It must be a universal truth that every year that I am in China, I will get some sort of random health problem. The first year I was here, I got devil eyes. Last year, I got spots. Now I have mouth sores, inside and out! From whence did they come? I don’t know, but […]
I love riding my bike around the neighborhood. It’s like being able to drive again (except probably much more dangerous, for both safety and health reasons). It cuts down on time spent waiting for buses, time spent walking and, most importantly, time spent being angry at stupid traffic. God, traffic is stupid in China.* Cycling […]
Just wanted to make a quick point on the Wenzhou train crash. People are livid, and government — that is CPC — response has never seemed so inadequate or out of touch. Minitruth directives that have been leaked — and to be fair, all governments try to set agendas and frame news coverage, though they […]
Back from merry old Engrand now and catching up on my China news. A few quickies: Phew, it’s HOT. I hate talking about the weather, but England was so nice and balmy. Beijing was alright when I left it, but it seems about 10 degrees warmer now. No more cool mornings and nights. I live […]
In an effort to be fair, Gmail/social networking sites aren’t the only thing China targets for bans. Here are other things China has banned in recent days: Luxury advertising (local Beijing policy). Indoor smoking (ban in name only). Illegal additives in pig feed that are toxic to humans (cross your fingers!).
I had the great fortune of visiting a public Chinese hospital yesterday — Beijing Tongren Hospital (北京同仁医院). Bright and early on a Monday morning, around 7, I asked the taxi driver to take me to the hospital. He drops me off on the opposite corner of a busy intersection, with the hospital rising high above […]
Food problems exist on both sides of the world, not just in China. According to this WaPo article, food fraud is rampant in the U.S., with suppliers labeling cheaper goods as something much more expensive. John Spink, an expert on food and packaging fraud at Michigan State University, estimates that 5 to 7 percent of […]