China's newest basketball phenomenon, Yi Jianlian, has been getting some sympathetic coverage lately in his now hometown Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The 7-footer from Shenzhen, playing in pre-season for the NBA's Milwaukee Bucks, was recently praised by his coach Larry Krystkowiak who told the Journal Sentinel, "I love what he's doing... I think he's really going to blossom."

Yi raised a typhoon of controversy this summer by initially refusing to sign with the team, with his agent sending out messages that Milwaukee is too small of a market, there are not enough Chinese in Wisconsin and he wouldn't get enough playing time with the Bucks. Beijing-based journalist and Milwaukee native son Jonathan Ansfield summed up the whole drama better than anyone on the Spot On website, calling the whole mess a "go-nowhere charade." The Bucks finally convinced Yi to put pen to paper when the team's owner, U.S. Senator and department store mogul Herb Kohl, personally flew to Hong Kong and reportedly guaranteed Yi that he would play 25 minutes a night.

One of the oddest assertions made during the drama around Yi's signing was that Yi wouldn't be able to meet any nice Chinese girls in Milwaukee. First off, as Sufei might ask, does a Chinese guy have to stick to Chinese girls? Who's to say Yi doesn't "like 'em brown, yellow, Puerto Rican and Hatian," like Phife from a Tribe Called Quest? (I guess in Milwaukee you might add pasty and chubby into the mix.) And if he doesn't I'd suggest experimenting a little. Secondly, somehow I think an international celebrity, easily pulling in $5 to $10 million a year with endorsements, would not have any trouble convincing a cute Chinese girl from L.A. or Beijing to spend some time in his McMansion in Milwaukee.

I didn't hear anyone shedding any tears for my man God Shammgod (best basketball player name ever) when he was playing for the CBA in Shanxi province because there aren't enough African-American girls in Taiyuan. (Under "interests" in his Myspace profile Shammgod lists "big bootay hos" )



God Shammgod outside a McDonalds in Taiyuan

Whatever progress Yi is making in Milwaukee Buck's preseason games, he is sure to face intense scrutiny in his rookie year, from both Chinese and US fans and media. His prima donna act over the summer will only heighten the criticism when he inevitably hits rough patches as he adjusts to the best league in the world.

I guess spending a few years in China has turned me into a homer, but I have to admit I'm rooting for Yi to succeed on the court. As far as his lovelife goes: Yi, if you're striking out in Milwaukee, I'll be your wingman if you want to hit some clubs in Beijing.

Luke @ 16:10 | .(1930) |

Here at Sexy Beijing headquarters the Youtube block in China has obviously thrown a wrench into the gears. Blocking Youtube doesn't strike us as a very harmonious thing to do, and we are not very happy with the Net Nanny right now. But we are also trying to rejigger things so that people in China have access to the English language versions of our videos. It takes time to redo everything without using Youtube, so please bear with us.

For now, you can find a lot of our videos on our Tudou page. Some of the Tudou videos don't have English subtitles, but many of the earlier ones do. We have also started posting some of our episodes at Brightcove.tv, which is working pretty smoothly in China at the moment. The Shanghaiist has recommended the Hotspot Shield as an anonymous proxy to get around the Great Firewall. There are Mac and PC versions and so far it has worked well on my computer. Youtube is a bit slower with Hotspot Shield but you can still watch videos with a bit of patience.

We are still hoping that now that the 17th party congress has wrapped up in Beijing, the good ol' days of carefree Youtube surfing in China will return... and hoping that last statement didn't just jinx the possibility of that ever happening.

Sexy Staff @ 17:38 | .(2323) |

"What Chinese Girls Want" is my new column about dating from the perspective of Chinese women. I welcome comments and stories from other Chinese ladies looking for love in Beijing.



On sites like Facebook I've been hearing a lot about what Western men want in Chinese women, but not a lot about what Chinese women want in Western men, so I thought I'd compile an easy to read list for all of you wankers out there.

Take the test below and see how many qualities you have that Chinese women DO or DON'T want in a man. And girls, maybe you should pass this test out to your girlfriends who are dating losers!

1.
WE DO WANT

men who are open-minded enough to appreciate the difference of cultures and are ok with when things being done the Chinese way.

WE DON'T WANT

men who want things done only in their way and always have a lecture ready that begins with "in the West" anytime ready for anyone.

2.
WE DO WANT

Men who enjoy sex with us and interact with us.

WE DON'T WANT

Men who make us do what their Western girlfriends didn't want to do to them.

3.
WE DO WANT

men who enjoy going out and meeting new people.

WE DON'T WANT

men who put a hand on a girl's butt, get slapped and scream: "I just wanna have some fun".

4.
WE DO WANT

men who are trying to learn a bit of our language and have the interest in communicating with Chinese people in Chinese.

WE DON'T WANT

men who say: "It's 21st century! How about learning some English? "

5.
WE DO WANT

men who come to China because they want to see China or start their own business here.

WE DON'T WANT

men who come to China to get away from all the pressure back home and complain about the air, the people and the "dysfunction here" every second.

6.
WE DO WANT

men who are getting to know some Chinese people and hang out with them.

WE DON'T WANT

men who hide in the expat community, panic the second they are out of the embassy district, never have Chinese friends except colleagues and still make all kinds of remarks about Chinese people.

7.
WE DO WANT

men who know their way around China when they need to go to the bank, book flight tickets or negotiate with their landlords.

WE DON'T WANT

men who use their girlfriends as free interpreter to take everywhere.

8.
WE DO WANT

men who have hobbies other than watching DVD and shooting pool and have at least one artistic way to express themselves.

WE DON'T WANT

men who don't know what they are doing with their lives and plan to teach English for money for 40 years here and sleep with a lot of women.

9.
WE DO WANT

Men who have investment plans

WE DON'T WANT

Men who spend all their money on booze or drugs because "in this country, being white is my financial security".

10.
WE DO WANT

Men who have a little knowledge about Chinese history.

WE DON'T WANT

Men who say shit like: "get over yourself" when we demand an apology from Japan (again I have to say I have absolutely nothing against Japan but everything against war).

11.
WE DO WANT

men who work out and take good care of their bodies.

WE DON'T WANT

obese men who say: "only women get fat; men are just...men."

Mia @ 12:22 | .(2068) |

The best thing about interviewing my father for The Freudian Episode was how awed I felt by history and by the courage and foresight of my grandparents. I never met them, yet the choices they made completely altered the course of my father's life, and probably saved it, which is why I'm here. Furthermore, the older I get, the more their plight hits home. They were around my age and newly married when they decided to pick up and leave Germany. My grandmother Sophie wasn't even a Jew when she met my grandfather Richard. She converted to marry him. That was the pre-Nazi era and she had little idea what marrying a Jew would mean for her future or the future of her son.

I was both intrigued and touched by this letter from a German neurologist who watched the show and shared with me another piece of my grandfather's story.


Hi Sufei,

Your grandfather is mentioned in the History Section of the Hamburg
University Department of Psychiatry homepage. It says that he was fired
because of a Nazi law. Here's a link to their webpage in German

Weygandt mu?trotz nationaler Einstellung und radikalem erbbiologischen
Denken sein Amt auf Senatsbeschlu?r?men, vermutlich auf Betreiben des
Hamburger "?ztef?rers" Willy Holzmann, der f? sich einen Konkurenten
in Sachen rassenhygienischer Kompetenz ausschalten wollte (van den
Bussche, 1989b). Aus antisemitischen Gr?den im Rahmen des "Gesetzes
zur Widerherstellung des Berufsbeamtentumes" wurden ferner Professor
Hermann Josephy (Prosektor Pathologie), Professor Victor Kafka
(Abteilungsleiter des Bakteriologisch-Serologischen Institutes) und Dr.
Richard L?enberg (Assistenzarzt) entlassen. Diesbez?liche Angaben zu
anderen Mitarbeitern der Klinik sind nicht bekannt.

I found your "Freudian Episode" highly interesting. Being a German
neurologist and psychiatrist I was very moved by your story. I wondered
whether you would be interested in researching more about your
grandfather? biography. I have some contact to German Historians of
Medicine and if I can be of any help in this regard, please, do not
hesitate to let me know.

I enjoy watching "Sexy Beijing" and wish you good luck for your future work!

Sincerely,
XXXX, MD

Neurologist and Psychiatrist

Sufei @ 16:27 | .(3108) |

KQED has canceled Pacific Time, the only nationally syndicated radio program about Asia and Asian American affairs in all of the U.S.A.. The show covers news, cultural trends and entertainment stories across Asia. It holds a special place in my heart, not only because I stream it live every Friday morning in Beijing, but also because the producers gave me my first break in radio back in the days when I was a journalist working in San Francisco.

According to a San Francisco Chronicle article, after 7 years on the air, KQED canceled the show due to lack of funding. It's a real shame because Pacific Time offered extensive, nuanced coverage of Asia, something which is sorely lacking in the mainstream media. With China rising as a major economic player and the Beijing Olympics around the corner, the mainstream media is all too eager to cover China's toxic toothpaste and lethal dog food. Sure, we're getting more news about China, but with Pacific Time gone, we'll be missing an important chunk of the story.

You can hear their last show on October 11, 2007.

In Beijing, you can stream KQED radio at 9:30 AM on Friday, October 12 to hear the show live.

And for all of those Chinese music geeks out there, here's a shout out to one of the show's creators, Nina Thorsen. The last time I saw her was at a Cui Jian concert in San Francisco. She made sure that Pacific Time used music featuring Asian and Asian American artists, week after week. Much of this music is in an archive that will be up indefinitely on the site.

ASL @ 14:26 | .(7336) |