Archive for the ‘Letting steam off’ Category

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China Daily 25 Aug 10 “Foreigner communities”

Thursday, August 26th, 2010

This is my comment sent to China Daily on the following article:
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/usa/2010-08/25/content_11201956.htm

First of all I doubt your figure of 20,000 Green Card holders in 2004 is correct. Official figures published in 2009 indicate a grand total of 311 Green Card holders in Beijing. Figures for Shanghai most probably are similar but a bit higher. As a matter of fact China now has stopped giving out the Cards, applications are accepted but rarely if ever granted. One can wonder why the system was even started. A consequence of the near non-existence of Card holders is the humiliating experience when using it. Most airport security people ignore its existence and require to show a passport. I normally refuse; in Beijing Airport I normally have few problems. As the Card is the proof of visa, a passport alone is not enough. The lack of training of security people and others makes Green Card holders feel discriminated while it should be rather an honor.
If some Chinese people start worrying about the impact of foreigners in China and try to draft a new “Immigration Law” to even limit more the influx of foreigners, it will show a bad image for China as being unwelcoming. Reliable figures do not exist about the foreign community in China. Beijing is said to have over 110,000 long-term foreign residents; Shanghai figures are much higher. The latest official China figures (2007) reported 538,892 foreigners lived in China for more than 6 months. I believe real figures are much higher, considering foreign students and many uncounted foreigners. Some estimate that the Japanese, South Korean and Taiwanese communities alone by far exceed the official total.
Even if we assume a total of 1.5 million, that is a drop in the ocean compared to a Chinese population of over 1.3 billion. There are probably more Chinese living in the USA than foreigners in China.
If China wants to be an open and international country, part of the world community, some of our Chinese friends should think it over.

Gilbert
Green Card holder

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New Blog Babies

Monday, May 10th, 2010

Yes, I know, I’ve been writing little here.
My book is still haunting me and I need to make time to write more – I have been collecting a wealth of information that needs to be digested. I plan to disappear again from time to time to find peace and inspiration. Rotary has taken up too much of my time, now changing.
My Chinese has progressed smoothly. Of course it’s a slow progress, the language is terrible to learn. But I am now at lesson 136 with my favorite teachers.

This blog has bothered me. It’s not focused enough and the readers I want to attract are not coming here. Most visitors are looking at Beijing as the capital of sex and sin (no opinion here, hahaha) and think this blog will lead them to a great orgasm. They must be soooo disappointed.
This blog will be soon cleaned up and focus more on economy, business, family and overall more serious stuff.
But don’t despair, two babies came into the world:

www.beijing1980.com
Now under testing, should be fully operational soon. Titled “Stuck in Beijing since 1980″ – “Surviving is hard but oh so much fun (sometimes)”
This site will be more critical, ironic, sarcastic, caustic and humorous about China (and the rest of the World).

www.damulu.com
“Humor keeps you alive” – “who cannot laugh does not live”.
Or also the “The Big List (of fun)”. It will be a collection of jokes, humor and not always for kids. So, will have access levels.
(damulu in Chinese means big list or directory)
This site is up but needs still more milk and diaper changes.

Keep posted!

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Nike did it? Me too!

Sunday, March 14th, 2010

Well, NIKE has this thing of “Just do it”. One advertisement was a bit toooo on the edges.
Anyway, whatever NIKE tells us to do…
Guys, I did it. No details here. Just let imagination run wild.
(you need to be allowed access by me as a valid subscriber! Just ask!)
…{+}

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Women caned for premarital sex in Malaysia

Thursday, February 18th, 2010

As reported by the SCMP on 18 February…

Three women have been caned in Malaysia under Islamic law for the first time.
Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said the sentences were carried out on February 9 in a women’s prison outside Kuala Lumpur after a religious court found them guilty of having sex out of wedlock. Two of the women were whipped six times.
“It was carried out perfectly,” Hishammuddin said. “Even though the caning did not injure them, they said it caused pain within them.”
His comments signal that the mostly Muslim country is now prepared to flog a mother of two for drinking beer, despite the international criticism that the case has sparked.
The case will fuel a debate over rising “Islamisation” in Malaysia, where religious courts have been clamping down on moral offences as well as a ban on Muslims drinking alcohol that had rarely been enforced.
“I hope this will not be misunderstood so much that it defiles the purity of Islam,” Hishammuddin said. “The punishment is to teach and give a chance to those who have fallen off the path to return and build a better life in future.”

Yeah yeah, bunch of muslim hypocrites. In what century are those people living? Then they are surprised we hate them – no problem, they hate us, the infidels, too.
I am proud to be an “infidel”.
Reason enough to kick those people out of our countries. We have no place for you.
Malaysia is a sad case. In the past I liked that country. Now, add them to the blacklist.
China is bloody right to curtail any of those in Xinjiang. Europe could learn from the Chinese, for once. But then lazy Europeans should also start picking fruit and doing other jobs they look down on and have to leave to immigrants. The USA are not better, just see why they need all those Latinos to do the hard jobs.
Another conclusion: here we have bad stuff too. But at least they don’t cane people for drinking beer of having fun in bed.

Posted in Letting steam off, Unhappy with China? | No Comments »

Stinking rich China?

Sunday, February 14th, 2010

I like this cartoon (Patrick Chappatte), published in the International Herald Tribune on 14 January.
Why? Well, here Chinese can be often “racist”, typically depicting foreigners as fat guys, smoking cigars (and sometimes driving big cars).

click to enlarge

click to enlarge

Now, the other way around. Cool. Mr. USA biting the dust on a Made-in-China bike.
Looks actually more realistic than the usual China Daily versions. Just have look at the Beijing traffic. And smoking cigars in the USA, well good luck. In China basically we still can puff wherever we feel like.

Posted in Letting steam off, biz, economy and more | No Comments »

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