A guerilla chicken campaign at Harvard? [photo]
I was walking home through the Harvard campus tonight and found the above sticker, which was notable because (1) such things seem to get taken down quickly, (2) I rarely see Chinese bulletins adorning American light posts, and (3) I had NO idea why this man wanted me to 多吃鸡肉吧 (eat more chicken).
I put the image on Twitter and asked what it could mean, and Le Wang quickly pointed out that it might be a Chinese version of the Chik-fil-A slogan “eat mor chikin.” I’m going to go with that for now, because, as my classmate Ella points out, it’s a bit absurd to obsess about the meaning of a random campus posting.
Last thought: Is there a similarity between this man on the sticker and the imagery of KFC’s Colonel Sanders?
(Click image for full size.)
UPDATE: I think we may have our answer! Alice Xin Liu has noticed that the face looks a lot like Mr. Lee of Mr. Lee California Beef Noodle King, a major Chinese chain. Why Mr. Lee would be rooting for chicken is still beyond me.
A reasoned response to China hysteria
Nina Hachigian, a former National Security Council adviser during the late ’90s, writes a conspicuously reasonable-sounding response to the U.S. media’s increasingly alarmist reporting on the United States–China relationship.
The early stages of the U.S.-China relationship during the Obama administration have not played out according to the usual script. The president did not promise on the campaign trail to be “tough” on China—a position he would have been forced to abandon within a few months just as Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton did. In the midst of an unprecedented financial crisis, the Obama administration instead came to office wanting to preserve the stability of the U.S.-China relationship while also placing a new emphasis on joint global problem solving.
This is not appeasement. This is common respect and pragmatism born of looking down the road at a whole host of challenges where the only way forward is to cooperate with China. It is also part of a larger administration effort to mend fences around the world by listening and extending basic courtesy, both of which cost nothing.
She also outlines some of the accomplishments of Obama’s China policy so far, including progress on climate cooperation (despite the ongoing blame-game over whether China caused a failure in Copenhagen, where no one expected a full-scale deal in the first place). China and the U.S. have worked together at the U.N. on North Korea and Iran.
Hachigian notes that “China’s reaction to all of these actions—so far at least—is well within historical norms, especially given that Tibet and Taiwan touch at the core of Chinese anxieties about territorial unity and foreign intervention.”
It’s nice to see this kind of talk on China coming out of my former employer, the Center for American Progress, but I would have liked it even if I had no affection for the institution.
links for 2010-01-12
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The New York Times editorial board follows Krugman in interpreting Chinese currency policy as a major source of problems, and more or less threatens trade war, however undesirable.
A strange photograph
U.S. President Barack Obama and PRC Premier Wen Jiabao were photographed in Copenhagen. Where the heck are they?
Pleco dictionary for iPhone OS drops with free version
More than a year and a half ago, I wrote about rumors that the undisputed master of portable Chinese–English dictionary software was considering a version for iPhone OS. Earlier this month, Pleco finally released its iPhone version (iTunes link), with a free basic version and free upgrades for customers who purchased Windows Mobile and Palm OS versions.
I had bought one version for Windows Mobile on my old HTC Touch while living in Beijing, but had depended on DianHua (free) and HippoDict (pretty good but not free) since switching to iPhone in the United States. Last summer while studying in Beijing I switched back to the HTC for Pleco. No more!
In the free version, you get some basic dictionaries that work far better than others I’ve seen. In the paid versions, you get Pleco’s new iPhone-specific handwriting recognition, which is far better than Apple’s. What you lose on the transfer from Windows Mobile, however, is access to the Oxford dictionary, which Pleco says costs perhaps more than it is worth, and the stroke order diagrams, which they’ve replaced with others.
Significantly, the Pleco handwriting recognition module for iPhone seems to do well with “cursive” writing, something you can’t say for the native writing recognition. It seems to be even better than the Windows Mobile version. The app also includes a built-in store that includes more Chinese–English dictionaries (both free and paid) and the Xiandai Hanyu Guifan Cidian, a Chinese–Chinese dictionary which runs for $39.99.
Here’s what Pleco’s Michael Love had to say in April 2008:
We’re not thrilled about Apple locking down distribution and charging developers a 30 percent commission to sell iPhone software, but we really like the platform and think it has enough potential to be worth the hefty fees.
The iPod Touch is actually more exciting to us, in some respects, than the iPhone, since it doesn’t force you to change your cell phone carrier and can be found almost anywhere.
It’s next to impossible to buy a cell phone-less Palm or Windows Mobile handheld in many parts of the world nowadays, but the iPod Touch is all over the place, so for those people who are willing to buy a handheld just to run Pleco, it would be a better option than they’ve had in quite a while.
For a demo, see the video below:
Young Japanese bureaucrats on China: Friend or Opportunity
This is a blind item based on something a classmate in a Japanese ministry said. But it’s an interesting thought.
For young Japanese bureaucrats on the security side, China is a potential threat. For young bureaucrats on the economic side, China is a potential friend, its growing economy an opportunity.
links for 2009-11-24
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Part of the negative spin on the Obama trip, but noting also that Obama called himself "America's first Pacific president."
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By Nina Hachigian, Winny Chen, Christopher Beddor
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from the Center for American Progress
links for 2009-11-16
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Richard C. Bush: "I believe the U.S.-Japan alliance is fulfilling its most important strategic function: to serve as a mechanism to bring about cooperation with China."
