Blogs » Society » Bo Xilai: The Analysis Begins

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• Bo Xilai: The Analysis Begins
• Saturday Night Musical Outro: Linkoban – One Trick Pony
• Nine out of ten high school students in Xiamen have bad eyesight
• Impressions of Japan
• Over a third of Chinese ingesting too much aluminum
• Presented By:
• “Christ, Xinhua, It’s FRIDAY NIGHT” And Other Tweets From Foreign Correspondents
• Chinese Man On Flight Confuses Emergency Exit For Lavatory Door
• Alert: Taxi Fuel Surcharge Raised To 3 Yuan Again

Bo Xilai: The Analysis Begins Posted: 29 Sep 2012 07:10 PM PDT Like anyone interested in the impact of recent developments in the Bo Xilai matter, I have searched for expert analyses. Not much yet. But, here are a few give some insight. PBS Newshour 'Former Star of China's Communist Party Ousted' 'China Prepares for Tranistion to New Government' with David Shambaugh China Focus 'The Fallout from Bo Xilai's Downfall' More to follow.

Saturday Night Musical Outro: Linkoban – One Trick Pony Posted: 29 Sep 2012 08:30 AM PDT Happy holidays to all those in China. Go safely, whatever your travel plans. Perhaps the Vietnamese-Chinese-Copenhagener-led Danish band Linkoban can inspire you to do some running of towns.

Nine out of ten high school students in Xiamen have bad eyesight Posted: 29 Sep 2012 08:50 AM PDT by Barry van Wyk on September 29, 2012 Kids in Xiamen are apparently some of the unhealthiest in China. As the Haixia Daobao (海峡导报) from Xiamen reports today, nine out of every ten children in Xiamen have eyesight problems, two out of ten are obese, and rates of malnutrition and tooth decay are higher than the national average. These are some of the findings that were revealed yesterday when the education department in Xiamen released a report entitled The Physical Health Situation for Primary and Secondary Schools in the 2011-12 Academic Year in Xiamen (2011至2012学年厦门市直属中小学及区属监测点校学生健康体检情况), which reported data for close to 65,000 students. The Xiamen education department itself acknowledged that the report makes for depressing reading. Of the ten different health targets that were measured, the school kids of Xiamen showed improvement in only two: increasing height and healthy lungs. For all the other targets it was a negative outcome. The state of Xiamen schoolchildren's eyesight was especially alarming: 55% of primary school kids had bad eyesight, while the rate for junior high school kids was 82% and that of senior high school students a full 91%. This compares with national averages of 14%, 15% and 12%, respectively. Children in Xiamen not only had problems with short-sightedness (近视), but also more serious afflictions like astigmatism (散光) and amblyopia (弱视). Eyesight problems are not completely uncommon among high school students, but the incidence of disease and serious problems in Xiamen, according to the city's education department, has even exceeded rates prevalent in China's rural areas. The head of the ophthalmology department at the Xiamen No. 1 Hospital ascribed the bad eyesight of Xiamen's school kids to the increasing use of mobile phones, computers and televisions, especially during holiday periods. Another area of concern that came out in the report is the number of children that are overweight or obese. Among primary school students in Xiamen, 22% are overweight or obese, while for junior high school and senior high school students the rates are 19% and 16%, respectively. These rates compare badly with national averages of 5%, 6%, and 5%, respectively. The rates of malnutrition and tooth decay among Xiamen school kids are likewise higher than the national average. The article does not note that Xiamen is one of China's most prosperous cities. The increasing rate of overweight and obese school kids in Xiamen makes the city a sort of harbinger of a future described in Paul French and Matthew Crabbe's book Fat China. Danwei did an interview with Paul French in 2010 on the book, please go here to view it. Links and sources Haixia Daobao (厦门高中生九成视力不良)

Impressions of Japan Posted: 29 Sep 2012 08:33 AM PDT This is the Thinking China Digest, a weekly roundup of recent essays and articles published on the Chinese web, with links to translations on the Marco Polo Project. After anti-Japanese demonstrations fired off around China, this week's digest proposes to take a step back, and reflect on perceptions of Japan in China as manifested by three recently published articles. Yun Zhi's travel narrative, written before the Diaoyu incident, gives us insight into Japanese culture and society as perceived by a Chinese visitor. Li Haipeng's post explore the complexity of Japan and China's interwoven history and interdependent relationship. Finally, Rose Luqiu Luwei's more personal piece offers a meditation on preconceived ideas and historical change. Impressions of Japan By Yun Zhi, 03 September 2012 After a trip to Japan, Yun Zhi outlines in this post the main points of cultural difference that he noted: cleanliness, simplicity, history, beauty, order, age, and social distances. Although this is an expected list, it is a reminder of the differences between Japan and China. The main interest of this post, however, lies in the writer's attempts at making sense of various details manifesting cultural difference within a wider context. Japan still has traditional houses and alleys at the foot of modern buildings, giving visitors a sense of history: this might have to do with land rights. In the Shinkansen, people do not squeeze on the seats to make room for elderly people standing up; but one in four Japanese people is elderly, and many of them still work in the services industry. Japanese people of both sexes share naked baths together; this is reminiscent of the freedom experienced in the Chinese Tang dynasty. Marco Polo translation: Impressions of Japan Original link: 日本印象 Japan's real presence in China By Li Haipeng, 21 September 2012 Li Haipeng's piece starts with an important reminder: in the 80s and 90s, the relationship between Japan and China was good, after Deng Xiaoping announced that both countries should look to the future, and let bygones be bygones. Yet overall, the relationship between both countries is difficult and complex. Japanese lifestyle and culture is appealing to many people in coastal China, as evidenced by the success of Isetan department stores or the choice of Japanese as a foreign language. But cultural and economic links are not as deep as it seems. Though Japan is China's first trading partner, investment figures tell a different story, with Japanese investing more in Hong Kong alone than all the rest of China. Still, complete boycott of all things Japanese in China, as suggested by some anti-Japanese activists, would not be feasible. Almost everything made and sold in China – buildings, railways, cosmetics, phones – contains at least some Japanese parts, fibers or chemicals. Even management practices and key concepts in the Chinese language have been imported from Japan. Although Japan is now ubiquitous in China, the two cultures remain very distant – Japan might even be further from China culturally than the US. People from both countries have different sets of values, and a very different way of communicating. Japanese companies are not doing as well in China as they do in Europe and the US, and they see a changing, unstable China with suspicion. For Chinese workers, they are less popular employers than US or European companies, and they often have to face popular protests. Deep tensions remain – particularly the difficulty of building a common history of the Pacific war – but Li Haipeng expresses hope for better relations in the future. The post finishes with an ironic reminder that both countries are less interested in each other than they are in Europe and the United States; understanding this common obsession with the West might be the key to understanding the relation between Japan and China today. Marco Polo translation: Japan's real presence in China Original link: 日本在中国的真实存在 This article was published in a special issue of the 1510/CoChina weekly magazine on the Sino-Japanese relationship. The whole magazine can be downloaded here. Japanese transitions By Rose Luqiu Luwei, 25 September 2012 In this piece, Rose Luqiu Luwei explores the question of national stereotypes and historical legacy. It opens in Bagdad where, during and after the war, she met elderly Japanese people who came as human shields, and a young Japanese man volunteering with a church to help send and receive letters on behalf of the local population. Her own surprise at both encounters made Rose Luqiu Luwei aware of her own preconceived ideas about Japan. Going a step further, she then mentions a Chinese colleague who, after living in Japan for a while, started denying the reality the Nanjing massacre – based on his experience of Japanese society – causing anger among his friends. Although you can't deny the evils of the past, Japanese society did change, comments Rose Luqiu Luwei: many Japanese people want to be responsible actors on the international scene, most young people reject military values. But Chinese perceptions of Japan remain mostly negative, at least in this current generation. Marco Polo translation: Japanese transitions Original link: 当日本人在转变 All articles in this digest and a large range of other Chinese readings are accessible at Marcopoloproject.org. Some are available in English, French and Spanish translation. (You can join the project if you'd like to help with translations.) Danwei is an affiliate of the Australian Centre on China in the World at The Australian National University. This posting is a result of one project that is part of that on-going collaboration. China Heritage Quarterly and East Asian History are two other publications supported by the Australian Centre on China in the World.

Over a third of Chinese ingesting too much aluminum Posted: 29 Sep 2012 06:25 AM PDT Ever wonder what old Chinese ladies do with all those soda cans they collect? Not to worry, nobody's munching on pop cans, but a Friday Health News Report revealed that over 30% of Chinese consume unsafe amounts of aluminum; a result of food producers adding more than the suggested amount of additives to certain foods to boost flavor [ more › ]

Presented By: Posted: 29 Sep 2012 06:25 AM PDT

“Christ, Xinhua, It’s FRIDAY NIGHT” And Other Tweets From Foreign Correspondents Posted: 29 Sep 2012 12:56 AM PDT "A fair few were drunks, philanderers and frauds and more than one was a spy," writes Paul French in Through the Looking Glass, a book about China's foreign correspondents from the Opium Wars to Mao. "They changed sides, they lost their impartiality, they displayed bias and a few were downright scoundrels and lairs of the first order." And like so, French also neatly articulates exactly what Xinhua thinks of today's foreign correspondents: scoundrels and liars, all of them, who crane their parched throats and bat chapped lips at the teats of the CCP, happy for nubbins of detail, morsels of data, a mere whiff of that divine scoop. To Xinhua, as titular an organization as you'll find (emphasis on tit), foreign correspondents deserve scraps and nothing more. And you'll be happy about it, you philandering drunks! Which, we think, is why they announced Bo Xilai's criminal charges and the date of the National Congress on a Friday evening before a major holiday. Foreign correspondents weren't too happy about that. But hey, what are they gonna do? Tweet about it? Powered by Wordpress Plugins - Get the full version!

Chinese Man On Flight Confuses Emergency Exit For Lavatory Door Posted: 28 Sep 2012 11:54 PM PDT We want you to note that this particular 52-year-old Chinese passenger on a Hong Kong Airlines flight from Bali had to be restrained, as AFP puts it in a short five-paragraph story published yesterday: The door failed to open and crew stepped in to physically restrain the man, who was identified only by his surname Peng. "When the police questioned him after landing, he said he thought it was the toilet door, since this was the first time he had travelled on an aircraft," an airline spokeswoman said. Thank goodness emergency doors on airplanes don't just pop open. On the bright side, no one got into a fight and the plane didn't turn around and land back in Bali. (H/T Ray Kwong)

Alert: Taxi Fuel Surcharge Raised To 3 Yuan Again Posted: 28 Sep 2012 10:06 PM PDT Alright Beijing folks, taxi fuel surcharges are up to 3 yuan again, where they should have stayed after the April increase from 2 to 3 yuan. (The price went back to 2 yuan on June 18 due to a sharp decline in oil prices.) According to BJ News, gasoline prices are the main reason, again, for this price increase. As always, if the distance traveled is within three kilometers, there is no fuel charge. Everything else remains the same. Don't be that asshole who argues with the cabbie because you didn't know.

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