I can't believe it's not butter!

The strain of speech

To the surprise of no one, Roy is back

The kind of swashbuckling Andrew Symonds.  Photo from the Daily Telegraph.

Tough nuts

“We have the highest standard of living in the world and, as one would expect, the worst individual fighting soldiers of any big power.  Or at least in their natural state they are.  They’re comparatively wealthy, they’re spoiled, and as Americans they share most of them the peculiar manifestation of our democracy.  They have an exaggerated idea of the rights due themselves as individuals and no idea at all of the rights due others.  It’s the reverse of the peasant, and I’ll tell you right now it’s the peasant who makes the soldier.” 

Dancing to one's own beat

Testing friendship on Facebook

Crying over bad milk

Brother eats brother

Today I finally finished the second part of Brothers by Yu Hua.  The way in which the novel depicted human life has left me fairly depressed.  It really is a dog-eat-dog world out there, with all the decent people being left splattered on the side of the road. 

I definitely recommend both part one and two for people who are studying Chinese and want to read a novel.  The language used is colloquial and there are plenty of swear words.  I have already started reading Yu Hua’s earlier novel To Live, which seems to be a lot tighter than Brothers.

A good review about the first part of Brothers can be found at the Shanghaiist.

Disability access in Beijing sucks

As a frequent traveler on Beijing’s new No.10 subway line, I have noticed that access for the disabled is probably not as good as it should be.  The other day, a group of Chinese women in wheelchairs were helped onboard by some subway employees. The employees put down a sheet of metal and the women were able to cross the gap between the platform and the train. Upon arriving at Huixinxi Nan Kou station, the women were greeted by another batch of subway employees who once again put down a sheet of metal and the women wheeled themselves off.

This system seems to work okay if the subway employees know in advance that people in wheelchairs will be boarding the train.  Yesterday, however, I witnessed a very different situation. A man in a wheelchair tried to disembark from the train but his front wheels swiveled sideways and were caught in the gap between the platform and the train. It was only then that a subway employee sprinted over and lifted the wheels from the gap.

Since I have not lived in other cities, I do not know what their access for the disabled is like. Therefore, please do not take this post as a comparison between Beijing and the West. In fact, this post intends to only focus on Beijing.  I think that Beijing really doesn’t get access for the disabled.  Beijing city planners think that access for the disabled amounts to a type of special treatment, but that is the exact opposite of what access for the disabled means.  Access for the disabled should enable a person with a disability to access public facilities without needing help, so they should be able to catch a bus or a train like any other person. In this regard, I think the host of the 2008 Paralympic Games has failed.

The problem with Chinese men

Dashan at the Olympic Opening Ceremony

The final verdict on Liu Xiang

The Paralympics actually emphasises inequality

For those who don’t know, the opening ceremony of the 2008 Paralympic Games will be held tomorrow in Beijing. The Paralympics have been around in some form since the late 1940s, but the current version, where the event is held in the same city as the Olympics, began in 1988.

I am sure that equality is the genesis behind the establishment of the Paralympics. However, in the past couple of weeks, I haven’t seen much equality in the coverage given to the Paralympics. If the Paralympics are really focused on equality, then we would place as much importance on the results of the Games as we do with the Olympics. However, we don’t, and instead the Paralympics is reduced to a series of puff pieces in the media.

The Chinese government, who is always on the lookout for propaganda, has seized on the Paralympics as way of promoting its benevolence. Check out this article on the official Paralympic website.

The Olympics was all about personalities – superman Phelps, sexy Stephanie, elegant Nastia and forlorn Liu. But I do not know a single Paralympian as they have been reduced to a nameless mush of one-legged and wheelchair-bound athletes. Sure, if someone wins gold then they will briefly make a name for themselves in their home country. However, for the most part, the Paralympians are the unfortunate souls who keep on trying, but to hell with learning their names.

Through being dwarfed by the mega-size of the Olympics, the Paralympics shows that the world is really not a fair place. This is a real shame because the achievements of Paralympians are in many ways more admirable than the achievements of their able-bodied counterparts. Take Natalia Partyka as an example (I finally learnt the name of a Paralympian), the Polish table tennis player who is competing at both the Olympics and Paralympics. To witness a woman serve a table tennis ball with only one arm is truly incredible, but let us focus on the fact that she is a really outstanding performer. Partyka beat Singapore’s Li Jiawei, the World No.6, at the World Championships this year and will start as the No.1 seed at the Paralympics.

Stop the presses: Lauren wants a piece of Yao Ming!

Netease published an absolutely hilarious article today, alleging that basketball player Lauren Jackson has been wooing Yao Ming. Apparently she has publicly expressed her love for China's man monster. No mention of when and where she actually expressed this love, but no doubt a bit of Jackson sarcasm has been mistranslated.

When recently asked whether the Australian men’s team could beat the US Redeem team, Jackson said she would run naked around the Olympic Village five times if the Boomers won. I think the Chinese media should have picked up that comment as a sign that Jackson likes to add a bit of colour to her quotes. Please keep reading for a translation of the Netease article.

Lauren Jackson, the woman who is allegedly trying to steal Yao Ming away from China. Picture from Sports Illustrated.

Ye Li’s love rival stops Chinese basketball miracle in its tracks – Jackson has expressed her love for Yao Ming

At a height of 1.98m, not bad-looking and dressed in a figure-hugging basketball jersey, Lauren Jackson, Australia’s No.15, has been the most-watched female basketball player at the Beijing Olympics. Last night, this beautiful woman, who has actively sought a date with Yao Ming, grabbed 11 points and 10 rebounds. Apart from totally dominating Chen Nan, Jackson was the key force behind Australia’s 90-56 victory over China.

Although they lost the match, the Chinese women’s basketball team still has the chance to win a medal – tomorrow they will fight against an ailing Russia.

The 27-year-old Jackson is averaging 27 minutes, 18 points, 7.4 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game at the Beijing Olympics. She has even been called the ‘No.1 sister’ of women’s basketball.

 

However, of more importance is that Jackson publicly expressed her love for Yao Ming even after the romance between Yao and Ye Li (Yao's wife) became common knowledge. She actively asked Yao out on a date, but he refused. Regardless of whether it is on the court or off, Jackson is the ‘enemy’ of the Chinese women’s team. If Ye Li didn’t retire, she would probably take on her former ‘love rival’ directly. Now the job of keeping Jackson under control has naturally fallen on the shoulders of centre Chen Nan.

However, after the match started, the difference between Australia and China’s offensive set-ups (led by Chen Nan) became evident. From the very first quarter, Jackson controlled the rebounds. Before the end of the first quarter, Australia had 13 rebounds to China’s three. By the end of the first half, it was 31 rebounds to 16. Dominated on the boards, China fell into complete passivity. At the end of the first half, China was losing 18-34.

The rest of the match became a training exercise for Australia. China’s coach Tom Maher did not receive any mercy from Jackson and the other disciples that he once coached. Instead they used a strong defence and an accurate offence to increase the lead. Australia ran out winners by a massive 34 points, ensuring that they will meet the United States in the gold medal match. 

The Boris Becker of table tennis

When watching the semi-final of the team event in the Olympic men’s table tennis competition yesterday, I discovered that one of the German players looks like the famous tennis player Boris Becker. The table tennis player goes by the name of Christian Suss, and he mustn’t be a bad player because Germany made it to the gold medal match after defeating Japan in the semi-final. Of course, Germany is greatly aided by the fact that it has Timo Boll, the only laowai who has a remote chance of beating the top Chinese players.

After seeing Suss in action, I excitedly told my workmates of his resemblance to Boris Becker, but unfortunately no one knew the German tennis champ. After getting such a poor reaction from my workmates, I have decided to inflict this set of look-alikes on the readers of my blog (who seem to have increased since the start of the Olympics – I have been receiving quite a number of critical comments).

The gold medal match between China and Germany will start tonight at 7:30pm Beijing time.

Facebook’s dark future in China

A good Chinese kid

Teofilo Stevenson

Great expectations

Possible epitaph

Fatso, the Sydney Olympics' unofficial mascot

Global Times points out that Chinese aircraft aren't up to scratch

I think the following article from the Global Times demonstrates my point that the Sichuan earthquake has revealed the technological deficiencies of the PLA.  The article quotes my favourite military expert Dai Xu in the last two paragraphs. 

Foreign military aircraft participate in Chinese disaster relief

By Zhang Jiaqi and Liu Bin.  Published on page 8 of the Global Times on 29 May 2008. 

Apart from the comprehensive deployment of the PLA, military aircraft from the US, Russia and Pakistan have also delivered goods to the earthquake disaster zone as part of relief operations for the Wenchuan earthquake.  A Russian MiG-26 is currently working with Chinese soldiers during the Tangjiashan quake lake crisis.  The military aircraft from each country are together acting out a major rescue in the earthquake zone. 

China welcomes assistance from foreign militaries

Following the earthquake, many foreign aircraft offered to help.  On May 24, the Chinese Ministry of Defence publicly thanked the humanitarian assistance that the Russian and US defence departments gave the Sichuan disaster zone.  The Ministry also welcomed foreign militaries to provide rescue goods in any form to the zone.  In actual fact, the US Pacific Command sent two C-17 Globemaster-III transport planes to Chengdu on May 18 to deliver disaster relief supplies.  The US Embassy in China revealed on May 28 that a total of three C-17s had delivered goods to Chengdu. 

Russian military aircraft were even quicker to provide assistance in the wake of China’s earthquake.  Within a week of the Wenchuan earthquake, Russia had dispatched seven IL-76 transport planes to the earthquake zone, delivering 150 tons of humanitarian aid, including tents and blankets.  Following the directions of Russian President Medvedev, the Russian defence department sent another eight IL-76 military-use transport planes on May 24, delivering a total of more than 250 tons of disaster relief supplies, including 300 tents and approximately 3000 pieces of cold-resistant clothing.  Two of the IL-76 transport planes then flew to the Sichuan earthquake zone on May 25.  In support of the Chinese rescue effort, a Russian MiG-26 heavy-duty transport helicopter flew to Sichuan’s Deyang at 3pm on May 25.  The helicopter is currently working with China’s only MiG-26 to transport heavy digging machines to the Tangjiashan quake lake. 

Pakistan sent two C-130 transport planes on May 16, delivering blankets and tents to Chengdu.  Another two Pakistani transport planes sent disaster relief supplies to Lanzhou on May 21.  The Japanese Self-Defence Force is also considering whether to send disaster relief supplies to China’s earthquake disaster zone. 

Majority of disaster relief aircraft are foreign made

During this earthquake, the PLA have taken up their obligations and been the main military force.  Following the earthquake, IL-76 and Yun-8 transport planes from the PLA Air Force immediately flew equipment and goods to the disaster zone.  For the disaster relief operations, the PLA deployed more than 100 MiG-17 and Black Hawk helicopters from the army aviation regiments of every military region.  Meanwhile, the Navy’s aviation wing deployed eight medium-sized Z-8 helicopters that were made in China.  These helicopters, laden with communication personnel, relief supplies and food, were the first to land in the earthquake zone.  The helicopters created the communication between the earthquake zone and the outside world, and they also evacuated a large number of injured people.  Military aircraft were also chiefly responsible for reconnaissance missions.  According to reports, the PLA General Staff Department deployed a remote-sensing aircraft from a navy flight regiment to film the earthquake zone. 

However, the majority of both foreign and PLA military aircraft were developed and built overseas.  The PLA Air Force’s main strategic transport aircraft was the IL-76, which was built in Russia.  The aircraft has a maximum commercial capacity of 40 tons and a maximum range of 7500km (4400km when carrying a full load).  It has the highest capacity and the longest range of any PLA transport aircraft.  The 15 paratroopers who parachuted into Wenchuan jumped from one of these airplanes. 

The first helicopter to land in Wenchuan was an S-70 Black Hawk helicopter which was developed in the US.  The very well-publicised MiG-17 helicopter is actually the main product of Russia’s MiG Design Bureau.  The MiG-26 transport helicopter is a multi-role helicopter developed by the same bureau.  The remote sensing aircraft was also built overseas. 

Indigenous military aircraft are still behind the eight ball

The major role played by foreign aircraft demonstrates that indigenous aircraft are still behind the eight ball.  Large transport aircraft are a good example.  The biggest indigenous transport aircraft is currently the Yun-8.  It has a maximum capacity of only 20 tons, so it has difficulty satisfying the requirements of strategic transport and heavy-duty airdrops.  China also does not have any large helicopters that are suited to mountainous areas.  This rescue campaign placed a premium on the highland capabilities of helicopters.  The US Black Hawk helicopter and the modified version of the Russian MiG-17 helicopter were able to satisfy this requirement. 

During an interview with the Global Times, Military expert Dai Xu said that looking at the PLA’s equipment and rapid response capabilities from the perspective of modern warfare, there is still a great gap between the PLA and advanced militaries.  The gap is most noticeable when it comes to the number and quality of aircraft.  Although 100 aircraft were deployed during the rescue effort, this was not enough to cover a massive area of 100,000 square kilometres and the large number of people who needed help.  The large number of rescue workers who arrived in Chengdu via train and aircraft were unable to travel directly to the central region of the disaster zone because there weren’t enough helicopters.  Instead they relied on their legs to form a ‘marching military’, thus restricting the development of rescue operations.  All of the major air transport platforms used by the Chinese Military are US and Russian built.  Therefore, Chinese are eagerly awaiting the birth of China’s own large aircraft. 

Dai Xu believes that the Chinese Army already has the experience of establishing an aviation force.  The question is how to ‘aviationalise’ the Army based on this experience.  The Chinese helicopter industry is one of China’s weakest industries.  However, this rescue effort demonstrates that more and better helicopters are needed for economic development, social support and the future development of defence.