Month: February 2022

Today’s Chinese sword-fighting shows have all lost the human touch, replacing real action by hardworking, dedicated and risk-taking actors with special effects and CGI. This video is an excellent example of what Chinese sword-fighting shows ought to be like. These HK actors of the 1970s and 1980s were not martial arts experts, but they trained hard and they performed well. Even the late Kwan Hoi-san (关海山) did not use age as an excuse.

Taiwanese political satire exposing the hypocrisy of politicians. No one on either side is spared. So funny and sarcastic.

Actually, for those who have not been following the case, Matt and Winston’s presentation here is a bit disorganised. There are much better reports out there.

I share this because 1) they have picked up a leaked official document and 2) to show that people who label the “Western media” as the enemy of China as a whole are simplistic and even ignorant. The village has now been sealed, all discussion on this case has been banned and all those who have visited the woman out of curiosity or compassion are now under surveillance. What next? Can 铁链女 be trained to tell the “other Western media” that there is no trafficking, no abuse, she is 小花梅 from Yunnan, not 李莹 from Sichuan and it’s all a misunderstanding?

These two 中国女婿 in America are now speaking out on behalf of enraged Chinese netizens who have lost their voices. For more on sex slavery and human trafficking in China, check out Miss Park Yeon Mi’s book.

Below is my review of Miss Lee Hyeon Seo’s book.

Nowadays, it all shallow special effects that don’t even make sense. Let this video take us back to the days when swordfighting shows had engaging, plausible plots, full of humour, mystery, intrigue and human nature.

This is the modus operandi:

Local officials have a very simple way to boost the economy – land development. For decades since China opened up, it has been the low-hanging fruit that was almost guaranteed to make money. Then, they milked the surefire formula to death. Greed took over and all hell broke loose.

Local officials colluded with developers and contractors to build shopping malls and luxury residences without proper planning and market evaluation. They just built and they built and they built. Government controlled banks are directed to give the developers massive practically unsecured loans. Buyers of the properties are likewise granted mortgages regardless of creditworthiness. Debts rolled into profits. Profits rolled into debts. Many were laughing their way to the secretly insolvent banks.

Some crooked developers even set up different companies to sell the same uncompleted property twice with the full knowledge of conniving local authorities. Thus, the illusion of massive wealth and Once the money is collected, the developers and local officials (who have children studying in the US) flee. Actually, the US bill blocking CCP members from buying property in the US will indirectly help fight corruption.

But it’s not everyone who enjoys “real” fighting shows these days. Just like fake Instagrammers who act like they are real explorers and adventurers when they are actually queuing up for a photo op at some iconic site before going back for a dip in the hotel jacuzzi. But make no mistake, these folks have millions of fans. Like people who eat their fries dripping with chilli sauce, many audiences today lap up scene after scene replete with special effects.

So what if it’s all laughably unreal? People don’t seem to mind and the filmmakers might as well get their actors from Instagram.

Next up, fake horses and non-riders. Like martial arts, horse-riding is a skill that has to be learned and the actors nowadays don’t see the need to master this skill because audiences don’t appreciate such efforts anymore.

This video pretty much sums up the attitudes of some of the “traitors” being called out by the “patriots”. The latter often doesn’t distinguish between country and government. Sometimes, they don’t even distinguish between being Chinese national and being ethnic Chinese.

One of the biggest reasons for the positive image of this regime is its grand presentation that hides the ugly substance. Even if only the minority are wronged, it still runs into the millions. Rocky is unfortunately one of them and the “beauty” of it is, the majority don’t care.

Rocky speaks from the POV of the downtrodden folks in the countryside. But let’s not be naive. While it’s a fact that they are being bullied by the authoritarian government, the country folks are not angels either. Just take a look at Xiao Cui’s video below.

The Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) product Lianhua Qingwen 莲花清瘟 capsules, is readily available in Singapore. While listed as Chinese proprietary medicine in Singapore for the relief of cold and flu symptoms, it should be noted that the product has not been approved by the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) to treat Covid-19.

There have been many claims circulating on social media and in Telegram chat groups that the product can protect against Covid-19. These claims are not supported by evidence. There are also articles published on news media in China claiming that the HSA has approved the use of the product for treating Covid. In late 2021, HSA reiterated that these claims are unsupported by reliable independent studies. Let’s take a closer look at some of the studies purported to support the claims.

In January 2021, a pharmacological study jointly conducted by Xiamen University School of Pharmacy and Naval Military Medical University performed investigations into the mechanism of action of Lianhua Qingwen Capsules. However, some studies have pointed out that the efficacy of Lianhua Qingwen is still in doubt.

Further studies were conducted in Macau, Yunnan and Sanya (Hainan). However, sample sizes were curiously small and there were no independent observers present. In the research paper led by the renowned Chinese medical expert Dr Zhong Nanshan, Dr Zhong did not declare his vested interests and his relationship with Yiling Pharmaceutical Company. It is understood that in September 2019, Wu Yiling, founder of Yiling Pharmaceutical and Dr Zhong Nanshan jointly established the “Nanshan-Yiling Respiratory System Joint Research Centre” in Guangzhou.

Dr Zhong Nanshan told the media: “After looking at these studies, I have the confidence and evidence to say that Lianhua Qingwen is really effective (against Covid).”

Dr Zhong specifically mentioned that it has been confirmed through experiments that Lianhua Qingwen promotes repair on cell damage and inflammation caused by the virus.

Sales for the product and stocks in the company soared immediately after Dr Zhong made his statement.

Singapore HSA approves the use of the product to treat cold and flu symptoms but does not support any of the claims that the product can be used to treat or prevent Covid-19. You can read HSA’s statement here. This is in response to misleading articles on Chinese media like this one.

莲花清瘟胶囊 purportedly contains 13 herbs. However, an independent Swedish lab analysed the product and found that the only constituent that is present in significant quantity is peppermint. You may be better off drinking mint tea.

In this episode, Xiao Cui talks about her days working in a bank in China and how some of the most piteous victims can turn around and bite the hand that reaches out to them.