http://reganmian.net/blog Random stuff that I think matters. Int'l politics, linguistics, China, int'l development, society&tech, culture... Fri, 27 Jun 2008 17:07:50 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Caveat I have spent over one and a half year of my life living in China, and a significantly larger part visiting it, learning the language, watching movies and soap-operas, reading blogs, discussing it with Chinese and non-Chinese, and in general thinking about it. There is still so much I don't ... http://reganmian.net/blog/2008/06/27/can-one-party-systems-be-more-accountable-than-democracies/ It was great being back in Hangzhou, where I spent half a year in 2004. Already, Hangzhou was known as one of the most beautiful cities in China, and the local citizens were very proud of it. Coming back this time, my friend told me of many small changes that ... http://reganmian.net/blog/2008/06/03/many-small-improvements-make-a-harmonious-society/ Below is a brief report I wrote for Rural China Education Foundation, based on my visits to two field sites, where they are experimenting with starting rural school libraries. This report was written for RCEF and based on their needs, and my observations. I am releasing it publicly, because it ... http://reganmian.net/blog/2008/06/03/some-observations-and-suggestions-about-the-rural-china-education-foundation-library-programs-at-two-rural-sites/ The first batch of pictures has been posted, here and here. I have quite a few more, especially from the village and the primary school, that I will try to post soon. Stian http://reganmian.net/blog/2008/05/14/pictures-from-china/ I thought I'd write a little more about my last travels. The last time I wrote, I was in Wuhan, and much has happened since that. In China, the 1st of May is celebrated as the workers' holiday - not with parades and marches of workers demanding their rights like ... http://reganmian.net/blog/2008/05/14/chongqing-hechuan-via-beijing-to-linqing/ This post is not about what to do to avoid having your backpack stolen in China. Although scare stories about criminality abound in China, I think it's a lot better than most other places - especially for foreigners. There is undoubtedly a huge amount of scams going around, especially involving ... http://reganmian.net/blog/2008/05/12/safety-and-security-in-china/ I have been planning to blog about the Open Education conference in Dalian for a while, but I have been travelling, and also still digesting my experiences there. I will begin by discussing the organization of the conference itself, and things that future conferences, like the Open Learning conference hosted ... http://reganmian.net/blog/2008/05/01/open-learning-conference-in-dalian-2008-lessons-for-future-events/ One of the most striking things in China, and a very important feature for foreigners, is the ubiquitous cybercafes. I made heavy use of them the first time I was living in China, in 2000-2001, when I had no internet at "home" (in the student dormitory). The second time, when ... http://reganmian.net/blog/2008/04/30/anatomy-of-a-chinese-wangba-cybercafe/ I absolutely love Chinese bookstores. They are often huge, and buzzing with activity. The biggest are often called "book cities", and the one I visited in Shenzhen a year ago was about six huge floors. On the Sunday that I visited it, it was packed with people, sitting on everywhere ... http://reganmian.net/blog/2008/04/30/a-paean-to-chinese-bookstores/ While being back in mainland China is already a great experience, and I really enjoyed all my time in Dalian and the few hours in Beijing--coming back to Wuhan is still a special event. I spent a year teaching in Wuhan Scientific and Technical University in 2000-2001, and it's the ... http://reganmian.net/blog/2008/04/29/wuhan-where-have-you-been-all-these-years/