Archive for the 'China' Category
July 31st, 2007 by JJW
I got a letter in late July from the editor of the new four-volume Encyclopedia of Sex and Gender announcing its publication. I wrote three contributions in Fall of 2006 on Chinese sexual history. I’m excited because these are my first published encyclopedia entries.
I have yet to see a copy of the set, as I am based in China while the books are hitting North American library shelves. If anyone runs across the set, could you take photos of my entries and mail them to me?
I wrote the first entry, on modern Chinese sexuality and gender, with the head librarian at the Kinsey Institute, Liana Zhou. This opportunity presented itself during a visit to the Kinsey Institute and a meeting with Dr. Zhou. She suggested I contribute to the modern Chinese section because of my longstanding interest with HIV/AIDS prevention and gay life in China. I also wrote the pre-modern Chinese sex and gender entry (pre-1911), which I describe as “5,000 years in 4,000 words”. Finally, I wrote an entry on the famous republic-era sexologist Zhang Jingsheng.
The encyclopedia set is cited as: Malti-Douglas, Fedwa, ed. Encyclopedia of Sex and Gender. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2007.
Here’s the blurb from the Thomson Gale website:
Gender studies have become a major academic field in the past 25 years, providing a lens through which to reexamine and reevaluate knowledge in every area of human interaction and activity. The Encyclopedia of Sex and Gender encompasses the various concepts of sex and gender that have arisen from the critical study of those subjects worldwide, as well as the emerging reimagination of the more traditional humanities and social sciences. Broad theoretical essays address issues of sex and gender at the personal and the social level; others examine issues of identity, status, class, ethnicity, race, and nation; of sexuality and the body; of social institutions and the structures of representation – all through the lens of gender. With a truly global perspective, topics of individual entries include changing conceptions of “the feminine,” the family and masculinity, religion, morality, cultural images, medical practice, public health, economy and society and many more. In addition, the work discusses the influences of gender studies on various academic disciplines, examining how it has transformed and utilized methods and theories that have evolved.
July 24th, 2007 by JJW
On a rainy London night in a room of 150 people interested in China, I found myself the only person–in the audience member or on the panel,with any optimism about China improving its natural environment. The event, “Media Talk: Has western coverage of the China story become stale and cliched?” was hosted by the Frontline Club and featured Rob Gifford (NPR), Duncan Hewitt (former BBC, Newsweek), Catherine Sampson (formerly The Times) and Lifen Zhang (FTChinese.com). It was moderated by Carrie Gracie (BBC).
At about minute 55 in this hour and a half long vidcast, Carrie Gracie asks if there are any people optimistic about the Chinese environment. I raised my hand. The microphone zoomed across the room to me. I don’t present my opinion halfway as articulately as I would have liked, but I think my main points came through, namely that:
- Central government environmental policy is stringent, but enforcement is mixed
- Allowing open media coverage by Western journalists is a soft power means of enforcing Chinese laws that would otherwise go unenforced at the local level
- Environment as sustainable developing is becoming a prerequisite for economic growth because of the socially and economically destabilizing nature of environmental degradation
- Awareness of environmental issues is reaching a critical mass
Watch the video here:
I don’t think top-tier western media coverage of China has become cliched, but much of it has become stale. A bit of fresh air is just what China and the world need right now.
July 16th, 2007 by JJW
From the introduction to my essay:
This issue of the Journal of International Policy Solutions marks the second annual publication of the Ruth S. Adams Graduate Student Essay Competition Winner. The Ruth Adams Competition is a graduate student essay competition on the topic of international civil society. It asks students to explore the role of global civil society in impacting any national or international issue.
The competition honors Ruth S. Adams (1923-2005), a former visiting scholar at UCSD and the editor of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists for more than a decade. Charismatic, deeply principled, and compassionate, Adams devoted her life to a wide array of nongovernmental organizations. She was the only woman in attendance at the very first Pugwash Conference on Science and World Affairs in 1957, which was sponsored by Albert Einstein, Linus Pauling, and other preeminent scientists. She organized cooperative international scientific efforts on Third World development, arranged for the training and financing of international security scholars, and actively supported enhanced roles for women in international relations research. To further the goals to which she devoted her life, her friends, colleagues, and organizations who share in Ruth’s vision have created this essay competition.
This year’s winner, Joshua Wickerham, analyzes the response of Chinese civil society to environmental threats and the implications for political actors.
ABSTRACT
The goal of this paper is to determine how willing the principal actors in China’s economy are to bear the potential social and economic costs of sustainable development as a proxy for understanding the depth of the development of civil response to China’s environmental threats. The conclusions are based on trends, opinions, and actions of three main groups: the government, consumers, and corporate managers.
Click here to read the essay. (pdf format)
February 10th, 2007 by JJW
[Note: This is a modified version of an original article (“Rural life is changing, for the better and worse”) published in the Shanghai Star, a weekly expat rag owned by the China Daily. I feel this version more accurately expresses my thoughts on the matter. The original article only exists on web archives like google cache anyway. Flickr photos of the experience here. –JJW]
I didn’t expect to sit at the head table, but that’s what happens when you’re the first foreigner of non-Chinese descent to set foot in a Chinese village. My memories of this “Roots & Shoots wish School” groundbreaking would have been clearer had I not been asked to say a few unprepared words to the 200-plus students and their relatives as the “blond haired, blue eyed” American. I told the group that, as a volunteer with the Jane Goodall Institute, I was honored and excited to learn more about life in rural Anhui.
We were there as visitors, teachers, and—though none of us seemed aware of it at the time—part of the new grassroots of Chinese civil society. We were not there for our own re-education, but that’s what happened, at least to me.
Continue reading ‘stubbing your toe on Chinese materialism: happiness elusive no matter your lot’
November 5th, 2006 by JJW
by Joshua Wickerham for that’s Shanghai, October 2006
now in her seventies, renowned primatologist Jane Goodall is fighting harder than ever for a better future
British primatologist Dr. Jane Goodall first won fame in the 1960s with her pioneering studies of chimpanzees in Gombe National Park in Tanzania. Since then she’s worked tirelessly to promote rights for all animals, chimpanzees included. In 1991, while conferring with students in Tanzania about their hopes for extracurricular programs, she founded Roots & Shoots (R&S), a youth education group that provides students with the experience to tackle problems concerning the relationship between people, animals, and the environment. In the intervening 16 years, R&S has spread to over 90 countries. China has four branches, in Beijing, Chengdu, Nanchang, and Shanghai, and there are R&S clubs in hundreds of local schools. Greg MacIsaac founded the first Chinese branch in Beijing in 1993. In 2003, the Shanghai branch became the first foreign non-profit organization to be granted official status by the Chinese government [see Terms of Development, Sept 2006], followed by the branch in Nanchang this year. Goodall will be in Beijing and Shanghai this month.
that’s: You first visited China about 13 years ago. Since then, what changes have you observed?
JG: Well, I’ve definitely seen changes in children’s attitudes towards animals; for example, they have a better understanding of dogs, and are even more concerned about birds kept in little cages.
When I first came, China was much more closed than it is today. It was less Western. There weren’t any McDonald’s; there weren’t any Starbucks. It was a very different feeling; you really felt like you were going somewhere different. But, of course, it was already very polluted, even though there were probably a quarter the number of cars. There were lots of bicycles.
that’s: Are you optimistic that China’s environmental problems can be solved?
JG: I think the main hope lies with the people. First of all, I have met so many people who really care. I’ve met so many government officials who are desperately worried about the degradation of the environment. I think it’s just very difficult. There’s a tremendous conflict between the environment and economic development, and I think it’s spun way out of control. This happens in many countries as they develop, but unfortunately for China, it’s just so huge. The problem is huge.
that’s: Is the choice between economic development and sustainable development a false one?
JG: Yes, it should never be a choice. It’s not a case of either/or. It has to be hand-in-hand. If you have economic development outstripping the environment at the cost of the environment, then you’re destroying the future for everyone.
that’s: If you had had the chance to study wild animals in China instead of Africa, would you have taken it?
JG: Well, probably I would have been attracted, like so many people, to giant pandas. Or I might have gone and studied golden, or snub-nosed monkeys in the high mountain forests.
that’s: You received your doctorate without getting a Bachelors degree. Which is more important: hands-on studies or formal education?
JG: I did my whole one and a half year [of chimp] studies without a degree of any sort. I think hands-on education is really, really important, especially for children. At schools, if they learn by doing, it’s gonna stick. That’s why I think Roots & Shoots is so important. That’s why I’m so delighted at how fast [the organization] is growing.
that’s: Is the Chinese attitude toward hands-on education changing?
Continue reading ‘primal instincts: Jane Goodall on China’
September 16th, 2006 by JJW
one of the world’s most promising operatic artists returns to Shanghai in Handel’s Messiah
by Joshua Wickerham for that’s Shanghai, September 2006
Last year, Shanghai-born Ying Huang (known to Chinese fans as Huang Ying) performed the soprano solo in the Chinese mainland premiere of Felix Mendelssohn’s Elijah. In many ways, it was a landmark event in the history of Chinese exposure to Western music. Maestro John Nelson, conductor of L’ Ensemble Orchestral de Paris, led four soloists–Ying Huang, Warren Mok, Tian Haojiang and Liang Ning–and three choirs, in a performance that can only be described as deeply spiritual.
Though a large part of the audience was unfamiliar with choral music, the spirit of the sacred works did not require translation. Indeed, the experience was described by one member of the audience as “moving” another said she was “transported.” This year organizers from the Committee of 100 Cultural Institute hope to build on that success with Messiah, featuring Huang, and counter-tenor Larry Zazzo (the first counter-tenor to perform in China, and one that organizer Shirley Young says should be “a real treat”). The appearance of Zazzo and Huang will follow their debut this year at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York.
We spoke with Huang Ying in Rome, where she has been brushing up on her Italian after touring Japan, Germany, Canada and the US. She seemed intoxicated with the Italian spirit, rolling her Rs with great aplomb.
that’s: It seems you find Rome very agreeable.
Ying Huang: Very hot, wonderful. I’m learning Italian here, actually taking classes. For my work I need to understand the culture, not just the language. How’s Shanghai?
that’s: It’s hot here, too. And wonderful. Let’s talk about performing Elijah in Shanghai last year.
YH: Did you see it? Did you like the performance?
that’s: It was an amazing performance of spiritual music. I think it was a life changing event for many in the audience who had never heard or seen Western choral music performed live. What did it mean for you to bring such a famous work to your hometown for the first time?
YH: I accepted the engagement for a number of reasons. First, I was very happy to sing in Shanghai, my home. I always want to do more things for my country, for Chinese audiences. I was also excited to work with Maestro John Nelson, not only because he’s very famous, but because he’s an expert in this early music, especially choral music. It was a very precious opportunity; he is wonderful in every way, his musicianship, his humanity. Also, Elijah was a significant event in China. It lifted our culture and brought with it a higher standard for music interpretation.
that’s: Nelson has said that composers like Bach, Mozart, Handel and others put their souls into their choral works and operas. How does it feel to sing music that meant so much to these great composers?
YH: I have been studying more of the early music, like Handel and Mozart. I like the style of this music and want to perform it with authenticity. The four operas that suit me best are The Marriage of Figaro, The Magic Flute, Don Giovanni, and Cosi Fan Tutte. In the West, for the last ten years, I’ve sung these operas very often. I am trying to push the characteristics not only of the language and music, but of philosophy and culture as well. I like concentrating on Handel. His works fit my personality and spirituality. I’m happy to bring this music back to the Shanghai Opera House.
that’s: Have you sung any of these four operas in China?
YH: No, we’ve never really pinned down the dates. The good thing is that I am going to sing again in China very soon and hopefully do it more and more. Meanwhile, another good thing is that this year is the 250th anniversary of the birth of Mozart, so everyone is talking about him and listening to his music.
that’s: Are you excited about your debut at the Met?
Continue reading ‘IN CONVERSATION with Huang Ying and Joshua Wickerham’
February 2nd, 2006 by JJW
by Joshua Wickerham
[note: this is an article published in the February 2006 issue of that’s Shanghai]
Not long ago, I accompanied some of the volunteers who pay weekly visits to the city’s gay venues to distribute safe sex material. Our party included a gay policeman from Harbin and our guide, Wang Yutian, an outreach coordinator with the Hong Kong-based Chi Heng Foundation. On the way to the city’s only traditional gay dance hall, Wang spoke with the cab driver about homosexuals, or tongzhimen (comrades), as they are commonly referred to on the Chinese mainland.
“Do you know any gay men?”
“No.”
“We’re gay. Does that bother you?”
“I don’t really care.”
“Are you disgusted by the thought of two men having sex?”
“If I were disgusted by gay sex, I’d have to be disgusted by straight sex too.”
“Do you think it’s right for a gay man to marry a woman just to make his parents happy?”
“Probably not.”
For Wang, this sort of exchange is common. He often conducts informal surveys in an effort to gauge the public’s attitude toward gays. And, he hopes, teach them something in the process.
Wang’s organization is just one of many such groups in China that liaise with the international community, the Chinese government, various health organizations, and, of course, China’s gay population. Given that many people still harbor stereotypes and prejudice towards the gay community, Wang’s work, and that of others like him, is key to reaching a new understanding of and tolerance for gay issues. That said, his efforts are not always welcome.
As our cab pulls up to the club, our fellow passenger, the policeman, looks decidedly uneasy. Terrified, in fact. Nevertheless, he pulls himself together and turns to Wang as we approach the door.
“Could you please not do that again?”
“What?”
“You know what you did.”
Once inside, he takes a seat, still looking very uncomfortable. He refuses to talk to anyone and stares at the floor. Though he’s thousands of kilometers from home and virtually anonymous, he still appears frightened that someone will discover him at a club catering to homosexuals. Indeed, the very sight of several hundred gay men seems to petrify him.
His fear is not unfounded. Before leaving Chi Heng’s office, he spoke of the pressure he faces because of his sexual preference.
“I’m 25 right now. If I don’t get married by the time I’m thirty, I’m out of a job. Everyone on the force is married. It’s an unwritten rule, but that doesn’t make it any less powerful. Either I get married or I find a new job.”
The policeman’s concerns are far from unique. Dr. Tong Chuanliang, outgoing director of Shanghai Sexual Minorities Homoheart, a hotline operated by the China Welfare Institute, says that about ten per cent of callers ask about marriage. However, a further twelve per cent ask how they can “cure” their homosexuality. “We tell people it can’t be done,” says Tong. “Studies prove this. When considering marriage, we tell callers to be very careful.”
Which is not to imply that most callers are marriage obsessed. Indeed, a large number, 25 per cent, are simply seeking a sympathetic voice. “Callers often assumed until they came across our number that there was no one like them,” says Crystal Chin, former secretary-general at Homoheart, who recently left the organization after a management reshuffle.
Most gays in China are still reluctant to reveal their sexual preference to anyone but their closest friends. Fewer still tell their family or colleagues, and almost none has the courage to speak out against discrimination. After all, it was only in 2001 that the Chinese Psychiatric Association removed homosexuality from its list of mental illnesses. And until 1997, the Nationalist-era Anti-Hooliganism statute–stating that homosexuality was a crime subject to arrest–was still in force.
Hence the need for groups like Chi Heng, which has set up a program to educate the police about gay-specific crimes, such as discrimination and blackmail. Steven Gu, director of outreach for MSM (Men who have Sex with Men) at Chi Heng, hopes that once the program is completed later this year, gays will be able to access a group of gay-friendly police officers with whom they can consult about law enforcement issues.
Zhou Dan, a Shanghainese lawyer and self-described “activist scholar,” says there are still many legal challenges for gays in China. What’s more, he says most people overstate the significance of revoking the hooliganism law. Unlike the US Supreme Court case in 2003 that struck down Texas sodomy laws as unconstitutional, Zhou says Chinese lawmakers “never intentionally decriminalized homosexuality.”
Continue reading ‘coming out: Shanghai’s gay population struggles for acceptance’
