Blog Band – Page 38 – Fridayeveryday

Imagine a land run by. . . poets

It sounds hard to believe, but civil service applicants in China had to write actual literature to win top jobs, becoming "jinshi" - a class of writer-administrators who advised the emperor. (Business people were ranked low on the ladder.) For centuries, it worked well - but at other times, the bureaucratic need for order and…

September 16, 20220Comments ByEmily Zhou

Opinion

Britain’s opium era strategy to deal with China

THE DAOGUANG EMPEROR tasked Commissioner Lin Zexu (image above) with suppressing the opium trade bedeviling China in 1839. Lin initially tried diplomacy. As British traders were growing the drug in India and then smuggling it into China, he hoped an appeal to their country’s sense of honor might be salutary. Before the outbreak…

September 14, 20220Comments ByGrenville Cross

News

Why we remember Elizabeth II fondly despite the politics

ON CHRISTMAS DAY, 1957, the most famous woman in the world cleared her throat and made the first of what would become a series of televised annual speeches. “In the old days the monarch led his soldiers on the battlefield and his leadership at all times was close and personal,” said Queen Elizabeth II. Queen…

September 9, 20220Comments ByNury Vittachi

News

China finally goes to war – but only on the dance floor

THE CHINESE HAVE FINALLY gone to war. After decades of peace, the world’s most populous nation has launched a series of battles with other countries – but all the skirmishes are street dance fight-outs. Top TV show Street Dance of China has become an international hit, with people around the world tuning in as dancers…

September 8, 20220Comments ByNury Vittachi

Opinion

Hong Kong SPACs are in a slump: here’s how to fix them

HONG KONG’S special purpose acquisition companies, better known as SPACs, are currently in a slump. This is not only because of poor global market conditions, but also because of the restrictive listing requirements set by the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong. Change is urgently needed. Image by Friday Culture. Here’s a brief discussion of the…

September 7, 20220Comments ByJason Wong

Features

Spirit of Eileen Chang remains on this Hong Kong beach

GETTING ON A DOUBLE-DECKER in Central and grabbing a seat upstairs, you can head to Repulse Bay in the southern part of Hong Kong Island. This district, one of the most expensive residential areas in the world, is reached by a 30-minute picturesque ride with great scenery of mountains and seas along the road. Embraced…

September 7, 20220Comments ByEmily Zhou

Opinion

History knowledge makes a difference in current battles

ONE DATE, 18 SEPTEMBER 1931, is an ever-present reminder of humiliation for the whole Chinese nation. It was the day of the Mukden Railway Incident, used by the Japanese as a pretext to annex Manchuria. The Japanese army’s incursions into China threatened the military of the country. The ruling Kuomintang Party, led by Chiang…

September 5, 20220Comments ByAriel Lau

Videos

Hainan decides to phase out petrol cars

WELCOME TO Electric Island! The people of Hainan are set to be among the world leaders in fighting climate change, with a total ban on government purchases of petrol cars by 2025 and public purchases of petrol cars by 2030. [Scroll down to read a text version of this report, or see a video version…

September 1, 20220Comments ByNury Vittachi

Culture

China’s equivalent to the ‘Alphabet Song’ is a 1,000-character masterpiece

An ancient poem has been used for 15 centuries to teach Chinese children to read and write. H.C. Lu reports LITERALLY BILLIONS OF PEOPLE worldwide have learned the Alphabet Song, in which the 26 letters of the alphabet are memorized by being rather awkwardly fitted to a French melody from the 1700s. But few people…

August 30, 20220Comments ByH.C. Lu

News

Xi note to UK woman revives memories of stunning war rescue

UK-China exchange focuses on story said to contain ‘very worst and very best of humanity’ A WOMAN IN THE UK wrote to Chinese leader Xi Jinping and received a personal reply, it was revealed today—and their exchange revived memories of one of the most dramatic events of the shared history of the two nations. Denise…

August 29, 20220Comments ByNury Vittachi

Imagine a land run by. . . poets

Britain’s opium era strategy to deal with China

Why we remember Elizabeth II fondly despite the politics

China finally goes to war – but only on the dance floor

Hong Kong SPACs are in a slump: here’s how to fix them

Spirit of Eileen Chang remains on this Hong Kong beach

History knowledge makes a difference in current battles

Hainan decides to phase out petrol cars

China’s equivalent to the ‘Alphabet Song’ is a 1,000-character masterpiece

Xi note to UK woman revives memories of stunning war rescue

Hong Kong quietly becomes major tennis hub for the world

3-parent baby case led to one of the oddest reviews in HK legal history

This child has three parents: so who is his mother?