Tuesday, September 19th, 2006...4:40 pm
How to enrage the Chinese people
Throughout the time that I've been writing about China , I've had the dubious pleasure of facing and witnessing some Chinese discomfort - and at times rage - over a few issues which the Chinese seem to be a bit sensitive about. I've always tried my best to show my passion and attraction to the Chinese culture, but there's no escaping the fact that when it comes to discussing China - there are few issues that a blogger should know might upset the Chinese people.
Following the Problogger's Howto writing project, here's my amateur list of "How to enrage the Chinese people", hoping to give a better understanding on the Chinese sensitivities so that bloggers will be able to address those issues with care :
- Write a sex blog as an expat in China about seducing countless Chinese women. Come to think of it, it might be enough to imply that the Chinese men are incompetent in bed or that the Chinese women are sexually dissatisfied ("China : Sex, pride and a bit about Israel").
- Criticize the Chinese government policy, suggesting that it might be wrong or strange. Come to think of it, it might be enough to point to a news item that causes others to criticize the Chinese government ("Is the Chinese government against Lonely Planet on the Taiwan issue?" and "More on China and Lonely Planet").
- Discuss either Taiwan or Tibet as independent countries. Come to think of it, it might be enough to imply that there is a "Taiwan" (and not the "Republic of China"). ("China furious over Israeli officials visit to Taiwan" ; "China : Challenges and Implications -1-").
- Misinterpret your attack field maps resulting in killing a Chinese observer in Lebanon. ("Chinalysis : China related articles - September 14th" - section 4 ; "War : China on the war in Israel" ; "War: China vs. US on the Israeli issue").
- Misuse and misinterpret the Chinese language to give trendy speeches - AKA crisis isn't danger + opportunity ("China : Challenges and Implications -2-" ; "Asian related quick-links : August 25th" bullet 4)
- Leave the lights in your home running at night ("The Chinese perspective in Israel")
- Make some jokes about China ("Asia by Uncylclopedia")
- Molest Wax statues of celebrities, take a photo and send it to friends who'll post it in Chinese forums ("Molesting Wax Statues in China ").
- Write a post on how you think you know what upsets the Chinese people.
What's on your list?
Tell them that, for many reasons, Chinese characters are less well suited for writing modern standard Mandarin than Hanyu Pinyin.
I’ve found that works pretty well in pushing reactionary buttons. Heh.
Good read! I hopped over from Problogger…enjoyed your post.
Interesting read. I am learning a lot of stuff from the Writing Project. Thanks for the how to! My How To is up also.
Interesting read. I am learning a lot about different stuff from the Group writing Project at PorBlogger. Thanks!
Ha! Great article. I remember reading about that first item on your list a couple weeks ago.
Ha ha ha ha! Our how-to is up as well if you’d like to check it out!!
Interesting article. Since this was the first article that I read linked from Problogger, I was expecting something else. Interesting nonetheless. #2 & 3 doesn’t affect me since I have feel no love for China, or more specifically, the Communist government of China.
Good conclusions!Feli you really have a very positive point of view towards culture - so friendly and sophisticated.
Besides, isn’t Israle in the Middle East? You kept saying ‘the west’ and ‘back in our west’ and gave me an impression that it is part of America or Europe! So I checked the map and saw that it is to the WEST of China - no wonder you feel so smart about yourself.
You’re right, ofcourse.
Israel is in the (western) middle east, but it seems that the Israeli culture is more Mediterranean and western that it is middle-eastern, which might have do with Israeli history.
Oddly enough, for political reasons - when it comes to sports and economics, Israel is “considered” Europe, and anybody visiting Israel notices that Israeli culture is highly influenced by the US big-brother.
Many people have nothing to do in their life except to post unproductive message over here.