Mixed Messages

Earlier this week, the chief of the State Administration of Work Safety said "poor planning" was to blame for the 172 miners still trapped underground in the Huayuan mine in Xintai, East China's Shandong Province. There are nine other miners trapped in another mine with no latest reports.

This is a complete 180 degree turn from what other government officials said previously, blaming the accident on "natural disasters".

A China Daily article on August 22 says:

Preliminary analysis of experts showed the coal mine flooding which has trapped 181 miners at two pits in East China's Shandong Province since Friday is a natural disaster, Minister of Civil Affairs Li Xueju said at a press conference on Wednesday.

"China currently has no compensation system for people killed and injured in natural disasters," Li said.

In a China Daily story published today, safety chief Li Yizhong had a different opinion:

"The root is some local authorities and companies have failed to take sufficient action to tackle safety loopholes and build a sound early-warning mechanism," the chief of the State Administration of Work Safety said on Tuesday.

Learning from these "bloody lessons" will prevent "accidents triggered by natural disasters," Li said.

In a circular issued last Friday the State Council urged mines that risk being flooded to stop production when typhoons land or there is torrential rain.

The circular also asked mine owners to identify hidden natural dangers and remove them.

The Provincial government now admits that the 172 trapped miners will not be found alive, three weeks after floodwater filled the main shaft.

During the rescue effort, officials said they would pump water out as fast as they could, but an expert commented that with the pump they were using, it would take at least 10 days to pump a million cubic metres of water out.

This is a sad story because officials didn't keep the families abreast of the situation, leaving them frustrated and venting their anger by breaking windows of the mining company's offices.

Domestic reporters were told to leave the accident site by their bosses, and editors were told to get the latest news from Xinhua, the official state media.

Damage control is difficult to do in life and death situations. But no matter how ugly the circumstances may be, people need to know the truth.

It makes the bitter pill a bit easier for everyone to swallow.

Crane City

This picture was taken in Dongzhimen, in the north east side of the city.

And there's five cranes in this shot where a series of apartment towers are being built.

So imagine a whole city filled in cranes. That's Beijing madly trying to finish all its major building projects before the Olympics.

That's so that the air will be slightly clearer before the Games begin.

Well, that's the plan...

Visual Eyesore

This building is possibly Beijing's ugliest one.

And yes, it's a government building - the China Travel Service (CTS) Hotel.

The gray hotel is topped with gold-coloured tiles. But what has to be the most bizarre thing are these turrets on the corners. I wonder what having a corner room is like with all those angles on the windows.

The building is located near a major four-leaf clover freeway so I pass by it quite often. And it's a piece of architecture I wish I didn't have to see! While it does stand out, it sticks out for all the wrong reasons.

Hopefully CTS will want to update its look and get with the times. Soon.

Cracking Down on Pyramids

A recent article in the English language state media says that pyramid selling is becoming rampant in the country despite a number of crackdowns.

The government is also considering revising laws to impose heavier penalties on those engaged in this kind of multi-level network business.

"Pyramid selling, outlawed in the country about 10 years ago, is still serious. And it's growing," says Gao Feng, deputy director of the ministry's economic crime investigation bureau.

"We call them economic cults," Gao continued. "They can turn a normal person into an idiot."

A few days later in the subway I saw many billboard ads like this one from Amway. I think it says that if you buy the beauty night creams on the left, you can get a choice of one of the evening handbags on the right.

Amyway is all over the place here. Tonight I came home and got a flyer in my mailbox advertising Amyway Visa cards with the Bank of China.

So I'm wondering if the government knows that Amyway does multi-level selling...

Going Domestic

My employer makes sure we enjoy working and playing by organizing many sports activities after office hours.

I joined the tennis group and we play once a week at a university which happens to be across the street from us.

And for the past month and a half I've been playing with shoes for running, not for tennis.

So this weekend I was on the hunt for court shoes. I checked out Nike and Adidas, only to find they were on the expensive side, over 500 and 600RMB a pair. And honestly, Beijing being on the dusty side, I wanted shoes I didn't mind getting roughed up.

On a whim I checked out Li Ning, one of China's top sportswear manufacturers which also makes NBA apparel and shoes. It's not an official sponsor for the 2008 Olympics, but will be fitting out many of China's teams as well as sports channel CCTV-5.

It's trying to emulate the big boys. Nike has the swoosh, while Li Ning has a kind of wavy tick. Adidas' tag line is: Impossible is Nothing, and Li Ning's is Anything is Possible.

And the domestic brand's selection was not bad, but what got me was the price.

Following the advice of my brother, I tried on several pairs, trying different shoes on different feet until I settled on this pair for 329RMB (US$43.60).

Admittedly the colour wasn't the selling point, but the comfort and cushioning.

I'll try them out later this week and let you know how they did on the court.

In the meantime I wonder if this means I'm becoming sinicized...

A Civilized Sunday Afternoon

This afternoon I decided to go hotel hopping.

I hit swanky Wangfujing - Beijing's version of Fifth Avenue - and checked out a few of the city's top hotels.

First off -- The Peninsula and Grand Hyatt look like their Hong Kong counterparts. In terms of architecture and designer label stores, these five-star hotels pretty much have it. There's lots of marble, beautiful flower arrangements and lots of water fountains.

But in terms of service, Beijing hasn't matched Hong Kong's impeccable service. Hopefully in time it will.

Taking a break from window shopping, I decided on afternoon tea at The Pen. It wasn't exactly The Pen in Hong Kong, but it had the same prices -- 135RMB (US$17.89) for afternoon tea complete with finger sandwiches, scones and dessert.

I asked for just scones and was served ONE scone with condiments. The clotted cream looked yellowish until I realized it was butter, with a raspberry and a sour mango jam.

The scone was average - very flaky and uneventful. But it was nice having lots of tea -- several cups' worth. And no wonder. The tea was 45RMB (US$6).

I expected to see lots of tai tais (ladies of leisure), but instead saw mostly men enjoying afternoon tea too. They would get up periodically to the washroom or pop into Prada and Louis Vuitton and buy something. And of course they were smoking too even though it was a non-smoking section.

Oh well. This was probably as close to a civilized afternoon as I could get in Beijing.

China's Poster Boy

The pressure is mounting on 110-metre hurdler Liu Xiang, but he seems to have great momentum this year.

Last night he became the first Chinese to win a gold championship in eight years. He beat his closest rival, American Terrence Trammell in 12.95 seconds.

According to my colleague who is arguably Liu's biggest fan, his strategy is to come from behind and win. She was worried that his being in the outside lane, lane 9 would be a hindrance to him. But instead he even had time to look across to see Trammell slightly behind him at the finish line.

And now expectations are higher for him to repeat his Olympic gold performance next year.

So far he's taking it all in stride. Literally.

He's definitely one to watch next year. Not only is he fast, but is cute, gives good sound bites to the media and is humble. What more could the Chinese team want?