On Jan. 23, Beijing will begin releasing hourly readings of air particulate measuring 2.5 micrometers in diameter or less, in an attempt to come clean about the level of pollution that regularly blankets the capital. Pollution is a sensitive subject in China, with state-run media often explaining away the smell of glue and haze so thick it obscures even nearby buildings with the term “fog,” and claiming, unbelievably, that Beijing enjoyed 274 “blue sky days” in 2011. The U.S. Embassy in Beijing has shied away from releasing its annual pollution statistics, but it runs a popular Twitter feed measuring the air on an hourly basis.

Environmental photographer Sean Gallagher took all of these photos today, a day the U.S. Embassy’s feed called “hazardous,” which means, among other things, that they recommend children and older adults remain indoors. While the color blue does occasionally feature in the skies above the capital, days like this recur with depressing frequency.

See also Gallagher’s website, the US Embassy’s @BeijingAir twitter feed and Greenpeace’s list of resources for tracking air quality in cities around China and beyond.

© Samuel Wade for China Digital Times (CDT), 2012. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: air pollution, air quality, Beijing, photography, photos
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China, now the second-largest economy in the world, is a vast and diverse country that is nearly impossible to sum up in a single photo essay. But here is an attempt — a recent photographic look across the nation. The ruling Communist Party is gearing up for its 90th anniversary. Massive growth and construction continue to raise environmental concerns. And three years later, residents of Sichuan are still recovering from the May 2008 earthquake that killed more than 85,000. This collection is only a small glimpse of events in China over the past month.

© Sophie Beach for China Digital Times (CDT), 2011. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: photos, slideshow
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China’s rise is no longer just about China — and over the past year, journalists Heriberto Araújo and Juan Pablo Cardenal, working with a team of photographers, have collected images documenting Beijing’s worldwide influence in 24 countries, from logging camps in Mozambique to gold mines in Burma.

© Sophie Beach for China Digital Times (CDT), 2011. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Africa investment, Burma, overseas investment, photos
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Please click here.

© Xiao Qiang for China Digital Times (CDT), 2010. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: forced demolition, photos
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(1) The reason the Ministry of Education reduced the emphasis given to Lu Xun’s writings in middle school textbooks was not because Lu Xun’s articles were outdated—on the contrary it was because students might mistakenly believe after reading his articles that he was a modern author.  (via sophiatao)

[Ed.: The image on the left is Lu Xun, one of the major Chinese writers of the 20^th century.  The calligraphy on the right was penned by Jiang Zemin, former president of the PRC.  The words are a famous Lu Xun quote: “Fierce-browed, I coolly defy a thousand pointing fingers. Head-bowed, like a willing ox I serve the children.” (??????????????)  Mao Zedong quoted this line in Yan’an and applied it to contemporary struggles saying that all Communists should “learn from the example of Lu Xun and be ‘oxen’ for the proletariat and the masses.”

Julia Lovell, who has translated Lu Xun's writings, comments, “the beginnings of a Lu Xun withdrawal from Chinese school textbooks began, partly to make way for escapist kung fu texts. Perhaps the intention was to vary the literary diet of the young; or perhaps to redirect their impressionable minds from Lu Xun's moody introspection towards a more exuberant self-confidence. Perhaps also it was an attempt to discourage the youth of today from Lu Xun's inconveniently fault-finding habits. One of the excised works was a bitterly sad 1926 essay written to commemorate a female student killed by government forces in a peaceful demonstration – an inconvenient foreshadowing of the 1989 Tiananmen repression that the party is anxious to erase from public memory.” (http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/jun/12/rereading-julia-lovell-lu-xun)]

(2) In such a precious country, words are too valuable to utter (via:@ workbook)

In the hospital one sees people like these two, sitting at the entrance to the emergency room, holding the hospital bill and counting coins.  One, two…the small bundle in her clothes contains five more … (via: @ Chen Chen C).

(3) An airport taken over by self-help books on becoming successful

[Ed.: Titles of some of the books are “The Salesperson,” “The Chief Executive,” “The Salesperson’s Bible,” “The Business Sutra,” “Leadership,” “Speak Well and Your Future Will be Bright,” “Management.”

(4) After reading this banner milky tears fill my face . . .

[Ed.: The banner in front of this bakery reads, “No milk products used by this company come directly or indirectly from Chinese sources.”  Suspicion over milk products remains after products tainted with melamine poisoned large numbers of children and led to massive recalls. (The term ???? (literally: inner-cow fills one’s face) translated above as “milky tears fill my face” is a cute near homonym with ???? (tears fill one’s face).]

(5) Fishermen took to petitioning higher levels of government and to engaging in rights defense activities after not receiving compensation subsequent to the Dalian oil spill.

On the morning of September 2^nd, the Z81 train rolled into Beijing.  Shao Deshan, the Village Committee Chairman of Hezuizi Village of Jinshi Beach of the Dalian Development Area, arrived in the capital along with more than twenty local large-scale fish farmers.  They were planning on delivering a formal petition letter filled with red finger prints to the Bureau of Letters and Calls located on Yuetan South Street in the West City District of Beijing.

The July 16th Dalian oil explosion and oil spill has become the worst maritime oil spill in Chinese history.  It has been about two months since the accident; however, there has not been a bit of progress in evaluating the damage or providing compensation.  There is no avenue of appeal available to fishermen, so they can only take the uncertain path of petitioning higher levels of government and engaging in rights defense activities.

(6) Member of the Chongqing People’s Political Consultative Congress: “The issuance of birth permits should be delayed to those whose moral standards are below the mark.”

Wang Xiaobo, member of the Chongqing People’s Political Consultative Congress, told reporters, “When couples apply for birth permits, there should be some standard set for families [measured by] an appraisal or test of their morality and ethical conduct.  The issuance of birth permits should be delayed to those who fall below the mark!”

[Ed.: The picture above is Wang Xiaobo’s.  Birth permits are formally required to have children in China.  The purpose of the permitting system is to ensure that couples do not have more than one child unless special circumstances apply.  A child born without his/her parents having prior obtained a birth permit may be denied a residency permit or “hukou,” which makes them ineligible for a broad range of government services.  Currently, all that is needed to obtain a birth permit is the presentation of the correct documents.  However, birth permits can still be denied in these circumstances if the birth quota in the region of the mother has been met or exceeded.  Below is a political cartoon created in response to Wang Xiaobo’s comments]

At the entrance to the office to apply for birth permits, a couple is confronted with a stack of books and a sign that that reads, “Appraisal of family standards, morality, and ethical conduct.”

(7) Conflict (via: Li Xiaoguai)

“Why’s it so noisy out there, could it possibly be another demolition?”

“No, it’s a group of angry youth (fenqing) who are protesting in front of the Japanese embassy.  They want Japan to hurry and give back the Diaoyu Islands.”

“Hey, I hear that of all countries China has the most land disputes with its neighbors.  Is that true?”

“I don’t know, but of all countries China is definitely involved in the most land disputes with its own citizens!”

“%@#…”

[Ed.: This cartoon is a commentary on the recent conflagration with Japan over the Diaoyu Islands.  It is also a commentary on the ongoing social unrest in China created by building demolitions.  Buildings are often demolished by the Chinese government in transactions in which the land is sold by the government to developers and the evicted owners given little or no compensation.  The problem has become so ubiquitous that it is one of the main causes of social unrest in China today.]

(8) This is indeed a major event. The Foreign Ministry worked overtime this weekend, pouring out condemnation. In my opinion, if everyone and everything is doing well – life is as one wishes, the wife, kids, home, car, work, leisure, health – are all ok, one can – under the guise of national sentiment – go and make a fuss about protecting the Diaoyu Islands. But if you have something of your own that you haven’t protected, first protect that and then we can talk. Don’t worry yourself about something so far off.  (via: Han Han)

[Ed.: The protester being hustled away by the police is carrying a sign that reads, “Little Japanese Devils.  I want to fight with you to the bitter end.  Junichiro Koizumi, You worship your father.  I will f*** your mother.” The contentious issue of sovereignty over the Diaoyu Islands erupted again this month when a Chinese fishing vessel in the region was seized by Japan.]

(9) How Taiwanese people see the mainland

The Taiwanese have a more negative than positive view of China.  The predominant words used to describe the mainland government is “autocratic/totalitarian” and “powerful/hegemonic.”  The survey indicates that 54% of [Taiwanese] people have an overall negative impression of the mainland government.  Only 33% have a favorable impression of the mainland government.  (via: @ Ma Yingshi)

Taiwanese Impressions of the Mainland

Impressions of the government

Good: 33%   Bad 54%

Positive impressions:

Efficient: 4%

Friendly 4%

Strong and prosperous: 1%

Becoming more civilized: 1%

Pragmatic: 1%

Negative Impressions

Autocratic: 20%

Hegemonic: 17%

Undemocratic: 4%

Disingenuous: 3%

Corrupt: 3%

Impressions of the people

Good: 38%  Bad 47%

Positive impressions:

Friendly: 5%

Amiable: 2%

Hard working: 1%

Capable: 1%

Honest and sincere: 1%

Negative impressions:

Uncivilized: 24%

Interested only in material gain: 9%

Aggressive: 7%

Selfish: 4%

Nouveau riche: 3%

© Xiao Qiang for China Digital Times (CDT), 2010. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: netizens' voices, photos, sinaweibo
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On the wall of a public toilet: “Use of Party newspapers and magazines as toilet paper is strictly forbidden.”[Source ]

© Xiao Qiang for China Digital Times (CDT), 2010. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: CCP, photos, sinaweibo
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At the company’s campus in the southern city of Shenzhen, workers turned up in costumes ranging from Spider-Man outfits to Victorian dresses.

The company had put on bands and acrobats in a stadium decorated with red banners saying “Care for and love each other”.

The plant in Shenzhen, which includes bakeries, banks and acupuncture clinics, employs over 400,000 people.

Employees from other factories across China were shown live on giant screen for the event, which was titled “treasure your life, love your family, care for each other to build a wonderful future”.

Foxconn said about 50,000 of its 900,000 workers in China were due to take part in the rally.

According to the following photos, being circulated in Chinese cyberspace, bolstering Foxconn CEO Terry Guo seems to have been a major focus of the rally organizers.

Foxconn workers hold a sign reading: “Grandpa Guo [Foxconn CEO Terry Guo], you work so hard!”

Sign reads, “Love me, love you, love Terry [Guo, Foxconn CEO]

“Heart Connects Heart”

“No worries, chief. A million hearts are following you.”

“Our home is Foxconn; every day is bright.”

“Life is Precious, Care about Family.”

“Youth is like a song; sometimes you can’t help but have discordant melodies.”

© Sophie Beach for China Digital Times (CDT), 2010. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Foxconn, migrant workers, photos, working conditions
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© Xiao Qiang for China Digital Times (CDT), 2010. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: local power, photos
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The number of college graduates in China is growing far faster than the number of white-collar jobs in major cities like Beijing and Shanghai. Young people who thought higher education would lead to high-paying jobs and chic apartments are instead cramming by the tens-of-thousands into slums near the IT districts where they seek jobs in computing and programming. The new aspiring professionals are known as “ants” because of both their eagerness to work and a willingness to cram together in poor living conditions. China’s new white-collar underclass is developing an intimate connections as they share struggles and seek to adapt to their nation’s changing society.

© Sophie Beach for China Digital Times (CDT), 2010. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Ant Tribe, IT industry, job market, photos, white collar
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Two amateur photographers line up their snapshots of Beijing’s newest tourist attraction, the democracy statue erected by protesting students in Tiananmen Square, Thursday, June 1, 1989, Beijing, China.

To see more photos, please click the following link: AP Photo/Jeff Widener

For the historical records of Tiananmen movement and Beijing Massacre in 1989, please read CDT’s special series: “Twenty Years Ago Today.”

© Xiao Qiang for China Digital Times (CDT), 2010. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: 1989 protests, photos, Tiananmen Square
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