Hong Kong Speed Dating Founder Rachel Chan Defends Recent Event: “My Assistant Did The Flier. I Didn’t Approve It”

HK Speed Dating
Wall Street Journal recently interviewed the organizer of one more controversial speed dating events in recent memory, one in which ladies paid 4,800 HKD to spend an evening with “foreigners” (white men) who paid nothing. Here’s what Rachel Chan, founder of HK Speed Dating, had to say for herself: “When it comes to foreigners of... Read more » Read more »

Neat: Chinese Graphic Designs From Yesteryear

Graphic Design 01
Instagram can eat its heart out. As seen on Will Schofield’s 50 Watts, the pictures here, inspired by Lu Xun, are graphic designs from the 1920s and 1930s, a particularly fertile time for creative expression. They’re from the book Chinese Graphic Design in the Twentieth Century, by Scott Minick and Jiao Ping. As described on Amazon: Beginning with... Read more » Read more »

Why Is The Sales Manager At A Chinese Government-Owned Trade Company Using (Former) Porn Star Sasha Grey As A Profile Picture?

LinkedIn, featuring Sasha Grey
This is the LinkedIn page (we think) of Wulan Pramita Sari, who identifies himself (we think it’s a him) as the “Sales & Marketing Manager at PT. China Zhejiang Intl Trade Center-Indonesia.” This is how the China Zhejiang International Trade Center describes itself: We are a multinational company of which belongs to China Government that has mission... Read more » Read more »

BJC Bar And Club Awards: A Closer Look At The “Alcoholism” Category, Part 1

Bar and Club Awards: Alcoholism
Two days ago we introduced the 1st annual Beijing Cream Bar and Club Awards (image credit Katie), with 22 questions divided into five categories. Yesterday, Piper Fisco and E examined the first two of those categories, Dross and Repugnance. We’ve invited two other guest columnists to delve into the third category: Alcoholism. By Kevin Reitz Most Reliable Place to... Read more » Read more »

Is This Boy On A Bike Moscow’s Version Of Tiananmen’s Tank Man?

Boy on bike in Moscow
Julia Ioffe, a journalist in Moscow, took the above picture with her cell phone on Sunday in Moscow and tweeted it to her nearly 6,500 followers with the message “Russia’s Tianamen image” [sic]. Reports ABC News in an article headlined — without any trace of irony — “Boy on a Bike Becomes Moscow’s Tiananmen Image”: Tens... Read more » Read more »

Who Is China Daily Following? Weight Loss Edition

China Daily follows @fatlosstips2
@China_Daily does not follow @beijingcream, but it does follow @fatlosstips2. I didn’t want to have to tell you this, China Daily, but you’ve been getting a bit soft around the hips. Maybe you’d like to do something about that? Gargle gargle, nom nom nom. I know someone. Or thing. Her name is Marti Gray. Former health educator.... Read more » Read more »

In Commemoration Of The 17th Year Of Teresa Teng’s Death

Teresa Tang - The Moon Represents My Heart
It's been 17 years -- to the day -- since Teresa Teng died of a sudden asthma attack in Thailand at the age of 42, yet her fans still mourn. Teng is identified as a Taiwan pop idol, but her influence extends across East Asia. She recorded songs in at least seven languages, the most popular of which is embedded above and after the jump (on Youku for those in China). Read more »

BJC Bar And Club Awards: A Closer Look At The “Repugnance” Category

Bar and Club Awards: Repugnance
Yesterday we introduced the 1st annual Beijing Cream Bar and Club Awards (image credit Katie), with 22 questions divided into five categories. Fifteen hours ago, Piper Fisco examined the first of those categories, Dross. We’ve invited another guest columnist, E, to examine the second category: Repugnance. By E Most Likely to Accidentally Find Yourself Trapped in a... Read more » Read more »

Al-Jazeera Forced To Close Its Beijing Bureau [UPDATE]

Melissa Chan Twitter
Al-Jazeera’s China correspondent, Melissa Chan, was denied a visa extension and scheduled to leave the country last night, marking the end of the Qatar-based company’s Beijing bureau. The Foreign Correspondents’ Club of China, of which Chan was a board member, was quick to issue a statement: Chinese officials had expressed anger at a documentary the channel... Read more » Read more »