2,500 Kilos of Pork

Jiaozi lovers, consider this consumption.

Yu Hua in the NY Times Magazine

There is an interesting article on Yu Hua in this week's New York Times Magazine. I've been reading Yu's fiction since the early nineties and haven't appreciated all of it, but I have enjoyed very much his two novels To Live: A Novel and Chronicle of a Blood Merchant, both in the original Chinese and in translation. Though I haven't met Yu, I did have dinner once with Su Tong, who is mentioned in the article as one of his peers whose work Yu reads. Some of you might have seen Zhang Yimou's movie To Live, which is based on Yu Hua's novel by the same name. The film, starring Ge You and Gong Li, aside from being a visually stunning film with a great plot, also provides an intimate look at Chinese history from the 1930s to the 1980s. Yu personally wrote the adaptation.

Incidentally, Yu Hua actually started out on a career as a dentist. The following paragraph is a quote from the Times article linked above.

He claims he became a writer because he hated his job: “the inside of a mouth is one of the ugliest spectacles in the world.” In the early ’80s he was living in a small town between Shanghai and Hangzhou. From his window he often observed workers of the local Cultural Bureau, the Chinese state’s salaried writers and artists, loafing in the streets. “We were all very poor in those days,” Yu recalled. “The difference was that you could work hard to be poor as a dentist, or you could do nothing and still be poor as a worker in the Cultural Bureau. I decided I wanted to be as idle as the workers in the Cultural Bureau and become a writer.”

Digital President

I'm sure many of you already know that President Obama has committed to giving his weekly presidential address via video and delivered over the Internet. The addresses are available via YouTube!, Vimeo, iTunes, and directly from whitehouse.gov. Just check the "Briefing Room" menu on the top left. Here is today's address:

China Rural Education Foundation

Many readers know that I have been involved with the China Rural Education Foundation for the past several years. If you are in the Provo/Salt Lake City, Utah area this weekend, you are invited to the CREF annual charity dinner and program. Here are the details:

5th Annual CREF Chinese New Year’s Gala
6:00 pm
Saturday, January 31, 2009
“Center Stage” Room in the Sorensen Student Center
Utah Valley University (800 West University Parkway and I-15)
Orem, Utah
Chinese Family Style Dinner
Tax Contributions
Silent Auction/Raffle / Auction
Educational Activities
$20.00/Adults; $8.00 /Children under 10 (Advance Purchase)
$25.00/Adults; $10.00/ Children under 10 (At the Door)
$170.00/Table of 10 (Advance Purchase only, contact efcrook2001 [at] yahoo.com )
Pay online at www.thecref.org or by check to:
731 Sunburst Lane, Alpine UT, 84004
(Payment to be received by January 25, 2009)
Free Parking Available
UVU Campus Map and Parking Information at
www.uvu.edu/visitors/visit
Use parking lot “L” or LDS Institute parking

For more information about the CREF or to make donations,

please visit the website at www.thecref.org

Glimpses of Lunar New Year celebrations in Beijing

Australian PM Speaking Chinese

I remember reading some time ago that Kevin Rudd, the Prime Minister of Australia, was learning Chinese. I'm impressed with his progress. Here he is broadcasting a Chinese New Year greeting to the people of China.

FDINT 202 Winning Essays

Thanks to everyone who participated in the essay contest. I appreciate the great deal of collective thought exerted on the questions I posited in class. Congratulations to the two winners of the contest: Victoria Sigauke and Ben Davidson. Notice that the common theme in each of their essays is education. Education, it seems, can lead to victory over apathy. I look forward to continuing together this semester to expand our understanding of the developing world!


Here is Victoria's essay:

I was born in a developing country, that is, in the southern African country of Zimbabwe. It is a third world country, and so I am aware of the change that President Obama is calling for, for like other nations out there in the world, that are still in the process of development, they are all in dire need of help from developed nations such as the USA. Therefore, I see myself responding by placing myself into the shoes of those people from such places that I may be better able to make a contribution that will assist our brothers and sisters who don’t have, by giving them or providing the means for them to have what I have plenty of. It is easier for me to do so than most people because I have been on both sides of the coin where having next to nothing at all, to have fairly plenty is concerned.

Heeding this admonition to avoid “indifference to suffering outside our borders” will not be difficult for me to consider and/or even do. In other words, I am committed in my acquiescing of this request. Therefore, the question arises as the challenge becomes finding ways that I can assist as well as devising possible solutions that we as a nation can join hands together on, to contribute to the sufferers of those beyond our borders. Before we as a nation can step in, we must first focus on ourselves, in small groups, even as individuals to resolve within us the will that will motivate us to set out on this path of assistance, and ensure that we will stay on it and stick to our commitments to help.

Alma 37:6 states, “Now ye may suppose that this is foolishness in me; but behold I say unto you, that by small and simple things are great things brought to pass; and small means in many instances doth confound the wise. This change can be brought about through personal evaluation of one’s self and other simple acts such as putting others first before ourselves. I, as well as every one of us, need to learn to stop being selfish and reach out to those around us who are seeking our help. We should each learn to expand our knowledge of what is going on in regions round about the United States, and not focus simply on what is going on here at home. Of course, we are currently going through an economic slum ourselves, but as we regain our footing and own strength, we will then be able to reach out and help those less fortunate countries than our own. Otherwise, whilst re-establishing our own stability, we can at the same time research and learn of the problems other countries are going through, before we can commence thinking up ways in which to intervene and solve their crises.

As far as what an individual such as I can accomplish, these are numerous. Some of these include changing our own personal habits with regards to, maybe, limiting the uneaten food that we throw away, when we can still eat it or put it to better use such as mix it into something else and then eat it. A few other examples of the things that we, as a people, can start doing now include eating less, restricting our innate and the portions we consume, thus reducing the amount of resources that go into food preparation that we end up wasting at the end of the day. In turn, what we would waste on a regular basis, we could save that money instead to purchase grains, canned goods and so forth that can be sent to starving people in countries throughout the world. Likewise, as we educate our own minds, we can find the knowledge we need to pass onto others and thus feed the hungry minds of people out there in the world that long to further their own education.

Therefore, I agree with Friedman’s assertion. We do need to develop within ourselves, first, a more “positive imagination”. And only then can we be able to encourage others to do so too. We cannot preach and teach to others that which we ourselves do not practice. It is only after we have somewhat mastered that technique ourselves, that we can go out and help our friends and family learn of too. This development of positive imagination gives people an inner hope that they can actually do something within their own power to make the world as better place for others to live and survive in. Personally, I can spread this optimism onto my friends and family and share with them the joy that comes through giving to- and serving- others.

Small and simple things, though we may doubt it, will go a long way if they are done in a manner of self-less service. This then ties into what Friedman exhorted about “exporting hope and not fear”. We can each accomplish this, and as we learn not to panic about our own “minor” issues and become more positive that the future will be bright, and that everything will turn out well, we can pass this hope onto other people outside our borders, who are suffering and having a hard time seeing or even finding that bright light that they need at the end of the tunnel. In turn, let us (myself included) look forward hopefully, and without panicking or fearing the unknown, and as we do so, others around us will find that light within them too, through the emanation of our own, thus replacing fear with hope. “If ye are prepared, ye shall not fear…” (D&C 38:30).


And Ben's:

The Scrooge Syndrome

The LDS missionary handbook of instructions, also known as “the white Bible," suggests that a leader cannot serve others unless he or she gets to know them. The truth in this statement extends far beyond the mission field. How can human beings help each other unless they understand the different cultures, thoughts, and beliefs that paint the earth? Can the purification of water and flourishing of farms that President Obama speaks of really happen if all we have studied from China is the basketball play of Yao Ming? Indifference to the suffering outside our borders will melt away and the avenues to help will open as Americans and those of all nationalities learn about each other.

A simple example of indifference or ignorance is the classic Charles Dickens character Ebenezer Scrooge. Scrooge was a property owner who was interested in making money. Making money isn’t an evil or even a bad thing. Scrooge was good at what he did. He made himself rich through hard work and good financial planning. To a degree he was aware that people suffered, but that was a distant problem that didn’t affect him immediately. A plea for mercy from an eviction probably crossed his way every now and again, but that’s just life and business right? From a third person point of view we can clearly see how heinous and bad Scrooge was, but could he himself see?

Scrooge of course would have a life changing night. But before that is discussed, can it be suggested that humans, especially Americans, have "Ebenezer Scrooge Syndrome"? The standard of living in America is among the world’s best. Americans have opportunities and many work hard and make a fortune. Sure, an infomercial about India’s starving children may interrupt "The Drew Carey Show," but that’s life and business right? Those are distant problems and somebody somewhere is taking care of them. Wrong.

Scrooge was taken from his home on a fantastic journey to see and experience life from different perspectives. He was taken to see how the poor live. He saw the suffering that existed outside his bank account. By seeing and understanding what was going on around him, he changed and began to help others out. Should citizens of developed countries be taken on Scrooge class journeys? Maybe. What is the answer to the problem? Who knows. Can eyes be opened by sending everyone back to Humanities 202? Somehow people must inform themselves to the world’s situation.

People should know that there are 800 million human beings suffering from chronic malnutrition worldwide. It should be brought to man’s attention that there are 400,000 homeless people living in London. People should feel that sick-to-your-stomach feeling by the China Blue documentary and know that there are little girls in China making our pants and earning just a few cents every day.

If a man knows what is wrong with his car, he can and will fix it. If he doesn’t take the time to find out or just doesn’t care, the day may come when his car explodes. If man can’t look down on his fellow man and extend a helping hand, how can he not be subject to that same condemnation that Scrooge was threatened by? The Lord said to Enoch, “Behold these thy brethren; they are the workmanship of mine own hands.” By opening eyes and understanding the real situations that are happening in our little world, the avenues for aid and service will be open and the charge to purify and flourish will be completed.

Not to beat a dead horse . . .

It seems that my original hunch about the PRC censorship of President Obama's inaugural address was correct, at least ultimately. According to James Fallows' blog, the current translation on the "People's Daily" website no longer contains the word "communism" (gongchan zhuyi 共产主义).

Bill Gates on the Developing World and Small-scale Philanthropy

Having read this weekend about 130 of my students' essays on the rationale for getting more involved with those suffering in the developing world, I was somewhat, but not entirely surprised by the numbers who feel that the economic and social problems of the United States are dire enough that US citizens should not be thinking about increasing aid to or investment in those "beyond her borders." There was even one essay that argued, somewhat compellingly, if not a bit naively, that those in the US are already doing more than their share in reaching out to the developing world.

If ever there was a paradigmatic successful global capitalist, it would have to be Bill Gates. As you know, Gates left full-time responsibilities at Microsoft last summer and now devotes all his time running his charitable foundation. Tomorrow his new annual letter will be available, but Nick Kristof of the NY Times met with him in Seattle last week for a sneak peek at the letter. Mr. Gates makes compelling and compassionate arguments about why it is more important now than ever, even in the face of US economic downturn, to turn some of our energy and focus to the developing world. Please take five minutes to watch it here.

Chinese Hip-Hop

Here's something a bit lighter for the weekend.

James Fallows

Late last night, after my short piece questioning James Fallows' take on the censorship of the inaugural address, I decided to shoot off an email to Mr. Fallows, summarizing my different ideas on the issue. To my pleasant surprise, he just responded:

"Thanks for your note – it’s an interesting hypothesis, and you could be right. The fact that People’s Daily later printed the full, uncensored text would suggest the opposite – that the CCTV people didn’t have time to think through the decision and just panicked. But, who knows! Best wishes Jim Fallows"

I wasn't aware of the full translation in the People's Daily, but Fallows blogged about it earlier today and concluded:

"... it's enough to suggest that the major official newspaper felt confident conveying the gist of what Obama was saying, even though the broadcasters apparently panicked in real time. This is illustration #3,287 of why it's tricky to say that "China" or "the Chinese" or even "the Chinese regime" will behave in a certain way. Different parts of it respond different ways in different circumstances."

I couldn't have said it better myself.

Nkunda Arrested

I think that at least one of the groups in my developing world class is researching Congo this semester. The breaking news on this front is that the Congolese rebel leader Laurent Nkunda has just been apprehended and is being transported to Kigali, Rwanda. His future, to be determined by the Rwandan government, remains unclear.

Fallows on Chinese Censorship of the Inaugural Address

I have always admired James Fallows' diverse interests and knowledge. He strikes me as a true 21st century renaissance man: degrees in History, Literature and Economics from Harvard and Oxford, well known Mac/PC expert, instrument-rated private pilot, etc.

In a post tonight on his Atlantic blog, Mr. Fallows speculates on the rationale behind the censorship of President Obama's inauguration speech, which I posted about yesterday with the reference to EastSouthWestNorth. With all due respect to Mr. Fallows, I find his assessment of the situation potentially flawed. He says:

"I have met a lot of Chinese people in the last few years, in lots of stations of life. Big shots, farmers, dissidents, factory workers, party bosses. And I cannot think of a single one of them who would have been put off his or her feed by hearing a new American president talk about the virtues of dissent or America's struggle against Communism. Even if they don't agree with those sentiments themselves (and many would agree), all of them know that this is the way Americans talk and think. How on earth could it seem threatening to hear an American president talk about basic American beliefs?"

Later in his discussion he continues:

"The people in charge of China's propaganda apparatus are among the least worldly and most rigid-minded people in the entire country, with absolutely the least feel for how people in other countries might react or think. So apparently some of these ignoramuses considered it a good and prudent idea to cut off Obama -- even if the vast majority of their fellow citizens would consider such paranoia to be extreme and bizarre. Also, within a part of the government where orthodoxy is everything, an official takes no risks by being too hard-line, but could get in trouble by being too permissive. Still, it is an incident whose importance may grow as time goes on. They couldn't even stand to hear Barack Obama speak!"

In these two paragraphs Fallows makes two assumptions, which I believe could be neglecting Chinese historical precedent and underestimating the sophistication of the Chinese governmental machine. In the first paragraph quoted above, Mr. Fallows' assumption is that Obama's talk was censored because viewers would not have agreed with his views. He comes closer to what I believe to be the reason for the censorship when he surmises in the second paragraph that perhaps it was government censors erring on the side of being too "hard-line" rather than risk letting something too controversial be broadcast live on state run television.

I believe that the censors knew exactly what they were doing. They were indeed being "hard-line" in their censorship. But they didn't do it because they were out of touch with what would appeal to Chinese television viewers. They were following strict orders to censor anything that might incite the masses with ideas contrary to the status quo in China. As the twentieth anniversary of the Tiananmen Square democracy movement draws near (June 4th, 2009), the last thing the Chinese government wants its citizens thinking about is facing down communist or fascist regimes. Chinese government officials are too familiar with the social climate at the end of the Qing dynasty (1644-1911). Plagued with economic woes and the abuses of power by corrupt local government officials, the Qing saw all manner of numerous uprisings, large and small scale, across her domain--not unlike many of the problems facing the PRC today. I think that the Chinese government is keenly aware of the volatility of the current populace (especially in rural areas) and its censors knew exactly what they were censoring. They weren't worried about their viewers disliking or disagreeing with Obama's speech, they were worried about its potential to incite the masses.

EastSouthWestNorth Blog

One of the most important online resources for those interested in contemporary China is Roland Soong's blog EastSouthWestNorth. Rebecca MacKinnon provides some background on Soong and his work here. I first learned of the live Chinese coverage and simultaneous translation and censorship of President Obama's inauguration speech when listening to NPR's Morning Edition on my alarm clock this morning. Soong translates a post from a Chinese blogger and includes the original Chinese TV footage of the incident. Other Chinese media outlets have been able to retain their coverage of the original wording.

Catholic Nun to Speak in Rexburg on African Orphans

According to the Rexburg Standard Journal, Sister Mary Beth Lloyd, a Catholic nun and author of AIDS Orphans Rising: What You Should Know and What You Can Do To Help Them Succeed, will present a public lecture Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. at Madison Middle School on the effect of the AIDS epidemic and its worldwide affect on orphans. This lecture promises to provide great insights into the developing world. I will award "extra credit" to students who attend and comment on the lecture here, in a comment to this post. Quantity and form of said extra credit to be negotiated.

Full Text of Obama's Inauguration Speech

Full-text transcripts of President Barack Obama's inauguration speech are appearing on various websites. In my Developing World classes today I will be asking my students to consider, in addition to a lecture they watched by Thomas Friedman, some of President Obama's remarks regarding the developing world. Here's the full assignment:

Toward the end of the Q and A at the end of his talk at MIT, Thomas Friedman spoke on the "competing forms of imagination" illustrated by "11/9" (referring to 11/9/89 when the Berlin Wall came down and the same period when the Windows operating system was marketed) and "9/11" (when the World Trade Center and Pentagon were bombed by Qaeda terrorists). Friedman asserts that "imagination is the only thing not commoditized in a flat world." It was different imaginations that brought down the Berlin Wall and the Twin Towers.

In his inauguration speech yesterday (1/20/09), President Barack Obama said:

"To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world's resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it."

In considering Friedman's notions of imagination, and President Obama's pledge to people in developing nations, do you see yourself responding to the change he is calling for? How? Will you heed the admonition to avoid "indifference to suffering outside our borders"? How? Will you personally evaluate and perhaps change your resource consumption? How? Do you agree with Friedman's assertion that we need to develop, and encourage others to develop a more "positive imagination,"? What will you do about this personally? What does it mean to you as an individual, as Friedman exhorts, to "export hope and not fear"? How might you do this?

Please consider these and submit a response (1000 word limit) via email by noon on Friday (23 Jan). The top two essays will be featured on my blog and the authors treated to lunch by the professor at a date to be determined.

Internship Opportunity

Over the weekend, I read an entry in Nicholas Kristof's blog, "On the Ground," on the New York Times site announcing a very exciting and interesting internship opportunity. It might seem like a long shot, but I hope some of my students will apply for it. It can't hurt to try! I've been a regular Kristof reader since I read his book China Wakes: The Struggle for the Soul of a Rising Power, written after his term as the Beijing Bureau Chief for the Times.