Taiwan or China?

A few days ago, several state-run companies in Taiwan removed “China” from their names. The old names date back to when the Taiwanese government claimed to represent all of China. Mainland China wants that practice to continue, lest anyone think Taiwan is separate from China. The Taiwanese government claims it simply wants to reduce confusion, …

This blog has moved… one more time

This blog has already moved twice before, but I expect this move will be the last. I’m posting all new entries right here: http://blog.jameslin.name I bet you didn’t realize .name existed, eh? That’s right, I have my very own domain, registered with directNIC and hosted by Dreamhost. I’m still using WordPress software for my blog …

Cheap books

Recently I scored great deals on a few books. At Moe’s Books in Berkeley I bought: Symbols by Sandra Forty. $9.98 $6.00 Good Luck Life: The Essential Guide to Chinese American Celebrations and Culture by Rosemary Gong. $14.95 $4.00 The Chinese in America: A Narrative History by Iris Chang. $29.95 $6.00 And then at Compass Books (owned by …

China From the Inside

Last night, Jon, Jerry and I finished watching a four-part documentary on PBS, China From the Inside. The documentary was very well done, and I was surprised by how outspoken the critics of the government were. The overall conclusion: China from the inside is in bad shape. The four parts were about politics, women, the …