Hao Hao ReportThe best China news and blog posts

Is China a developed, developing, or Third World country? The answer: all three at once. Also: everyone worries about culture shock- but what about reverse culture shock? The perils of returning home after a long stay abroad.

Israeli-Chinese culture shock : The Chinese experience by an Israeli mom in China

I greatly respect and admire Chinese culture. I may not always agree with the politics or the attitudes that I encounter (in fact I often do not) but I am grateful for the opportunity to live here and immerse myself in the culture. I was thinking about my favorite aspects of Chinese culture.

Here a few of my thoughts; feel free to add more.

This is not a critique necessarily on Chinese culture. It is, however, a warning that the global economy–and its attendant culture–does threaten any country’s native culture. China is not exempted from this either.

ESWN translates an essay by Rui Chenggang, the CCTV anchor who started the uproar over Starbucks in the Forbidden City. Fascinating and complicated. Read it.

I’ve talked about Americans decrying Chinese imported products on this blog, and the need for American and multinational corporations to get their act together in due diligence and quality control. Well this story was so strange that I had to post it. It’s not exactly your run-of-the-mill Trader Joe’s or even pet food melamine case. Instead, Congress is targeting importation of actual (plastinated) human bodies for display from China.

Expatriates surrendering their citizenship will have to act as if they have sold all their worldwide assets at a fair market price. If the unrealized gains on these assets exceed $600,000, capital-gains tax will apply. Along with citizens of North Korea and a few other countries, Americans are taxed based on their citizenship, rather than domicile.

Danwei reports on China's first online meme of 2008 - "Very yellow, very violent,". The article offers up a translation of Mai Tian's post entitled: "The Mop culture behind 'Very yellow, very violent'" - an interesting article about China's rather "mob-like" BBS culture.

After US cyclists arrive for 2008 Olympics wearing face masks because of Beijing pollution, many Chinese argue on Chinese forums, some accusing the Americans of being rude while others defend the Americans, agreeing that Beijing air really is bad.