Author: jinge

Jin Ge aka Jingle is a writer, documentary filmmaker, and NGO organizer based in Shanghai. Jin does sociological research and produces multi-media content on the subjects of Internet subcultures and grass-root organizations in China. He is currently a senior design researcher at IDEO.
State Capitalism Watch

Animal Protection also a Western Imperialist Conspiracy?!

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Gui Zhentang Pharmaceutical Company （归真堂）, a company that specializes in bear farming and extracting bile from live bears, is applying for IPO on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange. The news was met with outrage all over social media in China. This company announced shocking plans to expand the number of bears they are torturing from 400…

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RedPad, a Pad Tailor-Made for Chinese Officials

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Can innovative entrepreneurship prosper in state capitalism? A Beijing company called Red Technology （红派科技） said “Yes” and announced its new product that aims to rival the influential iPad: the RedPad, a pad tailor-made for the Chinese government officials. The innovation of this RedPad does not lie in its hardware or software, it looks no different from other pads and runs…

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Book burning? Nationalists accuse Southern Media of treason by burning their paper

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Is investigative journalism a crime against the Chinese people? Is free speech a Western Conspiracy? The nationalists in China seem to think so. On Oct. 18, a group of men in Hebei Province performed a public ceremony in the name of patriotism, in which they burned newspapers and magazines of the Southern Media Group (Nanfang, 南方传媒), which is known for its investigative…

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Cloud Computing turned into Real Estate Business

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There have been several news reports this year that suggest cloud computing centers in China are turning into real estate development projects: local governments and financial investors used the concept to reclaim large pieces of land at low cost, obtain low-interest loans from banks and apply for government subsidy, before they have any plan for software or application. Even for a cynic like…

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A Viral Video and a New Wave of Middle Class Discontent in China

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Recently a video called “Everyone is a tax payer” went viral through social media in China, from Sina the microblog platform to Tudou the video-sharing site. The video explains, via a humorous animation, issues like invisible taxes, the spectacular growth of government income (particularly in comparison to working-class income), and the riddle of where the government spent…

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The Shoe-throwing Party versus Internet Sovereignty

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In my previous post I wrote about Dr. Fang and his radical vision of a Chinese Internet that is isolated with the open Internet. Unfortunately power holders like Dr. Fang have already made the Internet in China one of the most censored and distorted. But Chinese netizens have that unique spirit that can turn every tragedy into a comedy and darkness into chocolate. Let’s amuse…

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“The Father of China’s Great Firewall” Re-defines Internet Sovereignty

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Dr. Fang Binxing, an academician of the China Academy of Engineering who was one of the main designers of the infamous firewall confining China’s Internet, presented his new theory on Internet Sovereignty and reiterated his view on the importance of “border control” on the Internet, at a conference called “Innovation and Development of China’s Internet Forum” on November 11th.

Dr.…

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