Promising China Blog -- East-West Station
I am finding that one of the best things about this relatively new series on up and coming (a/k/a promising) China blogs is that readers are alerting me to excellent new blogs of whose existence I was unaware. Put the East-West Station blog on that list.
East-West Station is subtitled, "Musings and Bladderment from One Fat Englishman Out East," and its writer describes himself as follows:
I�m an English English teacher who�s lived and worked in Hungary, Japan, Thailand, England, and now in Dalian, North-East China�which is my wife�s home town. Life seems good in this city and we will probably bring up our daughter here. So, a decade of Dalian beckons, more than likely, and that�s about how long I�m going to need to learn to speak and read Chinese.
By blogging about various matters eastwest, I intend to bring about mutual understanding and harmony between so-called western and eastern cultures. Yes, this blog wants world peace.
And you?
Not sure if his question regarding world peace is meant to be rhetorical, but just so the record is clear, my view on world peace has always been that if Ms. America is for it, I am too.
East-West station consists of somewhat random musings on China, but the posts are consistently very well written and sometimes extremely thoughtful. For example, the post on the dreaded C-word (which word I am not spelling out so as to avoid such a fate for this blog), entitled, "Why Can't We Just Talk," ought to be read by everyone who wants to know more about how the Chinese view their own country and their government. The post on the "Three Taboo Ts" would be hilarious if it were not so troubling.
Check it out.
Comments (20)
Read through and enter the discussion by using the form at the endJeremiah - May 16, 2007 11:05 PM
What a great find. Thanks, Dan. By the by, the 3 T's story is priceless in a "makes me think hard about my chosen profession sort of way."
China Law Blog - May 17, 2007 12:19 AM
Jeremiah --
Isn't it amazing how many really good Chinese blogs are springing up? How can one keep up? The post is priceless, but why does it make you think hard about your chosen profession?
All Roads - May 17, 2007 9:20 AM
So let me get this right.
Systematic censorship in China prevents him from speaking about the Three T's, it really punches his buttons that the Chinese government censors, and part of the blame is shared by the local population who are not idiots.. just ill-informed?
What I love is that he signed the contract.. He decided that the best way to change the system from the inside.
Cutting Edge blog is fantastic.. good call.
Kim - May 17, 2007 10:14 AM
Thanks for the kind words! Actually, I am kind of wondering whether I ought to be more careful as a "university teacher" blogger. I do hold to the idea of a university as being a place where you should be able to kick ideas around and I don't want to be an anonymous blogger, but what with a wife and kids and being fond of Dalian I do sometimes wonder if there could be any kickback. I don't mind my blog being C-worded, but a visa problem could be, well, a big problem. Oh well, fuck it. What's the point of worrying? I am careful and diplomatic in my classes, but I don't intend to curb my tongue in my blog. Any advice on this from any Old China Hands?
China Law Blog - May 17, 2007 1:43 PM
All Roads --
Well, no. He never talks about changing the system, from any side. These are just his musings.
China Law Blog - May 17, 2007 1:47 PM
Kim --
At least you will be in good company, as there are countless blogs out there written in China that say things that most certainly would not pass muster with the Chinese censors.
I too would love to hear from some Old China Hand bloggers on this. Anyone?
All Roads - May 17, 2007 8:12 PM
Dan,
Yeah, I threw that last point in as sarcasism.
His musings are contraditions of his own actions, and if he really had the conviction to stand behind his musings he would not have signed the contract.
@ Kim
As far as getting into trouble when blogging about various topics, or when teaching students, it depends on how loud your voice is.
Your classrooms are not bugged, but the risk is if a student disagrees with your viewpoint and goes to a higher authority... or your post sets of a national movement
If you get into trouble, you will know about it before it affects your visa.
Chris - May 17, 2007 9:43 PM
Kim,
Some of my students have found their way to my blog (especially now that my domain name is, well, obvious) and the response has been positive. So far, the only questions have been about comprehension, and some tech stuff with that map page I put up. I say keep writing. If the college gets on you about it (which I doubt they will) write about that. Put everything out there. There's nothing in my contract, and probably yours, that prevents writing about your experience. It's only in class that you might have trouble.
I seriously doubt any university is going to deport you for taking the piss.
Keep up the good work, too.
Kim - May 18, 2007 7:56 AM
Mr All Roads
Jumping to conclusions a bit...as a part-time teacher I was not required or asked to sign the contract. I should say though that if I was asked to sign one I would because I really like the students (businesspeople) at the school and don't see myself as some kind of "purveyor of western standards of truth and justice" to the Chinese. If a student brought up one of the T's I would tell them that I signed a contract saying I am not to talk about those topics during classtime and what do they think of that?
Well, setting off a national movement sounds cool, shall we join forces and do it next week? Actually, my philosophy on helping to make the world a better place is the same as the ant who said "every little helps" as he took his morning piss into the ocean.
All Roads - May 18, 2007 9:24 AM
I was just using your words:
At my part time job the contract states that we are not to bring up or (if brought up) talk about the three T�s of Taiwan, Tibet, and Tiananmen with our students.
and I am pretty sure that if you made that offer in class you would be called into the principals office.
Kim - May 18, 2007 1:48 PM
Yes, you jumped to a perfectly reasonable conclusion, but if I were to be lawyer-esque about it then...I would be a twat. I should have made it clearer, not that it matters much if signed or not.
Called into the principal's office, eh? Brings me back to my schooldays. Hope he hasn't got a steady hand and a big gymshoe.
Chris - May 19, 2007 6:10 AM
Kim,
I just realized what school you were talking about. It's the one I used to work at, too, right? I did bring up at least one of the Ts after I stopped working there (I was back in the office to meet up with two former colleagues) and accidentally sent a student away at the brink of tears by saying the politically incorrect thing. Maybe I should turn that story into a post.
China Law Blog - May 21, 2007 1:03 PM
All Roads --
I think you are being way too harsh on the poor guy and I would venture to say that all of us who spend much time in China are, at least to a certain extent, going against our convictions, or at least I hope we are.
China Law Blog - May 21, 2007 1:04 PM
Chris --
Thanks for your answer. Makes sense.
China Law Blog - May 21, 2007 1:05 PM
Chris --
Does sound like a post.
All Roads - May 22, 2007 2:27 AM
Dan,
I see we are at odds again, and conflict is good...
How are you going against your convictions?
I am pretty famous in Shanghai for standing up for mine with bridges a lite in the background.
As for being critical of his convictions, I am not being critcial of his convictions...
What I am being critical of is the fact that he wonders why his students (or more broadly, the Chinese) won't stand up for themselves and demand more... yet he would sign the contract, and become apart of the system that he says he thinks is so wrong.
Personally, I would have pushed back and not signed the contract. There are plenty of jobs in the world, and if I were so convicted, I wouldn't be conflicted.
Then again, that is just me in Shanghai..
China Law Blog - May 22, 2007 7:51 AM
All Roads --
China oppresses its people. It is hugely corrupt. It represses speech and religion. It produces poisonous goods. It takes away people's right to procreate. My convictions tell me these are not good things, and yet every dollar I contribute to China to a certain extent contributes to all of this.
Have you not noticed?
And are you going to tell me that you make it a point to bring up the three T's with government officials because there is no reason not to?
Come on.
All Roads - May 22, 2007 9:49 AM
Dan,
You are going outside the scope, but I will play.
My experience and my opinions here are different than yours as you sit in Seattle and I sit in Shanghai.
For the last 5 years, I have listened to people judge and complain and do NOTHING to improve the situation, and this post was a classic example of just that.
In my mind, the writer (if they were going to criticize the system) should have walked away from that contract rather than be apart of the system... thus my quip about "changing the system from the inside"
Why should he expect his students to stand up if he isn't willing to?
See the contradiction?
You can believe that all the above exists in whatever manner you wish.. but you are not here to see and understand what is really going on.
I meet people everyday in Shanghai who are apart of something constructive for this society, and it is exciting to be apart of it.
They are in government postings, in NGOs, in MNCs, in grassroots organizations, and it is refreshing to work with ALL of them because they do not sit idle and throw stones.
In the last 5 years, this country has gone 180 degrees in terms of coming out about problems it faces and reaching out to those it believes can assist. It took SARS to really catalyze the process, but almost 4 years later, the difference is night and day.
Sure improvements can be made, and I don't deny that. but to say that nothing is being done, and that there is something sinister going on at a macro level is just wrong.
Again, it is just my opinion, I am not saying the writer is a bad person or that his views on censorship are wrong. But if he was going to talk the talk, then he needed to walk the walk.
Further, if you want to debate the issues that China faces as it develops, then I hope you will drop by my other blog China Crossroads (www.china-crossroads.com).
China Law Blog - May 24, 2007 11:51 AM
All Roads --
I think we have a fundamental disagreement on human nature. I see us as constantly rife with contradictions and I am okay with that. In fact, I am usually opposed with questioning motives. If I give a dollar to a begger, I do so for 10 different reasons, some good, some bad, but the bottom line is that I gave.
Life is complex. I like that.
Stephen - December 11, 2007 3:42 AM
I think that for someone to comment on the system, they must be part of it to have any insight. They cannot assume their values are the same as those who "suffer" under a system that they doesn't understand from the start.
For Chris to go out there and begin a decade of his life with a family in Dalian and writing about it, is helping change perceptions about China to outsiders and understanding its insights in the process. An open mind can forge a new path, a closed one will only hit a culdasac.
Well done Chris, enjoy your time in Dalian.