A reliable source confirmed my suspicion that about 1.3 billion Chinese comrades will not be able to access my blog, all thanks to the almighty Great Firewall of China.
(Update 7 Aug'05: Realized my reliable sources are not so reliable after all. The great people of China CAN access Blogspot. It's a miracle that none of them had left me @#%!#& comments yet. Or worse, no one actually reads my blog. Sob!)
This is no big loss to them really, since I do not expect anyone out of that staggering population to be remotely interested in what I have to say, firewall or not. Especially if you consider the fact that out of this figure, only slightly more than 7% has internet access, and of which only a small minority will understand enough English to keep them interested beyond the titles of my articles.
That is, unless I am 'misrepresenting' China, or discussing Japanese books (history textbooks in particular), or quoting (can I say President?) Chen Shui-bian. In other words, unless I am tired of living, which is not what I am about to attempt to be at this very sane moment.
Never mind that actually, I am just quite glad that I did not eventually choose to relocate to Shanghai, being the obsessive blogger that I have become. I imagine I would be devastated to learn of this only upon reaching the bund, and henceforce resort to numbing myself in bamboo steamers of dumplings. However, I will take a moment of silence to weep for all foreigners in China who have been bereft of the right to freedom in the kingdom of WWW. (Especially with you in mind, Ms. Yip. Leave the dumplings alone!)
So, despite living in a tiny island state which an ex-Chinese colleague once remarked as being too small and boring, and that she could not wait to be back in the great modern Shanghai, AND will thus never ever set her dainty foot on sorry reclaimed Singapore soil again, I am quite happy with the way it is here. At least I can come online freely and read about how other bored bloggers wasted their days.
And before you mistake me as being petty or even vengeful about her comment, I must add that I feel very glad for her. Indeed, now that she is back where she belongs, I am sure she is overjoyed and liberated running amok on the Mongolian plains or climbing one of the sacred mountains, where it is not SMALL nor BORING.
Darn, I forgot she can't read this. Wasted.
* Just a disclaimer that I am not targeting this at the entire PRC population. By good fortune, I've got to know many genuinely nice and appreciative Chinese new immigrants who worked hard for Singapore and have embraced the lion city as their second home. What I cannot accept is the attitude of some exceptions who have absolutely no social ettiquette nor respect at all for others' homeland, Singapore or not. Shame on you.
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1 comment:
oh my... i am gonna blahhhing again.. u know, i have got lots of PRC collegues too. They always commented that our reclaimed land is too boring, humid, hot and small. One even say that the food is horrible. As you say, I am happy for thise who has gone back but umm well too bad for those who still stay back to INFEST our island.
True, i am happy for your colleague and those colleagues of mine who has gone back to their BIG,INTERESTING,SESONAL ch-ina. Hey, not forgetting DIRTY..
Too bad, they can't read this.
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