A Celebrity's Mistake

During the aftermath of the devastating earthquake in China, 50 year old American actress Sharon Stone commented, “this earthquake and all this stuff happened, and then I thought, is that karma? When you're not nice the bad things happen to you?'' on the red carpet during an interview at the Cannes Film Festival earlier last week, causing outrage throughout China. In a second interview recently after, the renowned actress had stood by her comments and felt that China had mistreated Tibetans and doing so may have caused “bad karma” leading to the horrific earthquake that killed thousands of people. But in her most recent statement she has seem to change her thoughts, and retracted her inappropriate comment. It seemed she tried to redeem herself and distanced herself from the negative image she has created of herself. Her comment about such a broad array of people that just so happens to live within an invisible boundary we call China.

The term Chinese is so broadly used to describe any person living in China; we are often too narrow minded to even learn the facts before opening our mouths. There are millions of different ethnicities that live within China and to claim such a statement about such a vast array of people is very ignorant. Not only that, but to blame all of China for the mistreating of Tibetans based on choices that the Chinese government makes is very inappropriate. There are tens of thousands of innocent people that have lost their lives in this earthquake, and to say that any of them deserves it or cause it upon themselves, is just plain wrong. No one deserves their home and families to be torn apart, especially literally from the ground up. Not the mothers, the fathers, grandparents, and especially not all the innocent little children who have lost their lives due to the quake. That is just extremely wrong, it does not matter who makes such a statement. A good person would show remorse, sympathy, and support, not judgment and blame. As we all know, her apology now is full of crap because we know that she doesn’t mean it. As a celebrity it’s all about the money. More than half the time a celebrity of any sort makes an official apology to the public, its either one-- a publicity stunt, or two-- they’re just reading a script wrote by someone they paid to write stuff like that anyways (in my opinion). The reason why Sharon Stone decided to retract her statement and even attempt to apologize is because she is losing money. Why else? Her movies are being banned in various theaters in China. French fashion store- Christian Dior has confirmed on Thursday that the company was forced to drop her ads from all their stores in China due to customer dissatisfaction with her comment.

Celebrities are supposed to be role models, good role models. The things they say and do travels through ear faster than a speeding bullet. Sometimes too well for their own good. Even just a small little comment like this one, when made without full consideration, can cause a ton of damage. Within a week’s time, millions of people were angry and hurt by it, as well as tons of money lost. An apology was issued, but the damage has been done. Such people as celebrities should not mix politics with entertainment, especially in times of distress. But like Sharon Stone once said, “is that karma?”, because if it is, it sure came back to bite her in the ass quite quickly. Says who? Christian Dior. Public icons should always reconsider their statements before digging themselves a hole in dirt.

Go China!

China has become more and more the correct choice for the 2008 Summer Olympics. The devastating quake in China laid claimed to tens of thousands of lives from young to old, trapping hundreds of people for hours and even days. Surprisingly the Chinese government has opened its doors and welcomes the support and relief funds from the international communities. As a up and coming powerhouse, China has take advantage of this unfortunate event and has shown the world that disagreements and disputes can be place aside in time of pain and miseries. With power comes responsibilities, and being responsible is exactly what China has done by allowing specialized rescue teams from various countries such as Russia, Japan, South Korea, and even Taiwan to help with the search and rescues operations inside Chinese walls. In doing so, the international community as had a change-around and applauded China for its tremendous efforts to help save the lives of its people and its willingness to accept outside help to speed up the process.

Over $860 million has poured in through donations from the international community as well as a new and improved perception of China. Many skeptics who even boycotted the Chinese government just prior to the quake have been seen praising the Chinese government and how the Olympics have inspired such new and great deeds from China.

As a growing economical factor and military power in the world, many western countries such as France and the United States have been extremely skeptical about how China will play out its role as a world power. With this unfortunate event, the earthquake has given China a chance to prove to the world that China should be not misunderstood. And China has done exactly that. With the Olympics being only a few months away, the government has turned this devastating event into a prosperous future for China, and it has become a page in a brand new chapter in China’s history, who has opened its long closed doors to the outside world. In doing so, it has been able to calmed the criticism and worries of the millions that has been eagerly waiting four years for the Olympics to take its place inside China’s long hidden walls.

China’s way of life and governing policies may not be seen eye to eye with the Westerners, but China has shown that it can be as humanitarian as any other country when time of disaster hits. Many already recognize China as being the greatest threat to global stability, surpassing even the United States because of its massive population and vastly expanding economy. The potential is there. In the mean time many are also eagerly waiting and hoping that China will develop itself to become not only a world power, but a world leader as well.

My only question is, is China really ready? Is China as prosperous as some may think?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080517/ap_on_re_as/china_quake_olympic_rescue

Even in China, Facebook measures excellence

Usually, the China Daily's top stories involve China's economy, activity of major party leaders, and recently, earthquake relief efforts. Today, however, there was one with a little different tone which caught my eye titled "Wen 10th top politician on Facebook." This sort of article which uses statistics based on Facebook popularity is common in US college newspapers and not so rare for mainstream US media, but I would have not expected one of China's premier news sources to feature such a story.

The story argues that Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao's popularity is based on his interaction with common Chinese citizens, especially in times of crisis. According to the article, the majority of his 20,136 supporters showed their support through Facebook after his timely appearance at the Sichuan earthquake site.

The article was based off of Tuesday's information. He currently has 29,408 supporters and is ranked number 8 among political leaders, passing up Dennis Kucinich and Arnold Schwarzenegger and about to pass up John Edwards, in case you're dying to know the updates.

I was curious where Hu Jintao ranked, but he has not yet made it onto Facebook; although, Ma Ying-jeou, Taiwan's newly elected president, is listed.

This all has no real meaning, but I found it interesting. Maybe it's just another part of Westernization.

The true priorities of the PEOPLE's Republic of China?

It's unfortunate, but not surprising, that a few international sources have attempted to find flaws in China's relief efforts of the May 12 earthquake, largely their motivation. To me, that's all nonsense.

However, there has been one story out recently I do feel is noteworthy. I first saw the article in the Washington Post, but I've since seen other similar stories popping up in other major news sources. We've all seen the horrible pictures of entire neighborhoods being leveled. However, a few buildings did last through the 8.0 (lucky 8.0 according to Chinese officials, but 7.8-7.9 for most of the world) earthquake. While schools, homes, and businesses are reduced to piles of wood and metal, government buildings are standing fully functional.

I can understand building sturdy government buildings, and I can understand a country like China, which is still developing in most areas, not having adequate supplies to build structures able to withstand such a powerful force of nature. The combination of these two, however, is another subject.

After a couple of rocky months of poor publicity, China has begun to again prove to the world that they are able to provide basic services for their citizens like the Western superpowers. Does this show where China's true priorities lie or is it simply another case of the Western media digging for dirt on China?

My Favorite Cultural Activity

Recently we visited the newly opened Museum of Tibet together with many other students and teachers. I was quite excited, because I heard much about this place, but what I saw was more interesting than what I expected.

(I must admit that I was initially a bit biased based on some information I read prior to the visit. Here is a link for your consideration. )

The museum is divided into two sections – the old Tibet and the harmonious new Tibet. First we naturally went to the old Tibet part. After a short glance at the exhibited objects, it became clear that the old Tibet was a cold, contemptible piece of land occupied by starving serfs. Not only they had the cruel aristocracy and monks to deal with, but almost everyone was missing some part of their body after being tortured by their masters. One could wonder how it is even possible that this self-mutilating society was able to survive this long without the help of China.


My questions were answered soon enough. The hall of new Tibet proved to me that “Tibet was, is and always will be a part of China.” And that is perhaps why Tibetans had not perished during those long centuries of slavery. There was always the Chinese shoulder to lean on. However, only in this century has the Central government truly taken this forsaken province under its wings. It made a striking difference immediately. The photos in the second room were bright and cheerful. Ever since 1951 the people of Tibet have been eating gigantic watermelons. Nowadays, they can also drive trucks in their national costumes. Finally, on the way out I noticed a gigantic photo of the Olympic Torch on Chomolungma and my mind was at peace. All the foreign media information I have been bombarded by was just plain old propaganda. I believe to what I saw with my own eyes – in China's Museum of Tibet.


To those who are interested I recommend reading of the article by Christopher Steiner on Museums and Nationalism or refer back to reading on Imagined Communities (1983) by Benedict Anderson.

"Learning to Speak Olympics"

Beijing's goal is to have 35% of its population English-ready by the time the Olympics roll around. NYT just put out a fun piece written by a Beijing-based English teacher about that goal's meager chances for "success." Among the more comical/alarming phrase books mentioned is "Olympic Security English," which addresses themes such as “Dissuading Foreigners From Excessive Drinking” and “How to Stop Illegal News Coverage" and introduces always-practical phrases like “Don’t pretend to be innocent!”

While I chafe at the book's construction of foreigners as an unruly bunch who need to be goaded into sobriety and self-censorship, I am tempted to wonder if a similarly spunky flair wouldn't actually improve my Chinese language textbooks and thereby increase my ability to hold an interest in them.

"Hey, you just blew a snot rocket onto my shoe! Don't pretend to be innocent!"

Memorable. Punchy. Useful.

Bringing Sexy Back to Disaster Journalism

Following last week's earthquake, the majority of Chinese online and print media were issued in somber color schemes, mostly black and white, and emblazoned with headlines indicating national togetherness in sorrow and silent mourning after the disaster:
















(Collage from Hecaitou, h/t Danwei.)

In a striking departure from the above, The New Travel Weekly-- a magazine out of Chongqing, a city just 160 miles from the earthquake's epicenter-- featured a couple of babes in bikinis, arranged in a pose suggestive of feminine giggles and the always-titillating whiff of girl-on-girl action. Its May 18th cover:




















The magazine's cover states that this special edition was devoted to earthquake relief (see the text circled in red). After hitting the stands, the magazine's president and chief editor were charged with "violating journalistic ethics," however, and swiftly relieved of their duties. (Via Danwei.)

Photo montages in the magazine's interior make the connection between sex appeal and disaster more explicit:










































(Images from Seesea.)

Note the blood stains on the clothing, the grimy (yet still fair and supple) skin, and the wooden facial expressions that suggest that these women are either fashion models or in a state of profound shock. The broken down bits of buildings in the background evoke the familiar imagery of the cities devastated by the quake.

Given that this issue of the magazine was published less than one week after the disaster that has so far claimed more than 50,000 lives, one might justifiably call these images tacky. Yet the larger point here is not that there are simply "good" (sympathetic, agenda-free) ways or "bad" (tasteless, agenda-laden) ways to represent disaster. Although my initial response to the fashion spread above is not a favorable one, it strikes me that in this era of disaster capitalism, a few pictures of skinny girls in ripped t-shirts and boy-cut underpants are hardly the worst thing that could emerge from the rubble. And as an American who has witnessed how sympathetic portrayals of tragedy can be used to drum up a nationalistic spirit of vengeance and marshal support for costly, unjust wars, I am far more wary of the power of official, "neutral" images printed the news.

Thankfully, it is difficult to hold anyone accountable for disasters of the natural variety. (Yes, it looks like Japan, Carrefour, the Dalai Lama, Western media bias and would-be thwarters of the Olympic torch relay are off the hook this time.)

Xi'an Trip

Last weekend Nou and I went to Xi'an to visit my friend Linda (who also went to UR) and see the terra cotta soldiers. We took the train, and it was very interesting, as we paid for the hard sleeper and we ended up being on the third row (the highest) of the cabin. There were six beds available, and we were squished between the ceiling and the bed. The good thing was that we had storage space up there, so there was lots of room for all of our stuff. The train station in Xi'an is a little overwhelming; we gave up trying to buy the return tickets there and opted to get them some place else. We saw the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, which is very pretty at night, and the light show/fountain show would have gone on if there wasn't thunder and lightning that night. The next day we had booked a tour of the Banpo village and the terra cotta soldiers through the Bell Tower Youth Hostel, and we had quite the international group. People were from Ireland, France and Argentina- nine in total. I hadn't heard about the Banpo village beforehand, so when we walked in I was surprised at the archaeological site that was lying in front of me. They don't know how many people lived there, but it is 6,000 years old. We could see the moat around the village along with the urns of children and holes that served as the foundation of the homes. They also had a display on the burial process and the pottery processes.

We did get dragged to several tourist traps like the silk museum and the terra cotta army factory, but once we finally got to the actual army, it was amazing! We had to take a bit of a walk before we got there, but it really is as impressive as in photos- actually even more so! I was so excited- it was like being on the Great Wall for the first time during Orientation! That was one of the highlights of the semester for me, personally.

God Hates China

This week's massive earthquake in Sichuan province has caused the death of at least 20,000 people so far. As the hope of rescuing survivors trapped in the rubble begins to fade, media sources suggest that the body count could climb much higher into the 50,000-100,000 range. One can scarcely fathom the loss of so many human lives or the (material, monetary and emotional) resources that will be needed to return the ruined cities to a state approaching normalcy.

It is difficult, indeed, to come to terms with the arbitrariness of such an enormous tragedy.

At least one religious organization from the lunatic fringe of middle America thinks it has an explanation, however. As far as the Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kansas is concerned, the earthquake struck because (wait for it) "God hates China." Below is their news release:


(Yes, this church is for real, and this is not the first time it's come up with a hateful, crack-pot conspiracy theory.)

We already know how riled up Chinese youth can become when the honor of their motherland is questioned by the international community. The Opposite End of China blog has suggested that patriots consider directing at least some of their anger towards the WBC: "if you're someone out there looking to make a display of China's strength and unity, why not give the WBC a piece of your mind (or perhaps something more tangible)?"

It's an idea worth entertaining. If you're so inclined, "something more tangible" (a smelly old carton of General Tso's Chicken, perhaps) can be sent to the WBC at 3701 SW 12th, Topeka, KS 66604.

Alternatively, I urge those of you who prefer to direct your energies in a more positive way to make a donation to support the relief effort. The Hong Kong Red Cross is accepting online donations here (this website has been intermittently down in recent days because of high traffic, so you might have to be a bit patient), and One Foundation, an organization affiliated with the Red Cross Society of China, is accepting them here. If you are in Beijing and would like to make an RMB donation at a local bank, see instructions here.

Pictures from the Earthquake

www.nytimes.com

China in a Different Perspective

I was reading New York Times and this article was on the front page: "A rescue in China: uncensored" The article shares a different perspective about current and previous stereotypes of China. The government's rescuing of the earthquake definitely strikes a new and more positive image for the Party. China is receiving some praise internationally about their country. China's quick and effective action gives some rest to the outside world's concerns about holding the Olympics in Beijing this year.

These are some of the passages I found striking:

"Chinese Web sites remain heavily censored, and a brief flirtation with openness and responsiveness does not mean that China is headed toward Western-style democracy. On the contrary, if China manages to handle a big natural disaster better than the United States handled Hurricane Katrina, the achievement may underscore Beijing’s contention that its largely nonideological brand of authoritarianism can deliver good government as well as fast growth."

"Since an earthquake flattened a swath of rural Sichuan Province on Monday, killing more than 13,000 people, the government in Beijing has mounted an aggressive rescue effort, dispatching tens of thousands of troops and promptly sending Prime Minister Wen Jiabao to the disaster zone, accompanied by reporters. A hard hat on his head and a bullhorn in hand, he ducked into the wreckage of a hospital where scores of people were buried and shouted: “Hang on a bit longer. The troops are rescuing you.” Throughout the day, the images of Mr. Wen directing disaster relief officials and comforting the injured dominated the airwaves."

Although this image is acknowledged that China can be unified and bring together support within an efficient manner, there is still the argument that the Olympic Games possibly play a part in it. Thus even though the article talks much about China revising and improving it's actions, it is only one of the larger catastrophes that China has made a better contribution to.

Here is the link:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/14/world/asia/14response.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin

Minzu Daxue Grad Student Party

My tutor, Julie, had invited me to come to the school-sponsored dance for graduate students last weekend. I figured it would be fun to compare school dances here and at home, so I decided to go. Well, when we got there, very few people were there, and the first idea that popped into my head was that it was like a middle school dance; the dance floor was in the center with chairs bordering it. And the guests were very segregated; guys on one side and girls on the other- very funny. People are shy here about dancing, and it didn't help that there were only slow songs playing on the surround system. The first dance was something akin to the Bunny Hop, which cracked me up. I was going to join but then the music stopped once I got on the floor (which was fine by me). Also, in between songs, students didn't seem to want to stay on the dance floor; they'd dance a little bit and then sit back down after the song was done! I couldn't believe it-- of course it's hard to get a party going after people sit down for every song! Luckily more people slowly came and faster songs were played. Julie and I decided to try this salsa-y song for a little bit. We didn't really know what we were doing, but pretty much it's a pivot.Being the lone foreigner in the room probably didn't help the situation, but whatever, I figured that I should have fun.

I even had two dance partners that night- one was doing slightly complicated moves like going backwards while we are going in opposite directions and what not, and the second one told me after I accepted his "invite to dance" that he had never danced with a girl before! At that point I really didn't understand how that could have happened, but I taught him a simple two step and he did great! After our first dance, however, he still wanted to dance with me, a fast song, and then I understood why he hadn't danced with a girl before. Let's just say that he needs a lot of room to dance and leave it at that....

Sanlitun

This weekend some of us went to Sanlitun, an area famous for its bar scene and a favorite spot of foreigners. Once we were on the main street, each bar had at least two people standing out front trying to convince people to go in to their bar. We walked back and forth at least three times trying to decide which bar to go, and finally decided on the one that was playing American music (Bon Jovi to be exact). Well, we got in there and there was a band playing Asian pop/rock music and really it was a very mellow place, so we decided to leave. My friend Irene had been to the area before (the only one of us who had) and she took us to a really cool little place called Shooter. It was packed with foreigners and a few sketchy older guys (who were married) trying to dance with a bunch of twenty-something year olds. The music was all Top 40 American hits (recent ones, thank goodness) and it got so packed that we had to fight to keep our places on the dance floor. It's the closest I've ever gotten to a mosh pit...I did have to stop the older guy from dancing with us- at one point I just stopped dancing and started saying "NO" over and over to him. It was not cool and he really needed to leave. The side street that Shooter was on also had bars but not as flashy as the ones on the main street (sometimes that's better). Other than that I had a really fun time going out; we haven't really done that in a long time! I hope that we'll go again soon!

Pedicures in China

Ok, so after the Yunnan trip I decided that my feet needed to get pampered. I decided to try one of the new little shops that opened near West Gate, called Sun Moon Nails (or something like that). I was interested to see how the process was different from getting a pedicure in the US. I am accustomed to a huge seat with a mini whirlpool for your feet, and I knew that that wasn't happening here because water is growing scarce. Once I was seated, my feet were propped up on a beam of sorts and they filled a plastic bowl (covered in plastic) with water from a thermos and had me soak my feet in there. Once that was done, the guy pretty much used the same supplies as back home, squirting disinfectant (at least that's what I hope it was) on each tool. The only part that I didn't really like was that while scrubbing my feet, there was no towel down to catch all the dead skin (sorry there's no nice way of putting that), so I felt like I was dirtying up the store, especially since I was the only foreigner in there AND the only one getting a pedicure done. It's very frustrating not being able to talk to people when they are asking questions; I only got a few answers correct! I felt very silly for just sitting there and people kind of chuckling at me. It took a few tries for me to understand that painting nails would cost extra, but I didn't mind that- that's what I was looking for. I also understood when she asked if I liked my toes, actually she said "hen piaoliang", so I got that! At any rate, another interesting service that they provided was tattoos. I think they were the airbrush kind, which I was a little relieved about because I really like the buzzing noise of needles, so I got to see one of the employees get the machine ready.