The heritage conservation area surrounding Beijing’s Drum and Bell Tower is another place that I try to make a repeated visit whenever I am in Beijing. The first time I was here was back in 2002 when Shishahai was at its very early stage of becoming an entertainment zone. It was still tranquil back then. […]
Mainland China has been conducting the national population census every 10 years since 1990, and there will be another this year, starting on the 1st November. It is said that census-takers will visit each household (see China’s 6th national census to start on Nov. 1). While walking around in Beijing, it was interesting to see how important […]
Nanluoguxiang in Dongcheng District of Beijing is now known as a culture district, promoted by the district government as a showcase for heritage conservation and tourist attraction. While many hutongs in Beijing’s inner city areas have disappeared due to demolition and reconstruction-oriented urban renewal strategies, some hutongs have been selectively experiencing revalorisation through upgrading (if […]
Every time I come to Beijing, I try to make a repeated visit to some selected places in order to see what’s been changed. In a way, it is a semi-academic exercise, almost a ritual, in order for me to grasp the speed of Beijing’s socio-spatial changes. After all, Beijing is a city that condenses […]
An interesting plae that I happened to find by chance. It is located on Sanlitun South Street, diagonally opposite the new Sanlitun Village complex. It is fairly spacious and has a large collection of China-related ‘English’ books, and apparently hosts book talks, which is something that I also find quite new in Beijing. It seems […]
Beijing has changed again. This time in Beijing, the new development on Sanlitun North Street (known as ‘Sanlitun Bar Street’) came to me as a surprise. Sanlitun Village is something completely new to me, and it is apparently very bustling, full of luxury shops, bars, restaurants and cafe that aim at the new ‘middle-class’ in […]
From a very good friend of mine, referring to an “old Indian text the Bhagwad Gita many years ago”: “one should fight for the truth and what one believes is just even if it means fighting against those closest to you. Our close ties often make this fight very painful and difficult; but at the […]
iPhone 대신 iPod으로 아쉬움을 달래는 요즘 새로 깐 어플 중 The World Factbook이라는 것을 살펴 보았다. 한국 관련 자료를 찾아보니 15세 이상 64세 이상 국민의 남여성비는 1.04: 1 이지만, 15세 미만은 1.1: 1. 취학아동의 남학생 비율이 상대적으로 높다는 얘기를 들은지 오래되었는데, 1.1: 1은 오히려 적게 나온 느낌이다. 남아 선호가 어제 오늘 얘기만은 아닌데, 이게 한반도 […]
일본에서 급히 도움 요청이 왔기에 전달해 드립니다. 이미 매스컴에서 접하셨겠지만 일본의 고교무상화 정책이 추진 과정에서 조선학교 등 외국인학교를 배제하려 한답니다. 참여 하고픈 분은 아래 요청하신 사항을 담아 msk_univ@yahoogroups.jp로 보내시길 바랍니다. 3월 16일까지 서명을 모아 발송하신다고 하니 이미 시일이 지났다 하더라도 이러한 운동에 참여하는 일본 교원들이 계시다는 것은 든든한 일입니다. 한국/일본 지식인 사회의 협력의 한 예를 […]
최근 2천만명 가까운 분량의 개인정보가 유출되었다 하죠? 이 정도면 인터넷 이용하는 상당 수 개인 정보는 다 유통 대상이 된다고 봐도 될 것 같습니다. 진보네트워크 센터는 설립 10여년 동안, 진보적 사회운동을 지원하는 네트워크로서 표현의자유/프라이버시/정보공유운동 등 정보인권활동을 펼쳐 왔습니다. 제 지인이 활동하고 있기도 하지만, 좀 더 많은 분들께서 이들의 활동에 관심 가지셨으면 하는 마음에 보내 드립니다. ———- […]