Let's Stay Friends

The US and Vietnam strengthen ties as an anniversary comes this summer. Ties have been





http://news.yahoo.com/vietnam-us-test-hard-won-friendship-073104044.html

Abe likes Starting things

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-04-20/abe-sends-strongest-signal-yet-he-won-t-repeat-war-apologies?cmpid=yhoo

State-owned defaults in China

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/22/business/dealbook/chinese-state-owned-company-in-a-first-defaults-in-domestic-bond-market.html?_r=0

Reconnecting with a lost Culture

I came upon this article and thought it interesting for people to read. How a young generation trying to reconnect with a lost culture having been born in one place but growing up in another, not quite fitting in. The article talks about this one woman who came from Vietnam at a very young age, because her family was trying to escape the communist invasion of the south. To retrace her roots, she must go back to the country her father tried to escape from and she receives backlash from him. Vietnam is "the enemy" for him. The young woman knew of her culture having moved to "little saigon" in Orange County (Westminster....), yet her motherland was a mystery. When she returned, she stayed. It wasn't in the same state that she had left it in. Because of her desire to return, it has allowed her father to get the closure he needed. He no longer hates Vietnam and even took the time to visit her in Hanoi.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-04-08/a-daughter-s-vietnam-return-forces-a-father-to-confront-his-past

Still hung up in Vietnam...

Vietnam has, for a long time, been able to fend off China, and thus creating tensions between the two states. Vietnam is "cunning and duplicitous" in the eyes of China and China a bully to Vietnam. In recent times, Vietnam's economy is becoming reliant on China, adding pressure to a country trying to escape the looming shadow of tributary state. Vietnam needs to show its citizens that it will not kow tow to China, that Vietnam is not weak nor a subordinate to China.

Reading the comments are always bias, (insightful?), and most definitely fun.

 Commenter Gerald Breecher: I asked an educated Vietnamese in light of their history, who they hated more, the French or the Americans. His response: the Chinese ....

I thought this response comical because while we invaded for merely decades, China has been involved with Vietnam for centuries.

http://www.wsj.com/articles/chinas-world-vietnams-impossible-bind-how-to-stand-up-to-beijing-1428397027

Understanding Cultures

This article was rather interesting because people from around the world will always have a different view on culture. What constitutes having "culture"? Does it mean having a long history? O maybe it means to be artistic.  China's history is long and has a long-standing tradition of foreigners becoming "sinicized" (Manchurians, Mongolians). America's culture technically also has a long history of culture, dating back to western civilization if that counts....
It is hard to measure culture. Coming from different backgrounds influences the way we view the world and what the word culture means to us (U.S.) ...and China.

http://thediplomat.com/2015/03/how-chinese-and-americans-understand-culture/

Because helping people is against China's government

There are no formal entities that protect the people in China (yes there are laws in place, unfortunately there is no enforcement).  Non-governmental organization come and go as often as a woman changes her clothes in a day. They are seen as a threat to the government because they address the flaws and injustice in the communist state. China doesn't like it when its own citizens mention human rights violations.





http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/china-raids-ngo-offices-in-latest-sign-of-crackdown-on-dissent/2015/03/26/4badeaac-d3b0-11e4-ab77-9646eea6a4c7_story.html

"Every breath you take, every move you make...I'll Be Watching You"

I know China monitors its citizens as a government entity, however, after reading this article, I never realized how prevalent the 1966-1976 Mao Era is in today's society. China restricts people on where they live (hukou system), how many children they can have (one-child policy), and if they can buy a car (at least in Beijing that's how it goes down). During the Cultural Revolution, your own children were spies against you. Since the death of Mao, the persecution of the Gang of Four, and the start of a new economy (Deng Xiao Ping), I thought China had left such Maoist habits behind, but informers are still present today in China.
Tsering Woeser's answers about her Dang'an are very reflective and there is presence of change from the brainwashed-Mao-loving girl she was to the house-arrested author she is. Peering into one's dang'an is a serious offense as noted that "50 friends and relatives" were questioned by police and beaten or roughed up.

http://sinosphere.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/03/15/a-rare-look-into-ones-life-on-file-in-china/

Left without Rights

Migrant workers are stepping up and fighting the injustice of factory owners. China does have labor laws intact in order to set standards for factory owners and supervisors – no enforcement is currently in place. The workers of industry are taking matters into their own hands by striking against the abuse. First-generation migrant workers are nearing retirement age and face a need for pension benefits and health-care (Magnier). While less than one-sixth of China’s working population receives pensions, there is a growing movement shifting in the favor of migrant workers. China’s labor force will continue to increasingly strike for labor rights and due pay. The emerging culture of protest amongst migrant workers, exemplified by recent series of strikes has drawn the attention throughout China and the rest of the globe. Migrant Workers have not been complacent in this state of affairs. While many will go unheard, migrant it is a movement that will change the industry of labor for China.

http://www.wsj.com/articles/chinas-migrant-workers-struggle-for-pensions-1419637851

Japan's Mistaken History

Japan....why are you denying your history?


"Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan on Thursday criticized an American textbook that he said inaccurately depicted Japan’s actions during World War II, opening a new front in a battle to sway American views of the country’s wartime history."




http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/30/world/asia/japans-premier-disputes-us-textbooks-portrayal-of-comfort-women.html

No Sexy Time for China

A popular Chinese drama has been censored by the government and the people are outraged. I found this topic interesting because there used to be this sense of "self-censorship." Yet with the onslaught of social media taking control of the norms, people are no longer keeping quiet. This is a country that "let a hundred flowers bloom" and some users in China are now using a topless Mao to make a mockery of the whole situation. Having only done a study on self-censorship 3 years ago, everything seems invalid with society in China changing very rapidly. However, that is not stopping the government from keeping sexy television and the internet censored.


http://qz.com/321047/why-china-just-censored-a-busty-tang-dynasty-soap-opera/

Love Jihad

This article is very interesting because it follows a man dedicated to stopping the Muslim influence (through erratic means...). His unconventional ways show the extremes some people go to eradicate a force they don't approve of. The man in this article seemed goofy (not necessarily a good thing) yet it did bring to light the split of Muslims and Hindus in India. While this is the word of one radical Hindu, the truth of the matter may be plausible. The article mentions altercations that led to death and harm between the two groups. A serious problem that plagues India today.

“We are not against love, Aman-ji. We are against deception and forcible conversion,” he said. He referred to Muslim Bollywood superstars with Hindu wives. “In most cases, the women are brainwashed and converted. Like Indira Gandhi.”

“Indira Gandhi?”

“Yes, she was married to Feroze Gandhi – but he was actually Feroze Khan, a Muslim. She was the first victim of love jihad.”

“But Feroze Gandhi was Parsi.”

“That’s what you think, Aman-ji, that’s just what you think. Everyone knows Feroze Gandhi Khan was a Muslim. It’s all over the internet.”

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jan/29/love-jihad-india-one-man-quest-prevent-it

and the West falls again to China...

Women have always been as important as men, although the rewards were not as great. The first article I found was very interesting. Despite the many men in China, the majority of billionaires are women. It is because the families that do decide to keep their daughter invest probably more into that child than those with sons. Moving on to my next article of bound feet, all I can think of are the women (feet bound) fleeing the Communist during the fight for Nationalism, fleeing the Japanese during WWII, how excruciating it might have been yet they continued on. It was so hard to abolish such a practice. During Manchurian rule, they didn't believe in foot-binding (of course being a foreign ruler), yet the practice still continued. During the Mao Dynasty, he sought to end foot-binding by making women unbind their feet. It didn't go as planned because unbinding bound feet was as bad as binding feet. At least he was able to keep the practice from continuing by making it punishable for adults to bind children's feet -- Thanks Mao!  However, it doesn't take you off the hook from all the atrocities you committed....It was hard to end a thousand year practice due to the investment women put into it. It is always hard to end a tradition no matter how much pain it causes.

Why are there so many Women Billionaires

Footbinding Yikes!

"Their Eyes Were Watching God"

All loyalties must lie with the state and with the leader who governs you. People are not free to practice religion in China. It is believed that if a higher presence commands you, the socialist government that runs China loses legitimacy. During the Tang Dynasty, religion was welcomed and played a vital role in daily life. It wasn't until the end of the dynasty did any foreign religion (Buddhism included) became repressed. When leaders feel threatened, religion is shunned. China today only allows certain religions (not even domestic religions are allowed without approval). The Communist Party leaders fear the loss of power to God and gods. The churches (especially Catholic churches) currently in China have ministers and church leaders loyal to the Communist Party, who makes sure the congregations does not profess loyalty to a higher, foreign authority.

http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Asia-Pacific/2015/0111/In-China-a-church-state-showdown-of-biblical-proportions