ZL's Comments

There are 5 different readers (identified by email address) with the same nickname zl. They are represented by different colors.

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16 More Accidents in 2008

Allison,
Thats exactly what I thought about when I read the post. I dont think that it is that these things never happened in the past, it is just that the news didnt report them, and the biggest change being the instant communications via the internet. I think the internet is playing a large role in getting the media to report more "bad" news. If the news doesnt say anything about the bus accident, then some Shanghai blogger is likely to have seen it and will blog about it, post pictures, etc. Then those on the BBS etc speculate that is was terrorism, etc and the speculation gets out of hand quickly. In the past this didnt really exist, and you might have just had some people in the neighborhood gossiping about it without the information spreading far.
But I dont think Chinese media can yet come close to the US in the are of fear mongering. By the way, I thought Bowling for Columbine was an excellent movie and really helps to explain alot of things about America
Posted by ZL at 2008-05-06 11:59:57. More

15 Generalization Plays the Trick

@Jay: "But finally Chinese are getting an idea of what its been like to be an American for the last hundred years. No matter what we (Americans) do we are criticized by everyone else."

LOL, exactly. I told my wife the exact same thing after the initial Paris/London fiascos. You plan to be a world power? Then better get used to everyone else criticizing you. At least China and the US can bond as the French criticize us both from now on :)


Posted by ZL at 2008-05-03 21:00:44. More

14 Street Scenes of Nayang - Part II

Are these scenes really all that unusual in Shanghai now? Any of these pictures could easy be a back street here in Nanjing, except maybe the power wires everywhere, Nanjing seems to also burry most of them.
Posted by ZL at 2008-04-21 18:55:16. More

13 "Love China" Blooms on MSN Messenger

Comparing 9/11 to China feeling slighted in some international media is just ignorant on far too many levels.

I think the only problem with this (L)China campaign is that the vast majority of people who are going to see this to the magnitude shown in jianshuo's screenshots are Chinese Nationals. I think what is intended is to show the world that China stands together, blah blah blah, but this will not do anything to further that cause.. back to the drawing board I guess.
Posted by ZL at 2008-04-16 20:42:39. More

12 1 USD = 6.9966 RMB

Too bad I am paid in US dollars and living in China, between the falling exchange rate and rising inflation, I get hit from both sides. Just means you have to be more cautious about how you spend your money I guess.
Posted by ZL at 2008-04-11 14:59:27. More

11 More Discussion on Tibet

I continue to be surprised by some of the coverage this is getting on CCTV. While it is one sided in support for China (as much of the coverage outside of China is pretty one sided in condemnation of China) I think that their evidence has been much more significant in supporting their position.

Just yesterday there was a report that had interviews with 5 or 6 foreigners of various nationalities who were present during the riots, giving their first hand accounts of what they had seen, including video footage shot by a South Korean tourist from his hotel room.

All reported (and the one even had video) of the beatings of Han Chinese and the fact that they only saw police attempting to contain the riots to small areas and that they did not directly confront the rioters.

While this is only part of the story, I can think of many other governments who would not hesitate to unapologetically meet the rioters with brutal and overwhelming force from the outset. Though, it would appear that the Chinese government operated with a measure of restraint.

While the area is admittedly controlled in regards to foreign media, I have seen no evidence of the police brutality many media are alluding to in the west. Burma is similarly controlled, though reports (and photos and video) of the violence against protesters there finds its way to international media outlets regularly.

I'm just saying that occasionally there is a need to review the stereotypical depictions media (of all countries) perpetuates. In the past 60 years it has become fairly ingrained in western media to take as fact that "Communist China = Bad" and "Tibetan Buddhist = Good".
Not in any way am I purporting that China was/is 100% in the right in regards to the Tibet issue, but if you are to continue swallowing whole the idea being presented by Western media that this was a brutal regime oppressing a bunch of oppressed, peaceful, law abiding monks then perhaps you shouldn’t be pointing fingers as to who has actually been "brainwashed".
Posted by ZL at 2008-04-10 15:35:37. More

10 Shanghai Zoo

Wow Jianshou, our 5th anniversary is tomorrow, so close! congratulations!
Posted by ZL at 2008-03-21 17:20:01. More

9 Welcome ICS Readers

argh... ICS seems to have been removed from my digital cable lineup in Nanjing and replaced by a Chinese Language channel from Shanghai (at least i assume so as the logo is nearly the same, just no "ICS" by it now). I guess there's not enough foreigners or English speakers interested in ICS in Nanjing... was a nice channel while it lasted :)
Posted by ZL at 2008-03-18 12:36:23. More

8 What is Knock Knock?

It's kind of a joke format, where the format is always the same and the only thing that changes is "X" below, the premise is someone is knocking at the door and the other person is asking who it is:

A: Knock Knock
B: Who's there
A: X
B: X Who
A: XXXXX (this is the "punchline" of the joke)

By the way, my kids think it is hilarious!
Posted by ZL at 2008-02-16 14:34:26. More

7 International Channel Shanghai - ICS

Jian Shuo, We have a bunch of channels here with digital cable, there are well over a hundred channels, but all from China (no overseas channels), so that means there are channels from what seems to be every large city plus provencial level ones, though I haven't watched much of most of them.
Posted by ZL at 2008-02-14 00:59:48. More

6 International Channel Shanghai - ICS

Noticed just now that we have this channel in Nanjing as well, not sure how long we have had it as it is channel #143 and I rarely flip through all the channels :)
Be sure and update us when you know when the show will air, looking forward to it!
Posted by ZL at 2008-02-12 00:52:54. More

5 Train from Shanghai to Nanjing - CRH (D)

Hey JianShuo,
I'm moving to Nanjing next month, so very interesting post for me :)
How long does this new train take to get to Nanjing compared to the old one?
Posted by ZL at 2007-11-30 07:04:57. More

4 Paying Bills with SHFFT.COM

In the US it has been around for awhile too, but I have to go to 8 different sites to pay my bills. would be nice if it were centrally located...
Posted by ZL at 2007-11-15 06:38:08. More

3 Nice Hotel in Tongli

Wow, What a beautiful place. Now I have one more place to add to my long list of places that I HAVE to visit!
Posted by ZL at 2007-04-12 12:22:56. More

2 Notes to the Day

Hi, The Shanghai map in your blog site is buggy. Will you want to fix it.?
Posted by zl at 2006-04-01 03:02:29. More

1 Xiang Yang Market is Closed on June 30

Looks I still have chance to visit XiangYang market.

BTW. I like your blog.
Posted by zl at 2006-03-31 02:40:46. More