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June 2007 - Posts

How to work with interpreters

Posted Wednesday, June 27, 2007 3:50 AM by will
Imagethief spends a lot of time working with interpreters, as you would expect. Interpretation is one of those things that it seems no one is ever entirely happy with. Someone always feels like some essential point or nuance didn't make it through. This Read More...
26 Comments

We're Hu Jintao's Lonely Hearts Club Band

Posted Tuesday, June 26, 2007 12:16 AM by will
Imagethief was interested to see on the front of the Saturday South China Morning Post a segment of a painting that has just been unveiled in Hong Kong to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the 1997 hand-over of sovereignty. This is no ordinary canvas, Read More...
12 Comments

History of Murdoch's China ventures

Posted Tuesday, June 26, 2007 12:08 AM by will
As long as I am posting about New York Times stories, there is a substantial one today by Joseph Kahn detailing the history of Rupert Murdoch's business dealings in China . It's worth reading both because it is interesting and because it seems to have Read More...
1 Comments

Barboza held hostage

Posted Monday, June 25, 2007 6:36 AM by will
Well, briefly, anyway. A story at once amusing and depressing , from New York Times China business reporter Dave Barboza: We had no problem entering the complex or looking around until we met “Mr. Zhong,” a rough-looking factory complex supervisor. He Read More...
3 Comments

Nobody said media-whoring would be easy

Posted Saturday, June 23, 2007 6:06 AM by will
If you follow the Internet in China, you may have heard of a young man who goes by the online name "Zola" (or "Zuola" to be perfectly correct). He has been billed as " China's first citizen journalist ". Zola first attracted widespread attention when Read More...
8 Comments

All your billboards are belong to us

Posted Wednesday, June 20, 2007 1:40 AM by will
Imagethief made a rare trip back to Beijing last weekend. It was hot and muggy, but at least the air was clear on Thursday and Friday. That's not something to be taken lightly. During my previous visit to Beijing, three months ago, the air was so bad, Read More...
12 Comments

China launches successful anti-piracy program against movie pirate

Posted Sunday, June 17, 2007 9:10 PM by will
Imagethief and Mrs. Imagethief took themselves round to the splendid, new Wanda cinema in Beijing this weekend to catch the latest installment of Disney's "Pirates of the Caribbean" series. Imagethief was, in particular, looking forward to the "Singapore" Read More...
12 Comments

Imagethief gets old

Posted Tuesday, June 12, 2007 5:33 AM by will
Three years old, that is. Don't worry, I'm not throwing in the towel. I just note that today, June 12th, is the third anniversary of this blog (June 6th being both the third anniversary of my arrival in China and, as the historically inclined will recall, Read More...
25 Comments
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Wednesday PR blog: Two from the Trib

Posted Wednesday, June 06, 2007 6:41 AM by will
Two stories I saw on the International Herald Tribune website today, each of which is interesting. Although one is from a Times/Trib journalist and one from the AP, it looks like the headlines come from the same sub-editor. Different topics, however: Read More...
8 Comments

Democratic presidential candidates kick around the Olympic boycott football

Posted Tuesday, June 05, 2007 9:17 PM by will
Imagethief has been trying to avoid paying too much attention to the early presidential debates because, frankly, he thinks twenty candidates is too many to follow. You can't tell one from another without a program. And with the election still a year Read More...
9 Comments

Ansfield: License to edit

Posted Tuesday, June 05, 2007 6:35 AM by will
An interesting article from journalist (and watering-hole impresario) Jonathan Ansfield in his " Biganzi " section of the China Digital Times on the ideology courses being given to senior editors of Chinese publications: It's becoming a rite of spring. Read More...
5 Comments

Closing the barn door after the horse craps in the lake

Posted Monday, June 04, 2007 7:38 AM by will
Next time, fix the waste water problem before you ruin the lake and pump toxic sludge into everyone's houses: WUXI, June 4 (Xinhua) -- East China's Wuxi City is developing a plan to improve the treatment of waste water after residents endured days of Read More...
7 Comments
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Ouch!

Posted Monday, June 04, 2007 7:31 AM by will
Hope you didn't buy into the Shanghai A-share market last Thursday. It's been all gravity since then . Of course, to an optimist, this is just a buying opportunity. Honey, sell the pig! We'll buy on the dip! Presciently Previously : Sell, you fools! Update Read More...
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China's food crisis PR strategy: Blame everyone else

Posted Monday, June 04, 2007 12:08 AM by will
A few weeks into China's rippling food quality crisis a PR strategy is coming into view. It's a classic one: blame everyone else. Unfortunately, it's not likely to be all that effective because of two things. First, China does actually have long-standing Read More...
23 Comments

Stupidvator

Posted Saturday, June 02, 2007 5:12 AM by will
One of the fine things about moving to a new city is that you always encounter something you've never seen before. In Shanghai I experienced the thriving majesty of the Huangpu river, the early-morning army of huishou men and women that prowl the city Read More...
12 Comments
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Not very appetizing

Posted Saturday, June 02, 2007 5:10 AM by will
Oh dear: It is, in fact, the Italian rendering of Felino salami, which is made with pork (correctly noted on the tag). But as a cat owner I interpreted it rather differently when I first saw it at the Gubei Carrefour this afternoon. It also stands out Read More...
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Technology at work in Xiamen chemical plant protest

Posted Friday, June 01, 2007 1:30 AM by will
People in Xiamen have been using SMS to organize a protest against a chemical plant they don't like. See Danwei's excellent roundup of Chinese language online sources. Also in US MSM sources, The Wall Street Journal and Reuters among others, and in China Read More...
6 Comments