Walking cabbages as performance art, via Badr and That’s Online
Links! There are two events tomorrow that could be worth your time: Los Angeles Times reporter / North Korea expert Barbara Demick is talking at Crossroads at 7 pm, while Leslie Ann-Murray is launching a collective for emerging writers called Writing on Walls, with the first meet-up at 6:30 (again, tomorrow) at the Bookworm.
It’ll likely make no difference. “Reducing pollution in the short term is difficult, but action against chuan’r guys is quick and immediate. People in the neighborhood can see grills being dismantled or removed.” (the Beijinger)
China’s not doing well. “China’s media environment remained one of the world’s most restrictive in 2013.” (Freedom House)
What the? “China has banned all imports of British cheese after its inspectors condemned hygiene standards at just one UK dairy. // The ban, imposed three days ago, has sparked outrage and one MP has demanded ‘tit for tat’ retaliation against Chinese food imports. // The cheese factory has not been identified but The Mail on Sunday has learned it does not even export cheese to China.” (Daily Mail)
“A Uighur Father’s Brave Fight.” “My father, Ilham Tohti, an economist and writer, is an outspoken advocate for our people, the Uighurs —Turkic Muslims whose home has traditionally been in present-day northwest China. He’d criticized the Chinese government on his website, which has since been shut down. He’d given interviews to Western reporters after disturbances on July 5, 2009, in which scores of people died in ethnic clashes, and thousands of Uighurs were detained, in Xinjiang Province, in China’s northwest.” (Jewher Ilham, NY Times)
Spatial forms of modernity in China. “If the goal of the project of modernity in China is ultimately the integration of the entire territory of PRC China into an urbanized ‘interior,’ with no useless or wild zones, of universalizing the social practices of the metropolis, then an investigation into the unique spatial forms that did not emerge until modernity—and their shadow in consciousness, visible in the work of philosophers, writers, and architects—is necessary.” (Jacob Dreyer, Telos)
Zhejiang mathematician on how to win rock-paper-scissors. “In the experiment, Zhijian noticed that winning players tended to stick with their winning strategy, while losers tended to switch to the next strategy in the sequence of rock-paper-scissors, following, what he calls, ‘persistent cyclic flows.’” (Business Insider)
Such a waste. “Thousands of electric bicycles were destroyed in a Dongguan factory fire on April 30 that saw flames shoot 10 metres into the air, reports the Nandu.” (The Nanfang)
Sino-African trade. “Disputes arising over China’s investment projects in Africa are just ‘growing pains’ in a burgeoning relationship that saw their trade top $200 billion last year, Premier Li Keqiang said on Sunday ahead of a tour of the continent.” (Reuters)
Beijingers rejoice, a friend has posted her recipe for barbecue genius: the mala lamb burger http://t.co/ee0irg5kxX pic.twitter.com/y7gi0l3CYQ
— Josh Chin 李肇华 (@joshchin) May 5, 2014
Donnie fails to sneak into Rolling Stones concert interlude:
Finally…
“Beijing Residents Mock Pollution with ‘Airpocalypse’ IPA.” (WSJ)
“When Dylan Thomas Dreamed of China.” (China Rhyming)
“Baidu’s ‘Knows’ Can’t Find Any Questions About ‘Tiananmen 1989′ or ‘June 1989.’” (Fei Chang Dao)
“Fan Bingbing Leads Forbes’ List of China’s 10 Richest Celebrities.” (the Beijinger)
“Thousands attend 10th annual twin festival in Yunnan.” (That’s Online)
Finally, finally…
The 10th China International Cartoon & Animation Festival closed on Saturday. This picture via Want China Times:
