Monthly Archives: April 2011

Recycling: Personal To Professional

Posted on April 28, 2011 by Elliot

Some recycling news: A pilot program in 55 Chinese cities succeeded in increasing recycling rates to 70%, and the government announced plans to improve official waste collection systems. China usually shows up on the recycling map as a processing center … Continue reading →

Posted in Environment | Leave a comment

Harmonized

Posted on April 26, 2011 by Elliot

One of the Chinese government’s favorite buzzwords is ‘harmonious society.’ It’s Hu Jintao’s signature, and undoubtedly deserves a nod of approval from policy linguists for it’s succinct and pleasing synthesis of cooperation and ‘don’t rock the boat’. The term, however, … Continue reading →

Posted in Media and Journalism, Politics, Government, Law, Etc. | 1 Comment

The Chinese call it ChaoZuo 炒作

Posted on April 20, 2011 by Elliot

Barred from the luxury of sating appetites for controversy and sex through political coverage, the Chinese media has found safe, and fertile, ground in absurd, disgusting and, more often than not, lascivious human interest stories. Combine an ongoing cultural transformation … Continue reading →

Posted in Media and Journalism, Social Phenomena | Leave a comment

On Individualism

Posted on April 14, 2011 by Elliot

Some amateur, overblown social theorizing extrapolated from a few recent observations: I teach English. We often talk about the impact of commercial culture and consumerism in class, perhaps because it seems to be a particularly relevant topic, and I am … Continue reading →

Posted in Armchair Theorizing, Politics, Government, Law, Etc., Social Phenomena | 2 Comments