Early August Evening in Beijing

This is a highly-compressed 1080p video composed of 43 indvidual photos taken in illustration mode with a Sony RX100. Each photo was individually processed with FastStone Viewer, then put together in OpenShot Video editing software.

The audio sample was taken from the same location with my Sony digital recording just after shooting the image sequences.

This animation short was made as a proof of concept, so there are still some areas to work on. 

Viewed on a larger screen, there is a bit of noise in some of the images. Secondly, due to the lightness of the small tripod and camera, I actually moved the position of the frame by mistake a few times, which had an impact on the smoothness of the animation effect. Moreover, in the process of taking the different images, I kept adjusting the aperture and shutter speeds, which led to a wide variance in exposures. 

A fixed aperture and shutter speed setting would have enhanced the uniformity of the comic effect and made for more consistent expsoures.

Unfortunately the buffering speed of the camera limits the ability to shorten the gap between image sequences and the RX100 (1st generation) does not allow for the use of the burst function in illustration mode.

Emperor Xi - Satirical Electronic Music

Emperor Xi - Satirical Electronic Music  (Click on this link to hear the track)

Photo by Chris Harry

This is my first upload on SoundCloud. It's a combination of a field recording of crickets in Eastern Beijing, along with a digital drum track and voices from online text-to-speech engines. I combined the tracks manually with a Sony digital recorder. This track was completed using Nero Wave Editor.

It is a satirical musical invention poking fun at China's dictator, Xi Jinping.

Please feel free to share any tips, hints, criticisms or suggestions!

Sight beyond Seeing - 3D Art by Wang Lang

     An overview and exploration of Wang Lang's hand-painted 3D works of art. Requires red-and-blue 3D glasses in order to fully experience the three-dimensional effect of the art works presented. All elements of the video, including script translation, narration, photography, music, video editing, audio mixing, layout and design by Chris Harry.

Yuan as Reserve Currency less important than Economic and Political Reform

Yuan as Reserve Currency less important than Economic and Political Reform

By Chris Harry

In theory, the addition of the RMB as a top-reserve currency would further diversify the world's exchange reserves. It also would draw China further into the world economy, which might also be a positive force for encouraging China to move toward a stable economic model based on greater transparency and not-so-minor adjustments such as the rule of law. On the other hand, Chinese banks would have to sink and park huge sums of money as deposit insurance, which could further weaken its already fragile debt-to-GDP ratio imbalance.

The fact that China is a maverick economic player that relies on artificial growth which is willing to use any and all means to continue the growth bubble for the sake of social stability and the perpetuation of the party-state, also means that China could potentially become a hugely disruptive and destabilising force in the world economy.

Party interests will always remain paramount and unchecked under the current system, so only when China makes a fundamental political and economic shift, can we expect the Yuan to make a positive contribution to global economic stability. China will also need to follow international rules and regulations in order to make a positive contribution to international economic stability. Again, under the current system in place in China, we cannot expect that it is willing to follow international norms, practices and rules. 

The lack of a domestic rule of law clearly indicates China unwillingness to abide by international treaties and conventions. China's approach in the South China Sea shows a total disregard for the sovereignty of its own neighbours and is a breach of the treaties it signed, took part in drafting, and pledged to uphold. 

Xi's administration has been emboldened to further apply the no-rules bully approach toward domestic politics and foreign policy. At the same time, the domestic economy has been tanking ever since Xi took power.

The stock market debacle also shows a total lack of transparency and honesty in dealing with internal domestic issues. In the end, the government relied on a command-driven and heavy-handed approach to force a recovery of the stock market. In the process, billions in individual investors' earnings evaporated, along with one-fourth of its crucial monetary reserves to support China's state retirement funds. 

Beijing took a huge gamble by creating a false bull market in order to orchestrate state-led insider trading, so as to prop up Zombie SOEs that are bleeding out huge losses daily and are kept alive by state-controlled banks that can barely handle the pressure of giving out free money to keep these SOEs afloat.

When China gets its political and economic house in order, then we might expect the RMB to play a positive role in the world economy.

Emperor Xi: I want True Dictatorship

刁皇：我要真独裁 （他的独裁梦）

Emperor Xi: I want True Dictatorship

Pictured here with a fake yellow umbrella, an homage to the Umbrella Revolution where Hong Kong students bravely demonstrated and protested in their demand for true elections. Emperor Xi's make-believe response is depicted above as,  "I want true dictatorship".

The yellow colour of the umbrella also represents a colour that was reserved only for the Emperor in ancient China. In the past, any subject discovered wearing fabric dyed in Imperial yellow could be subject to the death penalty.

This is symbolic of how human rights have been further eroded and weakened just as party Emperor Xi has been concentrating more and more dictatorial powers in his own hands since his rise to power.

China’s Wrongheaded Quest for Respect

    One would hope that the Chinese leadership is beginning to understand the importance of co-operation with other countries, but after decades of empty rhetoric from Beijing, the mentality and the strategic diplomatic initiatives of China's dictatorship still remain shrouded in a bamboozling cloud of mystery. Aside from a penchant for opportunistic gain; be it military, diplomatic or economic, Beijing seems to lack a consistent or clear diplomatic policy that builds long-lasting alliances or friendship based on mutual respect and trust. 

    While more and more Chinese citizens are becoming open, cosmopolitan and globally-minded, the government remains secretive, distrustful and painfully awkward at forging meaningful and mutually beneficial ties with other countries.

    Beijing seems very poor at thinking beyond monetary bribery and military bravado. While these are key levers to power relations, they do not appeal to the human side of diplomatic relations, and therefore ultimately fail to win the hearts and minds of the non-Chinese majority of humanity across the globe.

    Perhaps, once Beijing learns to be nicer and more respectful toward its own citizens and its neighbours, the rest of the world will gradually begin to afford it the respect it seeks.

    Meanwhile, throwing money in the air, foaming at the mouth and brandishing a sword will only frighten, annoy or infuriate the rest of the world. The Chinese leaders fail to realize that sometimes the law of the jungle only applies in the animal world and not among civilized nations.

Why China’s Pollution Laws are Merely Words on Paper

Article and image editing by Chris Harry

It is hugely ironic that ever since Premier Li Keqiang has declared war on pollution back in March the pollution in China's capital has steadily grown worse. 

Since January of this year, days at 200+ levels on the PM 2.5 index are the norm rather than the exception. This means that Beijing's air quality is regularly 20 times higher than the level that the WHO considers a health hazard. On many so-called "sunny" days here in the heart of the China Dream, the skies are often dingy and enveloped under a glowing grey of thick haze.

The reality on the ground is that pollution continues to worsen here in Beijing and in the rest of the country. Another reality in China is that many, if not most laws, are either not actually enforced or are enforced inconsistently at best. Laws in China are often only applied arbitrarily to the benefit of government officials and to the detriment of its citizens.

The current anti-corruption campaign is a perfect example of this. It is simply a 'campaign' and not the consistent application and adherence to any laws. The only likely concrete result of the anti-corruption campaign will be the transfer of money stolen from taxpayers by some targeted officials from rival party factions to other corrupt officials allied to the new leadership. Under the current system, which has no independent monitoring or judiciary, laws simply become tools in the hands of officials to enrich themselves, remove political rivals, deny citizens the right to monitor, protest or interfere with their interests and to consolidate their own power.

As things stand now, polluting factories will simply give bribes to get around legislation and the central government will likely neither enforce nor supervise the rules in any meaningful way. Regional government leaders will also avoid enforcement in order to increase the profits of local industry and to enhance their GDP growth track records whilst pocketing graft money from local polluters. 

In addressing the lack of results on the anti-pollution front the central government mainly blames regional governments (its favourite scapegoat) for causing the problem, but then fails to act to intervene or prevent 'regional pollution', which means the responsibility ultimately lies with Beijing. What is more, the levels of air and water pollution in the capital also speak to the lack of sincerity on the part of China’s central government to tackle pollution. Meanwhile, the majority of China’s top ten most polluted cities surround the larger region around the capital, which clearly demonstrates a lack of will or ability on the part of China’s national leaders to take concerted action to stem the tide of steadily rising pollution. 

Back in February, the local Beijing government failed to enact its own emergency measures when air pollution had risen to red alert levels of over 500 on the PM 2.5 index, so it does not appear that China’s central government is even committed to enforcing its own laws consistently. Therefore, it is fair to ask why regional governments would take state laws seriously. If central leaders consistently flout national laws and regulations, then why should regional leaders be expected to respect anti-pollution legislation? In fact, Beijing stands as the key obstacle to the enforcement of laws to actually curb pollution. A one hundred percent monopoly on power unavoidably translates into one hundred percent responsibility for the destruction of China's environment.

The most compelling evidence to suggest that ‘sweeping’ new laws will likely fail to have a great impact can be seen from the government’s past record on 'fighting' pollution. China has already enacted a whole range of laws and regulations to curb pollution in recent decades, yet the pollution continues to worsen as the environmental crisis continues to deepen. 

Laws have to be enforced in order to have any real effect. As long as China remains a corrupt country without a viable rule of law, anti-pollution laws are simply empty words on paper. The smog is very real and so far the implementation of anti-pollution legislation appears to be merely an illusory phantom with about as much substance as Emperor Xi’s China Dream.

维稳源于民权

维稳源于民权—仅靠军队维稳不够，可持续发展源于缩小贫富差距、一个公平透明的社会以及实际有效的政策。莫非有人民监督政府和政治上的竞争机制，否则长期稳定、和谐与清廉政府永远无法实现。大增军官的工资远不如提高人民的权利。发表无数美好的演讲不如实际行动。政治改革是不可逆转的趋势!

Chinese Speed 中国速度

An interesting and somewhat faded Chinese character (sù - meaning speed, rapid or velocity) clings tenuously to a  

cracking wall. Photo by Christopher Harry. All rights reserved.

 

The Chinese character for "Speed" neatly sums up one of the most defining features of today's China; the speed of its modernisation and development, the rapid rise in wealth and stature of the nation, but also the incredible pace at which it is being pulled simultaneously in all directions, both positively and negatively.

As education levels rise, so too does an increasing gap between rich and poor. The rapidity of environmental degradation, in combination with the explosion in the growth of social media, has also led to an equally speedy rise in the formation of social and political awareness that is quickly supplanting the preeminence of vacuous government propaganda in the hearts and minds of the populace.

At the same time, there has been a tremendous surge in the development, deployment of, and spending on China's air force and navy that is bringing it into more frequent and threatening incidents of sabre rattling with its Asian neighbours. Meanwhile, a meteoric rise in the depth and intensity of political and corruption scandals is accompanied by a wildfire of burgeoning social unrest fanning across the country.

Ironically, the sheer velocity at which all these changes are taking place sits in stark contrast to the leadership's utter lack of action or willingness to push forward any sort of meaningful political, legal or social reform to provide a necessary ballast to ensure the country's long-term sustainability.

It will be no mean feat for China's communist leaders to keep a lid on things and rehabilitate an increasingly damaged, depleted and poisoned land, but let's all hope the leadership will quickly see the light and embrace progress, just as its people have been so willing to do since Deng Xiaoping opened up China to the world over three decades ago.

The Chinese government always likes to brag about how much faster China has accomplished its achievements than the rest of the world. Maybe now it’s time they focused on doing things better.

Xi Jinping makes light of Beijing’s heavy air pollution

     In reference to Beijing’s air pollution, Xi Jinping said, “we mustn’t be impatient in the face of problems” and that we should, “adopt a calm and collected life approach toward these problems.” When describing the coal pollution and severe sandstorms of his youth in Beijing he further added, “Back then we didn’t have PM2.5, but we did have PM250.” According to the report by China’s Phoenix News, all those around him laughed aloud in response.

     Evidently, he seized the opportunity to make a light joke about heavy air pollution in Beijing and he almost appears nostalgic and accepting of the fact that Beijing has faced serious air pollution for half a century.

     Perhaps instead he should have said PM二百五 (er bai wu – another way of saying 250 in Chinese), which is also colloquial Chinese for a “dimwit” or “someone who says or does inappropriate or foolish things”.  

 

     On a more serious note, however, he seems to be attempting to defuse the issue by implying that Beijing’s air pollution was even worse back when he was a young boy, although I imagine very few people would find this convincing. Ironically, one could just as easily interpret his comments as a blunt admission that Beijing has been facing serious pollution for the last 50 years or so, most of the period in which China has been under communist rule. Perhaps it is also a subtle jab at the U.S. embassy's monitoring and publishing of air pollution in Beijing, despite being curtly requested by an unamused Beijing government to refrain from doing so. 

     Either way, it smacks of ill-advised hubris, but it is also consistent with so many of his bold pronouncements of late, inasmuch as it hints at the new ruler's confidence in his ability to control the course of events in China, quite likely stemming from his princeling pedigree as part of the red aristocratic elite which controls most of China's wealth and now has 4 members out of 7 in the inner sanctum of absolute power - the standing committee of China's politburo.

     In my humble view, it shows a serious lack of good judgement, and it will certainly not gain him any points in China or internationally. In a worst case scenario, PM er bai wu could become a damning and sarcastic sound bite that could easily gain traction among Chinese micro-bloggers and Chinese society at large that pokes fun at the leader’s cavalier approach to China’s serious and growing environmental crisis. Surely he would not want to go down in history as the leader who was smug about smog.

习近平把北京的严重污染当笑话看待

提到空气污染时，习近平说“不用着急”要“淡定面对它”。他还说小时候北京“没有PM2.5,但是有PM250”。对严重污染如此淡薄，还把它当作笑话来看待，连小布什很可能都不会犯这么低级的错误。如果把它说成PM二百五会不会取得更大的笑声呢？

Translation and Chinese/English commentary by Chris Harry

News source: Phoenix news report by Du Ping

Update: Bill Bishop seems to have already made a veiled reference to PM二百五(er bai wu) on Sina's Weibo Microblog today (March 7th, 2013). 

中国政府早在1950年承认“尖阁岛”属于日本

中国政府早在1950年承认“尖阁岛”属于日本

最近发现有一份发表于5月15日1950年长达10页的中国政府报告中用日文名字（非“钓鱼岛”）指出这些东海岛屿属于琉球群岛（当今冲绳）。这是第一份透露由中国政府自己曾经承认“尖阁岛”属于日本管辖范围，同时也没有对该岛屿提出任何主权主张。来自中国外交部存档室，整个报告中也没一次提到“钓鱼岛”。

Classic Communist Party Street Art

Photo by Chris Harry

 

 

经典党街道艺术

The quote reads:

 

“Education should look to modernisation, to the world, to the future.”

 

—— Deng Xiaoping

 

A photo I took in Yuyuan Village, Zhejiang province on April 16th, 2012.

 

My first deleted microblog on Sina Weibo!

My first deleted microblog on Sina Weibo!

I uploaded it once again on my weibo account, just to see if and when the net censors might take notice. I'll provide an update to this little experiment should there be any new developments. Here's a picture of my deleted microblog entry:

Although previously deleted, the re-posted blog is still on my weibo account as of April 1st, 2013.

解放农民，别靠剥削下层群体带动内需！

解放农民，别靠剥削下层群体带动内需！

李克强提出以“新型城镇化”解放农民来带动内需。其实只要保证农民基本医疗、教育和财产权利，取消户口制度和市民享有的各种优越待遇即可。简而言之，全方位地确保农民在法律和福利上的平等待遇，维护农民的尊严就会发动新一轮经济革命。应该真正让农民翻身而不是依靠剥削农民和弱势群体创造经济增长。

Foreigners Clash with Police in Guangzhou: A Sign of the Times

Note: This commentary was originally written several months ago and therefore not particularly current, yet I still feel it is relevant as it touches on China's most serious issue, that of social unrest arising from a lack of accountability of the authorities and their insensitivity to the concerns of the masses. I also find the particular nature of this incident worth sharing with those who may not have already heard or read about this clash between foreigners and Chinese police taking place in broad daylight on the streets of Guangzhou. 

 

Foreigners Clash with Police in Guangzhou: A Sign of the Times

This past summer, a mass incident occurred between several hundred African ex-pats and Chinese riot police in Guangzhou. Apparently, an African man had had a conflict with a local Chinese taxi driver over the fare, only to end up fainting and dying after being detained in a local police station for several hours. Many fellow African ex-pats working in the area demanded to see the man's body and held up signs and protested in public. Shortly afterward, a physical conflict ensued between these foreigners and the police.

While the simple fact that upwards of several hundred to a thousand foreigners ended up clashing with police on the street in China is surprising in itself, equally striking is the similarity of this incident with those between protesting Chinese crowds and local police forces.

The reaction by the foreigners of banding together to demand justice, coupled with the distrust and anger directed to the police, and their request for the body of a deceased individual who died in suspicious circumstances while being detained by police, is a theme that is repeated time and time again as innumerable incidents across China end in violent clashes with the police and often deaths of citizens who frequently ‘go missing’ or are cremated before relatives or friends have an opportunity to investigate the manner in which they died.
    In one sense, this incident is unprecedented in that it involved foreigners in their hundreds, proactively demonstrating and becoming embroiled in clashes with local police. On a more basic level, it is perhaps the most common symbol of impending socio-political change. The fact that someone ended up dying over something as seemingly insignificant as a dispute over the cost of a taxi fare that directly led to a large-scale conflict of civilians with police also hints at the failure of the regime’s roughshod approach to dealing with social unrest. Rather, it tends to amplify it.

If Xi Jinping, new occupant to the throne of ultimate party authority, fails to seize the opportunity to bring decisive progress to China's political culture and make significant steps toward establishing the rule of law during his reign, something which the Communists have reneged on since seizing power in 1949, then demonstrations and mass incidents leading to an increasing number of violent conflicts between aggrieved commoners and various forces of the regime’s expensive and colossal, multi-tiered police state apparatus will lead to rising social instability. If left unchecked, a rising crescendo of violent conflict between the masses and the police will build into a tsunami of political destruction for the party. The next ten years of policy direction led by emperor Xi will be critical to securing viable stability, at least in the short term, for the party cum empire.