Blog Band – Page 25 – Fridayeveryday

In a village above the clouds

IN A SNOWY VILLAGE high above cloud level, two fur-clad young girls travel to a frozen mountain top lake and stand on the surface, surrounded by elders. They smash through the ice to take a ceremonial ladleful of sacred water, and then everyone sings and dances. It is the most ancient of rituals in a…

July 18, 20230Comments ByNury Vittachi

News

China set to lead world to cashless society: UK professor

CHINA CAME FROM nowhere to become a leader in cash-free purchasing, a top London professor said this week. It is now on track to becoming the world's top country for cash-free transactions, said Kent Matthews, professor of banking and finance at Cardiff University. In China, the proportion of the total amount of money in circulation…

July 6, 20230Comments ByNury Vittachi

China news Chinese history

Teacher Ye refused to retire

MEET AN ACTUAL COMMUNIST PARTY MEMBER. When teacher Ye Lianping hit retirement age, he felt he was still able to contribute to society, but had been left behind by the world. So he turned part of his home into a school and re-started work as a teacher, focusing on children “left behind” by society because…

July 5, 20230Comments ByNury Vittachi

Culture

Palace Museum’s cool gifts take art to the young

ASK A GROUP OF YOUNG PEOPLE whether they want to learn about ancient Chinese art, and they will politely reply: “No, thank you, Uncle.” Now ask them whether they want purple lipstick or the coolest smartphone case EVER and watch them suddenly become interested! Such has been the strategy of the keepers of the Palace…

July 4, 20230Comments ByH.C. Lu

Culture

How Asian Portrayal in Hollywood Has Evolved: A Movie Timeline

"ALL REPRESENTATION IS GOOD REPRESENTATION.” Really? Well, in the case of Asian portrayal in film, this feels rather untrue. Certainly, the creation of super-villain Dr. Fu Manchu, below, to display "the unemotional cruelty of the Chinese” on screen, does not inspire much confidence. Publicity still for The Mask of Fu Manchu (1932) showing English…

June 29, 20230Comments ByPortia Chung

News

The stats: Will fast-growing India overtake decelerating China?

INDIA HAS AN ECONOMY that is growing faster than China’s – six per cent versus four per cent - and it has a population that is expanding while that of its Asian neighbor is shrinking. Put these two facts together, and the implication is that India will surpass China in any race to become the…

June 29, 20230Comments ByNury Vittachi

Chinese history

Visiting the thatched home of China’s great poet-sage Du Fu

Could I get mansions covering ten thousand miles, I’d house all scholars poor and make them beam with smiles. In wind and rain these mansions would stand like mountains high. Alas! Should these houses appear before my eye, Frozen in my unroofed cot, content I’d die. -- the poem “My Thatched Hut was torn apart…

June 28, 20230Comments ByEmily Zhou

Features News

The untold truth about Taiwan’s real legal position

The daily Western presentation of Taiwan as a functionally independent nation on the verge of being “invaded” by China flies in the face of the actual facts, as specified by global agreements recognized and codified by people on both sides of the strait. China’s governing constitutional instruments specify that the mainland and Taiwan are one…

June 28, 20230Comments ByRichard Cullen

News

US outsources its anti-China war machine… to China

OOPS. THIS WAS AWKWARD. In 2012, US defense planners made an embarrassing discovery. Lots of US military gear, or parts thereof, came from China. This included bits of their jetfighters, the glass in their nightvision goggles, a key chemical in their hellfire missiles, and so on. Buyers had chosen China for offering the right…

June 23, 20230Comments ByNury Vittachi

News

China’s first home-grown cruise ship is readying for launch

CHINA'S FIRST HOME-BUILT cruise liner set sail from a Shanghai port for a trial voyage early this month, marking the country’s big stride into the floating holidays sector. Today’s cruise liners are depicted as floating cities where passengers can enjoy relaxing vacations at sea. It is not easy to build such a thing. Creating an…

June 21, 20230Comments ByH.C. Lu

In a village above the clouds

China set to lead world to cashless society: UK professor

Teacher Ye refused to retire

Palace Museum’s cool gifts take art to the young

How Asian Portrayal in Hollywood Has Evolved: A Movie Timeline

The stats: Will fast-growing India overtake decelerating China?

Visiting the thatched home of China’s great poet-sage Du Fu

The untold truth about Taiwan’s real legal position

US outsources its anti-China war machine… to China

China’s first home-grown cruise ship is readying for launch

FAQ: Is Hong Kong’s ‘Friday’ news project a commie plot from Beijing?

Hong Kong now has world’s top insurance penetration rate

Space: a new business frontier is opening up over our heads