Hugging the Panda

One of my best ‘finds’ this year has been the Sinica podcast. At last – a podcast discussing current affairs in China in an objective fashion, with hosts that clearly understand China.

For the first 18 or so episodes, I’ve agreed with everything they’ve said. Well not every single thing – there have been moments when I’ve said "Hang on, what about … ?" to my mp3 player. In each case however, one of the hosts subsequently chipped in and raised my point. As a result, I’ve developed a healthy respect for both the hosts and the show.

With the recent episode discussing China Apologists (or Panda Huggers), I found myself not quite agreeing with the host for the first time – so here are my thoughts on the issue. Continue reading

International Hotels In China – The Expat’s Refuge

As mentioned recently, I’m going to publish some of my old photos of China. Here are a couple of photos of an ‘international’ hotel in China – the Dynasty Hotel in Zhaoqing – taken back in 2002. Hotels such as this provide a great refuge for expats living in China, especially those living in small to medium cities.

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