The Water Army is Coming!

Although they  sound like a new villain from a Hollywood movie, they are less scary in person. They are soldiers of propaganda, using whatever free-speech tools they can muster to win the hearts and minds of a voting public. But this is not a political tale, rather, it is a commercial one; and the votes are cast with Ren Min Bi (Chinese Yuan).

So, where does this “Water Army” come from? In fact, it is a Chinese term which has been causing difficulties for consumer protection around the Chinese Internet.  Imagine you go to a forum online and look for information about insurance, a new car, or even a toaster. Hundreds or thousands of these soldiers are hired for cheap, usually ￥0.7 RMB ($.01) per post, and begin a campaign to sway public opinion toward or against various products. In a country where the average worker makes 20-25RMB ($3) per hour, it is economically feasible for Water Armies to exist. PR firms hire them online and pay them electronically. As a result, particular brands can raise awareness through alleged customer “feedback” or other chat discussions. With over 400 million Internet users in 2010[*], there are bound to be pockets of armies gathering across the Middle Kingdom.

Posted on April 27, 2010: TOMORROW!

Take a look at one example of a blogger using Water Armies recently. This blogger wrote about the concept of The 50 Cent Party (a digital, political “army” deployed since 2004) and Water Armies on his blog. Then, with the help of a time machine and over 3000 of his best friends, he was able to secure 3,332 responses from April 14 until the day of posting this article. (There’s no way I’m linking to his blog, but you could Google search the headline to check it out.)

Thousands of Comments from Last Week!

In the end, it is quite a “clever” way to play the Internet, although this fraud is beginning to be confronted by the national government in China. It is hard to avoid the double standards involved when it is well known that the the 50 Cent Party also contributes to molding public opinion through a water army of its own.

The question is… Should these armies exist? Do netizens even have a say about it? If it is acceptable, then what is the future of social media for business?

Spun around!

When someone says “I feel like I got hit by a speeding bus,” I now know what they mean from personal experience. Actually, it was a cement truck and it was attempting to slow down when it hit us. Our driver was caught off guard by a parked van in the lane for the off ramp and hit his breaks just in time… that’s when most people look around and brace for the second impact…. which I discovered was a truck… and its screech was deafening.

With a steely crunch, our taxi was sent spinning 180° and left facing oncoming traffic. Our trunk was smashed into the back seat and glass showered over us. I checked my friend for wounds immediately. Neither of us got injured, thank God, but we were trapped in the back seat for a little while because the doors were pinched shut. We were lucky and I was bizarrely calm while my friend was passing out. I agree with people when they say “it could have been a lot worse.”

Taxi Side View

When we pulled ourselves out of the car my Chinese friend immediately quoted an old saying: “Da nan bu si, bi you hou fu” (大难不死，必有后福) which basically means that “If you don’t die in a big accident, then you must have more good luck coming to you.”

What will this mean for me? I’m not sure. I can’t stop thinking about how my life could have ended early, but maybe it was just a reminder that time is limited. There’s nothing we can do about these things and I think I have accepted that reality… It would be a shame to just let life slip by without making the best of it.

Creating a New World...

The Chinese 12th Five-Year Plan (FYP) is being decided upon by the National People’s Congress this month; March 2011. It’s a tradition for centralized, authoritative governments to use this kind of policy making “plan”. Of course, The Party has drifted away from its soviet roots into the protector of the current socialist market economy. We’ll probably keep hearing about these plans in global news media for years to come.

Hearing this news got me starting to think about my FYP. My father often thought about our family plans in 5-10 year increments… especially when moving house. So how would I consider my last fiver years compared to my next five years?

I moved to China in 2005, but found the cozy city of Zhuhai in 2006.  Technically, I’ve been in Zhuhai for 5 years studying Chinese, exploring some website ventures, teaching English, and travelling around Asia. But the next five years are going to look pretty different.
Here are my tasks and goals:

1) Location: Return to the USA, preferably the Boston area.

2) Employment: Work in the field of Instructional Design and/or Performance Improvement.

3) Finance: Create a savings plan and pay off my student loans before my 30th birthday.

4) Family: Visit my relatives at least once a year. (US and Canada)

5) Love: Date a Harvard Master’s degree candidate. (Chinese background is a plus)

6) Property: Create a “home base” which I can call my permanent address. (After snow-balling my student loans)

7) Online: Grow EFET’s online learning program and take on more students. Increase partnerships with teachers.

8: Health: Plan regular hiking and kayak trips in Summer. Lift weights regularly. (Put weights in front of the bathroom door!)

9) Travel: Accompany family/friends who want to visit China during the holidays! Retrace the Piscopo lineage back to Taurasi, Italy.

10) Language: Keep a respectable fluency in Chinese (and Spanish if needed).

Not everyhing can be accomplished at the same time. In fact, I still need to clarify what I mean by “increase partnerships” and “lift weights regularly.” At least this is the starting point and I will create more details under these categories as I find time. What about your 5 year plan? Are you in the middle of one now or just finishing one? Share your FYP below!

Enter the Dragon...

For the past few weeks I’ve been away from AsianLiving to work on a long-standing goal of mine: Crush the HSK. Conquering this exam has been an interest of mine since 2007. At that time I had already been in China for 1 year and started feeling pretty confident about my daily-use Chinese. I had already traveled to the Yellow Mountains by myself and played tour guide for my brother’s New Year visit. But little did I know that there would be a beast of an exam waiting to swallow me whole…

The Chinese proficiency exam (HSK) is the only standardized test of Standard Mandarin for non-native speakers. It is administered by the Chinese government through Han Ban, the “China National Office for Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language.” With a scale of 1-6, HSK basically tests your ability to memorize the minuscule differences among verbs, pronouns, prepositions, etc. My goal is to get 4, but that is REALLY hard. HSK has been pummeled by complaints over the years for its lack of practicality. So, they created CTEST in 2006 for students to certify their daily-use Chinese and, for the first time, speaking!

When I put off taking the exam in 2007 I had become busy with other projects. In 2009 I had signed up for a Fall exam in Guangzhou, but became too busy to attend the scheduled exam… but now, I’m ready! I will not let it slip through my fingers again! Expected a republished article about my experience preparing for this exam when it is over…

After November 28th I will get back to Asianliving and update with some new recipes I’ve learned! A new Toufu recipe is coming + a tasty vegetable dish that floats!

Wish me luck!
-Ben@asianliving.me

Wonton Wrappers

Another Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day week have come and gone here in China! This time is important here for two reasons: first, to celebrate the moon at its fullest; and second, to commemorate the founding of “New China” in 1949. Last year was the 60th anniversary, which is thought of as an important age for growth and maturity in a person.

But a romantic evening under a full moon is incomplete without one thing: homemade Dumplings! Last week a colleague invited me to his family’s house to make dumplings from scratch. (Actually, we bought the little dough wrappings… but everything else was really fresh!) I suggest buying dumpling wrappings from your local Asian food store or major grocer chain. Here are “Wonton Wrappers” available on Amazon.

Before we get started, I should mention that dumplings are generally a once or twice a month thing in Chinese households; similar to our pizza or pasta nights I remember from growing up. In this case, it is a great way to bring the family together for a bonding session. 10 per person should be enough. On this most recent occasion, we added a pan-fried fish and a tarot-root soup to make it a full meal for 5.

Dumpling Prep

1~ PREP filling: Fresh meat is crucial to good dumplings. I prefer pork, but you can use anything you want! Grind up about 1 pound (.5kg) and put in a bowl. In the picture we added corn, but I wouldn’t suggest it.

2~ Spice the meat how you prefer, but we used a few splashes of soy sauce, some sugar, and turmeric. It’s better to go light on the seasoning at this point.

3~ Shred celery and carrots. Mix thoroughly with the meat you have prepped. Feel free to use clean hands to mash it all together. (Great task for a kid with some self-control!)

Dumpling Wrappers

4~ Wrap ‘em! Put a little bowl of water and 1 chopstick on your table. Take a wrapper and lightly dab water around the edges. This will work as glue for the dumpling. Then, take a spoon and scoop just enough to fill the middle of the wrapper with room left for a complete, clean seal. Too much filling and the edges will not close. This may take a little finessing…

Boiled Dumplings

5~ Boil! After you’ve wrapped what seems like too many dumplings, prepare them for a hot water bath. You’ll notice that the wrap becomes more transparent when they are fully cooked; needs no more than a few minutes.

6~ Dipping sauce is essential. Use a small cereal bowl as a container and fill it 1/3 with soy sauce. Add a spoonful of dark vinegar to that. Use a red-pepper spice and adjust for taste. Small pits of chives work well in this too, but aren’t necessary. Share among 5 people or split liquid up into 5 smaller bowls.

You’re done! See the fish on that plate over there? They were cooked with their heads on and they were delicious! See my version of pan-fried ginger fish here!