24 Years Later, Found at Last

Guo was reunited with his son 24 years after searching for him

Guo Gangtang finally found his son after searching for him for 24 years. They along with Guo's wife had a tearful reunion in Liaocheng, Shandong province on Sunday after DNA samples confirmed the 26-year-old man was Guo Xinzhen. 

The child was only two years and five months old when he was abducted outside his home in a village in Liaocheng on September 21, 1997.

Guo distributed flyers with photos of his son

The shock of losing the boy resulted in Guo Gangtang losing weight from 80kg to 60kg and his hair turned white in the first month of the abduction.

He then went on a mission to find his son, printing pictures of him and basic information about the boy on leaflets he distributed, hoping to find clues of his whereabouts.

Guo also made banners of the boy's photo and information and put them on his motorcycle that he rode all over the mainland -- some 500,000km -- and wearing out 10 motorcycles -- in the hopes of finding his son.

"Only on the road, I felt I am a father," he told a Shandong-based newspaper in 2015. "I have no reason to stop [searching]. And it's impossible for me to stop."

Andy Lau played Guo in Lost and Love

His plight inspired the movie Lost and Love starring Andy Lau Tak-wah that year, and Lau waived his fees to play the part of Guo.

The film featured many incidents he faced, from road accidents, battling highway robbers, and sleeping near bridge pillars when he ran out of money for accommodation.

"Many people say I am a great father. But I am not great at all," said Guo. "I am helpless. I just lack the courage to restart life after experiencing tremendous hardship. Therefore I kept on searching."

A few years ago he set up a website to help other parents find their missing children. This led to the police finding over 100 abducted children. 

Apparently the couple that abducted Guo Xinzhen have been arrested.

The family is reunited but what are the next steps?

While this story is heartwarming, it is interesting to note this story came out today -- the fourth anniversary of Nobel Peace Laureate Liu Xiaobo's death. 

He died in 2017 of complications from liver cancer in a Shenyang hospital in Liaoning province and was carefully by state security.

The last time a Nobel Peace laureate died in state custody was in 1938, when pacifist Carl von Ossietzky died of tuberculosis under guard in a hospital in Nazi Germany.

Mourning Loss of a Beijing Bookstore

The Bookworm was a wonderful place to learn more about China in English

Today came sad news from Beijing -- The Bookworm is closing next Monday, November 11. For many expats in the Chinese capital go there to not only find books, but also meet people, have a drink, have lunch, hang out, and write their memoirs (I know at least one journalist did!).

For me it was a great place to listen to all kinds of speakers talk about China, and they were all pretty frank about the politics, the economy, social and environmental issues. But they were also very excited about what they were discovering.

Paleontologist Xu Xing talked about his field work

I remember paleontologist Xu Xing talking about discovering dinosaurs in Liaoning province and how there are so many dinosaurs yet to be unearthed and what they can tell us about prehistoric life in what is geographically China now.

One year I interviewed Howard Goldblatt, who through his winding career that started off in the US Army led to him studying Chinese in Taiwan and had a knack for learning the language so much so that he became a translator.

And listening to him talk about what it's like to translate a novel, and in particular Chinese -- you have to really understand what the author meant to say in the passage to be able to convey that in a similar writing style but in English.

He translated Wolf Totem, a semi-autobiographical novel by Jiang Rong, that talks about young people being sent down to remote Inner Mongolia and learning the ways of the nomadic people there and how wolves are critical to the ecosystem.

Academic Howard Goldblatt on the intricacies of translation

The Bookworm held the Literary Festival every year and there were always interesting authors coming through, or people who live in Beijing but I didn't know about. I always tried to catch as many of these as I could to get different perspectives on things.

Sadly the bookstore and unofficial community centre is closing down because it is an "illegal structure".

General manager David Cantaloupo explained The Bookworm was originally started on Sanlitun Beilu in 2002 and then moved to Courtyard 4 in Sanlitun, diagonally opposite Sanlitun Village.

"[When] they started to privatize state-run enterprises 20 years ago, regulations were looser then," he says. "[The bookshop was built] on a pump room. It doesn't have an address. It's [built on] a structure that was never [transformed] into things that they can rent out. [It is an illegal structure]. We've been paying rent here for a long time.

Many authors came to the Literary Festival every year

"[The government] are trying to clean up Beijing. City planners are trying to get things in order. Whether there's anything else behind it, it is unclear to us," Cantalupo said.

In a statement that was disseminated this afternoon, the bookstore thanked everyone for their support and hoped to keep The Bookworm going.

"While we attempt to reorganize and find a new location, we wish to say what an honor and a pleasure it has been to have played a small part in fostering cultural exchange, promoting literature and an appreciation of the arts during an incredibly exciting era in Beijing, and indeed for China as a whole."

I hope the owners do find a new location and keep The Bookworm going. It's doing a massive public service to bridge the gap between East and West, creating greater understanding of China, and at the same time making us expats feel like we're not alone in Beijing.

China Wants Baby-Making Machines

China is trying to encourage couples to have more children... without success

Over 10 years ago when I was working in Beijing, a local colleague admitted his parents were severely fined for having another child -- him. They were anxious for a boy, and finally had one, but his parents were punished because they were senior Communist Party members.

He said their punishment was a very high fine and being socially looked down upon for not obeying the one-child policy that was implemented in 1979. In the end he managed to leave China to study an MBA at Duke University and now runs his family's company.

A financial penalty can make life difficult to make ends meet, but what about the horrific stories of women in rural areas who were forced to have abortions in their second and even third trimester because local officials wanted to keep the birth rates down in order to have good job performances?

A Chinese stamp showing a family with three piglets

The physical and psychological scars are indelible.

But now the Chinese government is doing away with the draconian policy and allowing parents to have not only two but more children. There are even propaganda posters of families of pigs, supposedly a metaphor that the more you procreate, the happier your family will be.

However, women aren't buying it.

Since the one-child policy, more young women are getting a higher education, focusing on careers and getting married later. There's also the rising costs of having a child; many can only afford to have one.

There is also the statistical problem of fewer women in the population thanks to the one-child policy, as families preferred boys of girls in almost 40 years.

According to He Yafu, a demographer and author of a book on the impact of China's population controls says the number of women between the ages of 20 and 39 is expected to drop by more than 39 million over the next decade, to 163 million from 202 million.

China needs more children for the workforce and pensions

"Without the introduction of measures to encourage fertility, the population of China will drop sharply in the future," he said.

This is a huge looming problem because the shrinking workforce won't be able to support the elderly not only in terms of manpower but also pensions.

As a result different provinces have their own incentives or punishments in order to get couples to have more children. For example, in Liaoning, one of the provinces with the lowest birthrates, is proposing several benefits for young families, including tax breaks, housing and education subsidies and longer maternity and paternity leaves, as well as investments in clinics and preschools.

Meanwhile in Jiangxi province, the government has reissued guidelines on when women can get abortions. There is a concern the rules will be strictly enforced, such as requiring a woman who is more than 14 weeks pregnant to obtain three signatures from medical personnel before an abortion.

Two other provinces have made it harder for couples to divorce, in the hopes that they will stick it out and have children.

The one-child policy from 1979 is over

Talk about not having control over one's body.

"Women cannot decide what happens to their own ovaries," one person complained on the microblogging platform Weibo, after Jiangxi announced its abortion guidelines in July.

The one-child policy has been slightly modified since it was instituted in 1979. Rural couples were allowed to try for another child if their first one was a girl, while ethnic minorities could have as many children as they liked. In 2013, if the husband and wife are only children, they were allowed to have more than one child. Then two years later, all couples could have two children.

This latest policy change didn't get the big baby bump the government was hoping for -- in fact the birthrate last year dropped, causing Beijing to worry.

On the one hand the government wants women to be educated and contribute to the work force, and on the other to pump out babies and look after aging parents. However, women get discriminated at work if they become pregnant and lose out on the career track if they don't go back to work after a period of time.

What about the men in all of this?

With a patriarchal government and society no wonder they think they can tell women what to do. But if they are having children, it's not to benefit the state.

Keeping Liu Xiaobo's Memory Alive

Rainy weather did not deter some 1,000 people from remembering Liu Xiaobo

Today's weather was unsettled with bursts of rain storms here and there.

But the inclement conditions didn't deter several hundred people who turned out at Tamar in Admiralty to mark the first anniversary of Nobel laureate Liu Xiaobo's death.

Originally the event was also supposed to be a rally directed at the Chinese government to free Liu's wife Liu Xia, but she was unexpectedly released and allowed to fly to Berlin on Tuesday.

The candlelight vigil was organized by the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements in China. Participants bowed at a statue of Liu Xiaobo, that has been seen in and around Causeway Bay.

It's interesting to note that while people in the mainland could not commemorate Liu, some representatives from the Chinese PEN Centre, that helped secure Liu Xia's release, were allowed to travel to Hong Kong to take part in tonight's event.

A candlelight vigil was held tonight at Tamar

Meanwhile, Lam Wing-kee, one of the five booksellers who was abducted in China in 2015, says after Liu Xia was released, human rights activist Qin Yongmin was jailed for 13 years for subversion of state power, which indicated China was not relaxing its policy towards dissidents, and that her ability to fly to Germany was an isolated case.

"I just fear Beijing's control will tighten in the future," he said. "But Liu Xia's release told Hongkongers that we need to hold on and strive for what's right, attend rallies or vigils whenever we can."

Today in Berlin, there are also events to commemorate the first anniversary of Liu Xiaobo's death, but Liu Xia will not be attending, partly because of health reasons and possibly not wanting to cause trouble for her brother, Liu Hui.

Liao Tianqi, the president of the Chinese PEN Centre, said Liu Xia expressed in a note of thanks to Hongkongers and for remembering her husband on the first anniversary of his death.

Liu Xiaobo died of liver cancer last July 13 while in custody in a hospital in Shenyang, Liaoning province. He was 61 years old.

He was serving an 11-year sentence for "inciting subversion of state power" since 2009, after he helped write a petition known as Charter 08, that called for sweeping political reforms.

China's Aversion to Christmas

Mainland Chinese don't really understand Christmas but find it a fun party

Over a week ago when I was talking to some mainland Chinese students in a Hong Kong shopping mall, they found the concept of Christmas really weird. They didn't understand the purpose of decorating trees and putting them inside, taking pictures with an elderly man with a white beard in a red suit, and what this had to do with a baby born in a barn.

It is an honest observation coming from people who grew up in a country that does not promote any kind of religion, Christianity being one of them.

While there are many Christians in Hong Kong, Christmas is very much a commercial event in the city, and it's a holiday everyone there has grown up with.

Over 3 million Christmas decorations were bought on Tmall

But in China, the Chinese government is going to great lengths to dissuade people from celebrating Christmas -- even though the country manufactures the most goods related to the holiday, from decorations to gifts.

About a week ago, members of the Communist Party's Youth League at the University of South China in Hunan province were asked to sign a code of conduct which told them not to participate in Christmas-related celebrations, according to a statement circulating on Weibo.

"Communist Party members must be role models in abiding to the faith of communism. [Members are] not allowed to have superstitions and blindly follow the opium of Western spirits," the statement said, which was signed off by the Youth League.

The memo also said party members would face disciplinary consequences if they or their direct relatives were found to be involved in religious activities on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.

Instead they were instructed to hold events to promote "patriotic and traditional Chinese culture".

Yawn. And what does that mean?

China supplies 60% of the world's plastic Christmas trees

That's the same sentiment a student had in Jiangsu province, whose university had also banned Christmas celebrations.

"I am not very convinced of the school's excuse. Nobody relates Christmas to Western ideologies. Now I may not party with my friends in the school's dorm because we are afraid there will be inspections," he said.

He also didn't know the relationship between Christmas and the Christian faith.

Its not just happening in Hunan and Jiangsu provinces, but also Liaoning and Shaanxi provinces, where people were banned from gathering for celebrations on December 24 and 25.

But commercially Chinese companies love Christmas. Over 600,000 Christmas trees and 3 million decorations were bought on T Mall, owned by Alibaba. China makes over 60 percent of the world's plastic Christmas trees.

What's wrong with Christmas with Chinese characteristics?

Liu Kaiming, head of the Institute of Contemporary Observation in Shenzhen, said he finds it absurd for local institutions to ban the celebration of Christmas because it is a "Western festival".

"To Chinese people, this festival is not much different to the Singles' Day on November 11, it's for shopping," he said.

"China has long been using a Western calendar. We celebrate the New Year, Labour Day, and Women's Day based on Western origins. Are we going to ban all of them?" he said.

"This is China's dilemma -- it is largely opened up to globalization now, but it also holds back from embracing full-scale globalization because of domestic politics," Liu continued.

"The recent political emphasis on the 'revitalization of Chinese culture' from officials may have prompted local units to use this season as a chance to show loyalty by following the party line."

This relates back to President Xi Jinping who expects all cadres to show unwavering loyalty to the Party.

It's not just Christianity under fire, but also Buddhism and feng shui -- there's only one thing to believe in -- the Party.

Now if only the Party had Christmas-like celebrations then maybe people would be more on board.

圣诞快乐！

Liu Xiaobo on Medical Parole

Devastating news today that Nobel Laureate Liu Xiaobo has terminal cancer

There was breaking news this afternoon that Nobel Peace prize winner Liu Xiaobo was being released on medical parole -- because he has terminal liver cancer.

It's bitter sweet to hear the 61-year-old is now being treated in hospital in Shenyang in Liaoning province after he was diagnosed with late stage cancer on May 23, according to one of his lawyers, Shang Baojun, citing Liu's brother.

"It seems to be very serious, very serious," Shang said. "If it was an early stage of cancer, then it would be easier to treat. But at this late stage, the treatment seems much more difficult."

The news of Liu's illness renewed calls for the academic to be released on compassionate grounds.

During the 2010 Nobel ceremony his chair was empty

"At a time when China wants to have a greater international role, it is only fitting that it should show humanity and compassion towards a man who has never committed any violent crime, but has dedicated his life to literature and free expression," PEN Hong Kong, the literature and free speech advocacy group said on its Facebook page.

Liu had previously served as president of Independent Chinese PEN, a sister organization of PEN Hong Kong.

Amnesty International's China researcher Patrick Poon said Beijing should ensure that Liu gets good medical care and access to family members, in particular his wife.

"The authorities must also stop their shameful and illegal house arrest of Liu Xiaobo's wife, Liu Xia," Poon said, "and ensure that she is able to receive visitors, travel freely and visit Liu Xiaobo."

According to friends of Liu Xia, she is worn out from isolation from house arrest, and is depressed and has a heart condition.

There is hope that Liu Xia is with her husband...

Another of Liu's lawyers Mo Shaoping said "in principle" Liu could receive visits from family members, but didn't know if his wife was with him.

Friends who know him were shocked to find out that the man they knew was so energetic before and now is seriously ill.

Apparently Liu is getting treatment from top cancer doctors now, but it's too little too late. With late stage cancer all they can do is try to ease his pain as much as possible.

This makes his imprisonment even more outrageous and cruel. He is so highly respected outside of China for his dedication to making his home country better by pushing for political liberalization with Charter 08 and yet he is condemned by Beijing and sent to prison for 11 years for "inciting subversion of state power".

At this point we can only hope his family, in particular his wife Liu Xia can finally see him without restrictions. He should at least be able to live his last days in dignity, though he probably conducted himself that way in prison too.

He said it best in his statement from his 2009 trial, titled: I Have No Enemies: My Final Statement that was read out as his Nobel lecture.

"Hatred can rot away at a person's intelligence and conscience," he wrote. "Enemy mentality will poison the spirit of a nation, incite cruel mortal struggles, destroy a society's tolerance and humanity, and hinder a nation's progress toward freedom and democracy. That is why I hope to be able to transcend my personal experiences as I look upon our nation's development and social change, to counter the regime's hostility with utmost good will, and to dispel hatred with love."

Liu Xiaobo, we will not forget you.

Beijing's Attempt to Control Two Elections

An editorial cartoon about electoral fraud in Liaoning's NPC

An interesting story from China is the 45 Liaoning deputies from the National People's Congress sacked last month -- and now it's been revealed it's because the provincial legislature rejected Beijing-backed candidates in an election three years ago.

Sources say top Communist Party leaders were enraged when unprecedented, widespread vote rigging in the Liaoning Provincial People's Congress in 2013 saw candidates favoured by the Party leadership failed to win the election.

The NPC Standing Committee infuriated by Liaoning results

The scale of the scandal alarmed Beijing -- where the Party's preferred candidates lost out to ones backed by bribe-paying business chiefs. If it was not dealt with, the leadership says, then it would have threatened to undermine President Xi Jinping's plan for the Party's national congress next year, where a major reshuffle of senior positions is expected.

"A few candidates designated by the central authorities as deputies to the National People's Congress failed to get enough votes from Liaoning provincial legislators in early 2013," says a former Liaoning congress deputy.

The incident has infuriated top Party officials and resulted in an investigation into electoral fraud in the northeastern province.

Zhang says election fraud challenged China's political system

NPC chairman Zhang Dejiang, who is also a member of the Politburo Standing Committee, told a special meeting of the NPC Standing Committee last month the election fraud had "challenged China's socialist democratic politics" and touched the "bottom line" of the country's political system.

This scandal is not the first of its kind, though the first time since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949 that dozens of NPC deputies have been sacked for election irregularities.

A mid-ranking official in the provincial capital of Shenyang said billionaires in Liaoning had been more than willing to spend big to secure NPC positions, which would then make it more difficult to launch investigations into their affairs and would gain them direct access to officials who could further their business interests.

Looks like it's game over for these billionaires...

It isn't clear how many candidates contested the 2013 NPC election or how many failed to win election, but apparently 3,000 deputies in the NPC were elected either by provincial-level people's congresses, or the People's Liberation Army, rather than by central authorities.

So think about it -- the province is corrupt with billionaires buying seats in the NPC, and even Beijing's efforts to control it by trying to elect its own endorsed people in is thwarted big time.

The solution? Beijing declares electoral fraud, when the Party itself is trying to have its own people voted in by its "socialist democracy".

It's very similar to Hong Kong's recent Legislative Council elections, but in this case, there was no electoral fraud, and while the pro-Beijing camp still has the majority in Legco, it lost three seats to localists, some of whom are advocating self-determination.

While it won't be hard for Beijing to rectify the problem in Liaoning by basically sacking everyone and starting over (by putting its own people in), Hong Kong is an entirely different kettle of fish.

Beijing must be racking its brains on how it can further exert its influence in the city. Stay tuned.

Chasing Out Foreign Devils

The coffee shop the Garratts own in Dandong, Liaoning province

It is worrying to see China becoming aggressive again in its stance on foreigners and foreign companies in the country.

Officers from the National Development and Reform Commission raided the Shanghai office of Mercedes-Benz on Monday morning, looking for evidence the German luxury car maker, along with BMW, Audi and Chrysler were engaged in monopoly practices in charging high prices for spare parts and after sales services.

It is believed the NDRC probe is meant to force foreign car makers to slash prices of their vehicles which are selling for three times the price of other markets, like the United States.

But why, if people can afford them? And the cut in prices will affect wages of locals who are in joint ventures building these vehicles. Sounds like shooting oneself in the foot, does it not?

Do the wealthy care what the prices are? As the saying goes, if you have to ask the price, you can't afford it.

And in China, where status symbols reign supreme, the uber rich really want to prove how wealthy they are by what they drive.

Julia and Kevin Garratt are accused of spying in China

The other worry is a Canadian couple who own a coffee shop on the border between China and North Korea. They were detained over allegation of spying, according to Beijing authorities.

Kevin and Julia Garratt are under investigation for "suspected theft of state secrets about China's military and national defense research:, according to a Xinhua report.

The couple are originally from Vancouver and run a coffee house in Dandong, Liaoning province. They have lived in China for about 30 years and are Christian activists. Notice the "t" in "Peter" looks more like a cross...

Their son Peter says the charges are ridiculous, saying the coffee house is popular with expats because of the Western food they serve, while locals like to come here to practice their English.

Peter said he was questioned by police about what his parents did other than run the coffee shop and he replied his mother used to teach English at the university and his father works for North Star Aid, which helps the elderly in North Korea.

He added his parents were not trying to proselytize anyone and that they were obeying the law. Peter has no idea where these accusations of espionage come from and believes his parents will be cleared of the charges.

Does he have any understanding of the Chinese legal system? When they trump up charges like these, they will bend over backwards to find any shred of evidence to prove their accusations.

Just look at infamous web celebrity Guo Meimei.

Guo Meimei showed off inexplicable wealth on weibo

The 23-year-old cause outrage back in 2011 when she claimed to work for a subsidiary of the Red Cross Society of China, and at the same time flaunted pictures of her posing next to luxury sports cars and carrying luxury bags on her weibo account.

Last month she was detained on gambling-related charges and she confessed on television the other day, apologizing for her luxurious lifestyle and damaging the reputation of the charity.

"I like to show off. I have the vain mindset of a little girl," said Guo.

In a CCTV report, Guo admitted to operating a gambling venue in Beijing, and had sex with various men for no less than 100,000 yuan per encounter. Her personal assistant revealed how Guo was a compulsive gambler and would frequent Macau's casinos...

Did she really set up an illegal gambling den in Beijing? She's 23 years old and it seems more probable she made money prostituting her body to pay for her high life than to have the ability to set up an illegal business.

So the Garratts have to be careful -- they may think they are innocent, but not when the Chinese government seems to have an anti-foreigner agenda in mind...

China's Top Guns

One of China's F15 fighter jets preparing for take off from the Liaoning

The big news today was China releasing an official training video of F15 fighter jets on the carrier the Liaoning.

In the 6:41 minute video, the aircraft is shown with its wings folded and then raised up prepared for take-off from the carrier.

Viewers can also see the pilots training by running along the beach and the lifting weights, and then getting ready for their flights. When they are up in the air, there's a quick pan of the dashboard, but not enough to get a good look of the proprietary information...

It all looks so Top Gun -- minus Tom Cruise, Val Kilmer and Anthony Edwards. Don't even think of having a female love interest in this propaganda clip. It's all about testosterone here.

Some of the scenes are beautifully shot, particularly those of the carrier at sunset, while the aerial shots are very cool and remind viewers of the 1986 blockbuster film directed by Tony Scott (who died almost two years ago).

However, there are some cheesy bits, like a man in white uniform whipping out his sword for dramatic sound purposes, and the dark room full of naval officers staring at their computer screens? Do they really go to work like that everyday?

Nevertheless it is pretty impressive, as China is eager to show off its "home grown" fighter jets that were put into service two years ago.

The video ends with the Aviation Industry Corporation of China, a state-owned aerospace and defense company. So no, it wasn't issued by the military, but the company behind the jet fighters.

Impressed?