Shannon

Chinese New Year

Excerpts from the Portland Press Herald WINDHAM — A half-dozen adults stood around the island in Kari and Bob Suva’s warm kitchen, patiently folding wonton skins around a tasty, tender filling of browned pork, chopped shrimp, cabbage and spices.Clearly, when it came to making jiao zi — Chinese dumplings — I was the novice ofContinue reading “Chinese New Year”

Review: Shadow of the Silk Road

Shadow of the Silk Road, by Colin Thubron (HarperCollins 2007) Review by Craig Dietrich from November 2007 CAFAM Newsletter The “Silk Road” has taken on much glamour and romance as a tourist destination in recent years. One notable book that provides a glimpse into the halcyon years of the old trading routes between China andContinue reading “Review: Shadow of the Silk Road”

Review: Confessions: An Innocent Life in Communist China

Confessions: An Innocent Life in Communist China, by Zhengguo Kang (W. W. Norton 2007) Review by Cynthia Setchell Not long ago I read the autobiography of a Chinese Christian pastor of a “house church” in central China. House churches are illegal and have been suppressed by the government. The book told of imprisonments and tortures.Continue reading “Review: Confessions: An Innocent Life in Communist China”

On Chang E

By Craig Dietrich Chang E, the lady in the moon, appears in different versions of Chinese folk legends. She is usually paired with her husband, Hou Yi. The two immortals get demoted to mortals. Hou Yi manages to acquire a pill of immortality, but Chang E swallows it and flees to the moon. (Husbands takeContinue reading “On Chang E”

Portland’s Chinese ‘Rocky’

By Gary Libby In the late 1940s one Harry Wong battled his way into the boxing scene in southern Maine. Known variously as “little Chinese wildman” and “Bongo Bongo,” Harry fought thirty-seven bouts in the Portland and Lewiston areas between 1946 and 1948. He won seventeen (eleven by knockout) and came away with six draws.Continue reading “Portland’s Chinese ‘Rocky’”

Illegal Immigration

By Gary Libby from the September 2007 CAFAM Newsletter The following comes from the Portland Eastern Argus of April 24, 1895, and demonstrates to what lengths human traffickers would go to circumvent anti-Chinese immigration laws. IN VENTILATED COFFINS The Latest Scheme for Smuggling Chinamen into this Country Montreal, Que., April 23 – A gang ofContinue reading “Illegal Immigration”

NGOs in China

By Jasmine Qu Editor’s note: Among many issues created by China’s rapid development, the issue of organizations not controlled by the one-party state has repeatedly emerged. Before “Reform and Opening” the socialist system sponsored and controlled all organizations, whether national, provincial, or local; economic, social, political, or cultural. The recent advent of entrepreneurialism, a freerContinue reading “NGOs in China”

If It’s Dusty, This Must Be Beijing

By Patrick Murphy A few years ago, the spring dust storms here were so large and so powerful that they blew across the ocean and hit Seoul, an unwelcome surprise for the Capitalist South Korean neighbors. Locals in Beijing may not exactly enjoy the spring storms that some years sweep in and dump tons ofContinue reading “If It’s Dusty, This Must Be Beijing”

Waste Pickers in China

By Jasmine Qu Jasmine Fei Qu is an exchange student at Bowdoin College majoring in Government and Economics. Her summer internship with a Chinese Non-Government Organization (NGO) involved several projects. One had to do with waste pickers. Here is her account of that experience. This past summer I worked with the Institute of Contemporary ObservationContinue reading “Waste Pickers in China”

Nanjing

By Fred Fagin It was a Very Good Year. Yes it was, and it was a time of self-inflicted trial; a great sadness at being away from home, and yet – sweet opportunity, discovery, growth, and sharing. My son Colin (Fan Wei-cheng) and I, Fred (Fan Cen) ventured forth in late June of 2005 toContinue reading “Nanjing”