Cup of Cha
This is China

Listen up! France is a villain! And this isn’t about freedom fries. They hate people in wheelchairs. Wheelchairs! Oh, you thought Japan was the evil enemy? Well, I guess you haven’t been reading the newspapers or watching the news. Japan is China’s great friend!
The odd storyline that has emerged in recent weeks and months is [...]

Continue reading “France as Enemy, so Japan as Friend” »

The great Karl Rove strategy has always been going after your opponent’s strength, rather than his weakness. And that is what the Chinese Government has done. How dare the Chinese Government, which locks up reporters and silences critics, cast blame on the Western media? And how dare people in the West allow the topic to [...]

Continue reading “It’s the Chinese Media, Stupid” »

With stunning deftness, the Chinese Government has managed to completely change the topic from, why so much of the world is so upset with the the country’s official policies, to…Jack Cafferty and CNN. In the process the government has incited enough nationalism to make a Frenchman blush. How did the topic move from human rights, [...]

Continue reading “China do get PR: All Hail Anonymous Nanjing Resident” »

If you want to understand the difference between how Chinese and Western observers see the push toward the Beijing Games, all you need to see are these two political cartoons:
From China Daily:

Note the peace doves at the top left. The insect’s arms say “obstruct” and “destroy.”
And here is one from the Denver Post:

It seems [...]

Continue reading “Two Views of the Olympics: Pictures Say More than Words” »

I’m going to list several insults with the author and target deleted, and you decide which is the most offensive. Let’s call it a test of perspective:

war criminal
the Devil
a wolf with a human face
goons and thugs
Satan
someone who makes junk
son of a motherless goat

I’m going to go out on a limb here, but “goons and [...]

Continue reading “The Meaning of China and the Press Blame Game” »

Who would have thought that 5,000 glorious years of history could be derailed by one man, Jack Cafferty. As a New Yorker, I am very familiar with Mr. Cafferty’s relatively undistinguished career, and am thoroughly amazed that this long-time local anchor has managed to send the Chinese Government into a tizzy. Good thing they haven’t [...]

Continue reading “Mediocre Journalist Cause of China’s Woes” »

Slate has an interesting take on the torch relay from Anne Applebaum. I don’t agree with all of her conclusions, and I think parts of it show the bias of someone looking from afar (note: my use of “bias” is not the same as my Chinese brethren). Yet she nonetheless makes some good points. She [...]

Continue reading “The Harsh Spotlight” »

As I’ve always suspected, the top levels of the Chinese Government eagerly await Cup of Cha’s thoughtful advice. After I advised China to look for a PR firm three weeks ago…they did. Image Thief has a link to a NY Times article on the issue.
Now I know what you’re thinking: but of course they listened [...]

Continue reading “Government Takes a Cup of Advice” »

Without in any way endorsing or rebuking the torch relay protests, I have come to the distinct conclusion that they are extremely important to the psyche of the collective Chinese populace. The jubilation expressed in message boards when the torch’s Argentina stop went smoothly is striking. You would have thought that it is really unusual [...]

Continue reading “Why Olympic Torch Protests Matter” »

Something strange happened in the last week: the Chinese media/government propaganda machine began heavily covering “Tebet” (certain places and people will be spelled creatively). For the first few days of the uprising the government tried to keep things as quiet as possible, blocking dozens of sites and forcing Western media out of the area. Yet [...]

Continue reading “Chinese Media Switches Tacts on “Tebet” Situation” »