One of the interesting things about the Opening Ceremony is the outside world gets to see (or is made to pay attention to) a slice of raw Chinese public opinion on full display. Besides obviously the home team, Taiwan probably got the loudest cheers from the Chinese crowd at the Bird's Nest today, a sure head-scratcher to foreign pundits stuck in a brain warp, I'm sure, but no … [Read more...] about Who got the loudest cheers at the Opening Ceremony?
"Direct" flights commence between Taiwan and mainland
Today, without too much fuss, regular direct flights between mainland China and Taiwan began, fulfilling a campaign pledge of Ma Yingjiu. The flights run Friday-to-Monday between Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing, Xiamen, Guangzhou and Taipei. As you can see from the maps (from Sina & Chinanews) below, all flights still route near Hong Kong airspace so they are "direct" only in … [Read more...] about "Direct" flights commence between Taiwan and mainland
The Prospects of Democracy in China
Our guest Youzi has given us a kernel for further discussion in one of his comments: And even within China, between different provinces and peoples are tremendous psychological differences, perhaps even greater than those between two countries. As time has passed, as the people’s living standards have grown and as awareness of personal rights has woken… if the traditional … [Read more...] about The Prospects of Democracy in China
Political unification and China’s Grand Union ideal
On this site, we've come back to the question of secession several times. The news a week ago that Ireland, with less than 1% of the EU's population, single-handedly derailed the second EU attempt at political centralization (Lisbon Treaty) strikes me as the perfect opportunity to talk about the flip side of the coin: the ideology of unification. Because let's face it, … [Read more...] about Political unification and China’s Grand Union ideal
Young & Restless in China
With the Olympics only months away, the spotlight is definitely shining on China now. There have been many talks and documentaries on China and Chinese society like we mentioned. Here is another one. PBS's Frontline just released a new documentary called Young & Restless in China, which bills itself as An intimate look into the lives of nine young Chinese, coming of age in … [Read more...] about Young & Restless in China