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Google Books Ngram Viewer: Peking v. Beijing
Google Books Ngram Viewer is an interesting application for looking up the frequency of phrases in books over time. For example, I recently ran a search from 1800-2000 for the different spellings of 北京: Peking, Beijing, Peiping and Beiping. As expected, Peking is the dominant English name for 北京. Peiping appeared at some point in…
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China 2010
I first visited China almost 30 years ago. Back then, China was defined more by its past than its future. Everything that amazed me during that initial trip had an age that could be measured in centuries if not millennia. During that visit, the economic gap between the United States and China could not have…
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President Obama’s Controversial Inaugural Address
During the broadcast of President Obama’s inaugural address, CCTV panned out when the President said the “c” word – communism. Not exactly one of the seven dirty words. However, if you read the inaugural address, you will realize that CCTV overreacted. President Obama said: Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just…
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Chinese Auto Safety
New York Times: Ford in Talks to Sell Volvo to Chinese Rival, Report Says. Ford Motor is in talks to sell its Volvo car business to its Chinese partner, Changan Automobile Group, the National Business Daily reported on Tuesday, citing an unnamed source at the Chinese company. OK. The country that gave us melamine milk,…
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Melamine Contaminated Chinese Food Products
Each day, government officials worldwide are announcing that more and more Chinese food products contain melamine. The good news is that someone is testing all the products, obvious or not, for melamine contamination. The Voice of America reported that latest products recalled include Koala brand chestnut and chocolate flavored cookies, Nabisco Ritz cracker cheese sandwiches…
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Don’t Follow the White Rabbit
A few days ago, I spotted this post: Tainted Milk in China; No Threat in US. However, that headline is not entirely accurate. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a Health Information Advisory that “there is no known threat of contamination of infant formula manufactured by companies that have met the requirements to sell…
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Melamine Contamination in Infant Milk Powder
Last year, Caroline Smith Dewaal of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, appeared on Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees and stated, “We see the pet food recall as a warning sign for the government that they need to do more to protect the food supply. It could easily happen to an ingredient used in…
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An Unfortunate Choice of Words
TIME: A Tibetan Intifadeh Against China. Whatever the outcome, though, it seemed to be a turning point in the history of Tibet and perhaps also China. “This is massive,” said one Tibet specialist who was in touch with many Lhasa residents, “it is the intifadeh.” Nothing more inaccurate than the Western media plotting turning points…
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KMT: The Pro-China Opposition Party?
Christian Science Monitor: Opposition Win May Bring Taiwan Closer to China. The resurgence of Taiwan’s opposition party, the Kuomintang (KMT), which picked up a majority in Saturday’s parliamentary vote, could usher in a significant thaw in cross-Taiwan Strait relations with China, especially if it goes on to win the presidency in March. It’s all relative,…
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Beijing Olympics: Table Tennis
Chris Anderson calls the partnership between NBC Universal and Microsoft to broadcast over 3,000 hours of live and on-demand content at NBCOlympics.com the first “Long-Tail Olympics.” This should be great news for table tennis fans in the United States. Sure, we can catch our regular basketball, track and field, swimming, diving, and gymnastics events on…