Randy W Posted December 6, 2022 Author Report Share Posted December 6, 2022 Subway passengers pay their respects to China’s late leader Jiang Zemin during a ceremony set to air raid sirens in Shanghai, Dec. 6, 2022. IC Check out more Daily Tones: http://ow.ly/sJjl50LVXei from the Sixth Tone on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/sixthtone/photos/a.1604152706570250/3396287314023438 This was a country-wide observation - we heard the sirens here in Yulin, as well. Link to comment
Randy W Posted December 10, 2022 Author Report Share Posted December 10, 2022 (edited) The 2022 #Guilin #Festival(桂林艺术节) will be held from Dec.10th to 18th! Art not only takes place in #theaters, but also in streets and alleys. Half of the performances were staged in parks, with the #mountains and #waters as the backdrop. from Discover Guangxi China on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/DiscoverGuangxi/posts/pfbid02pHmNEaCTuTygTKFc5WxxmUd6waPduA4X5GtBLqCpbeAYBp82WLaK9Lk9X9EQuuqvl The 2022 #Guilin #Festival(桂林艺术节) will be held from Dec.10th to 18th! Art not only takes place in #theaters, but also in... Posted by Discover Guangxi China on Friday, December 9, 2022 Edited December 16, 2022 by Randy W (see edit history) Link to comment
Randy W Posted December 15, 2022 Author Report Share Posted December 15, 2022 ‘Not afraid’: the Chinese painter in Italy posting videos from China’s Covid protests on Twitter A Chinese-born painter based in northern Italy is behind one of the most popular Twitter accounts sharing information about the recent wave of protests against Covid-19 restrictions in China. from the SCMP on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/scmp/videos/5742273579141983/ Link to comment
Randy W Posted December 17, 2022 Author Report Share Posted December 17, 2022 On 10/18/2022 at 11:44 AM, Randy W said: At least the SCMP put up an article UK leader ‘concerned’ after Hong Kong activist apparently beaten at Chinese mission Spokesman for British prime minister says reports of incident are ‘obviously deeply concerning’, but will not comment further during police investigation Protester says he was pulled into the consulate and beaten during an anti-China demonstration A scuffle erupts at the gate of the Chinese consulate in Manchester amid a demonstration over Chinese President Xi Jinping. Photo: Reuters I'm hearing from Chinese YouTube trolls that they believe the attack was "started by the protesters". from BBC News China diplomats leave UK over Manchester protester attack A still from a video shows a scuffle outside the Chinese consulate in Manchester Quote China has removed six officials from Britain - including one of its most senior UK diplomats - two months after violence at its Manchester consulate. The UK had requested the officials waive their right to diplomatic immunity to allow detectives to question them about October's incident. Foreign Secretary James Cleverly expressed his disappointment that none of the six would now face justice. The group included consul-general Zheng Xiyuan, who denied beating a protester. Pro-democracy protester, Bob Chan, a Hongkonger, was injured after being dragged onto the consulate grounds and beaten by men on 16 October. Link to comment
Randy W Posted December 18, 2022 Author Report Share Posted December 18, 2022 Almost Famous: How China’s Extras Are Chasing Viral Video Fame In October, a short video of a group of retired women recreating scenes from the well-known drama “Empresses in the Palace” went viral on Chinese social media. Viewers praised the group for their meticulous attention to detail, glamorous costumes and makeup, and obvious passion for the source material. What they may not have realized is that these so-called self-insert films aren’t just passion projects — they’re big business for China’s largest movie production lot, Hengdian World Studios. For about 4,000 yuan ($575) per person, anyone can create scenes from their favorite shows, complete with professional hair, make-up, and even full sets. There was just one thing missing from the retirees’ otherwise fastidious reproduction: a cast of extras scurrying about in the background. Although they’re easy to overlook, these bit players, many of whom spend months or years working on the industry’s fringes, are indispensable to Hengdian’s success. Like the aunties paying for self-insert films, many dream of one day being the star of the show. Unlike middle-class tourists who can afford a self-insert package, extras, who typically make about 80 yuan for a day’s work, must seek validation in other ways. Growing numbers are doing so on video streaming sites like Bilibili, where they document their lives playing body doubles, attendants, or waiters to the country’s biggest stars. Read more: http://ow.ly/kNui50M2Ti6 from the Sixth Tone on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/sixthtone/posts/pfbid024J5MMbDJwvWNmtDDfbrSCTGTLCv9DHLZz1kfPeoQEbuBUSkTvnZzC9GW2A6APQYXl Almost Famous: How China’s Extras Are Chasing Viral Video Fame In October, a short video of a group of retired women... Posted by Sixth Tone on Tuesday, December 13, 2022 Almost Famous: How China’s Extras Are Chasing Viral Video Fame Treated as disposable by the film industry, extras are living their dreams of stardom on streaming platforms like Bilibili. An extra takes a break at the movie set in Jinhua, Zhejiang province, December 2018. Beijing Youth Daily/VCG Quote Growing numbers are doing so on video streaming sites like Bilibili, where they document their lives playing body doubles, attendants, or waiters to the country’s biggest stars. One of the most popular of these extra-cum-vloggers, Jiang Wenhua, films snippets of his day-to-day life in Hengdian for tens of thousands of followers. In one of his most popular videos, he and his girlfriend share how they spent a day playing beggars in a new TV series. Dressed in rags, they talk about working with some of China’s biggest stars and sing songs for the site’s virtual currency. On TV, they’re just a couple of indistinct faces in the crowd, but on Bilibili, they’re stars in their own right. Link to comment
Randy W Posted December 24, 2022 Author Report Share Posted December 24, 2022 Cinemas were banking on “Avatar: The Way of Water” to heal their pandemic-induced wounds, but that has turned out to be a disappointment, too. from the Sixth Tone on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/sixthtone/posts/pfbid0RKJTwH6DQryuf7RQstKuwA34HUehZgsMomhF3hegrLewAUTtyfjoVK4Q8pERiWqTl 2022: A Bad Year for China’s Film Industry Cinemas were banking on “Avatar: The Way of Water” to heal their pandemic-induced wounds, but that has turned out to be a disappointment, too. Quote While the much-anticipated sci-fi sequel of James Cameron’s 2009 blockbuster “Avatar” has amassed around 530 million yuan ($76 million) in China so far since its release on Dec. 16, domestic ticketing platform Maoyan has now cut its potential total revenue forecast by around 1 billion yuan. And though the movie initially gave a boost to over 10,000 cinemas open for business — over 80% of the country’s total — the figure has started to drop this week. The movie’s release comes as China let go of most of its COVID control measures in early December, with the virus ripping through the country. And while some hoped that this would help many struggling businesses and bring back the masses to cinemas, the opposite has happened — many people have chosen to stay home either due to infection or in fear of contracting the virus. . . . “We didn’t expect that even ‘Avatar’ wouldn’t be able to save the movie market,” Zhu told Sixth Tone, adding that he expected the Lunar New Year holiday to be different. “The pandemic isn’t over. Audiences aren’t ready to return to cinemas yet.” Link to comment
Randy W Posted December 30, 2022 Author Report Share Posted December 30, 2022 (edited) “If you look at the people who draw the analogies between Google and Facebook and TikTok, they’re either unsophisticated or they have an ax to grind in favor of TikTok,” said Dan Harris. “Most serious people see a difference. It doesn’t mean they’re all great or all bad, but there is a difference.” An article for The New York Times explores TikTok's extraordinary success and national security concerns surrounding the app. Harris Bricken attorney Dan Harris provides his insight. Learn more: https://nyti.ms/3I34aUy from the New York Times via the China Law Blog on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/ChinaLawBlog/photos/a.10152520838701109/10158810955431109 How TikTok Became a Diplomatic Crisis A Chinese app conquered the planet — and now the U.S. is threatening to shut it down. Can the world’s biggest virality machine survive? Quote The app’s extraordinary success is made even more remarkable by the fact that it is a product of America’s greatest geopolitical rival. Despite decades of trying, no Chinese company has ever conquered American society like TikTok. It’s difficult to imagine a Russian or Iranian company — or, increasingly, even another Chinese company — pulling off a similar feat. TikTok’s provenance has stoked persistent and longstanding worries about its vulnerability to exploitation and manipulation by the Chinese government. Over the last year in particular, TikTok has faced an unceasing stream of bad press, with each week seeming to bring a fresh revelation about the company’s questionable data practices and spotty internal safeguards. In just the last six months, TikTok and ByteDance have been accused of lying about the access of China-based employees to American user data, using a news app to push pro-Beijing content abroad and allowing Chinese state media accounts to run unchecked and unlabeled as they criticized the American political process. If TikTok’s popularity has thus far provided it some insulation against government action, the app’s time may be running out. In November, Brendan Carr, a commissioner of the F.C.C., said it should be banned outright. Senator Mark Warner, co-chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, said of a ban, “The sooner we bite the bullet, the better.” Christopher Wray, director of the F.B.I., told Congress he was “extremely concerned” about TikTok’s operations in the United States. Earlier this month, Senator Marco Rubio introduced legislation that would effectively prevent TikTok from operating in the United States by banning all apps “subject to substantial influence” by China, Russia and other foreign adversaries. The Biden administration, meanwhile, is said to be nearing a deal with TikTok. Speaking at a conference of tech leaders, Kemba Walden, the principal deputy national cyber director, said that the White House had not made any final decision on a ban, but voiced support for “any measure that will raise security.” Maryland, South Dakota, South Carolina, Nebraska, Texas, Alabama and Utah have already banned use of the app on state devices. A bill passed by the U.S. Senate last week would do the same at the federal level. The military has also barred the app from government devices. What often goes unnoticed in these conversations is that TikTok is as much a product of the West as it is of China. ByteDance owes its very existence to the intermingling of ideas, capital and people that defined the last five decades of U.S.-China engagement. The United States sought to woo China with the appeal of its model and the benefits of the existing international order, in the hope that a liberalized market economy would foster domestic political reform. At the same time, Beijing seemed eager to build up its own tech sector as an engine of economic growth and global soft power. The success of a product like TikTok was only the most visible example of a deeper tech symbiosis that once appeared inevitable. But now the world has changed. In the United States, being tough on China is one of the few areas of bipartisan agreement. And in this fraught geopolitical context, TikTok is considered a Trojan horse — for Chinese influence, for spying, or possibly both. In China, meanwhile, a broad crackdown has sought to rein in high-flying tech companies and their founders, out of fear that, with their influence, independence and popularity, they were becoming alternative power bases to the Chinese Communist Party. The campaign is only one part of a broader political and social chill that threatens to pull the country back to the days of Mao. TikTok itself is not available in China — users there must access a different ByteDance app, which follows Chinese government directives on censorship and propaganda. . . . TikTok is reported to be making progress on a deal with the Biden administration that would allow the app to retain its Chinese ownership, but keep its American user data on servers in the United States. That arrangement seems unlikely to satisfy anyone, but all the available solutions are imperfect. An outright ban, especially one targeting Chinese companies writ large, risks looking like Sinophobia, and also — somewhat counterintuitively — like acquiescence to the Chinese Communist Party’s view that every citizen and entity in China is a willing appendage of the party. Yet to turn a blind eye to the potential risks posed by a company like TikTok is to ignore the political, economic and social infrastructure of control that the Chinese government under Xi has spent more than a decade constructing. Whatever happens with ByteDance, the lessons for the next Chinese entrepreneur are sobering. “He can do what ByteDance is trying to do: get a Singaporean passport and incorporate there,” said Ivan Kanapathy, a former director for China, Taiwan and Mongolia on the National Security Council staff. “There’s no answer if he’s in China. If he wants to be a global tech company, that’s it. You can’t have both. If you want the China market, go to China. If you want the West, go West. That’s where we’re going. I have no doubt.” Edited December 30, 2022 by Randy W (see edit history) Link to comment
Randy W Posted January 2, 2023 Author Report Share Posted January 2, 2023 (edited) In a groundbreaking first in China, a nonprofit organization has brought a public interest lawsuit against a company operating elephant shows in the southwestern Yunnan province. from the Sixth Tone on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/sixthtone/posts/pfbid02fAmHYfp6ERbXCeme59FYW9qUtsYTJ5jiSQd6vDDrKe38YP5RTUuy1kf3hWL9CqCxl Elephant in the Courtroom: In Yunnan, a Landmark Lawsuit Begins In a legal first, a nonprofit is suing a popular tourism company in southwest China for using elephants in public performances, arguing that its training methods amount to animal abuse. Quote Reports on the lawsuit evoked an immediate outcry on social media as netizens extended overwhelming support, showing that public opinion in China is turning against the use of wild animals in shows. South Yunnan is the only region in China where wild elephants are found, and tourists from across the country flock to the Wild Elephant Valley Scenic Area in Xishuangbanna Prefecture to observe them in the wild. The scenic area also offers activities such as elephant rides, feeding elephants, and even a circus-style performance called Elephant School. Wild Elephant Valley Scenic Area Company Ltd, the firm that manages the scenic area, is responsible for the training and breeding of the elephants and the shows, according to their company profile. Edited January 2, 2023 by Randy W (see edit history) Link to comment
Randy W Posted January 11, 2023 Author Report Share Posted January 11, 2023 China’s dairy industry is facing an overproduction issue due to weak consumer demand, as agricultural authorities chip in to ramp up subsidies and tackle the looming crisis. Many farmers have started dumping their produce and slaughtering livestock to stymie further losses. Learn more: http://ow.ly/S1X050MmoB6 from the Sixth Tone on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/sixthtone/photos/a.1604152706570250/3428262457492590 Overcapacity Plagues China’s Dairy Sector as Demand Dampens Dairy farmers have started dumping their produce and killing livestock to curb financial losses. Quote The issue came into the spotlight after Yuan Yunsheng, the secretary of the Dairy Association of Hebei Province, bemoaned the woes of local farmers and dairy business owners on social media. In the now-deleted post, the senior official said the decreasing sales of dairy products, coupled with the halt in milk supply to schools amid the coronavirus outbreak, have led to an overstocking of raw milk in the supply chain. . . . Industrial data showed the price of raw milk in 10 major production hubs on Dec. 28 stood at 4.12 yuan ($0.61) per kilogram, a 4.2% decrease from the same period last year. In Hebei, authorities allowed the produce to be sold for as little as 3.85 yuan per kilogram, according to authorities, leaving little room for a profit margin. To address the dairy farmers’ plight, agricultural regulators in Hebei on Friday announced it would hand out 40 million yuan in subsidies to milk processing companies by Jan. 20. The statement urged those enterprises to purchase the produce from farmers as much as possible by extending their business contract in safeguarding their interests and the market order. Link to comment
Randy W Posted January 13, 2023 Author Report Share Posted January 13, 2023 “Yao-Chinese Folktales” is an eight-part series inspired by various traditional Chinese literature titles and showcases a range of artistic styles such as paper cutting, watercolor painting, and computer graphics. The first episode is based on the classic Chinese novel “Journey to the West,” with characters preparing to capture a Tang dynasty Buddhist monk. Its plot, which shows one of the characters being punished after their leader was dissatisfied with their work, has resonated with a wide audience, reminding them of dilemmas and suffering at the workplace. “The little monster at the bottom of the ladder really reflects my sad life as a dagong ren,” one viewer commented on Bilibili, using online slang to refer to physically or technically skilled workers. from the Sixth Tone on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/sixthtone/posts/pfbid03248T9BvmJLpDSG4cDou3G9yHzzM5gpVM2MwaMyA5T9VSX3nmCvxK9nJYvYrLekrCl New Chinese Animation Puts Modern Spin on Traditional Stories “Yao-Chinese Folktales” is an eight-part series inspired by various traditional Chinese literature titles. Quote “Yao-Chinese Folktales” is an eight-part series inspired by various traditional Chinese literature titles and showcases a range of artistic styles such as paper cutting, watercolor painting, and computer graphics. The first episode is based on the classic Chinese novel “Journey to the West,” with characters preparing to capture a Tang dynasty Buddhist monk. Its plot, which shows one of the characters being punished after their leader was dissatisfied with their work, has resonated with a wide audience, reminding them of dilemmas and suffering at the workplace. Link to comment
Randy W Posted January 20, 2023 Author Report Share Posted January 20, 2023 Planning a trip to Yunnan? Bring your wallet. The price of a budget hotel in Xishuangbanna, at the southern tip of Yunnan province, has soared to $285 per night. That’s more than twice the price of an equivalent hotel in Singapore. from the Sixth Tone on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/sixthtone/posts/pfbid0JVKbYsT3NMjaiEe95aqeNRsf6GBQmfqumcRjbEThppiuH7x8FzsQk81A2eotQGntl Link to comment
Randy W Posted January 23, 2023 Author Report Share Posted January 23, 2023 Shooting massacre in the US turns Lunar New Year celebration into tragedy in California Lunar New Year celebrations in southern California turned into tragedy on January 21, 2023, after a gunman opened fire at a ballroom dance hall, killing 10 people and wounding at least 10 more. Police said the suspect, 72-year-old Huu Can Tran, later killed himself. An investigation into his possible motives is under way. Related story: US shooting suspect kills himself after Lunar New Year massacre https://sc.mp/nzbf Link to comment
Randy W Posted January 25, 2023 Author Report Share Posted January 25, 2023 China’s major tourist sites are seeing a surge in visitors during the Lunar New Year holiday, as domestic tourism gradually revives after three years of coronavirus restrictions. Tickets for popular attractions in the southwestern Sichuan province — including the Sanxingdui Museum and Leshan Giant Buddha — have been sold out for three consecutive days until Wednesday, according to their respective social media accounts. Zhangjiajie in the central Hunan province saw over 60,000 visitors Tuesday, a single-day record for the area known for its picturesque mountain views. Meanwhile, the Huangshan Scenic Area in the eastern Anhui province also welcomed its largest single-day crowd in the past five Spring Festival holidays that same day. Many visitors in Zhangjiajie told domestic media that the tourist area had an “uncontrollable flow of people,” and many were trapped inside the national park area at night. Videos on short video app Douyin showed people queuing shoulder-to-shoulder to exit the tourist site, while a member of staff at the park said everyone had left the area by 9 p.m. Read more: http://ow.ly/IoZY50MzXY1 from the Sixth Tone on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/sixthtone/posts/pfbid0Z9xiprvDUaNof6D4n1pZzDnJJbjQw1gyhmiX2nXcppvk7KXDJWCyCxY1L8zDLyrjl Link to comment
Randy W Posted January 26, 2023 Author Report Share Posted January 26, 2023 Tourists stranded on Huangshan for 6 hours during Lunar New Year holiday Thousands of tourists flocked to eastern China’s Huangshan during the Lunar New Year holiday. from the SCMP on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/scmp/videos/1344789376315691/ Tourists stranded on Huangshan for 6 hours during Lunar New Year holiday Thousands of tourists flocked to eastern China’s Huangshan during the Lunar New Year holiday. Posted by South China Morning Post on Thursday, January 26, 2023 Link to comment
Randy W Posted February 1, 2023 Author Report Share Posted February 1, 2023 China embarked on a building spree of unprecedented proportions during the 2000s and 2010s. Designs from renowned architects around the world were solicited, but some of the more ostentatious plans aroused the ire of nearby residents. from the Sixth Tone on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/sixthtone/posts/pfbid0gHYWRUrdmcjUrZK8tw4mEx6Pd38VFuPSh6tHdNykstwC1JesswRh6EXs6fPvMvGHl The Hunt for China’s Ugliest Building For 13 years, the “China’s Ugliest Buildings” poll has documented the misfires and gambles that defined the country’s urban building spree. What can the results teach us about taste in architecture? Quote The poll, which debuted in 2010 to document the worst architectural excesses of post-Olympics China, features both a readers’ choice section and feedback from a select panel of experts. This year, the public landed on a branch of the CORPUS Museum in the eastern Anhui province, which, like its counterpart in the Netherlands, features a massive statue that critics likened to a man sitting on a toilet. The experts, meanwhile, gave the crown to Tian An 1,000 Trees, a shopping center in downtown Shanghai designed by British architect Thomas Heatherwick, panning it as “an aesthetic and communications fiasco.” The buildings of Tian An 1,000 Trees, Shanghai, 2021. VCG Link to comment
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