Jottings from the Granite Studio

As the fascinating rapproachment between historical frienemies the KMT and the CCP continues, The China Daily is citing Chiang Kai-shek as proof “Τibet has always been a part of China.”
The papers, co-released by the Hoover Institution, under Stanford University of the United States, and Shanghai’s Fudan University, comprise archival documents and telegrams from T. V. […]

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In response to a comment left on an earlier post, I’ve posted a new essay at The China Beat on western media bias and the ongoing situation in Τibet. (Mainland link)
“It’s true that following the outbreak of unrest on March 14, many in the foreign media dropped the ball, in some cases due to […]

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In light of recent events these past two weeks and an incredibly tight schedule by your correspondent, I’m posting a few links from the Granite Studio archives.
Tsering Shakya on “Tibet: Does History Matter?”
Ge Jianxiong: “To exaggerate the size of China’s historical territory is not patriotic.”
Images of Tibet and China from 1940
Protests at the […]

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I’m still posting updates on events over at The Peking Duck and there is quite the conversation going on as well. Many sites, including The Opposite End of China and You Tube are down. Obviously journalists and foreigners in general are being denied access to affected areas. Members of the Tibetan community here in […]

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Over at The Peking Duck, we’re trying to track the developments coming out of Lhasa and other ethnic Tibetan areas of China, as you might imagine there’s a lively discussion going on in the comments section. For images, be sure to check out Michael’s montage over at The Opposite End of China.
China Digital Times is […]

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There’s a new essay at OpenDemocracy by Kerry Brown, author of the book Struggling Giant: China in the 21st Century. Brown argues that while the Olympics currently dominate both the headlines and the attention of Chinese government officials, the twin problems of corruption and inflation will remain once the spotlight has been turned off, […]

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On this date in 1963, Mao Zedong launched the “Learn from Lei Feng” campaign. The most important lesson I’ve learned from Lei Feng is to look out for falling telephone poles, but maybe I’m not the target audience. Anyway, in case you missed it, Lei Feng was a young soldier in the PLA whose selfless […]

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I have a new post up at The China Beat on Chinese reactions to foreign criticism, “Prejudice Made Plausible: Foreign Criticism and Chinese Sensitivities.”
Why does concern about the Olympics, criticism of Chinese government policies, or even a news story about the effect of air pollution on athletes, provoke such a visceral response from many Chinese?
Obviously […]

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In a 1973 conversation so bizarre that I admit to being a bit skeptical, Mao reportedly asked Henry Kissinger, “Do you want our Chinese women? We can give you ten million.”
Mao first suggested sending “thousands” of women but as an afterthought proposed “10 million,” drawing laughter at the meeting, also attended by Chinese premier Zhou […]

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The Chinese government and BOCOG desperately need to start listening to all the really smart, well-paid foreign PR firms they’ve hired if they want to avoid continually getting caught with their pants at ankle-height:
To whit:
January 20
The Sunday Times publishes an article claiming that at least 10 workers had been killed in the construction of […]

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