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April 2008 - Posts

Wrenching change ahead for China's air travelers

Posted Wednesday, April 30, 2008 7:13 AM by will
This advisory was just sent to us by CITS, the local travel service: 民航总局严格手提行李规定 New Regulation of Carry-on Luggage 根据中国民航总局的规定，５月１日开始，在国内航班上持头等舱客票的旅客，每人可随身携带两件物品；持公务舱或经济舱客票的旅，每人只能随身携带1件物品。每件物品的体积均不得超过20×40×55厘米，上述两项总重量均不得超过5公斤。 According to CAAC , new Read More...
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Jing Jing, Bang Bang! Now we know who shot up CNN's logo

Posted Wednesday, April 30, 2008 6:34 AM by will
My colleague was downstairs at the Olympic souvenir stand in the mall when she spotted this notebook and bookmark set featuring Jing Jing, one of the five "Fuwa" mascots of the Beijing Olympics. Shooting is an Olympic sport (and several of the Olympic Read More...
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Whoops: Unintended consequences of being the world's workshop

Posted Wednesday, April 30, 2008 2:39 AM by will
Here's an unusual case of supply-chain risk. From the BBC : 'Free Tibet' flags made in China Police in southern China have discovered a factory manufacturing Free Tibet flags, media reports say. The factory in Guangdong had been completing overseas orders Read More...
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Inside Carrefour's crisis management in China

Posted Wednesday, April 30, 2008 2:16 AM by will
From ESWN, a translation of a China Business story (中) that gets under the hood of Carrefour's crisis management in China following the calls for a boycott. The story is very critical of Carrefour's management of the issue, and its worth a read for anyone Read More...
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Evildoers beware!

Posted Monday, April 28, 2008 10:35 AM by will
From a report on attacks on the Green Zone in Baghdad. I remember this term being thrown about by the President earlier in the GWOT, but I hadn't seen it for a while: The violence is a continuation of hostilities between American and Iraqi troops and Read More...
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Weekend Olympic roundup

Posted Monday, April 28, 2008 12:57 AM by will
Imagethief is aware that this blog is at risk of becoming "all Olympics, all the time". This isn't intentional, but when you write about PR, communication and China its rather hard to ignore the symbolism, conflict and dueling narratives swirling around Read More...
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China to meet DL's representative: Spot the difference in language

Posted Friday, April 25, 2008 6:20 AM by will
From CNN.com, a report that the Chinese government will meet with a representative of the Dalai Lama. This strikes Imagethief as something that be the result of a piece of external advice. You know, it would really look good if you would at least sit Read More...
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Humorless heat hassles Hashers

Posted Friday, April 25, 2008 6:08 AM by will
Back when he lived in Singapore many of Imagethief's friends used to run with the Hash House Harriers, the "drinking club with a running problem". Imagethief, being a solitary, sober runner used to give that miss. But it did sound like a sloshing good Read More...
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He's not speaking for me...

Posted Tuesday, April 22, 2008 7:11 AM by will
I am trying to figure out if "Mr. Fred J.M. Slot" (who's English is just slightly suspect) is taking the piss in this letter to Shanghai Daily : ON behalf of myself and many of my friends I would like to apologize to the Chinese people for the way the Read More...
28 Comments

Uh oh...let's hope we don't see much more of this -- Updated

Posted Tuesday, April 22, 2008 6:15 AM by will
Update : See Shanghaiist's update on this situation . Less serious than it first appeared, although not benign. A couple of years ago a good friend of Imagethief's was accosted on Gongti Beilu by a drunk Chinese man who was looking to pick a fight with Read More...
21 Comments

Nepalese spokesman shows how to craft a really bad headline

Posted Tuesday, April 22, 2008 12:33 AM by will
When you're in a hole the first thing to do is stop digging, suggests a timeless adage. Unfortunately in discussing how torch relay security would be handled in Nepal, a security ministry spokesman put forth a nugget of information that was guaranteed Read More...
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Sina.com's anti-CNN banner

Posted Monday, April 21, 2008 6:19 AM by will
The interesting top banner from Sina's page dedicated to the perfidy of western media : Click on the image or the web page link above for the (large) full size version. The Chinese reads (as best I can translate it): Rise up! Angrily resist the demonization Read More...
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A word of apology: Mail form broken for the past month

Posted Monday, April 21, 2008 4:13 AM by will
Imagethief wants to take a moment and apologize to several people who have sent him e-mails using the blog's "e-mail" link at upper left. For a few weeks it seems GMail has treated all such mail from that form as spam, and redirected it straight into Read More...
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I must be getting complacent...

Posted Sunday, April 20, 2008 6:58 AM by will
Imagethief likes to keep at least one bottle of good Scotch whiskey in the house at all times, in case of emergency. Like friends coming over. My last bottle, which I received for my 40th, way back last October, is finally down to the dregs (I don't drink Read More...
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Message force multipliers: Third-party advocates and the Iraq war

Posted Sunday, April 20, 2008 4:15 AM by will
If I work for Company A and I tell you that Company A's new product is the best thing ever you will probably discount the credibility of my statement. That is, if you are not three years old or terminally gullible. You'll do this because you'll correctly Read More...
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Sound PR advice for China from Open Democracy

Posted Friday, April 18, 2008 6:26 AM by will
It has been widely reported recently that China is seeking PR advice from an International agency. I first saw this reported in the Financial Times (countless people mailed it to me), but Arun Sudhaman of Media Asia pointed out to me that his publication Read More...
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Job notice: Calling freelance writers in the Dongguan area

Posted Friday, April 18, 2008 4:10 AM by will
The inflight magazine of a major regional airline is seeking a freelance writer who is either based in South China or who has spent time there who can write up Dongguan's South China Mall for a feature they are preparing. If you're an experienced writer Read More...
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Jack Cafferty brews more trouble for CNN in China

Posted Wednesday, April 16, 2008 12:47 AM by will
CNN hasn't had a good go of things in China recently. Roundly pilloried for allegedly "biased" coverage of the riots in Tibet, they found themselves the subject of a popular website, " Anti-CNN ", and featured in a critical video that went viral in China Read More...
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China's youth and the government

Posted Tuesday, April 15, 2008 7:06 AM by will
It's a couple of days old, but Imagethief just stumbled on an article in the New York Times from Time's former Beijing bureau chief, Matt Forney, explaining how supportive of the government China's youth is, and why: Many sympathetic Westerners view Chinese Read More...
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Terminal 3 again: You can't park that 747 here, buddy

Posted Tuesday, April 15, 2008 6:31 AM by will
Regular readers will know that Imagethief made his first departure from Beijing's spanking, new Terminal 3 last week. Well, close on the heels of the first departure must come the first arrival, which I made on Sunday afternoon. On the whole it was OK, Read More...
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China finds an Olympic hero at last

Posted Tuesday, April 15, 2008 6:00 AM by will
For much of the last two weeks its seemed as if China couldn't catch a PR break around the Torch Relay. In fact, the New York Times has even gone so far as to publish an article on how meticulous the PR of the Tibetan exiles has been. But it appears that Read More...
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The New York Times has free PR advice for China

Posted Wednesday, April 09, 2008 11:54 AM by will
Responding to recent reports that the Chinese government is seeking external counsel, they write : After facing major protests in London and Paris as the Olympic torch made stops on its journey to Beijing, the Chinese government is said to be looking Read More...
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Isn't there any news on?

Posted Tuesday, April 08, 2008 10:43 PM by will
It's 6PM in the US. I've just run a cycle of the cable news channels in the US. Here is what was on: CNN (American domestic service): Larry King Live Headline News: Glenn Beck on "Girls Gone Wild" Fox News: Hannity and Colmes CNBC: Deal or No Deal I can Read More...
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Something to worry the Darfur activists

Posted Tuesday, April 08, 2008 10:15 PM by will
Imagethief just dragged his weary self off of the eleven hour flight from Beijing to San Francisco, where he is spending a couple of hours before connecting on to San Diego. Having been following the what's been following around the Olympic Torch Relay Read More...
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Imagethief does Beijing's new Terminal 3

Posted Tuesday, April 08, 2008 9:33 PM by will
Imagethief put the “ass” in “business class” last night, when he had the rare privilege of being able to sit at the front of the 747. While I’ve had the very occasional business class intra-Asian flight, this was only my second business class trans-Pacific Read More...
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Traveling this week

Posted Saturday, April 05, 2008 6:48 AM by will
I'm off to the US for most of next week. I think the rigors of travel and all-day meetings will mean little time for writing, so things will likely be quiet here. I know they've been a bit quiet already, thanks to evenings and weekends spent being a father, Read More...
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E-Trade master-class in things not to say during a CNBC interview

Posted Saturday, April 05, 2008 2:43 AM by will
Theoretical scenario: You are the embattled and controversial CEO of a struggling company with an activist hedge-fund investor breathing down your neck. You go onto CNBC and take questions about your financial health. How do you answer them? Not-so-theoretical Read More...
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Facebook provides a Chinese take on the source of Western media bias

Posted Saturday, April 05, 2008 2:17 AM by will
Imagethief has been interested to receive in the past two days a couple of notices through Facebook account referring him to a new group (you must be a logged in Facebook user) called "The North Eastern Chinese American Protest." I'll let the group describe Read More...
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