Archive for the tag "China"

That night in Tiananmen Square (03/06/09)

Off-topic but on memory: 20 years ago today I was in Tiananmen Square, reporting for Reuters on the chaos that was the student movement. It was an odd time — sweaty, rank-smelling but rather jolly. Erica’s photo captures rather well the unbridled hubris and optimism of the students, right up to the last day or [...]

Of dildos, cybersquatters and UNAIDS (22/01/09)

It’s always dangerous to mix your coms with your orgs. In China, a link from the UNAIDS site takes you to a classic sex cybersquat: it offers links to dildos, fetish and swinger sites. All because the url for the Beijing Association of STD & AIDS Prevention and Control, bjaidsass.com, has “ass” in it. (With [...]

Thailand’s HIV success rocks on, unless you’re gay (06/09/08)

Thailand has been much (and rightly) praised for its pragmatic approach to cutting HIV in its illegal but vast heterosexual sex trade. Of course when the tide of brothel-caught infections goes out, the rocks of ongoing infection in jails, among drug injectors and between men who have sex with one another are left exposed. And [...]

What’s wrong with Malay girls? (09/07/08)

So a Russian girl is worth twice as much as a girl from north China, huh? And Malaysian girls are discounted fairly heavily. There are 460 million young adult women in China. That’s 60 times more “girls” that you’ll find in Malaysia (even if you count the Chinese Malaysians). My rudimentary understanding of economics suggests [...]

Condoms on the catwalk department (11/02/08)

Wanted: Used condoms. Hair-raising reward (30/11/07)

Conscious of the environmental chaos that looms, China is encouraging its millions of avid consumers to recycle used products. But recycling condoms in the service of hair care? According to an AFP report, China is recycling used condoms into colourful rubber hair ties. Health officials are worried that people might get genital warts or HIV [...]