yet again....

Good thing I was there BEFORE this....

The Olympic Torch comes through Hong Kong May 2nd. I'm debating if I want to go out and see it :-)

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (CNN) -- Hundreds of flag-waving Chinese students gathered at the starting and ending points of the Olympic torch relay in Kuala Lumpur Monday, far outnumbering the handful of people who carried pro-Tibet signs.

Malaysia Olympic Council President Imran Jaafar kicks off the Malaysian leg of the torch relay.

Heavy security was in place to protect the 80 runners carrying the Olympic torch along a 10-mile (16 km) route through the Malaysian capital, ending at the Petronas Twin Towers.

About 500 Chinese students attended the relay, carrying pro-China signs and heckling the few people taking a pro-Tibet stand.

The Chinese students wore identical shirts with the slogan "One Dream, One Nation," and many of them had Chinese flags painted on their faces, according to witnesses.

An Olympics organizer said the Chinese Embassy arranged for the students to be there. Several of the students told CNN that the Chinese government provided their transportation to the event and gave them the flags and shirts.

Witnesses said the Chinese students overwhelmed a woman wearing a "Free Tibet" shirt and holding a pro-Tibet sign, hitting her with small Chinese flags before she was carried away unhurt by a photographer.

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"As soon as spectators saw what she was doing, they immediately mobbed her, hitting her with flags," said Brad Kesler, an American tourist who was there to watch the start of the relay.

Kesler said the woman was holding the sign and not yelling.

At least two other people carrying pro-Tibet signs were carried away by police. It was not clear if they were detained because of a disruption or if they were removed for their own safety.

About 1,500 people attended the relay's start in Independence Square, according to witness estimates. Few of them appeared to be local residents -- a member of the Malaysian Olympics council explained it was a work day. Watch the torch arrive in Malaysia »

Malaysian actress Marina Mahathir, one of the 80 torchbearers, said she was "very excited and very proud to be carrying the torch." She said she did not expect any of the violence that disrupted the relay in several other cities.

Earlier torch relay stops in London, England; Paris, France; and San Francisco, California attracted tens of thousands of demonstrators. Some protesters in those cities tried to disrupt the relay, and police made dozens of arrests.

The flame will arrive in Jakarta, Indonesia late Monday for a torch relay there on Tuesday.

Formulate your own opinions....

Sent to me by a mainland student:





Nationalistic? Immature?

or perhaps....

Compelling?

What do you think?

Politicizing the Olympics?

All randomness and frivolity aside...

Today I found myself in the midst of a heated conversation between local students about the recent international protests against China concerning Tibet. I often read CNN and New York Times to try to keep up with foreign media news outlets. I even try to read South China Morning Post to see what's happening in China and locally in Hong Kong. Having lived in the United States, I often read about international affairs from the States' point of view; but now that I am living in Hong Kong, it's an interesting perspective to view from China's point of view.

I asked my HK friend if he thought foreign media was politicizing the Olympics and what he thought the media's effect on the Tibet and China issue was among foreigners, to which he replied:

• "No the media did not say anything intending to politicize the games. But the effect makes foreigners to politicize it"
• The media's effect --> "bias: they just kept reporting how angry Tibetans were. But on the opposite side of the street, there were actually a large group of Chinese supporting China and performing the Dragon Dance"
• Chinese government has actually not been all that bad for Tibet; for example, the government helps build and rebuild its infrastructure
  

Perhaps it is nationalism that drives this point of view. But what I find most interesting is that most students here (at least those who are not apathetic to politics) hold moderate views, not from one extreme or the other. Here is a friend of mine, Jesse Davis, who sums it up quite nicely:

Chinese voices of moderation on Tibet

Conversation bounced around the table, a mix of Mandrin, Cantonese and English at Jashan, an Indian restaurant on Hong Kong Island in SoHo.

Over rounds of mango lassi, a yogurt drink with mango juice, the Chinese mainland students all around me were speaking excitedly in Chinese.

I watched their faces trying to figure out what they were talking about. Then one of the students turned to me and asked,

"Have you heard about the 'heart' China name changes on MSN?"

***Read more at http://reportingfromasia.blogspot.com/

Randomness

I actually just realized that I never put up pictures of local HK friends :-) Here are a few taken today by Keisha!! I <3>

They're on Central Campus at CUHK. pretty campus don't you think?

Random pictures ^^

the normal one ><

playing with my webcam.... LoL

in the girls bathroom - night out with the ladies :-)

PS.....

congrats to my sister for her engagement :-) The ring is gorgeous! 

places seen and to be seen

I do not believe that I put up pictures of Malaysia or Singapore! I think during that time, I was too tired to even bother. I won't reiterate how fun Kuala Lumpur and Singapore were - I'll just emphasize how much I'd love to go back again :-) 

Hindu Temple in Chinatown in Kuala Lumpur. There are Chinatown's everywhere....

Vishnu! Batu Caves in Malaysia. only a 45min bus ride! 

Mercado Square in KL. Everything is basically within walking distance. But taxi fares can be negotiated and is rather cheap!

Wild monkeys at Batu Caves. When I started digging in my bag to look for my camera, they automatically thought I was giving them food...

Patronas Towers (Twin Towers) in KL. supposedly the tallest until the one in Taipei, Taiwan was built!

Children fascinated by the cat in a Buddhist temple in Tai O (Hong Kong)

Went to the Big Buddha again just to see one of Buddha's relics (it's inside the statue - the Big Buddha is actually hollow!)

The theatre looks like durians! (fruit that smell really really bad....and they don't taste all the great either)

Indian Bazaar in KL (Nasjik India)

Farewell party hosted by OAL (Office of Academic Links/International Asian Studies Programme)

Aww so snazzzy

Jamie's fork is in the way!! I dont' remember what this was....

On the cable car up to Big Buddha - newly built but highly unreliable...Good thing we didn't crash!

My cantonese classmates :-)

Lulu - so cute! she's chinese, lives in japan, and knows how to speak putunghua

Mr. model Colin Chow - he's one of the advisors that works in OAL. super funny and nice to talk to!

Jamie and Minsi. so pretty :-)

The girls at lucky number 18.

so itchy!!!!!!

16 mosquito bites and counting.....

they are vicious little creatures here. they may be small, but they sure cling on to you!
ugh. i feel like i have the chicken pox...and I keep forgetting to buy Tiger Balm and Mopeko.

make it stop!!!!

Gā wai hohksāang, gāmyaht ngóh tàih muhk haih ngóh....

Today I finished my presentation in Cantonese! YAY! 10 minutes is a long time to be talking about my life in the States. But I give special thanks to DAN for recording Peanut's tricks :-)

Not much to say but....

Tomorrow is the farewell dinner for International Students. SO SAD. I can't believe that my semester here is almost over!

Perhaps I will extend my visa and stay longer ^^ hehe

The world as it is.

It's quite sad that everything that happens in the world can be tied to political advancement.  The Olympics is a sporting event, where athletes can represent their own nationality with pride.  But, as always, human nature has turned it into a political issue.  The Olympics have been stripped away of the very essence of sportsmanship and national pride - it is now, and perhaps has always been, a mere tool and scapegoat for international pressure.

I'm really just procrastinating.  I actually do have tons to do. Honestly.  On Wednesday, I have a Genetics Presentation on DNA Sequencing.  We get marked (ie: graded) by graduate and post-graduate researchers who work/do research at CU.  It can be quite nerve-racking since we are expected to know the ins and outs of our topic, and be able to present it professionally and at a graduate level.  This class is supposed to be a Freshman class...yet, we are supposed to be able to present graduate level work?  Doesn't make sense to me.  But I feel that I have an advantage in that I am fluent in English, whereas the local students in my class are not as fluent (or so they say, but in all actuality, they are quite fluent in English!).  

I asked my group today if they ever taught the sciences in Cantonese. I find it hard to translate "insulin" into Cantonese! But actually, they do have classes in Cantonese but it is only in Hong Kong that English is used to teach the sciences (or humanities too).  Only if you are learning Chinese medicine, or Chinese history, then professors would teach in Cantonese.  But if you were in mainland China, everything is taught in Chinese - which is probably why it's so hard for mainland students to study here in Hong Kong.  I asked Step if she could translate "Citric acid" in Cantonese....she said she doesn't even know it.   She did tell me what "DNA" was in Cantonese...but I already forgot it.  It's definitely longer than saying 'deoxyribonucleic acid.' That I know for sure!

I'd thought I would gaaisiuh (introduce) my Cantonese Romanization...which is quite difficult. See if you can fáanyìhk (translate) ^^

Ngóh jìhnghaih yáuh yāt yuht géi hái Hēunggóng jē!  Ngóh séung làuhdāi haih Hēunggóng yānwaih Ngóh gokdāk Hēunggóng hóu wáan.  Hái Hēunggóng, ngóh sùhkjó hóudóu sān Hēunggóng pàhngyáuh, tùhngmaih kéuihdeih hóu siu.  Ngóh mjīdou yùhgwó ngóh jáuh gójahnsìh wúih haam, bātgwo ngóh yātdihng wúih hóu sāmsēung!!!

:-)