Locusts
A full page ad was published in a Hong Kong newspaper today, depicting a giant locust perched on a mountain overlooking the Hong Kong skyline. The text asks: “Are you willing for Hong Kong to spend one million Hong Kong dollars every 18 minutes to raise the children born to mainland parents?” The locust is...
Chinese recruited for war had secret passage through Canada
YPRES, Belgium — Under pristine, white tombstones in the British military cemeteries dotting the landscape throughout Belgium and northern France, the graves of thousands of Chinese labourers can be found. You just have to know where to look.
Italian town bans “ethnic” food
Some Italians are saying 'no' to kebabs, Chinese takeout and sushi as they "struggle to hold onto centuries-old culinary traditions in the face of globalisation and immigration."
News of speed train derailment in Wenzhou travels fast
Weeks after the Wenzhou high-speed train collision, people in China are still angry. Online resentment and a more loose lipped state media are clear signs that there is a hunger from the people to know the truth, and an urge for journalists to start providing those truths.
Driving in China (and why I’ll never do it)
Driving in China is like going on a suicide mission. Every day, I am at the mercy of audacious taxi drivers and reckless bus drivers. Some might call them valiant; I call them foolhardy. Most in China accept it as 'normal.' But the fact is these dare devils put our lives at risk every day.
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A visit to a Wenzhou shoe factory
By the time we arrived at a quarter past 12, the factory had already produced nearly 900 pairs of shoes. On the third floor of the factory there were at least 60 people spread out across the assembly line that day, the rhythm and energy in the room focused on piecing together a white, knotted...
A Japanese-Canadian odyssey
Jack Nakamoto, a 90-year-old Second World War veteran, has written a new book. "Jack's Japonica" is a collection of several hundred short essays, an informative and entertaining read for those interested in all things Japanese, from table manners, to tofu burgers, to square-shaped watermelons.
Salt
There is widespread panic across China today - people are rushing to buy as much kitchen salt as they can. Stores are raising their prices to cash in on the frenzy, meanwhile consumers continue to buy in bulk.
What’s with all the fireworks?
The New York Times has an interesting piece today on fireworks during the Chinese New Year – about the many accidents across the country in which people are hurt and buildings are burned to the ground. In recent days errant fireworks have killed two people in Beijing, injured 388 others and started 194 blazes, about twice...
My story this week for CMAJ: China struggles to rebuild mental health programs
By Suzanne Ma A plainclothes policeman checks the blood stains on the wall at a primary school where a man stabbed eight children to death and injured five others in Nanping, China. Photo credit: Reuters The anomaly is striking. At least a dozen workers leapt to their death in same factory compound in southern China...
Breaking away from “Narrative Fallacy”
Hi readers, my latest story for the Canadian Medical Association Journal (see previous blog post) is long. But it’s a good read. Most importantly, there’s no bull shit. I am a trained breaking news reporter. At DNAinfo, we were constantly updating our website – I staked out murder scenes, chased fire trucks, rushed to press...
China searches for best medicine for ailing scientific journals
My latest story for the Canadian Medical Association Journal By Suzanne Ma China’s scientific journals are, simply put, plagued by mediocrity. The country has over 5000 mostly Chinese-language science and technology journals, but many of the articles they publish are unread and rarely cited. For good reason, says Sun Jianzhong, a doctor in Qingtian People’s...
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