Seen in the News in China

News from China continues to be grim and concerning:

• Number of cases of swine flu continues to climb. Over 60 cases of H1N1 recently reported in Macao.

• The "great firewall of China" seems to be strengthening. Reports of blockage are up, and blogs I've often read are "unavailable".

• One blog did have an interesting if not bizarre story of the writers encounter of a knife fight at a Dongguan bus station, where the police did little to instigate things to a riot, but at the same time let the knife-wielding attackers leave without arrest, even though one person was visibly victimized and bleeding.

• A recent fight at a toy factory in Guangdong has been blamed for the rioting in the Xinjiang province, thousands of miles away.

• That riot in Xinjiang grew so violent last Sunday, that 140 have reportedly died from the conflict. The conflict involves Muslims in the western province of China.

Be careful over there my friends!

Labels: China News, Dongguan

posted by A Bryson in China @ 3:30 AM Comments: 0

Entrance to One for the Road on Grand Opening Day three years ago!













Bar gets crowded at Grand Opening of OFTR!














Original scene outdoors at OFTR!

Labels: Dongguan, One for the Road

posted by A Bryson in China @ 9:07 PM Comments: 0

In the News from China

Contrary to most opinion, China does seem to try to get ahead of trends, even when related to the environment. Shenzhen is currently considering subsidies for buyers of hybrid vehicles.

Weather conditions have been particularly difficult in Guangdong province lately:

• Two persons were killed and one is missing after record rains in the eastern section of the province.
• In a bizarre report, 10,000 homes were destroyed by mega-hail, while tadpoles were raining from the sky in Japan.
• Photos of Dongguan rains highlighted on this site.
• While officials in the Guangdong government were sweating in their offices on a recent Tuesday, under restrictions to reduce energy for the day, to understand the demands on the public. They must also not use private cars one day a week.

Speaking of cars, traffic was halted on a major highway recently in Jiangxi province by furniture dealers, protesting a proposed tax crackdown.

And a Chinese worker in Dongguan, recently stabbed and killed two of his Taiwanese employers last week.

Be careful over there!

Labels: China News, Dongguan

posted by A Bryson in China @ 10:08 PM Comments: 0

Furniture Factory Blues

Mike, a good friend from my days with Pennsylvania House Furniture, sent me an interesting video the other day: Furniture Factory Blues. (Click on the title to the left to go to the YouTube video). It relates pretty well, whether ya worked in a factory in Galax, Pennsylvania, or anywhere else.

Labels: furniture

posted by A Bryson in China @ 10:05 PM Comments: 0

Seen in Guangdong News

Recent posts regarding Guangdong:

• Guangdong area of China continues to get recognition as a "destination" for golf. The San Francisco Chronicle recently profiled the area's golf options, particularly the Mission Hills complex of 12 courses and the worlds largest clubhouse in Dongguan.

• Police in the Guangdong area continue to publicize efforts to "crackdown on criminal activities". More than 1300 police have been involved in Zhongshan alone.

• In an interesting twist of discrimination, a Dongguan investment firm has been accused of bias in hiring workers with surname Liu, just like the boss.

• And remember Mayor Nagin of New Orleans. He has struggled through the Katrina ordeal, but now has a new delima. He recently traveled to Shanghai on an economic development trip, but has now been quarantined in the city, since a fellow plane traveler has been suspected to have H1N1 (swine) flu. Enjoy the city - or probably just the hotel you're stuck in for now.

Labels: China golf, Dongguan, Guangdong, Guangdong News

posted by A Bryson in China @ 8:13 PM Comments: 0

Items from a restaurant menu in Dongguan - Spiced Donkey Meat on left; Snake on right

Labels: Chinese Food, Dongguan

posted by A Bryson in China @ 2:26 AM Comments: 0

Travel Channel in Asia (Forget Seville)

Ahhhh!! ...... It's Samantha Brown climbing to the top of the Cathedral of Seville again! I feel like I'm stuck in a rerun of Groundhog Day!

But I look outside, and I'm in North Carolina. It's not Dongguan this time! What's going on?

Okay, it was just a local rerun of Samantha Brown's visit to Seville on Travel Channel. Unfortunately, that's the same show I saw over a hundred times while living in China. It was the default show whenever the China censors didn't like the ABC Evening News broadcast. Which was frequent!

But I have enjoyed a couple of other Travel Channel shows in particular recently. The best is Andrew Zimmern's Bizarre Foods. He travels the world and tries everything and anything. Recently, I caught reruns of his shows from Guangzhou, Taiwan, Thailand, and Asia. Wow! It had me downright wanting some of those local specialties, like black chicken, duck tongue, tofu, and tea. ............Okay, maybe not the tofu.

I didn't get to where I loved the foods of Asia, but I certainly enjoyed the foods. The adventurous nature in the choices, the spices, and the settings were all great. And Andrew explores them well. He even visits the Guangzhou Reasturant where our company dined on a business trip to the city. And the fresh chicken with the yellow skin looks exactly like that I had almost daily from our company chefs.

The shows get rerun often, so set your DVR and travel from your home to these special locales in Asia. The Guangzhou show is next on June 8 at 2 PM EDT. Catch it if you can, and just think of me sitting there being served all the same "bizarre foods".

Labels: Chinese Food, Dongguan, Travel Channel, Zimmern

posted by A Bryson in China @ 1:47 AM Comments: 1

From 30 Rock: Kidney Now !

And I must make mention of the hilarious skit and song on 30 Rock's season ending show last Thursday night. The song "Kidney Now" parodied "We Are the World", and included many top singers, including Sheryl Crow, Cindi Lauper, Clay Aiken, and Michael McDonald. (Info on the show and the song available here.)

But the song still made a point about the importance of kidney donation. And the proceeds generated from sales of the video on iTunes are being provided to the National Kidney Foundation.

The full show is available here (song is near the end).

Nice touch!

Labels: Kidney Disease, kidney donation, kidney transplant

posted by A Bryson in China @ 10:57 PM Comments: 0

Interesting Book Published: Larry's Kidney

I just got word about a most interesting titled book that has me doubly interested. The title is Larry's Kidney: Being the True Story of How I Found Myself in China with My Black Sheep Cousin and His Mail-Order Bride, Skirting the Law to Get Him a Transplant -- And Save His Life. (Some background on the book can be found here.)

I said "doubly", because first, I lived in China for three years, and two, now need a new kidney myself. And while in China, I contemplated purchasing a kidney, and even visited a hospital there. But I couldn't go through with it, and in fact it is against the law to transplant a foreigner, so this author went through some interesting actions to get the kidney for his cousin.

The book is available on Amazon. Search Larry's Kidney. Or click here (it might work, if I set it up right).

Labels: kidney transplant, Larry's Kidney

posted by A Bryson in China @ 10:16 PM Comments: 0

This Week in China

In gathering news from China this week, I came across some interesting developments (as usual, a click on the underlined italized note will take you to the original article):

• Police arrested someone behind a bomb blast in the Humen section of Dongguan that injured 14 people. The man confessed that he was taking revenge on society!??!

• Home prices around Dongguan have plummeted over 30% since the end of 2007. The drop has followed the US housing woes, and many online chat blogs are encouraging people to not buy homes for six months in hopes that prices will fall further!??!

• A ban on pole dancing in bars and clubs in Dongguan was not enacted, as originally feared. I don't remember such activity and sure didn't know there was a need for concern!!
  

Labels: China News, Dongguan

posted by A Bryson in China @ 10:04 PM Comments: 0

In the News - Guangdong & Dongguan

• The government is taking action on kidnappings of youngsters, particularly around Guangdong. Bold claims are that "child abduction will be ended" to stop the actions often by criminal gangs.

• Pork is falling in price, over H1N1 fears, and an oversupply created in the last few years.

• A Las Vegas court has convicted several Chinese for embellizing from the Bank of China, after fleeing Guangdong eight years ago. The scheme started in 1991, and continued after the participants came to the US. They have been ordered restitution of $482 million.

• And in a scary development, a factory manager in the Zhuhai village of Guangdong, released hundreds of snakes for religious purposes. Villagers had to organize to kill over 200 of the reptiles combing trees and roads!

Labels: Dongguan, Guangdong, Guangdong News

posted by A Bryson in China @ 10:50 PM Comments: 0

Guangdong Retains CBA Championship

The Guangdong Tigers won the CBA Championship 4-1 with a 106-95 victory in the deciding game in Dongguan in early May. It is the fifth time in six seasons that the Guangdong team has captured the national basketball title in China. Several former NCAA athletes play in the league, including Smush Parker, formerly of Fordham and the Denver Nuggets.

Congratulations to the Tigers! One of my biggest regrets is not getting to see a CBA game while I was in China.

Labels: Basketball, CBA, Dongguan

posted by A Bryson in China @ 10:37 PM Comments: 0