Daily commentary about China by TIME correspondents.

CHINASMACK: A Taste of China's Internet

A new site calling itself Chinasmack (www.chinasmack.com) sets out to translate the latest controversies preoccupying Chinese netizens into English. Like the internet in China itself, the variety of maerial on Chinasmack varies hugely, ranging from the completely silly (man dressed as a mummy on the Shanghai subway! Pictures, too!) to the fascinating. In the latter category I'd include their extensive coverage of the case of the student who died after getting into a fight at a nightclub with six policemen in Harbin. Not only is there a comprehesive record of the case, there is also an embedded video of a local TV report on the incident that includes extensive --and chilling-- closed circuit TV of what happened. The translators have even captioned some of the comments by the newsreader and a senior policeman leading the investigation. A lot of work went inot this (putting captions on videos, for example, is a real pain) and I think the site will prove to be a valuable resource for non-Chinese speakers looking for an insight into one of the most lively areas of Chinese society.

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  • 1

    There is a funny thing happen in Shenzhen too. What should the 交通运输部 (Transportation or Logistics) department investigate a child molesting case ?

    交通运输部海事局声明称,深圳海事局书记林嘉祥已停职,责成海事局须对林猥亵女童事件调查并严肃处理。

    国家交通运输部海事局副局长瞿久刚代表国家交通运输部海事局宣布了叁个决定:

    第一,由交通运输部成立调查组赴深调查;

    第二,在调查期间,停止林嘉祥的工作;

    第叁,根据调查结果将进行严肃处理。

  • 2

    Ohh.. Forget to mention that child molesting cases in China, especially by government officials are not news. It is too common to be called news. I only posted it here because the transportation department was ordered to investigate. And that is the news.

    And, of course, since Bush invaded Iraq, all child molesting in China are all justified.

  • 3

    There is a new guilt annihilator for Chinese: Open Secret. Anything that is an open secret in China should be considered by the world, especially in China, as non-issue, no news, and perfectly normal and acceptable, and should not be commented on, much less criticized.

    We will see a lot of behaviors to be declared open secret by Chinese in the near future. This should drastically reduce the number of Chinese government officials going to jail or executed.

  • 4

    Another good news for China: Hebei province will have huge supply of chickens for the next while. Millions if not billions, of chickens for the dinner table will be available in countryside of Hebei.

    I suspect this is not just in Hebei. Abundance of chickens is probably in many other provinces.

  • 5

    Another great news for China. Contaminants are found in Japanese produced food products in China. Concentration of 0.0053mg/kg and 0.537mg/kg are found, much higher than the 1 ppm as required in China. This will give perfect excuses for contaminants in food produced in China for domestic and foreign consumption. All they need to say is "You get that in Japanese food too!".

  • 6

    Overwhelming with posts like this is so persuasive, huh?
    Never see anyone else has so much time to search the internet for only stinky stuff like a fly does, and then post them here, if it is not his job. Wish he can get a big bone from his owner for barking so hard, good luck.

  • 7

    Now I understand the reason behind the behavior of Chinese posters here:
    http://magazine.caijing.com.cn/20081026/77860.shtml

  • 8

    1,2,3,4,5,6 out of 7 commentries from johnsmith. Invasion of the China Blog. Maybe he should take over from Simon. Is this invasion not familiar to some behaviour of some countries!!!!! Oh I forget that is where johnsmith comes from.

  • 9

    Looks like china might be looking to charm the rest of the world. Anyone know what this is?

  • 10

    http://www.iheartzhongguo.com this is the link I was going to add. i have googled it but no luck.

  • 11

    This is no crime !! It's just Chinese killing Chinese. It is perfectly normal and legal. Japan must release the Chinese lady!!

    日 本 名 古 屋 一 名 华 裔 女 子 怀 疑 杀 死 另 一 名 华 裔 女 子 被 捕 。

    当 地 时 间 凌 晨 , 任 职 餐 馆 的 死 者 丈 夫 报 警 , 说 妻 子 伏 屍 住 所 , 胸 腹 被 刺 伤 、 手 脚 被 绑 。

    爱 知 县 警 方 其 後 拘 捕 市 内 一 名 无 业 华 裔 女 子 , 据 称 她 与 死 者 相 识 。 调 查 指 她 涉 嫌 於 昨 晚 行 兇 。

  • 12

    The husk of my heart.

    In the heaven,
    near a beautiful
    clapping, I
    hear a voice:
    a spirit appears
    in the shade
    of a Chapel
    and everything
    shines on the
    side of your
    darkness.

    Francesco Sinibaldi

    http://pub30.bravenet.com/guestbook/2504194210

  • 13

    Sad thing is that chinasmack would be a lot more unbiased than this little blog.

    Also: I agree with Mr. mingming2 about Mr. John Smith, I think he would be a great addition to the team that writes this China Blog. I mean, he's certainly got the enthusiasm and the bias.

  • 14

    It has been and it is a pleasure to read the fine ironically styled posts of Mr Smith, having strong basis in addition!
    I cannot reach his expression capacity, being not of English mother tongue, but I totally share the content of his comments here.
    He is a refreshing voice in the deathly boring chinese posts and blogs.

  • 15

    语言可以学习,思维难以改变。
    遗憾的是中国乃至世界从古自今就不缺少出卖自己民族和国家的败类,这才是人类与生俱来的真正悲哀。

  • 16

    ricelee22 said:
    "...he would be a great addition to the team that writes this China Blog..."

    He is already WORKING here. I said he is PAID to do so. Trust me.

  • 17

    Yup mingming. I agree with you JOHNSMITH is PAID to blog here.

  • 18

    what this mention of bias that keeps popping up? Why so many irrelevant posts?

    The police should have arrested the man and taken him to the station as soon as he tried to assault them,according to proper procedure, its as simple as that. But they didn't, and instead like incapable thugs.

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