And now, ladies and gentlemen, let us announce the World’s Sexiest Man of 2012! Recently, on a very rare occasion, China’s People’s Daily agreed with a newspaper based in the United States. The English edition of newspaper- often deemed by western media as a Chinese Communist Party’s mouthpiece- dedicated a…
Category: China
CHINA: Media Wondered As ‘Crown Prince’ Wandered
After weeks of rumors spread by the media about his supposedly deteriorating health, Xi Jinping appeared in public for the first time on September 15th. But since then he has been all over the place. But before that, the new head of China had cancelled a number of meetings with…
CHINA: Guan Xi – It’s All About Whom You Know, Reports The New York Times
If you’ve ever done business in China, you would be very familiar with the term “guan-xi,” translated as connections. Without any guan-xi, it is nearly impossible to get things done. China is a nation built on guan-xi, a business deal-making strategy embedded in the culture. From a Western democratic perspective,…
JAPAN: Are These Stupid Islands Worth the Trouble?
The ongoing disagreement over the Senkaku, or Diaoyu, islands is nothing new to those who follow current events in East Asia, even as both China and Japan have made stumbling efforts at negotiation. the first of which took place on September 25. Despite the storm, the truth is that the…
NORTH KOREA: Trying to Save Face With a Stolen Tablet?
The release of North Korea’s new “Arirang” tablet computer is very exciting news, but as with many new gadgets, there is at least one big question. Instead of asking how it compares to competitors or how well it performs, the question is about where it was made. North Korea’s media…
CHINA: Ai Weiwei’s Gangnam Style Parody
If New York Times had not published the Wen article (see Lani Luo’s “CHINA: It’s All About Whom You Know, Reports New York Times”), Ai Weiwei’s Grass Mud Horse Style (a parody on Psy’s internet meme Gangnam Style) video would probably be the most popular news in China. Ai Weiwei…
China Blotter: Basketball Grandma’s Story
China may be world’s second largest economy, but it is still nowhere close to utopia. Today, the world is dazzled by China’s booming financial freedom. However, there is not enough attention given to those who are still suffering. The government, of course, is working on pulling as many people out…
China Blotter: Think of the Children!
China is not known for its relaxed rules, and neither are its schools. When I attended pre-school and elementary school in China, I often came home crying. There was always something to get in trouble for: I vividly remember being scolded by teachers for eating my lunch too slowly or…
JAPAN: Hot Porn Actress Asks Chinese Fans to Simmer Down
While anti-Japanese sentiments continue to brew across China due to the unseemly scrum over the Senkaku, called the Diaoyu by the Chinese, islands, some celebrities in the region have spoken out against the tension. Notable amongst them is Sora Aoi, a former Japanese pornography actress, who has helped China, or…
China: Defending His Country
There are a few islands on the northeast side of Taiwan called the Diaoyu Islands, if you’re Chinese. But if you’re Japanese, you call it the Senkaku Islands. Both China and Japan claim the sovereignty of these islands, not only for national dignity but also the rich deposits of natural…
JAPAN: It’s Upsetting the Country’s Constitution
How much tension could a chain of uninhabited islands create? Quite a bit, apparently, as many Chinese take to the streets in outrage following Japan’s decision to nationalize three of the Senkaku islands. Concurrently, some Japanese have voiced a desire to revise the current constitution. The Mainichi Daily, a leading…
CHINA: The Man Who ‘Disappeared’… Re-Appears!
For the past two weeks, Xi Jinping’s disappearance and reappearance in public view have occupied the front pages of newspapers all over the world. When the high-profile meeting between Xi and Hillary Clinton was suddenly cancelled on September 5th, major western media started to mention the unexpected disappearance as if…
CHINA: Fighting Crime One Blog at a Time
At a national courts conference in China recently, judges reported that internet blogs turn out to be a great asset when it comes to preventing juvenile crime and communicating with young deviants. Most judges in attendance agreed that although the internet is a great tool that many youngsters use to…
CHINA: Following in Singapore’s Footsteps … Censorship by Another Name
Will Chinese television veiwers have anything good left to watch? The State Administration of Film, Radio and Television recently published six new guidelines that ban remakes of foreign TV series, as well as shows based on online games. The rules also require that revolution-themed TV series clearly differentiate between friend…
An Exclusive Interview with Robin Wang, the Author of the Important and Provocative New Book: ‘Yinyang: The Way of Heaven and Earth in Chinese Thought and Culture’
One of the most important relationships in this world just might be the relationship between the two behemoth power-states: China and the United States. This is a relationship between a seasoned country with a vibrant and complicated history of over two-thousand years, and a much younger, more modern state of…
China: Is Sexy Mandarin a Foul Language?
Attention American horn-dogs! Want to learn Mandarin? Enjoy ogling half-naked Chinese women? Great! Now you can learn Mandarin and be titillated by lingerie models all in the privacy of your own home. Forget about the difficulties of this complicated language. Sexy Mandarin’s “teachers” seek to instruct and entertain you. Soft…