Tidbits From the World

Tofu is to China what cheese is to France, it comes in a variety of flavors and can be added to many dishes. Let’s take a look at the tofu making process in a small business in Yulin.

There was a distinctive smell inside this little shop. Tofu in Chinese is “豆腐” (doufu), which litterally means “rotten beans”, but I’m not sure if the name really describes what it actually is.

In the end, the freshly made tofu is cut to pieces and sold by weight.

October 1st was party time in China! This year was the 60th anniversary of the foundation of the People’s Republic of China. An impressing parade took place on Tian’anmen Square. For those who miss the good old days when the Soviet military would parade on the Red Square in the USSR, October 1st was the time or never to witness such a display of military might, of soldiers marching in perfect unison, of communist rhetoric being displayed as art, a show that only communist nations know how to do, as one Chinese told me: ” Only the Soviets, the North Koreans and us can do that!”.

I could not go to Beijing for the celebrations, so I watched the parade on television. On the picture, you can see a huge portrait of former president Deng Xiaoping, probably moved by a car, and behind him there was his slogan: “Pushing reform and opening up”. Four of the presidents, from Mao to Hu Jintao had their portrait displayed on the square and “their” slogan was closely following behind. Mao’s slogan was “The Chinese people have stood up!”; Jiang Zemin’s was: “Adhering to the important thoughts of the three represents”; and finally that of the actual chairman, Hu Jintao: “Implementing scientific outlook on development”.

Hu Jintao’s portrait.

And Hu Jintao himself, in a Mao suit.

Thousands of children (30000 according to a professor) were holding big cards, some were red, some were yellow or other colors. By flipping the cards to the correct color, the children would form words and slogans. Here: 社会主义好 (Communism is good).

“富强民主文明和谐” Prosperous and Powerful Democracy, Civilized and Harmonious Society.

“时刻准备着” Semper Paratus (Always Prepared).

“明天更美好” Tomorrow will be even more beautiful.

At the end of the parade, about thirty floats passed by, each one representing one province. There was Shanxi, Sichuan, Guangdong… and the very last province that everyone thought had been forgotten…: on the picture you can see the characters “Tai” and “Wan”.

On Taiwan’s float, there was some symbols of the “Rebel Island”, one of them the Taipei 101 tower, that was once the highest standing building in the world.

September has been a busy month. September 1st was the first day of class. I started level 4 of Chinese (out of 6 levels) and this semester, I noticed that the teachers are giving us more and more ideological (communist) or nationalistic (Chinese) examples to explain the meaning of new words. For example, in order to explain to us the meaning of the verb:

让步 (make concessions), the teacher used the following example: “Over the question of Taiwan and Tibet independence, we Chinese, must never make any concessions (让步) to foreigners!”

For the word: “recognize” (公认):
“We recognize (公认) president Mao as the greatest leader China has ever had!”

For the verb: “to interfere” (干涉):
“China will never accept foreign countries to interfere (干涉) in its interior affairs”.

Last July, riots sparked by racial tensions resulted in the death of hundreds of people. After the intervention of the police and the return to calm, according to some reports, some Uighur terrorists started to prick people with syringes, apparently as a way to attack people without attracting suspicion from the authorities. This method propagated into many cities in China, including Xi’an. On this picture, the suspect is not a Uighur as one would expect, but a Han (the ethnic majority). And she doesn’t target any minority in particular (but rather women and old people).

The poster of a suspect wanted by the police:

嫌疑人刻画：女，年龄： 30-40岁，
身高：160-165cm, 黑色长发
披肩或扎马辫，本地口音或普通话，
瓜子脸，体型较瘦，身挎大包，
单肩包或超市购物袋。
作案方式：在公交车上利用上下
车拥挤背包中针扎人。
侵害人群：妇女和老人。

Description of the suspect: Woman, between 30 and 40 years old,
Height: 160 to 165cm (5′3” to 5′5”), long, black hair.
Local accent, speaks Mandarin,
Oval face, carries a big bag,
A strap bag or a plastic bag.
Modus operandi: enters crowded buses
and uses the syringe in her back pack to prick people.
Targets: Women and Old People

September 18 was the anniversary of the Japanese invasion of China in 1933. On that day, anti-raid sirens from all over the country rang out during one minute. Some old people took advantage of that day to write hate messages on the walls with chalk, directed at the Japanese.

October 1st will be the 60th anniversary of communist rule in China. As it is written on this poster: “no pain, no gain”, indeed the first 30 years were quite harsh… The Chinese characters are written in their traditional form 我愛中華60年/我爱中华60年 (I love China, 60 years). I wonder why they used English for their design of this patriotic poster. Very few people in Xi’an can understand this message in English.

The entrance to the University.

To prevent an outbreak of H1N1, the body guards at the entrance of the campus take the body temperature of each person entering, using a contactless thermometer. Those who are discovered having a fever will be escorted to the district hospital where they will be quarantined. A police officer is present in the morning to make sure that all the procedures are properly followed. In order to leave the campus, one must have a special authorization from their program director. For those who live off campus, it is easy to obtain that authorization, however for those who live on campus, in the dormitory, it is much more difficult.