Amnesty International UK's first video about the Beijing Olympics and human rights:
Showing posts with label China. Show all posts
Showing posts with label China. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 06, 2008
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
China blocking RSS podcast feeds
When I was last in China (in March), I found it fascinating which podcast RSS feeds the Net Nannies blocked and which they did not. This motley mix of censoring the benign and leaving salty feeds uncensored (e.g., the Distorted View podcast) really emphasizes the keystone cop nature of China's Net Nannies.
BLOCKED RSS PODCAST FEEDS:
60 Minutes
Escapepod
Pseudopod
Scott Sigler
Pacific Coast Hellway
UC Radio Podcast
Best of National Geographic
The Economist
Talk Radio News
The Onion Radio News
This American Life
Well Told Tales
Comedy Central Stand-up
WSJ Tech News Brief
NOT BLOCKED:
Distorted View
BBC - Best of Today - not salty, but interesting that this BBC feed is not blocked given that the BBC was in a tiff with China a few years back, etc.
BLOCKED RSS PODCAST FEEDS:
60 Minutes
Escapepod
Pseudopod
Scott Sigler
Pacific Coast Hellway
UC Radio Podcast
Best of National Geographic
The Economist
Talk Radio News
The Onion Radio News
This American Life
Well Told Tales
Comedy Central Stand-up
WSJ Tech News Brief
NOT BLOCKED:
Distorted View
BBC - Best of Today - not salty, but interesting that this BBC feed is not blocked given that the BBC was in a tiff with China a few years back, etc.
Monday, April 21, 2008
Sunday, March 09, 2008
Way around the Great Firewall o' China
Found a neat way around the Great Firewall of China! E-mail me for more info. Better not post it here otherwise the Chinese Net Nannies might get wise.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Tests reveal toxic delta vegetables - Pearl River Delta, China
Well, I guess it is not enough that one can not breathe the air in Guangdong let alone exercise (for fear of injuring your lungs), but now apparently you can not eat the vegetables there due to toxic pollution.
Tests reveal toxic delta vegetables
High lead, cadmium levels in food
Zhuang Pinghui and Cheung Chi-fai
Jan 18, 2008
Serious heavy-metal contamination has been found in vegetables from the Pearl River Delta and in the soil they grow in, a mainland report says.
Surveys of densely populated cities such as Guangzhou, Foshan , Dongguan and Zhongshan discovered the soil contamination, the Guangzhou Daily reported yesterday. Samples taken in areas such as Nanhai and Xinhui - among the province's main vegetable-producing areas - showed serious contamination.
An expert said the areas did not supply Hong Kong's vegetables.
Although the contamination may not be serious enough to lead to food poisoning - because most chemicals can be washed away before consumption - the findings confirm the fears of environmentalists that Guangdong's breakneck economic development over the past three decades has caused serious environmental damage.
The soil sampling - initiated by Guangdong's Agriculture Department - is being carried out after Chen Riyuan , a professor at South China Agriculture University, submitted his own study to the government last year alerting it to the problem of heavy-metal contamination of vegetables.
Another study conducted by Sun Yat-sen University examined vegetable samples taken from 12 wet markets in Guangzhou. It confirmed that contaminated vegetables had found their way to consumers.
Lead levels in leaf samples tested were 37.5 per cent above acceptable limits and cadmium levels were 18.1 per cent too high. In samples of root vegetables, the level of lead was 26.3 per cent above acceptable limits and cadmium 9.7 per cent too high.
It is not the first time researchers have found chemical contamination of Guangdong's farmland. In 2005, a State Environmental Protection Agency survey found 40 per cent of the delta's cities suffered from heavy-metal pollution, with the contamination "serious" in 10 per cent of cities.
Contacted yesterday, Professor Chen said he hoped the government would be able to come up with solutions. He said his study showed the problem had been controlled in big cities but was prevalent elsewhere.
"Land that has suffered low levels of pollution can be treated through technology," he said. "But it will be very costly to deal with land with serious pollution."
He suggested growing flowers or trees as an alternative.
Professor Chen said Hong Kong should not worry because vegetables supplied to the city mainly came from so-called "pollution-free" production bases in the province. According to the Guangzhou Daily, Guangdong has 260,000 hectares of farmland qualified as pollution-free.
Wong Ming-hung, director of the Croucher Institute for Environmental Science at Hong Kong Baptist University, said there was no cause for panic since most of the chemicals could be washed off leaf vegetables.
"The top priority now is to conduct research to find the sources of these heavy metals. Contaminated land should be left vacant," he said.
Edward Chan Yue-fai, of environmental group Greenpeace, cautioned that the problem could spread as polluting factories moved inland.
Hong Kong's Centre for Food Safety would not comment on the Guangzhou Daily's report.
High levels of lead can damage virtually every system in the body. It is especially harmful to the developing brains of fetuses and young children.
Tests reveal toxic delta vegetables
High lead, cadmium levels in food
Zhuang Pinghui and Cheung Chi-fai
Jan 18, 2008
Serious heavy-metal contamination has been found in vegetables from the Pearl River Delta and in the soil they grow in, a mainland report says.
Surveys of densely populated cities such as Guangzhou, Foshan , Dongguan and Zhongshan discovered the soil contamination, the Guangzhou Daily reported yesterday. Samples taken in areas such as Nanhai and Xinhui - among the province's main vegetable-producing areas - showed serious contamination.
An expert said the areas did not supply Hong Kong's vegetables.
Although the contamination may not be serious enough to lead to food poisoning - because most chemicals can be washed away before consumption - the findings confirm the fears of environmentalists that Guangdong's breakneck economic development over the past three decades has caused serious environmental damage.
The soil sampling - initiated by Guangdong's Agriculture Department - is being carried out after Chen Riyuan , a professor at South China Agriculture University, submitted his own study to the government last year alerting it to the problem of heavy-metal contamination of vegetables.
Another study conducted by Sun Yat-sen University examined vegetable samples taken from 12 wet markets in Guangzhou. It confirmed that contaminated vegetables had found their way to consumers.
Lead levels in leaf samples tested were 37.5 per cent above acceptable limits and cadmium levels were 18.1 per cent too high. In samples of root vegetables, the level of lead was 26.3 per cent above acceptable limits and cadmium 9.7 per cent too high.
It is not the first time researchers have found chemical contamination of Guangdong's farmland. In 2005, a State Environmental Protection Agency survey found 40 per cent of the delta's cities suffered from heavy-metal pollution, with the contamination "serious" in 10 per cent of cities.
Contacted yesterday, Professor Chen said he hoped the government would be able to come up with solutions. He said his study showed the problem had been controlled in big cities but was prevalent elsewhere.
"Land that has suffered low levels of pollution can be treated through technology," he said. "But it will be very costly to deal with land with serious pollution."
He suggested growing flowers or trees as an alternative.
Professor Chen said Hong Kong should not worry because vegetables supplied to the city mainly came from so-called "pollution-free" production bases in the province. According to the Guangzhou Daily, Guangdong has 260,000 hectares of farmland qualified as pollution-free.
Wong Ming-hung, director of the Croucher Institute for Environmental Science at Hong Kong Baptist University, said there was no cause for panic since most of the chemicals could be washed off leaf vegetables.
"The top priority now is to conduct research to find the sources of these heavy metals. Contaminated land should be left vacant," he said.
Edward Chan Yue-fai, of environmental group Greenpeace, cautioned that the problem could spread as polluting factories moved inland.
Hong Kong's Centre for Food Safety would not comment on the Guangzhou Daily's report.
High levels of lead can damage virtually every system in the body. It is especially harmful to the developing brains of fetuses and young children.
Monday, December 17, 2007
The 21th Floor
Here is an interesting bit of Chinglish / Engrish taken at a Beijing hotel in Zhongguancun (the Silicon Valley of Beijing as it were).
The twenty-firTH floor?
The twenty-firTH floor?
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Ouch! Fist salute to the head.
I understand that the fist salute has a long Socialist and Communist history? Sorry though, reminds me of the People's Front of Judea's fist-to-the-head salute (painful!) in Monty Python's Life of Brian film.
Red Chinese Fist Salute Propaganda Video - Click here for the most popular videos
Red Chinese Fist Salute Propaganda Video - Click here for the most popular videos
Wacky pirated DVD subtitles
As is well known, one can find DVDs at extremely low prices in China. It is often unclear if the DVDs of recent movies are pirated or not. Often though, the subtitles in English are quite funny. Not sure why technically, but it seems the pirates must re-enter subtitles and the English is very different from the actual speech or text. Here is an example from American Gangster:
* In the opening scene, Denzel and partners are dousing someone in gasoline. The victim screams "Damn!" or something. The subtitles say: "what damn". Then "damn of mix Zhang".
* The movie's title scrolls across the screen: "AMERICAN GANGSTER". The subtitles say: "name of movie: the United States be".
* "Based on a true story". The subtitles say "reorganize from the true story".
* When the mentor gangster is distributing Thanksgiving turkeys from a truck, the subtitles say: "Thanks-giving Day happiness".
* 1968 - Harlem. The subtitles say: "1968 year black living quarters".
* As the mentor gangster distributes turkeys from the truck, the subtitles say: "give you".
There is more. But that's all for now.
* In the opening scene, Denzel and partners are dousing someone in gasoline. The victim screams "Damn!" or something. The subtitles say: "what damn". Then "damn of mix Zhang".
* The movie's title scrolls across the screen: "AMERICAN GANGSTER". The subtitles say: "name of movie: the United States be".
* "Based on a true story". The subtitles say "reorganize from the true story".
* When the mentor gangster is distributing Thanksgiving turkeys from a truck, the subtitles say: "Thanks-giving Day happiness".
* 1968 - Harlem. The subtitles say: "1968 year black living quarters".
* As the mentor gangster distributes turkeys from the truck, the subtitles say: "give you".
There is more. But that's all for now.
Location-based SMS text ads in China
Location-based SMS text ads have become quite pervasive in China. Verging on spam. Well, no they are spam. However, sometimes quasi-useful. For example, during a recent trip to the Great Wall of China, I was pleasantly surprised to receive a text ad offering me a discount at a nearby hotel.
One also receives updates from China Mobile in terms of welcoming you to a new city (say Shanghai) with weather reports, etc.
One also receives updates from China Mobile in terms of welcoming you to a new city (say Shanghai) with weather reports, etc.
2 penises brought to you by the letter "I"
You can see the strangest things on TV in China (and other parts of Asia). I have blogged (or at least uploaded videos) in the past with rough translations of faux medical product infomericals. So, my mind wandered into the gutter when I turned on the TV and saw a father and son set of blue penises eating ice cream. Well, of course, they were not penises, but the capital letter "I" and his son, lower-case "i".
Saturday, October 06, 2007
Chinese holidays - it's people! People!!!
Chinese, like all human beings, love to travel and love their holidays. However, given the population density in China, it is advisable NOT to travel during holidays and try to time your travel and vacationing when most of the 1.3 billion Chinese are working.
Then again, if you want to experience foot-to-foot crowds as dense as in the planet Gideon in Star Trek, then by all means go to China during their holidays.
This photo says it all:
Then again, if you want to experience foot-to-foot crowds as dense as in the planet Gideon in Star Trek, then by all means go to China during their holidays.
This photo says it all:
Monday, September 03, 2007
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
"Support the One-child Policy!"
Support the Planned Reproduction (read: One-child) Policy! -- so says this governmental propaganda on the side of a fence. Fence of an apartment complex in Shenzhen, China.
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Monday, August 27, 2007
Free HIV/AIDs tests for farmers in Shandong Province, China
I noticed this public service ad in a bathroom at a 4-star hotel in Jinan, Shandong Province. Glad to see this. Free HIV/AIDS testing poster for farmers. Lots of farmers in Shandong Province and some are sure to have been victim to the paid blood donation sort of scandal that has led to infections in Henan Province and other areas.
"Jinan" means "white smog" in Chinese?
The air pollution in Jinan City (provincial capital of Shandong Province, China) is quite severe. White smog everywhere 24 hours a day...
Banned toothpaste - for free in hotels in China
As this video short indicates, toothpaste brands that have been identified in deaths in Panama (and banned elsewhere such as in Singapore) are readily available in China. Free to hotel guests at many hotels.
The brand is called "Hei Mei" or "Little Dark Sister" -- I think this is a play on Darlie toothpaste...
I bring my own toothpaste to China. Toothpaste not made in China. Want to avoid any chance of brushing my teeth with diethylene glycol.
The brand is called "Hei Mei" or "Little Dark Sister" -- I think this is a play on Darlie toothpaste...
I bring my own toothpaste to China. Toothpaste not made in China. Want to avoid any chance of brushing my teeth with diethylene glycol.
Wednesday, August 08, 2007
Well, of course the Chinese Net Nannies are blocking this one...
Confirming this site is blocked from within Beijing (where I am right now).
Tibetan independence activist blogging inside Beijing
The president of Students for a Free Tibet is in Beijing right now, exactly one year ahead of the 2008 Olympics, vlogging and blogging about Tibetan sovereignty and being a general pain in the ass to the Chinese government.
Lhadon Tethong's liveblogging experiment is incredibly ballsy or incredibly foolhardy, depending on how you look at it -- hard to imagine this lasting long before authorities arrest, extradite, or take some other action to stop the activity.
Apparently, she's already attracted a group of official government "escorts".
Incidentally, Ms. Tethong's uncle is the most senior advisor to H.H. the Dalai Lama.
Link to "Beijing Wide Open" blog. Today's posts from her include an item about activists placing a giant "Free Tibet" banner on the Great Wall of China. (thanks, Oxblood and Nathan Freitas!)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)