Evidently our reports on earthquake relief efforts here in Chengdu are far too controversial to be seen by internet users in China. As of yesterday, Barking at the Sun is blocked in China.

Why did this happen? I have no idea. I don’t believe in self-censorship. It turns websites and newspapers into the giant gobs of shit that the censors hope they will become; that being said, however, I have hardly been a political rabble-rouser on this site and, in fact, barely even write about politics. So what it was that attracted the ire of the censors I’m not sure (it must have been a keyword filter, but what exactly am I writing about that isn’t being written about in much more colorful terms on any number of other unblocked China sites?).

I’m not sure what this means for the site. I’m not particularly interested in writing for audiences outside of China, and at present I don’t have the extra time or money to purchase a new domain name (or, rather, I’m not interested in purchasing a new address which could itself be randomly blocked).

In lieu of any actual means with which to influence the Net Nanny, I’ve written her a short letter, as follows:

Dear Net Nanny,

I really like China.

Plz unblock my site.

Thnx,
-K

We’ve been relatively quiet lately regarding earthquake-relief updates, partly due to other obligations but mostly due to the fact that efforts have been shifting from addressing immediate, life-or-death needs to assessing long-term relief plans.

Many foreign NGOs have arrived in Chengdu in the past few weeks, both from other cities within China as well as from outside the country, and many have been using the Bookworm as their base and/or have been in touch with Sichuan Quake Relief to coordinate with other NGOs who are setting up here.

This past week I’ve spoken with representatives from Hands On Chengdu, Hands On Disaster (two completely separate organizations despite the similar names), I Bought a Shelter, a doctor who has been working with various medical-relief teams, a freelance translator who has been working with Heart to Heart; as well as the Swiss Red Cross, and people working with Sichuan Quake Relief and associated projects, like ECOLOGIA’s Rainbow Project.

The Xiongmao Club (熊猫) has recently opened its doors for regular business. With a soft opening right before the May 12 earthquake, the club hasn’t had the best of luck in terms of timing, but with DJ events every weekend and the strength of its location—its neighbors include the ever-popular expat hangout Café Panam(e) and the soon-to-open Grandma’s Kitchen Kehua branch—business could very well pick up.

This past weekend had two events, both nights seeing modest turnouts. Given the generally lackluster post-5.12 nightlife scene in Chengdu, lower attendance isn’t surprising, and the space has potential to become a hot spot.

Xiongmao’s first floor features a lounge with sofas, big windows overlooking Kehua Beilu, and the main bar. Adjacent to this room is the party room, which co-owner and local DJ Geezer says will be open only on weekends and for special events, with a dance floor, DJ booth, and second bar.

Though I usually watch my soccer games at the Game Day Sports Bar (比赛日酒吧), its small amount of space, which makes it comfortable in winter, makes it hard to endure in the summer, especially when the place is busy. So, I’ve switched to the Leg and Whistle, which has a great selection of beers, great staff, and a very soccer/football-friendly environment . . .

. . . actually this is more just an excuse to sneak a post about the European Championships into a blog ostensibly about China. Here are a few quick thoughts:

1. Spain is glorious and David Villa is gloriousser. I don’t believe in curses. I think Spain can win it.

2. Though Holland is always one of my favorite teams, I don’t think they’re two wins fairly reflect the actual level of talent on the team–they’re good, but not that good. I see them going out in the semifinals to Portugal Spain.

3. Speaking of the Dutch, let’s hope they lose to Romania in their next game, ensuring that the Italy and France exit the tournament as fast as possible. Over-rated and seemingly confused by the conflict between their sense of historical entitlement and the reality of their play on the field, these are two teams that have certainly not demonstrated they deserve to be in the tournament. England plays prettier than either of these two.

4. Tonight’s game between the Czech Republic and Turkey should be phenomenal.

5. I want to see an all Iberian Peninsula final.

Update:

Let it be known that my oracular powers are significant (see #4 above and this link).

From the People’s Daily:

Quake-battered Sichuan Province reopened 13 cities and prefectures to tourists on Saturday in a move to revive its once-booming travel industry.

The cities are Zigong, Panzhihua, Luzhou, Suining, Neijiang, Leshan, Nanchong, Yibin, Guang’an, Dazhou, Meishan, Ziyang and Liangshan, according to the provincial tourism bureau.

“Among the world heritage sites, Dujiangyan-Qingcheng Mountain and the Wolong National Natural Reserve were just partly damaged. The Jiuzhaigou and Huanglong scenic spots, Ermei Mountain and the Leshan Giant Buddha suffered no damage in the earthquake,” said Zhang Gu, the bureau head.

Good news for Sichuan, but, as I noted in the title, all of these places are nowhere near the epicenter–they are by and large south and southwest of Chengdu (Luzhou is almost on the border with the Guizhou!).

Anonymouse.org, one the quickest and easiest ways to get around the Great Obnoxious Chinese Firewall/Net Nanny, doesn’t seem to be working for me in Chengdu. Has it finally been blocked?

Update:
Per reader NickD’s suggestion, here’s a link to my post on Tor, which should help anyone who usually depends on anonymouse to go to blocked […]

At Jottings from the Granite Studio, Jeremiah has put up an enlightening critique of a speech given by Professor Daniel A. Bell at the Beijing Bookworm.

Professor Bell’s other major cause, both last night and his essays, is to counter the assumption of Western liberal democracy as the only acceptable form of political modernity. I’m open-minded and I’m willing to go there, but it begs the question, after Churchill: What’s better? Professor Bell seems to imply that China is moving slowly in its own direction, and that eventually it will find a system suitable for the needs of the Chinese people. Again, I see nothing wrong with that except that Professor Bell had a hard time articulating what direction that might be. A revival of the Confucian tradition could well be a part of it, but it depends very much on which part of that tradition is being revived. The term ‘Confucianism’ in the modern period has meant and continues to mean many things to many people and this returns us to the crux of the problem.

“Patrons at a the south bridge in Dujiangyan”

From today’s Huaxi City Report (华西都市报）.

地震后，都江堰景区遭到破坏，所有景点全部停止对外开放。端午节小长假期间，都江堰部分农家乐和酒店开始恢复营业，已有少数游客前往，这预示着地震后的都江堰旅游市场开始复苏。谈到未来，酒店和农家乐经营者都充满信心。景区有关负责人透露，目前当地旅游市场已在进行开放的前期准备，景区修缮工作也在讨论规划中，预计对外开放还需要1—3个月时间。

After the earthquake the tourist areas around Dujiangyan were destroyed; all of its scenic locations were closed to the outside. But, during the short holiday for the Dragon Boat Festival, a small number of tourists went to Dujiangyan, where hotels and home based restaurants and teahouses have started to resume business, showing that this tourist city is starting to recover from the earthquake. When talking about the future, the owners of these businesses were all full of confidence. An official in charge of the region divulged yesterday that, at present, local tourist markets were already starting early preparations for re-opening, and local repair work were also already in planning discussions. It is estimated that the the region will be open for business in another 1-3 months.