Hidden Harmonies China Blog

“Tiananmen Square” conjures up a great deal of negativity in the West about China, and most people in the West remembers it as the site for the 1989 protest. A picture is certainly worth a thousand words, and today, I’ve come across one taken by a personal friend, Ming, of Tiananmen Square (with his artistic photo retouching), where the place is functional, alive, and colorful. This image is a reminder for me that the Chinese people have largely “moved on” regarding Tiananmen, but most in the West are still stuck in 1989; a reminder of the gap in the view of the world between the Chinese and the West.

Few months ago I made a post, titled, ““Father’s Prairie, Mother’s River” – the feelings of one billion people on the move,” where I talked about the phenomenon of massive urbanization that is taking place in China due to the current ongoing industrial revolution.  A Chinese official has recently forecasted within the next three decades, urbanization will further reduce rural residents down to 400 million.  That’s essentially one billion people on the move within a 60-year span!  I embedded a song which I thought captured the feelings of the many migrants who missed their home. Read more…

So yesterday I was having dinner with a good friend from the East Coast. And the topic of Obama’s recent meeting with the Dalai Lama came up.

“Why does the Dalai Lama Visit anger China so much,” he asked, among other questions.

On the one hand, the question my friend asks is very legit.  The Chinese government holds all the cards.  With every passing day, Tibet is changing. What do they have to worry about an “old, limping, but kind and gentle-hearted monk”? Read more…

Tsinghua University Professor, Yan Xuetong, published an essay in the Journal of Contemporary China in 2001 entitled, “The Rise of China in Chinese Eyes.” It is rare to find something in the English language that articulates so well the Chinese perspective on such a big topic.   He addressed all key concerns related to this rise.  He also offers a view from the Chinese leaders.  China has a very long history and has developed a lot of wisdom, and Professor Yan also explains for us how a rising China with the Chinese way of looking at things could benefit the world.  This essay is a must read.  I have highlighted some some excerpts: Read more…

[Edit 2/20/2010] People do not remember now, but back in 2007 and 2008, Chinese toys companies were the butt of high profile highly politicized investigations for manufacturing unsafe toys; after formal investigation it turned out most of the recalls were due to fault of U.S. designers – not Chinese manufacturers.  “Made in China” was under attack in the U.S. and a target of xenophobia and protectionism.

Never mind that iPhones, designer clothing, and computers are made in China and used widely by Americans.  Never mind a University of Manitoba compiled a study in 2008, “Toy Recalls – Is China the Problem?” looking at all the toy recalls within the last two decades, and finding:

“Of the 599 recalls since 1988, an overwhelmingly high number of recalls (424 or 70.8 percent of all recalls) were due to problems which could be attributed to design flaws.”

Many Americans still see made in China goods as toxic and low quality. Read more…

President Obama and the Dalai Lama met yesterday at the White House.  The White House issued this statement

The President met this morning at the White House with His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama.  The President stated his strong support for the preservation of Tibet’s unique religious, cultural and linguistic identity and the protection of human rights for Tibetans in the People’s Republic of China. The President commended the Dalai Lama’s “Middle Way” approach, his commitment to nonviolence and his pursuit of dialogue with the Chinese government.  The President stressed that he has consistently encouraged both sides to engage in direct dialogue to resolve differences and was pleased to hear about the recent resumption of talks.  The President and the Dalai Lama agreed on the importance of a positive and cooperative relationship between the United States and China. Read more…

What an invigorating way to start the new Year of the Tiger! I thoroughly enjoyed watching Shen and Zhao (after 18 Years of challenges and setbacks) finally win Olympic Gold!  Of all the performers in the night, it was probably Pang and Tong who shined the brightest.  But the crowd’s sentimental favorites Shen and Zhao did enough to make the the night theirs.

Here are links to Shen and Zhao’s short and long program at NBCOlympics.  Here is a link to Pang and Tong’s long program.

Below is a rough translation of a piece published in Xinhua after the performances of Shen/Zhao and Pang/Tong that magical night. Read more…

China has 56 ethnic groups. They include Russians, Mongols, Uyghurs, Koreans, and many others. Here is a modern Chinese take on all of them: 中华大家庭 (the Big Chinese Family). The lyrics actually enumerate the groups individually.

Welcome to Hidden Harmonies!  We like to officially announce the start of a sister blog to Foolsmountain. We are dedicated to articulating and seeking out Chinese perspectives, smart perspectives, or translations of Chinese opinions from all over the world. Our mission is to foster a global community of intellectual and influential citizens interested in China to comment, discuss, praise or critique China (as the case may be) as China continues her rise in stature, power, and influence. It is also about soliciting opinions from citizens around the world to comment on a world that is increasingly less Western, and more Eastern as China continues her rise.

We are thrilled that the birth of this blog can coincide with the beginning of new Year of the Tiger (02/14/2010). As you may know, the Tiger is the third sign in the Chinese Zodiac cycle. As a sign for bravery and courage, it was often used to ward away bad fortune and evil spirits in ancient times.  Dr. Sun Yat Sen, the “Founder of the Republic” (or “Father of the Revolution”) that is still held in high respect by Chinese on both sides of the strait, was himself a Tiger. We hope you will find this blog to provide similar auspicious purposes.

As we mentioned in our “About” page, all contributors here write on a voluntary basis with no compensation; those who write are driven to do so by their conscience, and nothing else. We are completely unaffiliated with any government, political party, or movement. The roots of Hidden Harmonies is Fool’s Mountain, which was previously known as (had its roots in) blog4china.

Articles and comments prior to this announcement have been copied from Fool’s Mountain.  Materials we feel distracted from our goal of facilitating meaningful exchange have been left out. If you feel your article should be included, please send us an email.

The layout and features of this blog should be very familiar to Fool’s Mountain readers.

Here is a brief rundown of Hidden Harmonies’ features:

• About Us: In case you need to be reminded of what our goals are, this is the page to check out.  It will also list the key contributors who help sustain this community.
• Open Forum:  This is an area where we welcome readers to give us feedbacks, tell us what they want to read, or to simply to share off-beat thoughts with each other.
• FAQ: Our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page contains more information; including tips like emoticons, feed URL’s, and listing all posts by certain author.
• Register: We encourage our readers to take part in this community by registering.  Over time, we hope to enrich your experiences here.  To become a registered user on Hidden Harmonies, click on the register link below the visitor map.

If you are a reader of Fool’s Mountain, we welcome you. If you are new, we welcome you just as the same!  We look forward to many years of well-meaning, even if heated, exchanges. And we hope you will find this blog a useful resource.

This is an area where we welcome readers to give us feedbacks, tell us what they want to read, or to simply to share off-beat thoughts with each other.

While the Chinese government prefers development over human rights (like freedom of religion and speech), the Indian government, while guaranteeing these rights, neglects development.

Both India and China face the problems of separatism. Indian Naxalite movements and the recent riots and uprisings in Xinjiang and Tibet further highlights the need for respective governments to tackle the issue seriously.
Read more…

As the Chinese New Year approaches, I think I should write some lighter posts.  So here is something funny I stumbled across on WSJ’s China Realtime Report: Read more…

Fellow reader Josef pointed out a NYT article that reported the recent Operation Aurora malware that attacked Google CN contained identifiable code from China, and it implicated the Chinese government. The journalist relied on a blog written by security expert Mr. Joe Stewart of SecureWorks. Read more…

High-speed rails (HSR) have been built in China at a fanatic pace. Figure this will be an entry to get the debate started.

The first HSR, the Shanghai Maglev Train, was completed in late 2003. It was a technical trial and showcase. After its completion and initial operation, the Maglev technology was deemed too expensive to build and maintain. China decided to roll out its national HSR system with the wheel-based technology. Here is a map of China’s HSR system in 2020:
Read more…