Translations
I enjoy political satire and spontaneously translate cell phone messages, essays, and short stories that catch my interest. I also translate news reports that help contextualize events in Shenzhen. The lists below introduce the kinds of primary texts that have informed my understanding of Shenzhen, clicking translation in the tag cloud will bring up all translated texts.
Text Messages - This link brings up all the relevant posts; it’s bubble gum politics – enjoy!
The Specter of Modernized Death – information for purchasing a plot at the Jitianyuan Cemetery in Buji.
The Shekou Tempest – the newspaper article that publicized late 1980s Shenzhen debate about how free speech might be and its relationship to political goals.
History as Farce – a blog entry by Yang Hengjun (杨恒均) entitled “Ten Years of Cultural Revolution and Ten Years of the Internet: Where Do We Go From Here? (十年文革与十年互联网：我们向何处去？)”.
In the Name of Shenzhen Bay – Yang Qian’s call for more environmental awareness about the ecological effects of large scale land reclamation and urbanization.
The Zhongkao Cometh – a 2010 Shenzhen zhongkao crib sheet that provides a succinct introduction to the official version of the city’s history.
Over 350,000 Illegal Buildings in Shenzhen? – report on survey results by the Bureau of Landuse as part of the urban renovation movement.
If even the Japanese can become refugees, what should China’s mortgage slaves do? – Yang Qian’s reflections on what Shenzhen might learn from the Japanese nuclear meltdown.
特 A Manifesto Against Special Privileges – a leftist take on Shenzhen’s 30th anniversary.
The Fable of Donkey Island and Piggy Island – political satire on Sino-American relations.
The Real Reason Behind the Proliferation of Shaxian Snack Bars – political satire on a popular food chain as a national spy network.
Cui Bono? State Power, Urban Village Rights, and the Vanishing of Affordable Housing – an open letter to holdouts in the Dachong Village land expropriation, raising questions of eminent domain and compensation.
