Cup of Cha
This is China

There is a scene in the less-than-beloved movie The Phantom where the hero, none other than Billy Zane of Titanic and Zoolander fame, begins to light up a cigar in the villain’s cave home. Out of nowhere a little person comes up and announces loudly “No smoking in the Skull Cave,” and prompts him to [...]

Continue reading “No Hooking or Drug Dealing in the Restaurant” »

Beijing has been a flurry of change recently with a whole mess of things being brought in - ‘for the Olympics’.  Conspicuous examples of this with little use or merit are things like cladding most shopfronts in stick on metal sheeting, spraying insecticide on the trees in the main thoroughfares to rid them of caterpillars [...]

Continue reading “The Dog Ate My Report Card…” »

There’s not much I can add to this story from the BBC:
A committee official said the simple chants and gestures were designed to help spectators cheer for their favourite athletes in a smooth, civilized manner.
The Ministry of Education is also arranging special training sessions in schools for the 800,000 students who are expected to attend [...]

Continue reading “Beijing Promises to Hold Most Irritating Olympics Ever” »

I never thought I’d say this, but BOCOG gamed me. That’s right. The Beijing Olympics organizers, whom I long suspected were a bunch of bumbling fools, tricked me. When all of my friends began to receive notifications about when their pre-purchased Olympic tickets would (FINALLY!) be available for pick-up, I began to get nervous. Each [...]

Continue reading “The Secret About Beijing Olympics Tickets” »

American leaders like Senators Chuck Schumer and Lindsay Graham have long argued that China has an unfair trade advantage based on the historically undervalued Renminbi. While they were right to a small degree, these policymakers long failed to identify a much more problematic issue. Chinese manufacturers have had an edge over their counterparts in America [...]

Continue reading “China Continues to Fall Short of Market Economy” »

In the middle of its opening night party, the new China Doll club by 3.3 has been shut down, apparently due to improper licenses, according to sources who attended the event. Witnesses said that they were not licensed to have come combination of music, drinks and dancing. Presumably it will be back up and running [...]

Continue reading “New China Doll Shut Down” »

Any foreigner living in China now will tell you that something weird is going on. Our fellow foreigners are disappearing in great numbers. It as if wild animals are picking them off on their smoggy bike rides to work. Increasingly we feel like Mexicans just inside the American border: looked upon suspicuously, regardless of the [...]

Continue reading “Goodbye Foreign Visitors” »

While places like the State Department have good information, and BOCOG has scarce information, Cup of Cha brings you the real scoop about what to be prepared for during the Olympics. Good Luck Olympics indeed!
1. You may not realize this, but “Murphy” was Chinese. Or at least a traveler to China. Everything that can go [...]

Continue reading “Tips for the Beijing Olympic Traveler” »

I guess you can say I was not a normal child. Even in my teens I can remember getting up Sunday mornings and watching the political talk shows. The best of the batch was always Meet the Press.
On Friday, June 13, Tim Russert, the brilliant host of Meet the Press, died at age 58.
Russert’s style [...]

Continue reading “Tim Russert, A Political Junky’s Best Friend” »

I think he was the strongest VP possibility by a wide margin, but Mark Warner has categorically ruled himself out. This from the AP (via Politico):
Former Gov. Mark R. Warner on Saturday removed himself from consideration as a vice presidential running mate for Democrat Barack Obama.
Warner clarified his intentions for the first time as he [...]

Continue reading “Mark Warner Off VP List” »