China Change » Uncategorized

By Ge Xun, translated by Yaxue Cao This is the continuation of Ge Xun’s account of his ordeal in Beijing that happened just one week ago. – Part One They asked what prompted me to “come back (to activism)” in 2009. I told them because the human rights situation in China was deteriorating badly, and I wanted to do something to be use [...] Keep reading »

21 Hours in Beijing

By Ge Xun, published: February 8, 2012 A Chinese-American activist’s kidnap. I came to the United States to study physics in 1986 and stayed and became an American citizen. I believe in universal values such as freedom and basic human rights. I admire the best of humans wherever I see it, and I do what I do openly with nothing to hid [...] Keep reading »

Heard on Weibo 1/29-2/4 – I have a dream, political reform, and the poem that may cost Zhu Yufu his freedom

You know things are going wrong in Tibet and other Tibetan areas when CCTV tells you that Tibetans are living happily as never before, Global Times hits hard on “lawless Tibetans”, and Wumaos (五毛) are swarming Twitter accounts of Woeser and other sources of Tibetan news and spitting hate. On Weibo, there are loose items by travelers, local [...] Keep reading »

If-Then rewards cause a search for loopholes – how psychology explains China

I recently finished a book called “Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us” that focuses on intrinsic motivation, how it can be bolstered or buffeted by workplace policies, and how it effects our overall happiness (I enjoyed the book, even if it was a little short). Like most things these days, there were several parts that [...] Keep reading »

Bei Dao’s “Proclamation” – The rallying cry of Tian’anmen Square

continued from “The Misty Poets: an introduction“ Like many China-watchers, I cannot tell you when the better part of my day became dedicated to blog-reading. Background to my everyday routine is the murmur of botched lawsuits, human rights violations, incompetent local governments, nationalist rhetoric, internet memes, and ridiculous a [...] Keep reading »

Heard on Weibo 1/21 – 1/28

The year of the dragon began with the news that armed police were firing on protesters in Tibetan areas in Northern Sichuan. On Weibo, a netizen said he spotted a sniper on the roof of Jokhang Monastery (大昭寺) in Lhasa, Tibet; another expressed surprise at seeing “so many armed police” on streets of the same city who demanded her to delet [...] Keep reading »

The Misty Poets: An introduction

This great guest post comes from a friend. Over the next few days she’ll be introducing her research on the Misty Poets. If you are a grad student working on a China related topic please contact Tom about the possibility of introducing here. “Misty”is the title conferred upon a group of poets known during the Democracy Movement （1976-19 [...] Keep reading »

China has too many people and none of them have any manners

“I don’t like Chinese people. When I visited Guangzhou a few years ago everyone was cutting in line. They would use their elbows just to push past you. They didn’t even care if you had been standing there a long time, they always had to go first. In Malaysia people always line up, even when they are in a hurry. China has too many [...] Keep reading »

Heard on Weibo, 01/21, sentences, and the list everyone wants to be on

This week, Chinese citizen Li Tie (李铁) was sentenced in Wuhan to 10 year prison, while another, Zhu Yufu (朱虞夫), was charged in Hangzhou, both for “inciting to subvert the state power,” namely, for promoting freedom and democracy. News like these doesn’t fly on Weibo because, censorship aside, most people shun such topics out of fe [...] Keep reading »