s population, the Chinese, are paying a lot less for the oil they use than everyone else.
SHTig adds (5/28 6:50pm PRC time): Mul called to ask what this means, and nator commented below also asking for clarity. To answer - yes, China buys oil on world markets at prevailing prices. But then, when that oil is sold domestically it is done so at a price lower than the prevailing world price. The government forces Sinopec and others to sell it on the cheap, and makes up for this by subsidizing Sinopec with the difference. This process allows everyone in China to get oil in all forms for less than the ‘true’ price, which results in more oil being consumed in China than what should be. We expect consumption to be inversely proportional to price - and when prices are kept artificially low, consumption is artificially high. With oil consumption artificially high in China, China demands more oil from the world markets than it should from an economic prospective and this is what adds to the upward pricing pressure on oil.
If your taxi driver had to pay the prevailing market price for gasoline, your taxi flagfall would be higher than RMB 11 (as it is in Shanghai), and you’d pay more per kilometer. The ride might cost you 50% or 100% more, and at the margins, some people would opt to take a bus instead. Multiply this behavior by 1,300,000,000 and remember that China is the world’s workshop, and we’re talking about a lot less oil being used, if only they - the end users - paid the prevailing price. That would reduce global demand and thus the price of oil as well, ceteris paribus.
Wonder if John McCain and Barack Obama will talk about this when asked what they plan to do about $4/gallon gasoline? If Chinese consumers paid the same price for fuel as everyone else, it might serve to put them on the same competitive playing field as other countries, and it might also serve to increase efficiencies within China.
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05.21.08
Posted in Chinese Nationalism, Media/Internet, The Second Tier, The Wenchuan Earthquake, USA at 20:02 by SHTig
Chinese netizens express overwhelming thanks and appreciation to the Bushes and the United States
Today George W. Bush and his wife are very popular people in China. That’s not something you’ll read very often. And all it took them was a short trip from Pennsylvania Avenue down to the Chinese Embassay in Washington, to mourn the vicitms and sign a book of condolensces in memory of the Sichuan earthquake victims.
To see the American president bow his head in mourning (吊唁) to the victims plays exceedingly well to a prestige conscious culture that has felt slighted lately. So far, nearly 1800 comments have been posted to this story (in Chinese).
The comments are very interesting - I’d say 90% of them are positive toward President Bush, his wife, and Americans! This is unlike what one usually finds in the Chinese Read the rest of this entry »
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05.15.08
Posted in Rumors, The Wenchuan Earthquake, USA at 20:21 by SHTig
This article (没有证据表明中国四川大地震是美国的地球物理武器的作用, “No proof that America’s global geophysical weapons are the cause of the earthquake in Sichuan, China”) is all over the Chinese blogs. Despite the title, its thesis is that you need to open your mind to accept the possibility that the US is using unconventional weapon technology to make the cyclone in Myanmar (Burma), the snowstorm of February 2008 in China, and now the earthquake of May 2008 in Sichuan China. It postulates that only an advanced country like the US would be able to pull something like this off (though noting that dispersted Soviet scientists could do it too, and could be used by states like India, but ultimately concludes that it was the US). The article says it’s easy to understand why the US would want this - the earthquake would destroy Chengdu’s Xichang Satellite Launch Center, destroy Chengdu’s Aircraft Corporate, destroy the weapons program in Tibet and cause unrest in Tibet, would destroy many plants located in Sichuan, and would lower the global price of oil (by reducing China’s demand), would weaken China’s relations with Southeast Asian neighbors, etc.
SH Tig Adds: Update of 16May2008 - I see Sina took that article down. It is still findable elsewhere if you use the above Chinese characters in your search string.
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01.27.08
Posted in Beijing, Environment, Media/Internet, Olympics, USA at 22:38 by Mul
The New York Times is reporting that the U.S. Olympic team is considering recommending that its athletes wear a mask in Beijing when not competing. A U.S. Olympic team scientist:
is urging all the athletes to wear specially designed masks over their noses and mouths from the minute they step foot in Beijing until they begin competing.
Having recently acquired the equivalent of “coal miner’s lung” within a day of arriving in Beijing, I have more than a little sympathy for precautions to combat Beijing’s air pollution. I don’t think anyone credible truly believes the pollution problem will be solved before August 2008. Sure, Beijing authorities plan to cut traffic in half during the games. That is during the Olympics, by the way, not before. I’m no air pollution expert, but wouldn’t it make sense to cut down on traffic prior to the games to decrease the level of air pollution?
I think the scariest event, at least for the athletes, will be the marathon. The marathon world record holder, Haile Gebrselassie of Ethiopia, is threatening to pull out of the event, citing Beijing’s air pollution as the reason. Will the air pollution ruin the Olympics? Maybe not, but that remains an open question. Will it overshadow the games? Likely.
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12.17.07
Posted in Media/Internet, Sports, Technology, USA, Wuhan at 22:24 by Mul
As many of you already know, the elite computer gaming team from Chicago, the Chicago Chimera, won the inaugural World Final of the Championship Gaming Series. The Chimera beat the Carolina Core in a Counter-Strike: Source match and took home the $500,000 first prize. Chicago took down teams from Stockholm and Birmingham on its way to the crown.
In most circumstances, I’d be quite excited (and mighty proud) when a Chicago sports team wins a championship event. Alas, this win was tainted as the team from China, the Wuhan Dragons, were unable to participate in the event due to visa issues. As any person worth their salt knows, the Wuhaners (or any team from China for that matter) would have dominated any Counter-Strike match. Heck, the police in China even use CS for training.
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12.12.07
Posted in Law and Order, Manners, Travel/Tourism, USA at 20:37 by Mul
China and the United States signed a memorandum of understanding on December 12th agreeing to grant U.S. tourist visas to Chinese tour groups. At present, Chinese visitors to the United States are restricted to work or student visas. Chinese overseas travel has boomed in recent years and many U.S. states and businesses eager for Chinese tourism dollars have been exerting pressure on the U.S. federal government to ease travel restrictions.
Concerned that Chinese travelers abroad are beginning to earn themselves a bit of a reputation, the Spiritual Civilization Steering Committee of the Communist Party of China Central Committee has decided to take a proactive approach. Last year, the committee launched an educational campaign to prevent Chinese travelers from, in the words of the China Daily, “disgracing” the country. Here’s a list of the 4 “do’s” and 9 “don’ts” for Chinese travelers.
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