May | 2012 | Wandering China

May 28, 2012 • 11:10 pm 0

A love-hate relationship [BBC]

BBC’s Damian Grammaticas mulls over the emerging two sides of China ‘when it comes to interacting with foreigners here, inside its borders’ - as hostility and admiration coexist.

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A love-hate relationship
by Damian Grammaticas
Source – BBC, published May 23, 2012

As China’s economic, political and military influence rises, one important question is – what sort of power China will be? How will it interact with foreigners and foreign nations?

Will it be benign – as China’s own officials say when they talk of China’s “peaceful rise” – or will it be an assertive, nationalistic, even xenophobic power?

In recent days, we’ve seen two very different Chinas on show when it comes to interacting with foreigners here, inside its borders. Read the rest of this entry »

Filed under: BBC, Beijing Consensus, Bo Xilai, Censorship, Charm Offensive, Cheng Guangcheng, Chinese Model, Communications, Culture, Democracy, Domestic Growth, Education, Government & Policy, Human Rights, Influence, International Relations, Mapping Feelings, Media, Peaceful Development, People, Public Diplomacy, Social, Soft Power, Strategy, The Chinese Identity, The construction of Chinese and Non-Chinese identities, Uncategorized

May 26, 2012 • 12:45 am 0

China: Leading the World Again. Dr. Eddie O’Connor [Youtube]

Thoughts of China’s revival from a renewable power industry perspective, with references to the Confucian cog of the Chinese mind.

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Breakfast briefing China: Leading the World Again with Dr. Eddie O’Connor
Source – Youtube, published April 6, 2010

‘Dr. O’Connor discussed the revival of Chinese society amid Chinas remarkable economic growth over the last twenty years. He reflected on what is in store for the next twenty years, including the environmental consequences of this economic growth, sketching also Chinas role in the global response to climate change.’

Filed under: Beijing Consensus, Charm Offensive, Chinese Model, Collectivism, Confucius, Culture, Domestic Growth, Economics, Foreign aid, Government & Policy, Infrastructure, International Relations, Mapping Feelings, Peaceful Development, Politics, Resources, Social, Soft Power, Strategy, Tao Guang Yang Hui (韬光养晦), The Chinese Identity, Youtube

May 25, 2012 • 11:11 pm 0

When Photoshop goes wrong: ‘floating’ inspectors cause internet stir [The Age]

And for the second time running. . .

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When Photoshop goes wrong: ‘floating’ inspectors cause internet stir
by Julie Power
Source – The Age, published May 23, 2012

Photoshop fail … government officials ‘inspecting’ a park. Photo: Yuhang Government website.

And the award for the worst Photoshop ever?

For the second year in a row, the unofficial award goes to China after news that it was once again guilty of badly Photoshopping an official photo.

The story went viral yesterday after Time magazine published a photo and story showing Chinese officials seeming to walk on air. Read the rest of this entry »

Filed under: 52 Unacceptable Practices, Beijing Consensus, Charm Offensive, Chinese Model, Culture, Domestic Growth, Government & Policy, Influence, Internet, Media, The Age, The Chinese Identity, The construction of Chinese and Non-Chinese identities

May 22, 2012 • 5:54 am 0

US-Sino Currency Rap Battle [Next Media Animation/Youtube]

From Taiwan-based Next Media Animation, here’s a light-hearted take on the merry-go-round of entanglement of economic interdependence the US and China have gotten themselves into.

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US-Sino Currency Rap Battle
by Next Media Animation
Source – Youtube, published November 10, 2010

The G20 is getting underway in South Korea. High on the agenda is the brewing currency battle between China and the United States.

Need a primer on the issues? Check out our US-Sino Currency Rap Battle, featuring Chinese president Hu Jintao and American president Barack Obama.

China has mad stacks of US Treasury debt and fears America will inflate its way out the hole by weakening the greenback further. Read the rest of this entry »

Filed under: Beijing Consensus, Charm Offensive, Chinese Model, Communications, Domestic Growth, Economics, Finance, Government & Policy, Influence, International Relations, Mapping Feelings, Media, Nationalism, Peaceful Development, Politics, Public Diplomacy, Soft Power, Strategy, The Chinese Identity, The construction of Chinese and Non-Chinese identities, Trade, U.S., Youtube

May 21, 2012 • 12:10 pm 0

AMC Cinema to be bought by China’s Wanda [BBC]

World’s biggest operator of movie theatres emerges as Beijing-based Wanda buys AMC Cinema chain for $2.6b. Under the agreement, AMC will become a wholly owned subsidiary. AMC has more than 5,000 movie screens in the US and Canada. Wanda is the largest operator by screens in China, owning 86 cinemas, and 730 screens out of the 9,200 in total.

For more, Yahoo-Alibaba and AMC-Wanda: Searching for a China M&A Theme (China Hearsay, May 21, 2012)

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AMC Cinema to be bought by China’s Wanda
Source – BBC, published May 21, 2012

Chinese conglomerate Wanda Group has agreed to buy US cinema chain AMC Entertainment for $2.6bn (£1.6bn), making it the world’s biggest operator of movie theatres.

The deal gives Wanda access to more than 5,000 screens operated by AMC, mainly in the US and Canada.

Wanda said it would invest another $500m in the US theatre chain. Read the rest of this entry »

Filed under: BBC, Charm Offensive, Chinese Model, Communications, Economics, Finance, Influence, Lifestyle, Media, The Chinese Identity, The construction of Chinese and Non-Chinese identities, U.S.

May 20, 2012 • 12:13 pm 1

Why do we continue to ignore China’s rise? Arrogance [Guardian]

Author of ‘When China Rules the World’ Martin Jacques weighs in with two cents as he launches an update of his book.

‘It is impossible to understand or make sense of China through a western prism. As China becomes a great power and, over the next two decades, steadily usurps America as the dominant global power, we will no longer have any alternative but to abandon our western parochialism and seek to understand China on its own terms. But the shift in mindset that faces us is colossal. ’

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Why do we continue to ignore China’s rise? Arrogance
by Martin Jacques
Source – The Observer, March 25, 2012

Martin Jacques, author of a bestseller on China, asks why the west continues to approach the rise of the new global powerhouse with a closed mind. We obsess over details of the race for the White House, yet give scant regard to the battle to replace China’s current leadership. If we fail to pay heed to the political and economic shift of gravity, we will be sidelined by history.

History is passing our country and our continent by. Once we were the centre of the world, the place from where power, ideas and the future emanated. If we drew a map of the world, Europe was at its centre. That was how it was for 200 years. No more. The world is tilting on its axis in even more dramatic style than when Europe was on the rise. We are witnessing the greatest changes the world has seen for more than two centuries. We are barely aware of the fact. And therein lies the problem.

I vividly recall when the first edition of my bookWhen China Rules the World was published almost three years ago. At the many talks I gave, I showed a Goldman Sachs chart that projected that the Chinese economy would overtake the US economy in size in 2027. Invariably someone would point out this was only a projection, that the future was never an extrapolation of the past, that it was most unlikely the forecast would come to pass and certainly not in this time frame. No one suggested that the projection underestimated the date, even though the western financial crisis was already almost a year old. Read the rest of this entry »

Filed under: Beijing Consensus, Charm Offensive, Chinese Model, Communications, Culture, Democracy, Domestic Growth, Economics, Government & Policy, Guardian, Influence, International Relations, Mapping Feelings, Medicine, Nationalism, New Leadership, Peaceful Development, Politics, Public Diplomacy, Social, Soft Power, Strategy, Tao Guang Yang Hui (韬光养晦), The Chinese Identity, The construction of Chinese and Non-Chinese identities, U.K., U.S.

May 18, 2012 • 11:15 pm 0

Singapore: Taxi-Ferrari crash sparks outrage in China [Channel News Asia]

China’s charm offensive may have its successes grabbing headlines but anti-Chinese sentiment is reported to be rising in Singapore. Local and social media (extending to Hong Kong) outrage at taxi-ferrari crash threatens the ideational power of Chinese state-craft in the only place outside Greater China with a Chinese-majority population.

This piles onto a growing list of discontent at integration challenges with the influx of a million mainland Chinese emigrants and workers into Singapore, the second densest (in terms of urban population density) place in the world.

Just earlier in March, Chinese students upset over compatriot’s blog [Straits Times]

And in August 2011, Singapore’s ‘anti-Chinese curry war’ [Telegraph]

For more,

State media defends PRC Ferrari driver Ma Chi: He is not a ‘heavy drinker’ and has applied for Singapore PR (Temasek Times blog, May 14, 2012)

Chinese Embassy expresses regret over fatal car crash (Straits Times, May 17, 2012)

Singaporeans and Hong Kongers hurl insults at PRC netizens in a fierce exchange on Youtube (Temasek Times blog, May 18, 2012)

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Taxi-Ferrari crash sparks outrage in China
by Valerie Tan
Source – Channel News Asia, published May 18, 2012

Beijing, CHINA: The recent high-speed crash in Singapore involving a Chinese national, which killed three people, has sparked outrage in China – against the growing number of young and affluent who behave badly.

Observers said it will take another generation, before the civil behaviour of the country’s growing nouveau riche, catch up with their income.

Observers said the two high-profile incidents where Chinese nationals ran into trouble with locals in Singapore and Hong Kong will only deepen anti-Chinese sentiment in the region. Read the rest of this entry »

Filed under: Beijing Consensus, Charm Offensive, Chinese Model, Culture, Domestic Growth, Greater China, Influence, International Relations, Media, Migrant Workers, Nationalism, Overseas Chinese, Peaceful Development, Politics, Public Diplomacy, Soft Power, Sun Xu, The Chinese Identity, The construction of Chinese and Non-Chinese identities

May 17, 2012 • 12:26 am 0

China’s search giant Baidu releases low-cost smartphone [BBC]

Baidu: from product to platform focus with the 800 yuan Changhong H5018

For more on its capability, check out this report from Andrioddevices.

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China’s search giant Baidu releases low-cost smartphone
Source – BBC, published May 15, 2012

The new smartphone will compete with a multitude of other low-cost handsets in China. Source – Baidu

Baidu, China’s search giant, has announced the launch of its first smartphone.

It is the firm’s first move into the mass smartphone market.

Built by Foxconn, the low-cost Changhong H5018 is powered by Baidu’s own mobile operating system, Cloud. Read the rest of this entry »

Filed under: BBC, Chinese Model, Communications, Domestic Growth, Economics, Internet, Media, Technology

May 14, 2012 • 11:31 pm 0

Best Australian Blogs 2012 Competition

Greetings friends and readers! The results are out and unfortunately I did not win. Nevertheless, thank you all for your kind votes and support – they are deeply appreciated!

Best Australian Blogs 2012 Competition – People’s Choice Award. Competition has closed!

Filed under: Bob's Opinion

May 14, 2012 • 12:01 am 0

‘Goodbye to China, country of contradictions’ [Al Jazeera]

A follow-up on the ‘China expels a correspondent’ story – hearing it from the horse’s mouth.

Al Jazeera: 5 years and 400 reports later, Melissa Chan shares her memories of China after having her press credentials revoked.

‘China is a country of contradictions. One minute you marvel at the speedy transformation, the new wealth, the great hope of many. Another minute, and in this case powerfully felt because it can all happen in one day, you’re disgusted by the corruption, the systemic problems of a one-party authoritarian state, and the trampling of individual human rights and dignity.’

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‘Goodbye to China, country of contradictions’
Al Jazeera’s ex-Beijing correspondent says she covered country honestly and equitably, after having credentials revoked.
by Melissa Chan
Source – Al Jazeera, published May 13, 2012

Melissa Chan, China correspondent since 2007, filed nearly 400 reports during her five years in the country. Source – Al Jazeera

Earlier this week, I left China after five years as an Al Jazeera English correspondent following the decision by the government to revoke my press credentials. At a subsequent Foreign Ministry press briefing, spokesman Hong Lei did not provide a public explanation, only saying that “foreign journalists should abide by Chinese laws and regulations”. But I have not broken any laws. And I believe I have tried to cover China as honestly and equitably as one can. As I say goodbye to China, I think back to some of the issues and people we’ve covered.

I’d like to start with a good memory of China. It was late morning in the autumn of 2009, and our team was on our way to an interview out in the countryside north of Chongqing in central China. We’d driven through many villages before, but something about the bustle of this village compelled us to slow down our car and hop out for a look. Everyone seemed so happy. There was a festive atmosphere, as if it was Chinese New Year. Read the rest of this entry »

Filed under: Al Jazeera, Beijing Consensus, Censorship, Charm Offensive, Chinese Model, Communications, Democracy, Domestic Growth, Government & Policy, Great Firewall, Influence, Media, Politics, Public Diplomacy, Soft Power, Strategy, The Chinese Identity, The construction of Chinese and Non-Chinese identities

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Wandering China

When Photoshop goes wrong: ‘floating’ inspectors cause internet stir [The Age]

US-Sino Currency Rap Battle [Next Media Animation/Youtube]

AMC Cinema to be bought by China’s Wanda [BBC]

Singapore: Taxi-Ferrari crash sparks outrage in China [Channel News Asia]

China’s search giant Baidu releases low-cost smartphone [BBC]

Best Australian Blogs 2012 Competition

‘Goodbye to China, country of contradictions’ [Al Jazeera]

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