Facing down the lions

Last Christmas I gave a beautifully illustrated children’s book to one of my nieces. It was the story of the little stone lion. For centuries he has been guarding the entrance …

A Pole, a Brit and a Dutchie enter a Chinese tea shop…

Recommended tea for this post: a cup of cooked pu’erh in an unglazed gaiwan from Xishuangbanna. Recommended listening: Sensation of China – 100 classics of Chinese traditional music.  A Polish …

China watchers to watch

I read mainstream world news, but western headlines about China don’t really do justice to the reality here as they don’t offer many nuances. They also generally stick with a …

China’s censorship: the Great Firewall

For the tenth year in a row China has been elected the nr. 1 of countries with the least freedom of expression. Some dubious honour. There is little audible protest …