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December 2007 - Posts
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By JFK Miller
 You may have heard by now the news that the latest World Bank estimates have China's economy as being about 40 percent smaller than previous WB estimates, ie., a mere US$6 trillion rather than US$10 trillion. So why is this important? Well, it probably won't mean a great deal to the average Chinese, even the extra 200 million who, because of the new figures, are now technically living below the poverty line of US$1 a day. The NYT estimates the number of people in China on skid row has risen from 100 million to 300 million.
But the figures do carry important implications, not the least of which is something which affects all of us working in China — the value of the renminbi. The International Herald Tribune's Keith Bradsher says the new figures take the pressure off Beijing to revalue the yuan. Even hardline advocates of yuan appreciation, such as Harvard Professor Jeffrey Frankel, seem to be backing down. Frankel admitted to the Trib that the new figures badly undermine his argument for the renminbi to be revalued. "I would have to retract that based on these latest numbers," he's quoted as saying.
Meanwhile, the Financial Times' Albert Keidel says the revised estimate indicates that China just won't have the
dough anytime soon to build a defense capability to rival America's. He also says a "smaller, poorer" China strengthens Beijing's case for continued funding by the World Bank.
But it seems Beijing can't have it both ways. The Times of India's Chidanand Rajghatta points out that Beijing has argued on the strength of the old figures for increased voting clout at the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. So the revised figures (which say China is poorer) are a setback for more voting muscle.
Beijing hasn't officially commented on the World Bank's new estimate and isn't likely to. In any event, taking a position is a double-edged sword. If Beijing were to embrace the new estimate and cry poor, then it undermines its own argument for more clout at the WB/IMF. If, on the other hand, it dismisses the figures, it negates its own case for keeping the yuan as it is.
The story seems to have had a trickle down effect in the international press. The FT picked it up as early as November 13 (with an editorial on December 18), the NYT on December 9 (and again by Keith Bradsher in the Times'-owned Trib on December 20, and by Howard French also in the Trib on December 21), The Times of India on December 19, and the Los Angeles Times on December 30. The FT went with the witty headline "From riches to rags" while the LA Times gave us the groan-inducing "The great fall of China".
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 Leading Chinese search engine Baidu is mourning the loss of its CFO, Shawn Wang (王湛生) who died in an accident during his Christmas vacation in China on Thursday (no more details were given). The man was credited with leading the company through a successful initial public offering on NASDAQ. Meanwhile, a group of seven leading global record companies, including EMI, SONY BMG, Warner Music and Universal Music have lost their lawsuit against Baidu for aiding in the illegal downloading and sharing of their music. The People's High Court of Beijing ruled that Baidu's services do not constitute an infringement.
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Here, Shanghai, were your favourite stories for the year 2007:
Most Voted:
1. Man with world's largest hand in Shanghai for surgery
2. Giant man-eating catfish found in Guangdong reservoir?
3. China home to the world's largest Christian population?
4. Is Shanghai the sex capital of the world?
5. Chongqing's doggie-style public sinks
6. Don't date men who regularly peruse personal ads
7. We'd kill to eat at Southern Barbarian
8. Public pocket pinball
9. Living on 1,000 RMB a month in Shanghai
10. Drag Party of the Year @ Shanghai Studio
Most Commented:
1. Giant man-eating catfish found in Guangdong reservoir?
2. American guy learns about hard work, Chinese style
3. And so the Virginia Tech killer wasn't from China after all
4. Chinese football team goes to UK, fights break out everywhere
5. Still seedy, but has Tongren Lu turned savage?
6. Man with world's largest hand in Shanghai for surgery
7. Wei ***, Bai Ling and Shanghai Baby, two peas in a pod?
8. Bus envy soon to hit Shanghai?
9. Having Flickr problems?
10. Is Beijing's subway system better than Shanghai's?
Thank you all for reading Shanghaiist! Here are a few fun facts: since our first post went live on 16 June 2005, we've entertained you with 3,838 posts which received a total of 9,921 comments. This has been a year of record traffic for us as well. Over the last twelve months, we saw a total of 2.17 million unique visitors and 4.5 million page visitors, almost double the traffic of the previous year, which makes us one of the fastest growing sites on Gothamist's worldwide network of city blogs!
If you have something to say to us, we want to hear from you! Let us know how you think we're doing, what you liked to read here, what you'd like to see more of, and most of all, what makes you love (or hate) us! Even better, if you think there's something that you think we should be covering but aren't, why don't you think about volunteering? The year 2008 promises to be an exciting one, and we're looking to expand our team of writers and photographers who love sharing with the community what they know (or see) in our city, and across Shanghai. Get in touch with us at info AT shanghaiist DOT com!
Photo from stelzer
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 Well, 2007 is pretty much over. This Shanghaiist has never really been a big New Year's person, maybe because we always end up the odd one out at midnight or the one that has to break up the drunken fights that erupt. But, in the spirit of the season we have decided to do that traditional (way over done) recap of the past year. 2007 was a big year for music in Shanghai and below are our picks for 2007...and of course this list is biased, memories are subjective to each person and the most memorable shows for me usually tend to be because of personal involvement at some level.
Most memorable moments
Subs at 4Live in March - The Subs are always great fun live, and with a packed 4Live they put on yet another solid show.
Cancellation of Pretty Girls Make Graves - Damn, that really sucked and the band has since disbanded.
Rock Hard Power Spray at Yuyintang in May - This band played in front of tiny crowds, but they really f*@cking gave it everything they had. Only band we've seen do a 50 minute encore for a crowd of 75 people.
PK-14 at Eno in July- PK-14 was the first band I ever saw play in Shanghai way back in 2005. This was their first trip back to Shanghai since then and despite the sound system they put on a great performance in a packed clothing store.
Marky Ramone at the Beijing Pop Festival- Yes, we know this wasn't in Shanghai, but hell someone weaseled our way onstage for the performance and gorged ourselves on the band's rider backstage.
Yacht at Logo in October - While we had alot of fun at the Yue Festival, and the sound system was way better there, Logo was a perfect venue for Yacht who really gets the crowds going in those small confined places.
Busdriver at 4Live in October- Crowd wasn't huge, but it was good to see so many people turnout to support such an amazing underground rapper.
Linkin Park at Hong Kou stadium- We aren't much of a Linkin Park fan, but it was impressive to see such a huge turnout, and gave us hope for the future.
Voodoo Gongfu in December- Not your typical medal band, they incorporate traditional Mongolian throat singing and instruments into their music, plus they have some really cool costumes.
What to watch for in 2008
Spli-t Works - 2007 was a great year for Spli-t who put on a string of successful shows by some great international bands. In 2008 look for even bigger things from this promoter.
Yuyintang - Taking their shows on the road, Yuyintang has started a Songjiang campus tour that will greatly increase the exposure of underground bands amongst an important college crowd.
Maybe Mars - An independent record label founded by the owner of D-22 in Beijing. Their first three releases were by some of Beijing’s hottest bands....Joyside, Carsick Cars and Snapline. With 4 more releases in January and an ever growing roster they are looking to challenge Modern Sky as the premier indie labels in China.
Bands -
Carsick Cars - After an amazing year that saw the band open for Sonic Youth at 3 shows in Europe and the release of their debut album, CCS is looking to make 2008 much bigger with invites to some major European festivals.
Demerit - A member of Public Enemy was so impressed with the band that he has flown in from the USA to produce their new album. With a new album, and an Australia tour being planned, this punk band is looking to overtake Brain Failure and the Subs on top of the Chinese punk totem pole.
PK-14 - They left this month for Sweden where they will record a new album. In 2008 they have plans for not only a massive China tour, but also tours of Europe, the USA and possibly Japan.
The Honeys - This band from Shanghai is finally set to have their album release in January and we expect to see them putting on a China tour not long after that.
Top Floor Circus - The elusive Shanghai band didn't perform much in 2007, and have been busy re-tooling their sound. In December they emerged for a couple of shows and we are looking forward to seeing much more (no pun intended) of them in the New Year. Let’s just hope there is still a venue around that can hold their growing legion of Shanghainese fans.
Photo of fans at the Beijing Pop Festival
Abe Deyo is Shanghaiist's Music Editor. Email tips, recommendations, news and gossip about Shanghai's music scene to music at shanghaiist.com
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- SFist saw Christmas Day turn tragic after a Siberian tiger escaped from her pen at the San Francisco Zoo, killing a visitor and mauling two others.
- Phillyist counted down the top ten items on Philadelphia's New Year's wish list.
- Gothamist looked at the wooden bikes being offered for NYC's first bike share program on Governors Island.
- LAist received a Christmas present in the form of a drunk Santa Claus in a g-string.
- Bostonist launched Veggieist, a brand-new weekly column that is already whetting the appetites of vegans.
- Torontoist is ending the year by naming its heroes and villains of 2007––the people, places, and things that they've either fallen head over heels in love with or developed uncontrollable rage towards over the past twelve months.
- Shanghaiist saw their city turn into a Christmas wonderland.
- Chicagoist will never tire of watching a local news anchor's hilarious reaction to a car crashing into the studio. No one was hurt, so it's OK to laugh.
- Austinist interviewed the intimidating but always brilliant Joe Rogan, chatting about News Radio, Fear Factor, Dane Cook, and more.
- Seattlest mourned the loss of iconic jazz pianist Oscar Peterson.
- Londonist cheered after hearing news that London, it seems, is the capital of the world. (Sorry, NYC.)
- Houstonist tells an interesting tale about Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher getting trapped in the powder room at a Houston Hotel.
Image credit: Flickr user Steve Rhodes.
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A South China tiger has been born in a South African wildlife reserve in South Africa, the first to be born outside China, raising hopes that the species can be saved from extinction. Only about 90 South China tigers are left in the world today. More from Sydney Morning Herald.
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 In no particular order
1. Glenfiddich 40 year old: Blended with whiskies from Grant's 1920s and 1930s vats, this special Glenfiddich was sweet, smooth and very long in taste. We sampled this recently at Constellation Bar, together with another dozen or so whisky fanatics, the bottle being one of only 600 bottles in the world. Estimated retail price for this very special Scotch, according to the Constellation manager, would be about RMB3000 per dram!
2. Crown Lager: This is our favourite Australian beer and is now available at many pubs in Shanghai, courtesy of Just Beer. A case of 24 bottles costs RMB324.
3. Our first pint of Guinness after 3 months in hospital.
4. 'Stormin Norman': A very special cocktail using a Russian Standard vodka base, with lots of basil and mint, served on crushed ice, shaken rather than stirred.
5. Hendrick's G&T: Like a regular G&T, but using Hendrick's gin from Scotland. Best served with a large, thin cucumber slice in the glass.
6-7. Mai Tai (The Old Way) and Tortuga: Only available at Trader Vics. We're not really into cocktails, but these two special drinks are potent and rather fruity, and exceptionally palatable in warmer weather. We take the Tortuga in a barrel, not a glass.
8. Donnafugata, 'Mille E Una', 2004, Sicily. A fantastic, big-bodied red wine ideal with red meats. Retails from ASC just over RMB900/bottle. We indulged in it at Martini Bar on the Bund where they were selling it at RMB90/glass, until they realised they were pouring me the top-of-the-range Donnafugata, instead of a much cheaper one they also had on their wine list. Price for the 'Mille e Una' bottle at Martini Bar was actually RMB1800.
9. Pedroncelli merlot 2002, Sonoma County, USA. Made from 88% merlot and 12% cabernet franc grapes, this merlot is full of spice and blackberry flavours, with pleasant toasty oak finish. Fantastic! Tasted at a Sashas Friday wine buffet.
10. The Macallan 18 year old whisky, in sherry oak cask. The colder weather recently has encouraged us to enjoy a few tipples of this lovely sherried whisky. Selling for about RMB1000/bottle in Shanghai, it is fetching much higher prices in Europe where stocks have almost run out. One bar in Switzerland is reportedly selling it for 50 Euros (RMB500) a shot!
LOUNGE 18 (4F,18 on the Bund): This large space is superbly furnished with lots of sofas, tables and chairs, plus large windows with excellent Bund views. Things go downhill from there. There's a pokey bar and probably the smallest drinks list we've ever seen. For beer drinkers there is the ubiquitous Heikenen or Tsingtao priced at a massive RMB60; For wine drinkers, a glass of run-of-the-mill Jacob's Creek (either shiraz or chardonnay) is priced at a wallet-gouging RMB89! You cocktail drinkers won't fare any better: there's a choice of Mojito or Cosmo (at RMB60 or 70) ...and that's all folks! Any entrepreneurs wanting to open a Bund drinking spot should wait for this place to go under, then pick up the pieces and do something effective with this first class location.
SHANGHAI MALT WHISKY CLUB: Whisky lovers should note the existence of the Shanghai Malt Whisky Club. Meetings are held every month or so at a member's home, and everyone is required to bring a bottle of Scottish single malt for group consumption and discussion. The next meeting will be held on 20th January, 2008 where participants will also be asked to recite any poem by Robbie Burns. For further information, please e-mail: mark(@)maltclub.com
HAPPY DRINKING AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Photo from Simple Dolphin
Winopete is Shanghaiist's resident drunkard. Email tips, recommendations, news and gossip about Shanghai's bar scene to drink at shanghaiist dot com.
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Buddhist monks singing together with a western orchestra and chorus
The growing Taiwanese community in China:
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 So we know that scientists get paid peanuts in China, but there's hope yet: China Daily ran article about an amended national law which allows scientists to report failures.:
The law, for the first time, allows scientists to report failures during the process of innovation without harming their records in future funding applications.
"The country encourages scientists and technicians to freely explore innovation and bravely shoulder risks," reads the bill.
Scientists and technicians, who can provide evidence that they have tried their best, will be tolerated if they fail to achieve their goals in high-risk researches, says the law.
"It is known to all that failure is the mother of success." Li Yuan, an official with the NPC Law Committee said at a press conference after the adoption. "It will help create a relaxed academic atmosphere enabling scientists and technicians to take scientific risks." Well, we hope that when this new law goes into effect (July 2008), that it will have some kind of positive effect on the nature of Chinese scientific and technological research. But forgive us if we remain skeptical about the notion of China becoming an innovation-oriented country. Science can be conducted somewhat independently of politics or political interference—and yet, on a more fundamental level, science is an activity subject to the constraints and strictures that society, culture, and institutions place on it. So when your country is considered one of the worst in the world regarding privacy, detain AIDS and human rights activists, and renege on promises to the people of Hong Kong to give them proper democracy by 2012, we wonder what meaning, if any, such laws have.
To argue the other side, you could say that democratic societies don't have a monopoly on scientific/technological innovation, and well, incremental progress is better than no progress. True dat, but in these cases, whatever 'scientific progress' is going to be divorced from any general flourishing of human culture—intellectual or otherwise—which we're still convinced can only happen in an open society, i.e. one where people are granted the minimal freedom to think and speak without fear.
Picture from allposters.com
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2007 was a great year for Shanghai's LGBT community. Brimming with events and parties that forced us to dig up photographic evidence to remember, the one-year old and 650+ member ShanghaiLGBT group really got into its stride this year, organizing events for all of the crazy and diverse characters in the group. The growth of the LGBT community in Shanghai was evident at this year's second annual LGBT Pub Crawl, where people were turned away after around 200 people signed up for slots on the two large coach buses. The event left people saying, "Can we do this every month?"
ShanghaiLGBT wasn't the only newsmaker this year, however. Here the top five Shanghaiist LGBT stories of 2007:
Shanghai's first ever Pride celebration
In early July, ShanghaiLGBT organized the first ever Pride celebration in our city with a film workshop conducted by two *** filmmakers and a "Seven Deadly Sins" party. Although it wasn't as large as the Pride celebrations around the world, it was just the beginning of Shanghai Pride.
Actor Sun Haiying says that homosexuality is a crime/sin, then Fred Phelps' church get in on the action
In an interview that was later uploaded to Youku, Chinese actor Sun Haiying was quoted as saying that homosexuality was "criminal in nature". The comments immediately sparked outrage and later prompted China Daily's columnist Raymond Zhou to write a column on the subject. Lo and behold, one of the leaders of the Westboro Baptist Church, Shirley Phelps-Roper, commented on the article from their base in Topeka, Kansas. Since we published this story, the comment from Shirley Phelps-Roper has been deleted.
Premiere of Chinese online LGBT programs
Two online programs debuted this year focusing on LGBT issues in China - Gay Connections, *** As Folk, and Comrades Must Carry On (their website appears to have disappeared). Even though it appears that both Gay Connections and *** As Folk aren't broadcasting anymore and Comrades Must Carry On never really got off the ground, it was still an achievement nonetheless.
Drag party at Shanghai Studio
On a very hot night during the summer, Shanghai Studio hosted a drag party, sponsored by ShanghaiLGBT. Gender confusion and pantyhose sweat permeated the cramped corridors of Shanghai Studio, a smell party we won't soon forget. With hundreds of people in attendance, it was the group's largest party of the 2007.
Deep closes and everyone panics
On Halloween, the Shanghai police (dressed as clubbers) busted Club Deep for drugs, causing widespread confusion and frustration among the LGBT community. After the closure, most of the crowds headed to PinkHome on weekend nights or just stayed at home.
The embedded video is one of several internet videos that came out this year profiling the LGBT community in Shanghai.
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This week, we bring you a documentary called "Asian Cinema Odyssey - China" which was screened on Discovery Channel (although others say it's from National Geographic) . We can't seem to find any other information about this documentary (so let us know if you do find any) which is almost like a Chinese Cinema 101 crash course.. It starts with a bit of history on how the Chinese film industry has arisen from the ashes of the Cultural Revolution, and goes on to talk about the rise of the 5th and 6th generation filmmakers, the struggle with censors, the new breed of underground directors and the globalisation of Chinese cinema. A great watch if you can set aside some time to load all the clips!
Part 1:
Part 2:
Part 3:
Part 4:
Part 5:
Previously on Shanghaiist Sunday Show
Children of Blessing
The Unseen China
Brits Get Rich in China
Know of any other feature documentaries that you'd like to share with readers on the Shanghaiist Sunday Show? Email us at info AT shanghaiist DOT com!
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 Not content with sinking its rabid fangs into our children, our metro system and our optometrists, it seems the sinister cabal behind the Hello Kitty brand now wants to ensnare 50 percent of YOU, dear readers.
According to a strangely supine BBC report (proxy needed), a new "macho" Kitty is on its way. It's target: all you menfolk out there. Here's what fell out of the Hello Kitty PR litter tray:
"Young men these days grew up with character goods," said a spokesman. "That generation feels no embarrassment about wearing Hello Kitty."
Continued the BBC (who may well have been at the catnip themselves, judging from the meaningless PR bilge throughout the article):
The shape of Hello Kitty was slightly changed for a more rugged, cool look to appeal to men in their teens and early 20s, Sanrio said.
For example, a picture of the cat on a 4,095 yen ($36, £18) black T-shirt has the words, "hello kitty", instead of the usual dots for the eyes and nose.
What all this actually entails is anyone's guess. But the stuff's going on worldwide sale next month, so no doubt Hello Kitty will be coming to a macho man bag or pimped Mazda near you soon.
And just in case you were in any doubt as to the evil heart that beats within that innocuous looking white cat, the following from a previous BBC report, quoting a possibly deranged professor of anthropology:
"There is something going on here," says Professor Yano. "Call it neo-feminism if you will, that allows grown-up women in their thirties to retreat into girly feminism that is cute and spunky at the same time.
"The inclusion of sexiness into Hello Kitty only speaks to the strength of the image.
"In effect, Hello Kitty can be anything and anyone. A few years back there was even Hello Kitty as a kamikaze pilot."
KAMIKAZE PILOT!? We tried a cursory search for actual verification of this, but couldn't find anything. Are any readers in possession of such a thing?
If you or a loved one are worried about sinister cartoon feline-related cults, try visiting www.kittyhell.com.
Image from www.kittyhell.com
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What's happening around the nation as one year closes and another begins
- 2007 is definitely the year of angry students. After last month's bloody riot at the Hefei PLA Artillery Academy is a Christmas Eve clash in Tianjin's Nankai University, said to be among China's top ten universities. We all know the powers-that-be do not like angry students, so they will be watching this in 2008.
- In the above picture, laid off bank workers at the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) branch at Shiyan city, Hubei province. The top banner (from the bank) reads: Creating A Peaceful Work Unit, Constructing a Harmonious Bank. The lower banner (from the demonstrators): I Gave the Bank My Youth, the Bank Grew Up while I was Laid Down. (h/t to CDT)
- Another hot topic for the year 2008 will be the new labor law and worker rights, as this LA Times article suggests. The China Law Blog talks about how big a deal this new law will be. Already, Carrefour looks set to run into problems with its 40,000 employees.
- Chinese AIDS activist Hu Jia (胡嘉) has been detained by national security police in Beijing on charges of “incitement to subvert state power,” while he was chatting on Skype with another activist Qi Zhiyong. His wife, child and mother-in-law are once again under surveillance.
- Meanwhile, human rights lawyer Guo Feixiong was reportedly beaten in prison (proxy required) and is now on the fifteenth day of his hunger strike.
- The Sydney Morning Herald has a report on unhappy Chinese peasants taking the law into their own hands.
- A hospital on the verge of bankruptcy is suing local governments in Yunnan and Shenzhen for defaulting on the payment of the medical fees for a migrant worker who set fire on himself after failing to get his wages for his boss. The total fees amounted to RMB700,000. (h/t to Global Voices)
Photo from txrjy.com
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How a CCTV-5 news-reader aired her marital grievances at the launch of the new Olympics channel
This was just too good to pass up! From John Kennedy of Global Voices: Friday was meant to be a big day for China's main sports channel CCTV-5, with a lavish ceremony attended by top station executives held to celebrate its official change of name to The Olympics Channel. It got a bit bigger when a visibly upset Hu Ziwei, the wife of top CCTV-5 announcer and sports news dept. head Zhang Bin—about to introduce Olympic ping pong player Wang Nan—suddenly appeared on stage and grabbed the microphone, accusing Zhang of having had an affair, as well as of smearing the name of both China and next year's summer Olympics. Hu herself is a host of an Olympics-themed program at BeijingTV.
Someone present inevitably got out their cellphone, and six hours after the video was uploaded to video sharing website Tudou, over 20 pages of comments had poured in. Sina was quick to delete the clip, but a copy has been placed on YouTube.
And a translation of what Hu Ziwei said on stage:
As the clip starts, Hu has taken the mike and is speaking. Zhang can be seen hovering, wanting to stop her but not daring to.
Hu: ….but there came a day, when I wasn't just a television announcer, but the (sob) wife of the man standing next to me, Mr. Zhang Bin. I just want to take…… (cut off) one minute of everyone's time! I'll just take one minute of your time! Let go. (she grabs the podium)
Hu: Today is a special day for The Olympic Channel, and it's a special day for Mr. Zhang Bin, and for me, it's a special day too. Because just two hours ago, I found out that besides me, Mr. Zhang Bin has been maintaining an improper relationship with another woman [the vlogger cuts in: the relationship with you is improper too?]
Hu: Next year is an Olympics year, and all people all over the world will be watching China. But, but it was a French foreign diplomat who said: If the Chinese people's values don't….(someone off-screen says: please don't take any pictures)…then what significance will any of it been? What will have been the point? (Many people now try to drag her off) Is that how you treat a weak woman?
Hu: (Still struggling) I just want to say one last thing—can we please keep our demeanor here?—that French foreign diplomat also said: until China is able to start exporting its values, it won't be able to become a great power. For us to be faced with such prim and proper……yet Zhang Bin can't even be brought to face his own……at a time when he won't even face his hurt wife. I think China, as a……to succeed as a great power……don't any of you have any conscience at all?! You let me go! We're so far from being a great country.
Hu: Today might be the last Sunday. Tomorrow everyone will go on a nice, long……vacation. But there's no way Zhang Bin and I will.
Off-screen: Is this necessary?
Hu: I'm very sorry, I'm…..too. But I know……(unclear).
Zhang Bin: Sorry, everyone.
Global Voices has more on how the gossip over the personal relationships of prominent Chinese television announcers has always been a hot topic on the Chinese blogsphere. Check it out!
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- Nature News cites an EU report that finds that the real value of a Chinese scientist's wages is the lowest among the 38 countries surveyed. Yes, Chinese scientists make even less than Indian scientists. (h/t to Global Voices )
- CNNIC announces that China now has 72.82 million blogs and 47 million bloggers. That's one quarter of all Chinese netizens.
- The Little Red Blog bets against Baidu and roots for Google in the year 2008.
- Washington Post asks if China is now experiencing a tech boom or bubble in a story that begins with Gary Wang of Shanghai-based Tudou, which is "flush with $30 million in venture capital" but hasn't managed to make a profit yet. (His business partner, by the way, became a father yesterday. Congrats, Marc!)
- Xinhua reports that "internet love" is big among university students. 90 percent of Chinese university students regard it as an "effective way to satisfy their emotional needs".
- Kaiser Kuo of the Ogilvy Digital China Watch asks if new regulations will send Chinese vid-sharing websites down the tubes.
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 The Chinese government has sent its message of condolence to Pakistan over the assassination and death of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto two weeks before its national elections. Shortly after a rally, Bhutto was shot in the neck and chest by her attacker, who then blew himself up.
While we are by no means a blog on Pakistan politics, we felt the need for a moment of remembrance for someone who we think will go down the annals of history as a martyr for democracy in her country. Bhutto must have considered that this would be her fate when she returned to Pakistan two months ago. She almost lost her life when two bombs detonated at her welcome-home rally in Karachi. Key suspects in the assassination attempt are al-Qaeda (of whom she was a vocal critic") and elements within Musharraf's regime who do not wish to see her back.
China Confidential notes that China has been one of Pakistan's closest allies (perhaps to counter India's rising political clout), maintaining "strong relations with Bhutto when she was in power, and has continued its close ties with the government of current President Pervez Musharraf.": As if to highlight China's close ties to Pakistan, on the same day that Pakistan's former Prime Ministter, Benazir Bhutto, was assassinated, Xinhua reported that the two countries deepened their business relationship.
The Pak-China Investment Company, the first joint venture between Pakistan and China in financial sector, was launched Thursday in eastern Pakistan's Lahore city.
In China's condolence message to Pakistan: Ms. Benazir Bhutto, a seasoned Pakistani statesman and an old friend of the Chinese people, has made significant contributions to the promotion of China-Pakistan friendly relations during her lifetime.
Cynics Unlimited, in its analysis of Bhutto's legacy, sums it up pretty well: In fact, there is a good chance Bhutto knew she was going to be killed, if not now then surely once she (likely) won the election. Pakistan is too unstable not to believe otherwise. For that reason, Benazir Bhutto should be considered a martyr for democracy - someone who in death accomplished more than she could have as a short-term leader of the troubled Islamic state. Bringing world awareness to the severity of Eastern fundamentalism is probably the best act that any leader or commentator could have done, and Bhutto just exposed -in no uncertain terms- the extent to which insurgents (or possibly even Musharraf) will go to maintain instability. The Bhutto family, in spite of their suspected corruption, will be remembered alongside the Gandhi and Kennedy families as tortured dynasties whose misfortunes will be to the long-term benefit of equality and democracy.
For more pictures on the assassination attempt, click here.
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 All ye lucky yuletide souls whose employer's lack of the Scrooge gene has enabled ye to escape Shanghai over the Xmas break, rejoice! Those of you flying back into China after January 1 no longer need to fill in that pesky health declaration form. Although Shanghaiist kind of enjoyed the pre-landing self-diagnosis ritual. Just how many avian flu carrying fowl had we fraternized with over the past month? And could the hail of sputum from the guy sitting next to us develop into full-blown SARS? These questions, along with which fellow passenger to scrounge a pen off, took our thoughts away from the strip of tarmac hurtling at horrific speed towards our plunging aircraft. According to the national quarantine watchdog and civil aviation regulator (quoted in The Guardian), "The move aims to simplify immigration procedures and improve efficiency." Dunno how this would have any affect on queues, seeing as people fill out the forms in-flight, though apparently from from February 1, people with no goods to declare won't have to fill in customs forms when leaving or arriving in China, which may speed things up slightly, judging from the confusion over said forms we've witnessed at Pudong International.
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 A recent article in Bokee about human guinea pigs that test out new
and experimental drugs for a living or sometimes just for a kick. The article says that there are three different types of people that do this:
1. university students who might be studying medicine and could use the cash, 2. people who want to further the cause of medicine (and who might be sick themselves, and thus have a stake in it), and 3. people who are in it just for the money.
The sub-hed of the article is what really caught our attention, because it posits a link between people that used to sell blood (which is much less common now than before?) and professional guinea pigs. One of the people profiled in the article made the transition, and you have to admit, it was a good career choice. You can make 1700 RMB for a couple of tests and days of observation. Sometimes even fairly simple one-time tests can net you 900 RMB. Compare this to the compensation for selling your blood—50ml fetches you 100RMB, and there was risk, more in the past than now, that you could contract AIDS.
The article mentions that the university students in the trials are often students of medicine, and many from disadvantaged background for whom a cool thousand or more would do wonders for their finances. There was also mention of a cancer patient that was doing it because this was the best way to get medicines on a regular basis.
The phenomenon isn't exactly new. A Xinhua editorial asked "when can peasant and migrant workers stop being lab rats." The picture you see above came from that article, which was dated 2005.
More recently, there have been a bunch of articles about big pharmaceutical companies outsourcing to India in China. The idea is to speed up the development process so that drugs can, supposedly, get into the hands of (first-world) consumers faster. There are no shortage of patients without access to drugs. In India, there are 32 million diabetics, and what's more doctors get some perks as well—vacations to nice places, stuff they couldn't otherwise afford. The combined rate of growth of India and China is a whopping 15.3% annually, and China is set to become the fifth-largest pharmaceutical market in the world by 2010. It's not just big pharma from the US, but from everywhere—the UK, Switzerland, etc. Everyone's doing it, and in order to compete, even more of the more process will be oursourced in the future. One of the articles we linked to, from Wired, talks about the collateral damage that occurs when you have these trials of new drugs done on a largely poor and illiterate population in India. There's supposedly a decent regulatory infrastructure there. We don't know if that's true, but what about China, then? The article on Bokee.com says that all the patients sign contracts and thereby have some measure of legal protection. But what's the real story? Has anyone suffered serious side effects or actual decline in health by taking trial medicine? As usual, there are no ready answers out there. If you've read anything about this, please point us in the right direction.
*We're from New Jersey and therefore allowed to make gratuitous and totally unwelcome Bon Jovi references.
Picture from Xinhua.
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By Derek Sandhaus
 The new year is almost upon us and it's time to start making plans for the big night. One option is to drop a lot of cash on an upscale option like Bar Rouge's Monarchy Party (black-tie and pleasant smelling flatulence required) or Xintiandi's S.H.E.-licious Countdown Bash .
For some of us though, New Year's Eve is all about the simple pleasures in life like open-mouthed kisses with horse-faced strangers and drinking cheap booze until you fall down. These activities can be enjoyed anywhere, but a special setting is preferable and Shanghai has several to offer.
Last year, we found ourselves at Longhua Temple for the ringing of the New Year's bell. Though this does actually have a steep cover (200RMB drinks not included), we opted to throw back a few Reebs bottles of select local spirits in the public square outside. This came free of charge and included:
1. Fireworks!
2. The Longhua Bell, which rings a whopping 108 times.
3. An envy inspiring pagoda.
4. Monkey-wielding beggars.
Now we know that not everyone is a fan of the Longhua monkey-beggars, but, if you absolutely must see a monkey do a few back flips and shake a few hands, 12:15am on New Year's day is probably the best time to do so.
We also know that there are countdowns at Time Square (the one in Shanghai), the Jade Buddha Temple, and we assume that there will be some fireworks on the Bund. A list of New Year's events was published yesterday in the People's Daily and can be accessed here .
What are you doing to ring in the New Year (and where will we ever find cheap booze in Shanghai)?
Photo from meckleychina
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 The lonely orphan of the Shanghai subway system, metro Line 9 will be opening this Saturday along with new Lines 6/8 and the extensions of Lines 1/4. Line 9 has been nicknamed the "Ancient Speedway" because it passes through several historically significant satellite towns of Shanghai: Qibao, Jiuting and Songjiang.
Because stubborn neighbors have delayed Line 9's connection to Lines 3/4, a bus connection between Guilin Rd and Yishan Rd will substitute for a direct metro connection until the Yishan Rd interchange opens at the end of 2008. The two stations are 1 km apart as the crow flies, but the bus will have to cover 3 km on surface streets for a travel time of 10-20 minutes. The maximum departure frequency will be 3 minutes per bus.
The opening date and time of Line 9 was announced yesterday to be December 29 at 10am. This coincides with the end of the opening ceremony being held at People's Square. The time between trains will be 14 minutes.
Finally, each of Line 9's stations is decorated in an old Jiangnan style as a tribute to Songjiang's historical importance. This includes the station names written in traditional calligraphy, and murals featuring traditional Yangtze Delta motifs. Above is a picture of the wall decoration at Guilin Rd Station. Keep reading for a picture of the Qibao Station interior wall.
Line 9 - Qibao Station
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If you've been in China for a while, you will more likely than not have been a witness to the frequent scuffles between street sellers, store owners and the guys from the city cops, or the 城管, who are technically not "police" but rather "city administration" and "street management" guys. Most illegal street sellers and hawkers like your DVD salesmen and lamb kebab guys will typically just pack up their stuff and make a quick disappearance, and then come back as soon as the annoying city cops are gone. It's just part of the cat and mouse game that they have to get used to if they want to make a living, but what did one Beijing pet seller do to "escape" from them? A Youku mo-blogger tells us [Translation by Shanghaiist]:
商贩刘女士说，上午11点左右，她和丈夫在安安市场附近的地下通道出口处卖小动物。这时，一辆金杯车驶到路边，车里下来一名城管队员和四五名协管人员。
Street seller Mrs Liu says that around she and her husband were selling their little pets at the underground subway near An An Market at 11am, when suddenly a Jinbei car pulled up by the roadside and out popped a city cop with four or five assistants.
城管要带走小动物，刘女士不让，“我爱人急了，开始摔小动物，一边摔一边说宁可摔死也不给他们”。一名目击者说，他经过此地时，看到地上就剩两只小狗还奄奄一息，其它的小动物都死了。
The city cops wanted to bring away the animals, but Mrs Liu just would not have it. "My husband started panicking and started smashing the animals on the ground, saying that he would rather do this than give them to the city cops." An eye-witness said that as he was passing by he saw many animals all dead on the ground, and only two dogs were barely struggling to stay alive.
记者在现场看到，被摔死的小动物有10多只，包括小兔子、小狗、乌龟等，还有一只小动物被车轧扁。“小动物是无罪的！”现场围观的10多人认为摔死小动物的行为太残忍。
This reporter saw on-site that about a dozen animals had been smashed to death against the ground, including rabbits, dogs, terrapins. One was completely flattened by the vehicle. "The animals are innocent!" Even the dozen or so people that had gathered by now agreed that smashing the animals against the ground was too cruel.
一名在现场执法的太平桥城管分队队员说，刘女士夫妇在此卖小动物两三年了，对这种无照经营的游商，城管一般会罚款500到5000元，并没收所售商品。对于商贩以摔死小动物抗法，城管队员也吃了一惊，“执法这么多年，第一次碰到用这么残忍的方式抗法的”。
A city administrator from the Taiping Bridge team said that Mr and Mrs Liu had been selling their animals for about 3 years now. Normally, city cops would fine illegal sellers such as tese anywhere between RMB500 and RMB5000, and confiscate all goods. When they started smashing their animals against the ground, the city cops themselves were startled. "We've been doing this for so many years, this is the first time we've seen someone reacting in such a cruel manner!"
“这是在城管执法过程中产生的悲剧，10多只小动物惨死闹市实在不应该。”中国小动物保护协会会长卢荻获悉此事后向太平桥城管分队提议，在商贩伤害小动物时，城管队员应当予以制止，避免悲剧的发生。
"This is a sad episode for the city administration. A dozen animals have died unnecessarily," said Lu Huohuo, Chairperson of the China Animal Protection Association, who suggested to the Taiping City Administration team that they should have stepped in to stop the sellers when they began to smash their animals against the ground to stop the sad event from happening.
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With the holiday season in full swing things usually slow down in the music scene. But this weekend there are a few shows that should get us through to the New Year.
On Saturday Live Bar is holding a show that we are pretty excited to see. Voodoo Gongfu from Beijing will be on stage. Shanghaiist happened to pick up a copy of their DVD in Beijing and with all the costumes and addition of traditional Chinese folk instruments they give even the non-metal fans a reason to make the Yangpu trek.
New Year's Eve, the STD party moves to Atanus, on the Bund, where Top Floor Circus will be playing. If you haven't seen TFC play yet (they don't play often), then my friend... you are missing out. This is by far the most popular Shanghai band amongst the Shanghainese crowd (many songs are in Shanghainese) and they easily draw 300+ at all their shows. TFC on NYE w/ STD at Atanus....darn, doesn't that have a nice ring to it. Also on New Years Eve, Hardcore underground fans should head to 021 Bar way, way out in Yangpu (even farther than Live Bar) where they are celebrating their 2nd anniversary with a number of local underground bands. We made the trip a few times, and it was worth it... nice to remember what a real dive bar is.
Other shows this weekend are Old Man Zhao playing his blend of folk out at Live Bar on Friday while Saturday STD holds their last Logo party of the year with the Infamous Red Hot Chilli Pepper cover band. Aberration, an old school punk band, is playing at Yuyintang on Sunday. We hope they get a better turn out than fellow punkers, Noname, did last weekend. Otherwise that mosh pit will be mighty lonely.
(video of Top Floor Circus)
Friday - December 28th
Student Band Night - Yuyintang - 8:00pm
Old Man Zhao - Live Bar - 9:30pm(40/35rmb w/1 drink)
Saturday-December 29th
Voodoo Kungfu - Live Bar - 9:30pm(50/45rmb w/1drink)
STD Party - Logo - 11pm(10rmb)
Sunday - December 30th
Aberration - Yuyintang - 9:30pm (30rmb)
Monday - December 31st
Top Floor Circus at STD - Atanus - 10pm (60rmb w/ 2 drinks)
021 Anniversary Party - 8pm (30rmb)
Atanus - 1A Zhongshan Donger Lu 中山东二路一号甲，外滩, 近延安路
021 Bar - 2F, 2893 Yang Shu Pu Road, North Bund Commercial Centre
Live Bar - 721 Kunming Lu by Tongbei Lu 杨浦区昆明路721号，近通北路
Yuyintang - 1731 Yanan Xilu by Kaixuan Lu 延安西路1731号(凯旋路)天山公园小白楼
Logo - 13 Xingfu Lu by Fahuazhen Lu 幸福路13号，近法华镇路
Abe Deyo is Shanghaiist's Music Editor. Email tips, recommendations, news and gossip about Shanghai's music scene to music at shanghaiist.com.
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Videos from Vision Rouge and lizandro01
Make your own timelapse video and send it to us at info AT shanghaiist DOT com!
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