Here’s the documentary, and check out Ali’s other work on her site. Also available are versions of the doc with Chinese and English subtitles. See also a short video posted on The New Yorker‘s website.

[[Edit: Apparently I can't embed this video here. Click here for the video on her site, or here for the video on Vimeo.]]

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.

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.