Above, a play about Ai Weiwei; see this review by the Guardian
Saw and killed our first mosquito yesterday. Springtime is officially here! Enjoy BarCamp on Sunday, links.
A letter from the family of Lu Lingzi. “We are grieving and at a loss for words to describe the pain and sadness we are experiencing following the sudden passing of our dear daughter, Lingzi. She was the joy of our lives. She was a bright and wonderful child. We were thrilled to watch her grow into an intelligent and beautiful young woman. She was a positive role model for many others.” (BU Today)
More on John Sweeney. “I have just finished watching BBC Panorama’s ‘Undercover in North Korea,’ perhaps the best example of what documentaries on North Korea should not be like. Let me be perfectly clear: these are thirty minutes of biased, factually incorrect, snobbish, uninformative, stereotypical, absolutely useless footage.” (NK News)
Humanizing North Koreans. “I am tired of clichés about North Koreans. They are starving and brainwashed. Robots devoid of personality. They don’t smile. They’re not allowed to think. Their purpose in life is to obey. // It’s strange, but when it comes to those poor people from that evil country, some in the media seem incapable of understanding nuance. A North Korean is either a victim or an indoctrinated weirdo. And that, apparently, is all we need to know.” (Lianian Films)
Really, if you’re careless enough to lose a bag of golden bullion, you deserve to never have it recovered. “A cab driver in Shanghai has been rewarded after returning a bag of golden bullion that was left in the back seat of his taxi. The bag contained six gold bullion bars worth over one million yuan. The compensation for his good deeds? A handsome 200 yuan (US$32.39) and a pat on the back. Well, at least he’s richer in moral contentment. // ‘I’m not greedy and just wanted to do something good,’ cab driver Ni Longchun told reporters.” (Shanghaiist)
People’s Daily tells Apple to stop selling porn, or something. “The People’s Daily article is not featured prominently in Wednesday’s paper, nor does it make efforts to emphasize Apple, which is listed next to the names of other app stores singled out in the middle of the second paragraph of the article. According to Apple’s terms of use, pornographic content is not allowed on its app store.” (WSJ)
Sad. “Zhang Lin, a long-time activist in Anhui, has given in and ended a campaign against a local government decision barring his 10-year-old daughter from attending school because of his political background.” (SCMP)
Xinhua takes best headline award: "Explosion at Boston Marathon: Ethiopian and Kenyan contestant take first place" http://t.co/pWUnbToNND
— Isaac Stone Fish (@isaacstonefish) April 15, 2013
Beijing Timelapse 2012 interlude. The song is “Rue the Whirl” by Scottish electronic duo Boards of Canada.
Finally…
Voting open in the Beijinger’s 10th Annual Reader Bar and Club Awards. Please let us know if you’d like to be a nominator in the BJC’s 2nd Annual Reader Bar and Club Awards. (the Beijinger)
A case study in censorship. (Tea Leaf Nation)
Sensitive words: Hu Yaobang. (China Digital Times)
Shanghai has a much faster Internet speed than Beijing. (Tech in Asia)
…and an infographic. (Agenda)
Dorm stabbing in Nanjing’s Nanhang Jincheng College. (China Daily)
5.0-magnitude earthquake in Yunnan. (Xinhua)
87 H7N9 cases, 17 deaths. (Xinhua)
