Global Voices Online » 2007 » January

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China: Teacher strike

John Kennedy · 17:39

Teachers in Huadu, an outlying suburb of Southern China metropolis Guangzhou went on strike yesterday in front of the local district government building yesterday, calling for higher wages.

A thorough look through Google search results for “Huadu” “teacher” and “protest” suggests a media blackout, which the teachers seem to have expected, as the story has been reported on closely at the 21Teacher internet forum, at least until comments were turned off early this afternoon. Of net news sites, GoldenGoat Net, Sina and Netease have run stories, some of which have since been deleted, along with other bbs forum and blog posts. Posts at 21Teacher estimate that between seven hundred to a thousand teachers appeared on the Huadu Plaza steps at nine this morning, and four hundred patrol and riot police—who some spectators say got violent with at least one teacher—being surrounded by spectators reportedly numbering between two to ten thousand, many of which it was speculated were also teachers. One statement not being refuted online is that the teachers have remained peaceful, breaking their “silent sit-in” only to sing The Internationale.
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Lebanon: Saddam Hussein and Lebanese Politics

Moussa Bashir · 16:32

lingua → zhs · zht

The last week in 2006 wasn't just about the celebration of the holidays. There's also the anti-government protest, the hanging of the Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, and politics in the Middle East. Let’s start with the non political posts.

The environment was the concern of Dove’s Eyes View who comments on the Bush’s administration most significant concessions to date on the dangers of global warming as it proposes protecting the polar bears. This, she wrote, marks a reversal by the administration from its reluctance to acknowledge the consequences of climate change.

And Layal voices the concern of a Lebanese youth who refuses to leave Lebanon despite the current political conditions and even though all of her high school and university friends are traveling abroad.

The hanging of Saddam Hussein brought many bloggers back from their holiday-break. The following is just a sample of the opinions and comments on the subject.
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Hong Kong and China: Days without internet and the world is not flat

Oiwan Lam · 09:23

Because of the earthquake in southern sea of Taiwan on 26 of December, 2006, two major internet cables in the Pacific Ocean have been broken (details see Andrew Lih). Hong Kong is a major affected areas and many bloggers and internet users are forced to live through a few days without internet at year end.

However, the issue at stake is much more than not able to go online, there are more reflections from bloggers concerning our modern life and internet business and governance.

Mo's notebook points out the reason why Hong Kong had suffered more than many other areas (including mainland China) is related with the monopoly of telecommunication business:

查實這次大癱瘓的教訓是什麼？那就是一家獨大會累死香港。

大家數一數手指，到底香港還剩什麼外資ISP？就算NTT，主力也是企業客，沒有送給PCCW的住家客，就只有日本籍顧客，以及少數使用static IP的客。對中小企，根本只有很少的外資ISP可以選，有都比較貴。

而本土ISP，光纖一窩蜂聚在東北亞，外資ISP尚會平均一些，結果除左鍾意用慢線的i-Cable，其餘攬住一齊死，真係玩死人。

不要將所有雞蛋放在同一籃子裡，才是公平競爭法的真義。

So what did we learn from the crippled internet lines? Hong Kong would be ruined by monopoly of a single company.

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Jamaica: Earning a quick dollar in the ghetto makeover

Georgia Popplewell · 09:06

lingua → zhs · zht

Ria Bacon photographed these young women in December 2006 on Barbican Road in Kingston, Jamaica. As she explains on her blog:

In the week before Christmas, many of the poorer areas of Kingston get a quick makeover, as hundreds of local residents hack at overgrown pavements and daub the kerbs with whitewash. They are motivated not by a spontaneous burst of civic pride, but rather by the promise of a day’s work, usually paid for by the local politician. For some, it will be one of a few rare days of paid employment each year. It is noticeable, but not surprising, that most of the workers are women.

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Romania: Singing Carols

Veronica Khokhlova · 08:57

lingua → zhs · zht

“Memories from Romania: On the last day I spent in [Onesti] many of the students came to the Cancelarie (staff room) to sing carols for the teachers. I had absolutely no idea they had prepared this, an absolutely delightful memory to take away :)” - by L-plate big cheese

Romania and Bulgaria became the EU's newest members Jan. 1, 2007.

Here's what Flickr user L-plate big cheese writes about Romania in the introduction to her Romania photo set:

This is a land which seems to have everything. And much of this everything seems to have been overshadowed by the developments of this and the last century. Now, it does not necessarily mean that Romania has been ruined, on the contrary. Her landscapes are a story of recent past and ancient past, all defused along one horizon.

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Bloggers warn of insurgency after Ethio-Somali war

Andrew Heavens · 06:49

lingua → zhs · zht

Ethiopian and Somali government troops drove Islamist forces out of their last stronghold in Somalia yesterday, just eight days after the start of a major military offensive.

The apparently easy victory, however, did little to appease the region's bloggers, many of whom have been against the confrontation since the start.

What has [Ethiopian] Prime Minister Meles Zenawi gotten the soldiers of the Ethiopian defence forces into with his irresponsible and aggressive foray in Somalia? Are they going to be facing an insurgency similar to the type in Iraq as some Somali pundits are suggesting?

worried Zenobia of Ewenet Means Truth in Ethiopia in her post Ethiopian Soldiers in Somalia.

The Head Heeb fleshed out the fears in The apocalypse begins. He was writing a few days earlier when the Ethiopian-backed forces of Somalia's Transitional Government were forcing troops loyal to the Union of Islamic Courts back into Somalia's capital Mogadishu:

Somalia is an easy country to overrun but a hard one to occupy, and the Ethiopian intervention will turn into a counterinsurgency very quickly. It's pure fantasy to believe that the foreign fighters will simply leave or that the people will accept an Ethiopian-installed transitional government, and if Addis Ababa really intends to crush the SICC [Somalia Islamic Courts Council] as a fighting force, it will face a long, brutal asymmetric conflict. The likely humanitarian cost of such a regional war is incalculable. The Ethiopian air strikes have already made thousands of people into refugees, and a continued war would disrupt regional food security and send still more thousands to the uncertain shelter of neighboring countries.

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Meet The New Urban Cambodian Woman And Blogger: Keo Kalyan

Tharum Bun · 01:26

In a country where long-time respected traditions dominate the way of life of the people, the role of women in education, social work and general lifestyle is still limited compared to men. “Women are supposed to stay at home, and always behave quietly and sweetly,” stated the Women’s Code of Conduct (Chbab Srey in Khmer) - a rhyming poem from 1848 that instructed women how to behave in their married life, within their family, and in the community.

In Cambodia, for every three boys, only one girl attends secondary school. In most parent's minds, for some reasons, this discrepancy in thinking exists because families consider education of a boy to be more economically rewarding. They think that over-education of a girl can be a handicap to her marriage prospects, and that the liability of a girl getting abducted while commuting to secondary school is great. Many cannot afford to keep their daughters in school, and as cultural gender biases favor the education of boys over girls, many young girls in Cambodia drop out of school after grade 6.

“Nowadays, younger generations have access to a better lifestyle. There are more opportunities for them in areas such as education as more scholarships are being offered. However, I can see only a few of them realise this and are trying hard to grab these opportunities,” said young graduate Keo Kalyan.

However, with the success of more women, in particular many graduates from abroad, a turning point is about to happen. They are not going to change the old tradition, but to shape it for this new millennium.

At age 22, Keo Kalyan is a trend-setter. Born in Kandal, a province that shares border with Phnom Penh, she moved to the Cambodian capital city with her parents, where she was raised and schooled. Kalyan now lives a more fashionable life than those living in rural areas. Like the vast majority of Cambodians, Kalyan is friendly and wears a smile - not something one would expect from citizens of a country recovering from decades of war and conflict.

Keo Kalyan in her classroom
A new generation of Cambodia: Keo Kalyan