This is how much China hates the Dalai Lama. So much that when the Tibetan spiritual leader met with President Bush Tuesday in Washington, what we can assume was the most important meeting between two people anywhere in world, there was not a single reporter or cameraman in sight. A day before the […]

On Monday presidential hopeful John McCain suggested that he would have trouble voting for a Muslim for president. The stumbling senator explained to reporters that since America was founded as a Christian nation, he preferred America to have a Christian leader. McCain said while campaigning in New Hampshire, “I just have to say […]

As Jews around the world prepare for the Passover holiday next week, the chosen people will not only have to forego bread, wheat, rye and all that is leavened. This week, a pro-cannabis advocacy group has added one more item to the unkosher list. Israel’s Green Leaf Party announced Wednesday that in accordance […]

The New York Times ran a piece Thursday about a Chinese orphan, one of the first babies to be adopted when China first began allowing international adoptions in the early 1990s. Now, the babies of the 90s, mostly all of whom are girls, are becoming the teens of this decade. And for some […]

When I first came to China, I distinctly remember a menu item I saw that scared the ever-loving shit out of me. At a Beijing-style restaurant in Shanghai, I was handed an “English” menu that the manager of the restaurant was extremely proud of. After all, English menus are hard to come by. […]

From the Cinema for Peace Gala at the Berlin Film Festival Monday, U.S. film star Richard Gere encouraged Germany to press China on the issue of human rights in Tibet. As you may know, Gere is a devout Buddhist and a strong supporter of the Tibetan Independence movement. Currently Germany holds the presidencies […]

“A synagogue in Shanghai?” Yep. Actually 2 synagogues in Shanghai. At one point there were seven. Today, however, there is not even one active house of worship for China’s largest Jewish expat community. But that is about to change. Shanghai has begun a five-month restoration project on Ohel Moishe […]

As long as this story gets better and better, I will continue to write about it. The London arm of the Hong Kong-based Chinese mafia group the “Triads” has made death threats to players of the Queens Park Rangers for their roles in a massive soccer brawl Wednesday with the Chinese national under-21 team. […]

Sounds like it could be Borat’s first novel. Though in China, something like this on the cover of a book is not meant as a joke. Instead, it’s meant to grab the attention of Chinese book buyers who are actually interested in making money. The Jewish way. The Washington Post, in […]

In October, I launched this infrequent and irreverent column chronicling the religious issues facing perhaps the most unreligious country in the world. I wanted to delve deeper into the topics important to China’s religious community. But more than this, quite simply, I really like the depiction of the Chinese Jesus (above). Well, […]