This blog came into being shortly after I began to notice an alarming inability to talk at length about anything except China. This affliction was undoubtedly magnified by my job as a sub-editor (official job title being ” Language Polisher” which I consider slightly unfair given articles often need complete rewrites) for Xinhua News Agency.
After a year of editing up to 25 stories a day on anything from “Hu promotes the socialist concept of honour and disgrace” to “World’s tallest man saves sick dolphins”, I needed a place to splurge thoughts, observations, frustrations about news on China as told by domestic and overseas media. So just like any other China blog then - I never said it wouldn’t be selfishly unoriginal.
I also wanted somewhere to write about happenings, developments in Beijing which will hopefully be of interest and not shamelessly copied from the comprehensive English-language publications that already cover the city. And finally, as a freelancer, a guaranteed publisher of my work.
Chris O’Brien
Contact: chris_obrien29@hotmail.com