Cloudy in Beijing Blogging about my time in China

Seriously?

It seems my worst fears have come true. Just a few hours ago I noticed that none of my Google searches were working. Even searching for "hello" results in an error. Now the news is reporting on the disruptions. Come on China! Seriously?

For a moment I've had to contemplate what life would be like without Google. It's a scary thought. I haven't used another search engine since years ago when I was back in high school. Fortunately, as I stated in my last post, I can still visit Google through the use of paid proxy I recently bought. (My Gmail account also seems to be unaffected so far. What a nuisance that would have been.)

But regardless, this is ridiculous that Google searches have now been blocked. Do we not live in the 21st century? In America we would never stand for this. But here in China the government does what it wants, and people often end up just enduring it. I can only expect that more flowers and chocolates will be laid on the front steps of Google's Beijing Headquarters tomorrow.

UPDATE: Google is now working again in China, although the reasons as to why there was a disruption seem hard to pinpoint.

Google

At first, it actually didn't occur to me to write about this. Mainly because in terms of web surfing nothing's really changed.

This week, Google decided to shut down it's China website, signaling a "retreat" from the country. Instead, all of the company's Internet traffic is rerouted to its Hong Kong website, where search results are not subject to censorship.

In response, the Chinese government has very quickly clamped down, censoring Google search results through its own web filters. (When I search for "Tiananmen Square Massacre" I get an error.)

I've just returned from Taiwan, where I had the freedom to browse whatever I wanted to. But now I've come back to the mainland, where Facebook, and even my friends' blogs are blocked (Sorry Wednesday Weekly and I know, right? but China does not like blogger).

So I have to give a big thumbs up for Google's symbolic stand. Just in class this week, one of our teachers asked who is Google's main business competitor. The answer she was looking for was Baidu, the most popular search engine used on the mainland. But a few classmates and I couldn't help but say to ourselves that the Chinese government was Google's real competitor. I just hope the government doesn't eventually decide to completely block Google's website, in the same fashion it did to Youtube and Twitter.

Not like the censorship really matters. Internet users in China have always found ways around the Great Firewall, whether through free or paid programs. This week I decided to pay for a stable proxy service. I feel somewhat ridiculous in buying it; essentially I'm planting down money so I can log on to my Facebook account. But in China, freedom is not exactly the country's strong suit.

(Above is a picture of Google's sign outside it's Beijing headquarters. Earlier this week, people were placing flowers and chocolates on the display in response to Google's departure.)

Five days in Taiwan

Upon leaving Taiwan I found my arms covered with mosquito bites. It's been two days later since I left the island and I'm still itching the skin.

A small price to pay for good weather. It felt like summer while I enjoyed my short 5-day stay in Taiwan. The temperature was around 80 degrees, and I had no need to burden myself with a jacket all the time. Instead, I saw people wearing shorts and sandals, their hair looking limp and moist in the heat.

Probably the best thing about Taiwan is the food. This is a picture of some salt-and-peppered tofu. So good!

Even the fried rice looks pretty.

I stayed in Taipei, Taiwan's capital. And while I was there I had the pleasure of visiting with an old childhood friend.

Tim is  a Chinese-American like me. Last year he decided to quit his job, leave America, and then move to Taipei. When I saw him for the first time in months, I gathered that Tim was quite pleased with his new life: I found him hungover, resting his head on a girl's shoulder, and holding the end of a hookah pipe in his hand.

Tim's goal is to find a computer programming related job. But in the meantime, he's been working as a club promoter. He told me that from about Wednesday to Saturday he's out all night. I asked him when he goes to bed. "It depends. But sometimes around 6 a.m." he said, somewhat proudly.

To no surprise, I ended up hanging out with him until the very next morning. For six hours we sang at a karaoke place. All the while he told me stories about his adventures and shenanigans in Taipei. Now I understand why he has that big grin on his face.

(And yes, that is a toilet above Tim's head. It's the sign to Taipei's toilet-themed restaurant. Go Pee-Pee or Go Poo-Poo, the website reads.)

There was also plenty of banter with my family. My grandmother says I need to set a goal and get married within five years.

"I didn't quite understand what you just said," I replied.

Still, I wish I could have enjoyed Taipei more. During the trip I found myself busy with work, only to later feel my efforts were for naught; story of my life.

But I did have time to enjoy this wonderful view.

So long Taiwan. Until next time.

Cloudy indeed

I woke up Saturday morning to see that the sky had turned a mustard yellow.

The news reported that it was the biggest sandstorm of the year to hit China. Winds from the country's northwest region were carrying sand to Beijing and cities in the northeast. A sign of growing desertification as The Washington Post put it today.

I walked outside and didn't feel much dust in the air. Everything outside, however, looked as if it were polluted.

Indeed, the weather in China is kind of crazy. Fortunately, my timing couldn't be better.

On Saturday afternoon I left for Taiwan to see family. I'm hoping to escape the crummy weather in Beijing.

Here, I was walking through Beijing Capital International Airport at terminal 3, the newest expansion of the airport.

Direct flights between China and Taiwan only began about a year and a half ago as a sign of strengthening relations between the Chinese mainland and it's so-called "breakaway province" . Before you usually had to fly through Hong Kong or Macau, where you then changed planes. But now things are more convenient, with a trip from Beijing to Taipei equaling a swift 3 hour plane ride.

One visible result of the direct flights is that many of the passengers around me were Chinese mainlanders, who were traveling to Taiwan for the first time. By ending the ban on direct flights, Taiwan was in part hoping to boost tourism.

Still, the Taiwanese government has placed restrictions, and have a quota for the number of Chinese tourists that can enter the island each day. Recently they lifted the number for 4,311 to 6,000 to meet the overwhelming demand for tourist permits.

As for me, this is maybe my 9th trip to Taiwan. Before I left, I spoke with a few Chinese friends in Beijing. They all said they wanted to come with me, with one friend adding that she was "jealous".

In spite of flying hundreds of miles away, I still could not escape the sand storm as it spread itself across Asia. One local news report said it was the biggest sandstorm to sweep Taipei in 25 years. At least the sky is not yellow.

Go away winter

Just when it seemed like spring was coming this happens.  Now it feels like I'm stuck back in January.

This is actually the second time it's snowed in Beijing this month. Tomorrow I'll have to ride my bike in this to get to class. I have to say, winter can go screw itself.

Networking

Apparently, I've become a member of an "illegal" group.

A month ago I joined the Foreign Correspondents' Club of China. Last night the group had a get-together, and I had a chance to meet quite a few members of the foreign media working in Beijing.

"We're illegal," the president of the club said to me, making clear to pronounce the "il" on the word "illegal".

"The Chinese government doesn't really like us," he added.

As I introduced myself to the people there, very quickly I felt like I was becoming known as the "archaeology guy." It made me feel a little embarrassed since I just freelance about it.

I even became a little intimidated as I met some of the others present. The first person I met was an NBC camera man, who was still recovering from jet lag.

"I was working at the Olympics in Vancouver for four weeks," he told me. "Then I was in Chile to cover the Earthquake for three days."

All night, I was surrounded by people who seemed way too cool for me. Many of them had been in the journalism industry for decades. In those three hours I was there, my world felt a lot bigger.

Bunnies

Lots of things are sold on the streets in Beijing. Even pet shops can be pretty mobile. This cart, which was towed by a bicycle, carried with it fish, birds and other pets.

I was tempted to buy a bunny.

Back to school

After a month of vacation, the new semester has started at my university. Now I have to get up at 6:50 a.m. Sigh...

Upon returning to my Chinese language classes this week, I met with old friends and saw plenty of new faces.

On the downside, I have homework again. I can't get myself to do it any of it. Ugh...