Jun

04th 2008

Geo-censorship in China

Filed Under Asia, Current Events | Leave a Comment

Some readers of National Geographic in China had trouble reading the May issue (dedicated to China) because some of the pages were glued together.  A couple of the maps (on pages 44-45) showing disputed border areas with India and Pakistan and distribution of ethinic minorities (pages 126-127) were apparently glued together by a local distributor in China. 

Beth Foster, the magazine’s director of communications, says, “It appears that someone connected with local magazine distribution in Asia glued together a few pages of the May English-language issues of National Geographic magazine that were shipped into China. We have not gotten to the bottom of the specifics of this isolated activity, but we have had no communication from or with the Chinese government about this matter.”

Read more: Glued Geographic - China Journal at the Wall Street Journal

Apr

04th 2008

China’s Instant Cities

Filed Under Asia, Urban Geography | Leave a Comment

National Geographic has a fascinating perspective on Chinese boomtowns developing along coastal areas.  Many Chinese are migrating from the countrysides to these manufacturing towns as part of the biggest human migration in history.  The article opens with the rapid design of a 21,500 square foot factory complete with worker dormitories in a little over an hour and provides a peek into life as a factory owner and worker in these coastal manufacturing towns.

Oct

19th 2007

East Sea still not widely used on maps

Filed Under Asia, Cartography | Leave a Comment

Matt from the About Geography site recently reintroduced the question of “should geographers and cartographers change the name of the Sea of Japan to the East Sea in deference to Korean sensibilities?”  Since 2002, Korea has been campaigning to officially change the name from Sea of Japan to the East Sea.  The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) originally called for requiring both names be used on maps in 2002, citing a 1974 resolution that calls for use of all relevant names in cases of conflict.  The IHO stepped out of the debate when it became too contentious and has since urged Japan and Korea to come to a consensus on their own.  The Korea Times is reporting that a recent review of 295 maps printed by 45 countries shows that most maps still do not use East Sea.  208 maps only used Sea of Japan to describe the area with another 73 maps using both East Sea and Sea of Japan.  Only three percent (nine maps) use only East Sea and the remaining 5 maps don’t label the sea at all. 

300px-sea_of_japan_map.png

Mar

04th 2007

Has China Banned You?

Filed Under Asia, Internet | Leave a Comment

Are you curious if your web site is accessible in China?  Test out your URL on the Great Firewall of China to see if your site can be viewed within China.

Great Firewall of China