I am a QQ user, which is part of Chinese social media. From Tencent 腾讯 in China, QQ is a simpler messaging and social media ecosystem than WeChat 微信. In the past couple of months I have been noticing more content is blocked to me here in Canada. More concerning is that China is beginning to use new protocols on the internet that are unique to China.
Geoblocking is regularly used by Chinese stores. I search for their products on Baidu, find images but cannot go to their web pages because they detect that I am not in China and block me. While this is annoying, at least I can understand the technical mechanism. They do not want Western eyes looking at their web pages, and that is their prorogative.
Requirements to wear a cloth face mask, by country is evolving. Starting in Asia, acceptance has spread worldwide. This is an evolving situation, with more countries mandating use with time and social acceptance.
“The Czech Republic is one of the few in Europe that has significantly slowed down the spread of the virus,” the narrator says. “The main difference is that everyone who has to leave their house has to wear a mask…
This mask design fits very well. It is double layer cotton, with a space between for filter material. The nose bridge has a metal insert for forming around your nose. Straps go around your neck and head. Photo1 by Don Tai
We don’t as yet have an epidemic with the corona virus CoVid-19, from originally from Wuhan, China, but i thought it prudent to research how to sew up some surgical-style face masks, just in case. These home made masks can possibly match the surgical-style mask.
This new Chinese law only allows for “positive” content on the internet, with wide discrepancy for interpretation. While it will be difficult to interpret and will be a moving target, this has always been the case for all of Chinese law and especially content on the Chinese web space.
A good study is required if you publish anything in China. Specifically note Chapter 2, Article 4 through 7. These are critical for content writers and commenters, which means everyone.
It is always difficult to see someone die after they did the right thing and told the truth. Li Wenliang, an ophthalmologist in Wuhan, China, did just that. For telling is circle of 8 doctor friends about a new virus spreading through his hospital, he was called to the police station and made to sign a confession for speaking out without authorization from the higher authorities. His friend circle were fellow doctors. He would later die from the very disease, CoVid-19, that he talked about.
It is not as nice as actually being there, but when you’re stuck in Toronto it continues to be interesting. It is a lot faster.
Today I’m going to Shandong Province, Yantai City. It’s a coastal town about the size of Toronto’s 4M people. In China that’s a 3d tier city, barely big enough to warrant note on China’s large single page map. The place I’m going to is somewhat near Ludong University, about 1.5km away.
Shandong Province, Yantai City, Ludong University, Qingnian Jiayuan 山东省，烟台市，鲁东大学，青年家园。
GPS: 37.533098, 121.366479
Plus Code: 8Q93G9M8+5J
Shandong Province, Yantai City, Ludong University, from Baidu Maps
She’s 16 and very cute, though she has a temper. In fact, she is correct. The adults of the world are ruining the environment, and her generation and beyond will need to repair it. While the outcomes are irrefutable the contributing issues are complex. While there is no excuse for wrecking the environment, there are reasons why adults are not more proactive.
People need jobs or they cannot live. Many of these jobs involve natural resources. Canada, for example, has oil in the ground that has been traditionally extracted and sold to customers around the world. If we stop the burning of oil completely, these jobs will disappear and people’s lives and families will be destroyed. While this can change, in the long run, we have no mechanism to do this yet.
China is well known for its ability to detain foreigners from exiting the country. It is often used to settle business conflict between foreigners and Chinese companies. The Chinese company contacts the police to say that a foreigner has not paid or lived up to some business dealing and Chinese border control puts a ban on the foreigner’s exit. These are called “exit bans“.
Bian kong, “边控“， short for bianjing kongzhi, “边境控制” is a system that can bar a foreigner from leaving China. We normally call it an “exit ban”
China, Xinjiang, Urumuqi, Midongnan Lu, Bingtuandekun 新疆，乌鲁木齐, 米东南路, 兵团德坤, This is the front gate
I am in Toronto, but can use Baidu to virtually go to China. It is fun to be able to walk through China and take a look. Today I went to Urumuqi, captal city of Xinjiang, China. Urumuqi, Xinjiang is not only far, but probably off limits to foreigners. The map is old, pics taken in 2015. The place I wanted to go is not yet on the maps.
新疆，乌鲁木齐, 米东南路, 兵团德坤 Xinjiang, Urumuqi, Midongnan Lu, Bingtuandekun
GPS: 43.901088, 87.612782, Plus Code: 8MM9WJ27+C4 These locations are inaccurate due to Chinese national security laws
