(June 25, 2005)  Signal-To-Noise Ratio In Internet News  Has the avian flu already killed 121 people in Qinghai province, China?  Read the evidence and decide what the truth is.

(June 25, 2005)  The Chinese Scholar And  His Six Runaway Wives  Another member of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences has been arrested.  He was turned in by US Immigration Services for having six runaway wives.

(June 25, 2005)  The Nancy Kissel Case - Part 14  Links to media reports on the thirteenth day of the trial.

(June 24, 2005)  In Defense of Roger Ailes  Token feminist-liberal Susan Estrich explained why she liked working for Roger Ailes (Fox News) and got lambasted by liberal bloggers.  I worked for Roger Ailes too, and I am willing to defend his professional integrity.  People may not like Ailes' ideology and tactics, but he is the inevitable product of this system.

(June 23, 2005)  China's Petition Village  An entire book on nothing but the petition village in Beijing.  How can you tell if someone is not a petitioner?  Pale skin?  Well-fed?  No, you look for the sorrowful eyes ...

(June 23, 2005)  How To Keep Information Out Of Newspapers In China  First, see if you can prevent publication; failing that, you steal the pages from the distributor; failing that, you buy up every copy out there.  This is what happened to yesterday's Nanfang Daily.

(June 23, 2005)  The Nancy Kissel Case - Part 13  Links to media reports on the twelfth day of the trial.

(June 22, 2005)  Hinano Mizuki: The Case for Internet Censoring in China  The fight for freedom of speech and media on the Internet in China has the unintended effect of also shoving pornography down the throats of the Chinese people.  This post contains an illustration of extreme pornography in the person of Hinano Mizuki -- test your fortitude!  P.S.  By the way, this pro-censorship post was censored in China.  Eat that!

(June 22, 2005)  The Nancy Kissel Case - Part 12  Links to media reports on the eleventh day of the trial.

(June 21, 2005)  Income Inequality In China  The trickle-down theory will work as long as everyone is doing better, even if some people do better than others.  The big bomb will come on the day when some people do a lot of better while others do a lot worse.

(June 21, 2005)  A Thousand-Word Picture  Front page story in Hong Kong's Oriental Daily on an underground wheat gluten factory.

(June 21, 2005)  The Nancy Kissel Case - Part 11  Links to media reports on the tenth day of the trial.

(June 20, 2005)  The Shalan Flash Flood - Part 4  The journalist who wrote the banned Nanfang Weekend article wrote about what he couldn't write in the article.

(June 20, 2005)  The Shalan Flash Flood - Part 3  This is a translation of a Nanfang Weekend report that was written but denied publication.  But it found its way to the Internet anyway.  Read this gripping account even as you figure out why permission was denied.

(June 19, 2005)  Western Media Killed Chinese Web Sites  Two Chinese web sites were shut down soon after exposure in the western media.  Is there a cause-and-effect relationship?  I wouldn't know.

(June 19, 2005)  The Hong Kong Chief Executive Election  Closure is reached as Donald Tsang wins.  This post covers some obscure issues (who are the six registered candidates? how many nominations did Lee Wing-tat really need?) and brings up an unanswered question. 

(June 18, 2005)  Chinese Review Of Books  A collection of previous blog posts on three Chinese novelists (Cao Xueqin, Qian Zhongshu and Eileen Chang) mentioned by Julia Lovell in The Guardian.

(June 18, 2005)  No Chinese Or Dogs Allowed  This notice in a Shanghai park has attained mythical status.  But here are some contemporary versions of similar signs in China.

(June 18, 2005)  The Nancy Kissel Case - Part 10  Links to media reports on the ninth day of the trial.

(June 17, 20050  The Shalan Flash Flood - Part 2  Was that famous photo of the hand prints left on the wall by dying children fake (or, at least, untruthful)?  Here are many of the doubts that have been raised so far, together with a simple refutation.

(June 17, 2005)  The Unknown and the Unknowable  A Chinese exile writer poses the question: "What are the things that the people in China are not allowed to know about?"  So, do you know what you don't know that you don't know?  The writer then quotes a famous poet from Princeton.

(June 17, 2005)  The Nancy Kissel Case - Part 9  Links to media reports on the eighth day of the trial.

(June 16, 2005)  The Shalan Flash Flood - Part 1  The story behind the famous photos of the hand prints left on the wall by dying children.  This is a comparison of three different media reports.

(June 16, 2005)  Blogger Praises Mainstream Media  This blogger praises The Standard, SCMP and other mainstream media.

(June 16, 2005)  The Nancy Kissel Case - Part 8  Links to media reports on the seventh day of the trial.

(June 15, 2005)  How Many Times Does Japan Have To Apologize?  As little as once but as many as infinite -- a very small number of people have the final say-so over this number.

(June 15, 2005)  How To Be Interrogated by the Public Security Bureau in China  A 'person of interest' provides the outline of his own eight-hour interrogation and explains some of the techniques that were used against him.

(June 15, 2005)  Hong Kong By The Numbers  A preview of the numbers for the upcoming 7/1 march in Hong Kong.

(June 15, 2005)  The Nancy Kissel Case - Part 7  Links to media reports on the sixth day of the trial.

(June 14, 2005)  The Underground Publishing Industry in China  If certain books are banned in China, then why are they still available all over?  If there is an underground publishing empire, then why hasn't there been a crackdown?

(June 14, 2005)  The Nancy Kissel Trial - Part 6  Link to media reports on the fifth day of the trial.

(June 13, 2005)  Political Abstentionism in Opinion Polls  How a blog post here got transmigrated into a mainstream media website, with a spatial relocation from Hong Kong to Brazil.  This explains why I will never get into a MSM-versus-blog debate, because I believe the distinction is artificial.

(June 13, 2005)  Contemporary Chinese Vocabulary  I am older than most netizens and therefore I am quite often lost in the contemporary lingo.  This page will be regularly updated as I come across more contemporary Chinese vocabulary that I can never find in any printed Chinese dictionary.  WARNING: This page will be incomprehensible to people who don't know Chinese.  Come to think of it, it is incomprehensible to most people who think they know Chinese ...

(June 13, 2005)  The Case of the Missing Fingers  On June 2, I issued this challenge: " The original report on the assault of Chinese journalist Wen Chong was plastered all over the western media.  But will the resolution of the case be reported in the west?  My bet is firmly on NO."  According to Google News as of now, I won the bet.  Zilch!  They don't give a flying f**k!

(June 12, 2005)  Damsels in Distress in China  From a Washington Post column on Natalee Holloway to Schapelle Corby to living like a pig in China, this is about the public function of media in any society.

(June 11, 2005)  The Nancy Kissel Case - Part 5  Link to media reports on the fourth day of the trial.

(June 11, 2005)  The East Asian History Book  This new history book is written jointly by scholars in China, Japan and South Korea.  How does it compare to the Japanese Society for Textbook Reform book with respect to the Nanjing massacre, the Marco Polo Bridge incident and the Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal?

(June 10, 2005)  The Nancy Kissel Case - Part 4  Links to media reports on the third day of the trial.

(June 10, 2005)  This is not a post as such.  Courtesy of Danwei, I saw Henry Kissinger's cynical and immoral essay Conflict Is Not An Option on Sino-American relationship, and I rejoice because this is my excuse to link to a longtime bookmark.  I had saved it years ago, knowing that it will be useful some day.  Don't bother with the essay because it will only make you angry; but you have to check out that bookmark!

(June 10, 2005)  A Scandal in Hong Kong  District councilors are accused of creating fictional grassroots organizations in order to steal government funds.

(Administrative note)  Wham!  Yesterday, the server got slammed out of nowhere with 7,713 page views of The Big Brawl in Taipei (April 27, 2005).  Where did that come from?  Which A-list blogger linked to it?  Or maybe the people in China want to learn how to practice democracy ...

(June 9, 2005)  The Nancy Kissel Case - Part 3  End of the prosecutor's opening statement and beginning of presentation of evidence.

(June 9, 2005)  Eastweek on Ching Cheong  Translation of an article in Eastweek magazine to fill up some of the missing pieces, but don't count on this being the final say.

(June 9, 2005)  A Cockroach in Taiwan  A videotape showed a man (="cockroach") removing funeral parlor offerings (meat and rice) and selling them to local restaurants.  Or did it?  A case of the worst of the worst of democracy in Taiwan.

(June 8, 2005)  The Nancy Kissel Case - Part 2  First day of the Nancy Kissel trial, with the Chinese-language press coverage.

(June 8, 2005)  1,000 Chinese Spies in Australia  Do you really need 1,000 spies to work for you?  What is a "mosaic spy"?  And what is a "reverse mosaic spy"?

(June 8, 2005)  The Bald Restaurant Hostess  Everything you need to know why this restaurant hostess shaved her hair for work.

(June 7, 2005)  "I Don't Know"  What does French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu (1930-2002) have to say about the Hong Kong Chief Executive election?

(June 7, 2005)  "I Want My MTV"  How my experience as a translator helped to launch MTV in Taiwan.

(June 6, 2005)  The Great Wall of Hong Kong  What is so great about the wall across the street from the Stormy Weather restaurant in Lan Kwai Fong, Hong Kong?  Many pieces of imaginary literary histories exist ...

(June 6, 2005)  An Incident in Shanghai  A woman jumps off a building in Shanghai and dies.  Sadly, these things happen.  Even more sadly, something else happened in this case.

(June 5, 2005)  Hong Kong By The Numbers  The attendance figures at the June 4 candlelight memorial service.

(June 5, 2005)  My Intellectual Hero  It is the author of "Island Models for Takeover by a Social Trait Facing a Frequency-Dependent Selection Barrier in a Mendelian Population".

(June 4, 2005)  Grand Unification of Theories about the Case of Ching Cheong  How to reconcile the three theories about the detention of journalist Ching Chelong: the Zhao Ziyang manuscript, the secret Sino-Russian border agreement and the Lu Jianhua connection?  Includes a full translation of Mary Lau's open letter to Hu Jintao.

(June 4, 2005)  Zhang Ziyi In The Toilet  Chinese movie star Zhang Ziyi made the front cover of Newsweek magazine, but got flushed down the toilet by the New York Post.  What are the issues here?

(June 3, 2005)  Hong Kong Opines on Democracy in China  A discussion of the HKU POP survey results about economic versus democratic development in China.

(June 3, 2005)  The Ten Million Dollar Bentley  Translation of portions of an essay by Yu Jie on wealth inequality in China, along with a translation of an article by Zhang Baohua about her visit to an impoverished Chinese village.

(June 2, 2005)  The Case of the Missing Fingers  The case of the Southern Metropolis Daily reporter who was assaulted and lost two fingers in China has been solved.  Go read for yourself and see if you want to take up the bet at the bottom.

(June 2, 2005)  The Not Schapelle Corby Post  More tales from my translator career with the Drug Enforcement Adminstration, including an important lesson for prospective drug dealers.

(June 2, 2005)  The Hong Kong CE Election  Contrasting the coverages by SCMP with Sing Tao.  It is not for me to tell you what to think, but you should at least read another side of the evolving story.

(June 1, 2005)  The Long Story About Huaxi/Huankantou  The translation of the Phoenix Weekly article that is the best researched account of this mass event.  Much more than chat room hearsay, the reporters went to speak to the villagers, bus drivers, nurses, police officers, propaganda department flacks, and others and looked up primary government documents.

(June 1, 2005)  A Media Non-Event in China  The Taiwan media went into a feeding frenzy about a former legislator being assaulted in a Xiamen hot-pot restaurant.  This is an example of haste make waste in rushing after exclusive breaking stories.

(May 31, 2005)  Hong Kong By The Numbers  The number of people who marched at the Patriotic Democratic March in Hong Kong.  This time, all the media reported the same numbers.  What differentiated among the media was the composition of the marchers.

(May 31, 2005)  Media Accuracy  Some of my personal encounters with the media.

(May 30, 2005)  The Ultimate Arbitrator  At the memorial service of Brother Mosquito in Taiwan, 10,000 gangsters showed up to pay tribute.

(May 30, 2005)  Wristbands  Colorful plastic wristbands are fashionable marketing tools.  So what was Cecilia Cheung wearing?

(May 29, 2005)  The Enemy Of My Enemy Is My Enemy  When Beijing University journalism professor Jiao Guobiao was dismissed from his job, he wrote an article that was criticized by an individual named Guo Feixiong.  Is Guo an undercover Internet commentator?  No, Guo has an even more interesting background than Jiao.

(May 28, 2005)  The Taiwan That You May Not Know About  A partial translation of a section of the article by Lung Ying-tai in Beijing Youth Daily.  This is an important article by a famous Chinese public intellectual published in mainland China on why the people of Taiwan don't want immediate unification with China.

(May 27, 2005)  The Nancy Kissel Case - Part 1  A translation of the Chinese-language coverage of this murder case when it was broke in November 2003.

(May 26, 2005)  Hong Kong Blogosphere News  Three stories from the Chinese-language side of the Hong Kong blogosphere: plagiarism, mainstream media coverage and viral marketing.

(May 26, 2005)  One County, Two Systems, Six Men  A photographic comparison of how suspected criminals are exhibited in Hong Kong and mainland China.

(May 25, 2005)  More Virgin Prostitutes  Cases of females convicted of working as prostitutes in China (including signed 'confessions').  The problem was that these females were found to be virgins afterwards.  But does that means that any non-virgin is 'screwed' otherwise?  Not necessarily, as there are other unmpeachable classes of females.

(May 24, 2005)  Citizen Reporters On The Huankantou/Huaxi Incident  Archival material of Internet comments of eyewitnesses at the scene of the riot, including citizens and government workers. 

(May 23, 2005)  Walk-ons On Television News Programs  What is a television news reporter supposed to do when he/she is broadcasting live and a member of the public is standing behind him/her and waving placards?  Two case studies: New York City and Taipei.

(May 22, 2005)  A Tea Fight in Uzbekistan  Does the Uzbekistan government really torture people by boiling them?

(May 22, 2005)  The Virginity Test  Eligibility in sharing land compensation money for some females in a Chinese commune depends upon passing a virginity test.

(May 21, 2005)  Undercover Internet Commentators on the Chinese Internet  A full translation of the original Nanfang Weekend article on the use of undercover Internet commentators in China.  The money quote: "To form an environment of public opinions that is suitable for the main theme of constructing a well-off society."

(May 21, 2005)  How Numbers Get Hyped in China  Structural problems in the political system leads to the 'dodgy' statistics, and the solution lie in independent audits and accountability.  In other words, these are basic principles for corporations.

(May 20, 2005)  The Posada Case  Internationally famous suspected terrorist Luis Posada Carriles waltzed into the United States to give press conferences and interviews.

(May 20, 2005)  The Hong Kong CE Election  The favorite in the Chief Executive election has not even declared his candidacy, but his opponents are stabbing each other in the backs already. 

(May 19, 2005)  Chinese Spies in Europe  Chinese students and industrial spies have been uncovered in Belgium, France and Sweden.  A look at the details of those reports.

(May 18, 2005)  What If It Were False?  The Chinese Internet is abuzz with a series of pictures of a a sexual rendezvous allegedly between a Shenzhen government official and a female television program hostess.  This is another case study of media responsibility and ethics in the Internet age.

(May 17, 2005)  A Change in the Chinese Petitioning System  A new set of rules went into effect on May 1 with respect to petitions in China.  This was one of the most inefficient, ineffective and cruel systems ever.  How have things changed?

(May 16, 2005)  Ownership Is Censorship In China  A detail explanation of how the Chinese laws put the onus of censorship on BBS owners.  If some forbidden content is published, it is the BBS owner and sysop who will be held responsible.

(May 16, 2005)  Translation and its Discontents  The story about how I became an 'expert witness' on the Chinese language in the American court system.  This may tell you one or two things about how to become a professional translator.

(May 15, 2006)  The Lies That The Elders Told  Lien Chan's visit to his Xian elementary school, a mobile phone ring tone, a university student oration  contest in 1972, the war in Iraq, etc.

(May 14, 2005)  The Greatest Internet Crime Trial in China  Eleven people are on trial for being involved in the largest Internet-based criminal enterprise that had 300,000 registered users who logged 400 million hits.

(May 13, 2005)  A Case Study for Media Ethics  A bicyclist trips in the rain in Xiamen, and caused a major brouhaha over media ethics.  This is tied in with the 1994 Pulitzer award for a photo taken in Sudan.

(May 12, 2005)  La Chanson de Roland  A medieval French epic poem, Chinese writer Eileen Chang and me.

(May 12, 2005)  That Japanese History Textbook: 2001 vs. 2005  A comparison of the 2001 versus 2005 editions of the Society of Textbook Reform textbook on the Sino-Japanese War and Pearl Harbor.

(May 11, 2005)  Small Circle Electoral Politics  Is Lee Wing-tat entered in the election for Hong Kong Chief Executive to show the absurdity of the electoral system?  Or is there something else more important?

(May 10, 2005)  Memories of The Chinese Elders  Lien Chan, Lee Oufan and my maternal grandfather's experiences during the war of resistance against Japan.

(May 10, 2005)  Hair!  A Chinese Story  A case of vigilante justice in Guangzhou, China.

(May 9, 2005)  "I Feel Really Sorry For You"  How the news media covered a Chinese University of Hong Kong alumni meeting on globalization and language(s) of instruction at the University.  The subject is media fairness, and the unwillingness of the elite to talk to the media.

(May 9, 2005)  The Puerto Rican Barbie  The 1997 cultural war over the new Barbie doll illuminates the issue of racial identity in Puerto Rico.  This is not what anyone would imagine this to be.

(May 8, 2005)  The World Press Freedom Prize Acceptance Speech  A translation of the acceptance speech by Cheng Yizhong, who is barred from attending to deliver the speech in person.

(May 7, 2005)  Blog Is Blog  An open letter from Hong Kong bloggers to ask media and reserach groups not to narrowly define blogs as "online diaries kept by youths to record daily trivia."

(May 7, 2005)  The Theory and Practice of Branding A Blog  An exercise in self-absorption begins with a time-series chart of bandwidth consumption on this weblog to lead to what the new five-year plan shall be.

(May 6, 2005)  The Hong Kong School Debate Championships  A report on the grand finals, at which the topic was "Japan should be admitted as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council." 

(May 5, 2005)  Weblogs as Online Diaries  A major Hong Kong newspaper jumps on the bandwagon to equate "blogs" = "online diaries."  Where do I sign the protest petition?  When is the protest march?  I am ready.

(May 4, 2005)  Forgetting and Forgiving  When should you forget and/or forgive a colossal crime against humanity (e.g. Auschwitz, Nanking, Cambodia)?  This is illustrated by the specific case of Brother Duch, the commandant of the S-21 (Tuol Sleng) prison in Phnom Phem under the Khmer Rouge.  See if you get it.

(May 4, 2005)  China Murders Anti-Japanese Protestors  An overseas website is reporting that the Chinese government has executed 17 anti-Japanese civilian organizers in Shenzhen.  How will the Chinese-interested blogosphere react?

(May 3, 2005)  The Three Travelers  Taiwan security forces brace themselves for the return of Lien Chan.  Why the reference to The Analects of Confucius?  There is a trackback to Hong Kong during the British colonial era.

(May 3, 2005)  Hong Kong By The Numbers  The Election Commission by-elections, a survey poll and the May Day marches.

(May 2, 2005)  Hong Kong Blogosphere Up In Arms  A cable television program has the Hong Kong blogosphere up in arms as the program hosts have reduced blogging to online diaries written by youths about daily trivia.

(May 2, 2004)  The China Watchers  How much has China watching changed from fifty years ago?  Are the western media in any position to give a fair and balanced picture of Chinese reality today?

(May 1, 2005)  The Case of Shi Tao  What exactly did Shi Tao write to earn him ten years of jail time in China?

(April 30, 2005)  The Five Color Problem  This is a translation of a post by Chinese blogger Anti on the impact of KMT chairman Lien Chan's visit to China.  This color palette in Taiwan politics used to consist of blue, green, tangerine and yellow, but now red has been injected.  How will the DPP triangulate?  Includes Taiwan survey poll results.

(April 29, 2005)  Chinese History, Creationism and the War in Iraq  Three examples of public issues where the objective facts are alleged to be in conflict with popular opinions and attitudes.  Are the eyes of the masses always bright and clear?

Administrative Note:  Home again, safe and sound.  Sixteen hours on the plane, in the company of Maria Full Of Grace on the airplane movie, Gregory Rabassa's If This Be Treason: Translation And Its Discontents: A Memoir and Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States.  The movie reminded me how this blog used to be pre-domininantly Latin-American-themed until I got to Hong Kong and stayed.  Zinn's book should shake up anyone who thinks there is an objective, true history out there.

Administrative Note:  Once again, I am migrating from New York City back to Hong  Kong, so the usual 24-hour blackout applies.  The past two weeks have not been kind -- I never overcame the jetlag (regular sleeping hours were EST (7pm-10pm)+(5am-7am)) and the seasonal allergy was horrendous.

(April 28, 2005)  Observations On Some Previous Posts  Backtracking to tie together some previous posts about the anti-Japanese demonstrations in China, the brawl at the Taipei airport, the NPC interpretation of Hong Kong's Basic Law, Chen Shui-bian's response to Lian Chan's visit to China and the ouster of President Lucio Gutierrez of Ecuador. 

(April 27, 2005)  The Big Brawl in Taipei  A mass brawl broke out at the CKS airport in Taipei when Lien Chan departed for his visit to China. 

(April 27, 2005)  Hong Kong, Spam Haven?  It is a very simple business: you can buy 2 million Hong Kong email addresses on a HK$300 CD and then turn around to re-sell at HK$980 per 100,000.

(April 26, 2005)  Grassroots Anti-Japanese Protestors in China  Three presentations that put a human face on the anti-Japanese protestors in China.  This is a reminder that any group consists of unique individuals, and it is a gross simplification to characterize the protestors as hooligans, police agents or patriots.

(April 26, 2005)  Mexico City By The Numbers  The estimated number of people marching in support of Mexico City mayor Andrés Manuel López Obrador ranged from 1.2 million to 'thousands.'

(April 26, 2005)  Shanghai Clamps Down On Anti-Japanese Demonstrations  A comparison of two newspaper editorials leads to more conspiracy theories.

(April 25, 2005)  Koizumi Apologizes  Newspaper editorials from Hong Kong say that this is an important first step, but it all depends on what happens next on a series of concrete issues: the history textbooks, Yasukuni Shrine, Taiwan independence, Diaoyutai Islets, etc.

(April 25, 2005)  Hong Kong By The Numbers  One demonstration, one book burning and one opinion poll, all about the National People's Congress interpretation of the Basic Law in Hong Kong.

(April 24, 2005)  Q&A about Huaxi/Huankantou  Translations of multiple documents covering interesting aspects of the riot.  Example:  Why did 4,000 armed policemen get routed by a bunch of peasants, including many elderly persons?  Even if you don't care about what happened in this village, you will be challenged by the task of reconciling 'facts' and 'assertions.'

(April 23, 2005)  Spatial Distribution of Internet Users in the U.S.  Something from my day job.  There are no deep theories; just some simple and obvious factoids that are not easy to find otherwise.  You may think this is trivial until you have to write a report, and this may be the only useful source through Google.  This is the kind of 'boring' stuff that gets me a few million page views per year.

(April 23, 2005)  The Disappearance of the Shadow Cabinet  Hong Kong Democrat Lee Wing-tat's shadow cabinet was dead before arrival.  Read the bloody details in the Chinese-language press.

(April 23, 2005)  Some Economics of the Hong Kong Tourism Industry  Tourist agencies, tour guides and retail stores set up economic conditions that fostered collusion and bribery.

(April 22, 2005)  Restoring Discipline and Order in Hong Kong  Fight for the rule of the law?  On the contrary, it is argued that the Hong Kong government need to seize back the judiciary, the Department of Justice, ICAC, RTHK and the Securities and Futures Commission.  Indeed, the Empire strikes back.

(April 22, 2005)  Hong Kong By The Numbers  Three polls -- about the interpretation of the Basic Law, the popularity rating of the Chief Executive and Hong Kong Disneyland.

(Administrative Note)  I am slowly bringing my archives back online.  If there is something specific that you need to read, email me by all means and I'll bring those items back online.  I had two requests this week already.

(April 21, 2005)  Contesting the Nanking Massacre  Translations of discussions about the Nanking massacre in Hong Kong, with some thoughts about this contested territory and its implications.

(April 21, 2005)  Arnold Speaks Out  The governor addresses the newspaper publishers' convention and talks about closing down the border to shut out the illegals.  Or maybe he didn't really mean it.

(April 20, 2005)  Grassroot Interaction in Sino-Japanese Relationship  More translations of Yu Jie's essays on Japan.  This time, he talks to a war crime researcher and an old soldier.  Also included is a simple photographic exercise in Hong Kong.

(April 20, 2005)  Hong Kong By The Numbers  Numbers from a march, an opinion poll and a census of flagstaffs in schoolyards.

(April 19, 2005)  Unofficial Histories of Hong Kong  Excerpts from a popular paperback series on Hong Kong history about public flogging, native bombs, "comfort women" and the Japanese water torture.

(April 19, 2005)  Disney Princess T-Shirts  How much is the limited edition Snow White t-shirt?  HK$4,000, and it comes with a 'birth certicate' and hologram ID tag.

(April 18, 2005)  Two Incidents at the Hong Kong Protest March  No rock-throwing, car-toppling or shop-smashing at the anti-Japanese march in Hong Kong, but there were two June 4-related incidents.

(April 18, 2005)  A Child Learns History in Hong Kong  Why did the Chinese history textbook in Hong Kong end with the year 1911?  DId anything else happen in China after that date?

(April 17, 2005)  Hong Kong Poll Results About Japan  Survey results of Hong Kong and mainland Chinese citizens with respect to Japan.  They don't feel any differently, so the alleged differential access to accurate informtion is not the issue.

(April 17, 2005)  Are The Anti-Japanese Demonstrations Spontaneous or Stage-Managed?  On April 9, the Beijing demonstration was alleged to be stage-managed; on April 16, the Shanghai demonstration was alleged to spontaneous.  How to reconcile the two?

(April 17, 2005)  More on the Japanese History Books  Translated summary of Chinese blogger Anti's essay.

(April 16, 2005)  Huaxi/Huankantou: A New Chinese Tourist Mecca  Tens of thousands of Chinese 'tourists' are flocking to the scene of the pitched battle between police and citizens in the village of Huankantou in Zhejiang.  Photos from the scene are included.

(April 16, 2005)  Guo Jingjing Gets Panned  China's darling at the 2004 Olympics Guo Jingjing debuts in her first music video and gets panned for being "stiff like a wooden chicken."  Ouch!

(April 16, 2005)  The Boss and the Girlfriend  You don't like your boss and you want to spend more time with your girlfriend.  The solution: you make thousands of appointments to have your identity card replaced.  Yet another slice of life in Hong Kong.

(April 15, 2005)  Masters of History  Translations of blog posts at InMediaHK on the matter of anti-Japanese demonstrations in China.  This is a glimpse of how the locals in Hong Kong view the issue differently from the simplistic presentations in the western media.

(April 15, 2005)  Thou Shalt Not Gamble (in China)  A police raid on a gambling den in Haiding.

(April 15, 2005)  Hong Kong Disneyland Update (4/15/2005)  The debate about crowd control has already begun.

(April 14, 2005)  What Did James Tien Say?  James Tien officially declines to enter the Chief Executive race.  Did the central government strong-arm him?  No, it is the popular will.

(April 13, 2005)  The Falsification of History in China  Translation of an excerpt by Liu Xiaobo about the falsification of history inside Chinese history textbooks.  If it is okay to tell big whopping lies here, then why can't the Japanese too?

(April 13, 2005)  The Art of Abu Ghraib  Colombian painter Fernando Botero produces the Abu Ghraib series of paintings.  "I had no commercial intention in painting these works. I produced them purely to say something about the horror."

(April 12, 2005)  The Roots of Anti-Japanese Feelings in China  The modern campaign to market revisionist history in Japan, and how it ties in with the teaching of intelligent design in American schools.

Administrative Note:  I've arrived in New York City, and all the worse for the wear.  Since the flight departed at 10am, there was no chance that I would feel tired enough to sleep during the 16-hour flight.  So I bought the entire five-volume set of Mary Jean Yung Ching-ching (翁靜晶) and finished reading them.  The books contain her collected short essays that were published in various newspapers; if those essays appeared as blog posts, that blog would be world-class quality as her background made her an informative source on entertainment, media, business, law, politics, culture and so on (to wit, she was a movie star in her youth; quit to marry someone 30 years older; had two kids; started an insurance company; went back to school in her mid-30's to get law degrees at HKU; has her own law firm in Hong Kong; currently studying for a doctorate in political law in Beijing; writes columns in several newspapers; has several bestselling books; hosts radio/television shows; etc).  In fact, she has an even stranger life than minee and is almost as interesting as Xeni Jardin.  Full disclosure: I became a client of her law office last week, and so my reading is my belated 'due diligence.'

Administrative Note:  I'll be racking up more frequent flier miles today as I make another 16-hour flight from Hong Kong to New York City.  The usual blackout period will hold.  P.S. While typing these words, I am simultaneously watching the movie Hu Du Men (虎度门) on television -- how come I never knew this one before!  I cannot even begin to explain its appeal, beyond the fact that Josephine Siao (萧芳芳) is a family friend from the Shanghai days.  But that is another story, mostly about how my ancestors had infinitely more interesting connections than I do, or so it seems.

(April 11, 2005)  Hong Kong Blog Translations  A couple of Chinese-language blog posts about media reporting in Hong Kong, tied in neatly with the New York Times report on anti-Semitism at Columbia University.

(April 10, 2005)  Reading the Text  Three case studies about the importance of reading the text closely, pursuant to Paul de Man's advice: the Yu Jie articles about Japan, the Jiao Guobiao controversy and the Hong Kong Link REIT IPO.  In each case, I offer the challenge: read the text closely and formulate the specific response!

(April 9, 2005)  Ups and Downs in Taiwan  The TSU visit to the Yakusuni shrine keeps sliding downwards while kidnap ransom prices keep rising upwards.

(April 8, 2005)  The Rule of Law In Hong Kong  Polls, editorial columns and a short economic lesson, all about the rule of law in Hong Kong.

(April 7, 2005)  An Ambiguous Nation  Translations of what independent Chinese writer Yu Jie wrote about Japan, as compared to what a Japan Times article claimed he wrote.

(April 7, 2005)  The Doggies of Hong Kong  Stories (of economist Steven N.S. Cheung and actress Bai Ling) about the special media culture of Hong Kong: the doggie teams (=paparazzis).

(April 6, 2005)  The Hengyang Massacre  Trying to track down the story behind a photograph in a book.

(April 6, 2005)  The Pan-Democrats and the Chief Executive Election in Hong Kong  Translation of a blog post from ShiuShiu on the required sequence of steps for a good pan-democratic showing at the election to highlight the absurdity of the current system.

(April 5, 2005)  Ching Ming Festival Items  On this day, the Chinese burn paper offerings to their ancestors so that they can live better in the afterlife.  What do they burn?  Paper money, paper mansions, paper servants, paper cars, paper chauffeurs, paper mahjong sets, paper Viagra pills, paper Ecstasy pills, paper mistresses ...

(April 4, 2005)  Hong Kong Taxis  Do you know what you are getting into when you enter a taxicab in Hong Kong?

(April 4, 2005)  Hong Kong Disneyland Update (4/4/2005)  A couple of items about Hong Kong Disneyland.  This will become a regular feature on this blog.

(April 3, 2005)  The Secret Function  There are seven published functions about the CAPPS II-system for airport passenger screening in the United States.  What is the eighth unpublished capability?

(April 2, 2005)  The Counterattack Against Jiao Guobiao  A critical essay about two pieces of Jiao Guobiao's work.  You can read for yourself.

(April 2, 2005) Lions versus Lychees Why does a bilingual person choose to write in one language and not the other? Here is an example of a Chinese-language blog post translated into English.

(April 2, 2005)  The Blackout That Wasn't  It was the computer's fault, so proclaimed a Hong Kong newspaper when a photograph of a secondary school student exposing his private parts appeared on its website.

(April 1, 2005)  Teaching How To Sensationalize News  Fact: news is sensationalized everywhere, because it sells.  So why shouldn't future 'journalists' be taught how to sensationalize the news with maximal effect?  That would be the logical consequence of the free market.  Read about the new course being offered at the Hunan Normal University.

(March 31, 2005)  Ah Hui Boy Kept A Dog  Musician Luo Dayou performed his new songs on public television in Taiwan, and caused a firestorm.

(March 31, 2005)  More Hong Kong Election Surveys  Two more surveys about who should be the next Chief Executive.  The list of nominees included Andy Lau, Li Ka-shing, Regina Ip, ...

(March 30, 2005)  The Third Sex  The first sex is Man, the second sex is Woman and the third sex is ... Chinese female graduate students who are having problems finding mates for marriage.

(Mach 30, 2005)  A Salvo Against Radio Hong Kong  A Cultural Revolution-style attack by Oriental Daily against Radio Hong Kong, insisting that this 'malignant tumor' must be excised.

(March 29, 2005)  Cosmic Radiation  I am returning to Hong Kong today, but not before I read about the dangers on Cathay Pacific's polar flight.  Uggghhh!

(March 29, 2005)  Serve The People - Chapter 6  A translation of Chapter 6 of this banned Chinese novella.  There is plenty of sex in here, but this is NOT pornography.  The author would insist that this is about passion and anger.  If Man is a political animal as well as an animal of passion, then why wouldn't politics and passion intersect in Man at some point?

(March 29, 2005)  Jiao Guobiao's Final Struggle  The latest development is that Beijing University has considered Jiao Guobiao as having "resigned voluntarily."  Jiao achieved fame and notoriety for posting the Declaration Of The Campaign Against The Central Propaganda Department last year.

(March 28, 2005)  Japanese History Textbooks (2005 edition)  Once again, riots are taking place in Asia over a proposed new middle-/high-school history textbook in Japan.  Details of the latest piece of revisionism are included.

(March 27, 2005)  The Numbers at the 326 March in Taiwan  How many people were at the big march?  The organizers said 1,000,000 plus, but the police said 275,000.

(March 26, 2005)  The Brazilians of Orkut  The language divide and hate messages in an Internet community.  Sorry, it looks like peace on earth will not be automatically guaranteed by universal Internet access.

(March 26, 2005)  A Case of Privatization  This shocking photo begs for this question: Should a hospital provide treatment even if the patient cannot pay? 

(March 26, 2005)  The Cultural Audience in Hong Kong  An incident at the French Impressionist painting exhibit and its relationship to overall cultural reception.

(March 25, 2005)  Des Chinoises  The ending and the beginning of Julia Kristeva's book about Chinese women.

(March 25, 2005)  A Man With Two Faces  Translation of an excerpt from an open letter by Liu Xiaobo on the Chinese university BBS crackdown.  This is about an individual who could appear in the western media as a promoter of freedom of information and speech, and then turned around to propose and implement the suppression of those same freedoms.

(March 24, 2005)  Pre-campaign Rumors in Hong Kong  One day's collection of rumors across the entire political spectrum.  Should anyone waste their beautiful minds analyzing these raw materials every day?  Only if you are a masochist.

(March 24, 2005)  Democracy Wall in Hong Kong  In an ideal world, people should state their real names and bear responsibility for their speech.  At the same time, people will be protected from retaliation and harrassment as a result of their speech.  But we don't live in an ideal world. 

(March 23, 2005)  Does China Need An Internet Nanny?  This is a collection of translations of various articles related to the great Chinese BBS crackdown.  By the time you go through all of them, you may appreciate that nothing is ever simple ...

(March 22, 2005)  Television News in Taiwan  The notes taken by Lung Ying-tai about what she saw on the television news programs in Taiwan.  For anyone who is genuinely interested in getting news, television is just not the way to go anymore.  Yet it remains true that television is still the principal medium by which the majority of the people get their news from.

(March 22, 2005)  The Great Chinese BBS Crackdown  This particular wave of crackdown was apparently generated by an edict from high above and was applied to all the bulletin board systems at the higher institutions of education.  Selected translations of the announcements posted at various BBS's, ranging from the mundane to the anguished. 

(March 21, 2005)  The Scilingo Effect  Argentine President Nestor Kirchner removed military bishop Antonio Basseotto after the latter said that the public health minister should be "thrown in the sea" for favoring the legalization of abortion.  Whatever happened to freedom of speech and religion?  To understand Kirchner's response, it is necessary to recount the Scilingo Effect.

(March 21, 2005)  Two Tales of the City  How did the suspects in the Hong Kong park trail robberies get caught?  Two completely different news reports on the same event.

(March 20, 2005)  Maria Elvira Confronta  Maria Elvira Salazar spent years trying before landing an interview with Chile's Augusto Pinochet.  That so-called 'final' interview would land Pinochet back into legal problems, because his astute, self-righteous performance destroyed his own claim of mental senility. 

(March 20, 2005)  Characteristics of A Consumerist Society  A survey by the Friends Of The Earth found that 44% of Hong Kong consumers have discarded clothing that they  purchased but never once wore.  Is this the metric for consumerism?

(March 19, 2005)  The People's Party of Hong Kong  A market positioning analysis of the newly founded political party in Hong Kong.  This is rather confusing, because Hong Kong is not a two-dimensional society.  Thus, the People's Party has been described as pro-Beijing and pro-democracy in the same sentence.

(March 18, 2005)  Category "A" CD's  The government of Taiwan intends to crack down on the manufacturing of adult entertainment CD's.  Since Taiwan owned an 80% share previously, this will have a significant economic impact.  Can they rationalize their way out of this?

(March 18, 2005)  School Bullies of Hong Kong  The 'luridness' meter goes through the roof on this news story.  Should the beautiful minds of the readers of the South China Morning Post and The Standard be shielded from such filth?  We report, you decide.

(March 17, 2005)  How Taiwan Robbed My Childhood  A child grew up in Hong Kong, seeing and hearing about Free China, and is deceived twice.  And the second time hurts much more.

(March 16, 2005)  Wal-Mart Prices  A collection of anecdotes about how Wal-Mart created the impression that it always has the lowest prices.  Is that true?  No, it cannot always be true because someone may undersell them on something somewhere.  But it is the consumer perception that matters more, and sometimes it may be unfavorable to Wal-Mart.

(March 16, 2005)  Matching Names for Data Mining  The art and inexact science of matching names from different sources, with some examples of bad consequences of mismatches.

(March 15, 2005)  Adaptation in Natural and Artificial Systems  Business models for prostitution are used to illustrate the behavior of complex adaptive systems.  Either adapt or become extinct!

(March 14, 2005)  Los Galindo  A new hit sitcom in Chile is in fact a re-make of ... The Jeffersons.  But this is not another instance of the inexorable march of globalized cultural imperialism. 

(March 13, 2005)  Divorce in China & Chile  A comparison of the divorce laws and procedures in two countries.

(March 12, 2005)  Group Polarization on the Blogosphere  "The phenomenon of group polarization has conspicuous importance to the U.S. communications market, where groups with distinctive identities increasingly engage in within-group discussion  Customization makes this possible; specialized Web sites and blogs compound this problem ... different deliberating groups, each consisting of like-minded people, will be driven increasingly far apart, simply because most of their discussions will be with one another.  Extremist groups will often become even more extreme."  Three examples are given here.

Dear Friend:  You were probably trying to reach a page on the EastSouthWestNorth blog.  As of March 12, 2005, that blog and all its archived materials have been removed from the server.  There are a number of reasons why the blogger made that decision, including:

First, the blogger has a full-time job as well as a full-fledged commercial website of his own.  The blog was meant to be a collection of bookmarks and thoughts in his attempt to understand the world around him.  Unfortunately, he has found that the blog was turning into a full-time occupation dealing with bandwidth theft, hate mail and the rest of it.  This was not his plan.

Second, the blog traffic has shot up to a point where there are significant financial considerations involved.  The blog draws zero income, and the blogger makes it a point of honor to pay the operational costs out of his own pocket.  The blogger has no intention of seeking revenue, either through contributions, advertisements or sponsorships.  While the blogger thinks that he can can afford the bandwidth charges (note: the 'worst' day last month had 3.6 million hits and 102 gigabytes of data transfer), he weighs two options: either give the money to Doctors Without Borders or spend it on bandwidth usage.  There was no doubt in his mind that his preference would be to where some actual good can be done.

This does not mean that the blog is defunct for good.  For now, the blog will operate in a bandwidth-conserving text mode and then it will be re-launched in April.  Some archived materials will be brought back, but most of the 400 megabytes of content will be gone.  For example, you can see below what will be saved for the month of March so far.  In the future, the blog contents will be more focused on media, culture and politics in Greater China and the Americas.  There will be fewer posts; the posts will be focused and analytical; and the longer pieces will be hosted on external sites.  ¡Hasta luego!

(March 10, 2005)  Serve The People  A description of the banned story by Yan Lianke that appeared in the Hua Cheng magazine in China.  Shorter summary: Lovers achieve sexual ecstasy while smashing Chairman Mao statue.

(March 8, 2005)  Examples of Cantonese Culture  [in Chinese]  Two excerpts from InMediaHK about the best of Hong Kong Cantonese-based culture.  They are 'must save'-items for future reference.

(March 6, 2005)  An Internet Affair In Taiwan  This is a cautionary tale about an emotional venting after the break-up of a relationship.  This would have been nothing, except the Internet community rolled it into up into a scandal of unimaginable proportions and terrible consequences.

(March 4, 2005)  Media Coverage of C.N. Yang's Marriage  A translated article about the various culturally and politically conditioned responses from mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan.  I am very much in sympathy with this analysis.

(March 3, 2005)  The Great Chinese War Against Japan  If you believe that the Chinese goverment is 'channelling public frustration into anti-Japanese xenophobia,' then the antidote would be for the public intellectuals to take a unified, principled and rational stand against cynical, irrational nationalistic chauvinism.  Is that happening?

(March 3, 2005)  The Basic Law On The Hong Kong SAR Chief Executive  A close reading of what the Basic Law says in the event that the current Chief Executive resigns.

(March 2, 2005)  Triangulation Meets Apostasy  An unintentionally funny editorial in the Taipei Times about the best things in American-style two-party democracy.  The most important lesson delivered by the master Bill Clinton himself: "The cunning of triangulation is that it leaves the betrayed with nowhere to go. In its devastating, yet effective cynicism it assumes that party faithful who feel betrayed will nevertheless continue to support the party if only because the alternatives are appalling."

(February 28, 2005)  A Communications Student in Beijing  This is a translation of an anonymous letter published by a first-year graduate student at the Communication University of Beijing.  This is a grim view about the training of the media workers of the future.

(February 28, 2005)  Teaching Graduate Students  A tale about how graduate students were taught at an Ivy League school.  How will this free-market lesson ever get through to China?

(February 28, 2005)  Hello Kitty  Sailors from the visiting U.S. aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk made friends in Hong Kong.

(February 27, 2005)  A Chinese Criticizes American Democracy  Translation of an essay written by a Chinese on the American political system.  I find it interesting, but for an unusual reason.

(February 26, 2005)  Reverse Migration in Hong Kong  This is a translation of a Ta Kung Pao article on demographics in Hong Kong: the low birthrate; the ageing population; the slowdown of immigration from China; reverse migration of young professionals into China; and all that.

(February 25, 2005)  The Seven Troubles of the Chinese Middle-Class  Continuation of the enumeration of middle-class blues.  What will your next vacation travel destination be? und so weiter ...

(February 24, 2005)  The Six Dilemmas of the Chinese Middle-Class  Should you have children? an MBA degree? a notebook computer? a false persona on ICQ? a car? culture?

(February 24, 2005)  Breaking the Great Firewall of China  Translation of an article to promote the use of special software by people in mainland China in order to access overseas websites with political themes.

(February 23, 2005)  High School English in Australia  Here is an example of an English reading assignment given to high school students in Sydney Australia.  Here is a book, you read it and you have some reactions.  But they don't want to know that.  Instead you are told: "Literary texts are multiplistic; the single written entity is in fact a series of multiple writings that exist as a contestation rather than a simplistic and smoothly integrated whole."  What?  Is this English?

(February 23, 2005)  Cambodia Travel Notes - Part 5 (Scenic Photos)  I have been putting off this chore since I don't really care but for the fact that some friends and relatives would like to see them.  So there you have it.  You like my enthusiasm?

(February 22, 2005)  A Gay Novel From China  Going through the bookshelves in my apartment, I found this short story written by Li Yu in the 1600's.  It is an interesting 'inversion' of classical conventions for same-sex relationships.  I wonder what would happen to someone who published such a story in America or Europe at that moment in time.

(February 21, 2005)  The Most Popular Live Show In Town  Pssst ... here is a secret: the hottest show in Hong Kong is a Thai transsexual show in Wah Fu Estate.  But this is an unlicensed operation that only admits mainland Chinese tourists.

(February 21, 2005)  The Mother Tongue of Hong Kong  This is a translation of a YZZK article.  When the Basic Law of Hong Kong says that the official languages are Chinese and English, what does 'Chinese' mean?  When the schools in Hong Kong teach in the mother tongue, what does 'mother tongue' mean?  The choice involves tradeoffs among political, economic and cultural factors.

(February 20, 2005)  A News Report On The Fuxin Mine Disaster  This post is not about the event itself, but it is about a particular news report which asserts that more than 3,000 people died there.

(February 19, 2005)  The CUHK Language Debate  Even though I called the Chinese University of Hong Kong home for more than a decade, I will not allow myself be drawn into the debate over the English vs. Chinese language issue as stated.  I refuse to accept the false choice between either Chinese or English.  Why can't people have both?

(February 18, 2005)  The Wheat Harvest of 1973  How does the 1973 class excursion of Beijing University students connect with the democracy project in China today?

(February 18, 2005)  Styles of Political Will  I have figured out why the Hong Kong government under Tung Chee-Hwa looked so meek and weak.  It is not about the substance on any issues, because everything and anything can be obfuscated (or so I claim).  The real problem is style.  And a free lesson on getting style points is included here, from Donald Rumsfeld.

(February 18, 2005)  The Hong Kong Disneyland Papers  Rules and regulations for the soon-to-be-opened theme park.

(February 17, 2005)  Middle-Class Self-Identity in Beijing  Actually, the translated article is really about how three middle-class Beijing families do not regard themselves as middle-class.  Once they get beyond worrying about getting the basic necessities of life, they look at stability and leisure time as the definitive criteria for middle-class membership, and that is beyond them at this time.

(February 17, 2005)  Black Hispanics in the United States  A direct link to my note on the other website.  Who are black Hispanics closer to -- blacks or Hispanics?  In terms of income, they are closer to blacks; in terms of educational attainment, they are closer to Hispanics.

(February 17, 2005)  Getting Carded  Do you think that everyone who walks into a bar needs to be checked for proof of age?  What if it is a 60-year-old long-time customer with white hair and craggy lines on his face?  Well, you better ask for his ID and be prepared to throw him out if doesn't have one, because the NYPD says so.

(February 16, 2005)  Educational Inequality in China  Some methodological questions about Chinese and American data on educational attainment among rural and urban sub-populations.

(February 16, 2005)  Jumping Queues  Foreigners in China complain about the brazenness of Chinese queue jumpers, especially the little old ladies with sharp elbows.  What are the social science theory and data behind?

(February 15, 2005)  The Letters of Eileen Chang  Going through the file cabinets in my Hong Kong apartment, I found some letters from Eileen Chang to my parents.  How do they illuminate on her literary accomplishments?

(February 14, 2005)  The Man Who Changed China  The translation of Liu Binyan's non-review of Robert Lawrence Kuhn's biography of Jiang Zemin.  What Liu has done is to give his assessment of Jiang and then predict what the book is likely to cover and, more interestingly, will not be able to cover because the author cannot elicit any opinions; and even if he did, he can't get them published.

(February 14, 2005)  The Taxonomy of Indifference  What does someone really mean when they say, "We don't care!" or even "WE DON'T CARE!!"?  To the extent that they even said something, it means that they actually care (and probably a lot).

... 

(February 11, 2005)  Cambodia Travel Notes - Part 4 (Siem Reap)  I made a brief trip to the Cambodian Land Mine Museum, and learned some straight facts of life (e.g. there were more landmines in Cambodia than people).  Who sold them the hardware for the slaughter?  The usual suspects.

(February 11, 2005)  Balance of Translations  An excerpt from an old book off the bookshelf leads to a discussion of the balance of trade between Chinese-to-English versus English-to-Chinese translations in the publishing world and the blogosphere.  Simply put, the balance of translation output depends on the balance of public interest, and right now China is much more interested in America than vice versa.

...

(February 8, 2005)  Cambodia Travel Notes - Part 3 (Choeung Ek)  From the S-21 torture center at Tuol Sleng, there is a trip down a country road to the killing fields at Choeung Ek.  Again, I do not have much to say myself at this time, and I will let the photographs speak for themselves, with a few borrowed words.

...

(February 5, 2005)  Alex Ho Meets The Press  Full coverage of one of the most bizarre press conferences in recent times.  The shorter summary: "I did not have sex with that woman.  That is all I have to say.  After today,  I will never respond on this issue ever again.  I will not address or refute any evidence.  You'll just have to trust me.  My wife trusts me.  P.S.  Yes, I know that woman, she did knock on my hotel door at 3 am that night I did let her into my room and I was naked when the police entered the room.  But I don't have to tell you what we were doing because I just told you that I did not have sex with her and that should be enough for you.  P.P.S.  I am resigning from the Democratic Party this very minute, which means that their disciplinary committee won't have to conduct an internal investigation about the facts of the case.  P.P.P.S.  I am going to remain being a District Councilor because my personal morals is none of your business.  And the fact that the position pays tens of thousands of dollars per month has nothing to do with it."

(February 4, 2005)  Cambodia Travel Notes - Part 2 (Tuol Sleng)  Why Cambodia?  I could have gone anywhere else for my vacation.  For example, why not Sabah?  While Sabah is nice, I have seen enough white-sand beaches in my life whereas I don't think that I know (nor will I ever know) enough about man's inhumanity (what a contradiction!).  I do not have much to say myself at this time, and I will let the photographs speak for themselves, with a few borrowed words.

(February 3, 2005)  Homonyms of Hong Kong  How much should you trust a lawyer who speaks of having a moral conscience?  Answer: Twenty percent.

(February 2, 2005)  Word Parsing in Hong Kong  In Venezuela, Chinese Vice Premier Zeng Qinghong criticized Hong Kong SAR Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa's annual policy report.  Or maybe he didn't.  It all depends on a 'but'.

(February 2, 2005)  The Black Hands Behind The January 1st Demonstration in Hong Kong  Who were the mysterious people who organized the 10,000 strong march against elected democratic legislators in Hong Kong?  Why couldn't they just stick to flaming and whining on Internet news forums?  And what further nefarious deeds will they commit next?

(February 1, 2005)  Two Tales From One City  The city is Hong Kong and the two tales are the English- and Chinese-language reports on the same event.  This is yet another instance of how English-language readers are being short-changed about the best things in the city.

(February 1, 2005)  Computational Linguistics    The more people link to your blog, the better things are for you?  That depends, because computational linguists are generating random spam links for commercial purposes.

...

(January 30, 2005)  The 'Malignant Tumor' in Chinese Book Publishing  I knew that the publishing industry in China was an oligopoly of 500 plus government-owned publishing houses, but a MPW article suggests that the oligopoly has been effectively broken de facto by more than 30,000 unapproved workshops that drive the business now.  This is an alternate under-handed path to accomplish economic reform.

(January 29, 2005)  My Dinner Conversation  Bits of conversations at the annual shareholders meeting of my cooperative apartment buildings.  What does Max Sawicky have to say?

(January 29, 2005)  Cambodia Travel Notes - Part 1 (Overall Impressions)  Here are my overall impressions of Cambodia during my recent trip.

(January 23, 2005)  Why I Don't Talk About Chinese Politics  It is disclosed here that my reluctance came as a result of watching a Monty Python sketch.

(January 23, 2005)  Democracy Wall, Beijing University, 2005  A translation of an article about what is present on the Democracy Wall today.  Instead of big-characters wall posters that call for democracy, there are only advertisements for language classes and test preparation courses.  So here is the question: What do you do when the base does not care for a democratic society?  Will you insist that the people were just too stupid to know what their real needs and they needed to led by the nose down the path to democracy kicking and screaming?  Now that is exactly what a Leninist vanguardist party would do.

(January 19, 2005)  Mentoring in Hong Kong  Breaking out of poverty requires more than materialistic support, and there is now a call for citizens to act as mentors for children in poverty.

(January 16, 2005)  Der hermeneutische Zirkel von Qian Zhongshu  An excerpt from an essay about the difficulty of learning the Chinese language. But it is not mission impossible, because the strategy is used in the rest of life anyway.

(January 3, 2005)  New Year's Day Numbers For Hong Kong  How many people were at the march to protest politicians botching the Link REIT deal?  The high estimate is 50,000 and the low estimate is 1,000.  How could it be so different?  Let us review the identities of the estimate reporters.

(January 3, 2005)  The 'Real' Problem with Rural Poverty in China  Yes, there is a big problem about the limits of agricultural productivity, but there is something more lurking behind that you won't get from the official social science research institutions.

(January 2, 2005)  Resource Allocation and the Formation of the Lower Class in China  Translation from the book Social Stratification In China Today on the description of the three basic groups that constitute the poor in China: rural peasants, migrant laborers and dismissed urban workers.

(January 1, 2005)  What Is On This Blog?  I went back and classified the 1,423 blog posts that appeared during year 2004.  The frequency distribution was 29% on Latin America, 22% on China (minus Hong Kong), 14% on Hong Kong, 14% on Iraq and 21% on other miscellaneous subjects.

...

(December 28, 2004)  High School History Syllabus in Taiwan  Democracy in practice as observed at a public hearing about the proposed revision of the history syllabus in Taiwan high schools.  See how the lesson can be transferred to the West Kowloon Cultural District project.

(December 27, 2004)  Hong Kong By The Numbers  A whirlwind roundup of the WKCD march on Christmas Day, the Frontier telephone survey and a preview of the New Year's Day marches.

(December 27, 2004)  Gini Index in Hong Kong  People are depressed to find that the recent measure of inequality (the Gini index) shows that Hong Kong is like Mexico and ... heaven forbid ...  even worse than China.  What is it that the Gini index tells and fails to tell?

(December 26, 2004)  Humanizing China - Part 3 (Desires)  The third and final part of the series with 77 photos.  This one is about human desires.   So what do the Chinese really want?

(December 25, 2004)  Conspicuous Consumption in China  Newspaper articles on examples of conspicuous consumption.

(December 24, 2004)  Humanizing China - Part 2 (Relationships)  Second part of the series with 57 photos.  This one is about human relationships.  While no man is an island, there are many ways by which islands can be linked and/or delinked as mediated by the social structure and culture.

(December 23, 2004)  Humanizing China - Part 1 (Survival)  This is the series of photographs that have been whirling around the Chinese BBS's.  There are 66 photos in this first part.  I felt as if I had been wasting my time reading and writing about income inequality or the rural/urban gap, when these pictures say so much more.  

...

(December 19, 2004)  Grandpa and Grandma Speak Up  In their own words, the two senior citizens who are endangering the Hong Kong Link REIT public offering explain their causes.  You can see if you agree with them.  Actually, before you do that, can you even figure what their point was (note: read the text only without projecting anyone else's spin)?

...

(December 16, 2004)  The Big Fish  A linguistic lesson derived from the Link REIT public offering.  How is anyone ever supposed to learn Cantonese?  Well, the first lesson is this: it cannot be taught.  The second lesson?  It must be lived.  So there you have it.  Good luck.

...

(December 13, 2004)  The Journal of Ma Yan (Continued)  Three years after the publication of the story about Ningxia schoolgirl Ma Yan, a reporter visits to see how she is doing.  Her case is a miracle in the sense of being exceptional from the norm.  What about the millions of other children like her?  What is the answer to a question such as: "I want to be a modern young person with an ideal and a goal.  Can you tell me if this is still possible?"  It is possible as the case of Ma Yan shows, but the odds are very long indeed.

(December 9, 2004)  History Textbooks in China  The New York Times criticises history textbooks in Chinese schools.  My not-so-short riposte is actually a review of two books on China-Tibet relationships which I read on the airplane during my recent trip.  One is Sky Burial by the Chinese independent writer Wang Lixiong and the other is by John Powers.  These two very different books somehow ended up at the same place and so did I.

(December 8, 2004)  More Weekend Reading  A trip from the Gettyburg address to Zhang Dachun's book of book reviews to the Sing-Song Girls of Shanghai to Hu Shi to Eileen Chang to Finnegans Wake.  What is the chain of custody?  The impossibility of translation.

...

(December 2, 2004)  The Death Penalty in China - Part 2  How are the death sentences actually carried out?  Here are the perspectives of the armed policemen who act as executioners.  This is all as-a-matter-of-fact and drily professional in tone, until you get to the series of photos which shows what really happens.

(December 1, 2004)  The Death Penalty in China - Part 1  Actually, this is about two death penalty cases that were reversed, but it does make you wonder how many of the supposed 10,000 executions each year are for wrongful reasons.

...

(November 22, 2004)  Secret China interviews Jiao Guobiao  Full translation of an interview with Jiao Guobiao, the author of the famous <<Declaration Against The Central Propaganda Bureau>> has been traveling in the United States and giving talks and interviews in various cities. 

(November 7, 2004)  The Chinese Petitioning System  Why did 3.1 million petitioners go to Beijing in the month of September?  The survey says that 91% wanted the Central Government to be aware of their situation and 88% wanted to apply pressure on their local officials.  Does that solve anything?  According to the survey, only 0.2% of the people actually use the petition system to solve their problems directly.  This is not efficient at all!

(October 27, 2004)  Dream of the Red Chamber and the Reverse Opium War  Meandering thoughts from the 2000 Nobel Prize to The Dream Of The Red Chamber to the Opium Wars to Finnegans Wake. Such are the trademark strangeness of this blog, but it beats writing about the proposed referendum for direct elections in Hong Kong.

(September 27, 2004)  Hyping The Numbers: The Case Of The Great Leap Forward  How organizations hype up their numbers.  While the details refer to The Great Leap Forward era in 1958-1960 in China, the mechanism is identical to that seen in the Vietnam War and the current war in Iraq.

(September 17, 2004)  The Long Road To Petition  Translation of Chapters 13-17 of Chen Guidi-Wu Chuntao's Chinese Peasant Study.  These chapters form the basis of the libel trial filed by a local official against the authors and the publisher.

(September 9, 2004)  The Headline News In Hong Kong - Part 4  The Dongguan Public Security Bureau held its second press conference during they showed photos of a naked Alex Ho, a condom wrapper, menstrual blood stains, scattered underwear, etc, plus further references to a pattern of patronizing prostitutes in Shenzhen dating back some years.

...

(September 1, 2004)  The List of Filtered Items  A rapid politico-cultural lesson was given through the list of filtered items encapsulated in a piece of Chinese peer-to-peer software.  Positively delicious!

(September 1, 2004)  The Verdict On Alex Ho  Simply put, Alex Ho's comrades-in-arms have dumped him by purging his name and face from their Hong Kong Legco campaign.  This is as good as those air-brushed photos of Chinese Politburo membership, but it is a little bit too late.

(August 30, 2004)  Midnight Caller  Why do Hong Kong newspaper reporters call politicians at midnight for comments on breaking scandals?  Why won't they call at saner hours?  Blame it on the democrats, of course.

(August 29, 2004)  Jiao Guobiao's Second Campaign Against The Central Propaganda Department  A translation of an article by Jiao Guobiao in Ming Pao Monthly in which he outlines the manner by which news control can be opened up in China, along with the disappearance of the Propaganda Department.

(August 27, 2004)  US Let Terrorists Go Free  Four terrorists have a portfolio of accomplishments that included blowing up an airplane and killing 76 passengers, setting off bombs in six tourist hotels and killing 11 people including an Italian tourist, kidnapping and assassinating foreign consulate staff and political activists, and conspiring to assassinate a head of state.  Ah, but their target is Cuba, so this must not be terrorism then.

(August 25, 2004)  The Headline News In Hong Kong - Part 3  The Hong Kong Democratic Party really did it this time as Legislative Councilor James To is nailed with conflict-of-interest, self-enrichment, etc.

(August 22, 2004)  Reflections on Hong Kong Headline News  A case study of the unintended agenda-setting effects of the media. 

(August 21, 2004)  Name Matching  To decrease your chances of getting on terrorist watch lists, you should choose an unusual name for yourself, such as Xylophone Modestobee.  David Nelson is definitely out, and so too is Edward Kennedy.

(August 20, 2004)  The Kirchner-Krugman Conversation  The transcript of the May 5, 2004 forum at the New School University between Argentina President Néstor Kirchner and economic Paul Krugman.

(August 19, 2004)  A Technical Analysis Of Exit Polls In Venezuela  "There is a high chance even in the best of circumstances that exit polls are biased," so said Jimmy Carter.  Here are the technical reasons why the Penn, Schoen & Berfield exit poll may go wrong.

(August 17, 2004)  The Headline News In Hong Kong - Part 2  Hong Kong Legislative Council candidate Alex Ho was caught stark naked in a mainland hotel bed with a prostitute ("兩條肉蟲").  Was it a frame-up?  It depends on whether you read the English-language or Chinese-language coverage.

(August 17, 2004)  The Numbers in Venezuela  Reading behind the exit poll numbers claimed by Súmate ...

(August 17, 2004)  Election Fraud In Venezuela?  At this point, the opposition is crying "Fraud!" upon seeing a result that they didn't like.  But I think it is necessary to come up with a working model of how fraud can be perpetrated.

(August 16, 2004)  Exit Polls in Venezuela   A massive voter turnout and the slowness of the fingerprinting technology caused the polling stations to remain open after midnight to make sure that everyone could vote.  Poll results will not be available for a while, and in the meantime everyone is claiming victory on the basis of exit polls.

(August 11, 2004)  Pork Barrel Politics  Spending money on social programs for the poor in Venezuela is decried as blatant vote-buying.  There is actually nothing wrong with spending money on the poor majority in a democracy, especially compared to pork barrel politics.

(August 9, 2004)  My Post-"Anti-Central Propaganda Department" Era  So what is happening to Jiao Guobiao?  This is a translation of an extract from the foreword to Jiao Guobiao's book, in which he tells about the events after the publication of the Declaration of the Campaign against The Central Propaganda Department.

(July 28, 2004)  Jiao Guobiao's Letter to Wen Jiabao  Translation of an open letter from Jiao Guobiao, author of the long Let Freedom Ring essay, to Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao.  Jiao's approach is similar to that of the authors of The Chinese Peasant Study in that they are on counting on the 'good guys' in the hierarchy to carry through the reforms.  What other choices are there anyway?  Mass demonstration?  Armed insurrection?  Self-immolation?

(July 28, 2004)  The Virgin Prostitute  Is it possible to be convicted of having engaged in two acts of sexual intercourse within twenty minutes in exchange for the promise of money while still being certifiably a virgin afterwards?  Only in China ...

(July 23, 2004)  The Headline News in Hong Kong - Part 1  Once again, the English-language newspapers failed to reach to the bottom of sewer to fish out the 'truth.'

(July 2, 2004)  The Hong Kong 7/1 March: Crowd Size Estimates  A major controversy over the crowd size as the organizers insists on a figure of 530,000 whereas six other independent studies put the number at 200,000 or less.  At issue is 'trust.'

(June 25, 2004)  Political Polls in Venezuela  One opposition poll shows that Venezuelan President Chavez is in serious trouble in the recall referendum, but it is instantaneously attacked.  Another poll arrives a diametrically opposite prediction.  Who is to be believed?  

(June 7, 2004)  Political Partisanship  How polarized is Hong Kong right now?  A simple case study is presented here.  How people react to the same basic set of facts will say a lot about the damage that political partisanship has done to core political values. 

(June 6, 2004)  Political Relativism  A comparison of two cases of vote scams, one in Hong Kong and another in Venezuela.  As different as they are in terms of the degree of severity, they elicited completely opposite reactions from the principals.

(May 28, 2004)  The Hong Kong Radio Hosts-Part3  Allen Lee testified before the Hong Kong Legislative Council about why he and other radio hosts had to quit their talk shows.  Western news agency reports are included.

(May 28, 2004)  The Chinese in America  The model minority finds itself not as well-liked as previously thought.

(May 27, 2004)  Language Fog  The connection between the lack of Arab condemnation of Nick Berg's beheading and the holy relic of the Buddha's finger.

(May 26, 2004)  Serving The People  This links to a photo of the back of the a tourist bus at the Star Ferry Terminal in Hong Kong.  The figures look like they came right from the Cultural Revolution and so does the top slogan in Chinese "Serving the people."  But there is a second smaller line underneath the slogan: "... Is Not Just A Slogan!"  How post-modernist!  And only Hong Kong people can afford to be so rude to the CCP!

(May 26, 2004)  TV Censorship in Hong Kong  Actually, this is benign and civil in which all parties were in agreement, and it makes for an interesting case study.  This is democracy at its best as viewers filed complaints with the Broadcasting Authority who advised TVB, which accepted the criticism in a public statement.  In the United States, the FCC just doles out fines.

(May 20, 2004)  The Hong Kong Radio Hosts-Part 2  A third radio host has resigned.  He said that he felt he could not speak his mind or enjoy the radio show.  Meanwhile Next Weekly sheds some light on the case of radio host Raymond Wong, who had apparently run foul of loansharks.

(May 18, 2004)  The Hong Kong Radio Hosts-Part 1  Two outspoken talk radio hosts critical of the Beijing and Hong Kong governments have gone off the air within 10 days of each other.  They both cited 'pressure' but declined to elaborate.  'Pressure'?  Get used to it!

(May 17, 2004)  The Bagman of Hong Kong  The Hong Kong police catches a burglary suspect and puts a hood on him.  Is this a case of human rights violation, à la Abu Ghraib?

(May 17, 2004)  Against the Hong Kong-Taiwan Style  The Chinese authorities have been running a broad-reaching campaign to save its young people from bad influences.  Among the targets are television announcers who dress, look or talk like Hong Kong-Taiwan television announcers.  Oh, we mustn't forget those horrible internet cafes either.  But how about the sounds of lesbians having sex or weathergirls in bikinis?

(May 16, 2004)  The Missing Young Men  This link goes directly to my article on the missing young men in the television audience.  Where did they do?  They are doing what guys do: playing games, obsessing over sports and girls and hanging out with buddies - often online, and doing anything but watching television.

(May 5, 2004)  Let Freedom Ring  The New York Times reported on a Chinese journalist named Jiao Guobiao who published an article that advocated a campaign against the Central Progaganda Department.  This Chinese-language article has been circulated on the Internet and I have made a quick English-language translation here.

(May 4, 2005)  The Children of Iraq  A continuously updated photo album of children in Iraq today.  These photos are not annotated, but you should see what subversive power resides in pure imagery.

(April 6, 2004)  Dangerous Buildings  In Hong Kong, if you see something that you don't like outside your window, you can always call the Dangerous Buildings Department ... 

(April 4, 2004)  The Ambiguous Nature of “Collaboration” in Colombia  Simply put, every Colombian has done something or the other that can be classified as collaborationist activity by one or more armed groups.

(March 26, 2004)  Children of Ningxia  The New York Times reports on the case of Chinese diarist Ma Yan.  Good for her, but the larger problem remains for the bulk of the rural population.

(March 20, 2004)  Most Wanted In China  This contains a trove of material on the recently arrested Chinese mass murderer Ma Jiajue.  The emphasis is less on the law enforcement aspect of the case, which the government obviously wants to trumpet.  Rather, this is about insights and rationalizations from his parents, his siblings and Ma Jiajue himself.  Someday, someone is going to write a book out of this (and it won't be me).

(March 15, 2004)  Hitler in Taiwan  The KMT runs an ad comparing President Chen Shui-bian to Adolf Hitler (photo included).

(March 11, 2004)  Dual Pricing in Hong Kong  How much is a meal worth?  One Hong Kong restaurant says that it depends on your ability and willingness to pay.

(March 11, 2004)  Voting for the Winner  This link goes directly to my short article on some Brazilian survey data on whether people would vote for the probable winner instead of their preferred candidate.

(March 10, 2004)  Election News Blackout in Taiwan  Opinion poll results will be banned under the election law for the ten-day period before the presidential election in Taiwan.  Anti-democratic, this is not!  It is a much better way of involving voters to think about the critical issues.

(March 3, 2004)  Virtual Stock Markets in Taiwan  The street consensus is that the Lien-Soong ticket will win by 500,000 to 700,000 votes.  And the street may guarantee the result.

(March 3, 2004)  Pendejo  Hugo Chávez called George W. Bush by that name.  What does this word mean?

(March 3, 2004)  Perspectives  The interpretation of the financial results for HSBC from the United Kingdom, United States and Hong Kong.  The same objective results led to completely different spin.

(February 28, 2004)  The Chinese Peasant Study  The reportage written by Chen Guidi and Wu Chuntao was banned in China.  This post includes news coverage, interviews and translations.

(February 26, 2004)  Hope Against Hope  Ineluctable optimism in the face of evil incarnate.

(Feburary 19, 2004)  Religious Television in Latin America  Link goes to my article on religious television programs in Latin America.

(February 10, 2004)  Sing-Song Girls of Shanghai  Is it possible to translate the Wu dialect?  Don't bother!  I'd rather stick with the original anytime.  

(February 8, 2004)  Besieged Fortress-Part III  Is there anyone like Qian Zhongshu in this generation? 

(February 6, 2004)  Besieged Fortress-Part II  If not this novel, then what is the basis for Qian Zhongshu's reputation?

(February 6, 2004)  Besieged Fortress-Part I  How does Qian Zhongshu's novel connect with globalisation?

(January 26, 2004)  Northern Ireland  Violence and discrimination against the Chinese in Northern Ireland.

(December 6, 2003)  Training Class  The art of debt collection and the essential tools of the trade in Hong Kong: red paint, chain, thinner and feces.

(November 30, 2003)  Guilty As Sin  A senior police superintendent patronised four prostitutes on three occasions without having to pay.  His excuse was that he had no idea that they were prostitutes.

(October 8, 2003)  Another Venezuelan Poll  A discussion on a poll based upon street intercepts on the possible presidential recall referendum.

(August 26, 2003)  More More Venezuelan Numbers  Why are the Associated Press numbers from CNN en Español and El Diario/La Prensa different by an order of magnitude?

(August 25, 2003)  More Venezuelan Numbers  The collection of numbers at the August 20, 2003 demonstration in support of President Hugo Chávez

(June 17, 2003)  David Nelson  This ordinary name is automatic trouble according to the Transportation Security Administration for all the namesakes who wish to travel by airplane. 

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