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• LinkedIn Lunches
• Girls Night Out @ Bar Rouge
• Watch: Damien Hirst cuts up dead things, calls it art, this time in Hong Kong
• Absurd racism claim and attacks on Chinese culture
• Photos: The good, the bad, and the ugly new kit designs for Chinese Super League 2013
• Two teenagers engage in rare double self-immolation in Sichuan
• Presented By:
• China And The EU Drift Towards A Solar Trade War Neither Wants
• NGOs’ failing obsession with pandas and tigers
• Watch: Yet another example of how dangerous it is to drive a scooter in China
• Looking Back At Tracy McGrady’s Inaugural Season In China
• Scrutinizing The Mandiant Report: Taking A Hard Look At What It Proves And, More Importantly, What It Doesn’t
• Headlines You Don’t See Every Day, Except Maybe If You Live In Henan: “Man Scalps Parents”
• Picture Of The Day: Beijing Unfiltered
• Wanted: Marxist-Leninist scholar who can also handle a zoo animal or two
• Toddler Stuck In Washing Machine Requires Firefighter Assistance
• Shanghai Security Chase Off CNN Crew Filming Presumed Hacking Headquarters; BBC Journalist Detained
• A Scene-By-Scene Breakdown Of The Peking Opera Version Of Les Misérables
• Mid-Week Links: Mandiant, Peter Hessler returns to Fuling, and Kaiser Kuo has some practical China tips
• Street food aficionados beware: China ponders outdoor grilling ban

LinkedIn Lunches Posted: 21 Feb 2013 06:37 PM PST Date: Feb 22nd 2013 10:37a.m. Contributed by: geofferson

Girls Night Out @ Bar Rouge Posted: 21 Feb 2013 06:00 PM PST Date: Feb 22nd 2013 10:35a.m. Contributed by: cityweekend_sh

Watch: Damien Hirst cuts up dead things, calls it art, this time in Hong Kong Posted: 21 Feb 2013 05:00 PM PST Damien Hirst, Britain's most famous living artist, brought some of his 'shocking' artwork to Hong Kong. Dazzling local art connoisseurs. [ more › ]

Absurd racism claim and attacks on Chinese culture Posted: 21 Feb 2013 10:15 AM PST Mitch Blatt | February 21st, 2013 This year's Sports Illustrated swimsuit was photographed internationally in eight locals and included local flavor of each local. As such, it has been accused of racism by some notable bloggers, and the story has spread into mainstream media outlets. The claims of racism go to such absurd lengths as to actually denigrate minority culture in China. Jessica Gomes was photographed standing with some members of a minority ethnic group in Guilin wearing traditional attire. Anne V was photographed on a raft on the Li River guided by a Chinese person. Dodai Stewart at Jezebel thinks that the Chinese people look "quaint, backward and impoverished." By included photos of minorities in their traditional attire or of raft guides, they "cement(ing) stereotypes, perpetuat(ing) an imbalance in the power dynamic." Why didn't China include some of the skyscrapers and "modern cities that make New York look rickety" where ancient hutongs are being knocked down to make way for restaurant and bar streets? For Stewart's argument to make sense, you have to make a terribly closed-minded value judgment on the relative value of minority traditions versus modernization. The photos can only be viewed as racist if they are portraying one race in a negative light in comparison to the model. How is it that the local Guilin people are being harmfully misrepresented wearing the same clothing that they have worn for hundreds of years and still wear today? There's nothing shameful about the minority people's heritage and culture. The only problem with the photo is that the caption doesn't say what minority is represented. China has 56 government-recognized ethnic groups, with the Han majority making up 91% of the population. Minority ethnic groups are referred to as 少数民族 (shao shu min zu),and their traditions and culture are a national treasure in China that should be encouraged and protected. Having traveled through Guizhou, Yunnan, and Xinjiang, where there are large concentrations of minority ethnic groups, I have found that architecture, attire, cuisine, and other cultural aspects of China's 55 minority groups are some of the most beautiful things in the country, which is probably why Sports Illustrated decided to include them in some of the photos. The Li River and the karst mountains in its midst are also some of the most beautiful things in China, which is why they used that backdrop for some photos. But why is there a Chinese person guiding the raft the model is riding? According to Stewart, it creates the image of，"A white person relaxing, a person of color working. Tale as old as time. A non-white person in the service of a white person." Would Stewart rather have had a white person do the work and put the Chinese guy out of a pay day? Having been to Guilin, I know first hand that the people who guide tours down the Li River are all Chinese. A Chinese person guided the boat that I was on. The vast majority of people who live in China are Chinese, so it's only natural that Chinese people would get the jobs as guides. Once again, this attack on Sports Illustrated comes back to a feeling of pity Stewart feels on the Chinese subject. He's so poor. "They didn't have to use a dude with dental issues on a river raft," Stewart wrote. It's unclear whether Sports Illustrated made dental health a qualification for the guide in the photo shoot, but dental health is certainly not a qualification for being a good raft guide. It all comes back to the fact that Stewart is uncomfortable seeing some indications of the poverty of China's countryside. Her major criticisms of the photo shoot come down to claims that it makes China–and the other locals–look poor compared to the West when each of the locals she mentioned also includes examples of bustling cities. She wants us to look at the cities and ignore the realities of daily life for hundreds of millions who have been left behind by China's economic growth. She wants to whitewash the truth. The fact is, while government investment in China has largely been focused on Eastern megacities like Shanghai, Beijing, and Guangzhou, the majority of the population living in the countryside still hasn't been so blessed. Students in poor provinces where the government has spent little on education have to bring their own desks to school. Small and unsafe school buses crash in rural China killing students due to overcrowding, while advanced buses with safety features are reserved for transporting teachers. But let's forget the truth. Just take a picture in front of the Shanghai World Financial Center and talk about how all Chinese are doing great. China is doing much better since it reformed its economy, but it hasn't caught up to America or Europe, not even for the Chinese middle class. There's nothing shameful about guiding a raft down the Li River. It's an important job for the tourism economy in the region, and it's obviously necessary for the photo. The idea of including local culture produced more interesting photos than would have been produced with models standing in front of the Apple Store in Century Avenue in Shanghai or the Uniqlo store in multinational brand mall on the "refurbished" Qianmen Street in Beijing. Photos shot in Africa: in Spain:

Photos: The good, the bad, and the ugly new kit designs for Chinese Super League 2013 Posted: 21 Feb 2013 05:00 AM PST                In a move not at all designed to distract attention away from the fact that most of its sides are embroiled in a match fixing scandal that has already seen 33 people banned from the game for live, the Chinese Super League has released new kit designs for the 2013 season. [ more › ]

Two teenagers engage in rare double self-immolation in Sichuan Posted: 21 Feb 2013 04:00 AM PST Following the depressing/horrifying landmark 100th self-immolation since 2009 that occurred this month, two Tibetan teenagers in Aba prefecture, Sichuan province, died after setting themselves on fire in protest against Chinese rule. [ more › ]

Presented By: Posted: 21 Feb 2013 04:00 AM PST

China And The EU Drift Towards A Solar Trade War Neither Wants Posted: 21 Feb 2013 05:09 AM PST Politics is complicating the trade dispute between China and the EU over solar panels. Meanwhile, the two are drifting towards a trade war neither wants. Last September, the European Commission launched an anti-dumping investigation in to China's $25 billion-worth of … Continue reading →

NGOs’ failing obsession with pandas and tigers Posted: 20 Feb 2013 04:17 AM PST Conservation world needs to broaden focus to help understand what species are out there, says Robert May Australian scientist Robert May is a professor in the zoology department at Oxford University and former chief scientific adviser to the UK government. In a paper published in the journal Science last month, May and co-authors claimed to debunk apocalyptic estimates that most species will go extinct before they can be discovered. The earth, they say, has far fewer species than has been widely believed – two to eight million of them. Previous estimates have ranged up to 100 million. And, with 1.5 million species already named, there's a good chance we could document most of the rest by the end of the century, say the scientists. May told chinadialogue why this matters. Olivia Boyd: Is your message that we've been too alarmist about species loss? Robert May: I think we certainly should be worried about the accelerating rate at which we're losing species. But on the other hand I don't think we're being particularly helpful when, given a situation that's already bad, we tend to reach for the worst number rather than the most likely one. The paper in question is not saying that everything's OK. It's just saying that, of the possible estimates of how many species there might be alive on earth today, which some people have estimated maybe we only know one in 10 or even less, things are probably a good deal better than that. The total number of species might be as many as four or five times the number we already know, or maybe only twice the number we already know.  Moving on, that makes it more likely that we can know them all. And that is made even more likely by the fact that, although it may well be that the number of specialists in finding and naming species – taxonomists and systematists – is slightly decreasing in the developed world, rather cheeringly in the developing world where there weren't many before, the numbers are increasing. The result is there are probably more in total than there were. OB: Why does it matter that we understand the number of species out there? RM: We are on a trajectory of a more and more crowded world in which people are having more and more impact on the environment. And there are serious questions about how we're going to feed them and maintain the ecosystem services that are not counted in conventional GDP by economists, but are estimated to be roughly equal to global conventional GDP in the services they deliver – freshwater, pollination and the like. There are threats confronting us and to deal with them we really need to know what is there. As habitats are destroyed, we have to ask what are going to be the consequences for the species that live in them and what will be the knock-on effects for us? We need to have a better understanding of how ecological systems are structured and how they respond to disturbance and how we can manage that. And looking at it at that level, you have to go one deeper to ask what are the species that are there? It's rather hard to work out how a particular ecosystem functions if you don't even know half the species in it. So you could say there are three categories of argument. One of them says that the species that are being crowded out by us and are at risk of extinction, such species could be holding future benefits to us in the genes they contain. I call that the narrowly utilitarian argument. That doesn't worry me so much as I think we're going to learn so much as the decades go by about the molecular machinery of life that we'll be able to make our pharmaceutical products designed from the molecules up, rather than borrowing from nature. Then there is a more worrying, broadly utilitarian argument that says that ecological systems deliver us a lot of things we count on and we need to take better care of them. And then, above all of that, there is what might be called a broader ethical argument. That says, with rates of extinction perhaps not as high as the most alarming estimates but nonetheless increasing to rates that we haven't seen for a long, long time, if that persists, we're going to be handing on to future generations an impoverished world. And that's an argument that carries more force in a prosperous community than if you're trying to feed a family in Sub-Saharan Africa. OB: How easy is it for us to predict future rates of species loss? How well do we understand the impact of climate change, for example? RM: One thing that's certain about climate change is that it is happening and we're doing it. On the other hand, the details of the rates at which things are happening are uncertain and we're still on a learning curve because this is a hugely complicated dynamical system. So we're discovering, for example, that the Arctic ice is melting faster than anyone realised. We're beginning to understand why, but that's a good example of one of the worrying things that exposes our lack of understanding of details. And it could well be that there are things we worry about that we needn't worry about so much. Climate change has consequences not just for us but for other living things. It's very well documented the way it's affecting distribution of plants and some insects to the benefits of some and the loss of others. Again, understanding this properly is part of the larger understanding of what's there and how they interact so that we can manage things better as we try to move to a more sustainable future. OB: Presumably there are some habitats that are harder to get data on than others? RM: There sure are. We know less about the deep oceans and there are some places that are just difficult. This is not some touchy-feely, greeny thing. I have a wonderful slide prepared by the UK Ministry of Defence which shows areas of the world that are under stress – from soil being exhausted or water becoming in shorter supply, a variety of different kinds of stress – and then it shows as sort of starbursts on this map of the world places where there has been recent serious conflict or is now. And there's quite a strong correlation. There are quite a few parts of the world very rich in biodiversity which are just hard to operate in by virtue of the stress and strife that is going on there. OB: Where they do operate, conservationists often focus on single species – campaigns to save the tiger, for instance. Are they getting it right? RM: I can tell you dreadful statistics. If you look at the academic conservation literature, you will find that two thirds of the papers are about birds and mammals, 20% are about birds and plants and only 10% are about invertebrates. But invertebrates account for the vast majority of species. And furthermore, of that 10% that are invertebrates, two thirds are butterflies, which are sort of honorary birds. It is changing, but it's changing slowly and it's understandable that if you look at the conservation focus, as distinct from the literature, then it's even worse. WWF's annual report is all "charismatic megafauna" – that's the phrase for it. On the other hand you have to have sympathy for it because the NGOs have to raise money. And it's much easier for people to resonate with the cuddly panda than with some inconspicuous insect. And indeed there are some insects that people quite understandably think we would be better off without, like mosquitoes. So there are real problems. Nonetheless, while it's understandable that the focus for fundraising has to be on the things that have emotional resonance, with the money thus raised the agenda ought to be diversified somewhat.

Watch: Yet another example of how dangerous it is to drive a scooter in China Posted: 21 Feb 2013 03:00 AM PST The inventors of the Think Bike campaign (which originated in South Africa but has also been used in the UK and US) would have a heart attack if they could see how dangerous it is to be a motorcyclist in China. The scooter driver in this video probably thought he was safe, after all, no one would blindly reverse out of their drive onto the main road, would they? [ more › ]

Looking Back At Tracy McGrady’s Inaugural Season In China Posted: 21 Feb 2013 12:51 AM PST Six months ago, seven-time NBA all-star Tracy McGrady shocked the basketball world when he signed a one-year contract with the Qingdao Double Star Eagles of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). With Stephon Marbury already setting the standard as the ultimate CBA success story, McGrady was expected to further raise the profile of the top league in the world's largest basketball market. He was already a fan favorite: during Yao Ming's tenure with the NBA's Houston Rockets, Chinese basketball fans embraced T-Mac, then a perennial All-Star. But the season didn't turn out as planned. The Double Star Eagles stumbled out of the gates and limped their way to a CBA-worst 8-32 record, with McGrady encountering hardship on and off the court and making international headlines on a monthly basis. He played his final game this week, a 17-point loss to the CBA's best team, the Guangdong Southern Tigers. On this occasion, we look back at the major happenings during his first — and hopefully not last — stint in China. Oct. 2, 2012 – The Rumor: 361 Sport reports that two-time NBA scoring champion Tracy McGrady and his representatives are in discussions with the Qingdao Double Star Eagles. Sources indicate the 33-year-old was also working out with two NBA teams, the Knicks and Spurs, and wasn't ready to retire from basketball. Oct. 9, 2012 – The Deal: McGrady announces on his website, "Goodbye NBA, Hello China." He writes: "As I enter this next chapter, I am excited to play for Qingdao Eagles in China. I have been to China several times in the last few years and I love the people and the country. It will be an honor to play for them." The contract is reportedly a one-year, $1 million deal. Oct. 24, 2012 – Now Landing, Flight T.M.A.C.: After a long flight, McGrady lands in Qingdao airport to a welcoming 2,000-plus fans. Video of T-Mac wearing a blue hoodie with tinted sunglasses being escorted through the airport goes viral across the basketball world. His arrival to China is life-changing for some. China Daily reports: His appearance drew hundreds of flashing cameras and loud shouts of his nickname, "T-Mac", from the fans. "I started to admire him as early as 2001. When I heard he would play in China I told myself that no matter which city he played in, I would move there," said Xu Guobin, 30, a salesman who works in Qingdao, while holding a poster of McGrady newspaper reports. "When I heard he was going to play in Qingdao I was overjoyed. There are so many fans here. I just saw his waving hand, but that was enough for me to be in tears now." Oct. 25, 2012 – It's Gotta Be The Shoes: During McGrady's first practice in China, he wears a pair of shoes with a thick layer of white tape over the logo. The shoes appear to be a gift from the club. McGrady was hiding the logo to prevent conflicts with his sponsors. After his first practice, CCTV reports, "The 33-year-old was obviously not in his best physical condition yet, as a missed dunk and awkward smile suggested." Nov. 22, 2012 – Preseason: McGrady's first real sight of basketball with Chinese characteristics comes when his team takes on an international all-star team in a preseason game in Shandong province. After playing the first two minutes, McGrady takes a seat and doesn't return to the court. Fans are outraged, and at the end they begin launching bottles, cups and lighters onto the floor in protest. McGrady would take matter into his own hands. He grabs a microphone, walks to mid-court, apologizes to the fans and thanks them for their support. Nov. 25, 2012 – McGrady's Debut: The stars were aligning in McGrady's season debut. With the shot clock turned off and the game tied at 92, McGrady has the ball in his hand with a defender guarding him at arm's length. He dribbles once to his right, then goes to switch hands. But to his surprise, the quick defender strips him of the ball and calls timeout. On the ensuing play, former Utah Jazz guard Sundiata Gaines banks home a three-pointer to win the game. Those final seconds would overshadow McGrady's near-triple-double: 34 points, eight rebounds and nine assists. Nov. 29, 2012 – You're Fired: After losing their first two games of the season, the Double Star Eagles part ways with head coach Kang Jung-Soo. The season before, Kang led the team to a franchise-best 16-16 record. He also served as an assistant coach on the Korean national team. Qingdao would soon after release McGrady's foreign teammate and two-time NBA champion DJ Mbenga. Mbenga struggled in his role as the key pick-and-roll man in the McGrady offense. He averaged 11 points and five rebounds at the time of Kang's firing. He is replaced with undrafted center Chris Daniels, who has some NBA D-League experience. Dec. 7, 2012 – Diarrhea: It's safe to say this might have been McGrady's most physically uncomfortable CBA game. Hosting Liaoning, a circuit malfunction cut off all heat in the Qingdao arena prior to tip-off. A basketball arena can get pretty cold in mid-December. On top of that, with 2:37 left in the first quarter, McGrady sprints off the court to the dressing room, leaving fans dumbstruck. A Double Eagles officials says after the game, "His stomach wasn't feeling very well, no biggie." Qingdao loses by 30. Jan. 9, 2013 – Three Blind Mice: "The CBA has to do a better job with these officials. My team plays hard every night and the 3 blind mice take it away from us!" That from an angry McGrady on his Sina Weibo account, venting his frustration after a loss to Bayi. "This bad officiating has to change. No way I'm coming back if the officiating continues to be this errant," he writes. The CBA responds by handing McGrady a one-game suspension and fining him $1,600. Jan. 15, 2013 – The $5,000 Interview: McGrady and company ride a four-game winning streak after T-Mac's excellent individual performance vs. Jilin. But it's revealed via a Jilin newspaper that he requires an upfront payment of $5,000 for one-on-one interviews. Feb. 2, 2013 – McGrady the All-Star: CBA All-Star starters are decided by fans in online voting. McGrady leads everyone with 2,218,388 votes, more than 600,000 better than the second-highest vote-getter, Yi Jianlian. The CBA holds its all-star game between the end of the regular season and the start of the playoffs. Feb. 17, 2013 – Farewell, China: In McGrady's final regular season game of the year, he pours in 30 points, grabs nine rebounds and dishes out five assists. The Double Star Eagles still lose, and remain two games worse than the second-to-last-place team. And then, on Sina Weibo, McGrady announces that he will not be participating in the All-Star game because he needs to return home to be with his ailing grandmother. His final words: "I loved playing for this great country and the amazing people of China. You are gracious, loving, passionate and supportive fans. You have all made me feel at home here and for that I am forever grateful. From my heart, I thank you for all your love and hope to see you all again soon." We hope so too, T-Mac. We hope so too. Nick blogs at The Basketball Buddha.

Scrutinizing The Mandiant Report: Taking A Hard Look At What It Proves And, More Importantly, What It Doesn’t Posted: 20 Feb 2013 09:54 PM PST Groupthink is an amazing thing. The publicity surrounding attacks on the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Facebook, Apple, et al. proves nothing except the saw about propaganda: if you say something often enough, it becomes truth. A quick scan through English-language China news reveals that on the basis of one report, it is now indisputable fact that a Chinese military organization was responsible for the above-mentioned attacks. So far, the only substantive criticism of Mandiant's report has come from Jeffrey Carr, CEO of the cybersecurity firm Taia Global, who says the report has "critical analytic flaws." In summary, my problem with this report is not that I don't believe that China engages in massive amounts of cyber espionage. I know that they do – especially when an executive that we worked with traveled to Beijing to meet with government officials with a clean laptop and came back with one that had been breached while he was asleep in his hotel room. My problem is that Mandiant refuses to consider what everyone that I know in the Intelligence Community acknowledges – that there are multiple states engaging in this activity; not just China. And that if you're going to make a claim for attribution, then you must be both fair and thorough in your analysis and, through the application of a scientific method like ACH, rule out competing hypotheses and then use estimative language in your finding. Mandiant simply did not succeed in proving that Unit 61398 is their designated APT1 aka Comment Crew. And that about sums it up. With so many other actors out there, any attribution that does not conclusively exclude them (Russia, Israel, France, and others) should be taken with many grains of salt. Mandiant has made minimal effort to rule out other possibilities, demonstrating the type of confirmation bias that a wary and responsible press would do well to question. On top of that, the New York Times even admits that while the email accounts of David Barboza (Shanghai bureau chief) and Jim Yardley (former Beijing bureau chief, now South Asia bureau chief) were compromised, no documents pertaining to the Wen Jiabao story "were accessed, downloaded, or copied," in the words of Jill Abramson, executive editor at the NYT. "Computer security experts found no evidence that sensitive e-mails or files from the reporting of our articles about the Wen family were accessed, downloaded or copied." And the holes proliferate. Carr touches on several reasons why the NY Times's claims — bolstered by Mandiant, which sees China as a "go-to culprit" (Carr's words) — don't stand up to critical analysis. Examples: The Beijing Workday Argument. The hackers could have been from anywhere in the world. The timezone that Mandiant imagines as a Beijing workday could easily apply to a workday in Bangkok, Singapore, Taiwan, Tibet, Seoul, and even Tallinn – all of whom have active hacker populations. The Lanxiang Vocational School Argument. The article mentioned that the hackers were traced back to the "same universities used by the Chinese military to attack U.S. military contractors in the past." If memory serves, one of those was the Lanxiang Vocational School in Jinan, the capital of Shandong province and home to a PLA regional command center. Actually, Jinan is an industrial city of six million people and more than a dozen universities. IP Geolocation to one school means absolutely nothing. Furthermore, even if the Chinese government was involved in cyber espionage against the New York Times, it wouldn't use its military for that. It would use its Ministry of State Security (China's equivalent of the CIA). And they wouldn't be stupid enough to run the attack from their own offices, which if you're interested in checking IP addresses, is in Beijing – 274 miles from Jinan. Again, this doesn't mean that China is definitely not hacking. Rather, our perspective is skewed. Perhaps the question we should be asking isn't "Who did it?" but rather "Who benefits?" So far, it appears to be US policymakers bent on beefing up cyber-security legislation using China as the go-to bogeyman. Naturally, lots of media have fallen in step, regurgitating a tired, not-at-all subtle narrative that we should know better than to accept at face value. John Artman has been China-watching and covering tech since 2010. Follow him @KnowsNothing.

Headlines You Don’t See Every Day, Except Maybe If You Live In Henan: “Man Scalps Parents” Posted: 20 Feb 2013 07:53 PM PST On the evening of February 15, a university student in Kaifeng, Henan province tried to scalp his mom and dad at a traditional Chinese medicine hospital, according to NetEase. How antiquated is that? It was a bad Spring Festival for the Zhou family. On February 10, young Zhou got into a money dispute with his parents and wounded his father with a knife in the process. Five days later, his mom was visiting his father in the hospital when Zhou attacked again. This time, we're told, he stabbed his mother and then tried to remove her scalp. The mother is currently in a coma in the intensive care unit. The father, interviewed in the below video, said he had a tendon in his hand severed. He described how a large chunk of his wife's head was pared off — while she was alive. A family relative says the child doesn't usually keep in touch, but whenever he returns home, he asks for money. That was perhaps the cause of the dispute: the father wanted his son to be self-reliant. It's a heartbreaking story: the parents (and entire family, probably) work to send their child to college, only to see him repay them by trying to take their scalps. The father, in the hospital bed, breaks down and sobs just before the two-minute mark.

Picture Of The Day: Beijing Unfiltered Posted: 20 Feb 2013 07:04 PM PST Ed's note: The above is a previously unpublished photo from the portfolio of Kevin Schoenmakers, whose book, 118 Photos from China, is available for purchase on his website. Our favorite is the cat in the section "Beijing in Blue," which reminds of this.

Wanted: Marxist-Leninist scholar who can also handle a zoo animal or two Posted: 20 Feb 2013 04:00 PM PST Insert every Animal Farm reference you can think of. Go ahead, just dump em here. Because they're appropriate for this story, via SCMP: The Yangcheng Evening News recently stumbled upon Guangzhou Zoo's entrance exam and found a section of it aimed at evaluating applicants' "mastery" of Marxist-Leninist thought. This means the 15 zookeepers being recruited at the government-run zoo need to be proficient at preparing animal feed, inspecting manure as well as understanding the theories of labour value and human nature. A zookeeper with a nursing degree, sure; gotta make sure they have compassion. A sociology degree, even better; humans at zoos can be as animalistic as the creatures they're there to see. Marxist-Leninist? To repress the rising of the pigs? Keep em on their literal fours? According to the article, the exam includes an interview and a written exam which tests applicants on "cultural and historical knowledge, parks and zoo-related knowledge and the philosophy and principles of Marxism". It was commissioned by Guangzhou's Municipal Bureau of Human Resources. Who knows. Zookeeper wanted: good animal skills; previous Marxist knowledge an advantage (SCMP, H/T Alicia)

Toddler Stuck In Washing Machine Requires Firefighter Assistance Posted: 20 Feb 2013 12:00 PM PST A 3-year-old girl in Linzi district, Zaozhuang, Shandong province who enjoys playing in washing machines recently got stuck in one, requiring firefighters to cut through the utility with hand and electric saws. Before you judge… this happens more often than you think. Toddler gets stuck in washing machine (The Telegraph)

Shanghai Security Chase Off CNN Crew Filming Presumed Hacking Headquarters; BBC Journalist Detained Posted: 20 Feb 2013 09:26 AM PST Mandiant identified "Unit 61398" as a headquarters of sorts for Shanghai-based hacking outfit APT1, and traced it to a 12-story building in Pudong district. Are they right? Judging by Chinese security's reaction, the answer is probably. In the below video, watch as officers, like T-1000s, chase after a CNN crew trying to make their getaway in a car. "Keep driving, drive away, drive away," one of the voices in the car says. Another adds, very annoyed, "Drive away." "They said it was a military installation of some kind," reporter David McKenzie explains. The Brits are having a tough time, too. According to BBC, reporter "John Sudworth went along to investigate but was stopped and briefly detained." See above for more info on that. Imagine: authorities don't want foreigners snooping around their military buildings. Meanwhile, China has hit back, claiming the US is the bigger hacker. According to the Chinese Ministry of Defense (brought to us by Atlantic Wire): China is one of the main victims of cyber attacks. According to statistics, the Chinese armed forces access to the Internet user terminal suffered a large number of foreign attacks, [and] according to the IP address of the display, a considerable number of attack sources from the United States, but we did not [use this] a pretext to accuse the U.S. side. It's probably true, by the way, that people everywhere are hacking the hell out of one another. Also, this, translated by CNN: "There is still no internationally clear, unified definition of what constitutes a hacking attack," Geng said. "There is no legal evidence behind the report subjectively concluding that the everyday gathering of online information is online spying." Which, again, is true. We all agree that in a perfect world, spying on someone, either in the real or virtual world, is bad and no one should ever do it. But in this real world, companies and governments are constantly gathering information on one another all the time. This is the environment we live in, that we've willfully, in many ways, surrendered ourselves to: a closely integrated world with interlacing, overlapping networks, a widened public sphere, and evolving, expanding boundaries of privacy. The best defense is offense. Everyone is being hacked, so maybe, in a way, no one is. Although we readily admit this: it completely and totally sucks to lose information, especially to a competitor. People have every reason to be upset, as long as they don't get hypocritical about it. (H/T Alicia)

A Scene-By-Scene Breakdown Of The Peking Opera Version Of Les Misérables Posted: 20 Feb 2013 07:42 AM PST Tom Hooper's adaptation is getting all the press — it's Oscar season, after all, and Les Misérables is up for Best Picture — but years before, there was another, one might say bolder, attempt to adapt this musical classic. In 2006, students at the National Academy of Chinese Theater Arts actually wrote a Peking Opera version of Les Mis, which you can watch in its entirety on Youku (split into two parts, both embedded here). The video was posted three years ago, but Tea Leaf Nation flagged it just now, and since Les Mis is fresh on our minds, what better time to revisit this masterpiece? I've tried my best to compare the plots of the Chinese and English versions, and highlighted points of interest — possible corresponding songs, bits of dialogue, etc. It's fascinating to see where the Chinese writers hewed to the original and where they felt the need to take liberties. All time markers correspond with the Youku vids. Oh, and spoiler alert. 4:05: First voices. Curtains part half a minute later. Thus begins the story of Prisoner 24601, with Javert in the spotlight keeping dutiful watch. 21:30: The monk buys Jean Valjean's soul for God and sets him on his way "forward." (As in the original, a candelabra is presented.) 22:30: Year 1823, Jean Valjean is nothing now, another story has begun. The musical numbers "At the End of the Day" and "Lovely Ladies" have been conflated, it seems. Fantine selling her body is depicted by a man forcing her to drink wine against her will at the 24:50 mark. Afterwards she tugs on the man's leg and says, "Sir, you haven't paid yet!" At which point he beats her until Inspector Jalvert intervenes. Jean Valjean, disguised as the mayor, makes his entrance as well. 29:45: The Peking Opera version of "I Dreamed a Dream" happens here, I think, in which Fantine laments her lost "home." Although this could also be "Come to Me," culminating in her death at 36:10. Immediately afterwards, a call of "Danger!" "Someone is stuck under a wagon," Valjean is informed. "Let me see," he declares. And with Javert watching, Valjean uses his supernatural strength to move the wagon and save the man. "It. Is. Him," exclaims Javert. 40:30: Valjean meets Cosette in the woods. Soon after, we encounter the Thenardiers (Master and Madam of the House), and find out that Cosette has lost the money they gave her to buy bread. (For those who don't know, Cosette loses no money in the original.) Eventually, Valjean buys the girl her freedom, and he is happy. Valjean gets a long solo in which he perhaps sings (just guessing here) "Who Am I?" 60:15: Cosette breaks down in tears as her father tries to tiptoe out (to turn himself in?). "Baaabaaa," she screeches. The following scene in which she sobs into his arms is the worst part of the performance. 61:33: It's now 1832, 10 years later. Valjean seems to have escaped from Javert with Cosette. As the lights come up, there's a maiden's dance, and then we see, at 62:20, Marius and the start of the Barricade. He gives an impassioned, patriotic speech set to the tune Ode to the Motherland, and the audience loves it (they actually applaud.) Marius comes down at Cosette's (annoyingly shrill) beck and proclaims eternal love to her, but she storms off, upset that he is intent on going to the Barricade. 65:17: Cosette does that high-pitched "Baaaabaaaa" thing again. "Will he come back alive?" she asks, referring to Marius, the boy with whom she's fallen in love at first sight. "God will protect him," Valjean answers. 72:35: At the Barricade, Javert has been captured, but Valjean cuts him free. At 73:56, Valjean says where Javert will be able to find him. He shoots his gun into the air, and Javert takes his leave. Immediately afterwards, the battle happens in darkness. When the lights return, everyone is basically dead. Marius is shot while a woman, possibly Éponine, dies in his arms. Valjean takes the stage and tells the audience by way of exclamation that they're in the sewers. The two men flip their way through the sewers. Shadowy men walk about. Valjean, with an unconscious Marius on his back, then perhaps sings "Bring Him Home." (Or not — I'd like to think they didn't cut this song, though.) Part 1 ends with Thenardier trying to blackmail Valjean in the sewers. Part 2, 1:20: Wedding Chorale. Cosette, in her white wedding gown, tells her father that she and Marius will give him a home in his old age. At 8:45, Valjean reveals his secret to Marius and makes him promise to not tell Cosette. 9:18: Valjean gives a speech, accompanied by strings. He sings a song, we're not sure which. The wedding happens. 15:45: Javert takes the stage (the chronology is completely messed up now), saying the law prevents him from allowing Valjean to go free. Valjean bows to Javert and begs for more time, saying he will not flee this time. 16:18: "Baba" again from Cosette. Valjean shouts her name but, in darkness, can't find her. He kneels, as if dying, and wails, "My child." He sobs. Javert, alone in the spotlight, sings his final note. Applause as darkness falls. (It's not his suicide scene; perhaps he performs "Stars.") 20:03: Alone on stage, Marius sings something. I wonder if it's "Empty Chairs at Empty Tables." (I fast-forwarded through Cosette's part with Valjean, because otherwise I might have to take back the previous statement about "worst scene.") At about 22:30, ghostly ladies walk across stage. Valjean is left alone. Again, at 22:03, "Baaabaaa" rings out from Cosette (who I'm beginning to hate, if you haven't noticed). Apparently he hasn't gone to see her in 10 days, so she decides to be a bitch and whine about it. "Have you forgotten your daughter?" she asks. "But I've come, haven't I?" he says. Really bad acting ensues as he asks whether Marius treats her well. It seems like the writers here are dragging this out for the sake of making it two hours. Just past the 30-minute mark, Valjean and Javert again share the stage. At the 36-minute mark, an ailing, dying Valjean begs Javert to slap the handcuffs on him, but Javert refuses. This is the emotional climax of this production. Javert again does a solo. At 41:30, he ascends stairs, the spotlight fixed on him. (Of course a Chinese production would build to a dramatic suicide.) He slowly mounts a stage, throws up an elbow, and as the lights dim, makes a movement as if to jump. We hear the crashing of cymbals while a voice off-screen shouts, "Someone's jumped in the river!" Valjean cries, "It's him, it's him!" and falls to his knees with grief. Again, Cosette bays "Baabaaa, baaabaaa." Marius is by his side as well. Valjean performs "Finale." The candelabra is brought back on stage. Others join. At 53:55, the final note is sung, and applause rings out (some audience members stand). The chorus returns to do a song and dance, and the main characters appear to take their bow.

Mid-Week Links: Mandiant, Peter Hessler returns to Fuling, and Kaiser Kuo has some practical China tips Posted: 20 Feb 2013 04:09 AM PST Via Tea Leaf Nation Finally got back to Beijing last night, so apologies for some of the belated posts. Catch-up links time. More on Mandiant's report on cyber threats. "After years of warnings that Chinese hacking was a rising threat, the Mandiant study, and the willingness of U.S. officials to confirm many of its findings, signal a blunt new American counteroffensive against the era of Chinese cyber attacks. If 2012 was the year that unearthed unprecedented detail about corruption in reform-era China, 2013 may be turning the spotlight on the P.L.A.'s rapidly rising ambitions and capabilities. // I am usually wary of reports by security firms that, no surprise, identify reasons to hire security firms. But in this case, the Mandiant report, and a related Times investigation, are part of a broader context." (Evan Osnos, New Yorker) Corollary: "People in China can get around the firewall, and very Web-savvy Chinese often do, by using something called VPNs, or Virtual Private Networks. But Chinese hackers already have access to what is presumably an extremely sophisticated VPN: the very servers they use for their foreign hacking. // This where the hackers may have gotten themselves into trouble… // When the hacker uses the "attack" servers to log in to Twitter or Facebook, he or she unintentionally links the espionage servers with specific Facebook and Twitter accounts — in other words, with specific human beings." (Max Fisher, Washington Post) Kaiser Kuo's survival list: "Chant the mantra, 'Don't be a whiny little bitch.' Don't surround yourself with complainers. Steel yourself to the fact that people will crowd you, will spit, will cut queues, will stare at you at least outside of first-tier cities if you look foreign, will ask you direct questions that in your home country might seem wildly inappropriate. Don't be a douche. Be courteous and respectful and people will consistently reciprocate." (Quora via the Beijinger) A return. "Huang Dejian smiles when I ask if he ever feels a sense of loss. His days of sitting on a cold Yangtze rock are long gone, and so is the People's Liberation Army overcoat; today he wears a neat gray suit. In addition to handling the constant phone calls, he's juggling my visit with that of a China Central Television film crew. 'They weren't able to do this at the Aswan Dam in Egypt,' he tells me, noting that Egyptian authorities had to move relics before they were flooded. 'It makes me proud. I don't have any feeling of loss when I come here; I feel like it's a success. We were able to build the Three Gorges Dam and also successfully protect the White Crane Ridge.' And then Huang heads off to the television crew, and his cell phone rings its modern incantation: 'Go, go, go, go, go!'" (Peter Hessler, National Geographic) Also revisiting: Wukan. "But last week, an interview by iFeng with a few villagers and their newly elected leaders showed that local people may see the 'Wukan model' as a completed failed attempt of democracy. // Many of the new leaders of Wukan's village committee are leaders of the anti-government protests two years ago.  For example, the 70-something Lin Zhulian is the new director of village committee elected by his fellow villagers. Two year ago, it was him who often held public speeches and called for villagers to stand up against local government and get their illegally seized lands back." (Offbeat China) More children suffocating in shacks. "Five children have died after being found suffocated on Monday evening in adeserted house used for tobacco curing in southwest China's Guizhou Province, localauthorities have said." (Xinhua) Chinese parents lie. A lot. "Far from fibs, Chinese parents go beyond wild exaggerations to blatant manipulative fabrications designed to get kids to do what they (the parents) want. And if that means scaring the bejesus out of their kids, so be it." (Ray Kwong, Forbes) China and online gaming addiction. "China's culture and Internet authorities have decided to develop China-specific criteria for diagnosing minors' addiction to online gaming. // If cases are assessed based on imported criteria developed for groups with different cultural and social backgrounds, it could result in misdiagnosis, according to a special workplan jointly issued by 15 ministry-level authorities on Sunday." (Xinhua) Corollary: What addiction? (Stan Abrams, China Hearsay) How much would you pay to find a lost dog? "A man in China's southwestern Sichuan province has offered a flat as a reward to anyone who finds his missing dog. // The flat is currently worth half a million yuan (about HK$600,000), but its value will quickly rise to 1 million yuan when the government reclaims the land in the near future, the owner, Xie, posted on microblogging site, Sina Weibo. // Xie, who is in his sixties, said he was looking for Xiao Xiao, a brownish red chow chow he's had for seven years." (SCMP) What is Jike? "Jike.com is a state-controlled search engine launched in 2010 by the People's Daily, the official newspaper of the Chinese Communist Party, and its listed internet arm, People's Daily Online. (You're not aware of this, but Kai-Fu Lee, the former president of China operations for Google.com, the world's leading search engine service, had his social media account blocked a few days earlier after making unfavorable remarks about Jike.com and its president, former Chinese table tennis champion Deng Yaping.)" (China Media Project) A reminder that China has drones, too. "Catching them (drug lords) would be tough. They were isolated, and the nearest road was over two kilometers away. // 'One plan was to use an unmanned aircraft to carry 20 kilograms of TNT to bomb the area, but the plan was rejected, because the order was to catch him alive,' Liu said." (Global Times) Lil Buck in China interlude, via the Atlantic: Finally… Chinese New Year's resolutions. (China Daily Show) "Final destruction," says North Korea to the South. (Reuters) Collapsed dam in Shanxi province, no casualties. (CNTV) Hong Kong is king of snow polo. (SCMP) "War of maps." (Washington Post) 10th Annual Reader Restaurant Awards: ballots. (The Beijinger) "Why Are Chinese Property Agents Like The Apple Store Rioters?" (Mike Cormack, Agenda) Finally, finally… Via chinaSMACK

Street food aficionados beware: China ponders outdoor grilling ban Posted: 21 Feb 2013 02:00 AM PST Just imagine a day when you leave your front doorstep and your favorite street vendor is no longer there to sell you lamb skewers or stinky tofu. The air is quite fresh but the street is unusually quiet. [ more › ]

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