Tag Archives: News

Hugging the Panda

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One of my best ‘finds’ this year has been the Sinica podcast. At last – a podcast discussing current affairs in China in an objective fashion, with hosts that clearly understand China.

For the first 18 or so episodes, I’ve agreed with everything they’ve said. Well not every single thing – there have been moments when I’ve said "Hang on, what about … ?" to my mp3 player. In each case however, one of the hosts subsequently chipped in and raised my point. As a result, I’ve developed a healthy respect for both the hosts and the show.

With the recent episode discussing China Apologists (or Panda Huggers), I found myself not quite agreeing with the host for the first time – so here are my thoughts on the issue. Continue reading →

Second Best Job In The World: Lavender Angel

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Not long ago, the attention of the world turned to Hamilton Island, thanks to Tourism Queensland’s ingenious competition for ‘the best job in the world‘ – being paid to live on a tropical island paradise and blog about it.

Now, a lavender garden in southern China is trying to emulate this unqualified marketing success by holding a competition to recruit two Lavender Angels.

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Rising Standards For English Teachers In China

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This news is quite old now (from May), but I find it interesting that the publishing house Pearson is planning to buy a chain of schools in Shanghai. The Guardian reports that:

Textbook and newspaper publisher Pearson is poised to buy a chain of private schools in Shanghai to tap into the growing demand for English language teaching from increasingly affluent Chinese families.

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The 5.12 Earthquake In Sichuan

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While this blog was in remission, the tragedy of the 5.12 earthquake in Sichuan occurred. I’d left China only weeks before and listened to the emerging news with horror.

As of 8 June 2008, the death toll stood at 69,134 people. 17,681 people were still missing and 374,061 were injured. The scale of the disaster is hard to take in. It’s hard to comprehend that so many people lost their lives, especially the cruel twist that so many children were amongst the dead.

Continue reading →