NY Observer > China

Another Spin on China Reporting

Matt Haber — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 11:07:17 -0400

With the Beijing Olympics less than three weeks away, The New York Times is beefing up its coverage of China for obvious reasons. But how many stories can the paper run on architecture, earthquakes, anti-smoking campaigns, and human rights before readers get bored?

Surely there must be a new, sexy angle on this thoroughly covered nation.

How about an article about young Chinese women learning to writhe and dance erotically? Yep, that'll do.

In today's Times' Jimmy Wang takes a serious look at a pole dancing class where:

Clad in knee-high leather boots, spandex shorts and a sports bra, Xiao Yan struck a pose two feet off the ground, her head glistening with sweat and her arms straining as she suspended herself from a vertical pole. read more »

At Beijing's Sex and da City, the Debauchery is Low-Key

Tom Scocca — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 11:15:59 -0400

BEIJING—“Of course, nobody wants to be Samantha,” Eva Shen said. It was a warm Saturday night on Houhai, the lakeside bar strip, and Ms. Shen, 40, had stepped outside the club she co-owns. Over the door, in glowing characters, was the Chinese name of the club, Yuwang Chengshi; above that, in larger letters, was its other name: SEX AND DA CITY.

Ms. Shen spoke English and wore yoga pants, a white T-shirt and flip-flops. (“I do yoga a lot,” she said.) Her hair was reddish and pulled back. Around her, the night was full of women in short-shorts, teetering heels, sparkly things; among the women were all the men looking for women.

Sex and da City opened in 2003, Ms. Shen said. She and about a dozen friends had been out at the World of Suzy Wong Club, and everyone agreed they might as well open a bar of their own. When they convened to discuss the idea again in the daytime, the group had dwindled to five. When it came time to talk about investing money, Ms. Shen said, it was down to four women. read more »

P. J. O'Rourke to China: Hey, No Hard Feelings?

Matt Haber — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 11:51:58 -0400

The new issue of World Affairs ("A Journal of Ideas and Debate") features a short travelogue by P. J. O'Rourke called The Cleveland of Asia: A Journey Through China’s Rust Belt. In 2006, Mr. O'Rourke, a Cato Institute fellow and Atlantic correspondent, spent a month in China, visiting factories, Xi'an's famous Terra Cotta Warriors, the Three Gorges Dam and other charming locales to see how the place had changed since he was last there, in 1997, producing insights like the following: "The enormous dam was enormous. The scenic Three Gorges were scenic. And the mucky-looking reservoir that's filling the gorges looked mucky."

Mostly, it seems that Mr. O'Rourke was driven around in sleek black cars, invited to a lot of boozy meals by various factory owners and businesspeople (as well as someone who may have been Chinese secret police) and had a good time coming up with observational humor bits about Chinese people and Westerners that run along the lines of, "A white person eats like this. ... But a Chinese person eats like this!" read more »

Joe Torre, Far From Home

Tom Scocca — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 16:23:22 -0400

BEIJING—March 15 was what people conventionally call a great day for a ball game. A right-handed pull hitter might have disagreed, feeling the strong breeze coming in from the northwest. It was certainly a kind day for red flags, at least in Beijing. Along Chang'an Boulevard, by Tian'anmen Square and the Great Hall of the People, the national flags and accompanying plain red ones stood rippling off their flagpoles, aglow in clear sunlight against the blue sky.

From the other side of the country, in Lhasa, there were reports of flag burnings—and other things burning. It was unclear. The Internet was clogged. YouTube was blocked, and its Chinese counterpart, Tudou, had suddenly announced it was shutting down to work on its servers. read more »

Will Smith Dumped by Girlfriend, People's Republic of China

David Foxley — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 15:45:20 -0500

We all know how powerful China is becoming, but powerful enough to deflate the ego of one of Hollywood’s most sought-after leading men? This morning brought the news that China has yet to green-light Will Smith’s latest blockbusting effort, I Am Legend, which opens here on December 14. The apparent snub comes loosely attached to a report that the nation of 1,321,851,888 citizens plans to block all American movies, hoping to boost its own budding film industry. (Let’s also not forget that I Am Legend basically equates populous areas with violence and death; the only haven of solace is found in pastoral Vermont.) “We struggled very, very hard to try to get it to work out, but there are only a certain amount of foreign films that are allowed in,” Mr. Smith told reporters in Hong Kong today.

Poor guy can’t get a break. In a new interview with Rolling Stone, Mr. Smith, 39, admits to being insecure. When he was 15, his first girlfriend broke his heart. “[I]t destroyed my concept of myself,” he told the Wenner music book, adding: “I [thought I] wasn’t good enough.” He then recalls a certain look his grandmother once gave him, the look of someone who’s proud. It affected him to such a degree that he now needs to find it in the faces of all the women in his life—namely, in that of his lovely wife, Jada Pinkett. “Every singe day Jada must have the look. I can’t function if she doesn’t have that look in her eyes.” Ms. Pinkett’s proud-look is probably awesome, but we’d most like to see the look on his first girlfriend’s face when she saw The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air for the first time. read more »

The Afternoon Wrap: Tuesday

Observer Staff — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 14:01:54 -0400

Gather 'round, kids! Did you know Chelsea used to be uncool? And it was genuine. And the rich real estate was rooming houses "for Merchant Mariners on the beach for a few weeks," and there were longshoremen. And they "deserve your respect for the work they did." Damn, kids today! They don't have any respect for old Chelsea longshoremen. [BlogChelsea]
The United States of America, surely the greenest country in the world, lectures China on building enviornmentally-sound real estate. "This is not a 'nice to do,'--It's an absolute must," we told them. Patriarchy always works! [Multi-Housing News]
Andrew "Dice" Clay represents everything that was good about old-school Brooklyn: leather jackets, cigarettes, and yelling "I don't care if you are pregnant, I'm not marrying you" at women in elevators. [Brooklyn Paper] - Max Abelson

Bloomberg Aide Shanghais China From the Bretons

Matthew Schuerman — Sun, 12 Nov 2006 19:00:00 -0500

Yuet-fung Ho made Hong Kong’s first television soap opera. read more »

Reaping the Fruits of Bush’s Korea Policy

Joe Conason — Sun, 15 Oct 2006 20:00:00 -0400

If North Korea’s first nuclear weapons test was indeed a dud, we will hear another round of jo read more »

Reaping the Fruits of Bush's Korea Policy

Joe Conason — Sun, 15 Oct 2006 20:00:00 -0400

If North Korea’s first nuclear weapons test was indeed a dud, we will hear another round of jokes read more »

Events for September 29, 2006

Observer Staff — Thu, 28 Sep 2006 14:09:51 -0400

Young leaders take the City Year pledge and the AmeriCorps pledge at their opening day ceremonies at Trinity Church.

Corporate Women Directors International hosts a forum at The Harvard Club on how to increase the number of women in the board room.

Assistant U.S. Trade Representative Victoria Espinel speaks on "China and the U.S.' Intellectual Property Agenda" at 55 Fifth Avenue.

A press conference will be held announcing the establishment of the African Burial Ground National Monument foundation at 290 Broadway.

Tony Avella criticizes the delays and underfunding of the Parks Department's "Trees and Sidewalks" program in Douglaston.

Alan Greenspan speaks to the press prior to his appearance at the Long Island Association September Luncheon at the Crest Hollow Country Club in Woodbury.

Nassau County Comptroller Howard Wietzman celebrates the 2nd anniversary of the NassauRx prescription discount card program at Central Nassau Guidance and Counseling Services in Hicksville.

Thomas Morahan announces legislation that would exclude school property tax rebates from taxation in West Nyack.

—Nicole Brydson