China re-blocks sites unblocked during Beijing Olympics

Looks like it's back to the usual!

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In other news, Keanu Reeves "looking to do something good" with Cowboy Bebop movie. *whimper*

You know what? Forget everything I've said about smoking being a nuisance. Being Chinese Valentine's Day, the five star hotel's restaurant we ate in was packed. Which means: non-smoking section? What non-smoking section? The second-hand smoke translates my runny nose and sore throat into spectacular hacking fits.

(n)

On to other topics.

The Chinese have a phrase, "Shanghai men". There's no "Beijing men" or "Guangzhou women". It's always "Shanghai men". One woman related, "One day I took the bus in Shanghai. It drove past the back doors of residences. Through every back door, I could see a man working in the kitchen preparing dinner. And whenever I pass by the river, I see a row of men doing the laundry." Ah, the joys of female empowerment.

On TV the other day, a reporter from Hong Kong interviewed Beijing's volunteer community patrol. The reporter asked if the volunteers received any subsidies. A volunteer replied, "At first, they cooked green bean soup for us to drink. Now, they probably don't have spare time, so they give us a bag of green beans for us to take home and cook ourselves."

Next time: Suzhou history and Asian insults. Probably.

Unlike Taiwan where the non-smoking section in restaurants is much larger than the smoking section, here in China it's exactly the opposite—if you can even find a non-smoking section. One large and popular restaurant was kind enough to create an impromptu non-smoking section for us and redirect smoking customers from the 12 empty seats. (In case there's no non-smoking section, the air outside is fresher.)

Speaking of fresh air—I haven't been able to take a single photo outside without smog, even on a small mountain. I'm not hacking yet, but my throat's protesting a lot.

Anyway, with the Olympics looming, the hotel lounge music is now the Olympic theme and the TV at the hotel breakfast shows the progress of the torch relay. The nearby mall has multi-storey scrolls of the mascots, as well as a giant countdown screen.

I keep thinking, oh no, when I'm back in Vancouver it's going to be just. like. this.

Going to mainland China on Sunday.

Instead of a visa, I'll be using a Taiwan Compatriot Pass, a Chinese document which allows holders of a Taiwanese passport into China.* The Taiwan Compatriot Pass is much easier to get than a visa as a Canadian national, especially with the Beijing Olympics looming. The Taiwan Compatriot Pass has the typical passport-y information, plus the holder's Taiwan government–issued ID number.

Righty-o.

I'll be taking one of the new direct flights* to China. Despite being "direct" flights, they actually fly south-west from Taiwan to Hong Kong airspace, then north-east to various Chinese cities. Hearsay attributes the re-routing to the rushed process of getting the flights a-go, although the BBC says "Taiwan's military is on constant alert for an air attack from the mainland, and [...] cannot afford to let civilian flights clutter cross-straits radars."

Notes:
1. By China I mean the People's Republic of China (PRC), and by Taiwan I mean the Republic of China on Taiwan (ROC).

2. The new direct flights are technically charter flights, so if enough people request a new route it may happen. As far as I know getting a ticket is the same as any non-chartered flight.

An interesting note - Taipei's domestic Songshan Airport is now serving direct flights to China. Songshan was formerly Taiwan's largest international airport, but it became too small. Chiang Kai-Shek was built to replace it, and Songshan became a domestic airport. Songshan's in Taipei proper, while Chiang Kai-Shek (now Taoyuan Airport) is about an hour away. (Including Songshan, five of Taiwan's domestic airports are now serving cross-strait flights.)

As for the old Generalissimo, Chiang Kai-Shek, the previous government was intent on un-naming everything after him. It seems that the only common ground of the Taiwan's pro-independence camp and the Chinese government is their hatred of Chiang Kai-Shek.

I was watching a programme on the construction of Taipei 101, which is the tallest building in the world, at least until the Burj Dubai is completed. Taipei 101 has a higher earthquake safety rating than Taiwan's nuclear power plants, yay? However, what I've learned from this programme is highly unsettling—there are three "small" fault lines under Taipei, and by "small" I mean one of them is 10 m wide and a mere 200 km from Taipei 101—how reassuring. I haven't been able to find maps of minor fault lines in Taiwan, which is even less assuring.

IMO, the Taiwanese are a bit blasé about earthquakes. "Oh, an earthquake. Have some tea." According to the Taiwan Residential Earthquake Insurance Fund, whoever that is, Taiwan has more than 200 perceivable quakes a year. One of my earliest memories was sitting on the sofa while my parents were vacuuming, and being told that by the way, the earth just shook.

For example: a magnitude 6.8 earthquake in March 2002 caused the collapse of 3 buildings and 100 houses and the infamous fall of two cranes from the half-built Taipei 101—and my mother has no recollection of it *facepalm*

Another example: when the Seattle earthquake occurred, my mother and her non-Taiwanese friend were having lunch in a mall. The building they were in shook noticeably.

The friend: What should we do, what should we do?!? Let's run outside—
My mother: Sit down and have some tea.

According to the US Geological Survey and the Global Seismic Hazard Program, Vancouver has a peak ground acceleration of 3.8 m/s², a.k.a. BE VERY WORRIED. The entire island of Taiwan has a peak ground acceleration of over 4.8 m/s², a.k.a. I DON'T THINK YOU CAN WORRY ANY MORE.

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In other news, the Hakka Tulou in Fujian has been announced as a World Heritage Site. In the 60s the CIA mistook the buildings in spy photos as nuclear reactors.

Figure skating~ Wah, I haven't watched the Grand Prix Finals in a few years. ( Pairs and Ladies short and long programs )

I still can't get over the fact of the Three Gorges' Dam. What kind of sacrifice do we have to make for progress? Are historical objects of any importance, versus better living quality? However, history and art are an important part of living quality, and it's extremely saddening to see 5000 years of Chinese history sidelined for Western imports. The dam benefits the cities and the large farms, rather than the peasants who really need it.

Re: New Years. I actually voted for a Chicken Cannon target this year: Rona Ambrose.