Blogs » Society » Checking in on the North Korean prison camps Kim Jong-un pretends don't exist

---

• Checking in on the North Korean prison camps Kim Jong-un pretends don't exist
• Sven Väth @ M2
• MIXR's Quirky Pop-up Shop on Line 10
• Hungry Lung's Kitchen: Sluggish service, solid comfort food
• How to Decode a Restaurant Menu
• Midweek Music Preview: Feb 27 - Mar 5 - Trippple Nippples, Adam Lambert
• China's dirty secret: soil pollution
• Doing Business In China 101. The Extreme Basics.
• Younger generation face long wait for animal protection laws in China
• Economists, academics, former Party officials sign open letter to NPC calling for human rights reform
• Bringing China’s Shadow Banking More Into The Light
• China Blogs Wanted
• Dennis Rodman to visit North Korea for Vice / HBO show
• 5 Shanghai eateries ranked among Asia's 50 best restaurants of 2013
• Genius hackers embed virus in copies of Mandiant Chinese hacking report
• Victim Of Gang-Rape Reportedly Willing To Drop Charges For A House, Hukou, And Job
• Drunk Chinese Passengers Try To Steal Bottles Of Wine On Air France Flight, Make Asses Of Themselves
• Ang Lee Celebrated His Oscar Win By Housing An In-N-Out Burger
• Punishment Comes Down On Yan Linkun For His Epic Airport Meltdown
• How Have Netizens Reacted To North Korea’s “Official Hairstyles”? Hilariously

Checking in on the North Korean prison camps Kim Jong-un pretends don't exist Posted: 26 Feb 2013 08:00 PM PST In a timely reminder that testing potential nuclear weapons isn't the worst thing the North Korean regime does, the Committee for Human Rights in North Korea (HRNK) has released another report (pdf) highlighting the continued operation and potential expansion of the DPRK gulag system under dictator Kim Jong-un. [ more › ]

Sven Väth @ M2 Posted: 26 Feb 2013 07:47 PM PST Date: Feb 27th 2013 11:30a.m. Contributed by: ransomwingo

MIXR's Quirky Pop-up Shop on Line 10 Posted: 26 Feb 2013 06:55 PM PST Date: Feb 27th 2013 10:52a.m. Contributed by: clairebared

Hungry Lung's Kitchen: Sluggish service, solid comfort food Posted: 26 Feb 2013 07:00 PM PST Hungry Lung's Kitchen is situated in the low-key, Chinese part of Yongkang Lu, an outpost of the horde of expat bars and restaurants just east of it. Befittingly, it offers both Eastern and Western comfort dishes along with some fusion-y elements. [ more › ]

How to Decode a Restaurant Menu Posted: 26 Feb 2013 06:02 PM PST Date: Feb 27th 2013 9:47a.m. Contributed by: chefhu Do you get confused by all those restaurant buzz words? We break it down

Midweek Music Preview: Feb 27 - Mar 5 - Trippple Nippples, Adam Lambert Posted: 26 Feb 2013 06:00 PM PST If this week doesn't make up for the boring selection of live music during the holidays, then we don't know what does. Japanese sensory overload with Trippple Nippples, international affairs with Adam Lambert, release parties with noisemakers Death to Giants and The Horde, celtic harp music... Read on for our rundown of all the events happening on stages across Shanghai. And if that's still not enough, head over to our calendar for more. [ more › ]

China's dirty secret: soil pollution Posted: 26 Feb 2013 05:00 PM PST Soil pollution might not be the most alarmingly salient type of pollution in China, but it may very well be more serious than previously believed. [ more › ]

Doing Business In China 101. The Extreme Basics. Posted: 26 Feb 2013 06:28 PM PST The Wall Street Journal's Venture Capital Dispatch recently had an article setting out China business basics (h/t to Silk Road International). The article is entitled, "The Do's & Don'ts of Business in China" and though it is, well, rather basic, it is right on point. It starts out talking of the opportunities in China, but then notes that "protecting intellectual property, establishing Chinese partnerships and adopting the right business strategy are some of the few obstacles that stand in the way." It then provides the following pearls of wisdom on doing business in China: "Companies need to avoid bringing Western business ideas straight into China. It's not always transferable," says Savio Kwan of A&K Consulting. "Overseas businesses need to tailor their products specifically to the Chinese user, and in particular consider the average GDP per person and adapt product pricing," says Hermann Hauser of Amadeus Capital Partners. "Even though IP protection has improved over the last decade, there is still the question of whether a national patent is as secure as an international one, and if China's legal system will enforce patent rights, which can be a 'complex and torturous' process, so you need the right relationships, says Adam Cooke of DLA Piper. Opportunities for overseas companies in China can be found in health care, food, education, entertainment and services that cater to the aging population, according to fund managers speaking in London. Nothing earth shattering here, just good basic (okay, really basic) common sense. What do you think?

Younger generation face long wait for animal protection laws in China Posted: 26 Feb 2013 02:49 AM PST Compassion for animals was considered counter-revolutionary but now the younger generation increasingly find cruelty unacceptable, says Peter Li Peter Li is Associate Professor of East Asian Politics at the University of Houston-Downtown and China Policy Specialist of Humane Society International Tom Levitt: How much should we read into increasing media reporting on animals. Is it a reflection of a real shift in public attitudes? Peter Li: Chinese media attention on animal abuse and animal welfare problems started in the late 1990s. In 1993, Jill Robinson, CEO and President of Animals Asia Foundation and then China director of the International Fund for Animal Welfare, uncovered China's brutal bear farming. She single-handedly alerted the world to this shocking example of humans' gross inhumanity to an intelligent animal species, the closest cousin of the giant pandas. Following Robinson's exposure of the farming operation, a Chinese writer published a tourist account of a bear farm in northeast China in 1998 confirming the brutality befalling the farm bears. Since then, bear farming cruelty has been the target of a large number of Chinese media reports and investigations. The long-suppressed compassion for nonhuman animals was evoked. Compared with the past, animal suffering has never received so much attention in contemporary China – there is a definite public attitude change towards animals. Yet, this shift is not yet complete. I would say the change is most prominent among the younger generation and in the urban centres. A group of people that is computer savvy, internet-obsessed and who mobilises at a finger tip. For example, in April 2011, animal-loving members of this group in Beijing contacted animal-loving friends on social media and succeeded in intercepting a truckload of more than 460 dogs bound for the slaughterhouse.   Read: Eating habits in South China driving animals to extinction Media attention on animal suffering is a radical revolution. In China's pre-reform era, animal suffering or animal protection issues were never a report subject. Love of animals was condemned as bourgeoisie. Compassion for animals was considered counter-revolutionary. Pet ownership was believed to be the luxury of the exploiting class, having nothing to do with the life of the working people. Young people who have no recollection of the past and not influenced by the extremist ideological bias against pet ownership, are more likely to find cruelty to animals unacceptable. TL: Do you expect a shift from cats and dogs to concern about the welfare of animals in farming systems? PL: Absolutely! While people have showed greater concern over food safety problems, they are realising that most of that problems are results of the unnatural farming conditions. Crowded indoor factory farms make disease spread a certainty. Drug use is unavoidable and abused in many cases in China and around the world. The link between unsafe meat and dairy products and intensive farming shall be realised by more consumers. In fact, there are already free-ranging chicken farms and pig farms in China. TL: There was recent criticism of KFC for their use of antibiotics – do you think that was more a reflection of concerns for public health rather than chickens' welfare? PL: It was more a reaction to the public health hazards rather than animal suffering on the factory farms. But, consumers will eventually learn that the link mentioned above is not hearsay. They will eventually have to make a choice: go for cheap meats and risk health down the road or act as conscientious consumer and support cage-free meats. A small number of China's urbanites are already making the right consumption choice. TL: What attitude does the government take to animal rights activists, who've been known to barricade conveys of dogs being taken to slaughter? PL: China is a post-socialist developmental state. This means the government's overriding concern has been and will continue to be economic development. Like other east Asian developmental states and regions such as South Korea and Taiwan in the early to middle era of their economic development, mainland China will continue to focus on economic development at the expense of social equality, environmental protection and ecological sustainability. Compared with other interest groups in China, animal activists have received less attention from the government since they do not pose immediate threat to social or political stability. However, the authorities are not prepared to lift controls on the registration of animal protection NGOs. The way the mainland Chinese authorities have been dealing with the activists and NGOs is very similar to the position adopted by Taipei authorities in the 1970s and 1980s. Economic growth is above everything else. If the food supply were disrupted, for example, political stability could be jeopardised. Yet, if the animal welfare crisis remained the same, there is no threat to the authorities. So, the latter can wait. Material gains or the question of food is a top priority for the Chinese authorities as for the dynastic rulers in the past. Today, the Chinese authorities have another reason to suppress activists and NGOs: the need to meet the rising expectations of the people who not only want to have food on the table, but better and more varieties of food. To meet the demand, the authorities need to continue the development strategy. TL: What role can global animals rights groups play in China? e.g. HK based Animals Asia got accused of being part of a western ploy in the campaign against bear bile. PL: WWF has worked in mainland China since 1979, as one of the first international conservation NGOs getting a foothold in China. By collaborating with the Chinese authorities, WWF not only brought in much needed financial resources but the latest conservation ideas and practices. Today, the top international animal protection NGOs such as Humane Society International (HSI), UK's RSPCA and WSPA, International Fund for Animals Welfare, Animals Asia and HK SPCA have all worked on different projects in China with the aim of assisting China's modernisation by focusing on improving the welfare of nonhuman animals. With the collaboration of the Chinese authorities and Chinese NGOs, they have made some great advancements in, say, encouraging the Chinese government to ban animal performance, stopping the introduction of rodeos (for 2011), stopping the introduction of Spanish bullfighting, implementing training workshops on humane slaughter, encouraging responsible pet ownership, encouraging government spending on stray animal sterilisation and vaccination, and outreaching to the young generation and introducing an animal protection textbook etc. Read: Chinese boycott airline after mysterious death of dog Animals Asia Foundation has done a job no other group has ever been able to do. Whatever the charges laid at the doorstep of Animals Asia, they should not be believed. Such accusations will continue against other groups. In the anti-bear farming case, Chinese society is overwhelmingly on the side of Animals Asia, not on the side of the Traditional Chinese Medicine Association or the bear farmers. You only need to do a quick search on Google or Baidu using the words "bear farming" and "cruelty" – you'll pull up hundreds of thousands of condemnation entries. Working with the Chinese authorities cannot be ruled out. Chinese government is the most effective means of change. Helping Chinese NGOs will lay the foundation for a humane China. TL: What is the relationship between material wealth and animal welfare in China? Is it inevitable that China's growing middle-class will be concerned about animal welfare? PL: Absolutely. Firstly, the younger generation has no experience of the pre-reform "class struggle" where people could act brutally to enemy class members. The younger generation has a higher level of sensitivity to cruelty and a lower level of tolerance to brutality. Second, the younger generation is more generous in spending on the so-called non-essential items such as entertainment, travel and pet ownership. They care less about food on the table and are better donors to charities. Finally, they are exposed to ideas that their parents were not such as animal welfare, ecology, and problems of ivory trade, seal slaughter in Canada, rodeo cruelty, Spanish bullfight brutality, dolphin slaughter and SeaWorld killer whale imprisonment, etc. A better economic situation generally allows people the extra resources for animal protection. TL: Lastly, what's your view on existing and future animal welfare regulations in China? PL: I would applaud Xi Jingping's [the new Party General Secretary] campaign against the nationwide lavish eating and drinking habit paid for often by public money, which has resulted in a 70% drop in the sales of shark fin during the Chinese New Year. Government officials have every reason to set a socially responsible, compassionate and sound consumption example for the society. Official catering is one of the two top consumers of wildlife products. China has lagged behind the most progressive nations in animal protection legislation for more than 180 years, if we use England's first animal protection law as the signpost of comparison. Mainland China lags behind Taiwan and Hong Kong. Chinese law scholars proposed two animal protection legislative proposals in 2009 and 2010, but it is yet to be on the radar screen of China's National People's Congress. Economic concern may be the roadblock. I am sure China will have a comprehensive animal protection law. If it were enacted, it would encounter enforcement problem, but at least we would have something to fall back on when cases of abuse happen. I am cautiously optimistic, though I know animal protection legislation will not be born in the near future.

Economists, academics, former Party officials sign open letter to NPC calling for human rights reform Posted: 26 Feb 2013 06:30 AM PST Over 100 prominent Chinese individuals - academics, lawyers, economists, and former Communist Party officials - have signed an open letter calling on the government to immediately ratify the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which commits signatories to protection of numerous core individual civil and political rights. [ more › ]

Bringing China’s Shadow Banking More Into The Light Posted: 26 Feb 2013 07:46 AM PST This Bystander has noted before the growing concerns among policymakers in Beijing about China's shadow banking system, the unregulated credit flows that have thrived beyond the formal restrictions on bank loans. This has quadrupled in size since 2008; at $3.2 … Continue reading →

China Blogs Wanted Posted: 26 Feb 2013 06:28 AM PST Just went through some blog list housecleaning, deleting a number of blogs that have not posted for many months.  Our blogroll is now down to 33 recommended blogs, which is fine with me. But it got me to thinking that it has been quite some time since I put to you, our loyal readers, what blogs we do not have on our blog list that should be on our blog list.  So please let us have it.  Are there any China blogs not on our blog list that you believe should be on our blog list?  Conversely, are there any blogs on our blog list that you believe do not belong.

Dennis Rodman to visit North Korea for Vice / HBO show Posted: 26 Feb 2013 05:00 AM PST Former NBA star Dennis Rodman is to helm a new Vice series about North Korea, due to be aired on HBO in early April. Rodman arrived in Pyongyang this week as tensions between America and the DPRK are at an all time high. [ more › ]

5 Shanghai eateries ranked among Asia's 50 best restaurants of 2013 Posted: 26 Feb 2013 04:00 AM PST Diners Club International's 2013 countdown of Asia's 50 best restaurants included five Shanghai spots, two in the top ten! Mr And Mrs. Bund and Ultraviolet, both by Paul Pairet, snagged sixth and seventh place respectively followed by Franck Bistro (34th), FU1015 (40th), and Jade On 36 (45th). [ more › ]

Genius hackers embed virus in copies of Mandiant Chinese hacking report Posted: 26 Feb 2013 03:00 AM PST Some hackers with taste for delicious irony have spread a virus filled version of the Mandiant report which accused the PLA of being behind numerous cyber attacks against the US. [ more › ]

Victim Of Gang-Rape Reportedly Willing To Drop Charges For A House, Hukou, And Job Posted: 26 Feb 2013 03:21 AM PST CRI reports that the suspected gang-rape victim in a high-profile case involving Li Tianyi, whose father is famous People's Liberation Army singer Li Shuangjiang, might drop the charges if a few of her material demands are met: A netizen called "dugeweibo" released on his or her Sina microblog that said the parents of Li Guanfeng and four other suspects talked with the victim's parents and reached an agreement. They will give the victim a Beijing hukou (household registration), a house and a job and if the victim drops a lawsuit. Dugeweibo's account appears to have been deleted. And anyway, a house is easy. The job and hukou may be a bit more tricky, for obvious reasons. How many connections does Li Shuangjiang, a non-commanding major-general, actually have? And which of them would be stupid enough to risk their necks for his doughboy of a son, whose history of criminal behavior — at the age of 17 — suggests pathological depravity? Although we should point out none of this may matter: However, lawyer Qi Lianfeng said if the rape suspects are ultimately found guilty, the action cannot be withdrawn by the victim, according to China's prosecution procedures. Stay tuned. We'll have more on this subject. Gang Rape Victim May Drop Lawsuit Against General's Son (CRI)

Drunk Chinese Passengers Try To Steal Bottles Of Wine On Air France Flight, Make Asses Of Themselves Posted: 26 Feb 2013 12:29 AM PST Flying drunk isn't as fun as it seems. For one, the altitude is liable to give you a massive hangover, combining the sort of jackhammer headaches with swirling, Terrence-Malick-roving-cloud-type nausea that make you swear off drinking forever. And two, you might make a complete ass of yourself, like two recent passengers of an Air France flight. As brought to us by SCMP: Wen Fei, a Chinese woman who works in Paris, wrote on weibo, China's Twitter-like service, about her encounters with the two men who sat near her on flight AF132 from Paris to China's central Wuhan city on Friday. The two men each took eight bottles of wine off a service cart. We're not sure where the flight crew were when this happened, but the act was blatant enough that fellow passengers objected. "I explained to them it was not OK and interpreted the flight attendents' explanation in French, but they said it was none of my business, " Wen told SCMP.com on Tuesday. The two men, apparently drunk, then shouted at Wen in the Wuhan dialect, she said. "They asked me to back off if I ever wanted to leave Wuhan in one piece," said Wen. The threats are particularly nasty, and make these two men look like a special kind of fucking asshole — the kind who muddies up your carpet, drunkenly leers at other house guests, steals your silverware, then neglects to say goodbye. Their identities remain unknown, but Wen snapped a photo of one of them, which you see above. Wen's post struck a chord with many netizens who said they, too, find the behaviour of some Chinese travellers appalling. "The Chinese are always loud and jump queues to get on a flight – even when everyone has a seat," said a netizen. We've seen fighting in the cabin, pooping in the aisles, meltdowns at the gates, near-riots in the terminal, masturbating, and, of course, trying to open an emergency door in-flight… is it possible for Chinese passengers to embarrass themselves further? By the way, Air France boasts that its wine list is compiled by "the world's greatest sommelier Olivier Poussier." Just so you know. Outrage after Chinese men on Air France flight take wine bottles 'to go' (SCMP, h/t Alicia)

Ang Lee Celebrated His Oscar Win By Housing An In-N-Out Burger Posted: 26 Feb 2013 12:05 AM PST After winning the Oscar for Best Picture Director and lumbering his way through an acceptance speech — redeemed by words from two non-English languages — Ang Lee hit the streets of LA and found himself in that coziest, most comforting of havens for the delirious, the drunk, the endorphin-jacked, or merely the hungry: In-N-Out. Spotted by Vanity Fair publisher Edward Menicheschi, who snapped a pic and tweeted it out, this photo has gone viral and now found its way here, where we hope In-N-Out Burger quickly capitalizes on this remarkable windfall of publicity to open a chain in China. We could use a double-double right about now. Even Housing an In-N-Out Burger Is Adorable When Ang Lee Does It (Holding His Oscar) (Vanity Fair)

Punishment Comes Down On Yan Linkun For His Epic Airport Meltdown Posted: 25 Feb 2013 10:03 PM PST The CPPCC official who went ballistic after missing his flight in Kunming has been suspended from the mining company that employs him, according to People's Daily. The better penalty may have already been levied though, in the form of shame: Yan Linkun, the deputy chairman of Yunnan Mining Corp, is now the face of airport meltdowns the world over. On February 19, Yan and his wife and two 10-year-old sons were flying out of Kunming Changshui International Airport when they missed two flights. After the second one, in which the family didn't hear a boarding announcement, Yan proceeded to trash the area around the gate, smashing computers and hurling fists and other body parts at windows and furniture. The video, which we first posted on Saturday via Youku, has spread to the Telegraph, CBS News, Gawker, etc., putting poor Yan squarely in the Internet's stockades. The CPPCC announced it has further punishment in store for Yan, who may also face criminal charges, but why bother? Shanghai Daily has this quote from the now-contrite Yan, who's pictured in the above picture (on the right) shaking hands with an airport official: "My irrational actions and rudeness have caused some losses to the airport as well as bad effects to the public, so I sincerely apologize to the airport and public," he said to Wang Jinsheng, the airport's deputy manager. "I am willing to compensate." You already have, Mr. Yan. And we thank you. (Image via)

How Have Netizens Reacted To North Korea’s “Official Hairstyles”? Hilariously Posted: 25 Feb 2013 07:07 PM PST Outside a salon in the city of Pyongyang hangs a framed picture of 28 hairstyles for customers to choose from. The North Korean government has declared these the "official" styles for men and women — and what selection! We're all too familiar with the practices of a conformist state, but this is a throwback to an even more communist era. If you are a married woman, you have to keep your hair short and ribbon-free; if single, young ladies should keep braids; etc. These images of approved haircuts quickly circulated on Sina Weibo. Let's take a look at what Chinese netizens had to say about their comrades next door: @牛奶糖赠品_：what if someone is baldheaded? @不能吃我：it does not include my kind of hair. Guess I will be persecuted if I live in Korea. @_JamesMoriarty: Look familiar, don't they? Like China twenty years ago! @ 尼马神马都是马: A woman from South Korea is the nation's president, and women from North Korean have to abide by sanctioned hairstyles. Which country is better? Pretty obvious. @心茶de自由: Wait, Fat Kim Jong-Un's hair is not among these! @造型师朱宥承: Even women have just short hair! Man, working as a hairdresser in Korea is so easy! @songliuyu: Their government is worrying too much. @大叮乖乖o0: I think the government of North Korea is great! They have narrowed down the options and recommended the best ones, which would save me a lot of time at the hairdresser. Ha ha! @胖的快飞起来的兔子: So sick. @CamoBunny: They all look the same to me. @我才是很拽的番茄: (answer the question "what if baldheaded?") Well, the glory of Juche Ideology will not let such dismay as baldheadedness to happen. @唛唛-fan: Way too strict. I can't live in a place like North Korea. @win0703: Do they have a set of sanctioned sex positions, too? @东海林歌: must have taken ages for that same model to grow all those haircuts! This campaign to limit hairstyles seems like the government's latest effort to block the entry of Western cultural influence. In North Korea's defense, it's just trying to preserve its traditional beauty and prevent authentic Korean culture from being contaminated by the bad elements of capitalist culture. That's something we can all get behind — right?

You are subscribed to email updates from Update » Blogs » Society To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610