Created by Taiwan-based animator Ou-Bao Tsai, this haunting digital short was shown at last year’s “Taiwan’s New Generation of Art” exhibition at the Shanghai Art Museum and the 2009 Prix Ars Electronica festival.

Related posts

• Climbing to the moon (0)
• A Symbol (0)
• Chris Gill: 5 best writings about the Chinese art scene in 2009 (0)
• Expats In China? (3)
• Hotelist: An URBN oasis (0)

As is the way, China will probably be expressing its discontent about the nominees soon enough – though I’m quite curious to see whether they end up issuing individual denouncements for each candidate they don’t like… or if it’ll come in just one sweeping “Hey Nobel people, quit it with all the dissident noms already.” There’s also the off chance that they’ve realized the winner seems more dependant on fame than any actual deeds (cough cough Obama cough cough Gore) so these China troublemakers will probably fade from view if the government just doesn’t say anything… who knows?

Anyway, in case you were having trouble getting your dissidents straight, the nominees have been listed below:

Liu Xiaobo, from BBC News

Liu Xiaobo
Who is he: Probably the most famous dissident in China right now, Liu Xiaobo is the founder of Charter 08, a petition for democratic reforms in China.
Where is he: In June 2009, he was formally arrested on suspicion of incitement to subvert state power.
What did he do to hurt China: Well, besides that whole “incitement to subvert state power” thing, his wife has had the nerve to make China look like a country that doesn’t respect citizen rights, writing opinion pieces in the Washington Times begging President Obama to take up his case. The hullabaloo from the West had gotten so bad by February that it forced China’s foreign ministry to step up and tell everybody the truth – China doesn’t HAVE dissidents, so quit asking us to release them.

Hu Jia

Hu Jia
Who is he: A Chinese HIV/AIDS rights activist who’s been making trouble around China over AIDS issues, democracy issues and *gasp* Tibet. He was instrumental in exposing the blood-selling scandal in Henan which gave tens of thousands of villagers HIV/AIDS. He was also nominated for last year’s Nobel prize and won last year’s Sakharov Prize.
Where is he now: Jailed. He was found guilty of “inciting subversion of state power” and given three and a half years in prison a couple months before the Olympics.
What did he do to hurt China: Well, besides not cooperating during his house arrest and even recording his kind of inept secret police, Hu Jia “published articles on overseas-run websites, made comments in interviews with foreign media, and repeatedly instigated other people to subert the state’s political power and socialist system… In his two website articles, ‘China Political Law-enforcement Organs Create Large-scale Horror ahead of CPC National Congress’, and ‘One Country Doesn’t Need Two Systems’, Hu spread malicious rumors, and committed libel in an attempt to subvert the state’s political power and socialist system,” summarized China Daily. In case you’ve been living under a rock, all of those are big no nos here.

Picture of Chen Guangcheng from Under the Jacaranda Tree

Chen Guangcheng
Who is he: A blind activist who drew international attention to human rights issues in rural areas. Though he doesn’t have a law degree (blind people aren’t allowed to study law… take that Matt Murdoch), he managed to audit in law classes enough to advise rural residents of their rights.
Where is he now: In jail. Notice a trend here? He was sentenced to four years and three months for “damaging property and organizing a mob to disturb traffic.” Since that was in August 2006, that means he’s actually set to get out of prison before the year end. We’ll see how he’s doing this Thanksgiving.
What did he do to hurt China: He interfered in Shandong Province officials’ efforts to make sure their women don’t overbreed. Apparently, he took offense at the illegal measures local authorities were using when enforcing the one-child policy – making women go through mandatory sterilization and abortions. The Central government agreed that this was a bad thing and detained the Shandong officials, but this didn’t stop Chen from needing to undergo his own trial for being a public menace. Which he lost.

Picture of Gao Zhisheng from Human Rights Watch

Gao Zhisheng
Who is he: One of the biggest human rights lawyers in China, Gao has defended fellow activists and religious minorities like the FLG (an organization whose full name we won’t mention, since it seems the GFW actually blocks you from searching for anything related to it right now) and underground Christians.
Where is he now: Nobody knows actually. Quite scarily, Gao disappeared about a year ago after being lured away for “a brief chat” with Chinese security agents. The last time the press asked Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ma Zhouxu where he was, Ma responded with “Honestly speaking, I don’t know where he is. China has 1.3 billion people and I can’t know all of their whereabouts.”
What did he do to hurt China: Despite being given the honor of recognition as “one of the country’s 10 best lawyers” by the Ministry of Justice, Gao turned around and started making trouble for the motherland. He resigned from the Communist Party in 2005 and started defended the FLG, whom everybody knows is an insane cult-like organization bent on taking over China. I mean, they set themselves on FIRE and stuff.

Picture of Bao Tong from Radio Free Asia

Bao Tong
Who is he: A former Communist Party official who was the top aide to Zhao Ziyang, a reformist party chief that sympathized with democracy protestors in the 1989 incident. Last year, he also sneaked Zhao’s memoirs out of the country, where they were published.
Where is he now: We’re not sure, but we’re thinking he’s probably still in “internal exile” in Zhejiang province. He was sent there to stay after the 20th anniversary of the June 4 events.
What did he do to hurt China: Look, you’re either with us or against us. And Bao Tong has proved, over the last two decades, to be against us.

Rebiya Kadeer
Who is she: The leader of the World Uighur Congress, which either “represents the collective interest of the Uyghur people both in East Turkestan and abroad” or a terrorist organization with a separatist agenda, depending on who you ask.
Where is she now: Last we checked, she was in Washington D.C., where she’s in exile. This makes her probably the most comfortably situated out of the people on this list. Not that we think that influences the Nobel Peace Prize committee’s decision making process… but it’s worth mentioning.
What did she do to hurt China: Instigated those riots last summer, of course. The Xinjiang riots killed hundreds and injured thousands, not to mention caused the entire region to undergo an internet block out that, to this day, hasn’t been completely lifted. Sure, she denies her involvement and argues that it was supposed to be peaceful until someone came to muck it all up – but even her family doesn’t believe that. Oh yeah, and thanks to her, Facebook’s blocked in China.

Related posts

• Government Official Met Delegation of Reporters from Ukraine (0)
• Extra! Extra! No more ganbei, much more censorship, and other news (0)
• Extra! Extra! Sex diaries, newspaper protests and Akio Toyoda apologizes to China (0)
• Cultural Creativity Promotes Xiangshan’s Economy (0)
• What Do Chinese Expats Living In The U.s. Think About Our Culture? (1)

Related posts

• Six Nobel Peace Prize nominees who will piss off China (0)
• Extra! Extra! Bratty one child(ren), no Nexus One and sending CDs in Xinjiang (0)
• Pollution: Farms worse than factories in China (0)
• Direct Customs Clearance to Start in Zhejiang (0)
• Schools, teachers also hate Green Dam (0)

Then again, considering what the USA Pavilion has turned into – maybe this is a tit for tat: a showing that China can also spend extravagant amounts of money to make something cheap and cluttered and boring… at their own event?

Photo from Adam Minter

Related posts

• Today’s Links: WTO berates, factory pollution kills, and MoCA’s founder flees (0)
• A New Toms Shoe Line Debuts at Bergdorf Goodman (0)
• What Keeps U In China? (15)
• Preserving Its Roots (0)
• The Top Six Marathon Training Accessories (0)

Related posts

• Who Sent Swedish Royalty a Marriage Proposal That Caused a Bomb Scare? (0)
• Please Don’t Ever Forget Bernie Kerik (0)
• Does Anyone Know How Nikah Can Be Conducted From Masjidul Haram, Makkah? About Legal Procedures? (3)
• Re: cant Moving to US – Help with Electrical stuff (0)
• Why Don’t Rich People Get Five-Star Service at Home? (0)

By Claire Barco

Though the last few days have been abysmally cold, don’t let that deter you from pulling yourself out of your hangover on Saturday morning (helas, if only you could find Solpadine in Shanghai!). Ireland Week 2010’s main event is the St. Patrick’s Day parade and will surely make you forget all those things you shouldn’t have texted the night before, and as there won’t be any fire trucks, you don’t need to worry about the headache.

Shanghaiist caught up with Eoin Murphy, President of Le Chéile, the Irish community organization of Shanghai. (Le Chéile is pronounced “Luh Kay-luh” and is Irish for “together”). We got the skinny on the all the craic that will be had this year. Read on below!

This is the fourth year for the St. Patrick’s Day parade in Shanghai. What will be different about this year?

Well, it’s grown over the last four years and we’re expecting this year to be our biggest yet with few thousand people. We have an impressive stage this year on Yandang Lu and the whole event will be very professional.

Who are the performers this year?

During the parade we have two marching bands from local international schools. One of them is over 90 people, so that should be impressive. Also we have some children that have been practicing traditional Irish dance, and they will be singing some songs as well.

There will be, as well, two Chinese dance troupes that have been learning Irish dance from the Riverdance DVDs. One is called Celtic Storm, and they actually trained with the Riverdance troupe when they were here in January. Bill Whelan himself was actually here, and he mentioned how impressed he was with these dancers’ enthusiasm to learn, even if all they had was a DVD when the started. The other troupe is from Fudan University. Now they have an exchange programme with UCD in Dublin. The students that go there definitely gain a huge appreciation for Irish culture, and it’s just a great example of how academic exchange can lead to cultural exchange.

As an organization Le Chéile is very proactive in promoting this kind of exchange so we’re very proud to provide an opportunity for these dancers and musicians to showcase their talent.

Also on the stage we’re lucky to have some traditional musicians flying in from Ireland. They are technically the most proficient artists you can find, so we’re very pleased that the Irish government sponsored their trip here.

I find some people don’t actually know much about real Irish culture. They think all the Irish do is lock themselves in the pub all day, but they aren’t aware that there is real tradition and culture to be found there.

Yeah, you know there’ s a big connection between Chinese music and Irish music. For example I was listening to a violin lesson my son was having with his tutor, and it was “Down the Sally Gardens”. The tutor told me it was a traditional Chinese folk song that all Chinese students learn when they’re first starting out on the violin, but it was in fact “Down the Sally Gardens”. So sometimes you will have something Irish that everybody knows, but nobody knows is actually from Ireland. The St. Patrick’s Day Parade offers an opportunity to showcase Irish talent and allows the Shanghai community to connect that talent, the music and dance, with Ireland itself, so people aren’t just listening to Enya in yoga classes thinking she’s American.

Who are some of the guests at the event?

Well, we have a piper from Newfoundland coming in to lead the parade. You know there are only two other places in the world that celebrate St. Patrick’s Day as a national holiday. One is Montserrat in the Caribbean and the other is Newfoundland, so we’re very excited to have him.

In terms of VIPs we have a very senior Chinese official as the Grand Marshall who I can’t pre-announce, but you’ll see him wearing the green jacket. He has very strong ties to the Irish so we’re simply over the moon to have him. We have officials from other consulates as well, including the US consulate, Italian consulate, Swiss consulate, and Danish consulate.

We’re really developing a good buzz this year. It’s not just about Ireland, it’s about expressing Ireland’s, I suppose, appreciation of every nationality and trying to bring them together. I think St. Patrick’s parade is a unique event in that it’s now happening all over the world. You know, millions of people celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, and it’s a very cultural, peaceful and celebratory kind of event.

And it’s just good fun.

Absolutely. It’s good fun for everyone.

And what is it I saw about the dragons in the parade?

Yes, we have two dragons, Finbarr and Shamrock. They’re beautiful. They are Chinese dragons but they’re green, and they are absolutely gorgeous.

One thing I should mention is that our naming sponser is the Ireland Expo Pavillion, and that they will be providing a preview of the Ireland Pavilion. There will be a number of booths set up for the Expo there near the stage. Our other sponsers are Pepsi Co, Murphy’s Irish Stout, Tourism Ireland, and Bord Bía, which is the Ireland food board.

How long approximately will the parade take?

The parade itself starts sharply from Fuxing Park at 10:30, not 10:30 Irish time (which is anywhere from 10:30 to 12). It will take half an hour for it to reach Yandang Lu where there will be about 2 hours of performance on the stage.

What should Shanghaiist readers know about this St. Patrick’s Day parade?

We’re the only national group allowed to have a parade on Shanghai’s streets. No other national group is afforded that honor. And we would want ensure that the event is respectful that honor.

**(Note: This means don’t show up pissed and start a fight.)**

And we can guarantee that it will be a great family day out where everyone will feel included and will enjoy themselves.

Are there any other events around town for Ireland Week that would be of particular interest?

Well, the Shanghai International Literary Festival is showcasing a number of Irish poets this year. And on Friday night from 6 pm to 7 pm there will be an event for the musicians to get used to playing on the main on Yandang Lu that anyone is welcome to attend.

There’s also the St. Patrick’s Ball on Saturday night, which is the largest charity ball in Shanghai now in it’s sixth year. However, for this year the tickets sold out in about 10 minutes, so it’s the main event to be at.

For Americans, St. Patrick’s Day is a tradition. Every year, you go out to your local main street. There’s always the Leprechaun contest where the kids dress up. And last year in Dublin the parade just had so many American marching bands coming over from Texas and Nebraska. So with a St. Patrick’s Day parade you get not only Irish culture, but in a strange way American culture.

Yes, the parade in Dublin has really transformed into an international carnival, and that’s what we’re really trying to do here as well on a smaller scale. As we were telling some of the officials, you know every great city has a St. Patrick’s Day Parade and Shanghai is a great city. This parade is getting on to be the largest in Asia and we’re getting very enthusiastic about where we can take it next year.

So this Saturday morning get yourself moving and bring the children, or if you haven’t got any bring your mates that surely act like children, to this year’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade. You can start on the pub after.

Related posts

• Beilun Listed No.1 in Zhejiang for Scientific-technical Progress (0)
• Chinese lottery winners or….superheros?!? (0)
• Young Shanghainese unwilling to pop out babies (0)
• Snap (0)
• Free education for migrant kids in Shanghai! (0)

More photos on the Shanghaiist Contribute page. To see your photos on our Contribute page, use Flickr and tag your photos “shanghaiist”. Or you can email your photos to photos@shanghaiist.com and they will automatically appear on our site (and here).

Related posts

• Pneumonic plague blockade lifted off Ziketan (0)
• Photo of the Day: Smoke gets in your eyes (0)
• Tianyi pavilion- 8384 (0)
• Don’t Watch This: Confucius (0)
• Yesterday’s stars, where are they now: May Chin edition (0)

Related posts

• No related posts.