Mama Shaq, Mama Shaq, Shaq’s your mom, that’s a fact !

Mama Shaq, Mama Shaq, Shaq’s your mom, that’s a fact !

"Mama Shaq, Mama Shaq, Shaq's your mom, that's a fact"

State Council Ushers in China’s Green Reign?

 

A more figurative take on “energy.” From mountain to stone, the sea change required for sustainability requires unceasing effort and patience. Will China be able to do this, and establish its “green reign”?

Kudos to Julian Wong, China energy wonk and genius behind Green Leap Forward.  Wong, who recently joined the Center for American Progress in Washington, DC as an analyst, snagged a quote in the June 10th Guardian article, “China makes renewable power play to be world’s first green superpower.”

The Guardian article, written by Jonathan Watts, claims a new era, one in which China will lead the world in green energy, is upon us.  As Watts writes, “the world has grown used to condemning China as a climate criminal.”  If you travel through China, the logic behind this becomes fairly obvious, if even in an anecdotal way.  After a few days in Shanghai, your mucus will be grayish black.  Anecdotal, but startling nonetheless.  For those who have traveled to some of the less-beaten paths of industrial China, the results of ongoing non-green development is even more painfully obvious.

As per Watts’ article, China’s State Council has plans to change this.  The State Council will soon release its ” ‘new energy‘ programme that could propel the world’s biggest greenhouse gas emitter past Europe and the US into a global leader in renewable energy and low-carbon technology.”  That, according to many, is reason for celebration.  Watts echoes various Chinese and international voices in echoing the long-term nature of China’s green energy moves.  After all, investments of potentially more than four trillion yuan in green energy ventures will certainly require–and get–a long-term management plan.

Like Watts, Wong seems very excited about the prospect.  As Watts writes,

If a substantial amount of the new package goes on renewables and efficiency, Julian Wong, an energy analyst at the Center for American Progress in Washington DC, says the potential is enormous.

He [Wong] says: “If those expectations are fulfilled, China could emerge as the unquestioned global leader in clean energy production, significantly increasing its chances to wean [itself] off coal, and at the same time ushering in an era of sustainable economic growth by exporting these clean-energy technologies to the world.”

Julian Wong, Creator of the blog, "Green Leap Forward"

 My only apprehensions (Who am I kidding? SOME of my apprehensions) regard the diversity of China’s energy supply.  The move toward long-term, sustainable energy in China is surely closely linked with national security.  Through nurturing domestic capacity and demand for clean energy, China hopes to reduce its dependence on foreign energy sources. 

I worry, however, that the time crunch (China wants to “speed things up”) and the lack of cohesion between rural and urban areas, among other factors, would prevent China’s clean energy output from reaching its high targets.  And, lookinng at China’s moves toward finding energy and ore abroad, including moves into the Sudan and increasing clout with central Asian countries, I would be worried about China importing its “dirty” energy from abroad, even while cultivating the domestic market for clean energy.

So, bully for the State Council for its “new energy” program.  I’m crossing my fingers for the little guys, the bureaucrats that will actually usher in (or not) China’s green reign.  And, when details are realeased, I’ll leave it to the big brains, like Julian Wong, to come through with circumspect criticism and advice.

Yummy Food of the Day: Fuqi Fei Pian (Husband and Wife Beef Slices)

Fu Qi Fei Pian 夫妻肺片
(pronounced foo chee fay pee-N for us American English speakers)

This is a dish I enjoyed a lot while I was living in Sichuan.  And by a lot, I mean whenever I got the chance!  Outside of sanitation concerns, I never quite got down with the thing where its SUPER hot outside and you eat hot food anyway.  So this was one of those cold appetizers that I would order a lot and eat to my heart’s content.  Basically, its got some nice tidbits like tripe, tendon, and lung if you’re lucky.  That’s boiled and doused in chili oil, flower pepper, sesame, and cilantro.   Enjoy!

Recipe for Fu Qi Fei Pian, courtesy of Emperor Garden in Las Vegas

Fu Qi Fei Pian – How to Make Spicy Beef Appetizer (in Chinese, but good instruction)

The Shoe Show: Its not self-deprecation if you know everyone will stick up for you

I have to say I find the shoe hurling incident just interesting.  I’ve seen some funny television in China.  What’s more, I’ve seen some “funny” editing of events that I either knew or had seen a different way in person.  So to be honest, I was quite baffled that the entire four minute event would show on Chinese television.

My first reaction?  Maybe the Olympics (or whatever event or evolutionary milestone you like) really did herald an era of fresh media openness and–dare I say?–freedom!  Okay, so not so much.  In actuality, I think it was simply a very strategic move to refocus attention on the main message on the mainland:  “China is moral and calm in the face of global crisis” (and if you’ve read any Chinese fables, you know that morality undoubtedly wins the wars, if not the battles).

I mean, check it.  This is the tail end of Spring Festival, a time of celebrating plenty even when futures are bleak.  The central government usually goes all out to ensure, indirectly though it may be, that workers returning to their homes in the countryside are not left completely deprived of wages.  Its the tail end of the party, and the bellies are still full though famine looms ahead.  This is a perfect time for the central government to rally Chinese citizens around the flag, and reap the resultant gains in support and legitimacy.

The waterslide into economic crisis is speeding up.  The Obama administration, seeking to distance itself from the Bush administration, is still feeling around for its bearings in the Sino-American relationship.  Even former Secretary Paulson has mixed things to say about China’s financial practices.  What better way to play the oft-victimized, yet ever-cooperative moral authority than to air composure in the face of blatant incivility?

I don’t think Prime Minister Wen Jiabao is angry at the incident.  I don’t think any central government supporter is angry at the incident.  The only people who are angry at the incident are those for whom anger was intended–the young, mobile, aware, generally uber-nationalistic youth of China.  I mean this is free, fantastic domestic PR, people!  A peak audience of 1.3billion people have just gone from being largely unaware that Prime Minister Wen was even at Cambridge giving a speech, to becoming unconditional supporters of whatever Prime Minister Wen said there (and at the next several speeches).

Makes me wonder if PM Wen may have lent someone a loafer shortly before the lecture…(joke).

Superbowl? Aid Bowl! Taiwan vs China

ADD like me?  Here’s the gist of it:

In the ongoing battle for international recognition, Taiwan is certainly on the losing end.  With only 23 allies and an economic recession in full swing, things don’t look good.  China, on the otherhand, is well prepared for the next, and possibly last, stage in their ages-long battle against Taiwan’s perceived “renegade tendencies.”  I believe that, instead of using its reserves solely on domestic projects, China will begin to chip away more aggressively than ever at Taiwan’s relationships with its economically underdeveloped allies.  Further, I don’t think this is a bad move, given the domestic weight that the Taiwan issue carries in mainland China.  For the pretty version, read on…

Happy Chinese “Niu” Years!

Happy “Niu” Year, everybody!

It is the year of the 牛 (niu2), meaning “cow” or “ox.”  Although 2009 has already started according to the Gregorian calendar (the one we normally use), the lunar calendar will ring in a new year tonight, beginning January 26.

Unlike our zodiac, which splits up each year into 12 stations, the Chinese zodiac runs on a 12 year cycle, split up into 12 stations of one year each.  A different animal represents each year in the 12 year cycle of the Chinese zodiac.  For instance, this past year was the year of the rat.  This year, as I noted above, will be the year of the Ox.  You can check what year your were born in here.

If it is your year, tradition has it that exciting, yet dangerous things can happen to you!  Watch out for both opportunity and danger!  In Chinese lore, some steps you can take to protect yourself are to wear a piece of jade (usually given to you by family), wear red string, or an item of red, during your year.  In China, red items are sold everywhere.  You can buy a $0.25 red string of beads for your wrist or waist, or buy a hugely expensive piece of jade on a red chain.  If you don’t want to be so obvious about your red, just go for some red underwear!  Victoria’s Secret has red lingerie, and in China, so does most every marketplace!  During your year, red undies are good choice, no matter your age!

For those born in the year of the Ox, leadership, dependability, and patience are supposed to come naturally.  I really like one of the sentences that Wikipedia has about the year of the Ox.  The entry states, “The Ox is the sign of prosperity through fortitude and hard work….  Security is their main preoccupation in life, and they are prepared to toil long and hard in order to provide a warm, comfortable and stable nest for themselves and their families.”

Not an Ox myself, I am really quite jealous of all these attributes.  I hope, though, that I can learn from the Ox, and maybe absorb a little of the bovine energy in the air.  2008 was certainly an awesome year–some of the awe came from joy and excitement, while some came from pain and crisis.  I’m read for a bit of calm after the upheaval of 2008, though, and I hope we can take a page from the Oxen, in general.  A bit more conservation of energy, a bit more reservation, and a bit more of an emphasis on security.

Oxen aren’t perfect–they’re often stubborn, risk-averse, and altogether too wary of the changes that seem inevitable these days.  They’re known for their logic, common sense, and sense of positivity, though, which is something we desperately need right now.  So lets do it.  Lets really use 2009 to recommit ourselves with patience, modesty, and caring.  Happy New Years, or in Chinese, 恭喜你！”Gong1xi2 ni3!”

Here is a video, called “Gongxi Ni.”  “Gongxi Ni,” which literally means “congratulations,” sort of just wishes the recipient a Happy New Years.  The video is supercute, but believe me, when its played with the frequency of a Christmas standard, it loses its natural charm right quick!  Enjoy!

Banfa? What is banfa?

“Banfa,” like any worthwhile concept in Chinese language, is seeminly simple, yet secretly ambiguous.  ”Banfa” can mean anything from a method or a way of doing things, to a way of getting from point A to point B.  On the ground in China, though, a better question is not, “What is banfa,” but rather, “What is a lack of banfa?”