Sascha Matuszak

Laowai is a colloquial term for foreigner in China – lao means old and wai means outside. In Chinese, the word lao denotes respect (e.g., laoshi = teacher, laoban = boss) and is a polite way to address older relatives, big brothers, etc. For most Chinese, laowai is a noun like any other. For most … Continue reading “Laowai and Zibenren”

It’s 3 o’clock and the sun is shining down bright upon the scattered groups of people hanging about in front of the shopping complex. A huge banner over the front façade blows gently in the breeze – the number “8” fills the banner, and hundreds of tiny photos depicting various bands and their crews fill … Continue reading “Bumpin’ It in China”

The U.S. is confronting China with a variety of issues this coming week as Condoleezza Rice makes her first East Asia appearance as secretary of state. Most of these issues are old problems – namely human rights, the Taiwan Straits, North Korea, and the trade deficit, among others. But the recent joint statement after the … Continue reading “Proxy Wars”

Yu Bin’s recent article for Asia Times Online is a very Sinocentric view of the growing pains East Asia will face as the region grows increasingly more influential and substantially richer. Yu Bin goes into three major problems: China’s relationship with its own poor and underemployed, China’s relationship with Japan, and China’s relationship with Taiwan. … Continue reading “Issues for East Asia: A Sinocentric View”

"Flow like the blood of Abraham through the Jews and the Arabs, Broken apart like a woman’s heart abused in a marriage." The world is upside down, taking a breath before the next episode. We have four more years of unbridled uncontested Imperial rule, self-righteous, self-confident and self-contained. Just like Wellstone going down above the … Continue reading “Chinese Dreams, American Dreams”

Banking is difficult during the National Holiday in China. For seven days, everybody is on vacation – everybody. Cooks and old bearded cardboard collectors still do their routines, but their relatives are coming through from afar and filling the apartment up with shouts and covering the floor with sunflower seeds. All accountants are in Yunnan. … Continue reading “Riding the Tiger”

On Saturday, air-raid sirens rang out over Chengdu to commemorate 9/18, the day Japanese troops began their invasion of the Chinese mainland in 1931. The festivities included a mini-marathon from the city’s south side to the central plaza and then to the stadium for a celebration of traditional Chinese culture – mostly young girls and … Continue reading “Nonviolent Chauvinism”

Tomorrow’s Asia Cup Final football match between China and Japan promises to be an extremely tense event. Throughout the Asia Cup, the Chinese team has played in Beijing. Sold out crowds in the capital are thirsty for a victory after China’s ignominious World Cup appearance and they have brought a flag for every second fan … Continue reading “Sino-Japanese Grudge Match”

Every May, Sirbuz Khan, 26, makes his way north along the Karakorum Highway from Islamabad and spends the next six to seven months moving around China’s Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region buying silk for his family’s cloth business. Business is good – for every five meters of pure white silk Khan buys, he can make a … Continue reading “Sino-Pak Policy: Carrot and the Stick”

Frankfurt’s Cathedral looks out over the Main River and over into Old Sachsenhausen, as it has for the past 400 years – a focus point for artists and authors, medieval farmers and merchants, Cold War GIs, Turkish and Colombian bars and, most recently, East Asian tourists. Deeper in Sachsenhausen, retired Germans drink Applewine out of … Continue reading “From China to Frankfurt”