2009 Obama (left) vs 2017 Trump (right) Inauguration photos in Washington DC. AP. The Obama Inauguration holds so many more people that you must say he was more popular.
Wondering, I am, about the truth in today’s news. US President Trump says something, the press refutes with facts, then he doubles down and continues to insist his version is correct. And this, from a US president. I find it odd that someone of such a high office would do and say such “alternative truths”, as he puts it. Really, there are no alternative truths, only truths backed by evidence. There are different conclusions made from the same original evidence, but no alternative truths. Alternative truths are close to a lie. What do we tell our kids, after years of us espousing everyone to tell the truth, when people in high office begin to lie.
Xie Yang, a Chinese Lawyer, tortured in Changsha, China, Jul 2015, is still in jail in the Changsha City Public Security No. 2 Detention Center. He has not been released.
Here I am, in Toronto, Canada, reading this translation about the torture of a Chinese lawyer, a human rights lawyer, Xie Yang 谢阳, in Changsha, China. I’m just not used to this kind of abuse on another human being. Yes, I’m soft. Under Canada’s legal system, torture in order to get a conviction would lead to the exclusion of all documents and evidence gained while under torture. This is just and fair. Evidence gained while using torture cannot be considered credible nor truthful. When someone fears for their life or the lives of their family and friends, they will admit to anything if pushed sufficiently hard. Truth is more important than just getting a conviction, as you may be convicting the wrong person.
Lai Jeng-jer, a gay rights activist from Taiwan, at his Beijing cafe, Two Cities, 2012
Yes, I have lived in China for a number of years. There are quite a number of situations that completely shocked me, coming from Toronto, Canada, a democratic country. While people in China and Canada are people, people who eat, who work, who play, there are subtle differences in society that only hit home when you are in China, experience it, and think to yourself “What just happened”?
Students forced to write exams on their school field in suburban Tangshan, Hebei province, when the government closed their school. Terrible.
I‘m not sure why the principal of this school would believe that it is Ok to force students to write their exams outside on their field, when the government closed their school. Some people don’t think. I would be livid if this happened to my kids.
Why would the principal of the school defy government orders for the school closure? He should be reprimanded for risking the health of the students.
Woe is Beijing, China’s air pollution reading. Here is the PM2.5 pollution levels between Toronto and Beijing this morning, ~9:00 EST. Beijing is truly shocking.
The PM 2.5 level of pollution measures air pollution particles that are 2.5 microns or less, or called fine particulate. This particle size will get inhaled and trapped in the lungs. In comparison a human hair is 100 microns in diameter.
Air quality PM2.5 pollution levels, Toronto vs Beijing, 2016 Dec 04, 09:00 EST. Toronto is less than 10% of Bejing’s PM2.5 level air pollution.
This cannot be good for anyone living in Beijing or North-East China.
All large companies in China have a union, but it is not a group that represents workers against the company’s management. Unlike in North America, and more closely following the Japanese labour union model, China’s labour unions are Communist Party members, usually under the control of management. It is ironic that Walmart’s labour union, aligned with Walmart management, are also Communist Party members, there to suppress labour unrest for the good of their foreign overlords. All this in modern day China.
Love Canada, I do. The people are generally very nice, though there are exceptions. In general we treat everyone equally. The air is generally very clean and the streets similarly. We have lots of green space and the kids love playing in our parks. Crime is low and we generally do not have a violence or gun problem. Our political system is very stable. Our legal system is fair and impartial.
This test list was developed for my niece in China, to help her prepare for her upcoming university English Exam, called the CET-4, or College English Test 4, National College English Teaching Syllabuses (NCETS). You can download it, and use it in a spreadsheet program in order to test students.
Black mulberry fruit, Toronto, Canada, are messy to pick but delicious. Photo 1 by Don Tai
Every year our black mulberry tree, of the genus family Moraceae, shoots out new branches, which bear fruit the next year. This tree is consistent, and the fruit is very good.
Chinese people have a connection to the mulberry tree. Long ago white mulberry leaves were fed to silkworms in order to produce silk. Therefore the mulberry plant was forbidden to export from China.
Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi goes ape at a Canadian journalist when asked about China’s human rights. So angry, so arrogant, so lacking in manners. A minister of foreign affairs should have some respect for the culture of other countries, and he clearly does not. China can do much better. The Queen was right.
Comment, I usually do not, when it comes to politics, either in Canada, China, or elsewhere, but Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi on a visit to Canada went ape at a Canadian journalist. As a representative of China his behaviour was disgraceful and unacceptable. Due to military incursions in the South China Sea, China already has a reputation of being a bully. Wang Yi only reinforces the arrogant view that China now holds.
