If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then Yue Minjun should be as happy as all of his self-portraits. On a recent trip to piracy heaven, also known as Shenzhen’s Luohu Commercial City, I spotted some knockoff versions of the contemporary Chinese artist’s work. It was a bit …
Son and mother, Ronan and Mia, who popularized the phrase “the genocide Olympics,” add their two cents on Speilberg, Darfur and the Beijing games, in today’s Wall Street Journal.
Link is here
online.wsj.com/article/SB120338432062875839.html?mod=opinion_main_commentaries
Jun Ma of Deutsche Bank, one of the better China economists in Hong Kong, has just published his latest forecast, which includes inflation going to eight per cent year over year in March. That’s a big number and if true could mean serious trouble for the government. It means nothing it’s done thus far has even remotely succeeded in …
Earlier this week the U.S. State Department released a new volume about U.S. foreign relations with China. It included a transcript of a February 1973 conversation between Chairman Mao and Henry Kissinger. Several media outlets (BBC, Bloomberg, and yes, Time.com, via AP) jumped on what seemed to be the most newsworthy aspect of the …
According to feng-shui, every mountain is the residence of a dragon. The peninsular part of Hong Kong, known as Kowloon or “Nine Dragons,” takes its name from this principle. But there aren’t nine mountains in Kowloon—only eight. Centuries ago, an astute counselor complimented a visiting emperor by calling him “the ninth …
Here is the official response from the organizing committee of the Beijing Games to director Steven Spielberg’s decision to withdraw as an artistic adviser to the opening ceremonies:
We have taken note of media reports. Mr. Spielberg expressed his wish to make a contribution to the Beijing Olympic Games, and was given a certificate of
…
Hong Kong’s Chief Executive Donald Tsang has pronounced the tizzy over Edison Chen’s photographs a “serious matter” demanding “further follow-up.” But I wonder whether he should have besmirched his office by commenting at all.
The only truly remarkable aspect of the business is Chen’s apparently cavalier handling of his privacy and …
Earlier this week we mentioned the recent release of three journalists who had been imprisoned in China and whether that means conditions are improving for press freedom. The journalist group Reporters Without Borders doesn’t think so. Today they released their annual report on global press freedom. While it covers 2007 and thus doesn’t …
After months of discussion and speculation, Steven Spielberg has announced he’s dropping out as an artistic advisor for the opening and closing ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics. The director cited the ongoing bloodshed in Darfur and says that Beijing needs to do more to urge Sudan to stop the fighting there. Sudan’s government bears …
Days after a Hong Kong reporter was released from a Chinese jail, another Chinese journalist has been freed. Yu Huafeng, an editor at the Southern Metropolis Daily, was released Friday after serving four years of a 12-year sentence for embezzlement. That conviction was seen by many as punishment for groundbreaking reporting his paper did …
On Wednesday I had a chance to hang out with some migrant workers who were stuck in Guangzhou because of the severe winter storms. Here’s the piece I wrote about it, and below is a short clip I shot of Li Xiao, Guangdong general manager for Hengda Real Estate, offering a toast and holiday bonuses to employees who weren’t able to go …
Tonight is Chinese New Year’s Eve and across this storm ravaged, coal-famished country, children, junior employees, door staff and delivery boys will be coughing politely, and extending hands, in expectation of lai see—the envelopes of money that are the customary seasonal gift. Polls in Hong Kong have revealed that the average …
Here’s a quick piece following up our recent coverage of the problems caused by the huge winter storms in south and central China. And for those of you who missed it, the TIME Asia cover story from last week, “China’s Perfect Storm.”
As the response to the storms unfolds, I find myself agreeing with some of our commentators who say that …
