Here is the link: http://www.defense.gov/pubs/pdfs/2011_cmpr_final.pdf

The document is pretty big and I only read a few parts. Let me point out a few highlights that caught my interest:

• p. 16: Map of China’s border disputes
• p. 16f: New missions for China’s army: peacekeeping and protecting China’s interests beyond its border.
• p. 17: “Most recently, the PLA employed lift assets to assist in the evacuation of PRC citizens from Libya.”
• p. 20/21: Where does China get its oil delivered from?
• p. 35: How far do China’s intercontinental missiles reach?
• p. 41: China’s military spending (2010 estimated at $US160 billion)
• p. 67f: China’s arms sales

The USA really seems to be concerned, that it might lose its leading position sooner or later. Currently the USA invests incredible sums into its military, but that will only help for a while. For a long term success, my suggestion to the USA is: Increase population, make more babies. Otherwise, accept that you will be at place 3 at some point in the future, behind India and China.

Wuhan really wants to stand out. Image credit: home.news.cn

Now that we have talked about the juicy part, let’s get to the rock solid facts:
Wuhan is going to replace old buildings in a huge area in the inner city with modern glass towers. There is a plan for the development of the whole area, several blocks wide. In the first phase, which is currently being built, only medium high buildings are constructed. The 606 meter high super dildo has to wait until the end of this multi-phase construction. Currently it’s name is Greenland Center, but I guess this is only a placeholder name. While there is already construction work going on for the first buildings in this area, the dildo won’t be started before 2015 and that means plans might change over time. However I would advise Wuhan to stick to this supertall skyscraper to show their ecenomic potency.

If you want to know more, check the related thread on skyscrapercity: WUHAN | Greenland Center | 606m | 1988ft | Prep

To sum it up, the Chinese government has decided that VoIP (Voice over IP) applications are illegal. The only exception is, when these services are provided by China Telecom and China Uniom. There is no timetable when these new rules come into effect. Skype and other VoIP services like UUCall maybe have to close their China branches soon.

This reminds me of another law. People who do not have a Chinese passport are not allowed to have a GPS device while on Chinese soil. Only Chinese nationals can use GPS devices in China legally. For foreigners in China GPS is a no-go. Foreigners who intend to use mobile phones with GPS built in must register before bringing the device into China.

But we shouldn’t be unhappy. China Telecom and China Uniom will happily provide us with VoIP services. I’m certain they will also make sure our VoIP messages will be correct politically…. ehrm… I mean grammatically. Skype doesn’t support such functionality, yet.

China Telecom – 中国电信
China Unicom – 中国联通

Update 2011-01-09:
Seems like there was some misunderstanding. Some Chinese government spokesman said, that they will only crackdown on illegal VoIP business. The question when a VoIP business is illegal and when it’s not he didn’t answer.

I just finished this epic book called “Le Monde Chinois” written by Jacques Gernet. In fact I read the German translation which is called “Die chinesische Welt”. The title of the English translation is “A History of Chinese Civilization”. Maybe book is the wrong word to describe this, encyclopedia or compendium would be a more fitting term. This book is densely packed with information about the Chinese history.

Content of Le Monde Chinois

The tome, more than 700 pages strong, begins in the ancient times and talks about the complete Chinese history until the death of Mao Zedong (毛泽东). The part about the archaic China and its first dynasties are rather short (short in comparison to the rest of the book, still a few hundred of pages), beginning with the Song Dynasty (宋朝) the book picks up in quantity of details and each part of the Chinese history is described in great detail, all important persons in politics, military as well as intellectuals are listed. In fact there are is so many detail, I got crushed several times. Jacques Gernet really must have been studying China for a very long time.

While in the Amazon review some people state the the rather outdated Wade-Giles romanization is used, my version of the book mostly used the pinyin romanizations. I can state this only for the German version, you should check it out first if you plan to read it in another language.

Structure of Le Monde Chinois

The book is not strictly chronologically ordered. The chapters of the dynasties are ordered chronologically, however the social, political and economical events are separated within each dynasty. So when reading this book, you will go through each period several times, each time focusing on a different aspect. It took me a while to adjust to this writing style, however it helped once I got used to it.

Criticism of Le Monde Chinois

Le Monde Chinois gets an overall worth reading award from me, however I’d only recommend it to those people who really want more than just a Wikipedia article. The densely packed pages quickly lead to an information overflow and I could only read 10 or 20 pages a day. This is why it took me forever to complete this book. I definitely need to read it again, but the repeat reading won’t be soon. Another problem I found with this book is, it doesn’t tell which part of the Chinese history is particular important and which is less important. It treats all times and aspects roughly equal, so I still don’t know which part of the Chinese history is common knowledge and which is special knowledge.

In fact this book helped me to understand today’s China much better and I think this is a good additional reading for every student of the Chinese language.

If you plan to read something substantial about the Chinese history, you might consider Le Monde Chinois by Jacque Gernet, or one of its translations.

1914 map of China. Source: Wikipedia

When I go to a party or to a bar I sometimes go there with friends, but sometimes I go alone. When I’m going alone I make a lot of new friends there. I talk to many people and of course a typical question is how I spend my free time. I have a number of hobbies. I like to do a barbecue with friends, I like snowboarding and I like other things. Mentioning one of these can unfold in good and long conversations. However, if I mention that I learn Chinese, the other person most often doesn’t know what to say. Sometimes they state that Chinese must be a very difficult language to learn, but then the topic is pretty much over.

I’m also registered with a few social networks (facebook, etc.) and there is one network which is rather popular here in Germany and there are two items of particular interest in people’s profiles. The title of the first is: “Places I have been to previously” and the other is “Places I want to visit in the future”. And so far I have to find a single non-Asian person, except myself, who either has been to China or wants to go to China. In fact people want to go to many places all over the world, but very few want to go to Asia at all. Only Japan, Thailand and Bali (Indonesia) are mentioned by a few people. A handful people have visited or want to visit Israel and Dubai. A single person wants to visit Vietnam. But that’s it regarding Asian countries. Note that I have looked at a limited number of profiles.

If China was as big as Paraguay or if China had as few inhabitants as Finland I wouldn’t be surprised. But it’s not like that. In fact China today has a lot of weight in many ways. Now China is regularly present in the mainstream news media. Of all foreigners studying in Germany, Chinese people are the largest group. So I kind of assume, people must have heard of this strange place called China. I do not expect everyone to know things about China. But the reality is, most people are completely uninterested in China, if not even ignorant.

So I have been thinking,
how is it possible that hardly anyone knows about China.

And I think the answer is pretty simple. Countries are not well known by default. They are only well know if they offer something for the typical ADD victim (Attention Deficit Disorder). Many people, if not a majority of people today suffer from ADD. They need a lot of attention by others and only can give little attention to others. Political news won’t cut it for them, they need Britney Spears and Michael Jackson. They need something that makes their life more fun.

Looking at China I can hardly see anything that the typical ADD victim could possibly be interested in. Apart from the fact that Chinese music is mostly boring it is also sung in Chinese and thereby very inaccessible. Chinese music has no edge at all. There is no Chinese Eminem yet. Although I do not understand a word of French I still listen to French Hip-Hop, simply because it sounds good. But Chinese music that is pleasant to the ear? I haven’t heard any so far. (My examples feature Hip-Hop, but I do see the same problems with Chinese Rock, Metal, Jazz, Techno and other music genres) They only have cheesy love songs.

How about movies? The situation is pretty similar to the music situation. There are very few movies or TV series in the mainland that I can bear to watch. When it comes to Hong Kong and Taiwan the movies are much better. In fact a few HK movies have been translated and exported overseas. While Taiwan and HK movies are better, the audience in these countries is rather small and publishers have a hard time evaluating if these movies can also succeed overseas. So they rarely make their way to the Western world.

Violence but no love. This is what I think when I see movies from the mainland. Last year when I was in Shanghai, watching TV in the evening, I saw some pretty disturbing war movies during prime time at 8 in the evening. But did I see any love? I have to think very very hard. No kisses. Kisses are also often cut out of Hollywood movies. Maybe a hug here and there. The lover of violent war films might find something interesting, but that’s not for me and I think many other people will agree.

Pornography is also completely of the map when it comes to China. Japan is well known all over the world for their steamy movies, especially amongst the male population. Although opinions on pornography vary, it has previously successfully promoted the CD (compact disk) and DVD (digitally versatile disk). It has probably promoted Japan to some degree and China is clearly missing out here.

Furthermore, there is no special well known alcoholic beverage coming from China. Japan has Sake. Many countries have their own special alcoholic product. Where is China’s special alcohol? Baijiu? I think baijiu could earn a name as a cleaning product. So how about Mijiu or ricewine? This one could become famous if some Chinese company makes an effort. Mijiu has a unique flavor and I have tasted a few bottles that feature a very pleasant and probably mainstream compatible taste. Maybe if they can make it a little bit sweeter to get it popular amongst young drinkers it could become a success story. It just hasn’t happened yet.

Beautiful beach in Sanya, Hainan, China. Source: Wikipedia

So what is left? Japan is well known for its Anime culture. Personally I’m not interested, but I do know a few people who started learning Japanese just because they like Anime stuff. Thailand and the Philippines are notorious for sex tourism. China also has its fair share of the red light business, but for some reason word hasn’t spread out all over the world. This is another missed chance for China to be well known. Then there are the beautiful beaches in many places of South East Asia. China has Hainan and I heard it is also very nice there. Yet it seems completely inaccessible to Western tourists.

I have my personal reasons why I’m interested in China. Namely great food, can’t live without my regular Hot Pot, attractive women and a challenging language. But China lacks products suitable for the average Joe and it also needs to ramp up the marketing for those things that already exist in China.

Does China intentionally behave this way to be the unknown, mysterious place?
Do you see a potential world class mass-compatible product coming from China?
If you come from a non-Asian country, what do your fellow people say when you tell them that you are learning Chinese?

Help doctor, my sex life is not harmonious!

Since chairman Mao took over mainland China sex became more and more anti-harmonious. Mao prohibited men having several wifes. Yet he himself had several at the same time, but that’s probably because he was holy or whatever and he had special powers. However the ill-fated propaganda continued and continues today. The black suits of all ranks know how to have a swinging party in sleazy KTVs, yet they speak with their twisted tongue in interviews and public announcements, upholding the harmonious society. Why should anyone care?

I’ve been to China a few times and it can be really painful to talk to some people. I was in Kunming at this English corner some day and talked to this mid 20s guy. He just broke up with his girlfriend. Something was wrong with him. So I asked him if the sex was not satisfying. He said he had been with her like 10 years, but they didn’t have sex. Well, they didn’t even kiss (except on their cheeks). She told him she is not yet ready. Then some day he found out some other guy is banging her regularly. He asked her to stop it, but finally split up with her. The story was really heartbreaking.

From all I heard and experienced I have this theory, that many girls in China who do go out once in a while (read: they know something about life, yet know what the family expects) in fact have one official boyfriend. She will keep him at distance and not start anything with him, yet she will do things necessary so he stays. This guy is just for public display to show she is a traditional girl. At the same time she has fun secretly with all the other guys.

If your brain gets brainwashed with CCTV every day, then there is no wonder this crap happens. Watch some random Chinese soap opera. It’s not romantic. It’s totally over the top. If those guys watched some porn in their youth instead they would actually know what is life about. You can’t blame them.

This being said I agree with China Divide. Educate the masses. Let them watch porn! Would make a real harmonious society with a healthy sex life in China.

I just watched this movie created by WoW players (World of Warcraft) from China. They used the game to portrait some events that happened during the last few years in China regarding their beloved game and also freedom of speech in general. In the movie the hero Kan Nimei goes on a strife against his main enemy Yang Yongxin who in reality is a Chinese professor who tried to cure children from internet addiction by using electric shocks. Along his way he comes along many things that people in China had to endure while playing WoW. The video is well made, over 100 people contributed, funny but also very moving and shows the unbearable situation of young people on the Chinese internet. In the end the authors ask the people to raise their hands against suppression by the authorities. It seems to be discussed all over the Chinese internet right now. I don’t know why it isn’t harmonized yet.

If you have about 1 hour time, you definitely want to watch this.
网瘾战争 – War of internet addiction by 性感玉米 (sexy corn)
Version with English subtitles: youtube.com/watch?v=zHjg65mQJkw
Original Chinese version: v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMTQ3MDMwNDQ0.html
A list of cultural references: docs.google.com/View?id=ddp3vkc6_1gxdvjdhm

Unfortunately I don’t have the time to write about the details, but some other people already did. Check this Wallstreet Online article. DigiCha has an article with more references. Kaiser Kuo also commented on “war on internet addiction”. Apart from a moving, well made movie about important Chinese issues, it also offers interesting young language. You might learn some new words. Junjie says: Absolutely worth watching.

View from Hong Kong peak, taken on in 2008. My old Hong Kong photos are all printed on paper.

I had a number of serious concerns, mostly because I didn’t know better. I only knew China from news reports, where they showed some hungry souls. I didn’t even know Hong Kong was not China at that time. So I thought our holiday would be without electricity, water, heating or eatable food. I even was concerned if we were going to stay in a hotel room or under the open sky. Furthermore, I was seriously concerned about becoming a political prisoner at my young age. Why? Because China imprisons people randomly, they said on TV. See what TV propaganda can make young people believe! At that time there was no wikipedia to check facts. We didn’t even have internet in our house at all. Maybe we were the backward people.

We did make a democratic voting: I voted for staying at home. Two other people of my family voted for me to go on this trip. Me going to China had won the elections. My dad stayed at home. He didn’t want to go, although he voted for me going there. So my mum and me joined a travel group of about 20 people visiting Hong Kong.

As I said I’m not sure if it was 1995 or 1996, but I do know it was December around Christmas time and we would spend the new year in Hong Kong. We flew from Zurich, Switzerland and the first surprise was that the airline fucked up big time. We had to wait at the airport the whole day. But we did get a reward for all the waiting, as we were told later.

For all those Hong Kong-greenhorns reading my blog: At that time the international airport of Hong Kong was Kai Tak (启德机场 – cantonese: Kai2 dak1 gei1 coeng4), which indeed was the most exiting airport that ever existed. And in retrospect I’m so happy that I could land there, sitting at the window at the right side of the plane. Seconds before the landing the plane makes an 50 degree turn to the right, the right wing pointing seriously to the ground. It seems like the buildings at the side of the plane are higher, than the plane itself is flying. I didn’t have any digital camera equipment at that time, let alone a mobile phone, but someone else did:

There’s no other airport than Kai Tak where the plane makes a 50 degree turn to the right seconds before landing

When I looked out of the window while flying over the city of Hong Kong I was positively surprised. No farms! Instead modern multistory buildings, some with luxury swimming pools on the top. On the first day this city took over my mind. I was seriously impressed. Everything was so modern, compared to Germany. The weather was awesome. Hot and humid in mid December. And you can buy all the cool fashion for fair prices.

I was also surprised how beautiful the women of China are. So much better than the German women. And the clothes they are wearing are also much skimpier, which could be result of the hot weather and the lack of unhealthy fast food. Equal to the beauty of the women was the taste of the local food. Strangely I was the only one of our travel group, who ate everything that was put on the table.

Then there was the new year party. As I mentioned previously, the airline had a few hours delay and therefore they sponsored a full blow new years party in a luxury restaurant including a all you can eat buffet of lobster and many other delicious specialties. I wonder why I didn’t get the same treatment when I got delayed 12 hours on my Chengdu trip 2007.

We also made a short trip to Guangzhou (广州), a real communist city at that time. This communist city impressed me the least. When I was standing in front of our Guangzhou hotel, I could barely see the top floor because there was only little air between all those dust particles in the atmosphere. Our tour guide said it was a natural phenomenon, not man made. I guess he was right: Naturally coming out of all the fires burning along the railroad track that brought us to Guangzhou. On the positive side, Guangzhou was the place where I fell in love with authentic Chinese food. I can’t remember what was on the table, but I can say for sure: It tasted great.

Although this trip was overwhelmingly impressive, my memories got blurry after a while, yet I never totally forgot about the trip. It took about ten years until I finally started to learn Chinese, and I’m sure that this China trip played a major role in my decision to learn Chinese. Therefore I’m really thankful that I could make that trip. This is how I discovered China. To everyone reading this: If you haven’t visited China yet, go there immediately. It could also change your life.