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| Bad news, friends. China has blocked xanga. I haven't been able to get on for about a week. The only reason I'm here today is because my friend, Seth, taught me how to get around it. (Sanks, Sess.) The reason? China has built "The Great Firewall of China." I read about it in the news. Here we go.
China to Expand ‘Great Internet Firewall’ (March 13, 2007, AFP)
China will tighten controls on Internet blogs and webcasts in a response to new technologies that have allowed cyber citizens to avoid government censorship efforts, state press reported Tuesday. Following a call from President Hu Jintao in January to "purify" the Internet, the ruling Communist Party will introduce new regulations targeting blogs and webcasts, one of the nation's chief censors was cited as saying. "Advanced network technologies such as blogging and webcasting have been mounting new challenges to the government's ability to supervise the Internet," Press and Publication Administration head Long Xinmin said, according to Xinhua News Agency. Long said the government was in the middle of drafting the new regulations. No specific details of the new rules were reported, but Long said they would lead to "a more healthy and active Internet environment," according to Xinhua. Aside from the new regulations, the central government also announced this month it would not allow any new Internet cafes to be registered this year. Experts say 30,000-40,000 Internet police are also employed to implement the country's extensive Internet censorship system, known as the "Great Firewall of China."
So, this will be my last post on dear xanga. You've been good to me for the past year and half. It's not you, it's me.
To keep up with me you can read my stories at meganwynd.blogspot.com and see pictures at www.fickr.com/photos/wynd
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| China lifted the ban on fireworks for Spring Festival this year. When I heard about it in Thailand I thought, "Oh, well that makes sense. I mean, they did invent them and all..." I now call for the ban to be reinstated. Let me explain. THE FIREWORKS WON'T STOP. EVER. They are set off all day. I don't really get it because, well, you can't see fireworks during the day. Last night I was walking home from dinner and stopped to watch a display set off by a family who lives in the apartments on my campus. The box was huge! These guys looked like the ones cities use for their 4th celebrations! This can't be safe. My campus is full of really old buildings and tall trees. As I continued past the family once the box was empty, I smelled it. Ah, the familiar smell of popped fireworks. It is at this point my mind didn't know how to process all that was coming in: - The smell of fireworks
- Chinese all around
- No hot dog, lemonade or watermelon in my hand
- No 95 degree heat
- No pool and lawnchairs
What is a person supposed to do with that?! m. | | |
| Dear Xanga, I am writing to apologize for the horrible neglect I have shown you over the past two months. m. Seriously, now... It's hard to tell you what's gone on in the past seven weeks, so I will simply list it for you. You can see all my pictures on flickr and imagine a running narration. - Finished grad classes
- Rode around on motorbikes (I wore a helmet. Don't worry. Safety first!)
- Ate really, really good food (cheese included)
- Looked at pretty flowers
- Hung out with all the people I work with across Asia
- Sang corporately
- Sat alone with the one who loves me most
- Played in the sun
- Rode an elephant
- Got really, really tan (please watch for the progression in my pictures on flickr)
- Went on my very first beach vacation to Koh Tao
- Learned that while the beach is AWESOME, if given a choice of vacation, I'd ski
- Learned to scuba (I'm much cooler now)
- Laughed a lot. I mean, a lot.
- Did, on average, 7 embarrassing/klutzy things a day
- Went to Laos (almost didn't get in - email for the story on that)
- Watched movies in theaters
- Played Catch Phrase and Moods (a lot)
- Read Confessions of a Shopaholic (I am not smarter)
- Made a few new friends
- Discovered that Scandinavian people are beautiful (There were a lot of them on Koh Tao)
- Hung out in Bangkok
- Discovered that the people in Bangkok are super friendly
- Smiled a lot for no reason
That sounds like a pretty good overview. I've been back in China for about a week now. It's been great to be back in my own little corner of the world. I missed my apartment. I've been doing lots of laundry, cleaning, watching tv and other things that waste time. I start classes on Monday which is really great because I miss my students. Here's to the new semester! m. | | |
| Well, I've been in Thailand for a week now. Praise the One who created it all for Thailand!! It's warm. =) Seth, Sarah and I have all our Shanghai pictures up now. I also have some from around Thailand. I rode an elephant!!! It's true. His name was Zach. Becky and I rode him for a while, visited some minority villages, went to a waterfall and rode a bamboo raft on Saturday. I even hiked a bit!! Guys, I don't hate nature all the time! It was awesome! The only time I wasn't having fun was when we were going up the mountian. Inclines, boo! You can check the flickr for pictures. I'm sure I'll have much to tell you in the coming weeks. For now, I should go get my presentation ready for tomorrow. Hooray, grad school! m. | | |
| Hello friends! So Shanghai was super fun. Sarah and I went to Suzhou (the Venice of China), Seth met up with us, we drank a lot of coffee and just hung out (it feels like that kind of city), went to a buttload of museum (we're not even the museum type...) and laughed. A lot. I love cities. Give me smog and tall buildings any day! Shanghai was my kind of place. It's full of awesome restaurants, great shopping, culture out the wazoo, and good lookin' people. Everyone should put it on their list of places to visit. It is at this point I recognize how lame I have described Shanghai. Let me explain. It's definitely 3:37 am. I am definitely in the Bangkok airport waiting for my flight to Chiang Mai that leaves at 7:50. I'm not in full form, people. Don't judge me. More to come. m. | | |
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