internet - Machine-based translation does not work

The internet is supposed to be an ideal tool to let people talk with each other, some believe. From my discussions with a few of the 100 million online Chinese I conclude that cultural barriers might be more difficult to bring down than the language barrier.
But that should not stop people from actually trying and I have tried a few of the translation tools that came along with my new browser MyIE2, provided by Worldlingo. The results are shockingly bad. I have tried from Dutch and German into English and the result was unreadable, even though those languages share at least some of their concepts.
Trying to translate Chinese into English had enriched my vocabulary, but did not produce texts that made sense. Has anybody better experiences?

blogging - Typepad unblocked

Single Planet was the first to discover that his 'typepad' weblog was no longer blocked by the internet censor. The censor has been systematically blocking the IP-addresses of the larger foreign weblog hosts, while domestic hosts had to rely on policing their servers.
Apart from a possible incident - for example typad has changed its IP address and the censor has not found out yet - it might be the beginning of a new policy. Last month Microsoft started its weblog service MSN Spaces and had - according to its CEO Bill Gates within weeks close to a million new users.
But the domain names of blogger.com, internationally the largest host of weblogs and owned by Google, remains blocked. Because weblogs can be hosted easy on other servers and many Chinese users that would surf outside China use so-called proxies, the effect of the so-called IP-blocks is fairly limited.

blogging - How to make money online?


The January meeting of the Shanghai Webloggers meetup will focus on one of the hot issues in the blogosphere: how to make money? While it is not the most important issue for most bloggers, it is in the back of the minds of many. Since last year, online tools help to get adds in, and especially in the US a variety of models brought - also financial - benefit. And as the companies are spending each year more add-money online, the question is, can we make some of that ourselves?
Join us by clicking here and rsvp for our meeting.

media - Gay magazine hits the stands


Danwei points at yet another change in China's fast moving media scene: the gay magazine Menbox, "Caring for and loving men every day" and its related website. It is already around a bit longer, has some level of official endorsement, says Danwei.
It seems a daring and useful enterprise anyway.

economy - Banks limit forex cash withdrawals

In an effort to control the inflow of 'hot' money, Chinese banks have started to limit the daily withdrawals per day per person to 2,000 Renminbi (US$ 240) from bank accounts that allow foreign exchange transactions. Not clear is whether similar restrictions are also in place for corporate accounts.

Update: More reports are coming in suggesting an upcoming change in the currency exchange, although not as dramatic as a revaluation. Bloomberg evaluates possible changes, at the beginning three-day meeting of the central bank in Nanning.

media - "No problem being an ethnic Chinese in Aceh"

Carolyn Liu, our brave reporter of the Oriental Morning Post, should not have have any problems with her being Chinese when she is in Aceh, writes Jim Hollington of the British Council in Shanghai in an email. The Apple Daily suggested yesterday Chinese in Aceh were fleeing massively.
"I know Aceh quite well, having lived in Indonesia eight years and been there four or five times," he writes. "She'll have no problem with being ethnic Chinese, my former partner was ethnic Chinese from Aceh - the ethnic tension there is between Acehnese and Javanese (the cause of the civil war)."

media - Carolyn is ready for Jakarta
Carolyn's first stop: the Atlet Century Park Hotel

Tomorrow noon Carolyn Liu of the Oriental Morning Post will leave Shanghai for Jakarta and later Aceh to report about the Tsunami-conference and later about the situation in Aceh. It is her first assignment abroad, and very nervous, but committed to do her job. "Do they have internet in Aceh?" she wondered yesterday.
That might not be the case, but we found the mobile phone number of one of my Dutch friends, who is currently in Meulaboh in Aceh, one of the hardest hit areas. Also in Jakarta we have found some contacts, like the Jakarta Foreign Correspondents Club.
One of the weirder problems, one I did not know before, was that she cannot cover the visit of her premier Wen Jiabao, although he will be attending the meeting there too. Since the government only wants to speak with one voice, only the official news agency Xinhua can report about the official viewpoints of the Chinese government. Watch my predictions, that is one of the limitation that is so unpractical, my non-Xinhua colleagues will find ways to go around this. Just imagine you have to wait until Xinhua in Beijing has put out their dispatches!

blogging - T-salon on the emerging civil society

Andres continues his weekly Q&A profiles of bloggers in the region this week with T-salon.
"Despite challenges and restrictions from the regime every now and then," Andrea says on China's emerging civil society, "they are becoming less monolitic, more pluralistic, full of energy and dynamism - they all trying very hard to unleash their fullest potential in bringing changes to and shaping the society. As the government gradually retreats from many aspects of life in the society to make way for market forces, this trend is irreversible and hard to suppress in the long run."
And on the future of blogging in China: "There will also likely be more businesses using blogs as a business productivity enhancement tool as well as a new channel for branding, marketing and two-way communications with customers - not that indifferent from the United States where the trend is growing. The more interesting story in store that we have yet to see on a wider scale is when the government too will make use of such format to communicate public policies matters and to shape public opinion."

media - Carolyn Liu goes to Aceh


Chinese media are sending their reporters to the Tsunami-hit areas, a first time Chinese reporters will cover a major national disaster as far as I know. My colleague and friend Carolyn Liu, reporter of the Oriental Morning Post from Shanghai is one of them. On the picture she poses with the American reporter Dan Gillmor during a visit a few months ago.
Carolyn is pretty nervous, she just told me over MSN, since this is her first big assigment outside China and she will be going to Aceh in Indonesia, a region with some extra problems in addition to the recent flooding. Rebel fighters and the Indonesian army have had clashes there and the rebels says the Indonesian army is keeping food and water away from possible insurgents.
Locals have been attacking Chinese to get food and water and the Chinese have fled the area, Carolyn told me. An extra reason to be careful, she realizes. When possible she will keep us updated about her trip, but that will also depend on the internet connections, that might not be as good as in China.
She is still looking for support and information: anybody who has friends in Aceh that can help are welcome to send me an email.
You can donate here.

NGO - Struggle on Nu River dam project resumes

Bureaucratic struggles in Beijing on the Nu River dam project have resumed, reports the New York Times. (Thanks for the pointer, CDN!) Under the pressure of environmental concerns premier Wen Jiabao had halted the project last year.
Witnesses say that work at the site has been restarted, fuelling fears that the need for electricity did get again priority over environmental objections.