British-born Chinese Blog

Our very own meme

2012-01-26T11:23:00.003Z

You've all seen them; those silly, attention-grabbing images with captions that get spread around via email and social networks. Users add their own captions but the image always stays the same. If the image becomes popular and is repeated enough times it becomes a meme.You may not have seen this one - 'High Expectations Asian Father' but I think some of them are pretty hilarious.There isn't

Gung Hei Fat Choi!

2012-01-23T11:38:00.001Z

Happy New Year to all b.b.c. blog readers! Best wishes for the coming Year of the Dragon!

Tempers flare are Mainland Chinese antagonism grows

2012-01-20T12:00:00.003Z

This is reportedly a viral video from Hong Kong that shows an argument on an MTR train between local Hong Kongers and a Mainland Chinese woman who's daughter was allegedly eating soup noodles in her seat and causing a mess.The argument and the responses to the video illustrate the sentiment felt by local Hong Kong that their infrastructure - and indeed their culture - is being placed under strain

Jeremy Clarkson apparently on a mission to get fired

2012-01-11T10:52:00.007Z

Not likely to endear him to Top Gear's many Chinese viewers but Mr. Jeremy Clarkson's latest bon mot is to compare synchronised swimmers to the Chinese cocklepickers who died on Morcambe Bay in 2004. As reported by the Telegraph:Clarkson mocked the sport of synchronised swimming as "Chinese women in hats, upside down, in a bit of water", adding: "You can see that sort of thing on Morecambe

Happy 2012!

2012-01-10T15:34:00.004Z

Photo: Miss O'Kistic Apologies for the lack of posts recently. Hope to resume normal service now the festive period has passed :)Happy New Year to all b.b.c. blog readers, and see you soon for more topical posting this new year. Now... bring on Chinese New Year!

China's 'black jails' (disturbing)

2011-11-08T09:51:00.002Z

A rather scary report from Al-Jazeera.Can places like this really exist to deal with ordinary people who, for example, want to report corrupt officials?

China's Got Talent to hold UK auditions

2011-09-20T19:32:00.001+01:00

Calling all karaoke stars, musicians and performers...This could be interesting. A lot of UK talent shows already feature Chinese or Asian auditionees - often, it has to be said for comedy value (see Goldie Cheung)But now, a show that was conceived in the UK and was then exported to China is now coming back to the UK to search for British contestants to compete in China!According to Shanghaiist:

The Lowdown on the HK$6000 payout

2011-09-09T11:16:00.001+01:00

Word has probably reached you by now that the Hong Kong government is offering all its permanent citizens a one-off payment of HK$6000 over the next couple of years.Similar to but not the same as the US 'stimulus check', the move has been prompted by pressure from Hong Kong citizens who are becoming increasingly frustrated at the rising costs of living on the SAR, especially for housing.An

Chinese Novels: 20 Classics

2011-09-01T15:54:00.003+01:00

If, like me, you are a little in the dark about classic Chinese literature, you might appreciate this link sent to me by bachelorsdegreeonline - a list of 20 renowned Chinese novels. 'Water Margin' and 'Lust, Caution' are perhaps titles you will be familiar with but there are a host of other interesting ones to learn about. Check out the page here.

Lawrence Leung is performing in London!

2011-08-04T13:57:00.004+01:00

Regular readers will have caught a glimpse of Larence Leung in this earlier post.Well, it just so happens that the composer of the ultimate b.b.c anthem is in London doing a series of stand-up comedy performances. Lawrence is at the Soho Theatre until August 13th, and by all accounts puts on a fairly enjoyable show.Details: Soho Theatre

Yes, we invented hipsters too

2011-07-26T15:20:00.003+01:00

Now we know where those trendy people in Hoxton and Manhattan get their fashion ideas from. Trust me, next year's must have accessory will be a red-blue-white plastic sack.Link: Accidental Chinese Hipsters

The kindness of strangers in Hong Kong

2011-07-20T12:29:00.003+01:00

This is not the usual kind of video you get from Apple news. Apparently three girls in Hong Kong have since last Christmas been voluntarily distributing 'tong sui' (sweet soup) to elderly people in the street, as well as stopping for a chat with them. As one of the girls points out, they do this not just to feed the elderly people they encounter but also to provide a listening ear.A random act of

"How can you call them noodles?!!"

2011-06-24T18:20:00.000+01:00

More melodrama from the world of TVB miniseries. Only, if one of the highlights of the show is someone saying "The noodles made from this flour... How can you call them noodles?!!" then I'm not sure how captivating the drama is going to be. The last shot seems to sum it all up! :)PS I know nothing about this show, just saw the trailer.

Do you know a rebellious, b.b.c. teen?

2011-06-24T08:46:00.000+01:00

Readers, do you know any misbehaved, spoilt or downright out of control British Chinese teenagers? Are their parents at a loss as to how to get through to them or change their behaviour? Perhaps you are one of these unruly teens yourself?The BBC is looking for more participants for its successful reality show The World's Strictest Parents and would are inviting applications from the UK Chinese

Is Susan Ma the feistiest and smartest candidate of The Apprentice 2011?

2011-06-15T11:16:00.006+01:00

She's certainly the youngest and unfortunately she may also the be most naive, and the least adept at defending herself in an argument. So what will become of the Shanghai-born, British based entrepreneur currently battling it out for a business partnership with Lord Alan Sugar?If you've been following this year's 'The Apprentice', you can't have failed to notice Susan Ma, who has emerged as one

'Why Can't I Be More Chinese' by Lawrence Leung

2011-05-05T10:18:00.000+01:00

Ladies and gentlemen, I think we have found the b.b.c anthem. I'd like to present for your viewing pleasure Australian comedian Lawrence Leung with... well, just watch it. It's very funny!

Silver Vauxhall Corsa sought in connection with Northampton deaths

2011-05-03T11:20:00.004+01:00

Police are searching for a rented Silver Vauxhall Corsa in connection with the apparent murder of a Chinese family in Northampton, in the East Midlands.UPDATE: The main suspect has been named as Anxiang Du (above). Press are reporting that Du recently lost a court case against the Dings to do with their joint herbal remedy business. Did a money dispute lead to these tragic deaths?A mother, father

Is this a sad sight?

2011-04-18T23:03:00.004+01:00

Walk to the centre of London's historic Chinatown and what will you find? Perhaps a museum charting the history of Chinese immigrants in the UK? A cultural centre celebrating the richness and diversity of Chinese art and society? Well, not quite. How about a giant betting shop?To be fair you will also find many great restaurants, community centres and lots of Chinese-run businesses and services.

Baby milk formula shortages hit Hong Kong

2011-04-14T09:30:00.005+01:00

Not nice for any parent... Incidents of toxic milk and rising prices in China have prompted many mainland Chinese to bulk buy baby formula in Hong Kong, creating territory-wide shortages.It's not happening quietly either - there have been reports of mainlanders working in teams to jump queues in order to clear stocks, leaving local parents struggling to find supplies of milk formula for their

Modern China, old fashioned disappearance

2011-04-06T10:10:00.003+01:00

The whereabouts of artist Ai Wei Wei is still unknown after he was taken into custody by Chinese authorities as part of a major crackdown on dissent in China. Some have described as a return to the 'bad old days'.The following is the timeline of his disappearance as reported by Western media.October 11th 2010November 8th 2010March 7th 2011April 3rd 2011April 4th 2011April 5th 2011Photo: The

How to make a Chinese style paper boat

2011-04-01T13:45:00.001+01:00

This brought back some childhood memories....

'My Wedding and Other Secrets' - a NZBC movie

2011-03-29T17:00:00.004+01:00

This makes me smile. A long time ago, over three years ago in fact, I published a post on this blog called 'Banana in a Nutshell' - Can Chinese parents still love you if they do things that upset you? .It was inspired by a short documentary film I saw that told the story of a young new Zealand Chinese girl who wanted her parents to accept her Caucasian boyfriend.It was a touching, well-made

Takeaway chefs from HK/China excluded in new immigration quotas

2011-03-19T08:16:00.001Z

As part of our coalition government's promise to 'clamp down' on non-European Union immigration, the Home Office has announced new restrictions on the number and types of people who can migrate to the UK from outside the EU to work.The new rules mean that, for example, someone from China or Hong Kong who wants to come to the UK to work as a chef in a takeaway will no longer be allowed to do

Massive disasters... and small gestures

2011-03-15T15:37:00.002Z

A colossal natural disaster has struck Japan and as the world looks on and rallies around to help the stricken nation, the relationship between neighbours Japan and China is put in the spotlight.When there has been strong animosity between two nations for many years, what happens when one of them is subject to a devastating natural event that causes loss of life on a huge, almost unimaginable

'Dancing with Shackles On': A short film about the internet, China and freedom

2011-03-07T10:49:00.004Z

Interesting viewing...Dancing with shackles on from Janek Zdzarski on Vimeo.via Danwei.org

In China you can 'rent' a white guy for business meetings

2011-02-26T08:50:00.000Z

Photo: BBCIt sounds ridiculous and yet it also makes perfect sense when you acknowledge the business mindset in China.These hired white guys are used for photocalls and to be present at meetings and corporate events to give the impression that the company is important and has connections to the West. Says one hired employee:For the next few days, we sat in the office swatting flies and reading

Is Gordon Ramsey a hypocrite to criticize the use of shark fin?

2011-02-24T14:23:00.002Z

Renowned chef Gordon Ramsay recently made a TV documentary exposing the practices behind the procuring of shark fins for sale in Asia where, as we all know, it is eaten as a delicacy.The footage shown in the documentary was harrowing (sharks having fins cut off whilst alive and being thrown back into the sea) and it showed that there does appear to be a murky, ungoverned black market in shark

Gung Hei Fat Choi!

2011-02-03T14:12:00.001Z

Gung Hei Fat Choi! Wishing peace and prosperity to all bbc blog readers! Let's welcome in the Year of the Rabbit!Photoset: The Guardian

Gemma Chan, rising b.b.c actress

2011-01-26T15:30:00.015Z

I must have seen the advert below a dozen times yet never realised the actress is a b.b.c.The lady in question is 28 year-old Gemma Chan. She first came to public attention by reaching the final 3 in the UK version of modelling reality show Project Runway and now it seems her profile is on the rise. As well as that Bing commercial, Chan has had roles in Dr Who, The IT Crowd, Sherlock and Secret

Shenzhen becoming more expensive than Hong Kong

2011-01-24T10:48:00.000Z

Not long ago, traveling to Shenzhen was a popular excursion for Hong Kongers wanting cheap deals on goods and services. The region became a synonymous with 'bargain' and some Hong Kongers even relocated there to take advantage of lower property prices and living costs.But now inflation on the mainland plus the rising value of the yuan against the Hong Kong dollar mean prices are now often lower

A complete guide to sushi etiquette

2011-01-21T17:43:00.006Z

I'm sure that like me, many readers enjoy eating sushi. But are you aware of the many customs and rules that go along with this cuisine? Exactly how much soy sauce should you use? Precisely how much wasabi? What should you say (and not say) to the chef when ordering?Watch this helpful short film to find out the answers to these and many other questions.PS This film may not be entirely serious ;)

Did you catch the BBC children's programme based around Chinese/Asian characters?

2011-01-20T11:32:00.013Z

Well, this is very rare indeed! 'Spirit Warriors' is an action-based drama for children that aired last year on the CBBC (Children's BBC) channel. It draws on Chinese legends and mythology and features a mainly East Asian cast.I think it's really good for young bbc kids to be able to watch TV and see Chinese/East Asian faces in such prominent roles (as opposed to bit parts). Check out the brief

Bad Food in Hong Kong? Is it possible?

2010-12-20T19:55:00.003Z

Well, of course it is. But I'm so used to reading about/experiencing great HK food that it's sometimes a shock to hear a negative opinion.This comes from the witty blogger extraordinaire, film-maker and perhaps the best Scandinavian Cantonese teacher in the world, China Droll aka Cecilie.What I thought was prawn spring rolls turned out to be a kind of deep fried dough with one prawn, a piece of

Unhappy China forces Nobel boycott and launches own 'Peace Prize'

2010-12-08T14:39:00.000Z

In an unusually overt and high-profile move, China has made its displeasure with the Nobel Foundation well and truly known by setting up its own rival 'Peace Prize'. The Confucius Peace Prize is to be awarded one day before writer and human rights activist Liu Xiaobo is honoured as the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize winner.Liu has been imprisoned by the Chinese authorities since December 2009 for

This guy would totally show me up at karaoke

2010-11-30T18:09:00.004Z

No doubt about it...Check out Frankie's Youtube channel here!

Wanted: Chinese males for advertising campaign!

2010-11-19T12:45:00.001Z

UPDATE:Dear readers,Do you know any Chinese males aged around 35-70?If you do, London-based The Eye casting agency may be interested in using them for a major forthcoming print and poster campaign. The campaign requires Chinese males aged between 35-70 who would be available for a photo shoot in London during the week starting November 29th. Successful applicants will be paid up to £1000!Please

Mission Implausible: Asian Man uses movie-style disguise to board plane

2010-11-05T16:57:00.000Z

A man, likely to be a Hong Kong or Chinese national, has been caught going to extraordinary lengths to disguise himself for a flight from Hong Kong to Vancouver. However, no-one is quite sure what his plan was or how he achieved his professional-looking disguise.The details being reported are sketchy. Apparently, the Asian man boarded the plane using a swapped boarding pass. This implies that he

New HK movie 'Dream Home'

2010-10-28T11:40:00.002+01:00

This looks interesting and kind of different to the usual Hong Kong movie. Stars Josie Ho and Eason Chan:

Side by Side

2010-10-07T18:44:00.000+01:00

Being a BBC is a bit like inhabiting two worlds: The Western, British world and the Chinese world. This can be taken literally if you have spent a lot of time in both the UK and Hong Kong. So I wondered if it would be interesting to pair up some familiar, everyday things from both worlds and show them side by side - a sort of pictorial description of the world through BBC eyes.This isn't meant to

Introducing bbc-Youtubers, MissYau and bubbiosity!

2010-10-01T20:15:00.004+01:00

Asian American youtubers have already gained a degree of fame and notoriety (see thewinekone and Peter Chao)So it's great to see some bbcs getting in on the act with their own distinctive Youtube channels - and very good they are too. Check out the sample vid from MissYau (aka Garbo from Swansea) below and go to her Youtube channel here.Keep it up MissYau! Respect! :)And from Northern Ireland we

Communism has never been so funky

2010-09-15T20:10:00.000+01:00

Courtesy of Youtube...

Strange, old song, 'Chinatown, My Chinatown'

2010-09-10T13:02:00.004+01:00

You might have heard this odd little song on the video game 'Mafia'. It actually dates from 1910 and is a jazz interpretation of the 'exotic Orient' done by the popular songwriters of the day William Jerome and Jean Schwartz. It ends with the immortal lyrics.. "wing, wong". Erm, yes, classic.Related: Wikipedia

Hong Kong tourists caught up in Manila hostage incident

2010-08-23T16:43:00.006+01:00

Truly awful news; A tour group including 22 Hong Kong citizens was caught up in an hostage drama in Manila. Tragically 7 people have been confirmed dead in the ensuing shoot-out. No information as yet on whether the Hong Kong tourists were amongst the casualties.Story: Evening StandardUPDATE: Video of the incident shows what must be one of the most incompetent police operations of recent times.

Miniature Hong Kong

2010-08-12T09:29:00.002+01:00

Found this nice video online that shows typical views of Hong Kong but with a special camera effect that makes everything looks like it's a miniature toy set. Have a look:Little Big City - Hong Kong Tilt Shift from Fershad Irani on Vimeo.

Large protests over attempt to 'push aside' Cantonese

2010-08-09T17:40:00.007+01:00

Photos: China DrollThere have been reports that thousands of people in the Cantonese-speaking southern Chinese city of Guangzhou staged a peaceful protest when the government announced it would switch most local television programming to Mandarin, the official national language of China.Beijing has promoted Mandarin for decades to unite a nation with thousands of dialects and numerous minority

Does your family have an interesting story to tell?

2010-08-03T22:11:00.002+01:00

Can you help, or know anyone who can?The BBC is making a 60-minute documentary about family life, to broadcast early next year as part of BBC Two's prestigious Wonderland strand. The film will feature families going on car trips in the UK this summer. You could be going on your holiday, or for a weekend break - to visit friends or family, or even just for a day-trip. We'd film you on your journey

Have you spotted any 'Frozen in Time' places?

2010-08-02T22:49:00.000+01:00

A request to bbc blog readers: Have you noticed any 'Frozen in Time' Chinese restaurants or takeaways where you are? If so, please take a pic and send it in! I'd love to add to the ones already posted.'Frozen in Time' is a bbc blog celebration of Chinese establishments that have stood the test of time and kept their original look in an age of constant revamping and updating.Click here to see what

Big Spenders from the Mainland - two sides of a story

2010-07-26T12:29:00.003+01:00

Just as the UK's Daily Telegraph publishes a wide-eyed article about the extravagant shopping habits of China's newly wealthy tourists, there comes a viral video from Hong Kong that shows a tour guide berating her party of Mainland guests for not spending 'enough' during their visit to the SAR.The Telegraph article - which to be honest could have been written any time in the last 5 years - paints

Profile of a Walled City

2010-07-05T13:31:00.004+01:00

Imagine a city with 30 times the population density of Manhattan. Imagine it was a lawless den of vice in which drugs, prostitutes and illegal gambling were all available. Imagine it sat directly under the landing path of one of the world's busiest airports. That's Kowloon's walled city, as profiled by a number of websites listed over at oobject.com...with no streets and little daylight, it was a

The hidden Tiananmen commemorations

2010-06-06T11:05:00.007+01:00

Photos: CND.org21 years after the massacre in Tiananmen Square, the issue is still too politically sensitive to be commemorated in China. But on the internet, discussion about what is obliquely referred to as 'May 35th' can still take place and ensures the events of June 4th 1989 will never be forgotten.Twenty-one years have passed, how much longer must we keep commemorating this in a virtual

Two Chinese men and 'suspicious liquid' spark air alert

2010-05-21T19:08:00.005+01:00

Here's an intriguing little story. A US-bound Delta Air Lines flight turned back to Japan after two Chinese passengers locked themselves in a toilet with what authorities said was a container of suspicious liquid.The pilot of the Boeing 747-400 with 407 passengers and crew bound for Minneapolis turned around three hours into the flight from Tokyo after the two men refused to leave the toilet.The

Use a rice cooker to make bread!

2010-05-17T12:47:00.004+01:00

Yes, it's true! I saw it on the internet!Apparently if you own a modern rice cooker i.e. one with a timer function, not the old fashioned ones that that just have an On/Keep Warm button, you can actually 'hack' it to turn it into a breadmaker. And if people's comments are to be believed, the results aren't even that bad. Get the lowdown from The Lazy Chef.