Badly photoshopped Bo Xilai, via Boxun via Want China Times. These are better?
Xi Jinping and Li Keqiang will take their places as president and premier at the Two Sessions. Meanwhile, the Beijing Ducks are through to the semis. Links time.
Teacher behaves badly. “The bad behaviour of a first-grader was too much for one teacher in Dongguan, who proceeded to smack him, sending him to the hospital with two fewer teeth than he started his day with.” (The Nanfang)
David Beckham coming to China. “David Beckham’s much discussed ambassadorial role for the Chinese Super League (CSL) will see him visit China three times this season. His Excellency will miss the league’s opening ceremony on March 8 due to UEFA Champions League commitments with PSG (though he could appear by video link or recorded message), but Becks will likely come at the end of March (PSG don’t play March 18-29 inclusive), then again at the end of May after the end of the French season on May 26, and finally in November towards the end of the CSL season.” (The Li-Ning Tower)
Chen Guangbiao with another campaign. “Chen hopped on a flight to Beijing Saturday to audit the National People’s Congress and Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference this year for the 13th time, although he is not a deputy. ‘The “food-saving day” is my primary suggestion this year to improve awareness of widespread food waste,’ he said.” (Global Times)
Raise your hand if this is a movie you even considered, for a second, watching. “21 and Over was the first film made under Relativity’s Chinese co-production venture. The decision to film in the city in Eastern China was a result of Relativity’s deal with Chinese authorities: In order to distribute in the People’s Republic’s hugely profitable market, the studio was required to produce an alternate cut of the film specifically for Chinese theaters. The Chinese version is a cautionary tale; it changes the main character to a Chinese native who travels to an American college campus as an exchange student, becomes ensnared in a world of objectionable youthful dissipation, and then returns to China having learned his lesson.” (Mother Jones)
The dark side of… “Every morning, workers need to fish out stones (for stone washing jeans) from sewage tanks. Hand sanding and bleaching, the two key processes for making vintage jeans, not only affect the lives of neighboring residents but also the health of the workers in the industry. All of the 10 fingers have been dyed blue and they suffer from continuous skin itching.” (Sino-US)
Attention, screenwriters: “On Sunday, the Cultural Assets Office of the Beijing municipal government announced the Beijing International Screenwriting Competition. Screenwriters who live in the United States are invited to submit feature film proposals or completed short film scripts in a contest that aims, ultimately, to get movies made from some of them. // The only condition: All of the stories must be about Beijing.” (Media Decoder, NYT)
Timelapse of the invisible man Liu Bolin at TED2013 interlude, via TED Blog:
Finally…
From the always-enjoyable Tom Scocca: “David Brooks Wishfully, Wrongly Believes the Chinese Have No Word for ‘Nerd.’” (Gawker)
“The WOW Awards Beijing will be held on Friday, March 8, 2013 at The Fairmont’s Ballroom.” (BJ Reviewer)
Chinese Super League is kicking off already? A preview. (Wild East Football)
Before Dennis Rodman, there was Muhammad Ali. He didn’t do much in North Korea. (Austin Ramzy, Time)
Pinning down the motives of Chinese hacking. (NY Times)
Finally, finally…
Bird walking…Only in China. Great catch by @frankyu #lol pic.twitter.com/oOYQ5vK5qY
— Veterantraveler (@veterantraveler) March 2, 2013
