So this past week nearly 9 million Chinese teenagers participated in the closest thing to a national rite of passage that China has these days: the gao kao. That’s the nation-wide standardized college entrance exam, a grueling two-day exercise that tests everything from a student’s knowledge of advanced physics to her familiarity with, say, the… Continue reading How now, gao kao
Category: China
Shakedown at High Honesty Plaza
(Mobocracy update II)
Well, our favorite restaurant has finally given up. They, along with every other business in the plaza that used to be home to the High Honesty Supermarket, have closed and are looking for new locations.
Mobocracy update
The restaurant owners (see ambiv’s post, below) are fighting back, but it’s clearly a losing battle. In front of each of the restaurants now hangs a protest banner, white with black characters: “High Honesty Supermarket, give back our blood-sweat money!” “You illegally cut off our electricity, and treat tax-paying people like convicts!”, and so on.… Continue reading Mobocracy update
Mobocracy, with Chinese characteristics
China is still nominally a socialist country, and still definitely an authoritarian state. But its economy thrives as a result of market reforms and an opening-up to foreign investment. Over $60 billion in foreign direct investment was spent here last year, as companies from all over the world sought to stake out early claims in… Continue reading Mobocracy, with Chinese characteristics
Back in Beijing, Hu in Seattle
We arrived Monday afternoon back in Beijing, flown from the sunny blue Aegean to the Chinese capital at the tail end of a 10-day dust storm. Parked cars and buildings are coated in light brown powder that matches the color of the sky. Bicyclists squint against the dust, pedaling furiously and blindly against the wind.… Continue reading Back in Beijing, Hu in Seattle