The Tree (An Expat Christmas No. 2)

BJC Christmas
Beijing Cream's "An Expat Christmas" series continues, in which foreigners in China write about the holiday experience from their respective cities. Our second of two stories from Beijing comes via Allison Reibel, about a tree rooted in the Christmas spirit no matter how much things around it might change.

Blogging The Bloggers: Managing The Chattering Classes

King Tubby
Peeping weekly at the best (and worst) that was, is, and will be on the China blogosphere. The weblogs which concern us here are a mix of vanity press and sociopolitical discussion forums. But first and foremost, they are terrains where weblords attempt to manage and regulate discussion, cross-cultural differences and those rotten anarchic impulses intended to derail thread trajectory. And it goes without saying that different sites attract different digital communities. Throw in market share, monetisation ("Meet Juicyfruit: I love the hip hop and r@b. Design the handbag"), a couple of the seven deadly sins, and it's time to discuss those About and Commenting Rules buttons.

The Anthill: What A Difference A Year Makes

The Anthill
As with dog years, so is it with China years – one here is equivalent to several most places else. They just fit more in. When it comes to pace of change, no-one else holds a candle really. I’ve been out of China for two years. For a dog, that’s ten human years, and you could argue the rate for China is about the same. It’s like leaving London shortly after the millenium and coming back for the Olympics. Recognisable, but look closer and you notice all the new things.

Blogging The Bloggers: King Tubby’s Inaugural Column About The China Blogosphere

King Tubby
Peeping weekly at the best (and worst) that was, is, and will be on the China blogosphere. If you were a late arrival to the Sino-English web world and entered via the wrong portals, you probably encountered a toxic mix of serious players, gunslingers with a veneer of academia, trolls, half-wits, cannon fodder and individuals burdened... Read more »

Farewell, My Beijing Drug Dealer

Farewell My Drug Dealer
By Our Correspondent I’m posting this anonymously for obvious reasons, but apparently along with good folks like Charlie Custer, Will Moss and more, my extraordinary drug dealer has suddenly become part of the Diaspora. Probably deported, but he was a true gentleman and gracious businessman while he lasted. Chinese business folk could learn a lot... Read more »

To Serve People: Ai Weiwei vs. Global Times Reveals Propaganda Can Be A Fickle Mistress

TAR Ai Weiwei vs GT
On Tuesday night, the Global Times published an article damning Elton John for dedicating his performance to Ai Weiwei and encouraging Chinese people to boo future similar performers off the stage. On the same day, GT published “‘Top thinkers’ list a reflection of US values,” a scathing indictment of Foreign Policy’s list, which features, among others, Ai Weiwei.

Meet Sina Weibo Star Choi Seongho, A Self-Proclaimed North Korean Patriot Who Just Might Be This Country’s Most Brilliant Satirist

Writer Choi's first message
 By Xiao Yi “At my residence in Beijing, with Coke toast first to the supreme leaders!” And with that first message on June 29, Sina Weibo user @作家崔成浩 – literally, “Writer Choi Seongho” – launched himself into Chinese social media fame. From the very beginning, as a self-proclaimed North Korean patriot, he has written solely to glorify the Democratic People’s... Read more »

You Think The Onion Is Wacky? People’s Daily Really, Truly Loves Kim Jong-Un

TAR Kim Jong-Un
The flagship CPC newspaper People’s Daily is, well, it’s a bit, you know. It’s rubbish. The design is terrible, the editorials are as pleasant as a shirt of broken glass and Captain Crunch, they have military equipment on their flash home page every day and their non-CPC related stories have the detached insouciance of a disabled child petting a kitten too hard.

Let Us Recall That Chinese Satire Has Fooled Western Media Outlets (And James Cameron) As Well

Kim Jong-Un and the Onion
Earlier this year, I gave a lecture to high school journalism students in China about the importance of citation, spending a good 10 minutes on the how and why of it. This may or may not surprise you, depending on whether you read Chinese publications and/or crappy blogs, but sourcing is often optional here; what’s... Read more »