The last intern left today, so now it’s just me. Just tying all the loose ends… I finished my last article today and turned it in, so I can finally say that this internship is over. I organized all of my work files on my computer and cleaned out the random accumulation of junk on […]
According to American media ethics, good journalists will never accept gifts, money or other sorts of compensation for their work in an attempt to remain unbiased. Thus, I thought it was really qiguai (weird) when my roommate was given 100 yuan for covering a story on kids of government officials. Then a few weeks later, […]
It’s hard to believe that my summer in Beijing is nearing the end. I leave a week from tomorrow. It’s already August, but I have had no concept of time here. It doesn’t feel like I will be going home soon–probably because I can’t fathom that I’ve already been here for 10 weeks. These weeks […]
I’ve been censored! I almost made it two whole months! But finally, it’s happened! Something I wrote did not fly with the powers-that-be who mine articles for personal opinions at China.org.cn. Unbeknownst to me, I had inserted “personal opinion” into an article I wrote on two Swiss photographers, Mathias Braschler and Monika Fischer. Personal opinion […]
Last day of work.
I’m not a lawyer, but I had to polish a user agreement. The user agreement forbids content that incites unlawful assembly, unlawful tongs, unlawful parades and/or unlawful demonstrations, among other things. At any rate, I learned what a “tong” is. It’s not just something you use to grill meat! It’s something far cooler. It’s an association, […]
Hung out with the foreigners from the office today after work. As usual, had very interesting conversations that provided intriguing perspectives on the motherland. Then met some more foreigners from the States who were here interning with some city planning folks. Made me wonder: As Westerners, we tend to think of our Chinese colleagues as […]
Blue Frog is known for its hamburgers, but this restaurant looks far from any meat-lover’s paradise that I knew of back home. Instead, it had the trendy vibe of being a cafe by day and bar by night. When we arrived, there were people sipping juices from tall glasses, engaged in deep conversations or busy […]
Oh, man, I’ve been one-up’d by one of my Chinese colleagues! Its main functions include selling postcards and philatelic products, customizing postcards and stamps and offering free seals of scenery of Tiananmen. Did any non-stamp scholars/collectors know what “philatelic” meant?
Here is an example of a routine polishing job: Democracy and freedom, as essential elements of a modern civil society, have already been recognized by the Chinese government… Recognized, though apparently not put into practice. But a little recognition can go a long way. At any rate, the piece it comes from was written by […]