Eye on Beijing: China's 60th anniversary

I wanted to be in the thick of China's 60 anniversary, so off to Beijing we went. Though the military parade and evening gala in Tiananmen Square were completely closed off to the public, there was still a lot to see.

The morning of Oct. 1 was bright and clear, a far cry from the grey smog that blanketed the city when I arrived the day before. We headed to a friend's office, situated 30 some-odd floors above ground with a bird's eye view of Guomao Qiao. From there, we were able to watch hundreds of planes flying overhead to join the parade, as well as army tanks rolling through the street -- a bit eerie to see in Beijing, to be honest.

A day after, we joined the human stampede heading towards Tiananmen Square to take in more birthday festivities. The party for officials was over, and the area was opened again to the public.

 

 It was basically a 60th anniversary photo op. Parade floats were showcased throughout Tiananmen Square, and clips of the Oct. 1 celebration were aired on huge screens.

 

Laughing matters, and China's 60th birthday

I'm now working for an English-language city/lifestyle magazine called Shanghai TALK.

Our new issue just came out, and I had a great time writing some of our October articles: A piece on China's 60th anniversary and people who were born in 1949, who had lived through every step of New China's developments; and a feature on how China's comedy scene is changing, as more stand-up comedians are taking their time to shine in the spotlight.

Mr. Ma, China's still on your side

Gasp! The Dalai Lama is visiting Taiwan this weekend, and China is angry.

Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou is in a precarious position. Feeling pressure from both sides of the Strait, Ma has been working to improve relations with the PRC for the last year, and is now dealing with declining popularity ratings and cries over the government's slow response after Typhoon Marakot.

For Ma, accepting the Dalai Lama's visit is a way to counter criticism that he cares more about appeasing China than taking care of his own people. Not surprisingly, China has made clear that it "resolutely opposes" the visit "in whatever form and capacity."

Still, an interesting point is how fingers aren't being pointed directly at Ma. Even though the President calls all the shots, the opposition Democratic Progressive Party (which has vouched for Taiwan's formal independence) remains the enemy in China's eyes.

"When people from all sectors on the mainland are lending a hand to help Taiwan rebuild and overcome the typhoon disaster quickly, some DPP members have taken the chance to plot the Dalai Lama's visit to Taiwan," the China's State Council Taiwan Affairs Office stated. "Obviously this is not for the sake of disaster relief. It's an attempt to sabotage the hard-earned good situation in cross-strait relations."

As the Economist points out, shifting blame from Ma's government to the DPP shows that China recognizes how Ma is a positive force in improving relations. He is, and has so far proved to be, an asset to cross-strait relations. Since Ma stepped in, direct flights across the Taiwan Strait have resumed, commercial and financial ties have improved, and there are even talks of holding a China-Taiwan summit with Ma and Chinese President Hu Jintao.

As usual, China has reacted ferociously to any acceptance of the Tibetan leader. But I don't think this will hurt ties as much as many observers may think. Ma has been given a break. The mainland seems to recognize his dilemma regarding domestic politics, and luckily for the Taiwanese President, he isn't being labeled the bad guy.

Blocked, again

Blogspot is blocked in China at the moment. Perhaps it's because of a certain anniversary coming up this week...

In any event, I hope to find a solution (or that blogspot will be unblocked), so that I can update properly soon.

Thesis submitted!

72 pages later ... I think I have carpal tunnel syndrome.

I love you like a fat kid loves cake

As the photo above shows, I had a good birthday. Delicious cake and a fabulous party at Cotton's to celebrate mine and my friend Helen's birthday.

I'm now, officially, in my mid-twenties. Time flies.

Next week, there are more exciting things to come. On Monday, I will nervously hand in a printed copy of my thesis. After months of labour and now, a possible injury from working on my laptop too much, I am seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. And hopefully at the end, I'll see my MA diploma from Fudan as well.

Then, next Saturday I'm heading to Kunming in Yunnan province. My cousin Martin moved out there a few months ago, and my Aunt Mabel and Uncle Alan are coming to visit him next week. A mini family reunion is just what I need.

Straight Oota Canada

Get ready Shanghai, it's time for an injection of Canadia.

Starting next Friday May 1, a lineup of Canadian bands will be playing in Shanghai, including Creature, Socalled, Jets Overhead, and so on. And while doing research about said bands for an online Q&A piece, I also stumbled upon a Singaporean Canadian artist named Masia One, who I can't seem to get enough of at the moment.

I love the diversity of these artists' music: Creature is a Montreal dance-rock band that sounds like the B-52's, Socalled blends Jewish klezmer folk music with rap and hip hop, Jets Overhead is a indie rock/trance rock band from Victoria, while Masia One blends in SE Asian, Jamaican and west coast California vibes.

Go Canada go.