Truth (plus lies) » china

In China, the real estate market is crazy – for graves as well as homes

Jefff — Sun, 10 Apr 2011 18:43:33 +0000

In some Chinese cities, grave plots cost more per square meter than homes. And they only bury ashes because land is too tight. And! They only get their grave for 20 years. Related posts:Dolphins Save Chinese Ship from Pirates… Says China F you guys, China’s got its own peace prize Jackie Chan Isn’t Sure China [...] Related posts:

China is making money off the revolution it’s otherwise ignoring

Jefff — Sun, 06 Mar 2011 00:13:36 +0000

Afraid of becoming another country in the wave of revolutions, the Chinese government has been blocking all news of the popular ousting of Hosni Mubarak. Meanwhile, back in Egypt…

Bandanas jostle with car licence plates, martyrs’ calendars are on sale next to “freedom pendants” and t-shirts, and flags – Egyptian, Libyan, and beyond, all made in China – are for sale by the bucket-load on every city corner. The revolution has been well and truly merchandised.

Via The Daily Dish.

Talented elephant

Jefff — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 17:56:40 +0000

From @LivelyIvy. Seen in China.

The angel of peace suspects…

Jefff — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 18:25:31 +0000

No one told Lien Chan he was winning a prize

Jefff — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 15:59:08 +0000

Lien Chan didn’t show up to accept the Confucius Peace Prize.

The first ever Confucius Peace Prize was awarded to former Taiwanese Vice President Lien Chan, who worked for closer ties between Taiwan and the People’s Republic of China. But Tien wasn’t in attendance, largely because no one from the committee had bothered to inform him about it. Instead, the award was given to a young girl described as an “angel of peace.”

Via The Morning News.

F you guys, China’s got its own peace prize

Jefff — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 19:06:23 +0000

In response to the Nobel Peace Prize going to Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo, who is currently in prison, China has created its own prize, called the Confucius Peace Prize. The nominees for the first such prize include Mahmoud Abbas, Nelson Mandela, and Bill Gates, but (surprise!) the winner is a former Vice President of Taiwan who made nice with mainland China’s government.

The award ceremony will take place in Beijing on Thursday, the day before Liu is formally awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo. Neither he nor his wife have been allowed by the Chinese government to go to Oslo. Liu’s wife has been put under house arrest.

Shit gets real when diplomats get drunk

Jefff — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 16:39:09 +0000

At a UN retreat, a Chinese diplomat named Sha Zukang got drunk and gave an overly honest toast, singling out Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

“I know you never liked me Mr. Secretary-General — well, I never liked you, either,” Sha told Ban at a dinner attended by the U.N.’s top brass, according to a senior U.N. official who attended the event. “I didn’t want to come to New York. It was the last thing I wanted to do. But I’ve come to love the U.N. and I’m coming to admire some things about you.”

He also confessed he didn’t like one Bob Orr because “he’s an American and I really don’t like Americans”.

CLASSIC.

Via Gawker.

China has a big old traffic jam

Jefff — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 16:34:15 +0000

Construction has caused a 60-mile, 10-day (and counting) traffic jam in northern China. Some people have been stuck for 5 days, and locals are taking advantage of the situation.

Though there were no reports of road rage violence, drivers complained about price-gouging by villagers who were their only source of food and water. A bottle of water that normally costs 1 yuan (15 cents) was selling for 10 yuan ($1.50), while the price of a 3 yuan- (45 cent-) cup of instant noodles had more than tripled, media reports said.

Temp work being white

Jefff — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 01:16:45 +0000

Some Chinese companies hire white people to represent them (and to do nothing else). Here’s a story from someone hired to do “quality control”.

For the next few days, we sat in the office swatting flies and reading magazines, purportedly high-level employees of a U.S. company that, I later discovered, didn’t really exist. We were so important, in fact, that two of the guys were hired to stay for eight months (to be fair, they actually then received quality-control training).

“Lots happening,” Ken told me. “We need people for a week every month. It’ll be better next time, too. We’ll have new offices.” He paused before adding: “Bring a computer. You can watch movies all day.”

Via Kottke

Jackie Chan Isn’t Sure China Should Be Free

Jefff — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 16:47:29 +0000

Yikes. Jackie Chan — heretofore, undeniably awesome — thinks perhaps China is better off without freedom:

“I'm not sure if it's good to have freedom or not,” Chan said. “I'm really confused now. If you're too free, you're like the way Hong Kong is now. It's very chaotic. Taiwan is also chaotic.”

Chan added: “I'm gradually beginning to feel that we Chinese need to be controlled. If we're not being controlled, we'll just do what we want.”