Busted

This is a perfect example of what happens when good expats turn bad, although it must be said that some need less encouragement than others. This chap certainly seems to have taken to the China expat life like a duck to water.

I hope he's single, else I heard diamonds, roses and chocolates are a good way to start grovelling.

These pictures are two of the more erm... incriminating ones taken at ChinaExpat.net First Opening Party at Blue Fox which a bar review I read sometime ago called China's homegrown answer to the Hooters chain.

I've been to a couple networking evenings in the city which came across as thinly veiled matchmaking events frequented by people who could not get laid in Maggies with a RMB100 bill stuck to their foreheads. They've always seemed wholesome enough notwithstanding the air of desparado hanging over the place like Beijing smog and corporate stiffs who attend such gettogethers en masse. That is, until the latest networking crew in town took a feather from the Patpong cap and applied it the bone-dry business card swapping tea parties. These pictures are a new twist to the audition couch - will polish your belt buckle with my bare arse, sir, for a job.

Poignant China images feedback

I got an interesting comment on my previous posting that I was going to reply to in the comment box but I had so much to say that it deserved its own posting.

Anonymous wrote:

The comments about (Chinese) women having relationships with foreigners could have been written by Goebbels. The increasing nationalism in China seems to be veering towards fascism.

These images seem to pick out the very worst examples of life in China, to drum up a feelings of national grievance and victimhood.

Actually it's not so much that the Chinese are offended by their women being snapped up by foreigners although, considering the gender imbalance resulting from the one-child policy, they have every right to be. I've heard countless complains from male laowai friends about taxi drivers/landlords/Chinese teachers/noodle sellers attempting to pawn their female friends and relatives off to them. I think that they find more offending the fact that an old man who would otherwise be passed off as a ripe candidate for commiting into the old folks' home in his own country would be able to bag himself a nubile Chinese flower. It's not unfair to say that most people, not just the Chinese, would tend to categorise this as a somewhat objectionable but otherwise win-win arrangment where the female parts with a few years of youth in exchange for a lifetime of financial security and the male, a partner in his lonely twilight years. But this scenario is not unique to China. Throw a glance around the Bangkok Airport departure lounge and witness the numerous couples (and, not infrequently, *ahem* triples) composed of senior foreign men and young Thai lovers, both male and female. This happens in developed countries too. Anna Nicole Smith and J. Howard Marshall, anyone?

I do agree that the other pictures are a collection of the worst examples of life in China but seriously, aren't we all full up of news of how swimmingly well China is developing? The economy grew by another 10% in the first half of 2005, FDI is at an unprecedented high, national euphoria upon success of the Shenzhou VI mission, random tourists expressing their delight at the rich and diverse Chinese culture. Oh to see another picture of children waving flags to warmly welcome yet another foreign dignitary who has nothing but praise for the China will surely bring out the axe murderer in me.

These images, on the other hand, show the side of China beyond the positive business indicators, plus I think it's interesting to see what Chinese netizens are reading / being fed with. Those images may very well be used to drum up nationalist fervour (my personal favourite is the hijacking of the Hong Kong Golden Elephant Film Awards by the Anti-Japanese camp) but I'm hoping that they would prompt the Chinese to pause awhile and ponder the cost of moving forward so rapidly.

Poignant China images, 2005 (Part III)

Labourers in dangerously polluted workplace.

Woman exploited for sex.

Nowadays even the rubbish collectors have to buy an entrance ticket.

The flowers of our nation on a pile of garbage.

Honour medal for military achievement.

Black vs white. (White: Demolish. Black: Dead against demolition.)

Silkworm farmer.

A tailor earning her livelihood by offering roadside services.

At the scene of a traffic accident.

Every liang counts.

Collapse at construction site.

Farmer's children lying on the plough to help till the land.

The first batch of emigrants displaced by the Three Gorges project moving their belongings down the mountain. The pain of being forced to leave one's home is unspeakable.

Laid off workers queue to receive unemployment benefits.

Jobseekers brave the snow to look for employment opportunities.

Young school dropouts selling roasted sweet potatoes in the streets and alleys.

A gold prospector in the West mourns the death of a loved one.

A miner manually hauls coal out of a small pit in Qianxi while the boss observes from the sidelines and measures the weight of the coal.

Poignant China images, 2005 (Part II)

Lai Changxing, the principal offender of the Xiamen Yuanhua case, smuggled 50 billion yuan worth of goods and evaded 30 billian yuan in taxes. 30 billion yuan - what an incomprehensible notion. It costs 4000 yuan to put an urban child through 9 years of compulsory education. Based on this calculation, 30 billion will provide 9 years of compulsory education to 7 million children.

My heart breaks when I look at this picture. Civil servants! What are you doing?

Li Xin: The first deputy mayor to kneel and beg for forgiveness.
Reports on the mayor show that some people have no doubt that he is a 'capable man' and a 'capable officer'. But what is the use of evaluating his ability now? If he does not single-mindedly strive for the good and the happiness of the people, it does not matter how capable he is for he is a criminal.

These archaic cultivation methods have not changed since slash and burn farming. Farmers consist of mostly the young and the aged. This picture shows seeds sown using a manpowered plough.
This girl would not answer any of our questions but burst into tears when asked why she wasn't at school.

Do our unfeeling hearts remember the shame of history?

At the 23rd Hong Kong Golden Elephant Film Awards Ceremony, host Wong Dayo said to Daichi Harashima, winner of the Best Asian Film Award "When you return, do not forget to tell the Japanese people that Diaoyutai belongs to China."

How can anyone with a conscience not be moved?

China's first moving picture of 2005. The people are in my heart! I live for the people!

The long life ahead.

The blind leading the blind.

Little shepard boy. This is not quaint artwork, but a real picture taken in the real world.

The female masters student who demands 10 million yuan for her hand in marriage.

Personals notice posted by the modern female student.

Modern university students! What are you doing? Are you truly worthy of the title of God's Favoured Ones?

"Looking for a male student, height between 1.83cm - 1.86cm. His eyes are not very big, wears glasses and has good skin.

Dear Classmate, do you still remember me? We met at the old library one afternoon in May this year. I was sitting under the pine tree with 2 classmates opposite the library. You rode past twice on your bicycle. At the time you were wearing a long-sleeved blue shirt and blue jeans. Your hair was very short and you looked very sharp. You had a cup with you when you rode past the 3rd time. I called after you, saying 'Classmate, where did you get that water from?' You looked back and smiled, pointing to a direction. I can still remember your smile till this day but I do not know where you are. I would like to know your name. If you are still in this school and still remember that day, I hope you will get in touch with me."

Editorial: I HATE CHINESE CHEESE SO MUCH!! How are so many of them spawned from such utterly pathetic pre-mating rituals???!

A sea of black during a Shanghai recruitment fair in summer 2003. What does this tell you?

A popular pairing on the streets these days. How do you feel when you see such a sight?

These people are simply trying to make a living by asking for a fee in return for directions. Signboard "Directions - 5 jiao" (USD0.06 cents)

Passersby! Are all your hearts numb? What could have caused such a scene???

This is the 25 year old Fudan student who gave birth to a child fathered by a 71 year old foreigner. Personally, I despise people like this.

What happens when mistress comes face to face with the first wife. The mistress phenomena is a currently a much discussed social issue. Many successful people have chosen this path, including dakuan (businessmen) as well as our civil servants.

Look at our children! These ones are exploited by people and made fun of to earn their keep. Do you really think they'd willingly agree to such horrific means of making a living if they had a choice?

Yet another child who has no choice but to leave the village and follow her mother as she looks for work. What can we see from their eyes?

Miners at the end of a shift - true colours of the working class.

Poignant China images, 2005 (Part I)

This post is the English translation of a forwarded email from a Chinese colleague of mine. The pictures below were part of the email and according to its title, a collection of some of the most moving images circulating the Chinese blogosphere at the minute. Whether or not they are current photos, and whether or not the captions accompanying the images are accurate and authentic, I think they still reflect a part of China that is not projected to the world enough - a country that is moving forward so quickly that those who are not able to keep up are, often ruthlessly, left behind.

Blood sellers - Children following their parents who have come from afar to sell blood. Their eyes belie their childish innonence. They will not have the chance to see the freshly drawn bags of blood from their parents, nor do they understand the hardship endured by the ordinary man in this society. (Signboard reads "Blood donors proceed to second floor")

A public health centre (hospital?) inPishan County, Xinjiang. Patients bring their own food and blankets to the centre.

A peasant family in Ximengyuesong Village, Yunnan

Destitute Wa Minority child

The rural folks must work very hard just to survive, so much so that a visitor is greeted by a deserted village if he turns up without advance notice. 81 year old man hard at work in Pinglue Village, Tiandong County, Guangxi.

.

The New Year has just gone past. This is when the volume of migrant worker movement is at its greatest. You can find them everywhere in the waiting rooms (presumably in train or bus terminals)

Late at night, a cold wind blows. Although the station is full of people, it is difficult to withstand the icy wind that chills to the bone. The people wear everything that they own in order to keep warm.

The masses of workers on the road. Their tide is like the waters of a swollen river. They flag down all vehicles heading south. Mode of transport doesn't matter as long as it is heading south. These migrant workers endure humiliation, hardship and work hard, tenaciously taking root in the crevices of the city.

There is a unique subgroup among the poor of China - impoverished mothers. Many of them live in extreme poverty, suffering from malnutrition and with no source of income. They do not experience cultural education, health, sanitation and other basic social welfare services. They have a low level of education and poor health.

Zhang Jianying, 32 years old from Shangqingshi Village, Kaicheng, Guyuan County, Ningxia. She has a family of 5. She owns 15 mu of hilly soil which yielded 450kg of wheat and a tonne of potatoes last year. The family owns a mule. Her husband's work pays RMB500 which buys grains for the family but that is not enough to send the children to school.

Sheep herding on the saline - alkali soil is an important source of income for many farmers.

Migrant workers loading a truck with sacks of cement mix. They can earn a few dozen kuai each. The foreman constantly yells at them to hurry up.

A family on their way home after a hard day's work(why must they have so many children? Sometimes I think there is no way you can know what they go through unless you are in their life) Italics from original Chinese posting.

This old lady must muster up every last bit of strength she has in her frail body in order to survive.

Exposed to the harsh elements of sun, wind and rain, this is where our children, our future, receive their education.