Author Archives: Joel Martinsen

Spring Festival crosstalk and the reform era

Crosstalk and comic sketches at the Spring Festival Gala are pretty lack-luster. Pan Caifu explains that it’s because they’re expected to be uplifting, not satiric.

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CCTV cuts broadcast of Obama address

CCTV doesn’t like Obama’s comments on fascism and communism.

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Show your patriotism through spending

Outlook Weekly argues that active consumption is patriotic.

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Behind the Chinese blogging boom

Japanese writer Kato Yoshikazu discusses blog popularity in China

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How to get a ticket home for the holidays

A bit of advice on how to score a seat on a crowded Spring Festival train.

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Proposals from the Beijing 2009 CPPCC session

A list of interesting proposals to come out of this year’s CPPCC session in Beijing.

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Say you’re satisfied, for the sake of the children

Children’s school scores are held hostage to ensure their parents fill out a survey satisfactorily.

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Visions of magazine covers

Cover mosaics for four major Chinese magazines.

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Yao Ming shares a Coke with Liu Xiang

For the New Year, Yao Ming stops by Liu Xiang’s place to see how his recovery is progressing. Coca-Cola features prominently in this video broadcast on CCTV-News. Soft ad? Lots of people think so.

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Street performer in Shanghai

From Youku, a street performer outside the Shanghai train station on January 1. Looks like it was a pretty windy day.

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