Coffee Talk: Rui Chenggang

In the latest Lost Laowai post I find a bit of new hope for my otherwise jaded opinion towards free thought in China. It comes, oddly enough, in the form of a CCTV anchorman. He's no Ron Burgundy, but he's pretty cool none-the-less.

Whether he's telling Starbucks to get the hell out of the Forbidden City or telling Chinese to get the hell over their problems with the Japanese - CCTV's Rui Chenggang has thoughts that work outside the rinse-read-repeat system so common among China's "intellectuals".

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Hao'd by Ryan 1 year 45 weeks ago- – Made popular 1 year 44 weeks ago
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Rui Chenggang On Japan 1 year 45 weeks ago

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.

China's Starbucks-blogger-gate: Hype and reality 1 year 45 weeks ago

The uproar over the Starbucks in Beijing's Forbidden City isn't really about the power of bloggers and citizen media in China, argues Rebecca MacKinnon. What's it really about? Well, that's more complicated. Best to just read the whole thing.

Starbucks shuts controversial Forbidden City shop 1 year 20 weeks ago

BEIJING - Starbucks has closed a coffeehouse in China's former imperial palace, the company said Saturday, ending a presence that sparked protests by Chinese critics who said it damaged a key historical site.

Sex, Lies and Blue Hair 1 year 29 weeks ago

This, the latest Chinese Internet tale, is filling up the Chinese forums with comments on who is telling the truth. Aside from a bit of a voyeuristic sexual read about a chick in a band that brings new meaning to Communism, one wonders why it is such big news.

Regardless, it does say something about that not so distant sphere from our own... the one written with the mashup of hong, shu, pie and dian.

At Starbucks Coffee - An Unfortunate Birthday Surprise 1 year 7 weeks ago

From Starbucks in Dalian: A bit of cake, a bit of coffee, a swastika . . . well, this one is just plain weird.

Thank you, come again.

Clearing Up The China Funk 1 year 46 weeks ago

I'd like to extend a warm welcome to Lost Laowai's newest addition - JohnB. John's inaugural post cuts to the heart of something all of us expats in China deal with frequently - the China funk.

John offers some good advice on regaining that lovin' feeling for the Middle Kingdom. Whether it be just some hotpot (and copious amounts of warm beer) with friends, a good book or getting the hell out of China for a while...

Beijing Starbucks Tour 1 year 3 weeks ago

One sad thing about life in Beijing is missing American food. My boyfriend is sick of me hearing me tell him how much I miss milkshakes and bread. There is are a number of Western-themed eateries, Dairy Queen, a Sizzler (or two), Pizza Huts and of course ubiquitious McDonalds, in the city. And if you want coffee, there are a surprising number of Starbucks in the city.

Standing In Doorways 2 years 3 weeks ago

The latest post from our Lost Laowai blog is one of great fury and furious anger at China's population's apparently inability to get involved when someone needs help as well as a general detachment from the fact that the world is a shared place and not just for them to stand in doorways as the rest of us try to get by.

So this is what gets you blocked 1 year 22 weeks ago

I got to experience the Great Firewall's awesome technology at work today when a commenter left some opinion at HHR's sister site, Lost Laowai, that disagreed with what constitutes a "harmonious" Internet.

I've recreated the comment as a graphic (the text needed to be deleted, sorry) for anyone that's interested.