The scene of unbridled jubilation broadcast from in front of the White House last Sunday in reaction to Osama bin Laden’s death could have been mistaken for a Fourth of July celebration. American flags flapped around behind reporters speaking over a roaring crowd of revelers; a group of 20-somethings hoisted upon their peers’ shoulders pumped …
Category: China
Dispatches from beyond the Great Firewall
Justin Gets Featured in The New York Times
At any given moment, there is information floating around the Internet --- publicly, no less --- about you. It's a natural effect of the digital age that, while some get shivers over the lose of privacy, has made it astronomically easier to disseminate news and communicate. At the bottom of this writing you can even "share" this post …
Magic Kingdom Needs More than Allure to Win Mainland
Disney is making headlines these days with the recent ground breaking of Shanghai Disneyland in Pudong. The iconic brand has actually been visibly seeding interest since '08 when the first Disney English school opened in Shanghai. Their glossy form of "edutainment" has done a formidable job of exposing all things Disney to the mainland, but how Mickey …
Continue reading Magic Kingdom Needs More than Allure to Win Mainland
Freelance the Migrant Worker Way
Drifting about Shanghai last Saturday, a few blocks north of the textile market, I stumbled across a group of workers loitering on the curb, blocked from the afternoon sun by a looming concrete skyscraper either half built or half abandoned. It wasn't an all together new sight for me in the city, but this time …
Who Listens to Chinese Propaganda Anyway?
The simple answer: not many. Speaking for those living in the urban centers I've visited (yes, not including rural areas), Chinese young and old tend to ride off the pervasive red-ribboned mandates that decorate their alleyways and markets. I often amiably ask something along the lines of, "So what do you think about that sign?" …
Justin Calderón 