CHINASMACK: A Taste of China’s Internet

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A new site calling itself Chinasmack (www.chinasmack.com) sets out to translate the latest controversies preoccupying Chinese netizens into English. Like the internet in China itself, the variety of maerial on Chinasmack varies hugely, ranging from the completely silly (man dressed as a mummy on the Shanghai subway! Pictures, too!) to the fascinating. In the latter category I’d include their extensive coverage of the case of the student who died after getting into a fight at a nightclub with six policemen in Harbin. Not only is there a comprehesive record of the case, there is also an embedded video of a local TV report on the incident that includes extensive –and chilling– closed circuit TV of what happened. The translators have even captioned some of the comments by the newsreader and a senior policeman leading the investigation. A lot of work went inot this (putting captions on videos, for example, is a real pain) and I think the site will prove to be a valuable resource for non-Chinese speakers looking for an insight into one of the most lively areas of Chinese society.