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Seeker

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Posted:
July 18, 2008 - 10:36 PM |
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| Post subject: Authorities order bars not to serve black people. |
from scmp
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Authorities order bars not to serve black people
BEIJING 2008
Tom Miller
Jul 18, 2008
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In our series looking at preparations for the Games, Tom Miller reports on plans to crack down on "undesirables" in the bars of Beijing
Beijing authorities are secretly planning to ban black people and others it considers social undesirables from entering the city's bars during the Olympic Games, a move that would contradict the official slogan, "One World, One Dream".
Bar owners near the Workers' Stadium in central Beijing say they have been forced by Public Security Bureau officials to sign pledges agreeing not to let black people enter their premises.
"Uniformed Public Security Bureau officers came into the bar recently and told me not to serve black people or Mongolians," said the co-owner of a western-style bar, who asked not to be named.
The local authorities have been cracking down on blacks and Mongolians in an attempt to stamp out drug dealing and prostitution ahead of the Games, the proprietors said.
A few months ago, police launched a violent sting on black men drinking in the Sanlitun bar district, and a notorious nightclub largely populated by Mongolian prostitutes was also shut down.
Security officials are targeting Sanlitun, which Olympic organisers expect to be a key destination for foreign tourists looking for a party during the Games.
The pledges that Sanlitun bar owners had been instructed to sign agreed to stop a variety of activities in their establishments, including dancing and serving customers with black skin, they said.
They have been allowed to keep copies of all the pledges except those relating to blacks, implying that the authorities are wary of charges of racism.
"I am appalled," said a black British national who works in Beijing. "I understand that the government is trying to stop certain illegal activities, but I don't think blanket discrimination is going about it the right way.
"Chinese people are prejudiced, but I would have hoped that the government would set a better example as it debuts on the world stage."
Calls to Dongcheng district and Chaoyang district public security bureaus, which oversee the bar districts, went unanswered.
The authorities' attempt to keep unwanted behaviour from damaging the squeaky-clean image of the Games is the latest example of heavy-handedness that critics say is killing the party spirit of the Olympics.
During the Athens Olympics four years ago, bars and nightclubs were allowed to stay open all night. But venues in Beijing that are not being shut down during the Games will have to close at 2am and maintain tight security.
"The officials told me to inform my customers that they must at all times carry their passports or ID cards," said one bar owner.
"Security is important, but Beijing is becoming a fortress, and that's not attractive."
Rumours that all bars within 2km of an Olympic venue will need to close remain unconfirmed, with many managers complaining that they still have not been told whether they will be allowed to open or not. Several bars have been raided in the past few weeks as local police step up a campaign of low-level intimidation, according to several witness accounts.
Bar and restaurant managers in Sanlitun have been instructed to remove tables from footpaths in a crude attempt to prevent fighting in the streets.
"The local police told us to get rid of the tables because they're scared that if too many foreigners congregate outside there could be trouble," said Song Xun , who runs a burrito joint in the area.
Local musicians say that a clampdown on live music risks stifling Beijing's thriving cultural scene and giving Olympic tourists the false impression that the city is artistically anaemic.
Several popular live music venues have been shut or instructed to stop all outdoor shows, and club owners complain they have got used to strange new guests nursing a beer for hours and suspiciously observing everything around them.
"The whole music scene is angry and bewildered. It is impossible to understand how keeping tourists from seeing an open, culturally vibrant and diverse Beijing is possibly a good thing for anyone," said one well-known figure in the local music industry.
David Mitchell, a Beijing-based jazz musician, said it had become increasingly difficult for his band to find anywhere to play.
"It appears the local government is trying to control every aspect of the experience that foreigners get when they come here," he said.
"Everything is aimed at creating stability, but they don't understand that is precisely the unfounded prejudice that foreigners have of Chinese society - that it is a highly controlled and not a very cultural place. It seems completely self-defeating."
Additional reporting by Peter Simpson |
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lucar
Board Royalty


Joined: July 05, 2004
Posts: 6473
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Posted:
July 18, 2008 - 10:45 PM |
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^Am I okay if I'm light skindeded? |
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georgeshen
Raver


Joined: Apr 30, 2006
Posts: 460
Location: Boston, Shanghai
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Posted:
July 19, 2008 - 01:26 AM |
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| Post subject: Re: Authorities order bars not to serve black people. |
i tend not to trust everything i read now. maybe i am older and wiser. Lucar, you are not light skinned. you are thick-skinned.
| . wrote: |
from scmp
| Quote: |
Authorities order bars not to serve black people
BEIJING 2008
Tom Miller
Jul 18, 2008
Email to friend | Print a copy
In our series looking at preparations for the Games, Tom Miller reports on plans to crack down on "undesirables" in the bars of Beijing
Beijing authorities are secretly planning to ban black people and others it considers social undesirables from entering the city's bars during the Olympic Games, a move that would contradict the official slogan, "One World, One Dream".
Bar owners near the Workers' Stadium in central Beijing say they have been forced by Public Security Bureau officials to sign pledges agreeing not to let black people enter their premises.
"Uniformed Public Security Bureau officers came into the bar recently and told me not to serve black people or Mongolians," said the co-owner of a western-style bar, who asked not to be named.
The local authorities have been cracking down on blacks and Mongolians in an attempt to stamp out drug dealing and prostitution ahead of the Games, the proprietors said.
A few months ago, police launched a violent sting on black men drinking in the Sanlitun bar district, and a notorious nightclub largely populated by Mongolian prostitutes was also shut down.
Security officials are targeting Sanlitun, which Olympic organisers expect to be a key destination for foreign tourists looking for a party during the Games.
The pledges that Sanlitun bar owners had been instructed to sign agreed to stop a variety of activities in their establishments, including dancing and serving customers with black skin, they said.
They have been allowed to keep copies of all the pledges except those relating to blacks, implying that the authorities are wary of charges of racism.
"I am appalled," said a black British national who works in Beijing. "I understand that the government is trying to stop certain illegal activities, but I don't think blanket discrimination is going about it the right way.
"Chinese people are prejudiced, but I would have hoped that the government would set a better example as it debuts on the world stage."
Calls to Dongcheng district and Chaoyang district public security bureaus, which oversee the bar districts, went unanswered.
The authorities' attempt to keep unwanted behaviour from damaging the squeaky-clean image of the Games is the latest example of heavy-handedness that critics say is killing the party spirit of the Olympics.
During the Athens Olympics four years ago, bars and nightclubs were allowed to stay open all night. But venues in Beijing that are not being shut down during the Games will have to close at 2am and maintain tight security.
"The officials told me to inform my customers that they must at all times carry their passports or ID cards," said one bar owner.
"Security is important, but Beijing is becoming a fortress, and that's not attractive."
Rumours that all bars within 2km of an Olympic venue will need to close remain unconfirmed, with many managers complaining that they still have not been told whether they will be allowed to open or not. Several bars have been raided in the past few weeks as local police step up a campaign of low-level intimidation, according to several witness accounts.
Bar and restaurant managers in Sanlitun have been instructed to remove tables from footpaths in a crude attempt to prevent fighting in the streets.
"The local police told us to get rid of the tables because they're scared that if too many foreigners congregate outside there could be trouble," said Song Xun , who runs a burrito joint in the area.
Local musicians say that a clampdown on live music risks stifling Beijing's thriving cultural scene and giving Olympic tourists the false impression that the city is artistically anaemic.
Several popular live music venues have been shut or instructed to stop all outdoor shows, and club owners complain they have got used to strange new guests nursing a beer for hours and suspiciously observing everything around them.
"The whole music scene is angry and bewildered. It is impossible to understand how keeping tourists from seeing an open, culturally vibrant and diverse Beijing is possibly a good thing for anyone," said one well-known figure in the local music industry.
David Mitchell, a Beijing-based jazz musician, said it had become increasingly difficult for his band to find anywhere to play.
"It appears the local government is trying to control every aspect of the experience that foreigners get when they come here," he said.
"Everything is aimed at creating stability, but they don't understand that is precisely the unfounded prejudice that foreigners have of Chinese society - that it is a highly controlled and not a very cultural place. It seems completely self-defeating."
Additional reporting by Peter Simpson |
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_________________ I Am America (And So Can You!) |
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Seeker

Joined: Jan 30, 2008
Posts: 60
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Posted:
July 19, 2008 - 01:58 AM |
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| Post subject: Re: Authorities order bars not to serve black people. |
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lucar
Board Royalty


Joined: July 05, 2004
Posts: 6473
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Posted:
July 19, 2008 - 12:22 PM |
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Buzzd
PopStar

Joined: Jan 30, 2008
Posts: 1161
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Posted:
July 19, 2008 - 12:54 PM |
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Cambronne
Post Roaster


Joined: Feb 23, 2008
Posts: 4217
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Posted:
July 19, 2008 - 01:11 PM |
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I am not surprised to read this, knowing China did much worse. Factories make bags and lampshades from the skin of f*l*ng*ng practiotioners atrociously tortured then executed. Due to customer complaints, the tortures have stopped, thus preserving the quality and elasticity of the skins. China IS improving, thanks to pressure from the consumers, ie you and me! Viva Capitalism! Viva Deng "grabbing money and stepping on others heads is good" Xiaoping! |
_________________ Countless people will hate the new world order and will die protesting against it. |
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georgeshen
Raver


Joined: Apr 30, 2006
Posts: 460
Location: Boston, Shanghai
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Posted:
July 19, 2008 - 07:28 PM |
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well, i think i am too (thick-skinned). LOL
| lucar wrote: |
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i tend not to trust everything i read now. maybe i am older and wiser. Lucar, you are not light skinned. you are thick-skinned.
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^You got that right buddy!  |
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_________________ I Am America (And So Can You!) |
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Andreas
Board Legend


Joined: Feb 27, 2004
Posts: 10156
Location: s/v Waratah
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Posted:
July 19, 2008 - 09:58 PM |
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LOL, and that just after the South African High Court has ordered that Chinese South Africans should be categorized as blacks.  |
_________________ Time is the very substance of life; its golden minutes are the only stones we have with which to build. That spiritual building, not made with hands. |
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Seeker

Joined: Jan 30, 2008
Posts: 60
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Posted:
July 20, 2008 - 01:05 AM |
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maimai83
Barker

Joined: July 11, 2008
Posts: 126
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Posted:
July 20, 2008 - 01:19 AM |
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georgeshen
Raver


Joined: Apr 30, 2006
Posts: 460
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Posted:
July 20, 2008 - 03:52 AM |
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^ Now this note makes it clear. 黑帮份子 should be translated into gangsters, not black people. I don't think the Chinese government is that stupid to make itself a target of racial conflict. Racism is not institutionalized. It is in the culture (and in almost every country). |
_________________ I Am America (And So Can You!) |
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Seeker

Joined: Jan 30, 2008
Posts: 60
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Posted:
July 21, 2008 - 01:46 PM |
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There was a follow-up article on Saturday (pay edition of the scmp.com site)
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Police deny bar owners' claims of restrictions on blacks in Sanlitun
BEIJING 2008
Tom Miller in Beijing
Jul 19, 2008
Email to friend | Print a copy
Police in Beijing's popular Sanlitun bar district deny they are conducting a racist campaign ahead of the Olympics, as another bar owner revealed he had been ordered not to let in blacks.
"They made us sign and chop a document saying we would not allow black people in [during the Olympics]," the owner said. "But no one is willing to say so because we'll all get deported ... and have our business shut."
Asked yesterday whether they had told landlords not to let blacks in bars, an officer at the Sanlitun police station had a one-word answer: "No."
The bar owner said police had given landlords a list of dos and don'ts during the Olympics. "We simply can't let them in [during the Olympics], it's what I was told," he said.
"It's [the restrictions on blacks] definitely happening. It will all happen in 24 hours."
His revelation comes after the Post reported yesterday how another bar owner had been verbally warned by Public Security Bureau officers not to serve customers of Mongolian and African descent, while other bars had been ordered to sign chopped pledges to keep to curfews, not allow the illegal sale of drugs, and refuse certain customers.
"They [local police] call meetings, and everyone has to go, or else ... If you don't go, they'll come back and shut you down," he said. Further investigation found that not all bars in the newly revamped area known for its nightlife had been ordered to refuse black customers, suggesting police are targeting specific bars.
"Black guys can come in and drink as long as they have valid visas," another bar manager in Sanlitun said. "But we have been told to watch out for black guys acting suspiciously, such as constantly talking on their mobile phones. The aim is to crack down on drug dealing."
Tony Perkins, an African-American sports presenter for China Central Television, said he had not experienced any racism during his six months in China while working for the state TV station, but he said he was concerned by the bar owners' complaints.
"If this is policy, then it is a very bad policy - more so for a country holding an Olympics," he said. |
Regardless whether the above is true or not, it's incredible that the IOC believed the Olympics would cause China to open up and improve its human rights record. In fact, the opposite is true. I think this Games has had such a detrimental effect on the image of the Olympics that they should henceforth be abolished. Scrap London and let's concentrate on tournaments that are held for sports fans rather than multinationals and authoritarian regimes. |
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Seeker

Joined: Jan 30, 2008
Posts: 60
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Posted:
July 22, 2008 - 09:32 AM |
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China’s Strict Visa Conditions Threaten Olympics
• ANOCA may push for African Sanctions
By Tunde Sulaiman, 07.21.2008
Beijing 2008
Almost 32 years after the Olympics witnessed an African boycott of the global sports meet, the spectre once again looms of a similar action by the same nations.
However, unlike the contentious issue which marred the 1976 Montreal Games, which was to prοtest New Zealand’s sporting ties with the apartheid regime in South Africa, this time around their grouse is with the host of next month’s Games – China.
African nation’s are unhappy with the antics of the Chinese embassies in their countries with regard to the issuance of visas for their various delegations to attend the Games, which begin on August 8.
The embassies are making it very difficult for the various African countries to procure the travel documents for their delegations to attend the 17-day sporting extravaganza taking place for the first time in the world’s most populous nation.
A highly placed official of the Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC) who disclosed this to THISDAYSports, explained that their umbrella body for the continent, ANOCA (Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa) had been in touch with one another and had resolved to put pressure on Beijing 2008 LOC to mount pressure on their government to lower the bar for procuring visas.
“It is not only us (Nigeria) that is facing difficulties, the same situation is playing its self out in other African countries and our body ANOCA is unhappy at the development.
“We have been in constant touch with one another and it appears that is a deliberate policy to frustrate us,” said the official, who said countries from outside the African continent were not facing such difficulties.
Although he said the issue of boycott was not something to be taken lightly, the official confirmed that if they were unable to secure visas for top government functionaries it could be come a distinct possibility.
“How will we travel to Beijing without members of the government or governors of the states? If we can’t get visa’s for them then the NOC in conjunction with the African body will be ready to consider all weapons at our disposal to get them (China) to change their position,” explained the official.
THISDAYSports learnt that the Chinese embassy is asking intending travellers to China to show proof that they have already bought tickets for the Games and evidence that they had paid for accommodation.
“This is against the gentleman’s agreement we had with them. What is painful is that it was Africa that gave them massive support when Beijing was bidding for the games so why are they now treating us this way? Even then when we agreed to back them, we got a gentleman’s agreement from them that they would not be making their visa requirements so stringent.”
The NOC official said even efforts to convince the embassy that they could vouch for the government officials travelling for the games has fallen on deaf ears.
“It’s unbelievable that a senator, governor or even a member of the House of Representatives would travel to China and not return to Nigeria. But they (embassy) are insisting that they show evidence of their tickets and accommodation for the Games,” said the very worried official.
He also said the tough stance was not only limited to government officials as they were also finding it difficult to get visas for some of the federation Chairmen.
THISDAYSports learnt that each discipline was only allowed a certain number of automatic accreditations, which means the federations, have to carefully select the officials who should receive them.
“But in the case of judo for instance in which only one competitor is going only three officials are entitled to accreditation. In this case it is the coach, secretary and doctor. So what happens to the Judo Federation chairman who happens to be Chief Orji Kalu? Will he not be going or should he stay in the Games Village with his athlete and do all the administrative work?
“Yet the embassy is insisting he (Kalu) must show that he has tickets for the Games and already booked accommodation!
“We tried to explain to embassy officials that we will give him (Kalu) a daily pass which would enable him go into the Games Village to see his athlete and daily VIP tickets which would enable him get into the stadium. Yet despite all these assurances the embassy has so far declined to give him a visa.
“We also made the same offer for other officials and so far the embassy has declined to honour them too,” said the official.
The NOC source said if those they were ready to vouch for were finding it difficult to secure visas, he wondered how others like the Supporters Club and ordinary Nigerians would be able to make it to the Games.
“It will be a psychological blow if the Supporters Club can’t make it because Nigeria is known the world over with the support they get from the Supporters Club. But as things stand unless the embassy relaxes its position I’m afraid they (Supporters Club) won’t be in Beijing to back our athletes, which will be very sad indeed,” said the NOC official.
While acknowledging the difficulty in getting visas, NOC spokesman Tony (Nezeana (said they were still working hard to get the Chinese embassy to budge on the issue.
“We’re still talking with them and we’re still very hopefully that something can be worked out,” he said yesterday.
On the possibility of an African boycott, (Nzeaya) said: “I’m not sure about a boycott but I know that many of our counterparts (ANOCA) are facing the same visa problems and are unhappy with the development. I also know from conversations we’ve with had with some of them that they are considering we put up a united front to tackle the issue. After all it is our best interest to unite to overcome a common problem.”
Although it is highly unlikely that it would get to this level, it is clear such thinking would be pleasing to the ears of Western nations who are still piqued over China’s volte face in backing tougher UN sanctions against Zimbabwe.
At the G-8 Meeting of Industrialised Nations, which held early this month in Johannesburg, it had been agreed that they would put up a common front against Robert Mugabe’s Zimbabwe only for the Olympic hosts and Russia to use their vetoes to torpedo the resolution, which would have placed tougher sanctions on the East African nation.
The Montreal’76 Olympic boycott was spearheaded by Nigeria under aegis of the Supreme Council for Sports in Africa (SCSA), which ordered African nations out of the Games because the International Olympic Committee (IOC) refused to ban New Zealand from Canada after its rugby team had toured South Africa, which was then under isolation because of its racial segregation policies.
Incidentally, although the SCSA action was condemned by many, the next two Olympics also suffered the same fate with the US leading the boycott of the Moscow’80 Games in prοtest over Russia’s invasion of Afghanistan and the 1984 Games in Los Angeles, which was boycotted most of the countries of the former Eastern Block in solidarity with Russia, which used the occasion to pay the US back for their Moscow miss. |
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maimai83
Barker

Joined: July 11, 2008
Posts: 126
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Posted:
July 22, 2008 - 10:59 AM |
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One has to wonder... does slipping a few greenbacks into the passport when you apply help the situation?
They seem to be having fun with blanket policies as of late. |
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Cambronne
Post Roaster


Joined: Feb 23, 2008
Posts: 4217
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Posted:
July 22, 2008 - 11:06 AM |
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Regardless whether the above is true or not, it's incredible that the IOC believed the Olympics would cause China to open up and improve its human rights record. In fact, the opposite is true. I think this Games has had such a detrimental effect on the image of the Olympics that they should henceforth be abolished. Scrap London and let's concentrate on tournaments that are held for sports fans rather than multinationals and authoritarian regimes.
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I highlited the most important part of the whole thread, or perhaps of that whole propaganda episode we are going through. Expect more as the big O approch. |
_________________ Countless people will hate the new world order and will die protesting against it. |
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Seeker

Joined: Jan 30, 2008
Posts: 60
Location: in here
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Posted:
July 22, 2008 - 11:16 AM |
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| maimai83 wrote: |
One has to wonder... does slipping a few greenbacks into the passport when you apply help the situation?
They seem to be having fun with blanket policies as of late. |
Well first it started with the Chairman of Bank of Nigeria (Asia) Ltd. -- now even the Nigerian president can't enter China without return tickets. Maybe there's no surprise but I wonder if they do the same to their Zimbabwe brothers. |
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lucar
Board Royalty


Joined: July 05, 2004
Posts: 6473
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Posted:
July 22, 2008 - 11:21 AM |
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^Bitch, weren't you in China for the last set of olympics? It was so fukking obnoxious and it wasn't even in the country. I will do everything in my power to avoid going to china during the games. I was hoping that I woundn't need to go back there until late Sept. Belive me, I'm being dragged there this week kicking and screaming all of the way. Once my business is done, I will be waitlisted on a daily basis trying to get the shiiit outa there. I'll be happy to go back after the fervor has died down. |
_________________ http://new.wavlist.com/movies/053/cls-whatever.wav |
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CK1
LoopKicker


Joined: June 07, 2007
Posts: 939
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Posted:
July 22, 2008 - 11:36 AM |
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What about Chinese people that pretend to be black? Will they be allowed in bars? |
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maimai83
Barker

Joined: July 11, 2008
Posts: 126
Status: Offline
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Posted:
July 22, 2008 - 11:55 AM |
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| lucar wrote: |
| ^Bitch, weren't you in China for the last set of olympics? It was so fukking obnoxious and it wasn't even in the country. I will do everything in my power to avoid going to china during the games. I was hoping that I woundn't need to go back there until late Sept. Belive me, I'm being dragged there this week kicking and screaming all of the way. Once my business is done, I will be waitlisted on a daily basis trying to get the shiiit outa there. I'll be happy to go back after the fervor has died down. |
You mean the endless pingpong coverage? ENDLESS AND EVERYWHERE. |
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Cambronne
Post Roaster


Joined: Feb 23, 2008
Posts: 4217
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Posted:
July 22, 2008 - 12:04 PM |
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This story is an excellent example of the maniacal propaganda against China. The whole thing being based on a ludicrous "bad translation"... |
_________________ Countless people will hate the new world order and will die protesting against it. |
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hc
Post Roaster


Joined: Apr 04, 2007
Posts: 4545
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Posted:
July 22, 2008 - 01:03 PM |
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Seeker

Joined: Jan 30, 2008
Posts: 60
Location: in here
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Posted:
July 22, 2008 - 01:18 PM |
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| hc wrote: |
so it was a translation problem then eh?
interesting. |
yeah, those "top government officials" in africa also miscalculated the necessary sums. |
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CK1
LoopKicker


Joined: June 07, 2007
Posts: 939
Status: Offline
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Posted:
July 22, 2008 - 01:46 PM |
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| hc wrote: |
| CK1 wrote: |
| What about Chinese people that pretend to be black? Will they be allowed in bars? |
ahaha. that's a very good one.
so it was a translation problem then eh?
interesting. |
I am talking about the terrible dressed Chinese 'b-boys' (and I will include White tools too) that pretend (and fantasize) that they are black, but in fact look and act like absolute buffoons to everyone. |
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Distick
Talker

Joined: Jan 18, 2008
Posts: 88
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Posted:
July 22, 2008 - 01:53 PM |
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trying to prevent bunk ye yo being slang......... |
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