China Blog Parade

Our weekly round-up of some of the highlights from China's English-language blogosphere:

The Opposite End of China is in Kashgar and has the wicked picture of a sandstorm below to show for it.

Positive Solutions comments on some Olympic affairs, leading with the dissing of the '08 Olympic torch run by Taiwan's Olympic Committee. He offers a good way for Taipei to make a winning statement without looking foolish. Meanwhile, the Olympic team up in Beijing doesn't look too good either by continuing to sidestep its role in human rights issues. PS recommends PR for all involved.

Jottings from the Granite Studio references the torch run via Tibet, which leads to some potentially creative history coming from historians and academics on China's claim to the holy land. The blog wishes the China government would just come out and speak some truth about Tibet, but hell doesn't look like it'll freeze over anytime soon.

Hollywood is on the mind of Silicon Hutong, who thinks that the U.S. media companies are once again issuing empty threats to boycott China completely. "China can live without Hollywood," he writes. "Does Hollywood want to live without China?" SH thinks that the industry can gain a lot more by working with China rather than against it, and cites Warner Bros as a good example of figuring out a functioning business model.

This is China wraps up his 7 part series entitled: "Lying, with Chinese Characteristics: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly." TIC tries to draw from anecdotes of those around him, both foreign and Chinese, to understand the act of lying as it is unique to China. A common theme throughout the good and bad and ugly is the immutable concept of "saving face." We wonder if all those cheating husbands are really just protecting their wives.

Wang Jianshuo doesn't stop at stop signs...but in a city where no one does, does that make it OK? WJS makes a valiant attempt at explaining why drivers break the rules (and here on why traffic in Shanghai totally sucks), but there's still a lot of debate and criticism on his comments thread.

Lost Laowai can't figure out why monks in Suzhou don't give a shit, and bemoans the lack of good samaritans out there. Ultimately, he wonders about the exact role of Buddhism in Chinese society as it relates to actually helping people in need. Shanghaiist thinks that monks make good photo ops for tourists...does that count?