If you’re looking for some drama and provocation in your life, head down to Shanghai’s Yifu theatre – which hosts various Chinese operas of different styles throughout the week.

A while ago, I was there to watch a Chinese Yue Opera (越剧) performance, 西厢记 (Romance of the Western Chambers), a more melodic version compared to Peking Opera.

It was a hugely hilarious performance – leaving me laughing at the antics of the male protagonist, Zhang Sheng.

At one point, he was clumsily climbing over the wall for a rendezvous, only to be ridiculed by the maid (the object of his affection) – “不单单是个贼，还是个熟贼／ he’s not just a burglar, he’s a burglar we know”. The expression on the actress’ face was priceless (it should also be known that in Yue Operas, it is typical for male roles to be taken on by females – which adds to the humour).

The performance also left me feeling shocked at how forward-looking Opera is, through its handling of pre-marital sex as a theme. All the more so when we look at Opera as a traditional form of performing arts,

To fully appreciate it, one has to keep in mind that this Opera was re-written in Yuan dynasty (1272-1368). In this performance, it leaves the audience without a doubt that both the female and male protagonists consummated their love. This was entirely unthinkable during a time where parents decided marriage of their children and also a time when female virginity was prized. As such, this story would have been deem taboo and forbidden as it was detrimental to female behavior.

On the contrary, Chinese Opera in general is extremely modern and full of richness in its portrayal of female characters. Most notably, the Yang female warriors (杨门女将) the patriotic and courageous wives who abandoned their embroidery for weapons to avenge their husbands. In Qin Xiang Lian (in 铡美案, a Justice Bao story) a virtuous, but poor housewife bravely traveled to the capital for justice against her cheating husband who was an official.

As we can see, women in China have always held dual or multiple roles, they have never been asked to choose one or the other.

So, the next time you are looking for provocation, there may be a case to revisit old stories and operas.

For more information on the Yifu Theatre, head over to their website for more information. To purchase tickets at the venue, head over to the Yifu Theatre at #701 Fuzhou Road, near Yunnan Zhong Road.

Written By Keyue

Being a little man, 小男人 (xiao nan ren), has traditionally been associated with a set of negative societal connotations. The little man archetype has traditionally be characterized by a man who:

• Was weak – both mentally and physically
• Couldn’t stand up for himself
• Unambitious and content with the little that he had

A recent Vitasoy (维他奶) ad caught my attention as it celebrates the notion of “little man” – a rather sharp break from the past.

Why has Vitasoy taken what has traditionally been a pejorative term to describe men and turn it into a positive one?

In the Viatsoy ad, we see the male protagonist exclaim, “I love being a little man”. He is also trendy, fashionable and living in a nice modern (expensive) flat – or so the setting would have us believe. The man portrayed here feels very white-collar indeed.

Other adverts would have us expect to see this white-collar man driving around in his BMW 3 series, perhaps playing golf and enjoying the odd glass of whisky. Not in our Vitasoy ad. This modern man looks at life differently.

Our Vitasoy “little man” is happy to do house work, decorate the home and generally take on what were often tasks deemed as the domain of women (the housewife).

Is this advert a reflection of a larger shift in societal gender roles?

The rapid modernization and economic growth of the past decade has unlocked an unprecedented set of opportunities for women and indeed has freed them from house chores. The woman, as a consequence, feels free, empowered and ready to conquer the world.

If women were liberated by opportunities, then men are increasingly feeling shackled by them. Men are expected to earn more, buy more and keep up to date with brands. This is stressful. This gives a sense of being caught in the white-collar rat race. There’s an expectation that men need to be big men and responsible men: ‘有担当的男人’.

However, newly positive societal perceptions of being a little man offers trapped men an escape from their burden of opportunities.

Playing the role of a “housewife”, free from white-collar stress can thus seem rather enticing – especially if the man can still afford nice brands and live in a modern urban flat.

Will ‘little man’ soon become an acceptable term to describe certain types of Chinese men?

Maybe its already happened.

Written by Hidi Huang

The Awakening (贾宝玉) was staged last month at Shanghai Culture Square – it was also the first musical drama to be performed at the newly opened spaceship-shaped venue.

Helmed by acclaimed theatre director Edward Lam, The Awakening is a modern day interpretation of the Chinese literary classic, Dream of the Red Chamber (红楼梦), starring leading singer-actress Denise Ho.

The Chinese novel is often lauded for its depiction of the feudal system and social structure of 18th Century Chinese society. At the centre of the story is Jia Baoyu, heir to the aristocratic Jia Family. The plot focuses on the tragic love triangle involving Lin Daiyu, Jia’s true love and Xue Baochai, the woman he is destined to marry.

Feudal society may be a thing of the past, but Lam’s remake bears resonance to today’s Chinese youth – as seen by the hordes of young people attending the play.

The idea of conformity remains the central piece in this remake – a central theme for today’s youth. The Awakening is also a reminder of the social pressures of modern society on today’s youth. ‘Success’ (or failure) has been so clearly defined that it has created cut and paste youth, rather than individual youth identities.

Lam describes such senseless passing of everyday life as “jade loss” (失玉) – a word-play on the Chinese phrase ‘memory loss’ (失意).

“Jade represents our heart. People today have ‘jade loss’ – which means not knowing where our heart is. Not knowing what we are looking for, not knowing what we believe in, what we like. But going to great lengths to please the ideals and demands of what has been set before us, without knowing what we should stand for.” [1]

Indeed, in the opening chapters of the play, Lam makes a distinction between ‘忘记(forgotten)’ and ‘不记得 (cannot remember)’ – a problem that Jia Baoyu confronts in his after-life. The latter is often a result of a senseless existence, a choice to not recall something. This sets the stage for Jia to re-visit his life and allows the story to unfold.

Another key aspect of the musical is the all-female cast, with Denise Ho as the male protagonist Jia Baoyu. It is interesting given that central theme of the story is about love and also that Lam has previously staged high-profile productions about homosexuality While the casting must surely be an artistic maneuver (a reflection of the director’s as well as original author’s respect for females), it resonates with the exploration of gender definitions taking place among today’s youth.

Overall, The Awakening is a highly engaging spectacle. While it was four hours long, the entertaining, light-hearted pace in the opening half brings balance to the more serious, somber ending.

Special mention to the cast of ‘12 beauties’ (12 金钗), whom brought much laughter to the audience with their portrayals.

Review by Jackson Lo

A TV drama called 甄嬛传 (Zhen Huan Zhuan) or in English, Empresses in the Palace is spreading in popularity amongst young Chinese females. 甄嬛传 is a historical drama set in the Qing Dynasty, portraying the lifestyles of the empresses and concubines. The show features high quality production (a rarity amongst many Chinese historical television shows) and a broad target audience. The show has re-introduced many genuine aspects of Chinese culture to its audience, including Qing Dynasty hair styles, traditional Chinese medicinal and nutrition knowledge, along with information on the imperial palace system and Chinese high art (poetry and painting). It is truly a stand-out amongst a sea of vapid historical dramas.

Its popularity is also being discussed on Sina Weibo. Sina Weibo viewer, Binjian Yuansu, said:

“I suddenly found people around me talking in a very classic, literary, and elegant way with a strong sense of sisterhood. Dear, we are all extremely addicted to 甄嬛传.”

Another deeper reason to explain the shows popularity is, although set in a quite different context, this drama essentially reflects the modern Chinese women’s struggle and aspirations in her career path. 甄嬛传 tells the personal story of Zhen Huan, who entered the imperial palace by chance as a quiet, innocent girl. It depicts how she survived this battle and finally won by killing the emperor indirectly and becoming Empress Dowager, the mother of the Kangxi Emperor, one of China’s longest-ruling and most powerful emperors.

Many female audiences are viewing this TV drama as a ‘workplace survival manual’, even creating similar representations for difference workplaces, i.e. research institutions, state-owned enterprises, foreign companies.

In one version, the empress represents a company’s Executive President, and the most powerful concubine, Huang Guifei, represents the assistant vice-president of human resources…and so forth. According to the complicated imperial system and main characters of this drama, audiences are using the characters to piece together promotion tips in the modern workplace. One Weibo viewer said:

“Winning the trust of the emperor/boss is only one way of getting promoted. In reality, research reports, clients or new profits brought in might all be related to winning the trust of ‘the emperor’.”

The show also teaches audiences how to form emotional alliances with other women for more power, and importantly, always maintain a level of distrust for the male gender.

The interpretations by audiences trigger much sympathy from Chinese women, who relate to Zhen Huan’s life journey from an innocent girl being bullied to a mature, smart, yet cruel woman, all the way to when her life ends as a successful empress, yet a miserable, lonely woman. Many women identify with this experience in their own career experiences.

This TV show reflects a larger trend of gender re-defining television dramas, currently popular on the airwaves, including 当婆婆遇上妈 (When Mother-in-Law Met My Mother) and 夫妻那些事 (Those Things Between A Couple) – which we recently covered in a separate article.

Though all are in a different setting, there are significant parallels to the struggles of contemporary women across China.

Written by Fan Jing

Hot Topic #1 – Handsome Newscaster Heats Up Weibo

News anchors are the hot topic on Weibo this week.

Nope, it’s not the seasoned news anchors we’re referring to, but the interns!

Their popularity boils down to one simple factor – their looks. And Hu Yuexin is the current netizen favorite. Appearing on the CCTV Channel 13’s 3am News Live, Hu Yuexin’s followers are mainly teenage girls. Some have described him to have the ‘typical national good look’ (国字脸)- which has also raised discussions about China having a standard ‘good look’.

Regardless, his fans send him praise on Weibo.

“The first look of @Huyuexin2012 is like [mando-pop and acting superstar] Han Geng. But you can never get bored of him – he has that 360 degree good look.”

“I have been watching this programme every night now to wait for his appearance. Isn’t he just gorgeous?”

Hot Topic #2 – Letter To My Wife Spawns Popular Spoofs

A new film ” Letter To My Wife” recently premiered in the Beijing Youth Film Festival spawning various spoofs across Weibo.

The film features the story of Lin Juemin, an activist during the Chinese Revolution against the Qing Dynasty, who wrote a letter to his wife explaining why he was willing to die for the country.

Below is the original account:

#与妻书体#

我确实愿意和你相依为命直到老死，但根据现在的局势来看，天灾可以使人死亡，盗贼可以使人死亡，贪官污吏虐待百姓可以使人死亡，我们这辈人生在今天的中国，国家内无时无地不可以使人死亡。到那时让我眼睁睁看你死，或者让你眼睁睁看我死，我能够这样做呢？还是你能这样做呢？

“I really wish we could live together for the rest of our life and eventually get old and die together. But judging from the current situation, natural disasters can be deadly, robberies can be deadly, corrupted Mandarin can treat people badly and make people die. Our generation can die anytime, anywhere. So when these deadly situation happen to us, will you be able to watch me die alone, or will I be able to watch you die alone? Will I be able to do this? Or will you be able to do this?”

Continuing a theme from our previous Weibo Wednesday, “If I don’t study… I will do…” style of sentence-making marathon, netizens have found a new topic: rewriting Lin’s letter.

While the original letter was very emotional, a lot of people have borrowed its style and turn it into something more contemporary, tongue-in-cheek style:

On Travel:

“I really want to travel the world with you, but judging from the current situation, going to Yunnan will cost one month salary; going to Tibet will cost 2 months salary; going to Europe, just the ticket, will cost us half a year’s salary. With our white-collar level of income, a traveling lifestyle means we will go bankrupt in no time. By then, will I be able to watch you do hard labor to live on, or will you be able to live with me like a homeless person? Will I be able to do this? Or will you be able to do this?” – From @爱梦紫依然

On Dining Out:

“I really like the idea of going out for dinner with you, but judging from the current situation, cooking oil is mostly swill oil, soya milk is made by artificial flavouring, drinks can be made of hormone and other drugs, so in this nothing-is-safe period of China, we have to live with the permanent paranoia, and be very careful with what we eat when we go out. But even then, will I be able to watch you eat a capsule that’s made from leather shoes, or will you be able to watch me eat capsules that’s made from leather shoes? Will I be able to do this? Or will you be able to do this?” – From @索罗门网络科技有限公司

On Commitment:

“I really wish we can live together for the rest of our life and eventually get old and die together, but judging from the current situation and basic human instinct, uncles can hang out with teenage girls, ageing ladies can play with under-aged boys, under-aged boys can ask out other under-aged boys out. We are living in a very open-minded period of China that everyone can easily have xx with anyone, so if we are really together forever, will I be able to watch you been pinned down to the ground by another man, or will you be able to watch me pinned down by another women? Will I be able to do this? Or will you be able to do this?” – From @单豌纯豆

And the sarcastic societal critiques continue to build.

In the workplace, women are advancing further into upper management than ever before. With the world’s highest rate of female employment at seventy percent [1], females are using these advantages to move higher up in the ranks, with thirty four percent of top management being female and nineteen percent of CEO’s being female – far higher than the global average of eight percent [2].

The role of women is no longer singularly defined by her family or her career. Often they overlap and hold equal importance. Eighty eight percent of women choose to keep working after getting married. With more family income, sixty five percent use more than half of their income for personal spending, showing a renewed importance on independent behavior. Furthermore, by 2015, the purchase power of single women or women, married without children will increase from 180 billion to 260 billion – a significant increase [3].

Aside from personal spending, the female is the key decision maker for family purchases. Over seventy eight percent of married women make decisions for purchasing daily items and clothing. Big ticket items, such as automobiles are jointly discussed with the husband, at a rate of seventy seven percent – showing high female influence [3].

Across these statistics, we see there is indeed a rising equality in gender dynamic and a rise in female power and societal progression. Zooming in on this macro-level perspective, we see the new reality of a female’s role is more complex than it seems. Equality and responsibility do not necessarily equate to happiness and simplicity.

A recent TV drama in China, titled, “Those Things Between A Couple” (“夫妻那些事”) sheds light on China’s modern, complex women through three different archetypical women and their relationships with their families.

Lin Jun is a successful female architect. She is beautiful, independent, professional, smart and thoughtful. Her husband is a finance director. They are financially equal in the family. They live in a big, two-floor apartment with high mortgage and travel overseas very year. In order to constantly have higher achievement at work and personal development, Lin Jun has decided to be childless for the time being or at least until she is thirty six years-old.

Na Yi is fashionable, sexy – freedom is most important to her. She has her own yoga-training center and is independently wealthy. Her husband is a very ordinary member of the local government without a high title. He is always patient and cautious. Na Yi is the queen of the family. She doesn’t want to have a baby because she always feels insecure about their marriage. She thinks her husband is not a strong man, nor her true love. Na Yi’s ideal husband is a man whom she admires. She chooses to have an abortion rather than tell her husband she is pregnant.

Anna has a strong academic background and has a promising future for personal development. However, she chose to live with her husband, a rich businessman. She becomes a full time housewife and has three children. She lives in a big house, has a maid help her with housework and frequently wears luxury brands. In the meantime, she doesn’t have any personal income, only a credit card supplied by her husband. She must accept that her husband has another woman.

As the story climaxes, they all decide to get divorced.

Lin Jun is not able to have a baby because she has missed the best time for pregnancy. She feels guilty for her husband and her parent-in-laws, so she decides to leave the family.

Na Yi’s husband leaves her because she is too dominant, capricious and disrespectful to him.

Anna feels cheated and abandoned by her husband, loses her family and her two sons. But in reality she has already lost herself since she got married.

————

I was asked by an international colleague if this TV drama aims to set and propagate certain values or archetypes of women in China. My first response is no. In my opinion it is reflecting the reality that modern Chinese women face today.

The female-led TV drama ‘Go, Lala Go’ first told us that female desires of younger working women can be enriched through career development. As these, ‘Go, Lala Go’ women are moving on to their next life stage, they are becoming more mature and balancing more roles.

Though equality is preached in Chinese society – often expressed through striving for flexibility and colorful life experiences – there are still social and cultural expectations of female duties. Though equality is a fundamental pillar of Chinese society – inequality is still prevalent.

Whilst having intellectual and financial capability to be independent and decisive in their life, share family financial responsibility like mortgage, take care of parents, etc., women are not expected to be dominant in the family and capable for everything. Being able to navigate flexibly between appearing ‘strong’ and ‘weak’ is thought to be the key of feminine radiance and attraction – not a women who overtakes a man’s capability.

Whilst developing personal values and identity, it shouldn’t be conflicting to being mother and having a happy family. This is seen as the necessary journey to complete life’s responsibilities. As in the TV drama ‘Those Things Between a Couple’, Lin Jun finally desires to have a baby and has a baby. She is inspired by her old teacher that no matter how many big achievements you have at work, as a woman, the happiness and sense of fulfillment of being a good mother is irreplaceable

Thus, women need to keep their competition at work and female attraction through continuous self-exploration and self-development, whilst also being a good mum.

In the end, we see that gender equality is still filled with necessary inequalities. Modern women are taking on more societal and family expectations. However, we can see a positive mentality in coping with these expectations and duties.

Women are no longer looking for just a singular identity and personal expression. It’s now more about being flexible and being able to navigate between the personal and family expectations and duties that is more aspirational.

Written by Kendra Jin

Recent press coverage regarding China’s greying population lends further support to our ever growing hypothesis that there are serious economic opportunities within this underserved consumer demographic.

But where do these opportunities lie?

Besides the obvious vitamin supplements and ‘silver ergonomic’ designs which are bound to flood the market, we think there’s an even larger opportunity for countries and cities to explore new avenues for engaging with this older Chinese consumer group.

The size of the opportunity is indeed significant. In its second report since last year, China’s National Working Commission on Aging (CNWCA) indicates the number of Chinese mainland senior citizens above the age of 60 has increased to 177.65 million since 2000 – clearly a significant market opportunity. And with other figures indicating this number is increasing exponentially, Xinhua reports that 30 percent of China’s population may be over the age of 60 by 2050.

Opportunities in Travel and Health Care

Coupled with Chinese consumers’ confidence in the state’s health care system at an all time low (damaged by recent accusation of doctors putting patient’s health at risk by prescribing unnecessary drugs to pocket sales commissions and Mainland women flocking to Hong Kong to take advantage of better facilities), those cities and countries with well regarded health care systems are well positioned to fill gaps in China’s current state run system.

With these market factors converging, we sense an opportunity for not only brands, but also countries and cities to tap into this emerging consumer segment.

Possom Prestige, an anti-aging clinic at the Ritz-Carlton Korea is beginning to tap into this trend. In 2012, they are set to welcome a group of 180 high-net-worth Chinese for a beauty and health tour values at around USD 88,000. What the Chinese media is calling “meditel” treatment — a combination of medical services and a hotel offering treatment, accommodation and rest — Possom Prestige and the Ritz-Carlton have been perhaps the first high profile brand to start tapping into this opportunity.

The Rise of Chinese Retirement Communities?

As the number of older Chinese consumer looking for safer and higher quality health care continues to grow, will Chinese attitudes towards sending the elderly to foster care homes also change quickly? Does the cultural palatability of this situation even warrant a strong case for business opportunities?

Two decades of rapid Chinese urbanization which has split millions of families apart seems to be paving the way for changing attitudes of elderly care. The displacement of tightly knit communities in China’s urban low rise buildings (from hutongs in Beijing to the Nongtangs of Shanghai) are causing families to move to far flung suburbs – often leaving the younger working offsprings to live in the urban centers, closer to work. It is estimated that over 200 million people have been affected by such urbanization projects in the past decade.

By 2050, the further creation of more than 220 cities with a population of over one million means that many more communities and families will be relocated, perhaps eliminating traditional communal living expectations. Three generations living under one roof will be the exception rather than the rule reshaping expectations as to the young taking care of the old under one roof.

As sons and daughters move further away due to job imperatives and the prospect of higher salaries, the older generation will (pragmatically) accept that their children no longer carry the obligation to live and take care of them as they grow old.

Opportunities in Southeast Asia and Beyond?

As it becomes culturally more acceptable to let ‘strangers’ take care of one’s parent’s, Malaysia looks particularly well placed to tap into this opportunity based on three factors.

Increased tourist destination awareness
With an enjoyable year-round climate, and increased flight routes on China Eastern airline, Malaysia is a true player in the burgeoning SE Asia tourism industry catering to mainland tourists.

Large Chinese Community and Influence
Factors such as comfort and familiarity are increasingly important to elderly. With a large Chinese-speaking community and strong Chinese culinary influence, adjustment to Malay culture is much easier for China’s elderly.

World Class Health Facilities
Though mostly in Kuala Lumpur, the Malaysian government is investing billions of dollars creating foreign-only private hospitals. Keeping in mind Malaysia’s proximity and first two points, Malaysia may see growth in retiring Chinese communities.

Whilst this at first may be the privilege to the wealthier retired classes, China’s rapid greying population present interesting opportunities for Malaysia and other countries (Canada and Australia come to mind)that are worth exploring.

Countries or cities that decide to embark on such a branding exercises would not only stand to gain financially from attracting wealthy Chinese retirees but also ensure that they are creating long lasting ties between their Chinese diaspora communities and the Mainland.

Written by Julien Lapka
Photo taken by Flamingo Shanghai

Last week, Sina Weibo rippled with netizens creating hierarchal comparisons of brands, people, internet platforms, and other pop culture items. What spread as a statement on Weibo, (“Tell us what you look down on…” “晒晒你知道的鄙视链…”), first came into national relevance after being published on April 7th, 2012 in the high profile, popular tabloid, Southern Metropolis Daily (南方都市报) and given the name, ‘the dismissal food chain’ or 鄙视食物链.

Examples of ‘dismissal food chains’ discussed include the following:

Social Networking: Facebook > Kaixin 001 > Renren > Pengyou
Micro-blogging: Twitter > Sina Weibo > Tencent Weibo > Other Weibo
Search Engine: Google > Baidu > Bing > Soso > Sogou > People’s Daily
TV Soap Opera: British Soap > American Soap > Japanese Soap > Korean Soap > Older Hong Kong Soap > Taiwan Soap > Mainland Soap > Thai Soap
Television Station: BBC > Phoenix TV > CCTV > Hunan TV
Cinema: Mainland Art Cinema > European Art Cinema > Japan/Korean Art Cinema > Old Hong Kong Cinema > Hollywood Cinema > Mainland Pop Cinema
Music British Rock > Chinese Underground > Euro-Pop > Korean, Japanese, Taiwanese, Canto-Pop > Mainland Pop
Fashion: Topshop > Zara > H&M > Forever21 > Vera Moda > Metersbonwe / Yishion / Bossini

(For a more extensive list, head over to Chinasmack.)

This type of ‘snobbery’ or ‘dismissal’ may seem representative of China’s modern consumer landscape, where brands are becoming lifestyle indicators of wealth, knowledge and status.

From a psychological point of view, it also suggests that Chinese consumers use these hierarchies to boost self-esteem and justify self-worth.

However, from a cultural perspective, we see this attitude of dismissal is firmly rooted in China’s history and lends precedent and understanding to China’s modern consumer behaviors.

In China’s feudal times, social hierarchy was well defined and linked directly to family background and social status. In a feudalist society, hierarchy is a way of life and constricts most social movements throughout an individual’s life.

Lu Xun, China’s premier vernacular voice of the early 1900′s, famously characterized dismissal hierarchy in The Real Story of Ah-Q, in which the main character is a bully to the less fortunate but fearful of those who are above him (in rank). After receiving unfair treatment, he is only able to pick himself up by ‘dismissing’ those below him, signifying his superiority.

Popular satiric novel, Fortress Besieged (围城), written by Qian Zhongshu, a famous scholar and writer during much of the 20th century, also describes dismissal hierarchies within China’s pre-Communist universities.

“Students of science look down on humanities students, foreign literature students look down on Chinese literature students, chinese literature students look down on philosophy students, philosophy students look down on social science students, social science students look down on education students, and education student have no one else to look down on, so they look down on their teachers.”

———
What Brands can Learn From the Dismissal Food Chain

Throughout China’s history we see a thread of hierarchal dismissal that is now being reflected in the attitudes of China’s modern consumer.

As we see in the recent dismissal food chains, consumers often create contextual spectrums in which they position brands, people or objects.

From this, we see that Chinese consumers often view brands in this collective context versus having a singular relationship with a brand. To make sense of a brand, there must be something above it, and something below it. The spectrum exists to create contrast.

We see this manifesting traditionally on a retail level in China where, for example, a footwear store will only be successful in the retail context of other footwear stores, giving consumers a baseline to create hierarchy.

Viewing brands in a collective context is not unique to China, but it marks a contrast to how consumers in the United States view brands. In the United States, brands give consumers identity and individuality. Brands that are seen as innovative and at the top of the hierarchy are often those that broke free of their collective context and defined a whole new category. But in China, the collective context must exist before entering into a new space.

With both consumers and brands operating within this collective context, will we see a dismissal of hierarchies altogether?

History suggests hierarchies are here to last.

Written by Heng Lu

As a tourist destination, Taiwan is an odd position of requiring an explanation for visiting. It lacks the well-defined culture points of Japan or the concealed immensity of the Mainland. You can’t generalize by saying you’re going to “Southeast Asia”. Even places like Vietnam and Cambodia are met with a referential nod. More often then not, people will hear “Thailand” and smile and say, “Have fun!”

It presents a challenge to Taiwan’s tourism board – a riddle they’ve attempted to solve with a sixteen-minute microfilm titled “Time for Taiwan – My Beautiful Island”.

In this, we see that the challenge of ‘selling’ Taiwan as a tourist destination is underscored by the larger challenge of defining modern Taiwanese identity.

In direct contrast to traditional destination branding ads that seek to awe travelers with natural sublime and superlatives, Taiwan takes a different vantage point by focusing on restraint, ecology and most importantly, people.

The characters of the film, an American backpacker, a group of Japanese girls, and a mixed-raced family (let’s go with Canadian for arguments sake) are a subtle nod to Taiwan’s global friends, but also a suggestion of inclusion. Taiwan wants a visit to be about ‘us’ and ‘family’, which subverts the notion that travel delivers constant discovery and novelty.

In the film, famous Taiwanese symbols (such as 101 Tower), are subtly placed in the background, letting the people of Taiwan stand front and center.

Transportation’s role in the film, instead of focusing on hypermodernity, focuses on interaction and the emotional effect of riding within this machine. We see intimacy prevailing over functional movement from point A to point B.

In addition, through the ancillary Taiwanese people in the film, we see strong identifiers of Taiwanese culture. Warmth, friendliness, and perspective all emanate from the Taiwanese people interacting with the film’s main characters. It’s through this knowledge sharing that a deeper understanding of Taiwan occurs – rather than an overt ‘selling’ of identity through propaganda-like authoritarianism .

Taiwan is selling its people as well as its experiences. It wants to be included as well as offer insight into its own identity and what it means to be Taiwanese.

Article by Keyue Yan and Joey Dembs

Hot Topic #1: Artificial Flavoring Sparks Medicine Controversy

On April 15th, the CCTV program “Weekly Quality Report” reported how several Hebei companies were recently caught using leather waste to produce industrial gelatin and selling it to capsule manufacturing plants in Zhejiang to manufacture medicine.

(image credit, NYT)

Gelatin is derived from the collagen inside animal skin and and animal bones. It can used as a gelling agent in food, pharmaceuticals, as well as cosmetic manufacturing and various other industrial application. In extreme cases and in excess, it could lead to disease.

Before this scandal, an industrial insider indicated that industrial gelatin is widely used in making solid yogurt in China. These instances sparked widespread netizen dissent, with the popular phrase being spread around:

“If you want to eat fruit jellies, lick your own leather shoes; if you want to eat solid yogurt, lick your own leather shoes; if you want to take medicine, lick your own leather shoes…”

Netizens are becoming more and more frustrated with the food safety issue and feel this latest scandal is a step too far. One netizen commented:

“If you survive the illegally recycled ‘swill oil’, fake eggs, poisonous milk, beef extract, you will still die from leather medicine capsules in the hospital!”

Hot Topic #2: #If I Don’t Study…I Will Do

“If I don’t study Media…I want to be a hairdresser; If I don’t study biology…I want to be a race-car driver; If I don’t study finance…I want to be a psychiatrist; If I don’t study medicine, I want to be a gypsy poet…”

#If I Don’t Study…I Will Do is another powerful example of tucao (吐槽), or “letting out of complaints” from netizens on Weibo. As the movement progresses, people find that they are not the only ones with unfulfilled dreams.

The topic has caught on most with early-year university and high-school students, both of whom face difficult life and career path decisions. They often face the disconcerting decision of choosing between a realistic path that will help them get a job or choose a path that allows them to follow their dreams and desires.

Within the current education system, and the placement results from the Gaokao (Higher Education Entrance Exam), there is limited freedom for individual choice. Weibo is now an outlet for many of these ‘what-if?’ propositions.

Compiled by Jing FAN and Heng Lu