Just because we’re on the other side of the world from Ireland doesn’t mean that there won’t be plenty going on for St Paddy’s Day over here in Shanghai. This year, March 17th — the date when all of us are a little bit Irish — inconveniently falls on a Monday but fear not, the Emerald Isle’s Shanghai contingent are celebrating early with a bunch of events this weekend. Ireland Week 2008 has been going......

"Peasant is not a derogative word" "Yuan, who had been a peasant in the late 1960s, noted it is 'uncivilized' to affix derogative connotations to peasant, which for him usually means guilelessness, diligence, and the down-to-earth spirit." They also link to a song called "Peasant." Outwardly open, China keeps censoring "Only authorized dramas are allowed on Chinese prime-time television, customs inspectors are seizing books on Mao Zedong at China's borders and newspapers are prohibited......