Bloodnose posted:

Remember this is Greater China where "this girl has big tits and exists" is a regular news story.

Bloodnose posted:

The Sun isn't quite on the same level as the People's Daily.

Dr. Tough posted:

This one is easily the most chortle worthy of the "beautiful female journalists at two sessions"

http://english.people.com.cn/102774/7750203.html

The Sun is on a different world () compared to People's Daily. Also I noticed in a linked picture article that Chairman Mao's grandson appears to have been replaced with a sitcom character.

Bloodnose posted:

The Sun isn't quite on the same level as the People's Daily.

MeramJert posted:

This article is really creepy

hitension posted:

Man, Meimei Guo is so 2011.
I think it turned out she wasn't directly affiliated with the Red Cross...
I am surprised every time corruption makes the news headlines in China. I mean, really? It's China. There's corruption.

Y-Hat posted:

Has anybody heard anything about people in China who are being sent to prison for posting exaggerations about things on the internet?

Bloodnose posted:

In unrelated news here's an absolutely disgusting story of Indonesian maid abuse.

Sogol posted:

I have thought a lot about the time when all the leaders in China have never had to deal nor gained the social skills associated with having siblings.

VideoTapir posted:

This would also explain why in every fight I've seen on the street in China they fought like pussies.

caberham posted:

But street making GBS threads is still a thing

Pro-PRC Laowai posted:

Next time I have an excuse to go to HK, imma take a big dump right in the middle of a subway car.

AtomikKrab posted:

That's mass transit making GBS threads, They do that in New York, nothing uncivilized or lesser world about it, you will just be assumed to be a crazy street person.

Pro-PRC Laowai posted:

Gonna wear a nice suit and everything, and then stick a little british flag in it.

quote:

Kingman is one big metaphor for freedom, Chinese visitors learn


Kim Steele
Miner Staff Reporter


KINGMAN - For all the recent social, economic, educational and technological advances in China, those who know it well understand there's still something missing.

Complete freedom.

While the socialist-communist country is slowly changing, heavy restrictions still exist in many facets of life, including religion, reproductive rights, politics, social organizations, the press and travel. But as the government continues to loosen its tight grip on its 1.35 billion-plus residents, it has led some to look beyond their homeland for models of how to handle the blossoming liberties in the East Asian country.

One such entity is Shanghai General Motors, a jointly owned consortium of the Chinese government and General Motors. Last week, SGM's Cadillac Division flew 42 winners of a recent contest from China to Chicago, then on to Amarillo, Texas, where they picked up Cadillac vehicles loaned by General Motors in the U.S. so they could drive Route 66 to the Santa Monica Pier. The winners are owners of Cadillac SRX vehicles in China.

At their day-long stop in Kingman, the group toured the Powerhouse Visitor Center, ate lunch at Mr. D'z Route 66 Diner and visited Mother Road Harley-Davidson, where they took pictures with motorcycles and viewed a 1911 Cadillac owned by Kingmanite Bob Campbell. A total of 18 support staff trailed along with the group, including a crew filming Cadillac commercials for SGM.

Afterwards, they loaded up in their Cadillac caravan to spend the night in Laughlin before heading to California.

The winners came from throughout China, said Erica Su, marketing and promotion manager for SGM, and included lawyers, musicians, business owners and even an actress. Each winner, chosen from a field of about 2,000 participants, had to study books about General Motors, its Cadillac brand and Route 66. Su said the test was rigorous, similar to a college entrance examination.

"We are an American brand, and we want people in China to know about American culture," said Su. "Route 66 is the best road to experience that culture because it helped to develop America. There are so many stories on this road, and when our group sees that, they realize how different it is here from China. We tell them about freedom and the importance of respecting it, and that people can say what they want in America and aren't told what to speak. It really impresses them."

Fang Cai, a Canadian who was born in Beijing and splits his time between Toronto and his hometown, inspected motorcycles as he walked through the dealership. Cai, who was one of the contest winners, is a senior executive with Berg-Chilling, a company that manufactures cooling systems, and Toromont CAT, a Caterpillar heavy equipment dealer. Both are located in Canada and service China.

"I feel that the more I see Route 66, the more I want to know the stories behind it and how it affected America," said Cai, who has traveled parts of Route 66 before. "We need to understand Route 66 and the culture behind it to be able to bring information back to China that will help develop it. Everything is getting better there, but it developed too fast and we created new problems because the people weren't ready for it. What we learn here is valuable to us."

Rick Thomas, owner of Open Road Productions in Detroit, coordinated the winners' trip to the U.S. and traveled with them. Thomas said the group wanted to experience Americana on Route 66, from exploring Angel's, a well-known barbershop in Seligman, to visiting a shooting range in California.

"The winners are infatuated with Route 66, but it isn't just tourism to them, although that part is great," said Thomas. "It's about our ability to explore freely. Their middle class can't do that yet. They've made money but they don't know how to spend it.

"We take it for granted that we can travel here without having papers on us or paying fees. They can't just jump in the car and go without having government approval. And they are fascinated by the fact that we can do that in America. They are here to find out how to make that happen in China."

quote:

"We take it for granted that we can travel here without having papers on us or paying fees. They can't just jump in the car and go without having government approval. And they are fascinated by the fact that we can do that in America. They are here to find out how to make that happen in China."

caberham posted:

Ok this last part is really ridiculous

But Chinese learn plenty enough from USA in terms of life styles already. The SUV car culture with traffic jams, aspiring to own their own middle class mcmansion, and worst of all : a tacky fake fire place in the living room

What the Chinese should have but didn't learn, is long term urban planning. Going to Route 66 is a testament of seeing businesses being bled dry and local governments suing the federal agencies to keep an outdated system instead of innovating. For all the crazy spending the Chinese government has made, I'm glad there's a rapid train network and not just a over reliance on cars.

Cars is a romantic movie about nostalgia but we all know that route 66 is nothing more than dust, tarmac, and badly maintained old infrastructure.

cafel posted:

Well, there's also the fact that to drive you need to have a state issued license on you. And to travel by plane you need some kind of government approved photo ID and the same will soon apply to trains and long distance busses. Maybe not the level of bureaucracy you'd have to deal with in China, but I find the statement that you don't need papers to travel disingenuous.

GuestBob posted:

Actually it's exactly the same level of bureaucracy you have to deal with in China.

VideoTapir posted:

She probably read something obliquely referring to the Hukou system as "internal passports" and imagined checkpoints at every internal border or something.

quote:

"We take it for granted that we can travel here without having papers on us or paying fees. They can't just jump in the car and go without having government approval. And they are fascinated by the fact that we can do that in America. They are here to find out how to make that happen in China."

DaiJiaTeng posted:

I remember years ago when I went on a tour of the Voice of America HQ in DC. The woman who was our guide actually said with a straight face that the Chinese word for democracy was completely locked down and blocked on the internet, that most people had never heard of democracy, had no idea what democracy was, or that other countries had elections.

Bloodnose posted: