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China: Nary Xmas?

A group of PhD students at several of China's biggest and best universities came together last week to release a letter calling for Chinese to boycott Christmas—a holiday they see as representing waning interest in traditional Chinese culture—and all the rest of non-native cultural trends. Presumably not a very popular stance in China, most bloggers took issue with their reasoning, and had sightly different ideas about where exactly the blame should lay.

Highly-read Tianya Blogger Ten Years of Chopping Timber reposted a post on the subject from internet writer Ya Kefu:

十博士在《呼吁书》中一开头就说：”西洋文化在中国已由'微风细雨'变成'狂风骤雨'，最为直接和集中的体现，莫过于'耶诞节'在中国的悄然兴起与日趋流行。在此，我们，十位来自中国不同高校和科研院所的博士研究生，郑重呼吁国人慎对'耶诞节'，走出文化集体无意识，挺立中国文化主体性。” 读了这段博士高论，在下却十分不以为然。首先我觉得西洋文化在中国演变成”狂风暴雨”并非是现在才发生的事，也并非仅仅体现为”过圣诞节”。实际上，我们现代中国人的生活中几乎方方面面都受”西洋文化”的影响，随手举几个例子：我们日常穿的衣服、鞋子是西洋式的；我们乘坐的交通工具是西洋式的，我们家庭用的电器也是西洋式的；我们所受的教育是西洋式的，我们用来工作的电脑也是西洋式的；即使是生了病，我们多半也是看西医——莫非”十博士”们认为，我们必须穿身穿长袍马褂，足登布底皂靴屁股下坐着八抬大轿，点着大红灯笼，读四书五经写八股文章，拔拉算盘珠子当上网，张口”之乎者也”、闭口”呜呼哀哉”，病了只服仁丹或者是请来巫婆神汉跳大神，才算是”走出文化集体无意识，挺立中国文化主体性”？是不是我们应该学习阿富汗的塔利班，一股脑儿将西方的”腐朽文化”统统禁掉，发扬我们的传统，让女人重新裹起小脚，男人重新留起辫子，以显示我们重新拾回传统的决心？

The opening line of the ten PhDs' ‘Appeal' reads: Occidental culture in China has already turned from ‘gentle breeze and fine drizzle' to ‘fierce winds and gushing rain', with the most direct and focused manifestation being the quiet rise and increasing popularity of celebrating Christmas. Thus, us ten PhD students from different Chinese institutes of higher learning and research centers, call in all seriousness on our countrymen to beware Christmas, and move out of your collective cultural unconsciousness and raise up Chinese culture.”
Having read this part of the PhDs' remarks, I strongly objected. First off, I feel that Occidental culture in China becoming ‘fierce winds and gushing rain' is not something that only just happened now, nor is it only manifested in ‘doing Christmas'. In fact, the lives of us modern Chinese have been influenced in every single aspect by “Occidental culture”. A few examples off the top of my head: the clothes we wear everyday, the shoes, are Occidental; the vehicles we ride are Occidental; the appliances we use in our homes are Occidental; the education we receive is Occidental; the computers we use at work are Occidental; even if you get sick, more than half of us get treated with Western medicine. Is it possible these “ten doctors” feel we must wear full-body robes and Mandarin jackets, wear cloth slippers and sit our asses up on 8-man sedans? Light red lanterns, read The Four Books and Five Classics and write eight-part essays, spin abacus beads instead of going online, speak in affected ancient Chinese or moan in melancholy [like when translating obscure ancient Chinese phrasing]? Sick? Only take Chinese herbal medicine, or else call a witch doctor. Only then will we ‘move out of collective cultural unconsciousness, raise up Chinese culture'? Should we be learning from the Taliban, rashly and absolutely forbidding “degenerate culture”, promoting our traditions, start binding women's feet or make men wear braids again, to show our determination to return to tradition?

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Somali-Ethiopia conflict looms over Ethiopian blogosphere

Andrew Heavens · 05:58 · Sub-Saharan Africa

War and rumours of war dominated the Ethiopian blogosphere this week as reports came in of bloody clashes between Ethiopian and Islamist troops in northern Somalia.

Accounts of the conflict from the mainstream media have so far been fragmentary and often contradictory.

GlobalVoices' own Ethan Zuckerman summed up the confusion in a post on his blog …My Heart's in Accra:

The situation in Somalia is, as it always is, extremely confusing. Headlines yesterday alternated between reports of fierce battles and reports that both sides were returning to the negotiating table.

Ethiopia's government was today still insisting that their troops were not involved in the fighting – the official position is that they don't even have any soldiers in Somalia. This approach was faithfully echoed in the country's official state news outlets.

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GV Summit Delhi ‘06 Session Two: Outreach

Jennifer Brea · 05:18 · GVDelhi2006

At the Saturday meeting of last weekend's second annual summit, Global Voices' South Asia editor, Neha Viswanathan, facilitated a discussion about outreach: who is blogging, why some communities aren't blogging and how to make sure that blogospheres represent all voices.

(Photo by Jace)

The session focused on how to mitigate barriers to access, presented examples of current outreach efforts, and brainstormed possible new outreach projects.

Barriers to Access

Blogging without basic needs Several participants wondered how the poor could be convinced blogging could be of value to them. Working in rural India, Dina Mehta found the first question is often “What's in it for me?” Blogging may be a hard sell or perceived as nonessential in communities where many “are struggling with clothing their children, having bathrooms, or money for soap.”

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This Week's Saudi Blog Roundup

Fahad Albutairi · 03:53 · Middle East & North Africa

The Human Rights Watch visit to Saudi Arabia is still making headlines, 80 rats were found on a Saudi Airlines plane, a Bible was denied entry into Saudi, the Quran is now recognized as the second-most wanted Christmas gift in Denmark, and Sheikh Dot is back. Now, for the roundup…

According to Rasheed's post, “Human Rights Watch issued a press statement yesterday [December 19th] about how their delegation that was here in the Kingdom last week were denied access to many detention facilities that they had wanted to visit here [in Saudi Arabia].” Crossroads Arabia, however, sheds some light on other claims regarding the visit; according to an article on the Saudi Gazette, HRW “was able to visit prisons.” Aya thinks that they were -genuinely- denied access to prisons and detention facilities. “I don't think that HRW actually expected to be granted full access to the country, for God's sake, even its ‘contact us' page is blocked in the kingdom,” she says.

Ahmed said he couldn't believe his eyes when he read in the newspaper that “80 RATS were found on a Saudi airline plane going from Riyadh to Tabuk! Apparently they were in one of the passengers BAGS!!!” He exclaims: “I mean HOW ON EARTH did that bag pass in the first place?!” In another topic, according to Crossroads Arabia and the article they posted, illegal immigration is currently growing to be a major issue in Saudi Arabia.
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Chilean Christmas Consumer Behavior

Rosario Lizana · 01:28 · Americas

Christmas is coming. This post takes a look at Chileans' consumer behaviour during holidays. Writing about what Chileans are buying for presents, Luis Alarcon (ES) describes top-selling present:

El éxito de esta navidad, poleras (polos, tshirt) con las pólemicas imágenes de Allende y el reciente fallecido Pinochet. Los encargados aseguran que su stock esta agotado y que la mayoría son vendidas al extranjero.

The hit of this Christmas are the shirts (polos and tees) with the controversial images of Allende and the recently deceased Pinochet. People who are in charge of them, say that the stock is sold out and that the majority are sold to foreigners.

He also jokes about the controversy of these two politicians and continues “t-shirts and insults are sold separately”.

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