Nov 13
minipost-Quiet Reflection of the Sichuan Wen Chuan Earthquake
Written by: Allen | Filed under:-mini-posts, aside, culture, General, News | Tags:sichuan earthquake commemoration
7 Comments » newest
7 Comments » newest
When historians look back to 2008, they may well consider China’s response to the 8+ magnitude Wen Chuan Earthquake as a key defining milestone in China’s long road to modernization. Continue reading »
Nov 12
minipost-A reconsideration of “grand democracy” of the CR, theory and practice
Written by: snow | Filed under:-mini-posts, Analysis, culture, politics | Tags:democracy, history, mao zedong
40 Comments » newest
40 Comments » newest
Something no less significant than the country’s rapid economic growth of past three decades is that a group of brilliantly independent-thinking intellectual elites came into being with growing public impact, thanks to a relatively more relaxed era. While among them the liberal rightists have found more official avenues publicizing their opinions and effectively influencing the decision-making process at the high-up (as with the cases of economists li yining, Wu Jinglian and zhang weiying, the prime campaigners of western free market economy and neo-liberalism), the liberal leftists, with a sharper edge in critical and alternative thinking on important but still taboo issues such as the legacies of Mao, socialist practice and Cultural Revolution in light of China’s modernization and democratization, have been on the fringe. Cui Zhiyuan, Professor at School of Public Policy and Management in Tsinghua University, is one of them. Continue reading »
Nov 10
minipost-Where are the theaters?
Written by: chinajon | Filed under:-guest-posts, -mini-posts, culture | Tags:movie
1 Comment » newest
1 Comment » newest
This is my first post. 😀
I saw a few movie theaters in Shenzhen, but compared to other places I have been, and to the number of people who are in China, I would think that movie theaters would be a booming business. Making movies is a long standing actiity in China.
Hong Kong makes a lot of movies.
So, I put the question:
Why are there so few movie theaters?
😀
Nov 08
Chinese culture has undergone tremendous change in the last 20 years. We tend to notice the big events: Massive new skyscrapers, world class airports, new symphony halls, the Olympic Games, 5 star hotels and restaurants, etc. But what we might not see is that below the surface, there are other changes taking place.
China has developed an exciting indie music scene throughout the country. Though strongest in Beijing, excellent bands have appeared in Shanghai, Guangzhou and other parts of the country. Though there is a huge pop music industry with many very popular singers, these are acts that are less known but have developed a core following among the young. I’d like to introduce you to a few bands and hear about others you know that you can share with us. Follow the links to their myspace sites and the songs will usually play automatically. For the Neocha site which is in China, you need to click on the “play” button. I’ve included descriptions of each band either from the web or from my own knowledge. Continue reading »
Nov 06
minipost-Is China An Inclusive Society?
Written by: Steve | Filed under:-mini-posts, culture, education, politics, religion |
233 Comments » newest
With its recent election of an African American president, the United States has continued to evolve into a more inclusive society. One of the reasons is that being “American” means buying into a set of ideas rather than belonging to a particular race, creed or color. What was once a society of European immigrants is now a culture with roots from around the world; a culture that celebrates and is proud of its multicultural heritage. Continue reading »
Nov 04
How Can China Learn from India?
Written by: Allen | Filed under:culture, General, News, politics, religion | Tags:democracy, human rights, peaceful and harmonious society
53 Comments » newest
53 Comments » newest
Recently we have had several good, vigorous debates on the proper role of human rights in the International Order – including in China in particular. In a recent thread, I even got to argue in the comments that the Chinese government is right to focus on issues of general human welfare (as embodied by its calls for a “peaceful and harmonious” society) rather than ideologies such as “human rights” (as embodied by Western calls for democracy and freedom of speech). Continue reading »
Oct 30
minipost-Obamania Seems to be Sweeping through China, too!
Written by: Allen | Filed under:-mini-posts, culture, General, religion | Tags:u.s. presidential politics
38 Comments » newest
38 Comments » newest
As the U.S. Presidential Campaign reaches a climatic end, it is interesting to see that many Chinese, like others throughout the world, seem to have rushed aboard the Obama wagon. While pondering these observations, I ran across an interesting article on Asia Times titled “China falls for Obama’s ‘US dream'”. Here are some excerpts. Continue reading »
Oct 23
Why are Taiwanese so violent???
Written by: Allen | Filed under:Analysis, culture, News, politics | Tags:democracy, democratic progress party, taiwan, violence
181 Comments » newest
181 Comments » newest
Recently, DPP protesters attacked a Chinese envoy visiting a Confucius temple in Southern Taiwan, causing not only great embarrassment for President Ma, but also the entire Taiwanese people.
Fist fights, shouting matches, physical threats … and now this. Are these signs of a vigorous democracy or an immature – perhaps violent society? Continue reading »
Oct 17
Wang Yung-Ching (王永慶) – One of Taiwan’s Proud Sons – Passes Away…
Written by: Allen | Filed under:Announcements, culture, General, News | Tags:mainland investment, taiwan business visionary
18 Comments » newest
18 Comments » newest
Wang Yung-Ching
Wang Yung-Ching, founder of Taiwan’s Formosa Plastics Group, has passed away at the age of 91 while on a business trip to the United States. Wang died unexpectedly in his sleep at his daughter’s home in New Jersey.
Known affectionately as the “Midas of Management” in Taiwan, Wang started his business by selling rice in 1932. From that humble beginning, Wang would become the richest man in Taiwan with a personal fortune (last year) of U.S. $6.8 billion. Wang’s rags-to-rich’s story, coupled with his frugal, unassuming, hardworking lifestyle, makes him one of the most inspirational figures in Taiwan in a generation.
Wang began building his business conglomerate in the early 1950s – when the Japanese had just left the island. His conglomerate would help to transform Taiwan’s biotechnology, petrochemical processing and electronic components production industries into leaders of the world. Continue reading »
Oct 14
Are Chinese racist or simply politically incorrect?
Written by: Allen | Filed under:Analysis, culture, General, language, politics | Tags:Chinese culture, featured, human bias, political ideology, racism
391 Comments » newest
391 Comments » newest
It’s common knowledge that when it comes to racial remarks, Chinese people (and perhaps Asians in general) are not the most politically correct people in the world. We’ve had extended discussions about “racism” in China (see, e.g., Chocolate City post by Buxi). Recently, I came across an interesting article in Times Magazine (in relation to the U.S. Presidential politics) regarding racism in Asia. Unfortunately, I believe the author falls into many pitfalls that many Westerners make when it comes to Asian racism. Continue reading »
Oct 02
minipost-Beijing’s New Air Pollution Control Measures
Written by: Allen | Filed under:-mini-posts, aside, culture, Environment, General, News, politics | Tags:beijing air, environment, pollution
13 Comments » newest
13 Comments » newest
Whatever your views on the proper role of government in societal, cultural, and economic affairs, few would argue against the government’s role (if not duty) in helping to confront the myriad environmental problems facing modern industrialized societies. Continue reading »
Sep 28
Chinese elitism versus American parochialism (aka Sarah Palin-style “democracy”): Musings on how different political systems function. Part I: The Chinese story.
Written by: bianxiangbianqiao | Filed under:culture, politics | Tags:China, democracy
35 Comments » newest
35 Comments » newest
Prologue: On my last trip back to China I brought back some reprints of Republican-era books. The following musings are based on my hasty reading notes.
Abstract: The Chinese society functions well when the stuff of its elite works. The American society functions well when the stuff of its elite works and is embraced by its masses (which is far from automatic). The challenge for the Chinese society is that historically the stuff of its elite (e.g., Confucianism, Legalism and revolutionary socialism) has often failed to work. The challenge for the American society is that the stuff of its elite (e.g., science, education and secular humanism) is often rejected by its masses. Continue reading »
Sep 23
minipost-Cross-strait “Trash Talk”: which side has the better cuisine?
Written by: Allen | Filed under:-mini-posts, aside, culture, General | Tags:chinese cusine, chinese food, Mainland, taiwan
32 Comments » newest
32 Comments » newest
With all the arguments generated by our discussion on cross-strait politics, we need to start a topic that both sides can agree on. One thing I think we can all agree is that Chinese Cuisine is an important aspect of Chinese Culture. The only question is: which side of the strait has the better cuisine? 😉 Continue reading »
Sep 23
minipost-Do westerners care what we think?
Written by: berlinf | Filed under:-mini-posts, culture | Tags:communication
96 Comments » newest
96 Comments » newest
I felt honored to be invited as one of the authors for this site which seems to have a lot of healthy debate. I know that in the past, A Chinese blogger by the name Anti (安替) also started some effort to translate Chinese articles into English to let English-readers have a firsthand understanding of what the Chinese minds are pondering about. Continue reading »
Sep 18
minipost-2008 Beijing Paralympics Ends
Written by: Allen | Filed under:-mini-posts, culture, General, News | Tags:2008 beijing olympics, 2008 beijing paralympics
53 Comments » newest
53 Comments » newest
Without too much fanfare in the West, the 2008 Beijing Paralympics has ended almost as fast as the main Olympics events had rushed onto the world stage. It’s hard to imagine that in a little over 1 month – the whole hoopla that is the Beijing Olympics has officially ended Continue reading »
Sep 17
minipost-Oppose Belief Opportunists: My Thoughts On Modern-Day Uighur Christians
Written by: Damai | Filed under:-mini-posts, culture, language, religion | Tags:Christianity, Islam, translation, uighur
41 Comments » newest
41 Comments » newest
I had meant to post this sooner, but a quick Mid-Autumn Festival vacation trip got in the way. Admin previously provided me with several passages written by ksjqjy, the host of the Minkaohan forum, and I thought I would post some of them which dealt with religion, given the the timely relevance to Ramadan. Continue reading »
Sep 15
minipost-(Letter) The Chinese essay BBC was dared to publish (contrasting argumentation styles)
Written by: Joel | Filed under:-mini-posts, culture, media | Tags:BBC, Chinese media, face, media bias, nationalism, patriotism, western media
95 Comments » newest
95 Comments » newest
A Mr. Li sent this essay to the BBC and dared them to publish it. They did. Much thanks to EastSouthWestNorth for providing this English translation (See their post for additional translated reader comments.) Continue reading »
Sep 10
Netizens vote for sparrow as China’s national bird
Written by: Nimrod | Filed under:Analysis, culture, Environment, News | Tags:endangered species, national bird, national character, sparrow
36 Comments » newest
36 Comments » newest
America has the Bald Eagle, a powerful symbol of might, individuality, and freedom — even if Benjamin Franklin thought it was a bird of “bad moral character” inferior to the Wild Turkey.
What does China have as a national bird? Well, it doesn’t yet.
The house sparrow, so common in China, and named one of the four vermin during the 1950’s (and killed en masse), has received a plurality of votes among ten birds in an unofficial online poll for China’s national bird. This has stirred up a conversation online about what constitutes a national bird, and more interestingly, about the national character and outlook of the common Chinese people.
Continue reading »
Sep 09
Thailand’s political turmoil
Written by: Allen | Filed under:Analysis, culture, education, News, politics | Tags:class warfare, democracy, Prime Minister Samak, public education, rule of law, Sondhi Limthongkul, thailand, the role of military
27 Comments » newest
27 Comments » newest
The recent political turmoils have received relatively scant coverage in the Western Press. Nevertheless, many of us here at Foolsmountain think the events in Thailand are important and interesting because they touch upon so many interesting issues – including the rule of law, democracy, class warfare, public education, and the role of military – all of which are also pertinent to China. Continue reading »
Sep 09
minipost-(Translation) Jiang Yuyuan: Mommy You Don’t Have To Beg For Food
Written by: guest | Filed under:-mini-posts, culture | Tags:gymnast, olympics
5 Comments » newest
5 Comments » newest
Below is a report about Olympic gymnast Jian Yuyung’s humble beginning. I found it while trying to substantiate which year Jiang, one of the gymnasts accused of being underage, entered local gymnastics program in Liozhou (appearantly 1994 when she was ONE YEAR OLD – if the allegation she was born in 1993 is true): Continue reading »
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