Music from the Middle Kingdom
Submitted by bulmer on Apr 4 2012 07:05
I've been a bit out of touch politically recently as I've got a load of things to sort out, so I thought I'd do more of a cultural post and introduce some Chinese music to the libcom readers. This won't be very representative of the average Chinese worker's musical choice, but just stuff that I've found interesting.
I've never heard any of this music by frequenting Chinese clubs and bars. In fact a lot of these places would rather play Westlife, Lady Gaga or some K-pop. That said, the nightlife in China is worth the experience whether you like the music or not.
If anyone has any other Chinese artists that they like, please feel free to suggest them 
He Zhen and anarcha-feminism in China
Submitted by wojtek on Mar 25 2012 01:07
Feminism in China arose as part of the reform movement of the 1890s. It remained largely tied to nationalist concerns until the early twentieth century, when anarchists began to conceive of women's liberation in the context of social revolution. Peter Zarrow looks at the way the anarchists enlarged the sphere of feminist discourse in China. He focuses on the anarchist He Zhen, who pointed out that women would not achieve equality with men until they became economically self-sufficient under a communist system of production.
He Zhen and Anarcho-Feminism in China
Peter Zarrow
The Journal of Asian Studies, Vol. 47, No. 4 (Nov., 1988), pp. 796-813
Community hubs, pubs, clubs and social centres
Submitted by bulmer on Mar 12 2012 06:12
I suppose this is just a reflection on the importance of communal meeting places that aren't always appreciated in the way they should be as well as the break up and isolation of individuals in communities.
Over the last few decades in the UK, it seems there has been an effort to make Thatcher's famous words true. 'There is no such thing as society: there are individual men and women, and there are families.'
China on UK TV
Submitted by bulmer on Mar 12 2012 03:20
This is just a heads up to anyone in the UK, to watch a couple of TV programmes about China being shown tonight (12/03/12). If you can't watch them, then they should be available online tomorrow.
The first programme, is the first of a 2-part series on Channel 4 at 8pm, titled 'China: Triumph and Turmoil'.
China Blue
Submitted by bulmer on Mar 10 2012 08:06
China Blue is a documentary that follows a 17 year old Chinese girl migrating from her home in the Sichuan province to work in a jeans factory in Guangdong. It shows the harsh realities as a factory worker for millions of migrants in China.
The film gives a very detailed insight, what it is like to work in a Chinese factory. The extremely long workday, going for weeks or months without a day to rest, not getting paid (even when you do it's barely enough for the amount of work done), sleeping in cramped conditions, eating crap food and being threatened every step of the way by a complete bell-end of a boss.
Libcom library recommendations on China
Submitted by bulmer on Mar 8 2012 04:58
Even though libcom is primarily a UK based, English language website, there are still tonnes of articles from and about other parts of the world and in other languages. As the resident China-based blog, I've pulled out a few gems from the library about China, both contemporary and historical.
Workers' struggles in East Asia (February 2012)
Submitted by Spartacus on Mar 1 2012 14:25
Summary and links to news stories of workers' struggles around East Asia during February 2012 and related resources. The most important stories appear on my Twitter feed as soon as I find them: http://twitter.com/spartacusnews.
This month there has been news from Burma/Myanmar, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam.
The most important stories:
-WSWS Asia 4: Workers Struggles: Asia, Australia and the Pacific (link 1)
A tale of 2 petitions
Submitted by bulmer on Mar 1 2012 05:46
When I think of petitioning in the UK, I think of walking around some town centre on a Saturday, hearing someone on a megaphone ranting how they are 'against' something (war, capitalism, cuts etc), then turning towards the noise and seeing a bunch of Trots standing around a stall trying to sell papers and getting people to sign a petition that goes nowhere. In China though, something as harmless as a petition can see you face years inside one of the 'black jails'.
I'm sure many of you reading from the UK have witnessed the scene I described before and probably ignore it most of the time.
Chinese millionaires fork out thousands to satisfy their urge to kill
Submitted by bulmer on Feb 29 2012 05:02
It seems the new parasitic class of Chinese millionaires are not content with merely making millions through exploiting the Chinese working class. Increasing numbers of them are now choosing to spend these millions to pay for the right to kill animals all over the world, spending up to 498,800 yuan (about £49,880) on a single hunting holiday. Both the business owners and top ranking government officials are reveling in this new opportunity to act like complete wankers.
A luxury polar bear hunting holiday in Canada for 14 days (which I've heard includes getting your own arse wiped for you) is the most expensive package hunting holiday available for this Chinese elite. But if you don't fancy that cold weather you can always go to one of the many African, European or Oceanic retreats available through the same tour operator.
State repression of activists in China
Submitted by bulmer on Feb 15 2012 02:01
Here's a TV clip commenting on the state repression of activists in China, more specifically the case of Zhang Shujie, a supporter of the Hong Kong branch of socialist grouping Committee for a Workers International (CWI).
I wrote a short piece before about political policing in China, which mentioned this case. Zhang Shujie was approached by Chinese police to spy on Hong Kong political activists, who support worker's rights in China.
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