Han Zhiguo (@韩志国), a social-media savvy economist profiled in these pages, has tweeted his (somewhat depressing) “Five Secrets of the Chinese Economy” on Sina Weibo, China’s Twitter: 1. The driving force behind development is the over-issuance of currency. In September the ratio of M2 to GDP was 2.46:1, [while] Europe and the U.S. don’t exceed [...]
Now that the firecrackers have been fired and the leftover dumplings dumped, many Chinese netizens are starting to feel the dreaded New Year’s hangover. All the gifts and red pockets, restaurant bills, train, plane and bus tickets, and those “hated fireworks” have taken their collective toll. In particular, the popular, industrial strength fireworks that light [...]
When it comes to inventing meddlesome regulation, Beijing is a cut above. Chinese people have already been told they must have their ID’s at the ready in order to patronize Internet bars, open an account on Weibo, China’s Twitter, and buy a train ticket. Now, some must do the same merely to purchase knives. On [...]
For anyone who can read Chinese, this is a delicious treat. Mr. Jack Bauer from 24 makes a guest appearance in Mr. Remon Wang’s (@变态辣椒2012) comics to offer further proof that U.S. intelligence agencies were indeed involved in Mr. Sima Nan’s accident. The talented Mr. Wang had previously penned international hits such as the Pandaman. To respect the [...]
It’s no secret that Weibo, China’s Twitter, is crawling with censors. And yet, some netizens say it has provided them with the most open forum they have ever enjoyed inside of China. Many statements that would have been considered serious crimes in the past are now routine in Chinese social media. On January 27, Beijing [...]
The joke below from a netizen has been retweeted by Professor Han Zhiguo (@韩志国) and Professor Yang Jiacong (@王家骢的微博). Capitalists in the Mao era: those who already had their homes raided and those who will soon have their homes raided. Capitalists in the Deng era: those who have gone to jail and those who will [...]
It is no secret that thousands of netizens scale the Great Firewall of China, one of the Eight Wonders of the cyber-world, to obtain information from the outside. But are there others trying to get in? Reporter Li Hai (@北京李海) tweets on January 25, 2012: A netizen from the mainland China is “scaling the wall.” While on top [...]
Kai-Fu Lee (@李开复) is the founder of Innovation Works, or 创新工场, and is a well-known tech guru both inside and outside China as well as a frequent user of Weibo. While attending the World Economic Forum on January 25, Mr. Lee tweeted some of his wisdom on innovation: At #Davos discussing how large companies can innovate: 1) Search [...]
Do you hear it? That’s the sound of China’s talent and assets flying abroad. The International Herald Tribune recently covered the path of China’s so-called “migratory birds.” Ms. Wan Ying (@新闻工匠 ), a journalist and writer, tweeted on January 25: Another good friend is emigrating to Canada. A group of friends gathered to raise glasses and send him [...]
Who’s been naughty, and who’s been nice? Reporters Without Borders (RWB) has once again released its World Press Freedom Index, which ranks the world’s countries in order of the freedom afforded their journalists in the previous year. As usual, more attention is being paid to who’s been naughty. Mainland China fell three spots to #174 [...]
More than 2,500 years ago, Sun Tze in his Art of War advised warriors to “keep a vigilant eye on defenses” while in enemy territory. In 2012, he may need to add “…and stand still on an escalator.” Mr. Yu Li, an essayist who writes under the pen name Sima Nan, was involved in a freak [...]
Hong Kong’s fraught relationship with mainland China is not off to an auspicious start in the Year of the Dragon. On social networking site Tianya.cn and Sina Weibo, China’s Twitter, netizens have spent days throwing verbal bombs after well-known Maoist Kong Qingdong declared that “many Hong Kongers are dogs” on an online news show. This follows [...]
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