When I Was Young

4th in a series of train mishaps:

1. DC train crash
2. China train crash (which never made it to most newspapers)
3. Italy train accident (with fuel explosions)
4. French train accident

Posted: 25 June 2009 1141 hrs

Mannequin dressed in sexy lingerie at the show window of an adult sex-toys shop in Beijing.

BEIJING: Shopping for a new negligee, Beijing resident Ha Li is looking for that is, as she puts it, "as easy to take off as to put on".

Filling such needs is getting easier for Chinese like Ha, 23, who browses an array of vibrators, bondage gear, and other assorted goods like "Go Deep Oral Sex Mints" in a new Beijing sex shop.

Stores selling sex paraphernalia seem to be on every block in many parts of Beijing, catering to what experts say is a swelling sexual revolution led by a growing middle class, particularly the younger generation.

"It is very attractive to younger people," said Ha, a repeat customer at the shop, Boutique De L'Amour - which like many sex shops hangs out a shingle calling itself an "adult health" store.

"These kinds of shops help to lead you to new things. They raise the consciousness of sex and keep up with changing needs. Being more open is a very positive thing," she said.

While prostitution has made a conspicuous comeback in China from the puritan days of radical communist rule, open personal expressions of sexuality remain modest compared to the West.

But the atmosphere has loosened after 30 years of exposure to the outside world, said Li Yinhe, a well-known commentator on sexual issues.

Despite government efforts to rein in Web porn, the sexual frontiers are being pushed by a more adventurous generation of mostly urban young people, she said.

"China's youth is at the forefront of this. Youths today have grown up in the Internet age and have been exposed to new things as never before, which has had a huge impact," Li said.

In a reflection of the changing attitudes, the Ministry of Education in December called for sex education to begin as early as primary school, amid fears about AIDS and unwanted pregnancies as more young people experiment with sex.

"Previously this sort of information was for high school students only, and teachers would pass over those pages in the textbook and leave them to read on their own," Xinhua news agency said in a recent report.

Beijing and Shanghai each have more than 2,000 sex-related shops, according to state media, catering to an increasingly discerning shoppers like Ha.

"In Beijing, good quality sex products have only begun to come out in the past year," said Ha, an aspiring painter.

"The demand is big and the consciousness of sex is steadily growing."

Yang Zi, 25, opened Boutique L'Amour last month to tap this market.

While the vast majority of Beijing's sex shops are tiny cramped collections of cheap and low-quality Chinese-made goods, Yang pushes the envelop both on price and raciness with her mostly imported products.

In the front window stands a mannequin in a leather bondage bikini. Nearby, a 5,000-yuan (730-dollar) harness used for upright intercourse hangs suspended from the ceiling with accompanying stirrups.

Other sex toys range in price from 200 yuan up to a princely 7,000 yuan.

Splattered red paint covers the floor like blood stains, while a loft upstairs features a bed on which sex paraphernalia is displayed.

China's new prosperity is allowing people to think more about sex, Yang said, quoting a Chinese adage that translates as "Only once you have enough to eat and warm clothes to wear can you satisfy sexual desires".

Most of her customers are women unfulfilled in bed, said Yang, who often fields follow-up calls by customers confused by what they bought.

"It doesn't matter which country you live in, every one needs it (sexual pleasure). It is an extension of life, the essence of living," said Yang, who perches on four-inch heels and sports a nose ring.

Yet, she said, deep-seated conservatism about sex endures in China.

It took some convincing to get city authorities to approve the Chinese name of her shop, Ao Tu - two characters which resemble the female and male sexual organs.

And Yang still hasn't found the courage to tell her parents back home in the northwestern province of Gansu about her business venture.

"They are very conservative and I don't want them to worry needlessly about me. They might think I have gone bad," she said.

- AFP/il

From ChannelNewsAsia.com; see the source article here.

I think this time, this old woman can really say, "When I Was Young"… when you were younger you can do so many things… and just like Susan Boyle, this old lady is wowing the judges and the audience…! You think you can do the same thing, achieve the same feat? Keep on trying!

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Time is GMT + 8 hours

Posted: 29-May-2009 14:25 hrs

Television watchers in Qingdao. A 79-year-old retiree in north China has wowed judges of a televised singing contest, state media said Friday, in an echo of Susan Boyle, a middle-aged woman in Britain who achieved stardom with her voice

A 79-year-old retiree in north China has wowed judges of a televised singing contest, state media said Friday, in an echo of Susan Boyle, a middle-aged woman in Britain who achieved stardom with her voice.

Wu Baiwei, the oldest contestant on "Happy Girl," the equivalent of Pop Idol in China, is now one of the top 50 contenders for an eagerly awaited televised final due in July, the official China Daily reported.

The retired teacher from Xi'an, the capital of Shaanxi province, was walking on the streets of the city when she saw a lot of girls signing up for a singing contest, the newspaper said.

"I asked them if an old woman like me could take part and they said 'yes'," she was quoted as saying.

She went to the first rounds of the competition on Monday, after having nervously figured out she had enrolled for one of the most famous talent shows in China.

In an echo of Boyle, a 48-year-old Scottish woman who became famous after appearing on a similar talent show called "Britain's Got Talent" and wowing judges, Wu impressed the programme's arbitrators and was sent to the next round.

A video clip on youku.com, a popular Chinese file-sharing website, shows her sitting down in front of the judges, and singing "On Songhua River," a famous patriotic Chinese song about the Japanese invasion in the 1930s. — AFP

From TODAYOnline.com, Top Stories – Friday, 29-May-2009; see the source article here.

Is this also indicative of the prevailing culture or predisposition in life? It seems that the ‘mobile phone’ is taking precedence over a lot of things... think so?

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MOBILE PHONE HABITS

SINGAPOREANS will take mobile phone calls almost anywhere, no matter how inappropriate or dicey the situation - such as when driving.

But at least, most stop short of agreeing it’s okay to propose over the phone, unlike their counterparts in China or India, revealed a Microsoft Windows Mobile poll.

Singaporean respondents would answer their phones in the middle of a wedding (35.2 per cent), a funeral (18.7 per cent), at places of worship (22 per cent), while driving (48.4 per cent), or even in the midst of a quarrel (16.5 per cent).

Most have taken calls during meals with others (93.4 per cent), while nearly two-thirds of some 100 respondents polled last month have yakked on the phone while in the loo.

Ms Chiam Ru Lin, 30, an auditor who carries her phone “wherever I go” because she feels “handicapped” without it, told Today: “Singaporeans are technology-driven, whether it’s for work or their personal lives.”

Still, there are some occasions when they would let their mobiles ring off the hook: The heat of passion being one of them (93 per cent). “Singaporeans have good bedside manners,” concluded the report’s authors.

And when it comes to marriage proposals, they would never use the phone to pop the “would you marry me” question. Almost nine in 10 feel it is unacceptable behaviour.

“The right guy would make the effort to make it special for me. It shouldn’t be like ordering take-out,” said Ms Zhou Shimei, 28, a corporate communications executive.

By contrast, some 50 per cent of those surveyed in China and India thought it was okay to propose on the phone.

Of course, there are those who would not pick up a call at a funeral or a film screening.

Ms Wee Mei Jin, 29, a corporate communications manager, said: “Some Singaporeans have no idea of what constitutes graciousness, and probably have no sense of respect for the environment they are in.”

Other findings

• 47.3% have flirted with someone other than their spouses or partners on the phone
• 45.1% have taken calls during business meetings
• 12.1% have broken up with their partners using SMS/MMS/IM
• 10% have shot a voyeuristic picture/video with their phones

From TODAY, News; Friday, 15-May-2009

Channel NewsAsia - Friday, May 15

3/4 of S’poreans won’t cut back on mobile phone usage during downturn: survey

SINGAPORE: Three quarters of Singaporeans said they will not cut back on their mobile phone use during the downturn. That’s because, going by a survey result, the mobile phone is quite an indispensable social tool.

Half of those surveyed in India and China will propose to their partner over the phone. But it’s a no—no for nine in 10 Singaporeans, according to a survey by Microsoft Windows Mobile.

However, when it comes to break—ups one in 10 thinks it’s okay to do it via phone messaging.

The survey also found that most people use their phones everywhere. 65 per cent of Singaporeans use it even when they’re in the toilet. Meanwhile, nine in 10 will answer calls when having a meal with someone.

But one instance where Singaporeans prefer not to be disturbed is in bed during intimate moments. 93 per cent will not take that call. That’s the highest across six Asian cities. For example, one in five Taiwanese will answer the phonecall.

One in 10 respondents has also shot a voyeuristic picture or video with their phones.

The survey also found that about half of all respondents used their phones to flirt with someone who is not their partner nor their spouse. That’s the highest percentage compared to similar surveys done in India, China, Japan, Taiwan, and Australia. —CNA/vm

From Yahoo! News; see the source article here.

WASHINGTON — Fears over China are hitting the image of Asian-Americans, as their loyalties come under suspicion despite steady improvements in perceptions of the community, a survey said.

The Committee of 100, a Chinese-American group, conducted a nationwide survey to look at changes since its major study in 2001 on attitudes toward Asian-Americans in the United States.

The survey found that more than two-thirds of the public believed immigration from Asia was good for the nation and far more people were willing to accept an Asian-American marrying into the family or as an official representing them in government.

After electing Mr Barack Obama as their first African-American leader, just 9 per cent of Americans were uncomfortable with the idea of an Asian-American president, well down from 23 per cent in 2001.

But 45 per cent of the general public believed Asian-Americans were more loyal to their nations of origin than the US — up from 37 per cent at the beginning of the decade.

Mr Frank Wu, a scholar who helped lead the study, said that those Americans with the most anxiety about China’s rapidly growing economy were also the most concerned about Asian-Americans.

“There is increasing acceptance of Asian-Americans as people who are equals with the right to take part in democracy and are no different from white or black Americans,” Mr Wu said. “But coupled to that, there is also a great sense among a significant part of the population that they are not quite ‘real’ Americans.”

The survey, administered by Harris Interactive, interviewed 1,427 adults in January.

Mr Wu said unlike some other groups, particularly African-Americans, stereotypes about Asian-Americans were largely positive — viewed as a “model minority” who are hardworking. “We’re lavished with praise on one hand but if you scratch a bit beneath the surface, then Asians are seen as not just hardworking but as unfair competition — they are sort of taking over,” he said.

Around 5 per cent of the US population claim ancestry from Asia. AFP

From TODAY, World – Thursday, 23-April-2009