Lijia Zhang's Blog, page 22
June 9, 2021
my oped on three-child policy
My take on China’s three-child policy. You see, gender equality matters – even to the fertility rate!
https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3136426/chinas-three-child-policy-how-get-women-board
May 18, 2021
May 14, 2021
My piece in SCMP about China’s banning of 6B4T, a brand feminism thatwishes to exclude men from their lives.
Is the idea of simply not wanting to have any relationship with men extremism? Here’s my piece about China’s banning of feminist groups associated with the so-called 6B4T, a brand feminism that wishes to exclude men from their lives.
May 9, 2021
St. Katherine Docks
London is a great city teeming with history. I am slowly getting to know it.
Today I had a guided tour to the St. Katherine Docks and Tower Bridge. It lies on the North Bank of river Thames, immediately downstream from the Tower of London and Tower Bridge. Opened in 1828, it served as one of the commercial docks that made up the Port of London. The expanding empire in the beginning of the 19th century as well as the Industrial Revolution generated massive amount of trade that passed through London, hence the construction of St. Katherine Docks. The name came from the former church and hospital of St. Katherine’s by the Tower.
The St. Katherine Docks were badly damaged by the German bombings during the Second World War and the area remained derelict until the 1990s.
It has now been re-developed. Today it is a trendy area, featuring cool restaurants dotting around the marina, office buildings and modern housing complex. You can still find a few reminders from the past, such as the Dickens Inn and the original wheel mechanism that forms part of the modern drawbridge.
May 7, 2021
Coincidence
Some coincident is so amazing that if I write about it in a novel, it would sound implausible. So I knew my older daughter May/Mei would get a chance to read for a British Library literary event. I didn’t expect that it would have anything to do with China. And it turned out that she was asked to read a poem by Qiu Jin, China’s first feminist. Guess what? I am writing a historical novel inspired by Qiu Jin. What a coincident! Maybe an omen?
Here’s the link to the event. You can watch it in the next 24 hours. If I do say so myself, Mei did a fine job!
April 3, 2021
a canoeing trip
Spring is here and I feel so alive! This Good Friday turned out to be a really good Friday when I had my first outing – a canoeing trip along the canals in Ash Vale. What a sweet delight to be on the crystal clear water! The sun was smiling gold; birds were circling under the blue sky – plenty of them as there’s a nature reserve by the canal, and goose and ducks are swimming about. In the bright light, the water sparkled like fish scale. Loved every minute of the more than 3 hours trip.
March 18, 2021
female political participation in China lags behind
My commentary piece in today’s South China Morning Post. While the authorities are boasting that China saw more women lawmakers and legislators during this year’s ‘two sessions’, China’s female political participation actually lags behind many other countries. Here’s why.
February 10, 2021
February 4, 2021
My radio essay for Radio 4
At last, I made it to From Our Own Correspondent! Radio’s 4’s high-profile current affair programme is my favorite. It offers a chance for BBC’s foreign correspondents around the world to reflect on a certain event or issue. Compared to other programmes, it is far more personal and literary. I’ve long had my eye on it, but wasn’t sure if I was qualified to file a piece. Recently I finally gathered courage and wrote a proposal to the producer, and she said yes. After rounds of edits, my piece came out today! It is a humorous account how learning English has changed my life and how I am upset about the ongoing debate of downgrading English in China.
It was a hard-won battle. It took so long to record it, because, well, my English is still not good enough, I had trouble to pronounce certain words, for example, – lol, after all these years. See the picture. The thing under the duvet is me, hunching over my computer, recording to my iPhone while trying to follow the instruction from the producer.
This morning, as I listened to the unfamiliar voice of mine, I felt I was up in the 9th heaven!
Here’s the link. I hope to win a laugh from you.
