Due-East.org

So it looks like China and Japan are going at it again (or should it be still?).  It’s like a big, immature marriage or something, the kind that your semi-senile grandparents have.

Grandmother:  Don’t put your shoes there, Fred!

Grandfather:  I’ll put my shoes wherever I want!

*grandmother pouts*

*grandfather puts his shoes down where he wants and pouts*

only, since we’re talking about countries, it’s more like this:

Japan:  Don’t drill for gas there!

China:  Shut up.  I’ll drill for gas anywhere I want!

*Japan pouts*

*China drills for gas where it wants and pouts*

Link to article here.

I received a message from AsianFanatics.net, and I thought I would post it here on the off chance that someone actually 1.) reads this site and 2.) cares enough to do something about it. 

Basically, some loser tabloid reporter in  Hong Kong managed to somehow film Gillian Chung while she was changing after a show (yes, naked), and the HK government is basically saying that they won’t do anything about it until 10,000 people complain about it.  That’s ridiculous if you ask me!  SO, please do your part and read the little bit below and take 3 minutes to fill out a formal complaint and send it to the Hong Kong government letting them know you don’t appreciate that kind of thing.  And if you DO appreciate that kind of thing, you’re a complete loser.

In case you don’t know who Gillian Chung is (I probably wouldn’t if I weren’t such a big fan of Chinese stuff), here’s a link to her response to the video below on  Youtube…Oh, she’s the one crying because her privacy was blatantly violated and the government doesn’t seem to care. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jr12OPQb1lA

The message I received is below, in italics:

Recently, Gillian Chung had been filmed of her changing after a concert by the tabloid, ‘EasyFinder’. This is an outrageous event, therefore action needs to be taken about it. Many of us do feel that this is a serious issue because if it’s let on without control, then it could turn into something that happens frequently. Unfortunately, the government in Hong Kong has announced that unless the number of complaints reach 10,000, they will not be taking action about this issue. At the moment, there are only 812 complaints filed in. Please, I ask you, even if you are not a fan of Gillian Chung’s, please help out with this problem in general because it could very well be your idol who is the next victim. In fact, it affects the society in Hong Kong and even how others view chinese people in general. Please help send out a complaint so that the government will do something about this, as in stopping this. If each person sends out one, then we’re that much closer to the target. Your help will definitely be appreciated. Related Articles: http://asianfanatics.net/forum/Photos_Of_G…talk293176.html http://asianfanatics.net/forum/Gillian_Fan…talk293495.html http://asianfanatics.net/forum/Alex_Fong_S…talk293728.html http://asianfanatics.net/forum/Responding_…talk294047.html The way to send out a complaint is quite simple. You can download the form from this link : http://www.tela.gov.hk/english/doc/forms/complain.pdf , fill it out, and then scan it back onto your computer, and send it to this email address: nrs@tela.gov.hk . For those who aren’t able to download the form, or if you want the way that is less of a hassle, you may copy and paste the form below into an email, and send it to nrs@tela.gov.hk .

—————————-Form Begins Here——————————-

To:  Newspaper Registration Section, Television and Entertainment Licensing Authority

Report of Public Complaint on Obscene/Indecent Articles

*Please see the notes on how to return this form*

Complaint Hotline:  (852)-26767676

Date: (dd/mm/yy)

Name of Complaint:  Mr./Mrs./Miss …

Correspondence Address:

Phone Contact 1 / Contact 2:

1 / 2 Fax:

Email Address:

Detail of Complaint:  (Please provide details, including nature of article, location and the like).

Signature:

Note:  Complaint Method - This form can be returned by Fax (2827-2893) or mail (address: 9/F., Revenue Tower, 5 Gloucester Road, Wanchai, HK).  Alternatively, you can call our complaint hotline (2676-7676) or email the above information to us (email: nrs@tela.gov.hk).  The information provided will be used for handling your complaint, it may be divulged to other departments/agencies for the same purpose.  For correction or for access to personal data contained above, please contact the Access to Information Officer of TELA (2594-5891).

—————————–Form Ends Here———————————

Below is a link to an article about the alleged harrassment and beating of a Chinese AIDS patient who was pleading with the Chinese government for compensation.  The woman alleges that she was infected with the AIDS virus in the 1990s during a surgery at Hebei’s largest hospital.  Here are a few excerpts from the article:

Wang Qiuyun, 38, said a security guard at the central Chinese city of Hebi in Henan province threw her against some stairs and kicked her in the abdomenon Wednesday after she and three other female patients insisted on seeing the mayor.

The guard picked up a broom and threaten to beat her but was stopped by the other sufferers and guards.

The Chinese government denies any such beating occurred.  One more quote from the article:

Although Health Minister Gao Qiang has said the courts should take up the cases, local governments are afraid it can open a can of worms and lead to many people finding out that they were also infected and demanding compensation.

Ahh, you gotta love accountability…

Here’s the article.

It looks like North Korea is freaking out yet again because they haven’t been getting enough attention lately, what with the fighting in Israel and Lebanon and all.  The degree of childishness that this guy displays never ceases to amaze me.  Anyway, now North Korea is talking about doing a nuclear test.  Whether they ACTUALLY have a nuclear bomb or not is something nobody seems to be sure of, but they’re talking about it, so it’s newsworthy.  Here’s a link to a CNN article about it.

I can’t understand Japanese culture. On the one hand, their language and culture revolve around deference, and they have a complex set of rules as to how to properly treat each other with the utmost respect and dignity. On the OTHER hand, bizarre pornography and TV shows featuring humiliating practical jokes and other oddities are a part of daily life for many. Can someone explain how these two diametrically opposed aspects of this culture can co-exist?!

Here’s a link with examples of their tv weirdness.

I’m all for funny gameshows and stuff, but some of the clips I’ve seen that supposedly are on REGULAR TV and not cable kind of make me sick, especially in how they seem to promote women as nothing more than sex objects. But I guess that’s the world in general…

It’s an ugly part of Western civilization:  As we fork over our hundreds of dollars for our new little electronic gadgets, we don’t even give a passing thought to the poor person living in the third-world country that put in the long hours in less-than-desirable conditions to produce our new little toy.  Here is an article about an iPod factory in China.  And this is actually probably one of the better-ending stories…

Below is a picture of the luxurious accomodations for factory workers at the iPod factory.

In an amazing gesture of goodwill and in the interests of fostering mutual respect, a Chinese envoy has said about America’s concern over China’s increasing military capabilities and strength, “It’s better for the U.S. to shut up.  Keep quiet. It’s much, much better…China basically is a peace-loving nation…China’s military buildup is not threatening anyone.  This is a legitimate defense.” 

Rest easy, people!  China’s 2.3 million-soldier People’s Liberation Army is JUST for defense…in case the rest of the world and aliens from other planets collectively invade China at once.

Source Article

Ouch. I’ve heard of a lot of different types of drug smuggling in my time (for example, an obese smuggler who had marijuana hidden in his fat rolls), but soaking panties in heroin is a new one on me. If this lady is innocent, I hope they find that out fast, or else she’s gonna take a nice little ride to the firing squad pretty fast…

…which brings me to another article. China actually has “death vans” to make capital punishment more economical, which could be a big money saver, considering the fact that some human-rights groups claim that China executes more criminals yearly than the rest of the world combined. The actual number of death sentences passed out per year is a closely guarded State secret, but Amnesty International says that almost 1,800 death sentences were carried out last year in China but that the actual number could be closer to 8,000. It’s not a good idea to be a criminal in China, considering the fact that sixty-eight different crimes, more than half of which are non-violent crimes like tax evasion and drug smuggling, can get you a ride in the death mobile. The pic below is of a “death van”.

I just came across a good L.A. Times article about the problems of survival facing the Cantonese language. Yes, I said language instead of dialect because it’s about as different from Mandarin Chinese as English is from French or Spanish, and it has its own interesting culture and slang that to me goes along with any language. It’s depressing to me to see such an interesting language fall by the wayside.

As China proper (PRC) becomes more of an economic force on the world scene, it is becoming increasingly popular - and necessary - to be able to speak Mandarin. As a result, more and more children in schools in Hong Kong are now going through their curriculum in Mandarin rather than Cantonese. And a lot of Hong Kongese and Cantonese born overseas are learning Mandarin instead of Cantonese, so their native language is slowly becoming extinct. Sadly, Mandarin seems to be slowly overtaking Cantonese as the language heard in Chinatowns across America. Thankfully, Cantonese is still widely spoken in Guangdong, China, as well as Hong Kong as well as lots of overseas Chinese communities, but that’s even changing. It’s not that I don’t like Mandarin; on the contrary, I love it and think it’s a beautiful language; otherwise, I wouldn’t have been studying it for over 3 years now. But there’s a certain sense of humor and charm that goes along with Cantonese that doesn’t quite come across in Mandarin.

One of my favorite aspects of Cantonese, and the L.A. Times article mentions this as well, is how Cantonese speakers stress points or suggest things. They often take a sentence and add a long “aaaaaaah” or “laaaaaah” sound to the end of it, and it just makes everything sound so much lighter and humorous. There’s a bit of that in Mandarin, but it’s just not the same. I’ve always said that if I heard a joke told in both Mandarin and Cantonese, it would be much funnier in Cantonese just by virtue of how the language sounds. Cantonese as a language also has a lot of colorful slang and metaphors that makes it really interesting.

Maybe I’m too much of an idealist, but I hate to see amazing languages like Cantonese fade away. I’m glad that there are societies and associations devoted to the preservation of Cantonese as a language. I’m slowly learning it myself, and even if I butcher the language (which I no-doubt will), at least I’m trying to keep it alive.

Anybody know of any good podcast sites similar to Chinesepod.com, but for Cantonese?

Here’s the LA Times article.

I really hate what Western culture and values are doing to Asia on the whole.  There seems to be a HUGE decline in morals across Asia the more the world is globalized.  I’m certainly not blaming it all on Western culture, and I’m not going to sit here and say that ALL parts of Western culture are bad and that the East is superior in every way, but in any melding of ideas there’s going to be good and bad.

While there are a lot of positives to Western culture, there’s a lot to be said for the group/team mentality when it comes to business and getting things done.  While rewarding people based on merit is certainly a better way of doing business than basing advancement on seniority, there are certain issues with a meritocracy it if it’s not properly instituted.  It can very easily push people into a cut-throat mentality where they’re driven to win at all costs.  This kind of pressure can cause serious mental problems, as is brought out in this article.