It seems the long held social custom of Shanghainese to walk down the street in their pajamas is causing some discomfort to the organizers of the Shanghai World Expo scheduled for next year and a campaign has been started by the municipal government to end the practice. It's not that unusual to see middle aged women milling around on the street in their pajamas, or even … [Read more...] about Shanghai Style: Pajamas in the Great Outdoors
General
Opinion:Making Sense of the Dollar and Yuan
Officials from both China and the U.S. have lauded Obama's recent trip to China as a great success. While some have criticized the trip for producing little in terms of specifics, one should not casually dismiss the achievements actually made (see U.S.-China Joint Statement). In so many ways, the relationship between U.S. and China has never been closer. Yet despite the … [Read more...] about Opinion:Making Sense of the Dollar and Yuan
“Father’s Prairie, Mother’s River” – the feelings of one billion people on the move
Everyone knows China is going through an industrial revolution right now. In developed countries such as the U.S., this took place in the late 19th century. The ratio between the number of rural and urban residents basically swapped because industrialization freed the bulk of the population from having to work in the fields to produce food for all. This phenomenon is … [Read more...] about “Father’s Prairie, Mother’s River” – the feelings of one billion people on the move
Hu and Obama meeting, which issues are "core interests?"
Both NPR and Xinhua covered the meeting of the U.S. President Obama and Chinese President Hu. I thought the coverage were actually decent in that the issues they list were basically identical. Obviously, NPR did not give equal weight to how the Chinese see the issues. Likewise, Xinhua did not give equal weight to how the U.S. see the issues. Naturally they both are biased. … [Read more...] about Hu and Obama meeting, which issues are "core interests?"
Chinese Copyright Protection in the Age of Digital Books, Creative Commons, Remixes, and Mashups
This may sound like a Dilbert kind of approach, but some problems are solved if you wait long enough. Copyright protection is certainly a case in point. The United States has been a patient critic of Chinese copyright protection, but according to Wei Gu, columnist for Reuters, such calls for action has fallen on deaf ears (see: Copyright protection battle in China). The … [Read more...] about Chinese Copyright Protection in the Age of Digital Books, Creative Commons, Remixes, and Mashups