11 May 2015

Gentlefolk,

I've finally compiled a post on our trip to Xian over the May Day long-weekend.

As part of our work-contracts, the University arranges a special trip once a year.  Last year we went to Chengdu in Sichuan Province (see post #12 of 8 May 2014); this year to Xian in Shaanxi Province.

Xian, first capital of a united China.

Xian, about 1,200 km west of Qingdao (on the coast of Shandong Province).

Emperor Qin Shi Huang picked off, one-by-one, the other six Kingdoms, and finally ruled an area that became the basis of the Chinese nation. He standardised measurements, money, and most importantly the written language.

Highlights

The food was great - we had many wonderful meals.

Everyone liked cycling on Xian Wall, and also the visit to the Yuan Village.  Isn't it interesting - we were surrounded by so much history yet the things the group enjoyed most were active, modern activities.

All in all, a most enjoyable break from our normal routine.

Lowlights

Our flights there and back were both delayed by more than an hour.  Annoying, but normal for China.  A recent survey found that China had the worst record (30% of flights on time) while Japan had the best (90% on time). Strange, because trains and buses are very punctual here. The root problem seems to be that the Chinese Air Force must approve all flights - a difficult task these days with many hundreds of flights every day.  Recently the government announced that "air corridors" will be designated and only flights outside those corridors will need prior approval - bring it on!

It rarely rains in Xian, but guess what?  On our first day there, it rained steadily from about 8am to 3pm.  Fortunately the Warriors are entombed in three covered "pits", but we had to walk quite a long way to get there and got soaked. (But rain in China also has an up-side: it clears the pollution, so the next day (Saturday) was fresh & bright, with clear blue skies.)

The worst thing that happened was Lina's husband's smartphone was stolen.  They were getting on a local bus, he was carrying their daughter, there was pushing & shoving, and he was pick-pocketed.  He is a lecturer at our university (in satellite communication) and had a lot of work and personal material on his phone.  Nasty experience.

Schedule of trip to Xian

Liu Li Na (Lina) – group leader (from UPC’s International Office). Her husband, Dr Sun Gang Yun, and daughter, Sun Yi, also came along.

Michael Christensen (US); Paul Finkbeiner (US); Steven & Amy McCune (US / China); Alex & Vera Olah (Australia); Lidiya Pescova (Russia); Gautier Plassais (France).

30 April 2015 (Thursday)	Afternoon Fly from Qingdao to Xian; 2 hours; flight late, arrived at 7pm. Met at Xian Airport by Verno, our local guide.  Transfer to hotel (3 star) near Old Train Station. Xian was the capital of China for 1,100 years, during which 73 Emperors reigned in 6 Dynasties, including the Tang Dynasty (618 – 907 AD).
1 May 2015 (Friday)	Morning Terracotta Warriors The Army of Terracotta Warriors which guard the Tomb of Emperor Qin Shi Huang (秦始皇). His actual tomb, 2km away, has not been excavated - the official line is that the tomb is booby-trapped and dangerous, but rumour has it that grave-robbers got in years ago and cleaned the place out. Emperor Qin ruled 247 – 210 BC.  He is honored as the “First Emperor” because he conquered six rival Kingdoms to create the crux of what became China. He was obsessed by power, both in this life and the next.  He was a man of ambition and big ideas – as shown by the construction of the Great Wall and the creation of the Terracotta Army to continue his conquests in After-life. Qin’s paranoia grew with age.  To stop people pining for “the good old days” he had many traditional scholars killed, and books burnt ... his would be the only truth/reality known to his subjects! The Emperor of the next Dynasty (Liu Bang, first emperor of the Han Dynasty) wanted to deny Qin access to his celestial army, so he had all the Terracotta Warriors smashed.  The ones on display now have been painstakingly re-assembled over years since the discovery of the site in 1974. Afternoon Hua Qing Palace (aka Hua Qing Hot Springs). Said to have been built by Tang Dynasty Emperor Xuan Zong (reigned 712 – 756 AD) for his favourite concubine, Yang Gui Fei (aka Yang Yu Huan, lived 719 – 756 AD). When she was 14 Yang married the Emperor’s son.  The Emperor became infatuated and was determined to make her his own.  He arranged for her to become a Taoist nun and found a replacement wife for his son.  After a suitable interlude Yang left the monastery and joined the Emperor’s court (she was 26, he 56).  Emperor Xuan Zong reputedly had thousands of concubines (he fathered at least 23 sons and 29 daughters), so Yang must have been very special to be #1.  Her beauty was said to be such that even flowers wilted in her presence. But she came to a bitter end. In 1756 the An Lu Shan revolt forced the Emperor to flee the capital.  His military commanders accused relatives of Yang Gui Fei for causing the unrest, and insisted that the whole family be killed.  The Emperor had to acquiesce, and his trusted eunuch, Gao Li Shi, is said to have strangled her. Yang is the source of several idioms, such as “Hongyag huoshui = a beautiful face that causes catastrophe”. Their tragic love story has inspired many poems, ballads, films and TV series. Hua Qing Palace was the site of a more recent historical event.  On 12 December 1936 President Generalissimo Chiang Kai Shek (pinyin: Jiang Jie Shi) was staying there when he was “kidnapped” by some of his own supporters in what is known as “The Xian Incident”.  He was held captive for 12 days, until he agreed to cease pursuing Mao’s Communists and instead form a united front with them against the Japanese invaders.
2 May 2015 (Saturday)	Morning Yuan Village. This was a “re-created Old Village”, about an hour’s drive north of Xian.  A maze of narrow alleys, mainly lined with food stalls.  Many local dishes on offer, and local souvenirs/handicrafts. It was a lovely clear day after yesterday’s rain, and we sent an enjoyable 2 hours wandering around and sampling local snacks.  Afternoon Famen Buddhist Temple. A long drive from the Yuan Village.  We had lunch in a small restaurant out in the countryside – delicious food. The focal point of the original Famen Temple was a 12- storey pagoda said to be about 800 years old.  The basement of the pagoda houses sacred objects, including a finger bone believed to Buddha’s, and was crowded with visitors. About 5 years ago a huge modern section was added and the whole complex now seems to be an active Buddhist monastery.  Our guide explained that the site actually belongs to the local government, which decided to undertake this massive development to make it a more prominent tourist attraction. Evening Dinner & show at the extravagantly-named Grand Opera House (Y300 each).  The 18-course dinner of different dumplings was disappointing, but the wonderful cultural performance (Tang Dynasty music, dances) made up for it.
3 May 2015 (Sunday)	Morning Tour of the impressive Shaanxi History Museum. Viewed the musical fountain show near Big Goose Pagoda. Afternoon Xian City Wall. Xian is one of the few cities whose walls remain intact. Actually, the original Tang walls enclosed a much larger area.  The current walls, restored or rebuilt, date from 1370 (Ming Dynasty). This magnificent structure is 12 meters high and 14 km long. We all hired bicycles, and spent a most enjoyable time riding around the walls.  For most of us, this was the highlight of our time in Xian. Muslim Quarter. Xian was the beginning (or end?) of the so-called Silk Road, which was a trading route linking ancient China with the Middle East and Europe.  Islam was introduced to China and many people in the western regions (particularly Xinjiang, Qinghai, Gansu, Ningxia) are Muslims (they are called "Hui").  Xian has always had a significant Hui community; these days all large cities in China have Hui residents. It was fascinating to walk around the Muslim Quarter and look at all the street food stalls and shops.
4 May 2015 (Monday)	Morning We visited a re-created Old Town in Xian.  Variety of snacks and also many small stalls selling ‘antiques’. Afternoon Flight back to Qingdao.  We got back to the campus at about 7.30pm. And so ended a most enjoyable trip to the ancient capital of Xian.

Here are some photos of our trip.

Going from the university to Qingdao Airport the bus went via the Jiaozhou Bay Bridge - the longest cross-water bridge in the world (40 km).  There's something wonderful (& crazy) about such a large bridge. Always a thrill.

A birds-eye view of Pit #1.  What an army, to continue the Emperor's conquests in the After-life..

Huge "Pit #1" at the Terracotta Warriors site.

Silent sentenials.

A close-up of some to the life-size Warriors, in the Museum shop.  Emperor Qin is in the center (rotund, longer beard). Amazing that craftsmen could achieve such fine detail 2,000 years ago.

A fountain at Hua Qing Palace featuring the alluring Yang Gui Fei. By all accounts she was a buxom wench!

This enormous Mao statue at the entrance to Yuan Village made us wonder what we had let ourselves in for, but it just got better and better from here.

Crowds in Yuan Village.  Good fun, delicious snacks.

The main walk-way in the new section of the Famen Buddhist Temple.  

The Famen Temple is now a vast Buddhist complex.

The original pagoda in the Famen Temple, featuring Buddha's finger bone in the basement. Lots of visitors and pilgrims.

Our group in front of the Shaanxi Historical Museum.  From left: Gautier, Alex, Vera, Michael, Steven, Feny (friend of Gautier, who joined us for the day), Paul, Lidiya, Lina. 

Xian's magnificent City Wall. This photo shows the moat around the outside of the Wall.

Another photo of the Xian City Wall, this time from inside the Old City.

Vera & Lidiya on the magnificent Xian City Wall.  The highlight of our trip was cycling around the Wall (14 km). 

Gautier and Paul riding bikes on the Xian City Wall.  The Wall is 12 meters high, and very broad at the top. 

...

Well, that's it for this post.

We are off to Nanjing next weekend.  As much as I don't want to turn this blog into a travelogue, I guess I have to record the special places we visit in China.

Best wishes, and keep smiling.

Alex & Vera Olah

English teachers at the China University of Petroleum, Qingdao

www.upc.edu.cn

Monday, 11 May 2015

30 April 2015

Gentlefolk

We are off to Xian later today, for the May Day long-weekend.  I wanted to get this post done before our departure. 

As you know, I compile a monthly summary of news items, with a focus on news in/on China.  

There is so much competition within Western media outlets that usually only the unusual, sensational, or bizarre in any country gets a mention. Hopefully this summary will give you a better idea of some of the things happening in China.

The events/items included are not necessarily the headlines, but rather things which caught my eye.

These news items were sourced from The China Daily newspaper 1 - 27 April 2015 (finishing before the end of the month this time, as we are leaving from Xian tomorrow).  This time I’ve added some late items from ABC News.

Actual events usually occurred a day or two before they appeared in the China Daily newspaper. 

Currency shown is US$, and the exchange rate used this month is US$1 = Yuan 6.2.

Remember that the China Daily is a government newspaper whose main purpose in life is to make the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the Chinese Government look good.  But if you strip away the propaganda, there is still quite a lot of interesting stuff in the paper.  .

Events which made the news in China in April 2015

(a) Domestic (in China) events and news

1 Apr	China’s milk consumption tripled in the 10 years to 2014, to 14.3 liters per person. The two big dairy groups are Yili and Mengniu (25% & 22% market share respectively). In 2014 Yili spent $480 m on investments in NZ, Italy and USA.  It has established an R & D Center at Wageningen University in Holland.
	5,000 illegal foreign workers detained in the Pearl River Delta.
	The Ministry of Education announced greater emphasis on teaching traditional Chinese culture.
2 April	An estimated 7.5 million college students will graduate in mid-2015.  53% of them hope to have a starting salary of at least $1,000 per month; 45% expect less.
	Liu Tie Nan, former head of the National Energy Administration, is alleged to have received about $380 million in bribes. Former Security chief, Zhou Yong Kang, was indicted for corruption.
	In the last 5 months Shanghai Composite Index has risen 60% to 3,961; ‘penny stocks’ have led the way; stockbrokers opened 4 million new trading accounts in March; more than $200 billion is invested in the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock markets every day; most new traders did not finish High School.   The Hong Kong stock market is also attracting attention from Mainland investors.
4 April	At the end of 2014 China had 16,000 km of high-speed rail. The Beijing to Shanghai service carried more than 100 million passengers in 2014, making a profit for the first time. In the first 2 months of 2015 China invested $29 billion in infrastructure (railways $8b; roads $19b; waterways $2b) an increase of 17% over the same period in 2014.
6 Apr	Estimated that 17,000 Chinese now have assets of more than $80 million each.
	The Ministry of Transport announced that there were 832 million air passenger arrivals & departures in 2014: 761m domestic; 71m international. Three airports, Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, accounted for 28% of the total. Only about 30% of flights leave on time; to improve punctuality, the Air Force has agreed that 10 new air corridors will be established.
8 Apr	Explosion at a paraxylene (PX) plant in Fujian; 19 injured; 2nd explosion in two years. Dangerous chemical. 40,000 nearby residents will be relocated 15 km away.
	Champion hurdler Liu Xiang, first Chinese Olympic gold medal winner in track & field (110m hurdles Athens 2004), announced his retirement.  According to Forbes his earnings totalled about $80m, mainly from sponsorships.
	In 2014, 79% of iron ore was imported.  To assist local miners hurt by falling prices, the govt announced that the resource tax will be reduced by 60%.
9 Apr	Popular CCTV host Bi Fu Jian, 56, was sacked after comments he made criticising Mao Ze Dong at a private dinner became public.
	The municipal govt of Beijing announced that from 1 January 2016, vehicles which do not meet “Emission Standard 2” will not be permitted within the 6th ring road.
	The city of Fushun, Liaoning Province, has launched “Lei Feng TV Channel” which focuses on good people doing good deeds.
	China has 22 operating nuclear plants with a capacity of 17 Gigawatts; another 26 are under construction (another 30 GW).
	Beijing subway now has 18 lines, totalling 527 km; planned to increase to 1,000 km by 2020. Construction costs have doubled in the last 6 years, to $160m per km.
	The retail price of 90 octane petrol will increase to $0.94 per liter.
	At the end of 2013 there were an estimated 245 million migrant workers (121 m in 2000). Main source provinces: Anhui; Sichuan; Hunan; Henan; Guizhou; Jiangxi.  Main destination provinces: Guangdong; Zhejiang; Shanghai.
15 Apr	The Ministry of Agriculture announced that it will re-evaluate “super hybrid rice” following poor harvests in Anhui.
	Q1 2015 China’s GDP grew 7%, the slowest rate since 2008. Q1 foreign direct investment (FDI) into China totalled $35 billion. Sales of Passenger Motor Vehicles (PMV) in China in Q1 totalled 6.6 m units worth $134 billion.
	The Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) announced purchase of Russia’s advanced S400 surface-to-air missile system.
	“Fast & Furious 7” took $68 million in its first day in China, setting a new box office record.
17 Apr	In 2014 the State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) received 928,000 invention patent applications; it granted 233,000 invention patents in 2014.
	Following arguments about “parallel trading”, residents of Shenzhen restricted to one visit to Hong Kong per week.
18 Apr	Govt announced a 12% cut in budget for spending on overseas travel, official vehicles and entertainment, to $1.03 billion in 2015.
	Pudong District of Shanghai celebrated its 25th anniversary.  A remarkable transformation.  Of the Fortune 500 companies, 308 now have offices in Pudong.
	Apple announced the opening of its 19th Mainland store, in Hangzhou.  Supplies of the premium brand of Apple Watch, at more than $1,000 each, sold out in the first day. Apple said that it will partner Sun Power Inc and Shengtian New Energy to build two 20 MW solar farms in Sichuan Province.
20 Apr	The Peoples Bank of China, the central bank, lowered the reserve ratio for the second time in two months; will release an estimated $197 billion to support slowing economic growth.
21 Apr	President Xi Jin Ping made an official visit to Pakistan.  He witnessed the signing of 51 agreements and MOUs totalling $46 billion.
	American basketballer Stephon Marbury has helped the Beijing team win 3 CBA championships.  He has applied for a Chinese “green card” (permanent residence).
24 Apr	The Best Movie award at the Beijing International Film Festival went to “The beginning of time” (Mexico).  Over 100,000 tickets were sold to 930 films during the Festival.
	Revenue of the two government lotteries, the Sports Lottery and the Welfare Lottery, totalled $613 billion in 2014.
	Mercedes Benz was fined $57 million for ‘price fixing’; it forced dealers to have same prices for new cars and parts; and prices of spare parts were hugely inflated.  MB sold 281,588 cars in China in 2014.
	Baoding in Hebei Province was named China’s most polluted city for the 5th consecutive month.

(b) International events

1 Apr	Australia beat New Zealand to win its 5th Cricket World Cup (ODI). A record 93,013 spectators at MCG. Captain Michael Clark retired from one-day cricket.
	121,000 visited the British Museum’s exhibition “50 Years that changed China, 1400 – 1450”.
	ChemChina announced that it will buy 65% of Pirelli (Italy) for $8 billion.
	Arrival of Solar Impuse 2, in Chongqing, piloted by Swiss pair Bertrand Piccard and Andre Borschberg.  The aircraft is powered by 17,248 solar cells. Their journey started in Dubai on 9 March, with the aim of circumnavigating the world (35,000 km). The flight from Mandalay to Chongqing, a distance of 1,459 km, took 20 hours. Their next leg is a relatively short hop to Nanjing, and then on to Hawaii.
	For the first time Tiger Woods, 39, was ranked outside the top 100 golfers (104th).  In his career he won 79 PGA titles and was #1 for 683 weeks.
2 Apr	In January 2015 the US unemployment rate fell to 5.5% (6.7% in Jan 2014); the mortgage interest rate was 3.7% (4.4% a year earlier); house prices were up 4.6% on 12 months ago, although some cities (such as Denver, Dallas, Miami) recorded increases of over 8%.
4 Apr	Global leaders optimistic about progress made in nuclear talks with Iran, but Israel expressed its displeasure.
	In March 2015 Port Hedland in Western Australia had a through-put of 36.6 million tonnes of iron ore, of which 31.2 mt went to China.
7 Apr	Ronaldo scored 5 goals when Real Madrid beat Granada 9 – 1.  He has now scored 36 goals this La Liga season, compared to Messi with 32.
	Of the 50 most congested cities in the world, 15 are in China, including: Chongqing; Tianjin; Beijing; Guangzhou; Chengdu; Shanghai; Shenzhen; Fuzhou
9 Apr	Shell announced a $70 billion take-over of gas specialist BG Group, increasing Shell’s reserves by 28%.
	NCAA College Basketball: Duke beat Wisconsin 68 – 63 (Mens); while the Connecticut Huskies beat the Notra Dame Fighting Irish 63 – 53 (Women).
10 Apr	White policeman Thomas Slager videoed shooting black Walter Lamar Scott in the back in Charleston, South Carolina.
11 Apr	Researchers who tracked 3,500 babies for 30 years found that babies who were breastfed for 12 months had an average IQ four points higher than babies who were breastfed for shorter periods; they also had higher average earnings.
13 Apr	President Barack Obama and President Raul Castro shook hands.
	Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) won the F1 Shanghai Grand Prix; his team-mate Nico Rosberg was second.
15 Apr	57 countries have indicated that they wish to be ‘founder members’ of the new Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank which will be headquartered in Beijing.
	Novak Djokovic (Serbia) got “Sportsman of the Year” and Genzebe Dibada (Ethiopia) “Sportswoman of the Year” at the annual Laureus Sports Awards. Retired tennis champ Li Na was recognised for “Exceptional Achievement”.
18 Apr	300 American troops arrived in Ukraine to provide training for the Ukraine military.
	NBA playoffs start this weekend.  The Warriors had the best overall record (67-15) in the regular season.
20 Apr	Messi scored his 400th goal for Barcelona, in 471 games.
21 Apr	Following sinking of ship with possibly 900 deaths, emergency meeting called in Europe to discuss flood of migrants from Libya.
22 Apr	Chinese conglomerate Fosun has taken a 20% stake in Cirque du Soleil.
	Egyptian court sentenced ex-President Morsi to 20 years in prison for killing of protesters in 2012.
23 Apr	President Xi Jin Ping attended the 60th anniversary celebrations of the 1955 Asia – Africa Conference in Bandung, Indonesia.
	Interpol issued warrants for the arrest of 100 corrupt officials and businesspeople who have fled to other countries.
	In 2014, 586,000 Chinese visited Bali (up 51% on 2013); more expected this year.
	A maglev train in Japan was clocked at 603 km per hour.
	Tesco, UK’s largest supermarket chain, reported a loss of $8.6 billion.
27 Apr	Strong earthquake hit Nepal (and parts of Tibet).  Much damage and many dead & injured. China sent emergency team and supplies.
29 Apr ABC News	Convicted drug smugglers Australians Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran were executed in Indonesia. Riots in Baltimore following the death of Freddie Gray in police custody. Dortmund beat Bayern Munich in the semi-finals of the German Cup.  It was 1:1 after extra time, so they went to penalties.  Incredibly, of the first 4 Bayern players three missed (Lam, Alonso, Neuer) and Aussie goalie Mitch Langerak blocked Gotze’s attempt.

next week I hope to do a post on our visit to Xian, internet willing!

Best wishes, keep safe and keep smiling.

Alex & Vera Olah

English teachers at the China University of Petroleum, Qingdao

www.upc.edu.cn

Thursday, 30 April 2015

21 April 2015

Gentlefolk,

The internet has been very unstable, and I haven't managed to get into my blog for a while.  Very frustrating. The Chinese government blocks sites it doesn't like (can't control), such as blogs, YouTube, Facebook, even Google (and gmail).

Previously we managed to get around the obstructions using a VPN. But the govt is expanding "The Great Firewall", and now disrupting VPNs as well.  So access is becoming sporadic at best.

What can we do? Not much, it's one of the hazards of living in China.

I just managed to get into the blog, so better do a post while the going is good.

Here are some recent photos.

Near Times Square in Hong Kong in February 2015.  Lots of fireworks and lion dance. Must have been a celebration of some kind.  Notice the five suckling pigs all laid out in a row.

Tree growing, somehow, out of a wall - a common sight in Hong Kong.

I visited the "Teaware Museum" in Flagstaff House (former British Military Commander's residence) in HK Park, behind Central.  Interesting juxtaposition of old buildings and very modern in background.

There are many students from Kazakhastan at our university.  They celebrated their "new year" in late March.  Here is Vera talking to some of the Kazak students she met while studying Chinese.  A couple of weeks later the Kazak team beat Congo 6 - 3 in the final of the International Students football competition - impressive skills.

The Kazak girls prepared lots of food to celebrate their New Year. Later there was music and dancing, but segregated (Kazaks are Moslems, but don't seem very strict).

Vera with a lady she has befriended who works in one of the food canteens.

Some of the 45 Graduate students in my Oral English class. They are from two majors: survey & mapping and politics (Marxism).

15 April we visited Zhong Shan Park in Qingdao City to see the Sakura cherry blossoms.   Lots of people even on a Wednesday.

Vera enjoying the blossoms.

Lidya, Paul and Vera in front of the hotel outside Zhong Shan Park where we had lunch. Actually, this is the hotel we stayed in for a couple of nights when we first arrived to teach in China in August 2009.  Seems so long ago now.

Two old veterans collecting money for a cause, outside Zhong Shan Park.

Photo taken from our balcony.  Roadworks in progress.  The build infrastructure quickly in China - work all hours and conditions - as I am typing this post at 10pm I can see them pouring concrete!

Vera invited some of her foreign-student friends for lunch at our place.  From left: Martha (Central African Republic); Nomu (Mongolia); Vera; Lindo (Zimbabwe).  They will graduate in Petroleum Engineering at the end of this year.

'Rooster to feather duster', or 'How a minute can change your life'

Bi Fu Jian was one of the best-known TV hosts in China.

Bi Fu Jian (Chinese: 毕福剑; pinyin: Bì Fújiàn), also known by his nickname Laobi (老毕; Lǎo Bì literally Old Bi), was a television host and part time university lecturer. 

He was born in Dalian, Liaoning Province in 1959.  In 1976 he was "sent to the countryside", as was common with teenagers during the cultural revolution. In 1978 he joined the Navy where he spent seven years.  He then studied media and when he graduated in 1989 he joined govt-run China Central Television (CCTV). 

He tried his hand at various things, finally ending up as host of a talent show called Xingguang Dadao (Avenue of Stars).  His relaxed, laconic, humorous style made him very popular and the show flourished. 

Bi was so well-known and liked that since 2012 he has co-hosted CCTV's Spring Festival Gala, the most prestigious show in China.

But he has had a sudden fall from grace.

On 7 April 2015 a video recording of him at a private dinner went viral. The recording, which is a little more than a minute, showed Bi singing extracts from a 1958 revolutionary opera and he is heard to say "Don't mention the old son-of-a-bitch, he tormented us" which was understood to refer to Mao Ze Dong.   

CCTV immediately suspended his programs, and although Bi made a public apology he was sacked. 

While Chairman Mao is acknowledged to have made some mistakes ("70% right, 30% wrong"), he occupies a special place in New China and flippant or sarcastic remarks, especially by someone as prominent at Bi, could not be tolerated.   

A timely reminder that some things are still "off limits" in the Middle Kingdom.

Bi Fu Jian was one of the most popular TV hosts in China, but flippant comments about Chairman Mao brought him unstuck.

A screen shot of the video of Bi Fu Jian at the private dinner. His life will never be the same.

...

That's all for now ... until I can get access again.

Best wishes, keep well and keep smiling.

Alex & Vera Olah
English teachers at the university of Petroleum, Qingdao
www.upc.edu.cn
Tuesday, 21 April 2015