GZBILL

People here can sometimes be quite ignorant. My first three years in China I would always go out for lunch or dinner with another colleague from Boston -- also an American. Over this time period at least several dozen times people would ask him if he is Chinese. After the inevitable denial, they'd then ask him if one of his parents or grandparents was Chinese. Their logic: He has black hair so somewhere down the road he has Chinese blood in him. I guess I shouldn't have said people can be quite ignorant. The correct term would be they can really be morons at times.

In some places more than others.

This one? or this one? the 2nd one I believe And why would this be a surprise???

They've been doing this once or twice every three years for the past 20 years. It will quickly blow over and then it will be back to business as usual.

I lived in Peru for nearly 7 years and when I first arrived there I was amazed at how valuable the actual glass bottles were. At that time they barely used cans and the concept of plastic bottles was still unheard of. If you went into any store to buy any sized bottle of soft drink you either had to have, in addition to the price of the soft drink, an empty bottle to exchange or leave a cash deposit equal to at least ten times the value of the bottle's contents. It was either that or a baggie and a straw. There was one long street in Lima that functioned as an open flea market / fencing operation 7/24. There were several little stands owned by the same family that had a thriving business selling full soda bottles at ten times the regular retail rate and empty bottles at only eight times.

For you or me ... but remembering the chinese thinking, for many, it is a big deal and they refuse to pay for them... Exactly. Most people here -- even those who are rich -- are not prone to throwing away $$.

Hmmm ... gives new meaning to poop or get off the pot.

Yes, phone calls are permitted to interrupt anything here and it is annoying, but it is starting to change. People would be in meetings or seminars and answer their cell phones. We have a policy now at work that you can be placed in the PPIP (Poor Performance Improvement Program) and eventually fired for use of cell phones under inappropriate circumstances.

The ban on plastic bags doesn't apply to restaurants, wet markets, street vendors or practically any entity that isn't a licensed store. Still, it's a good start at eliminating an important source of pollution. I don't carry a bag with me all day and sometimes decide to stop in at the store on the way home from work. Buying a plastic bag for 0.20 RMB isn't a big deal.

I never could quite understand it either. If your phone or cell phone is switched to voice mail, 99.999% of the time people just hang up without leaving a message.

That's generally the life cycle of events in China. It goes from complete screw-up, to complete overreacting and finally, on the third attempt, to moderation.

Probably will get uglier. There are already forced quarantines. The Beijing Public Security Bureau has already stopped all tourist (L) and business (F) renewals attempted in Beijing. This, however, is also probably more to due with the upcoming ultra-sensitive National Day celebrations, but nobody can be sure at this moment.

Being a Mormon missionary = impressive credential? Hey, he speaks fluent mandarin. That's 90% of the battle! I think Obama made a wise choice. I'm not saying he can't / won't do a good job. After all, he can only do what the president directs. I just think it funny that being a Moromon missionary is is used to somehow make him appear more qualified ... especially since China doesn't allow the type of missionary activity that Mormons are famous for.

Being a Mormon missionary = impressive credential?

Jon Huntsman? From Utah?? Former Mormon missionary in China??? This has got to be the funniest stuff I've heard in a looooong time! <snip> If a moderator does not do their job on this 'member's' post; then I will feel free to respond, in the only way I think is appropriate. I'm sorry that you feel some religions aren't a historical farce. For those who are from the area where a certain religion was formed and are familiar with the real history (not to mention NY State felony conviction records), the truth has not been muddled with marketing.

Jon Huntsman? From Utah?? Former Mormon missionary in China??? This has got to be the funniest stuff I've heard in a looooong time! <snip>

I think OP raises a very valid and interesting observation. I see families in China as, in general, much more cohesive than in the States -- especially with the "modern" American family. Part of the reason may be economics and part may be the one-child policy, but I don't think that explains it all. In any event, it is one of the many advantages that China has.

Nobel Prizes are a dime a dozen these days. Still, China raises valid points and analogies. I think major concessions will be made to encourage China to get onboard.

Sounds like a legitimate parental concern. If only it were that simple. Let's replace a violent Japanese cartoon with a violent Chinese cartoon. Remember the Chinese cartoon, The Blue Cat? That was removed from TV because of violence -- even more violence than Ultraman.

Ditto. Nationalism is alive and well. And to make it even sadder, just over the two or three sentences uttered by a leader.

Not true... in fact the hugely dimished demand for US T-bills was evident yesterday when, for the first time in a very long time, we couldn't sell nearly as many as had been planned. The Chinese have significantly reduced their buying of tbills since January and have recently doubled their holdings in gold. The 10 yr tbill has now started to spike in rate... we MUST stop spending what we don't have... cuz the Chinese aren't gunna just keep lending it to us... You must be confused. We are talking about a "lack of demand for US dollars amongst the local population" and not t-bills (Treasury Bills). Even if you mixed up the terminology and meant you were trying to sell US dollars cash, the problem isn't that nobody in the local population wants US dollars. The problem is that the People's Bank has established currency restrictions to avoid artificial manipulation of the RMB like Soros tried -- successfully -- in Malaysia and -- unsuccessfully -- in Hong Kong.

I'm sorry I added to your confusion through a typographical error. By the sentence structure along this typo should have been obvious, but to make it as clear as possible the original sentence should have read: "It doesn't mean a one-person dictatorship ... " I don't think the article is in any way misleading or, in your words, "BS". What is, however, BS is your comprehension of the term "one party dictatorship." The term means that China is controlled by only one party. That is a fact and no matter how much you cry and moan that fact is not altered.

Man, I gotta say...if sheep have a language it is indeed Cantonese! Watch a Stephen Chow movie and you'll understand exactly what I mean... Gotta admit, with all the "ah" and "la" they put at the end of virtually every word it does sound like sheep bleating.

Well, Don, you got it 1/3 correct. Actually it is a combination avian-swine-human flue.

You must be confused. The term is one party dictatorship. It means a one-person dictatorship, but a system where only one party rules. That only one party holds power in China is a fact. Perhaps you would have understood it better if they had hyphenated the term and written it as one-party-dictatorship?