Beijing by the numbers: Random observations from my first week in China

Posted: September 13, 2013 | Author: | Filed under: Discovering China, Top Ten, Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment
Everything at Tiananmen seems to be undergoing restoration -- except for Chairman Mao

Everything at Tiananmen seems to be undergoing restoration — except for Chairman Mao

I’m not one of those often-wrong, never-in-doubt Americans who visits a city for a week and decides he knows everything about its history, culture and politics.

That having been said, I do have a few first impressions through the eyes of a China newbie. Here are some random observations of life in Beijing by the numbers:

7

Number of Beijingers wearing anti-pollution face masks

5

Number of Beijingers wearing bike helmets

0

Number of Beijingers who have used hand signals while riding bikes

2

rick caroline jane

Cornering the market on blondes in Beijing: with Caroline Ward (left) and Jane Sasseen (right)

Number of Beijingers holding a cell phone while biking in traffic

8

Number of blonde people sighted in Beijing

5

Number of blonde people sighted in Beijing who are not friends or students of mine

5

Number of European-origin people seen on the subway

0

Number of people speaking English on the subway

9

Number of Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurants seen around town

0

Number of people who have asked me about the Cowboys, Redskins, Eagles, Texans, Ted Cruz, the Tea Party, Mitch McConnell, Nancy Pelosi or Capitol Hill gridlock

1

Number of students who have asked me about the American government’s lies leading up to the invasion of Iraq

8

Number of universities in this section of northwest Beijing

3

Number of Texas on the Potomac alumni now living and working in Beijing

3

Number of people I’ve met who have worked or studied in Pennsylvania

1

Number of Texas Aggies I’ve run across. (Gig ’em, Caroline!)

The big announcement: How the Twittersphere reacted to my new job in China

Posted: August 14, 2013 | Author: | Filed under: Rick in the news | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment
tsinghua

Tsinghua, here I come! (University web site)

People who know me well know that I don’t possess one of the larger egos in American journalism. So I’m a tad apologetic for the blatant boosterism that follows. But I wanted to do it to thank all of my friends and the public officials who took to social media to respond to this announcement.

The overwhelming — and rapid — response reminded me of the power of social media. Twitter and Facebook have transformed our means of communication in just a few years. (Six years ago, when I left Business Week for the Houston Chronicle, I had to send emails to all of my friends just to let them know what had happened.)

Just like we do on Texas on the Potomac, I’ll start with Capitol Hill reaction:

Even former Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, who’s had to deal with my questions since my days as a young pup at the Dallas Times Herald, weighed in:

In the polarized American political world, there was bipartisan agreement — for once.

Reaction poured in from around the world, Helsinki to Beirut to Shanghai:

In Austin and Manhattan journalism circles, disbelief:

It was nice to hear from my colleagues:

Yes, Melissa. Definitely.

I’m especially grateful for the kind words from my former interns who have made me proud over the past six years.

And I’ll leave you with the words of that ancient Chinese philosopher Wayne Slater: