Animated Movies from Shijiazhuang: Soft-Power Tools?

Main Link:
Activeley develop Domestic and Foreign High-End Cartoon Industry, “Going out” in Great Strides (积极开拓国内外高端市场动漫产业大步“走出去”)
Links within quotes and blockquotes added during translation.

China needed to build a sound, modern culture market system, the “Culture Document” (or “cultural decision”), approved by the 6th plenary session of the 17th Central Committee, stipulated in October 2011.

The focus must be on the development of books and other publications, digital audio and video products, performing arts and entertainment, television series, cartoons, animation, and [computer] games, and similar markets, for the further perfection of a comprehensive international Chinese platform on fairs and exhibitions, etc.

According to Shijiazhuang News Net (石家庄新闻网), the local cartoon industry is doing just that:

Since 2006 , under the close attention of the CCP municipal committee and the municipal government, our city’s cartoon industry has developed rapidly, and achieved notable results in satisfying the city’s needs of spiritual civilizsation, in spreading advanced culture, in enriching the masses’ lives, promoting the healthy adolescence of the young, and fostering the growth of a new economy. During the past seven years, no matter if established by locals or by companies who came to Shijiazhuang from elsewhere, they have enjoyed all the benefits of Shijiazhuang’s cartoon-industry policies, environment, and prospects. On this foundation, “cartoons made in Shijiazhuang” have gained the courage to display themselves, to develop markets, and with the advantages in branding, high-end orientation and originality, they have drawn widespread attention from industries at home and abroad.

2006年以来， 在市委、市政府的高度重视下，我市动漫产业迅速发展，在满足市民精神文化需求、传播先进文化、丰富群众生活、促进青少年健康成长、培育新的经济增长点方 面，取得了显著成效。7年来，无论是本土动漫企业还是来石创业的动漫公司，都享受到了石家庄动漫产业政策、环境、前景的利与好。 在此基础上，“石家庄原创动漫”勇于展示自我、敢于开拓市场，以品牌化、高端化、原创化的优势，引起了国内外业界的广泛关注。

By Shijiazhuang Newsnet reporter Wang Xin
本报记者王欣

As the saying goes, good wine needs no bush^*). However, this doesn’t apply in today’s increasingly competitive markets. After several years of development and carefully ripening the wine, its sweet smell attracts many investors and company founders. At the same time, cartoonists from Shijiazhuang also seize the opportunities of actively exploring domestic and foreign markets, to take Shijiazhuang cartoons to bigger arenas.

俗话说，酒香不怕巷子深。然而，在市场竞争日趋激烈的今天，好酒也怕巷子深。经过几年的发展，我市动漫产业如同一坛精心酝酿的老酒，持续散发出馨香的气 息，吸引了众多投资者、创业者前来。与此同时，石家庄动漫人也抓住机遇，积极开拓国内国外市场，把石家庄动漫推向更广阔的舞台。

The Shijiazhuang Animation Institute‘s (石家庄动漫协会), that of the beneficial support of the city government and the conducive industrial environment had all become the envy of companies elsewhere, according to Shijiazhuang Newsnet. “Publicity” (宣传) and promotion had made Shijiazhuang’s cartoon industry better known in China and abroad, making people coming to Shijiazhuang to seek cooperation. A Western Australian Film Office (西澳大利亚州政府电影融资发展局 – I’m not familiar with Australia’s film industry or the industry’s official promotional institutes) was currently seeking a cooperation partner with the Shijiazhuang Animation Institute’s assistance, according to the report. The Australians had been impressed with the originality and production levels of Shijiazhuang’s industry and had since visited four times, Shijiazhuang Newsnet quotes a member of the Shijiazhuang Animation Institute, Zhang Maolan (张茂兰).

DeepCG Animation Science and Technology gets a particular mention in the report. The general manager, Wu Yifeng (武义峰), doesn’t seem to be too specific about his company’s current prospects in Europe, but is quoted as saying that South-East Asia was the most promising market for one of his company’s works, a cartoon movie about late Han dynasty general Zhao Yun, given its richness with Chinese culture.

The cartoon’s title seems to translate Zhao Yun and the Clicking Sound of the Box (赵云与咔哒盒子).

It seems to be based on a theme previously used in a Zhao Yun movie (but not a cartoon) made in Hong Kong, in 2010.

Shijiazhuang News Net is the online platform of Shijiazhuang Daily (石家庄日报), an official CCP paper.

In a review of the 17th Central cultural decision in October 2011, David Bandurski of the China Media Project (Hong Kong) appeared to be skeptical of the impact Chinese media and culture could have under political and ideological controls.

It may be time for a first assessment of how things are going for the “cultural industry” in China – especially when it comes to its record abroad. Personally, I have no clue about cartoons, and not even a taste for them. Stuff like Zhao Yun and the Box (a sample video here) should be judged by bloggers or critics who really are into the genre.

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Note

^*) This isn’t an exact translation. The actual Chinese quote or proverb would be 酒香不怕巷子深 – something like the smell of wine isn’t afraid of a deep lane (or alley), meaning that good things will sell even without advertising them.

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Related

» Soft Power starts at Home, Jan 21, 2012
» A Low-Carbon Industry, Dec 2, 2011
» Shijiazhuang Cartoon School, CRI, Aug 20, 2009
» Go-Out Policy, Wikipedia, acc. 20130412
» Private investors, PD English, Aug 20, 2004

2012 in Review (2): Nothing Trivial

« original post there

There was nothing trivial in 2012, and it was still OK, except for the driver license test.
On August 20, Baobao got started elementary school, the first step into the learning career.

In early September, we bought a car and spent more than 120,000 on it, which is a big household item.

In mid-November, my husband had an accident on the expressway, but fortunately nothing serious. We spent 12,000 Yuan on the repair costs, and the insurance company refunded the full amount.

The end of the world didn’t come in December, and we continue to live on this planet.

Wimpy Kid’s Space (小屁孩的大空间)
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Related

» 2012 in Review (1): The Imperfect Photograph, Dec 29, 2012
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Heimatgefühl, and the Venture into the Public Realm

My following translation will very probably contain errors.

A: [...] If you want me to be frank, I have to say that I’m not interested in the effects when I’m working. (Wenn ich ganz ehrlich sprechen soll, dann muß ich sagen: Wenn ich arbeite, bin ich an Wirkung nicht interessiert.)

Q: And once the work has been completed? (Und wenn die Arbeit fertig ist?)

A: Well, then I have finished with it. You see, what matters to me is this: I need to understand. Writing is part of understanding. Writing belongs in this process of understanding things. (Ja, dann bin ich damit fertig. Wissen Sie, wesentlich ist für mich: Ich muß verstehen. Zu diesem Verstehen gehört bei mir auch das Schreiben. Das Schreiben ist Teil in dem Verstehensprozeß.)

Q: Writing serves your own, further cognition? (Wenn Sie schreiben, so dient es Ihrem eigenen, weiteren Erkennen?)

A: Yes, because now, certain things have been determined. If we had great memory, so that we really kept all our reasoning in mind: I doubt that, because I’m aware of my own laziness, I’d have jotted down everything. What matters to me is the thinking process itself. When I’ve got that, I’m, personally, quite satisfied. When I succeed in expressing this adequately in writing, I’m once again satisfied. – Now, you asked about effects. That’s – if I may be tongue-in-cheek – a male question. Men badly want to be effective, but I’m kind of looking at it from outside. To be effective myself? No, I want to understand. And when other people understand, in the same sense as I did, that gives me satisfaction, like a sense of home. (Ja, weil jetzt bestimmte Dinge festgelegt sind. Nehmen wir an, man hätte ein sehr gutes Gedächtnis, so daß man wirklich alles behält, was man denkt: Ich zweifle sehr daran, da ich meine Faulheit kenne, daß ich irgend etwas notiert hätte. Worauf es mir ankommt, ist der Denkprozeß selber. Wenn ich das habe, bin ich persönlich ganz zufrieden. Wenn es mir dann gelingt, es im Schreiben adäquat auszudrücken, bin ich auch wieder zufrieden. – Jetzt fragen Sie nach der Wirkung. Es ist das – wenn ich ironisch werden darf – eine männliche Frage. Männer wollen immer furchtbar gern wirken; aber ich sehe das gewissermaßen von außen. Ich selber wirken? Nein, ich will verstehen. Und wenn andere Menschen verstehen, im selben Sinne, wie ich verstanden habe – dann gibt mir das eine Befriedigung, wie ein Heimatgefühl.)

[...]

A: My father died early. It all sounds very funny. My grandfather was the liberal congregation’s president and city councillor in Königsberg. I’m from an old Königsberger family. Still – the word “jew” was never mentioned at home, when I was a small child. I was confronted with it by antisemitic remarks – no use in mentioning them – from children in the street. That’s how I became informed, so to speak. (Mein Vater war früh gestorben. Es klingt alles sehr komisch. Mein Großvater war Präsident der liberalen Gemeinde und Stadtverordneter von Königsberg. Ich komme aus einer alten Königsberger Familie. Trotzdem – das Wort “Jude” ist bei uns nie gefallen, als ich ein kleines Kind war. Es wurde mir zum erstenmal entgegengebracht durch antisemitische Bemerkungen – es lohnt sich nicht zu erzählen – von Kindern auf der Straße. Daraufhin wurde ich also sozusagen “aufgeklärt”.)

Q: Was that a shock? (War das für Sie ein Schock?)

A: No. (Nein.)

[...]

A: I for one don’t think that I ever felt that I was German, in the sense of ethnicity, not in terms of statehood, if I may distinguish the two. I remember discussions around 1930 about that, with [Karl Jaspers], for example. He said, “of course you are German!” I said: “It’s plain that I’m not!” But to me, it didn’t matter. It didn’t spell inferiority to me. Precisely not. And if I may come back to what was special about my family: you see, all Jewish children were confronted with antisemitism. It poisoned the souls of many children. The difference was that my mother always maintained that you must not duck your head. You need to defend yourself. (Ich, zum Beispiel, glaube nicht, daß ich mich je als Deutsche – im Sinne der Volkszugehörigkeit, nicht der Staatsangehörigkeit, wenn ich mal den Unterschied machen darf – betrachtet habe. Ich besinne mich darauf, daß ich so um das Jahr ‘30 herum Diskussionen darüber zum Beispiel mit Jaspers hatte. Er sagte: “Natürlich sind Sie Deutsche!” Ich sagte: “Das sieht man doch, ich bin keine!” Das hat aber für mich keine Rolle gespielt. Ich habe das nicht etwa als Minderwertigkeit empfunden. Das gerade war nicht der Fall. Und wenn ich noch einmal auf das Besondere meines Elternhauses zurückkommen darf: Sehen Sie, der Antisemitismus ist allen jüdischen Kindern begegnet. Und er hat die Seelen vieler Kinder vergiftet. Der Unterschied bei uns war, daß meine Mutter immer auf dem Standpunkt stand: Man darf sich nicht ducken! Man muß sich wehren!)

[...]

Q [quoting Arendt]: “I have never, in all my life, loved a collective, neither the German, the French, nor the American, nor the working class, or whatever else may be there. Indeed, I only love my friends, and am completely uncapable of any other love. But above all, being Jewish myself, I would find this love dubious if it was love to the Jewish.” [...] Aren’t you afraid that your attitude could be politically barren? (Darin heißt es: “Ich habe nie in meinem Leben irgendein Volk oder Kollektiv geliebt, weder das deutsche, noch das französische, noch das amerikanische, noch etwa die Arbeiterklasse oder was es sonst so noch gibt. Ich liebe in der Tat nur meine Freunde und bin zu aller anderen Liebe völlig unfähig. Vor allem aber wäre mir diese Liebe zu den Juden, da ich selbst jüdisch bin, suspekt.” [...] Fürchten Sie nicht, daß Ihre Haltung politisch steril sein könnte?)

A: No, I think the other [attitude] is politically barren. To belong to a group is natural. You always belong to a group, by birth, always. But to belong to a group as you meant it in a second sense, that is to say, to organize – that’s completely different. This kind of organizing always happens by Weltbezug. That is, what those who organize have in common, which is usually called interests. The immediate personal relation, when you can talk about love, does exist, of course, in real love, in its greatest way, and in a certain sense, it exists in friendship. That’s when a person is reached in an immediate way, and independently from Weltbezug. That’s how people who belong to most different organizations may still be friends. But if you confuse these things, if you take them to the negotiation table – to put it in a very mean way -, I believe that’s fatal. (Nein. Ich würde sagen, die andere ist politisch steril. Zu einer Gruppe zu gehören, ist erst einmal eine natürliche Gegebenheit. Sie gehören zu irgendeiner Gruppe durch Geburt, immer. Aber zu einer Gruppe zu gehören, wie Sie es im zweiten Sinne meinen, nämlich sich zu organisieren, das ist etwas ganz anderes. Diese Organisation erfolgt immer unter Weltbezug. Das heißt: Das, was diejenigen miteinander gemeinsam haben, die sich so organisieren, ist, was man gewöhnlich Interessen nennt. Der direkte personale Bezug, in dem man von Liebe sprechen kann, der existiert natürlich in der wirklichen Liebe in der größten Weise, und er existiert in einem gewissen Sinne auch in der Freundschaft. Da wird die Person direkt und unabhängig von dem Weltbezug angesprochen. So können Leute verschiedenster Organisationen immer noch persönlich befreundet sein. Wenn man aber diese Dinge miteinander verwechselt, wenn man also die Liebe an den Verhandlungstisch bringt, um mich einmal ganz böse auszudrücken, so halte ich das für ein sehr großes Verhängnis.)

Q: [...] In a speech on Karl Jaspers you said that “humanity is  never won in loneliness and never by handing ones work over to the public. Only if you take your life and person[ality] into the venture of the public realm, you will reach [humanity].” This “venture into the public realm”, a Jaspers quote again, in which way does it exist for Hannah Arendt? (In einer Festrede auf Jaspers haben Sie gesagt: “Gewonnen wird die Humanität nie in der Einsamkeit und nie dadurch, daß einer sein Werk der Öffentlichkeit übergibt. Nur wer sein Leben und seine Person mit in das Wagnis der Öffentlichkeit nimmt, kann sie erreichen.” Dieses “Wagnis der Öffentlichkeit”, ein Zitat von Jaspers wiederum – worin besteht es für Hannah Arendt?)

A: The venture into the public realm appears to be clear to me. You expose yourself in the light of the public, as a person. While I believe that one must not appear publicly and act publicly in a self-conscious way, I still know that all action expresses the person like no other activity. And speaking, too, is a way of action. That’s one thing. The second venture: we commence something, we add our thread into a web of relationships. We never know how it will evolve. We all need to say, Lord, forgive them what they do, because they don’t know what they do. That’s true for all action. Quite practically, because you can’t know. That’s a venture. And I would say that this venture can only be taken as you rely on the human beings. That’s to say, in a – hard to grasp, but basic – trust in the humaneness in all human beings. You can’t do that in another way. (Das Wagnis der Öffentlichkeit scheint mir klar zu sein. Man exponiert sich im Lichte der Öffentlichkeit, und zwar als Person. Wenn ich auch der Meinung bin, daß man nicht auf sich selbst reflektiert in der Öffentlichkeit erscheinen und handeln darf, so weiß ich doch, daß in jedem Handeln die Person in einer Weise zum Ausdruck kommt wie in keiner anderen Tätigkeit. Wobei das Sprechen auch eine Form des Handelns ist. Also das ist das eine. Das zweite Wagnis ist: Wir fangen etwas an; wir schlagen unseren Faden in ein Netz der Beziehungen. Was daraus wird, wissen wir nie. Wir sind alle darauf angewiesen zu sagen: Herr vergib ihnen, was sie tun, denn sie wissen nicht, was sie tun. Das gilt für alles Handeln. Einfach ganz konkret, weil man es nicht wissen kann. Das ist ein Wagnis. Und nun würde ich sagen, daß dieses Wagnis nur möglich ist im Vertrauen auf die Menschen. Das heißt, in einem – schwer genau zu fassenden, aber grundsätzlichen – Vertrauen auf das Menschliche aller Menschen. Anders könnte man es nicht.)

Hannah Arendt in a television interview, in October 1964

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Related

» In an Unguarded Moment, Sep 29, 2010
» No Easy Solution, April 11, 2009

Beyond the Protocol: No Bygones, no Mercy

Bettina Wulff, the wife of former German president Christian Wulff, wrote a book which was published this month, with a title frequently translated into “Beyond the Protocol”. More literally, the wording seems to be “On the other side of the protocol” (Jenseits des Protokolls).  This is no review of Bettina Wulff’s book. I haven’t read it.

Wikipedia has an article in English about her.

I never “liked” Christian Wulff or his wife, or the way they designed the president’s time in office. I probably didn’t like it, because they seemed to be so eager to be an “authentic” first family. Their style was way too personal. I had hoped for a president who would explain politics, rather than one who’d try to set a personal example for harmony.

But the way a German mob is following the spectacle that surrounds her book looks scary to me.

That mob is quite probably a minority. But only 15 percent  of people surveyed by Emnid, an opinion pollster, “feel sorry” for her, and 67 percent don’t believe her statement that she didn’t actually want to be the first lady.  How can anyone judge that statement without knowing her personally?

Mrs Wulff is the mother of two children. I’m wondering how many of those who tried and keep trying to blacken her name are themselves parents – and I’m wondering what kind of parents they may be. I hope that either way, their children may grow to become good people all the same.

Wulff’s case isn’t the worst example of how public interaction works – not even close. It’s much worse when “small people” are pronged by tabloids or television stations, and presented to a slobbering public. But having read a few online “reviews” about her book, and a few dozens of comments about her underneath a German online paper’s article, a quote from Fyodor Dostoevsky comes to my mind: The degree of civilization in a society can be judged by entering its prisons.

When it comes to Germany, you may also look at how a former first lady is publicly abused. People who indulge in that kind of activity can’t have much self-respect. If they respected themselves, they could ignore the book, and the former first lady alike.

On the other side of the protocol, there has probably never been a more telling German presidency.

Everyday Propaganda: How Green was our Internet

Links within blockquotes added during translation – JR.

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1) Nanchang (Jiangxi Province), September 2012

Nanchang News Net / Nanchang Evening Post (南昌新闻网-南昌晚报) —

From September 10 to 16, Nanchang holds its third minors protection propaganda week. Recently, this reporter has learned that to do a good job at the work for the propaganda week, the city minors’ protection committee office started the 2012 minors’ protection propaganda week activities to further increase attention within all society for a good environment centering on the protection of minors.

9月10日至16日，是南昌第三个未成年人保护宣传周。近日，记者获悉，为切实做好今年未成年人保护宣传工作，在全社会进一步营造关心、重视未成年人保护的良好氛围，市未成年人保护委员会办公室启动2012年未成年人保护宣传周系列活动。

Reportedly, the propaganda week activities’ theme is “care about minors, and build a wonderful tomorrow together”.

During the activities, Nanchang will focus on the launch of a minors protection law, and educational activities with Jiangxi Province’s minors protection regulations as the major theme, propaganda aimed particularly at minors’ parents and elementary and middle school teachers, to improve entire society’s awareness of responsibility and participation.

据悉，宣传活动周主题为“关注未成年人，共筑美好明天”。活动期间，南昌将集中开展未成年人保护法、江西省未成年人保护条例等主题宣传教育活动，面向社会公众，特别是未成年人父母和中小学教师，就未成年人保护问题，举办形式多样的法制宣传教育活动，提高全社会的责任意识和参与意识。

Reportedly, Nanchang will, during the propaganda week, make full use of newspapers, websites, and its official microblog channel[s] [this may also simply refer to the Sina Weibo microblog], explore the use of cartoons, videos, public-service advertising and oher new methods, carry out audio-visual theme propaganda through various channels concerning the concepts of minors’ protection, the safeguarding of their legal rights, case studies, related legal responsibilities etc., [...], actively create a good environment, and promote the healthy adolescence of minors.

据悉，在宣传周期间，南昌将充分利用广播、电视、报刊、手机报，以及网站、官方微博等宣传阵地，探索运用动漫、视频、公益广告等新方式，多渠道对未成年人保护理念、合法权益保障方法、典型案例、相关法律责任等内容进行直观、实在的主题宣传，扩大未成年人保护宣传教育覆盖面，积极营造良好氛围，促进未成年人健康成长。

Also, using the Youth League’s Nanchang 12355 official Sina Weibo channel as an internet platform to announce all activities during the minors’ protection propaganda week, to concentrate the announcements and to broaden the range of coverage.

此外，市未成年人保护委员会将以共青团南昌市12355官方微博为网络宣传平台，对未成年人保护宣传周期间各项活动，进行集中发布，扩大活动覆盖面。

This reporter learned that during the propaganda week, Nanchang will organize all industries’ grassroot “juvenile rights protection guards and 12355 juvenile service counters with volunteering experts, rights and interests messengers, etc., combine all responsibilities, to enter the streets, communities, schools, villages etc., launch special protection [issues'] service counters and activities, promote more grassroot party and government department, companies and all kinds of social service structures’ participation in the juvenile rights protection guards’ activities, to protect minors’ legal rights from a multitude of perspectives. [Following line inverse font, as my translation may be incorrect] In particular concerning idle juveniles and village liaison groups shall continuously strengthen legal-system propaganda and the protection of rights.

记者了解到，在宣传周期间，南昌将组织各行业系统基层优秀“青少年维权岗”及12355青少年服务台专家志愿者、权益使者等，结合各自职责，深入到街道、社区、学校、农村等地未成年人当中，开展专题维权服务活动，推动更多的基层党政部门、企事业单位、各类社会服务机构参与青少年维权岗创建活动，多角度维护未成年人合法权益。特别是针对闲散青少年和农村留守未成年人群体，将不断加强法制宣传、权益维护。

Besides, during the activities, Nanchang will also combine educational and other strengthening training aimed at [handling] injuries which typically occur to minors, how to react to all kinds of complicated situations, and launch natural-disaster and accident-situation avoidance/escapes, self- and mutual aid, and self-defense, so as to improve juveniles’ abilities to protect themselves.

此外，活动期间，南昌还将结合未成年人的年龄特点和容易出现的意外伤害，有针对性地组织和教育未成年人如何应对各种各样的复杂情况，开展面临自然灾害、意外情况时的避险逃生和自救互救，受侵害时的自我保护等方面比较系统的强化训练，切实提高青少年自我保护能力。

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Tianjin, 2007

From Tianjin Juvenile Service Online‘s “About Us” on Enorth:

To thoroughly implement the document “On Several Issues about Further Intensifying the Ideological and Ethical Improvement among Minors formulated and published by the Central Committee of the CPC and the State Council of China” [literally, the document refers to itself as "several ideas" or "opinions" (若干意见) concerning those "several issues"], to actively answer to the CCP Central Committee’s and the [Tianjin] Municipal Committee‘s calls for a “civilized creation of the web” and a “civilized use of the web”, to build a positive, uplifting, healthy and civilized internet environment, Tianjin Spiritual Civilized Building Committee’s office entrusts North Net [i. e. Enorth] to operate Tianjin Municipality’s minors’ service.

为深入贯彻落实 《中共中央、国务院关于进一步加强和改进未成年人思想道德建设的若干意见》，积极响应中央和市委提出的“ 文明办网、文明上网”的号召，构建面向未成年人的积极向上、健康文明的网络环境，天津市精神文明建设委员会办公室依托北方网，开办了天津市未成年人服务网。

The internet centers on the objective of educating, guiding, and serving minors. By the principle of serving every community, every school, every household and every child, with a function to provide an information channel and garden to grow up, for expert advice, to enable talents to give full play to their talents, exchange and interaction, maintaining publicly beneficial principles, in accordance with minors’ characteristics, needs, interests and hobbies, to provide them with an adequate “green”^*) internet. A new platform shall be created, a new space through [this] internet implementation, to further mobilize societal forces’ participation, to promote social integration of resources, to shape all kinds of concerted efforts, to turn it into a new channel of minors’ ideological and ethical establishment.

网络围绕 教育、引导、服务未成年人这一宗旨，以服务每一个社区、服务每一个学校、服务每一个家庭、服务每一个孩子为服务理念，以信息提供渠道、专家咨询窗口、展示才华舞台、交流互动桥梁、健康成长乐园为功能定位，坚持公益性原则，根据未成年人的身心特点、成长需求和兴趣爱好，为他们量身打造适合于自己的“绿色”网络。通过网络的实施，进一步动员社会力量参与，促进社会资源整合，形成社会各方合力，使之成为我市加强未成年人思想道德建设的新途径，满足未成年人精神文化生活需求的新空间，实现 学校教育、家庭教育、社会教育三方互动的新平台。

Tianjin Juvenile Service Online has, by the Municipal Committee’s and the Civilization Committee’s Civilization Guidance Committee, been determined as the entire municipality’s minors’ ideological and ethical establishment’s major project.
The Municipal Committee, the municipal government, and all departments in charge attach great importance to it. The Municipal Committee’S sECRETARY zhang Gaoli, the Municipal Committee Deputy Secretary, City Mayor Dai Xianglong wrote congratulatory messages on the opening of the website. In the process of establishing the website, the Municipal Committee’s Education and Health Work Committee the municipal education committee, culture office, [...], the municipal womens’ federation, work committees et al gave vigorous support, and persons from all walks of life actively joined the establishment of the website, creating a good atmosphere by a spirit of a shared homeland.

天津市未成年人服务网是市委和市文明委确定的2007年全市未成年人思想道德建设的一项重点工程。市委、市政府及各有关部门领导高度重视。市委书记张高 丽，市委副书记、市长戴相龙为网站开通题写贺辞。在网站的建设过程中，市委教卫工委、市教委、市文化局、团市委、市妇联、市关工委等有关单位给予了大力支 持，社会各界人士积极投身网站建设之中，营造了共建共享精神家园的良好氛围。

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Note

^*) Green was, among others, the “color” of Green Dam, a censoring software that was once meant to come manditorily with every computer sold in China, “to protect children” surfing the internet. It met with a lot of public resistance, and seems to have been scrapped for good in 2010. “Green” Propaganda, of course, stays around.

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Related

» Patriotic Education in HK, July 30, 2012
» Open House, May 25, 2012
» Chinese Characteristics, CMP, Aug 8, 2007

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Book Review: Behind the Red Door – Sex in China

Red doors are about attracting luck, and when you do an online search about red doors in Chinese – hong men or 红门), you will get tons of fengshui and home-decorating commercial offers to that end. Family happiness is probably as universal a catchword in China as is the pursuit of happiness in America. But here lies the difference: in China, family happiness depends on each and every family member. Red doors may be helpful, but if you, a daughter or son, achieve in contributing to your family’s happiness, or if you inflict pain on your family – your parents especially, but on your grandparents and wider family, too -, will usually depend on the family you are going to build yourself, as a Chinese individual in his or her twenties. It will depend on the wife or husband you are going to marry, and the child you are expected to have.

Mr Wang’s REAL life is quite different.

When I started reading Richard Burger‘s debut book, Behind the Red Door – Sex in China, I became aware that I actually knew very little about the topic. I was aware of the pressure on Chinese colleagues of my age to get married and to have children, and I also got impressions on how the terms were being negotiated between children and parents – even marrying a partner from a different province is considered a flaw by some elders. But what makes Burger’s book particularly insightful is a review of how the outer edges of sexual behavior and identity in China “deviate” from family and social norms, and the troubles in coming to terms with these differences – or in living with them without coming to terms with them.

Behind the Red Door begins with a chapter on sex in imperial China, continues with one on dating and marriage (including marriage between Chinese and foreigners), and a chapter on the sex trade. In many ways, the chapter after these, “The Family”, constitutes a hub to everything else. Neither chapter comes without references to the individuals’ families, anyway. Sex workers will rarely let family people know about their business. One may guess that if a family wanted to know, they would know, but that’s not how psychology works. Gays and Lesbians – they are the topic after the chapter on family – rarely come out to their family people. And few transgendered will even apply for a gender-changing operation (let alone get one), because this would leave them without any chance to keep their sexual identities hidden from their families – and those who are looking on, i. e. basically everyone in the wider family, colleagues, the neighborhood, village, or town.

There is one section where Burger interprets the impressions and trends described in the books actual seven chapters: that’s in his parting thoughts, on the last fifteen pages. It’s the weakest part of the book, in that it unintentionally seems to confirm Burger’s own intuition described as early as in the introduction: arriving at a neat conclusion is impossible. But that attempt is an – unintentional, maybe – practical demonstration of just that fact.

The strengths of Behind the Red Door lie in the way it makes China speak from old and contemporary sources. It builds a narration from imperial times, with instances of traditional societal liberalism towards sex that doesn’t only serve procreation but rather seeks pleasure, even among lower classes, to a strongly puritan (Republican, Maoist and Dengist) modernity, and once again to growing relaxation during the most recent decades – even as traditional family values, and party orthodoxy, continue to linger in sometimes unpredictable areas. Behind the Red Door – and this is much more “political” than what I expected to read, discusses links between sexual liberalization and political control, too.

Burger is highly aware of China’s many political and personal realities, and writes in an engaging style. It isn’t only the author himself who speaks to the reader; it’s Chinese individuals just as well – a few out of millions of “ordinary” Chinese men and women of all ages who – willingly or of painful necessity – test the limits of what is “permissible” in terms of sex and in their relationships – people who deal with varying numbers of disintegrating illusions before and after wedlock – and who, in unfortunate cases, arrive at the comprehension that family happiness, “classical” or not, may not come their way.

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Behind the Red Door, by Richard Burger, 2012, at Amazon.

Patriotic Education in HK: “Foster a Sense of Affection”

The BBC found  the Hong Kong public in a “restive” mood during party and state chairman Hu Jintao‘s recent visit to the territory, to mark the fifteenth anniversary of its handover, and cited some reasons: a wealth gap within society which – reportedly  – outstrips all other developed nations, and freedom issues.

What probably makes things worse in Beijing’s views is that opinion polls state the public mood openly. The Hong Kong Standard, on June 29:

In a December 2011 survey conducted by the Public Opinion Programme at the University of Hong Kong, people identifying themselves as “Hong Kong citizens” outnumbered those who saw themselves as “Chinese citizens” by about 20 to 30 percentage points.

The proportion of those who identified themselves as “Chinese citizens” had dropped to 17 percent since 2000.

All that, the HK Standard suggested, after more positive trends, and until recent mainland development had, among Hong Kongers, casted doubt on the country they are supposed to embrace.

The Daily Telegraph quoted the University of Hong Kong’s poll, too: the 17 or rather 16.6 per cent of Hong Kongers who identified themselves first as Chinese citizens was the lowest level during the 15 years since the special administrative zone of seven million was returned to China in 1997 in a blaze of patriotic fervour.

I’m not aware of the numbers in 1997 or 1998, and maybe, the last line is mainly meant to make the current numbers more dramatic.

But reactions from Beijing seem to confirm that the trend is worrying the CCP.

When not all is well in Hong Kong, what can you do? Apply the things that work so successfully for you in mainland China. OK – you can’t do exactly that. You can’t simply arrest those who conduct the scandalous polls. But you can unleash your friends within the Hong Kong press. Have them call the professor in question a political fraudster with evil intentions. Suggest that his scholarship is a slave of political bribery.

And then get the shit you have hurled right back into your own face:

Chung gamely stood up for himself, and the feelings of the Hong Kong people, by rejecting “Cultural Revolution-style curses and defamations,” which had been lobbed by pro-Beijing newspapers.  These, he wryly pointed out, are “not conducive to the building of Chinese national identity among Hong Kong people.”

He didn’t even get his hands dirty by reacting.

So what else can you do?

Oh, you can introduce patriotic education! Or rather, you can have your satellites in Hong Kong – the place with a high degree of autonomy – introduce Moral and National Education (MNE, 德育及國民教育). The efforts to that end had been going on for a while, and the Hong Kong government, under its new CEO and chief secretary, seems to be determined to see it through now. It is scheduled to begin in September this year, and to become compulsory in 2015.

Gee, you little guys are FILTHY! You’ll need a brainwash.

Brainwashing is against Hong Kong’s core values, Channel News Asia quotes education secretary Eddie Ng, but on Sunday, one day after his statement,

Thousands of stroller-pushing Hong Kong parents and activists [..] protested a plan to introduce national education lessons, slamming it as a bid to brainwash children with Chinese propaganda.

Police estimates say that 19,000 protesters took part; and the organizers had yet to release their own estimates, Channel News Asia wrote yesterday.

A more recent report (i. e. of today) by Information Daily (formerly egovmonitor) quotes police estimates of 30,000 participants, and protesters as claiming that 90,000 people took to the streets. The particular curriculum

is initially based on a 34 page booklet which extols the virtue of the one party system in China and argues that only under the communist regime could society and economy improve,

writes Information Daily.

Hong Kong’s Sing Pao (成報) quotes a statement by a Civic Alliance against MNE (民间反对国民教育科大联盟) as the main organizer, also with a claim that 90,000 people took part in Sunday’s protests.

“Patriotic education” is meant to start with elementary school – hence the strollers among the demonstrators -, and shall foster a sense of affection for the country, Time quotes the Education Bureau’s curriculum guide.

The curriculum was devised by a body lead by another University of Hong Kong professor, Lee Chack-fan.

But one important tool seems to be missing in the educational equipment box – one which worked more efficiently than any other in mainland China: fear. So far, options to intimidate the Hong Kong public are limited.

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Related

» Tens of Thousands Protest, VoA, July 19, 2012
» Panel on Education Minutes, Legco, July 12, 2011
» How to Corrupt an Open Society, Aug 29, 2009

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The BoZhu Interviews: So Different, but Sometimes so Alike -

MKL about Taiwanese society, China, domovina, and the European Union

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Contrary to many other English-language blogs from Taiwan, MKL‘s isn’t markedly political. Politics does play a role, but usually takes second seat to daily life in Taiwan, and advice to foreign travellers or expats in the early stages of their lives in Taiwan about where to eat out, how to get from one place to another, places to go to on a holiday or on weekends, and about his after-hours obsession - night markets.

MKL started blogging in 2006 – and again in 2008. In February 2009, his monthly output of posts exceeded ten for the first time, and since, another post appeared at least every three or four days.

They were written from a number of places in Asia, and from his native land, Slovenia. For a year and a half now, Taiwan has been his home – it’s where he works, and where he is married.

His blog pages may take a while to load at times, as they usually come with a wide range of photos.

The interview:

Q:  You have been to dozens of countries, in Europe and in Asia. You settled down in Taiwan last year. In a post dedicated to your wife, Lily, you wrote:

Ever since I’ve come here, I tried so hard to make you proud of me. I found work, I complied with the norms of the environment and I’m tirelessly trying hard to survive in the fast-paced reality of Taipei. I feel like I’m caught in a typhoon ever since I’m here. It’s tough, but I will survive, because you’re here with me. You’re the reason I came here, you’re the reason I wanna stay.

How Taiwanese have you become since? And how are your Chinese language skills doing?

A: It might surprise you, but I’m becoming less and less “Taiwanese”, the more I understand Chinese language and the deeper I integrate and immerse myself in the culture. My Chinese level is basic, because my job and the commuting two ways takes about 12-13 hours a day during the week and it’s no piece of cake, it’s very stressful. I’m doing business with European companies and if you know how the traditionally-minded Taiwanese management ticks, you would imagine how big their expectations are. I can order food, drinks and have a simple conversation in Chinese, mostly about some daily matters. Aside from speaking, my hearing or understanding of Chinese improved greatly in the past year. I understand two times more than I can express in Chinese, usually it comes from the context. My whole living and working environment is Mandarin speaking, I have one American colleague who is here for a similar reason, the rest are all Taiwanese. Other foreign friends I have are mostly busy like me. I don’t frequent bars like Brass Monkey, I’m not into drinking and clubbing anymore. I am very Taiwanese in the sense, that I’m caught in this unhealthy system, where the older generation, who could have retired long time ago, run public companies like it’s their private business and where the culture of face and hierarchy often exceeds common sense and innovation. I can see a lot of young Taiwanese as bitter as me, but nobody can (or dares to) do something about it. They hop from company to company hoping to have a job that pays more and enslaves less. But the opposite is mostly the case. Ever since I started to work in Taiwan, I see the whole country in a completely different light.

Q: Your blog is about life in Slovenia, Taiwan, and about travels elsewhere. The difference between the countries where you lived and live – Slovenia and Taiwan – and the countries you visited, does this come down to the difference between family and friends?

A: I always felt a little bit bored in Slovenia. It’s a beautiful country with fairytale like scenery, but it’s small and a lot of things are going backwards in recent years. We used to be a success story in the 1990s, known as the most advanced post communist country in Europe, a role model candidate of all the countries to enter the EU in 2004. And the economic crisis, which started way before 2008 (most young well educated people could not get a good job as early as in the early 2000s), changed the political landscape a lot. People are very split now, much more than in Taiwan. They are divided into liberals (labeled as ex-commies) and conservatives (labeled as ex-nazi collaborators), arguing about who killed more people during WWII and similar nonsense, while young people can’t get jobs, where the social security is steadily disappearing and where a system similar to the one of guanxi enables certain groups to hold power and consume most of the resources. All the positive remains from the communist times such as a sense of community with common goals, solid social welfare, worker’s rights – all that is trampled upon in recent years, big business runs the show in Slovenia and they have good connections to certain parties and politicians. By all means, I’m not a communist and I would never like to have communism back, but not everything was bad during that time. Nevertheless, Slovenia is for me “heimat” (or domovina, as we call it) – and you are right, I do connect it with my family. I miss my mother and sisters every day, I miss the landscape, I miss being home, being one that belongs to somewhere, one that’s not seen as “waiguoren”. I have a very complex relationship with Taiwan, I’m not sure it’s a friend. It can be, but it’s also a friend you don’t fully trust, it’s someone you’re better careful about how much emotions you invest in.

Q: Is Lily blogging, too? And does she play a role in your blogging activities? Or would she rather discourage them?

A: She plays a major role in my way of blogging. If there was a saying that “behind every successful blogger there is a woman”, this would be 100% sure in my case. As you noted, I wasn’t much of a steady and productive blogger in the early stages. I basically put my blog on the map when I moved to Taiwan and started to write more about my experience. Lily introduced me to the Taiwanese way of blogging, which is very deep and informational, with tons of photos showing every detail. I thought: “Wow! This is impressive!” Lily’s style is similar: She would care about a certain quality of her posts and pictures, her articles have a certain order. It’s standardized, yes, but it’s a format, that guarantees a certain quality. I could say the same about your blog: You have structure, you have a theme, a style, a tone and a frame, where you implement all this. And that’s why your readers stick around, that’s why search engine’s will link to you. My philosophy is very similar, just that I have a different style and like to use a lot of pictures. I’m a very visual guy and I like to memorize my life in photos as well as show the reality around me that way. Some are excellent writers, but I can’t only rely on that, well, not in English. And Lily is my prime resource to explain certain cultural particularities in Taiwan and sometimes she wants to take a rest and watch TV, but I’m drafting my blog post and bugging her to explain some Chinese phrases. I always want to know the original meaning of the Chinese character, word or phrase, its cultural connotation and how a Taiwanese person feels about it, what is the context a certain term is commonly used. And my wife, as well as some friends, are my reference for that and I’m very thankful to have them around.

Q: You won Taiwanderful‘s popular online vote for the best overall blog and best travel blog. I was surprised when first reading about it – not because I’d find it an undeserving winner, but rather because it came to my mind that the blogs from and on Taiwan I was mostly reading were much more politics-centered than yours. So, from my personal perception, it seemed to become clear that there is a readership far beyond that. Is the readership of your blog rather diverse, in terms of “blue” (KMT & allies), and “green” (DPP & allies)?

A: My gut feeling tells me, that most of my readers and subscribers are just interested in life in Taiwan, not politics. I’m sure, they have strong opinions about that topic, but it’s not what they want to read on blogs all the time. There are very few Taiwan bloggers, who share so many images about the life in Taiwan like me, as well as about traveling to small towns, food stalls, even night markets. I like to be unique in this way and these things are interesting to blue, green, neutral, and most likely even red-minded readers. I like Taiwan the most, when it’s not related to the daily routine and politics, when i can take off my invisible mask. Despite all the challenges it bears for me, Taiwan is a great place to explore and that’s why I love to promote it as a travel destination.

Q: Are you always using the same camera when taking pictures? Which one(s)?

A: I’m mostly using my wife’s Pentax K-x White, a 2010 model. It has its limitations, but it served us very well so far. She recently bough Tamron AF18-200mm lens, which improved the quality a lot, especially when zooming. But too often a bulky camera has the effect, that you are quickly noticed and make people around you a little bit uncomfortable. So during my daily routine I’m using my iPhone 4 camera with photo processing software to have a retro effect. I like it a lot and it gives me the chance to take unexpected random shots, that turn out great. My wife also has a Canon S100, it’s a smaller pocket camera with great quality, we use it since recently, usually for short trips around Taipei. It’s also less obvious, very good for taking photos in restaurants and malls.

There were 14.85 million registered scooters in Taiwan, by 2010 (click picture for source) – photo by MKL

Q: My impression is that most foreign bloggers on Taiwan tend to side with the pan-green camp, rather than the pan-blue one, and often, this political inclination seems to kick in from about the first day they spend in Taiwan. Is that an accurate observation, or are there simply too many blogs that care about politics, but have slipped my attention?

A: You are spot on about that, unless they are dating a Taiwanese girl, that has a blue background and strong opinions on inner politics and cross strait issues (I know some of these cases). But most are green or leaning green from what I perceive. I’m not green nor blue. I had a natural affinity for a certain color, which was related to my home country’s centuries long struggles for independence from Austria and Yugoslavia, but the more I understand how things work in Taiwan, the less I believe, that Taiwan will follow Slovenia’s way. Now I’m mostly apathetic to politics in Taiwan, just like most Taiwanese I know. And I believe there are too many expats blogging about politics and KMT, it’s really not so interesting to read “KMT is bad” in 100 different ways every day – mostly it’s not really “blogging” according to my understanding. If you’re only quoting and commenting on other sources, you’re just a commentator. Blogging for me is about original content, about creativity, surprise, diversity, life and passions.

Q: Has blogging changed your perceptions – on Taiwan, Slovenia, or other places? Possibly even your view of the world? Has life in Taiwan changed your views? Has your marriage changed your views? Has work?

A: Believe it or not, blogging relaxes me. It’s my hobby, it’s my pastime. I have thoughts and ideas, I observe this very foreign and different environment and share it with my readers. It’s basically just expressing myself with words and photos. I’m not a great photographer, but I have a certain style, I know what I want to capture and present. Blogging also helps me to train my brain, to concentrate – maybe it’s similar to those old Taiwanese men, who play mahjong near the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall. By reading other blogs, especially on China and Korea, I learned a lot about these countries, I have to say these bloggers affect my perception of them as well. Most foreign Taiwan bloggers don’t impress me, because I can’t relate to them – I usually see Taiwan and its reality way different from them. Perhaps because I’m of a very different background (a small and young, relatively unknown and underestimated post communist country). I’m not too sure.

Q: Is blogging your preferred way of discussing matters of public interest, or do other ways of expressing yourself – social networking, youtube, Twitter, etc. – matter just as much to you, or more? About a year ago, you seemed to lose interest in “social media” - do you still find it boring? And if so, do you still tweet, facebook, etc., because it helps to promote your blog?

A: Ever since I wrote that post, I’m less and less on social media. I’m there for the sake of being there and in hope, that something interesting will happen – but it mostly doesn’t. My updates are usually just links to my new blog posts, Twitter and Facebook help me to get some new readers. If I don’t find social media enchanting, it doesn’t mean that other’s don’t, too. Recently I am very active on Instagram, taking pictures of my daily life in Taiwan. I simply love it. It’s social, but very simple. You post a photo and if it’s good, people “like” it. No pressure to be “friends” or “follow”. I don’t have time for these complexities – I’m very busy and most of my online activity is consumed by blogging or reading blogs, but I am very selective.

Q: How closely do you follow Taiwan- and non-Taiwan-related blogs respectively? Do you (as a reader) or they (as bloggers) focus on certain, recurring kinds of news and topics? Does China play a role in your reading and blogging habits, too?

A: I follow blogs in Google reader, they are divided in several categories. Usually I check all blogs in my Taiwan, China, Korea, Japan and Slovenia folders. These are the countries, that interest me the most. I also like to read some blogs about gadgets and technology and I like travel blogs a lot, too. I am a big fan of Peking Duck and China Smack, I always eagerly read their articles and comments. China also plays a role on my own blog, I’ve recently written several posts about Chinese vs. Taiwanese, because I find it fascinating, how the two people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait can be so different, but sometimes so alike. I intend to write more about this, but I always try to not focus on the political part, but on the cultural and ideological differences. In the industry I am in, I can see how Chinese companies are beating Taiwanese with lower price and comparable, if not better quality of their products and services. It’s an eye opener. I blame the corporate culture, that I have described in my first answer. Taiwan is on the losing end in this part of the world, it’s losing its competitive edge, innovation is driven in China, Korea and quality is traditionally associated with Japan. If that continues in the next years, I fear Taiwan will start to put “Made in China” labels on their products to raise their image. Perhaps I’m exaggerating, perhaps. But I’ve seen a lot in the recent two years – China’s pace is impressive. Taiwan is not doing bad, but a lot of things are stagnating or regressing here. China is definitely moving forward in great leaps and those foreigners, who live here and don’t want to acknowledge that, are either dreamers or simply ignorant.

Q: You said earlier (#8) that  the more you understand how things work in Taiwan, the less you believe that Taiwan will follow Slovenia’s way (i. e. in terms of internationally recognized independence).  Is this related to the way businesses work and bosses lead – or fail to lead? To their authoritarianism? Or do you see factors beyond business?

A: This is related to two things: First this year’s presidential elections, that were a major blow to the independence movement and secondly, China’s rise to a superpower, which is the most important factor here. Taiwan is surrounded by countries, that have greater economic and political power such as Japan, South Korea and PRC, while USA’s role of an ally and protector is diminishing by the year. How can Taiwan survive in such environment on its own, when the country itself is internally split and intentionally not recognized? Can this status quo continue like this forever? Despite Taiwan’s often cited soft power, I am not too optimistic about that. We had nearly 95% of electors, who were attending the independence referendum of Slovenia in 1990, voting in favor for independence. Compare that to Taiwan of today and with the circumstances I mentioned above. If it was a game of chess, China definitely has the upper hand at this point and Taiwan’s next big move can be lethal. People know that and therefore chose the safe way. Not only that, the business potential for Taiwanese making money in China is becoming a more and more important factor for softening the Cold War attitude and moving towards a closer cooperation (perhaps a kind of a union in a decade or two?). Interestingly, in my industry, almost no Taiwanese supplier has a market in China, even though they try very hard to get the business going by opening branches and investing money. However in reality, they are treated like foreign companies, no brotherly feelings there. I’m not sure what will happen in the end, I’m just an observer and I’m trying to not put too much emotions in this issue, because people might decide something, that I disagree with. Taiwan in itself, in its own bubble, is a very complex matter and when you add China to that, it becomes even more complicated. In the end I only hope that it can keep its unique charm, its advanced civil society, freedom of press, freedom of speech and free elections. To keep all that, it might not be necessary to follow Slovenia’s way.

Q: Have you seen big changes in your own blog or blogs, and in the Chinese, Taiwanese or foreign “China blogosphere” since you started blogging yourself? Or have you seen changes in the mainstream media?

A: I think a lot of green bloggers have become more obsessively green, which I find backwards and a lot of initial China bloggers have either become less critical or have stopped blogging. Maybe less critical is not the right word, I believe they just became older, became more nuanced and sober. The spirit of the young single expat, who thought he can change the world sobered up through the years. A lot of these bloggers either moved back to their home countries or they married a local girl and begun to exchange ideology for pragmatism and nuance. It’s a natural process.

Q: Have you ever stopped reading blogs because you felt they were becoming boring, or because they angered you?

A: Yes I did for both reasons. I don’t want to waste time on reading stuff written by people I don’t respect or find repulsive. There are a few Taiwan bloggers, who fit this category.

Q: Do you regularly watch television or listen to the radio? If so, what are your preferred channels, and why?

A: I watch TV, but movies mostly, however I don’t have a lot of time for it. When I was in Slovenia, I used to watch German TV a lot, from talk shows to entertainment. I was also a big fan of CNN and American news in general, especially during the 2008 election campaign: I watched Obama’s victory speech in Chicago at 2 am on CNN and I teared up. But this is the last memorable moment that I have with television. I shifted to Internet, especially here in Taiwan, where there’s not German nor Slovenian TV. And most American TV stations are showing movies nonstop, such as HBO. TV for me is just on, but I don’t really watch it. I spend more time on my Mac, iPhone and iPad, I’m slowly turning into a geek.

Q: What’s the worst online article or post you have ever read about Taiwan (that you remember)? And what’s the best one?

A: The worst must have been an article by some guy, who came to Taiwan and can’t get girls. He’s only trash talking about everything here, completely obsessed with the notion, that Taiwan is the worst place in the world. But I have the feeling, that the book “Cultural Shock-Taiwan: Cow Mentality, Rubber Slipper Fashion in BinLang Country”  must be topping my first example. As for the best posts, there were several and I’m not sure, if I could point out the best one.

Q: Have you become more aware of what it means – to you – to belong to your country? Or about civil liberties and democracy? There was a paragraph in your post-election gleanings in January this year – you wrote from a business trip that

In Germany, almost nobody cared about the election in Taiwan - there were no reports on TV – nothing. Instead, a sunk ship in Italy was nonstop in the news. Same goes for my home country and probably most Western countries. Nobody gives a rats ass about democracy anymore. We’re bitter and self-absorbed, because we saw how governments change, but everything remains the same. It’s not like we want to have dictatorships back, but the feeling of pure enthusiasm for political convictions are over – cynicism prevails these days.

How do you deal with these feelings yourself? Are they simply your feelings, that are going to be with you unless they change, or are you looking for something more sustainable that might replace the past, pure enthusiasm for political convictions? Has some other feeling replaced the old ones since? Or is some cynicism the almost inevitable concomitant of getting older?

A: I think I’ve become very cynical, but for different reasons than the Europeans I met during my business trip. My problem is I don’t know where I really belong. In Taiwan I’m always going to be “waiguoren” and stick out from the rest, but Slovenia for me is at this point very foreign, too. If I go back too early, I will feel, that I’ve failed at what I set myself to achieve. Europe in general has lost its drive and soul in recent years. Most Taiwanese, with whom I work with, see it as the place, where the economy is constantly deteriorating and the Euro continuously depreciating. The export business of most Taiwanese suppliers suffers a lot and that affects people’s perceptions here. When I see how low the Euro has fallen, I feel sad and somewhat insecure about the whole idea of the EU in general, even though I support the ideals of the Union and I’m proud to be EU citizen. You have to know, that the Euro is one of the few connections I have with my native continent. I could get 48 NTD for a Euro in 2010, when I first came to Taiwan. Today, I only get 36.5 NTD and it keeps falling. Is that a sign, that Europe’s best days are over? I’m not sure, but I’m rather pessimistic at this point. I don’t know, if I will lose my cynicism, perhaps, if I find a way to slow down my fast-paced life, but that’s a very challenging task, if you chose to live in Taipei.

Q: MKL, thanks a lot for this interview.

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The interview was conducted by an exchange of e-mails.

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