Taiwan to axe China from name of Mandarin Chinese | World | Reuters

Haven't posted here in awhile.  The stories about China's rapid growth have been trumped over here by worries with the US economy and the upcoming election.

Plus, Taiwan has decided that Chinese doesn't exist... though they're not sure what to call it. 

"In the 21st century this is too much of a distortion," he said.

The word "Chinese" will also be struck from literature course material and replaced with the term "this country's literature," Chen added.

Source: Taiwan to axe China from name of Mandarin Chinese | World | Reuters

March 22 is the referendum for the UN action that is causing so much grief for world diplomats.  Things will probably get interesting before then.

The Hunt for Red November

A Chinese sub unexpectedly popped out of the water during some US military exercises. 

One Nato figure said the effect was "as big a shock as the Russians launching Sputnik" - a reference to the Soviet Union's first orbiting satellite in 1957 which marked the start of the space age.

Source: The uninvited guest: Chinese sub pops up in middle of U.S. Navy exercise, leaving military chiefs red-faced | the Daily Mail

3,500 Chinese Children Named "Olympics"

Vanity names are all the rage in China these days...

Most of the 3,491 people with the name "Aoyun," meaning Olympics, were born around the year 2000, as Beijing was bidding to host the 2008 Summer Games, the Beijing Daily reported, citing information from China's national identity card database...

3,500 Chinese Children Named "Olympics"

Surviving Beijing since 1980 - Factories close for 2008 Olympics

 This should slow demand for certain materials the factories require for manufacturing, and increase demand for materials the factories manufacture.  

The closures could be from May - August.  I wonder if it will be enough to get rid of the brown cloud.

Here's a list of some Factories in Beijing...  I wonder if the Worsted Mill is closing down... or just the Bested one...

Beijing is preparing for 2008. The rumor mill and the stories of the people who have received “notices” provide some interesting gossip.
When the US athletic delegation was in town a few weeks ago they were assured of a “clean Olympics”. Indeed, “All factories will be closed for 3 months”. I am not really sure if the journalist (Stephen Wade - ASSOCIATED PRESS) got that right:
“They’ve have told us the factories will be closed for three months in 2008 and that they will have a directive to encourage residents to stay off the roads with their cars”.
A lawyer with office in Jianwei SOHO apparently received a notice they will not be allowed to operate during 3 weeks at least. So, holidays for the staff. Just wondering if that will apply to all offices.
The entertainment sector? Curious what will remain open to the public in the now famous “Gongti Strip”. Also, some venues such as bars and restaurants might be taken over for big bucks by companies who will set up their hospitality center.
So, hopefully one will be able to have a good time after watching the Games, like in Sydney where visitors were very happy and had a good time.
Well, let’s hope the city will not be too much sanitized.

Source: Surviving Beijing since 1980

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Big Trouble in Little ... Paris

Isn't the Eiffel Tower trademarked?

An aerial view of Tianducheng, a residential area on the outskirts of Hangzhou in east China?s Zhejiang Province September 1, 2007. After five years of development by Zhejiang Guangsha Co. Ltd., around 2,000 residents now live in Tianducheng, local media reported.  

Link to

China uncovers "worms, substandard goods" from U.S. - Yahoo! News

Non-nutritional value in a US food product?  Shocking! 

I hope they test Twinkies next.  I always wondered what is actually in those things...

The pine wood worms, or nematodes, were found in 13 sets of packaging in the manufacturing hub of Shenzhen, the China Daily said.

Harmful organisms were found in another 10 of 70 batches of wooden packaging sampled between mid-July and mid-August.

This meant the rate of sub-standard packaging from the United States was higher than that for the European Union, Japan, Korea or Canada, the newspaper said.

The labels on some of the wooden packaging were unclear, the report said, adding that that this suggested some exporters might have used fake documents.

Officials have destroyed the goods and urged tighter supervision of wooden U.S. packaging, the paper said.

The vitamin and mineral pills and children's fish oil were discovered in the eastern coastal province of Zhejiang, the China News Service said.

"The two failed to reach the nutritious levels promised on their labels," it said, citing the Zhejiang industrial and commercial department.

Source: China uncovers "worms, substandard goods" from U.S. - Yahoo! News