What's it for?

An appalling expose in Danwei about how some Chinese students blatantly fabricate their college applications, usually through the connivance of "educational consultants."

In the back of our minds, we all know there are people who fake their apps, but seeing it leveled so clearly is shocking and a bit horrible to contemplate. This kind of behavior is really quite troubling, on an ethical level and a personal level.

These people are stealing places that would have been open to a deserving student from a low-income family who may have the aptitude and the credentials, but not the money to pay exorbitant amounts for "polishing" services. (BTW that is another thing our humanities program can offer: a truthful letter of recommendation -- an honest appraisal of an applicants' ability to do college-level work and genuine interest in broadening horizons. The instructor has a good BS meter).

Please read the article for yourselves. I am aghast! When did such dishonesty become acceptable? If the whole system is predicated on cheating your way to the top, it demeans and devalues the honest work that others have done. I understand the desire to study at a top university in America, but it in no way justifies buying your way in or misrepresenting who you are.

College and the application process is an opportunity to express who you are, in an open, honest and sincere way. This is who I am. This is how I come to be who I am, where I am, how I am; and these are the things I believe in. Accept me on the merits of who I am, and what I have done, and the principles for which I stand.

Cheating completely defeats the purpose of a university education, because it is not only about acquiring technical skills or learning to navigate personal relations, though these are indeed important. Higher education presents a unique, life-transforming opportunity to discover oneself.

I wish to be somewhere I belong, to be accepted for who I am. I want to be part of a community that welcomes me precisely for being myself. Only then can I know that this place is where I truly belong.
 
If I can only get somewhere by fundamentally misrepresenting myself, how can that be the right place for me? It defiles the sanctity of the institution to which I am applying, and it disrespects my own identity by forcing me to distort my person. It is a losing proposition, and destructive to both the university and to the student who attempts to fake his or her way in.

Can you look your peers in the eye? Can you engage your professors with a straight face? Can you sign the Honor Code without shaking? Moreover, can you look in the mirror and live with the person that looks back? Cognitive dissonance is a bitch, and one day you will pay for it. On a gentler note, how can you not wish to be who you are? That is all one can ask for in this world. Many times, there are other pressures, responsibilities and obligations that wear on us. University is our chance to express ourselves, to have an opportunity to be who we really are: 當自己的人.

Tomorrow is Classic 明天會更好

A musical collaboration among the major artists of the Mandarin-speaking world. The year was 1985, baby! "明天會更好" (Tomorrow Will Be Better) How many of them can you recognize? (Listed in Chinese and English).

And a reprisal by a new generation of singers, a quarter century later:

中秋節 is coming!

Since the Mid-Autumn Festival will take place in a few days (sometimes referred to as the "moon festival"), I shall post a couple of excerpts that I like, from a story called "月牙兒" (Crescent Moon).

《月牙兒》, 老舍著：

"愛這個月牙因為看著它，使我心中痛快一點。他在夏天更可愛，他老有那麽點涼氣，像一條冰似的。我愛它給地上的那點小影子，一會兒就沒了；迷迷糊糊地不甚清楚，及至影子沒了，地上就特別的黑，星也特別的亮，花也特別的香——我們的鄰居有許多花木，那棵高高的洋槐總把花兒落到我們這邊來，像一層雲似的。

......

我敢在院中走了，一個春天的月牙在天上掛著。我看出它的美來。天是暗藍的，沒有一點雲。那個月牙清亮而溫柔，把一些軟光兒輕輕送到柳枝上。院中有點小風，帶著南邊的花香，把柳條的影子吹到牆角有光的地方來，又吹到無光的地方去；光不強，影兒不重，風微微地吹，都是溫柔，什麼都有點睡意，可又要輕軟地活動著。月牙下邊，柳梢上面，有一對星兒好像微笑的仙女的眼，逗著那歪歪的月牙和那輕擺的柳枝。牆那邊有棵什麼樹，開滿了白花，月的微光把這團雪照成一半兒白亮，一半兒略帶點灰影，顯出難以想到的純淨。這個月牙是希望的開始，我心裡說。

......

二十

我又找了胖校長去，她沒在家。一個青年把我讓進去。他很體面，也很和氣。我平素很怕男人，但是這個青年不叫我怕他。他叫我說什麼，我便不好意思不說；他那麼一笑，我心裏就軟了。我把找校長的意思對他說了，他很熱心，答應幫助我。當天晚上，他給我送了兩塊錢來，我不肯收，他說這是他嬸母棗胖校長棗給我的。他並且說他的嬸母已經給我找好了地方住，第二天就可以搬過去。我要懷疑，可是不敢。他的笑臉好象笑到我的心裏去。我覺得我要疑心便對不起人，他是那麼溫和可愛。

二十一

他的笑唇在我的臉上，從他的頭髮上我看著那也在微笑的月牙。春風象醉了，吹破了春雲，露出月牙與一兩對兒春星。河岸上的柳枝輕擺，春蛙唱著戀歌，嫩蒲的香味散在春晚的暖氣裏。我聽著水流，象給嫩蒲一些生力，我想象著蒲梗輕快地往高裏長。小蒲公英在潮暖的地上生長。什麼都在溶化著春的力量，然後放出一些香味來。我忘了自己，我沒了自己，象化在了那點春風與月的微光中。月兒忽然被雲掩住，我想起來自己。"

Seediq Bale - Taiwanese historical epic

A new film from the director of Cape No. 7, the smash hit from Taiwan. Seediq Bale tells the story of resistance by an aboriginal tribe against the Japanese in the 1930s. It looks like an epic film, mixing the emotional resonance of a variety of tales: the 300 at Thermopylae; Squanto, the Native American who helped the Pilgrims survive their first years in the New World, who bridged cultural divides; Avatar and the preservation of home culture; resistance by Indian tribes against westward expansion, led by chiefs like Crazy Horse. A general spirit of anti-colonialism seems to prevail. There are some stunning nature shots, and it's pretty cool that the actors speak in the aboriginal language. (Trailer below.)

 

BMW Electric

BMW's electric vehicles for urban mobility. The "i" series should be out by 2013. A little late to the game, but glad they are moving forward in a serious way.

I went to a seminar in winter quarter, where the BMW folks presented their strategy for entering this space by appealing to a particular user -- it's a lifestyle, not just a vehicle.

Article here. Check out the photo album of the i8, too. You'll (inappropriate verb here) after viewing it.

You don't say ...

The train issue in China is deeply distressing. It is fast becoming a symbol of some of the fundamental problems with the country and the Party today.

China Imposes Blackout on Train Wreck Coverage
After days of growing public fury over last month’s crash and the government’s reaction, Chinese authorities have enacted a virtual news blackout on the disaster.

Beijing imposes media ban on rail crash coverage
Chinese newspapers, which last week defied government censors, were forced to scrap pages of coverage of the Wenzhou rail crash at the last minute on Friday night, after the Communist party’s propaganda organ issued an order restricting crash coverage that was not “positive”.

How can you not give people time to mourn and memorialize those who have been lost? Why would you shut off coverage instead of allowing the public to grieve together? Moreover, shedding light on problems and harnessing public outrage can help force changes in a corruption-riddled rail system. Do you want to solve fundamental problems or not?

This quote struck me as an articulation of one of the basic problems in China, and it's something I've discussed with many friends over the years. Yet so many years later, it's still the same issue:

The host of the television program asked: “If nobody can be safe, do we still want this speed? Can we drink a glass of milk that’s safe? Can we stay in an apartment that will not collapse? China, please slow down. If you’re too fast, you may leave the souls of your people behind.”

It's just so frustrating and tragic. When 76 people in Norway are killed, it is a time for deep mourning and for national reflection. People talk about how this could have come to pass in Norwegian society -- what the implications are, how to respond so that Norway's values are maintained, while also improving security. The government's response will be scrutinized deeply so that such an incident will not happen again.

In China, when 40 people are killed, the media is told to play up positive coverage and make it a "feel-good" event to bolster the Party. Aside from the crassness, where is the introspection? It's not only the Railway Ministry that has to respond, because it wasn't just a technical hiccup. People have to ask themselves, what kind of society, what kind of incentive structure, what kind of system gave rise to the conditions that resulted in this tragedy? Should we accept things on those terms, or what needs to change? But none of these questions will be asked.

The attitude is cavalier: "Just mop up. Hey folks, shows over, get back in line." No time for mourning ... I can't even fathom the idea of pretending that everything is okay, everything is all right. Sanitize history, sanitize news, sanitize life. Blot it all out, because everything has always been all right.

---

Good for the Economic Observer. They're willing to speak what is. From the WSJ:

China’s Economic Observer decided this weekend to publish a hard-hitting special report on the previous week’s high-speed train collision near the city of Wenzhou, defying strict orders from propaganda authorities in Beijing to play down coverage of the accident.


While many other newspapers obediently killed reports and took the train collision off their front pages in response to Friday night’s order, the Economic Observer devoted eight pages to its special report, entitled “No Miracles in Wenzhou,” and promoted it on its front page with a striking illustration showing the logo for the Ministry of Railways superimposed over a black-and-white photo of one of the ruined trains.


Beneath that image was an equally striking commentary on the accident titled “Yiyi, When You’re Older.” The commentary, which takes the government to task for its opaque handling of the accident, it written as a letter to Xiang Weiyi, a 2-year-old girl whose “miraculous” rescue has been widely trumpeted in state media.


Excerpts from that essay, translated by China Real Time:


Yiyi, when you’ve grown up and started to understand this world, how should we explain to you everything that happened on July 23, 2011? That train that would never arrive, it took away 40 lives that loved and were loved, including your parents. When you’re grown, will we and this country we live in be able to honestly tell you about all the love and suffering, anger and doubts around us?


How do we tell you that, even as they’d declared there were no more signs of life in the wreckage and had started cleaning up the site, you were still there struggling in the crushed darkness. Do we tell you that, with the truth still far off in the distance, they buried the engine; that before any conclusions had been reached, the line that had given birth to this tragedy was declared open. They called your survival a miracle, but how do we explain it to you: When respect for life had been trampled, caring forgotten, responsibility cast aside, the fact that you fought to survive – what kind of miracle is this?


Yiyi, one day you might pass by this place again. When the train whistle once again startles this silent land, will we reluctantly tell you about all the hypocrisy, arrogance, rashness and cruelty behind this tragic story?


Yiyi, we should tell you the truth, our country has been this way before. We want to tell you, those adults you see have wondered countless times whether in this era we’ve forgotten love, caring and basic trust. We’re full of complaints, but our anger is only that. We believe without doubt that life will continue on this way.
…
Yiyi, how do we explain to you that, at that time, there were two completely different images of China: one blossoming in the midst of the people, the other hidden in officialdom. We hope that when you’ve grown up and understand things, when you’ve learned to see with your own eyes, think with your own mind and encounter this world through your own actions, you will find this has changed.
…
Now, Yiyi, on behalf of you lying there on that sickbed and those lives buried in the ground, people are refusing to give up on finding the truth. Truth cannot be buried – no one plans to give up the inquiry. We know that anything we take lightly today might lead to our rights being violated and our lives being ignored again tomorrow. We reap what we sow. If every fact we seek becomes a secret, we’ll never know the truth. If we keep giving up half way in our pursuit of dignity, we will never be treated with dignity.


To live – to live with dignity – is that rainbow you get to see only after suffering through the wind and the rain. Yiyi, when you’re older maybe you’ll realize that dark night of July 23 was when things started to change. After that day, we won’t simply complain, but instead learn how to advocate and act. We understand that we have rights, we respect these rights and are will spare no effort to protect them.


Yiyi, if we’re going to promise you and other regular children like you a future, the journey must start from the wreckage of the train collision. That is the best way to remember your parents, and all the others who perished there.


– Josh Chin. Follow him on Twitter @joshchin

You can't buy ...

Article from The New York Times on recent unrest in Inner Mongolia.

“The Mongolian situation is very worrying for the Chinese leadership because you can’t just throw money at an issue like ethnic identity,” said Minxin Pei, a China expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and professor of political science at Claremont McKenna College in California.

@CCP:Like ... hello! Really?

Sigh, this is what you get when you mix Communist historical materialism with a sheen of capitalist greed. No respect or understanding for the importance of culture, or the depth of feeling regarding issues of identity. They don't even care about their own culture, much less that of other peoples.

You think you can buy your way out of this mess? Or just put up a perfunctory "museum"? Culture is something to be cherished and lived on an everyday basis. People have the right to shape their lives according to their traditions. Money doesn't make people forget.

Well, maybe it makes post-Communist Chinese people forget. But other peoples don't.

Is this what a Confucian society looks like too?

Denmark is pretty amazing: solidarity and social capital; trust of government and neighbors; resistance to abuse and oppression ... and the happiest people on earth!

(I've been to the country and can attest to the high level of trust that people have for one another, because they have confidence in other citizens. At the airport, a mother stood up and asked her neighbor (an African man) to please keep an eye out on her two young children, who were playing on the floor. Then she went off to take care of business, leaving her kids with a stranger.)

Granted, there may be some differences in how Danish society and a "Confucian society" are structured (certainly between Danish society and a traditional Chinese one), especially in areas like hierarchy and social status. And the country's values may be based off of different principles. But in some sense, the emphasis on harmony, social responsibility, and virtue mentioned in this article made me think of Confucian ethics.

As an exemplar of the Western humanistic tradition, perhaps Denmark can show us a way forward. (P.S. the US is not the only repesentative!). So the question is, how do we get there?

http://www.theatlantic.com/life/archive/2011/06/the-worlds-happiest-people/239971/


The World's Happiest People
By Robert Lavine
Jun 6 2011, 10:20 AM ET16

Denmark regularly ranks among the world's happiest countries, and it also saved most Danish Jews during World War II. What explains the society's success?

Denmark has the highest well-being of any country in the world, according to a recent Gallup Poll, with 72 percent of Danish people "thriving." (The worldwide median is just 21 percent.) In addition, during World War II, the country rescued almost all Jewish Danes from impending atrocities.

A kind of positive psychology underlies both accomplishments. People who trust their government and their neighbors, and who resist abuses in their society, are more likely to feel a sense of well-being in their own lives. Social psychology shows that countries with little trust are less likely to be happy. Networks of support between people and groups—what the political scientist Robert Putnam called social capital—promote people's well-being and their ability to react well to crises, from turmoil in North Africa to flooding in the U.S. and tsunamis in Japan.

Consider the mutual support at the root of Denmark's resistance to atrocities and what we can learn from Denmark's experience.

In 1943 the Nazi occupation met growing contempt from the Danish population. Strikes and sabotage in Denmark led to brutal reprisals. When the Danes received word of the plan to deport their Jewish citizens to concentration camps within days, the inclusive Danish community that had developed over decades or even centuries sprang into dramatic action. Danes from all walks of life helped 7,200 Jewish Danes cross the Oresund Strait to safety in neutral Sweden, allowing over 95 percent to survive the war. Nurses hid people in hospital rooms, resistance members held off armed German patrols, women followed coded messages to bring food for departing families, and refugees waded through cold water in darkness to the lights of waiting fishing boats.

Studies of personality traits may offer clues about why the rescue was so widely supported. In Dutch psychologist Geert Hofstede's Power Distance Index, which measures how differently people treat others because of their social status, Danes ranked among the lowest in unequal treatment. In a 2004 Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology study, Danes were also low in experiencing negative feelings like anger and anxiety, as well as in compulsive rule-following.

How do Danes reconcile their standing up and rescuing others with their traditional reluctance to stand out? Danes are taught not to tolerate abusive behavior, and to speak their mind even if others disagree. A case in point is the boy Christian who retaliates against bullying in the 2010 Oscar-winning Danish film "In a Better World." Danish people respect authority, but only if authority is virtuous, according to Mette N. Claushoej, recent Danish Embassy adviser in Washington (who, the embassy wishes to emphasize, was expressing her personal views). And they are taught not to think of themselves as better than others. Their sense of shared responsibility for all members of the group, evidenced by their widespread support of social welfare, might help explain the Danes taking risks during the 1943 rescue.

Furthermore, the recent Gallup well-being poll, conducted this April, isn't an outlier. For decades international surveys have shown a greater percentage of Danes who describe themselves as happy compared to other national groups. An egalitarian society with widespread financial security certainly contributes to Denmark's contentment. But contrary to welfare-state stereotypes, Forbes magazine recently rated Denmark as the world's best place to do business.

What may be essential are the supporting networks between people and groups that enhance social capital. Social capital is a major predictor of national happiness, according to new research in the 2011 Journal of Happiness Studies. A 2004 Cambridge University study concluded that mutual support and trust in society leads to well-being in Denmark and elsewhere. The research finds that the citizens of countries that scored highest for happiness also scored highest for trust in their governments, their laws, and each other. Where trust was lacking, "even the well off tended to be unhappy," according to the study.

To be sure, there is neither a simple nor linear cause-and-effect relationship between social psychology and historical events. The surveys cited began years after World War II, and what holds true in Denmark might not be the case elsewhere, such as the Arab countries now undergoing upheavals. But the upshot is that successfully confronting the atrocities of a brutal regime seems to be correlated with attaining national happiness.

Just as Denmark's defiance of the Nazis can be linked to its internal values of trust and willingness to speak out against abuse, the same traits are linked to its more recent well-being. National well-being in Denmark is forged from shared experience under stress, and the country provides a positive example as places like Egypt and Japan rebuild their societies during these tumultuous times. Take it from the world's happiest country.

The High Price of the New Beijing

“Fifty years from now, someone will regret this.” -- 梁思成

This article and the sentiments it expresses are moving ... and desperately sad.

http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2011/jun/23/high-price-new-beijing/?pagination=false

Subtitles. Fight!

Saw this video a while back. Annie Lee says her mom actually knows the Chinese woman.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rm4SazjKsQ

Description:

Oct 7, 2009 10am, Chinatown San Francisco. This fight occurred on the Muni Stockton route (the 9 i think) just before the stockton tunnel. As you can see, a simple argument about seat-hogging quickly turned into a full blown brawl. It's pretty clear who threw the first punch, you can see the bus' serial number, and the exact time in the video.

But the version with Chinese subtitles is so much more illuminating!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSmBUcGSJTQ

May 4 - Movie Night

Stanford University Nikkei (SUN) is screening "Howl's Moving Castle," an award-winning animated film.

There will be FREE Japanese food! Donations to Tzu Chi Foundation and American Red Cross for Japan earthquake relief will also be accepted at the event.

 It will be in History Corner (Building 200) at 8 PM.

Earth Day 2011

Happy Earth Day everyone! Let's work together to care for our planet.

Come to Tzu Chi's "Bottles to Blankets" exhibit in White Plaza on Friday and Saturday, where we'll have a display on how plastic bottles can be converted into eco-friendly blankets, clothing and other textiles. Reduce, reuse, recycle! And rethink! We will also be helping the Million Crane Project table to raise awareness for Japan earthquake relief.

To find out more on the awesome process of how bottles are turned into blankets:

A Greener Blanket http://tinyurl.com/3h4ad3o

Textile Tycoon Swaps Putting Greens for Green Products http://tinyurl.com/3ccc8vs

Fabrics Go Green http://tinyurl.com/3s8mukr

Plastic Alchemy Turns Garbage into Gold http://tinyurl.com/3tphrw5

DAAI Technology Company Unveils Eco-friendly Products http://tw.tzuchi.org/en/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=301

Global Company Certifies Tzu Chi Recycled Goods as 'Green' Gold http://tinyurl.com/43gxwb8

Friends within and without

The Arab League, Russia and China are now criticizing the use of air strikes and a no-fly zone in Libya. Apparently they don't like how force is being deployed to drive back Qaddafi's tanks, soldiers and heavy artillery. (You know, heavy artillery, those weapons used to bombard cities?)

According to The New York Times:

A commentary in China’s state-run People’s Daily newspaper said that the Western actions violated international law and courted unforeseen disaster. “It should be seen that every time military means are used to address crises, that is a blow to the United Nations Charter and the rules of international relations,” the commentary said.

Funny words coming from the CCP, who thinks that power grows out of the barrel of a gun. (Oh wait, those international principles mean nothing within borders, because governments have the shield of sovereignty. My mistake!) Anyway, I decided to look for this People's Daily (人民日報) editorial, but lo and behold, that quote was nowhere to be found via Google! However, I spotted another similar article, which was the "official" English translation:

"It should be noted that attempts to resolve the crisis using military means affects the U.N. Charter and the norms governing international relations."

Hm... awfully soft and weasel-y. Did the NY Times just spice things up for a quote? So I went to the original Chinese:

应该看到，每一次借助军事手段来解决危机都是对《联合国宪章》和国际关系准则的冲击，都是对求和平、谋发展这一时代主流的干扰。

It looks like The New York Times went to the original Chinese-language editorial, and translated it, pretty spot on. I know that Chinese state media tailor their editorials for different target audiences. Chinese pieces are for domestic consumption, English pieces are for Western audiences. (Seriously, how many times have you seen something in Global Times and thought, "Wow, that's refreshing/novel/encouraging!" but then recalled that the target audience is primarily Western ex-pats in China and realized you're being had?)

But what's the rationale here for such soft criticism abroad and harsh critique at home? This is just a reminder that the conflict in Libya is being spun in a particular way to Chinese audiences. If you look at the headlines, it's the ol' "imperialist West intervening in other countries' affairs" again. Sigh.

The world finally unites to stop a madman from plunging the eastern half of his country into a bloodbath of reprisal killings, and Beijing is scoring political points, while doing nothing to help? The West isn't perfect, but I hope Arab publics remember which societies are willing to reach across borders to help them in the fight against tyranny.

How's that for "American manners"?

Blog post by David Brooks today:

"Are new immigrants weakening the social fabric? By one measure they are not. In fact, America seems to be corrupting them. In the journal Addictive Behaviors, Mildred Maldonado-Moline, Jennifer Reingle, Wesley Jennings and Guillermo Prado looked at drunk driving arrests among new immigrants and U.S.-born young adults. Recent immigrants had low DUI arrest rates. Second generation Americans had higher arrest rates than first generation Americans, and third generation had higher rates than the second generation. The same pattern applied to arrests for marijuana use."

I'm just going to let that speak for itself. Seriously, who are the "lazy" "morally lax" "permissive" "complacent" people in this country? Um... I'm pretty sure it's not the recent immigrants who work hard and run strict/relatively traditional households.

This is also an additional reason to find that "Asians in the Library" rant laughable. I mean, as a commentary on social priorities, the title of the video speaks for itself: the Asians are in the flippin' LIBRARY. We should be happy those people are there, focusing on their studies.

(I wonder if this relates to my earlier post on the low status of teachers in this country and how Americans view education...)

As for Libya, we'll sit on our hands.

RE: Diplomacy Stalls as Libya Rebels Face Pro-Qaddafi Forces
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/16/world/africa/16libya.html

So we are willing to let a tyrant retake power and will do nothing to stop him. We will not attempt to halt the violent attacks against civilians; we will sit silently by at the massacres that will ensue, once his forces roll in. Bravo, the West! Bravo, Russia! Bravo, China!

As for those countries that are blocking the no-fly zone in the UN Security Council -- since when is it your prerogative to decide what happens to the Arab world and its people? The Arab League wants a No-Fly Zone. The leaders of the free area of Libya (now) want a No-Fly Zone. But you still refuse to authorize it.

Do you actually *want* Qaddafi to come back to power?!?

The world screws over the democrats (or at least the more democratically-oriented faction) time and again, claiming that we "can't get involved." Spain 1936. China 1937. We let the fascists roll through (literally fascists in these two cases -- domestic ones like Franco, and external ones like the Imperial Kwantung Army) -- and then what happens next?

dBut perhaps that is too dramatic. In this case, I suspect the rammifications for the world in Libya will be far less. There will just be tremendous suffering for the Libyan people who have the yoke of dictatorship cast over their lives again. And maybe some higher oil prices (oh dear) for a while, until we cast our lot in with this megalomaniac, because we are such wh-res for crude oil that in time we'll deal with his regime, we'll deal with any regime.

It's frustrating because this isn't Hungary, this isn't Prague -- there's no Soviet Union looming over a geopolitical battlefield. There's just one somewhat unhinged man, and his supporters with a ton of arms, unafraid to unleash these weapons on his own people. And still, we can do nothing -- or at least we choose do nothing. What does it mean to live in a post-Cold War world? Just what are the implications of referring a case to the ICC? We won't even take a stand when we know there's a murderous dictator on the rampage, seeking retribution, and hammering towns with his iron fist (backed up by artillery and attack helicopters), lobbing explosives into the midst of innocent civilians and resistance fighters. It doesn't even make political sense to allow this to happen, unless you want Qaddafi to return to power and re-establish control over the whole country -- which it is starting to seem like he is apt to do.

One of the leaders of the National Council (on the free Libyan side) pointed out that it's better for the conflict to an end in the favor of the rebels sooner rather than later. Otherwise, if Qaddafi reasserts himself, and the conflict becomes a protracted battle or a "guerilla war", then jihadists will make their way to Libya -- and then you have Afghanistan again. Why can't we support the democratic forces and let them emerge victorious? Don't we want to prove that democracy can work? Or do we want to hand the jihadists another battlefield, another recruiting ground?

In the end, I get a little bit of a sinking feeling that we actually *want* events on the ground to overtake diplomacy. If we keep dithering, then eventually a No Fly Zone will do no good -- or as the article puts it, "With the advances made by loyalists, there is growing consensus in the Obama administration that imposing a no-flight zone over Libya would no longer make much of a difference." And then we won't have to take it on. We'll have conveniently washed ourselves of the responsibility to act. Wait it out -- that's Russia and China's strategy for events like this, and it's starting to feel like it's Obama's strategy too. Wait it out, and there will no longer be agency, and then what's done is done.

How bleak. How cynical. How irresponsible. How pragmatic.

Tzu Chi Kicks Off Street Fundraising for Japan Earthquake Relief

Starting tomorrow, Tzu Chi volunteers across the US will be collecting donations for disaster relief in Japan, including our Bay Area chapters. Volunteers have already contacted store owners in nearby Mountain View, who have given permission for Tzu Chi to set up charity stations. If you want to help out with fundraising, here is the list of locations close to campus:

Shift times: 10-12 PM, 12-2 PM, 2-4 PM
1. Kyo-Po Supermarket (3379 El Camino Real, Santa Clara)
2. 99 Ranch Market in Mountain View (1350 Grant Road, Mountain View)
3. Nijiya Market (143 East El Camino Real, Mountain View)

Shift times: 11:30-1:30 PM, 1:30pm-3:30 PM
4. New Mongolian BBQ (304 Castro St, Mountain View)
5. Queen House 元寶之家 (273 Castro St, Mountain View)

Tzu Chi volunteers will be recognizable in their blue and white uniforms. If there's interest in going to help out, just send us an e-mail. (khsu@stanford.edu and melhsiao@stanford.edu)

Another way you can help is to make a donation online:

Visit http://northerncal.us.tzuchi.org/nc.nsf/home/index for our local Tzu Chi chapter; you can use PayPal or Google Checkout to make a contribution to relief efforts.

and by keeping the people of Japan in our thoughts and prayers.

Japan Earthquake: DaAi TV News Clips 大愛電視台

*In Chinese. English-language clips soon.

Relief Center Opens in Japan, Provides Hot Meals
日本分會開放 提供熱食飲水

http://www.newdaai.tv/?view=detail&id=80158

Earthquake Command Center to Coordinate Relief
日震災協調中心 任務分組愛馳援

http://www.newdaai.tv/?view=detail&id=80175

Conference with Tzu Chi's founder, Dharma Master Cheng Yen
上人開示 天地負重大不調 戒慎祈福遠災難

http://www.newdaai.tv/?view=detail&id=80161

Video from major earthquake in Japan; Tzu Chi plans to raise funds for relief
日本強震視訊 慈濟規劃募款

http://www.newdaai.tv/?view=detail&id=80174

Japan Earthquake: Status updates from Tzu Chi HQ and Japan

Hi all,

Here are some status updates from Tzu Chi HQ and Tzu Chi Japan. In the US, Tzu Chi volunteers will begin street fundraising to support the relief efforts on Sunday (March 13). Please stay tuned for how we can help!

Global Headquarters (Hualien, Taiwan)

• An emergency command center at Tzu Chi headquarters was established on March 11 to coordinate earthquake relief efforts
• Command center staff held a video conference with Tzu Chi's Japan branch to find out what aid was needed
• Tzu Chi headquarters has prepared 50 tons of instant rice and 17,000 environmentally-friendly blankets to be delivered as soon as flights can take off

Tzu Chi Japan

• Tzu Chi members distributed 500 hot meals to people stranded on Tokyo streets because of power outages and traffic jams
• The foundation’s Tokyo branch has opened a relief center to help those affected by the biggest earthquake in the history of Japan. Located on the branch’s first floor, it began operations at 6.30 p.m. on Friday, less than four hours after the quake.
• The center is providing people with hot food, snacks, Internet service to contact their loved ones, a place to rest and sleep, and comfort for those in shock.
• Volunteers checked on the safety of their fellow Tzu Chi members in the affected areas. All those in Tokyo, Kanagawa and Kansai reported in safely. But it was impossible to contact those close to the epicenter of the quake, in Utsunomiya and Gunma and Yamanashi prefectures. The volunteers will continue to try to make contact with them.

Related Articles
Tzu Chi Japan Opens Relief Centre after Catastrophic Earthquake (March 12) http://bit.ly/hLM5bw
Tzu Chi begins distributing warm food to earthquake victims (March 12) http://bit.ly/fZXnnx
Tzu Chi set up Earthquake Command Center (March 11) http://bit.ly/fLTBUA

Japan Earthquake and Tsunami - Disaster Relief Coordination Center

Hi everyone,

As you've probably heard, Japan just experienced a major earthquake, followed hours later by a tsunami. Tzu Chi volunteers in Asia are mobilizing, and the CEO of Tzu Chi USA's Northwest Region just sent a status update. Please stay tuned for how we can help.

---

Dear Sisters and Brothers,

Last night, Japan experienced its largest-ever earthquake. A Tzu Chi Relief Center was rapidly set up and reported in to Tzu Chi global headquarters and Dharma Master Cheng Yen. The US Emergency Response Team is also in contact with Taiwan HQ for status updates. (The disaster briefing they presented to Master Cheng Yen is attached.)

Let us wish for the road to recovery to be smooth and quick. We are awaiting instructions from headquarters for any support that we can provide.

Let's also raise our awareness and level of alertness to be prepared for earthquakes, which can strike anywhere without notice.

Regards,
Minjhing Hsieh

Japan Earthquake Briefing (in Chinese): http://bit.ly/glsGFK

[Original Chinese]

大家好：

日本於加州時間昨晚 9:46 PM 發生大地震，引發海嘯，「慈濟日本強震海嘯賑災協調中心」隨即成立，向 上人稟報災情。總會 ERT 立即與本會聯繫，了解狀況，附上賑災協調中心簡報。讓我們戒慎虔誠，祈願災情早日得以控制，生命財產損失降到最低，我們會配合本會採取協助，並自我提高警覺，為地震的可能性做好準備。

無限感恩！
明晉（濟晉）合十

ABC's, Represent!

Gary Locke (駱家輝) will be nominated as the new U.S. Ambassador to China! He's an ABC, so this is a first for an American of Chinese heritage (美籍華裔). Woot! He was the first Chinese-American governor -- of Washington State -- and currently serves as Secretary of Commerce in the Obama Administration (also a first).

接駐華大使　歐巴馬提名華裔駱家輝

By Amy Lee

台灣英文新聞 記者
2011-03-08 11:20 AM

美國政府一名高級官員說，美國總統歐巴馬計劃提名華裔商務部長駱家輝成為下一個中國大使。 預計星期二會正式公佈。 駱家輝將取代洪博培，而後者將於下個月辭職。

據悉，洪博培可能會爭取共和黨總統候選人提名。 駱家輝是第一個出任商務部長的美籍華裔，他的父親和祖父都出生在中國。

駱家輝擔任了兩屆華盛頓州的州長。 他是第一個美籍華裔美國州長。 在他任職期間，他大力提倡與中國的貿易，促使一些貿易代表團前往中國。 他的任命需經美國參議院的確認。2011/03/08

http://www.taiwannews.com.tw/etn/news_content.php?id=1536358

English article here =P

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/08/world/asia/08diplomacy.html

Tzu Chi in South Africa

By working with and empowering the local population, Tzu Chi activities in South Africa are becoming more sustainable and rooted in the community. For example, volunteers in Durban provide lunches every day to more than 5,000 AIDS orphans, often their only full meal of the day.

(Photos by Huang Chun-kai. 11/18/2010)

Since beginning the lunch program, the volunteers have also established more than 120 "vegetable gardens of love," which they cultivate themselves. They use the produce at 120 food stations for the lunches for the orphans. They also provide rice, corn flour and other foods to supplement the vegetables.

Tzu Chi volunteer Bathobile Maphumul cares for a "Vegetable Garden of Love"

(Photo by Yuen Ya-chi, 10/9/2010)

The most classic illustration of this "long-term sustainability" approach is Tzu Chi's job training program, which teaches Zulu women vocational skills, such as how to operate a sewing machine to sew clothing. The first training center was set up in Durban in 1995, and to date, several thousand women have participated in the trainings, which allow them to make an income and support their families. The city now boasts 524 such centers.

In 2004, the “Blue Bank Project” was launched near Ladysmith. Like the sewing training centers, the Blue Bank Project also assists local residents to become self-sufficient by providing them with cloth, sewing machines and needles so that they can make clothing for sale. ("Vows and Commitments in South Africa")

Furthermore, as one woman noted, the benefits are not just material: the independent income is personally empowering, because the women no longer have to beseech the male head of household for money to buy basic necessities like salt.

Many of these Zulu women went on to become Tzu Chi volunteers, returning to train others and most notably, beginning outreach projects in the larger Zulu community, such as caring for AIDS patients. Today, they form the backbone of Tzu Chi's volunteer corps in South Africa. They have moved from being the recipients of aid, to giving to aid to others even more impoverished or marginalized. In this way, the cycle of caring continues onward, with Taiwanese and Zulu volunteers working hand in hand to spread the seeds of love.

Video: Tzu Chi in South Africa

Empowering Women & Girls in South Africa

"Love Without Borders" - Empowering Women in South Africa

In post-apartheid South Africa in the early 1990s, Taiwanese businessmen and Tzu Chi volunteers started a job-training program to empower Zulu women and help them overcome poverty. Thousands eventually took part, and not only did these women emerge from poverty -- they also uncovered the power of unconditional giving. As they began to care for AIDS patients and orphans in impoverished Zulu communities, their actions sparked a movement that continues to spread the seeds of love.

Cooking hot meals for orphans

Two of these legendary Zulu women, Gladys Ngema and Tolakele Mkhize, recently led a workshop at the UN Commission on the Status of Women. Please join us for a special evening, where Gladys, Tolakele and businessman Michael Pan will share their inspiring life stories and discuss their humanitarian work with the Tzu Chi Foundation (慈濟基金會) in South Africa.

Tzu Chi, whose name means "compassion and relief," is the largest NGO in the Chinese-speaking world. Founded in 1966 by the Venerable Master Cheng Yen, it has over 10 million members and chapters in over 40 countries. The group's core activities span Charity, Medicine, Education and Disaster Relief, and it provides aid to all people regardless of race or religion.

7:30 PM at San Jose State University (March 8)
2 PM at Bayview Opera House, SF (March 9)

Free and open to the public. For more information or to RSVP, please visit: http://www.tcnw.org/love or call (408) 666-0624.

Video: About the Event

PHOTO: Tzu Chi volunteers gathering donations for charity work

Winter Clothing Sort

Hi everyone!

Even though it feels like it's already springtime at Stanford ... we're getting ready for our next event that has a chillier theme. Tzu Chi is teaming up with BCAS and Orchard International to sort through winter clothing donations on Saturday, February 12.

We'll be gathering at Tresidder Union Bus Stop at 12:30 pm to carpool to the warehouse in San Jose. Please fill RSVP if you'd like to help out!

P.S. Don't forget to register for the all-California Tzu Ching retreat at the end of the month, ASAP! You'll get to meet up with all the cool Tzu Ching from around the state.

California Tzu Ching Retreat

The all-California Tzu Ching Retreat is coming up at the end of the month, on Sat/Sun February 26 & 27.

The intrepid UC Davis chapter will be hosting the event (located on their campus in pastoral Yolo County) and they'll be providing accommodations for us on both days. Our fellow Tzu Chi volunteers from UC Berkeley, UC Merced, San Jose and San Francisco will all be there!

This is a great opportunity to meet up with other Tzu Ching and find out about the projects they're implementing at their schools, as well as to absorb some Tzu Chi culture. =D The theme they've chosen is "Environmental Protection."

It'll be a worthwhile weekend, with workshops on putting "compassion into action" and plenty of other fun activities, too! If you're interested, don't forget to register. It'd be great if our whole Stanford team could represent!

P.S. We will figure out transportation soon. For now, we can just put "Friday" and "Sunday" for arrival/departure, and "Carpool" for Mode of Transport.

---

Hey there, California Tzu Ching!

We're Kacey and Gina, leaders of the UC Davis chapter,
and we'd like to welcome you all to
attend a retreat at the end of February.


Our whole team has worked hard to plan the activities,
and we look forward to seeing you there!

 

Outside my window

"Spring is already here! Birdsong and blossoms are in the air..." I wrote on Facebook.

My friend Cristina said in response: "That's very mean of you... this is basically my view outside of my window right now: http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3500/3187116347_790bb4af61.jpg"

So I apologized, telling her, "Look, we have winter here too! Gnarled trees with bare branches."

I'm not sure if I should tell her that if you turn around 180 degrees, this is the view:

^  ^

Happy Year of the Rabbit!

新年快樂！Wishing everyone a wonderful Lunar New Year!

Here are some photos of a cuddly creature that showed up at my friend Emily's doorstep last week. After finding this fellow, she came across another one of these bunnies on the lawn, and has adopted both of them.

I'm so cute you could almost 兔

It's my year, but I wanna share it with you too! 新年快樂！

The Year of the Rabbit is finally hare!

Hope you encounter many unexpected bunnies this year as well. =D

---

P.S. Here are some Year of the Rabbit graphics that I've seen online and liked:
http://www.hipgirlie.com/2011/01/03/2011-year-of-the-rabbit/
http://shibuistudio.wordpress.com/2010/02/06/year-of-the-rabbit/
http://hanami-kokoro.deviantart.com/art/Year-of-the-Rabbit-2011-191721834

Tzu Chi Food Distribution (Saturday, 1-22-2011)

Stanford Tzu Ching participating in a food distribution to low-income families in San Jose.

On to bigger and better things

For Evan, who passed quals.

Documentary ("Tzu Chi: Compassion & Relief") + Pearl Milk Tea (Tonight 7 PM)

On Thursday, we're screening a Discovery Channel documentary on Tzu Chi 慈濟基金會 ("Compassion & Relief"), the largest NGO in the Chinese-speaking world. Founded in Taiwan in 1966 by Dharma Master Cheng Yen, the organization has grown from humble beginnings to become a major civil society actor in Asia and beyond. The film traces the growth of Tzu Chi and its unique approach to humanitarian aid, along with the formation of its global network of volunteers, who now operate in over 70 countries in the areas of Charity, Medicine, Education, and Disaster Relief. The organization recently completed the thirteenth school in its long-term reconstruction campaign in Sichuan, and provided emergency relief following major floods in Pakistan and the Haiti Earthquake last year.


7-8 PM Thursday, Jan 13

Asian American Activities Center (A3C) in Old Union

Please RSVP for Pearl Milk Tea

Vietnamese sandwiches will be provided

 

Tzu Chi volunteers in Myanmar

Balancing the Future and the Past

A balance has to be achieved between preservation and upholding living standards for residents. It seems that the city of Djenné, a UNESCO site, has not done a good job with that.

Mali City Rankled by Rules for Life in Spotlight (The New York Times)

Photos from The New York Times: "Djenné is an official World Heritage site. Guidelines established by Unesco, the cultural arm of the United Nations, which compiles the heritage list, demand that any reconstruction not substantially alter the original." Thus, the city must "preserve its mud-brick buildings, from the Great Mosque to individual homes."

From the article:

Abba Maiga stood in his dirt courtyard, smoking and seething over the fact that his 150-year-old mud-brick house is so culturally precious he is not allowed to update it — no tile floors, no screen doors, no shower. With its cone-shaped crenellations and palm wood drainage spouts, the grand facade seems outside time and helps illustrate why this ancient city in eastern Mali is an official World Heritage site. But the guidelines established by UNESCO, the cultural arm of the United Nations, which compiles the heritage list, demand that any reconstruction not substantially alter the original.

“When a town is put on the heritage list, it means nothing should change,” Mr. Maiga said. “But we want development, more space, new appliances — things that are much more modern. We are angry about all that."

PHOTO: "In a cultural clash echoed at World Heritage sites around the world, residents complain of being frozen in time like pieces in a museum, their lives proscribed so visitors can gawk. Abba Maiga's 150-year-old mud-brick house is so culturally precious he is not allowed to update it — no tile floors, no screen doors, no shower. "Who wants to live in a house with a mud floor?" said Mr. Maiga."

However, the present desires of the citizens are not the only thing to take into account when pondering the fate of such a place.

The problem, said N’Diaye Bah, Mali’s tourism minister, is modernizing the town without wrecking its ambiance. “If you destroy the heritage which people come to see, if you destroy 2,000 years of history, then the town loses its soul,” he said.

Djenné residents take pride in their heritage and recognize that the Unesco list helped make their city famous. Yet they wonder aloud about the point of staying on it, given the lack of tangible gains, if they are forced to live literally in mud. Many homeowners want to keep the distinctive facades, but alter the interiors. Unesco guidelines prohibit the sweeping alterations they would like, however.

Mahamame Bamoye Traoré, the leader of the powerful mason’s guild, surveyed the cramped rooms of the retired river boat captain’s house, naming all the things he would change if the World Heritage rules were more flexible.

“If you want to help someone, you have to help him in a way that he wants; to force him to live in a certain way is not right,” he said, before lying on the mud floor of a windowless room that measured about 6 feet by 3 feet. “This is not a room,” he said. “It might as well be a grave.”

Is this place an exhibition or a tomb? (It probably should be neither -- because communities are places that should be lived in). When people are treated this way, it seems they feel a sense of stagnation and resentment. Yet if the population can become engaged in the process of cultural preservation and site restoration, they will be the fiercest defenders and best caretakers of a site. These are their homes, their culture! Let's get creative to find ways for tradition and modernity to coexist and thrive.

I'm not the expert here, and I'm sure the architects and archaeologists have spent a lot of time pondering over how to treat this ancient town and its structures. But more community input is needed; otherwise, you end up with situations like the one reported in the article, where a disgruntled homeowner evicted the UN team, tore down an archway to make room for armoires, causing the house to promptly collapse.

Maybe something can be done where the facade and entryway are preserved in the traditional style, while rooms further inside can be remodeled, with wooden floors added. Maybe we could add more structural support and new wiring for electricity. Who knows? The partnership goes both ways: outside experts can listen and attempt to understand the aspirations and concerns of people in the neighborhood. Local residents can try to recognize the value inherent in these timeless buildings and do their children a favor by thinking of the long-term.

 

The town faces an additional challenge: "Poverty prevents many from fixing their houses. Architects who have worked on various restoration projects said the townsfolk are imbued with a unique pride. Many would rather see their ancestral home fall than admit they lack the means to restore it, said Cheich Abdel Kader, a Malian architect who also helped direct the mosque restoration. Others object that outsiders set the rules."

Most of all, we need to involve the population in the upkeep of a city -- inspire them be proud of their heritage and help them recognize and celebrate their culture. Local residents must be partners; they cannot be bystanders in their own homes and neighborhoods. Sometimes it is the tyranny of the bulldozer; here it appears to be overweening rule of foreign preservationists.

 

Stanford Tzu Ching Logo!

Credit to Dan Maas and Tzu Ching Indonesia

The ROC at 100

 

今天是中華民國建國一百年的元旦！中華民國萬歲! 台彎加油！

Go Taiwan! Today marks the start of the 100th Year of the Republic.

Long live the Republic of China! The dream is still alive.