To live slowly is not to live lazily, Is not to make life dull, But to live more gently and clearly, Without the forcing of tension and stress. Is to have an easy mind, With more insight in the split second, To go beyond the haste, fluster and ignorance, In this panic world. This is… Continue reading my Zen retreat in the mountains

Op-Ed Contributor Banished, but Not Gone Shannon Freshwater By LIJIA ZHANG Published: April 29, 2013 Facebook Twitter Google+ Save E-mail Share Print Reprints Beijing MOST dissidents risk the fate of falling into obscurity and irrelevance after leaving China to live in exile. It happened to Wei Jingsheng, one of the most prominent Chinese dissidents, who… Continue reading my op-ed in today’s NYT/IHT on the relevance of the blind lawyer Chen

Maoist attitude to dissent is blocking China’s road to the rule of law Ira Belkin says that Xi Jinping’s pledges onrule of law will ring hollow as long as Mao Zedong’s definition of enemies of the party remains the basis of dealing with dissent Ira Belkin Maoist attitude to dissent is blocking China’s road to… Continue reading an interesting article about China’s road to the rule of law

This morning, I received a surprise parcel containing pancakes and a large bag of peanuts, both of which are Shandong specialties. It was sent by Lu Qiumei, a woman chaiqianhu turned activist. Chaiqianhu refer to people whose houses are demolished by the government. I met her last month when I made a trip to see… Continue reading a surprise parcel

Jenni Haukio, the wife of the Finnish president Sauli Vainamo Niinisto, is a poet. She has just the right qualities to be the first lady: poised, beautiful and intelligent. And I am very impressed how down-to-earth she is. Today I was invited to have a small lunch with her at Capital Ma, together with Xichuang,… Continue reading lunch with the first lady from Finland

Last autumn, the new shopping mall Indigo and Hotel East emerged, right opposite my house in Jiuxianqiao 酒仙桥 in Beijing. Ever since then, the area has quickly gentrified. New offices opened up like mushrooms after a spring rain, bringing in smartly dressed young men and women. New restaurants, coffee shops and bakeries came into the… Continue reading Feast – Food By East