Court Sentences 12 to Die for Xinjiang Mayhem - NYTimes.com:
From the Times:
"BEIJING — A Chinese court has sentenced 12 people to death for their roles in a clash in Xinjiang this summer that claimed nearly 100 lives, state media reported on Monday. The clash, in the far west region of China, was one of its deadliest episodes of ethnic violence.
According to Xinhua, the official news service, a court in Xinjiang’s Silk Road city of Kashgar found the defendants guilty of “terrorist attacks” during a rampage in July that killed 37 people in nearby Shache County, which is known as Yarkand among the region’s ethnic Uighurs...."
Monday, October 20, 2014
Thursday, October 9, 2014
Decoding Etiquette in China, Handshakes to Meals - NYTimes.com
Decoding Etiquette in China, Handshakes to Meals - NYTimes.com:
'via Blog this' 9Oct2014
Excerpt (which certainly reminds me of my visit):
"Any tips for mealtime?
You must try everything, even if something looks aggressively weird. To refuse anything is a loss of face to the host. What happens inevitably is that you’re seated at a round table — there are few rectangular tables in China because in the middle of the table, no matter how posh the circumstances, is what we call a Lazy Susan — and as the food arrives, the host moves it in a clockwise motion toward you, and he will serve himself last. All at the table know to save for the guest the last bites of the most coveted food. If you were a little boy bent on torturing your little sister, you could not come up with some of these possibilities — not in your wildest imagination. My favorite example was a penis of a deer in leek bulbs. Best thing to do is not to ask what you’re eating.
Also, if you do not drink or have a low resistance, as I do — I mean, I’m a very cheap date — you must indicate that immediately, even stretch the truth and say you have a medical condition, otherwise you’re in for the long haul. They are promiscuous toasters."
My trip leader, a native Chinese, when asked what an item of food was, usually answered like this:
"Remember, Chinese eat anything that flies except airplanes, and anything with four legs except tables." So we learned to just try things, and decide then whether to eat more or not. And often, we never knew what it was that we ate.
'via Blog this' 9Oct2014
Excerpt (which certainly reminds me of my visit):
"Any tips for mealtime?
You must try everything, even if something looks aggressively weird. To refuse anything is a loss of face to the host. What happens inevitably is that you’re seated at a round table — there are few rectangular tables in China because in the middle of the table, no matter how posh the circumstances, is what we call a Lazy Susan — and as the food arrives, the host moves it in a clockwise motion toward you, and he will serve himself last. All at the table know to save for the guest the last bites of the most coveted food. If you were a little boy bent on torturing your little sister, you could not come up with some of these possibilities — not in your wildest imagination. My favorite example was a penis of a deer in leek bulbs. Best thing to do is not to ask what you’re eating.
Also, if you do not drink or have a low resistance, as I do — I mean, I’m a very cheap date — you must indicate that immediately, even stretch the truth and say you have a medical condition, otherwise you’re in for the long haul. They are promiscuous toasters."
My trip leader, a native Chinese, when asked what an item of food was, usually answered like this:
"Remember, Chinese eat anything that flies except airplanes, and anything with four legs except tables." So we learned to just try things, and decide then whether to eat more or not. And often, we never knew what it was that we ate.
Monday, October 6, 2014
Once a Draw, Restive Region (Xinjiang) in China Suffers After Unrest - NYTimes.com
Once a Draw, Restive Region in China Suffers After Unrest - NYTimes.com:
'via Blog this' 6Oct2014
This news (and the earlier posts about the Xinjiang violence) makes me glad that I got to see a bit of this region, and Urumqi, in 2013, before things degraded as they have.
Our tour bus was boarded only once by military, on the highway to Urumqi, in Eastern Xinjiang province, but they quickly departed when they saw that we were all American tourists. We did see lots of evidence of military activity, including the construction of new bases out in what appeared to me to be desert.
'via Blog this' 6Oct2014
This news (and the earlier posts about the Xinjiang violence) makes me glad that I got to see a bit of this region, and Urumqi, in 2013, before things degraded as they have.
Our tour bus was boarded only once by military, on the highway to Urumqi, in Eastern Xinjiang province, but they quickly departed when they saw that we were all American tourists. We did see lots of evidence of military activity, including the construction of new bases out in what appeared to me to be desert.
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