Things Around China Archives

Of course, I wasn’t the only one in China excited about this. Actually, I was swept into this craze just as it arrived in China and the foreigner community here exploded with excitement on WeChat. We got a good meme out of it, based on a photo that was taken and shared by a South African expat in Chengdu who eagerly went to McDonalds in the morning, tried the sauce, and shared the photo. People were so eager about this Rick & Morty sauce being available here in China that it side-tracked a number of WeChat groups that I’m in.

The internet points (karma) on Reddit obviously means nothing. But it feels great to contribute something to the site which has offered me so much over the years.

Chinese Perspective on South China Sea

Yesterday The Hague released its ruling on China’s questionable claim to the South China Sea, and as expected, it was not in China’s favor. Also as expected this has resulted in shrill cries of victimization from China, depicting itself as the target of bullying by the United States and Japan.

Below an example – a comic which I came across today. The original version in Chinese is on the right and a version which I translated is on the left:

Chinese comic on South China Sea

The South China Sea debate is leading to a lot of expat discomfort, as China predictably pulls nationalist strings to promote the “East versus West” narrative. It is not good for anyone but on this particular issue, neither side can step down.

This is a good overview of the current situation: No Stepping Back by Wu’er Kaiti.

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Chinese Perspective on South China Sea