Visiting China? Better hide your copy of Lonely Planet!

Talk about oversensitive. It seems China is confiscating visitors’ copies of the latest Lonely Planet China as they cross the border – and for a damned good reason! In the maps section, maps of China are colored differently than the maps of Taiwan. Can you imagine?

Via View from Taiwan.

The Discussion: 94 Comments

This doesn’t surprise me anymore than it does you. However, if I recall correctly, you can’t even find copies of the Lonely Planet in China; at least not in any bookstore.

My suggestion would be to tear the covers off.

September 3, 2006 @ 9:11 pm | Comment

Wouldn’t it be more practical for the customs officers just to take a Crayola Crayon and colour Taiwan the same colour as the PRC?

September 3, 2006 @ 9:15 pm | Comment

Ivan, that would be too simple. What are you thinking, man?

September 3, 2006 @ 9:28 pm | Comment

if I recall correctly, you can’t even find copies of the Lonely Planet in China; at least not in any bookstore.

That’s probably why they are confiscating copies from the tourists. Someone at the Customs Office might have a black market for something like that.

This practice is like going back to the 1980s. I had a copy of my Giles cartoon confiscated after an officer made me stood there for half an hour explaining to them some of the stories. Damn it. I want my book back as well.

September 3, 2006 @ 9:43 pm | Comment

Actually, I’ve seen Lonely Planet at the Friendship Store bookstore.

But this is just amazing, and not in a good way. I always take Lonely Planet to China. Never had any trouble, but remind me to put it in my luggage from now on.

September 3, 2006 @ 11:04 pm | Comment

Lisa, I looked all over the place for a copy of the Lonely Planet in Chengdu, but to no avail.

I was told that it had been banned. I guess I was incorrectly informed?

September 3, 2006 @ 11:31 pm | Comment

” …you can’t even find copies of the Lonely Planet in China; at least not in any bookstore”

you can find LP in china everywhere, you can find them in almost every major bookstores in china’s provincial cities

http://www.flickr.com/photos/91739285@N00/233491391/

this one is purchased from shanghai’s bookstore. there are a number of other LP in which taiwan is refered as a different “country” and sold in china’s bookstore

just curious, THM, how do you get that conclusion that ” …you can’t even find copies of the Lonely Planet in China; at least not in any bookstore”?

September 3, 2006 @ 11:45 pm | Comment

Umm, that was a Lonely Planet Vietnam. I’ve seen many bookshops with collections of Lonely Planets, but none of them had Lonely Planet China, except for a few book exchanges in backpacker hangouts like Yangshuo and Dali.

Incidentally, I met a local who runs a wonderful book exchange in Yangshuo, he told me that Lonely Planet China is indeed banned here, although he explained the it was only banned after the new edition came out with a Taiwan-less map on the back cover.

September 3, 2006 @ 11:56 pm | Comment

i had one before, it doesn’t include taiwan either, i think i got it from a second-hand bookstore in shanghai

no, you are wrong

there are LP taiwan, macao, hongkong, editions sold in shanghai’s bookstore

September 4, 2006 @ 12:04 am | Comment

well, it’s always like this, the government did something and it’s quickly picked up by western media as the representation of the whole picture here

sadly that most people, even including THM, believes the formula of media brainwashing

September 4, 2006 @ 12:09 am | Comment

Bingfeng,

I can’t speak for every province in China, but I never found any copies in Hangzhou or Chengdu. I stand by my comments and apparently (as indicated by Yifan) there are other sources to confirm my assertions.

In your defense, I did not indicate that I was referring to Lonely Planet China.

September 4, 2006 @ 12:09 am | Comment

* Make that “Mainland China”.

September 4, 2006 @ 12:11 am | Comment

Lonely Planet Taiwan is not available here.
I have asked at many English-language stores throughout the city, and never found it.
However, all other Lonely Planets are available in Shanghai.

September 4, 2006 @ 12:16 am | Comment

Well, it didn’t take Bingfeng long to pick up on this thread: http://tinyurl.com/m4ybl

September 4, 2006 @ 12:18 am | Comment

It sure didn’t take Bingfeng long to jump all over this one.

September 4, 2006 @ 12:20 am | Comment

you sure?

i remember i saw the LP taiwan in shanghai’s foreign bookstore

September 4, 2006 @ 12:20 am | Comment

Bingfeng, it’s obvious that you’re trying to make a political statement by referring to LP Taiwan.

I challenge you to find a copy about Mainland China.

September 4, 2006 @ 12:21 am | Comment

It sure didn’t take Bingfeng long to jump all over this one.

Posted by: THM at September 4, 2006 12:20 AM

————-

haha, and you forget to mention that i was also quick to pick up the story of how chinese propaganda dept suppressed the foxconn case

September 4, 2006 @ 12:24 am | Comment

Bingfeng, kudos to you on that one.

September 4, 2006 @ 12:27 am | Comment

I challenge you to find a copy about Mainland China.

Posted by: THM at September 4, 2006 12:21 AM

————–

i said that i already had one bought from a bookstore in shanghai

this is the old post about it: http://tinyurl.com/gzhog

i will take a photo when i see the LP China edition

but to be fair, you should back up your argument first when you said that “you can’t find any LP China in china”

September 4, 2006 @ 12:39 am | Comment

Well, if you want to get nit-picky….

I look forward to you finding a 2006 copy of LP China (Mainland).

September 4, 2006 @ 12:51 am | Comment

Bingfeng, since you’re going out of your way to defend China’s reputation as a bastion of free speech, would you please post the famous photo of the Tienanmen Square Tank Man on your blog?

Just as a symbolic gesture. Your propaganda about China’s ample civil liberties would be a hell of a lot more credible after doing that.

September 4, 2006 @ 1:00 am | Comment

Umm, that was a Lonely Planet Vietnam.

ROFL. I always say that arguing with Bingfeng is a unique experience. The simple statement is made, you can’t buy Lonely Planet China in China. So first he puts up a photo of LP Vietnam as proof that we’re wrong, then when that’s exposed, he says, very lamely,

there are LP taiwan, macao, hongkong, editions sold in shanghai’s bookstore

Masterful at evading the point, that LP China (repeat, China, not Taiwan or Macao or HK) is not for sale in China. Bingfeng is one of my favorite bloggers and commenters. He’s just…unique. I look forward to his response to Ivan’s challenge, which I’m guessing will be: ” ” (crickets chirping).

September 4, 2006 @ 1:10 am | Comment

¡°you can’t even find copies of the Lonely Planet in China¡±

¡°The simple statement is made, you can’t buy Lonely Planet China in China.¡±

————-

oops, my english is very poor, sorry

September 4, 2006 @ 1:21 am | Comment

The Chinese Customs are doing you all a favour. This might encourage the backpacker hordes to deviate from the well trodden LP-endorsed sites. he LP China books are poorly researched and the maps have always been rubbish.

September 4, 2006 @ 1:28 am | Comment

BF, somehow everyone else in the forum – and I mean everyone – but you understood we were only talking about LP China.

September 4, 2006 @ 1:33 am | Comment

“However, if I recall correctly, you can’t even find copies of the Lonely Planet in China; at least not in any bookstore.”

——————-

literally, it’s “copies of the Lonely Planet in China”, including any LP books in China

and there are must be some readers who understand it that way

September 4, 2006 @ 1:39 am | Comment

there is a LP discussion group at douban dot com

http://www.douban.com/group/11595/

soon the chinese version of LP China will be introduced here

and before taking the photo, here is a comment from a reader in shanghai:

2006-02-18 07:47:46: zigreal (�Ϻ�)
������Ҫ����”CHINA” �Ȿ���Ȿ���ǹ��ڲ�׼���� ��������ڽ�ͷ��������ԭ�İ�ģ����???
[I added spaces to keep this from throwing off the comments margins. Richard]

to translate the LP China? isn’t it that the LP China not allowed here? how could it be that i find them everywhere here on the street, strange???

September 4, 2006 @ 1:55 am | Comment

Again, BF, we all knew what he meant. But don’t worry about it, let’s move on.

September 4, 2006 @ 1:57 am | Comment

This sort of pettiness is probably why most Taiwanese see their “compatriots” as country bumpkins, and aren’t in a hurry to return to the loving embrace of the mainland.

September 4, 2006 @ 2:00 am | Comment

Thanks for knocking off my comments alignment.

Lots of things that are banned in China can be found on the street – the Da Vinci Code dvd, the Peasant Survey…. However, if you try to bring such things into the country, you may well have them confiscated, and not everyone knows where to go to buy these banned items.

Oh, did you ever reply to Ivan’s request that you post a certain picture on your blog? We’re waiting to hear back from you on that.

September 4, 2006 @ 2:00 am | Comment

” … Oh, did you ever reply to Ivan’s request that you post a certain picture on your blog?”

———–

you kidding me, richard, occasionally you become a malicious person

and you think i will ever be serious with ivan? every regular reader of this blog clearly knows what type of person ivan is and, mostly i skip his post and only come back to get a good laugh

September 4, 2006 @ 2:17 am | Comment

Well bingfeng, if you can’t take Ivan’s request more seriously. Then what about my request? Could you knock it off, go back and hide in your little corner? You are starting to sound really silly. Not even good for a laugh.

September 4, 2006 @ 2:21 am | Comment

He’ll reply by shouting “gan bei!” at me like he always does whenever he wants to avoid a serious question.

September 4, 2006 @ 2:22 am | Comment

He’ll reply by shouting “gan bei!” at me like he always does whenever he wants to avoid a serious question.

Posted by: Ivan at September 4, 2006 02:22 AM

————–

“serious questions”? where?

September 4, 2006 @ 2:29 am | Comment

Serious questions: can’t you access the picture of the Tank Man? Can you publish the Tank Man on your blog?

September 4, 2006 @ 2:34 am | Comment

BF, I’m not being malicious. Maybe a little sarcastic, but I’ve never been malicious to you. Seriously, would you even be willing to engage in a conversation about Ivan’s request? No matter what you think of Ivan as a person, his request is not irrational based on your insistence of how free China has become. Seriously – talk to us.

September 4, 2006 @ 2:34 am | Comment

” … your insistence of how free China has become”

come on

THM said that “you can’t even find copies of the Lonely Planet in China; at least not in any bookstore. ” and i verify that people can find LP in china in bookstores

what prevent you guys from understanding that simple assessment? arrogance? embarrasssement? hatred? stu****ty?

September 4, 2006 @ 2:50 am | Comment

Serious questions: can’t you access the picture of the Tank Man? Can you publish the Tank Man on your blog?

Posted by: Fat Cat at September 4, 2006 02:34 AM

—————-

before i answer that question, you should admit that unlike what THM said, people can find various LP books in china and you are not sure if the LP China is available in china because IT IS SAID that it’s banned there.

fair enough?

September 4, 2006 @ 2:53 am | Comment

Okay, BF, let’s all agree that you were right and all of us were wrong. We all misunderstoid Gordon, whio wasn’t actually referring to the LP China, but to all LP boks. Fine. You were right, we were wrong.

Now that that’s cleared up, what about the serious question? How free is your freedom of expression?

This, by the way, is what I mean by the “uniqueness” of debating with you, BF. You get fixated on a detail, something small and almost irrelevant, and you use it to bog down the whole conversation. And then you don’t let the conversation get past that little fragment you want to dwell on. So the bigger picture gets lost amid stupid back-and-forth about a detail. Know what I mean?

September 4, 2006 @ 2:57 am | Comment

before i answer that question, you should admit that unlike what THM said, people can find various LP books in china and you are not sure if the LP China is available in china because IT IS SAID that it’s banned there.

fair enough?

Fair! It’s true, you can buy any Lonely Planet book you want in China. They even sell them at Xinhua bookstores, even the LP China. Look, there’s one for sale right there across the street at the Xinhua bookstore. And look, there’s another LP China for sale over there at the government newstand. And look way down the road over there – see, they are selling LP China at the supermarkets now. It’s raining Lonely Planets in China. THM was wrong! Bingfeng was right!

Now that that’s out of the way, how do you answer the serious question?

September 4, 2006 @ 3:00 am | Comment

fat cat,

let me give you a chance to show us you are a man.

can’t you access the picture of the Tank Man?
– yes i can, i even watched some videos of the tam incident online

Can you publish the Tank Man on your blog?
– no, because it’s sensitive political pics and that will not only ruin my blog but also put th e whole bc blog host in danger

September 4, 2006 @ 3:01 am | Comment

The Communist Pigs certainly trained him to perfection in all of the most common, traditional logical fallacies that they’ve always used. Bingfeng is the Master of Misdirection and Irrelevancy.

September 4, 2006 @ 3:02 am | Comment

This, by the way, is what I mean by the “uniqueness” of debating with you, BF. You get fixated on a detail, something small and almost irrelevant, and you use it to bog down the whole conversation. And then you don’t let the conversation get past that little fragment you want to dwell on. So the bigger picture gets lost amid stupid back-and-forth about a detail. Know what I mean?

—————————
if you guys are not serious or honest in small places in your arguement / information about china, how can people trust you with the inferences made from them?

September 4, 2006 @ 3:07 am | Comment

before i answer that question, you should admit that unlike what THM said, people can find various LP books in china and you are not sure if the LP China is available in china because IT IS SAID that it’s banned there.

Bingfeng, I can’t admit to that because I don’t know. I don’t live in China. Remember? I’m relying on people like you or others who are living there to give me your informed opinion. But you are only interested in winning an argument. (And by the way your argument is going from silly to incoherent). So, after all that, I still don’t know. I guess I just have to wait till I’m in China next to find out by myself whether the book is available.

September 4, 2006 @ 3:11 am | Comment

Logical fallacy, misdirection: Bingfeng’s question assumes a false premise, ie, it assumes that we were not honest in the detail about those LP books.

As Richard has pointed out, everyone EXCEPT bingfeng understood from the context, what we were talking about.

Bingfeng, YOU’re the one who’s being unserious and dishonest here. But what else can we expect of a Communist, since your whole filthy Party was based on lies from its very start, and official lies and censorship and disinformation are its lifeblood.

September 4, 2006 @ 3:11 am | Comment

bf: if you guys are not serious or honest in small places in your arguement / information about china, how can people trust you with the inferences made from them?

And you were saying that I am being malicious toward you?

BF, I am really disappointed. You are a smart guy. What is up with this BS? You’ve succeeded in tossing a monkey wrench into the machinery to grind meaningful discussion to a halt, and you still insist your distraction was all-important. Time to grow up.

September 4, 2006 @ 3:19 am | Comment

Bingfeng, I can’t admit to that because I don’t know. I don’t live in China. Remember? I’m relying on people like you or others who are living there to give me your informed opinion. But you are only interested in winning an argument. (And by the way your argument is going from silly to incoherent). So, after all that, I still don’t know. I guess I just have to wait till I’m in China next to find out by myself whether the book is available.

Posted by: Fat Cat at September 4, 2006 03:11 AM

—————–

oh, so how do you get your “informed” anti-ccp china view?

when the information fit into your ideology, you let it in and when it doesn’t, you “have to wait till I’m in China” or just rely on second-hand sources

perfect

on the contrary, i find you guys are very defensive in the arguement

September 4, 2006 @ 3:20 am | Comment

Defensive? In what way?

September 4, 2006 @ 3:21 am | Comment

let me give you a chance to show us you are a man.

How? You are sounding not only silly and incoherent, but also ridiculous. But then what else can we expect from a CCP apologist?

September 4, 2006 @ 3:22 am | Comment

oh, so how do you get your “informed” anti-ccp china view?

BF, nice try. You have to try harder.

September 4, 2006 @ 3:25 am | Comment

Fat Cat, I’m putting more popcorn in the microwave now… 😉

September 4, 2006 @ 3:27 am | Comment

Put a bit more in. It’s going to be a long movie.

September 4, 2006 @ 3:32 am | Comment

I’d forget about the popcorn. Soon BF with cut and paste the entire thread and run it on his own blog so he can control the comments and get praise an support from his comrades.

(Actually, he won’t do that. He has done it several times in the past, but the last time he tried it, it backfired on him. Check out those comments – all two of them.)

September 4, 2006 @ 3:37 am | Comment

Literally everything Bingfeng has said in this thread has been a variation of the famous South Park “Chewbacca Defense.”

As defined in the Urban Dictionary (www.urbandictionary.com) the Chewbacca Defense is: “When you use a totally bullshit argument that has absolutely nothing to do with the case.” See also the article in wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chewbacca_Defense

(…but if you’re in the PRC, you’ll need a proxy server to read that Wikipedia article, because Wikipedia is blocked by the Communist Pigs’ firewall. Which brings us back to the question Bingfeng has not yet answered, about posting that Tank Man photo on his blog…..)

September 4, 2006 @ 3:53 am | Comment

Which brings us back to the question Bingfeng has not yet answered, about posting that Tank Man photo on his blog…..

———–

it’s answered, ivan

September 4, 2006 @ 3:56 am | Comment

It’s not answered. All you said, basically, is that you’re afraid to put it up.

Which is fine. But what is NOT fine, Bingfeng, is how you continue to be a lying apologist for the filthy Communist Party whose brutality MAKES YOU AFRAID!

You cowardly pathetic lying little whore.

September 4, 2006 @ 4:08 am | Comment

Oh, Christ. Guys, I’ve seen copies of the Lonely Planet guide to China, as well as regional guides (Taiwan/Macau/wherever, I think) at a number of bookstores around Beijing, including the state-run Foreign Languages Bookstore. Not only does the government not give a good goddamn what English books backpackers are reading; in my experience, it’s far from difficult to bring copies of “banned” Chinese-language materials into the Mainland. Granted, I was just bringing in a couple issues of 北京之春, but still.

As a side note, come on — how old are you guys? Here’s a summary of the discussion for you:

A: Not surprising. Of course this happens, because nothing good ever happens in China.
B: Actually, this is wrong.
A: You would say that, commie.
B: No, really, it’s wrong. Look!
A: I’m not looking, commie! Also, you smell! And what about Tian’anmen Square?
B: That has nothing to do with this post.
A: Stop changing the subject! Chewbacca Defense!
B: The subject is this book that you said was banned but actually isn’t. I’m not —
A: Liar! Liar! Why can’t you stop lying, liar?
B: But I’m not lying! Look, you can go out and buy them around the corner.
A: I have no way of knowing that, because I don’t live in China and have never been to China.
B: Then how can you call me a li–
A: LA-LA-LA-LA, I am not listening!

September 4, 2006 @ 4:15 am | Comment

I really don’t see BF through such a harsh lens. I think he is sincere and a decent guy who shows a lot of bravery debating – in English, not his native language – with people who he knows see things very differently. So I really respect BF on some levels. And I think he answered the question just as we might have expected – he is in a corner on that one, and he basically admits it: he is not free to do so, and if he tried it he could face punishment. When I get fed up is when he tries to win an argument with a facetious bit of snark. Ivan’s reference to the Chewbaca Defense is right-on. But BF has at times been very critical of the CCP and to simply paint him as an apologist isn’t really accurate. I suspect he harbors a lot more dislike of his government than he lets on, while sincerely believing it is taking China in the right direction.

September 4, 2006 @ 4:16 am | Comment

Brendan, I think you’re right, they don’t care about anything that’s written in English. And yet, they do care enough to take away people’s copies of the book at the border. And they do keep many, many English language books out of the bookstores. Lonely Planet China wasn’t to be found when I was there, and I had to borrow a copy from my colleague. I’m sure there are places where it’s sold, but they weren’t easy to find when I was there, and according to several commenters here that’s still the case.

September 4, 2006 @ 4:25 am | Comment

There certainly are limited selections of English-language books, but I do think a lot of that comes more from demand and restrictions on importing books from abroad than from active, title-specific censorship. Granted, you’re not likely to see Mao: the Untold Story or The Tian’anmen Papers around any time soon, but other books with fairly critical content (most recent purchases: War Trash by Ha Jin and Peter Hessler’s Oracle Bones) are available in state-run foreign-language bookstores. And, as I said, I brought in a couple of fairly seditious Chinese-language magazines without any problem whatsoever.

Of course, because of the crappy selections of books at foreign-language bookstores, some titles willl be periodically available and unavailable. If you can’t find the Lonely Planet the next time you’re here, let me know; I’ll lend you the copy I bought in Beijing a while back.

It’s interesting that they’re confiscating copies at the border with Viet Nam. Then again, cops in less developed areas are more likely to be paranoid. It’s important to remember that “there’s a regulation” is usually just shorthand for “I’m not going to bother to back up this assertion.”

September 4, 2006 @ 4:38 am | Comment

My first experience with paranoid Chinese law enforcement was upon arrival at the airport in Qingdao in 2001. I had a copy of Lonely Planet China sticking out of my totebag. A security officer motioned me over and gestured to see the book, which I handed to him. He flipped through it and gave it back to me, and I headed on my merry way to face the taxi touts on the other side of the wall.

The only other experience with censorship was with the international post office in Beijing, which refused to mail a collection of Cultural Revolution posters bought at the Panjiayuan? Flea Market. No problem. I just brought them home in my suitcase.

China is actually less strict than many other non-Western countries. Small shipments from Amazon.com were never even opened. School textbook orders were winked through customs with the aid of a go-between. A colleague who worked in Kuwait said that every textbook was inspected carefully and any references to the Holocaust were removed.

September 4, 2006 @ 6:29 am | Comment

I have a friend who bought a copy of LP Beijing here in Beijing. What was funny was that a paragraph or two describing the Tiananmen Square Massacre was covered in white out, but poorly, so that you could still read it. It kind of served to highlight that section. I’m surprised they didn’t just rip that page out.

September 4, 2006 @ 7:36 am | Comment

I also know someone who tried to buy the LP China book in Beijing about 3 weeks ago. He couldn’t find it on shelves anywhere, and was told it was banned because there was no chapter on Taiwan. However, he managed to get a copy from the back room in one of the main bookstores. Of course, they wouldn’t give him a receipt (useless anyway) or even a plastic bag to carry it out in.

September 4, 2006 @ 7:40 am | Comment

Brendan’s “cops in less developed areas” sound a lot more closer to my experience than Richard’s mysterious “they”. As if China’s law enforcement acted in a unified way! I know China has laws and everything, but seriously, when it comes to stuff like “banned”, reality is that policies are enforced capriciously according to the local police chief’s/Great Firewall server admin’s mood that day.

Not that the US is much better (in some ways). For every one story of peoples’ pirated DVD collections being seized at the airport, you hear of fifty people who made it through with a wave and a smile.

(It’s really hard to follow comments on this weblog because bylines are the same color and weight as the comment text. Ugh.)

September 4, 2006 @ 8:45 am | Comment

I’m trying to t that fixed Micah – it didn’t used to be that way, but after this site crashed a few months ago that and many other aspects of the template got FUBAR. Agree with you about the “they” – there is no “they,” and what happens in one place or at one time is totally different from that which happens at an other. I just know I wanted the LPChina book in 2003 because I heard they had the best section on Yunnan and I couldn’t get hold of it anywhere. It didn’t matter – SARS highjacked my trip anyway, as all the roads to Yunnan were closed.

September 4, 2006 @ 8:56 am | Comment

It was not confiscated.

Only one single page was torn out of the book.

This is another hoax blown out of qucking proportion here. See original account here

http://www.nothingbutbonfires.com/?p=140

September 4, 2006 @ 11:41 am | Comment

And to lay this further to rest, I’ve got a photo of Roland Soong and a couple other mysterious gentlemen holding up copies of the Lonely Planet China guide at last night’s panel discussion between Roland and Jeremy of Danwei. Will upload to my Flickr when I get a chance.

September 4, 2006 @ 11:30 pm | Comment

Brendan, how does that lay anything to rest?

I know someone who had a copy of Jung Chang’s biography of Mao smuggled into China through the regular mail. (This person’s friend simply put a different dust-jacket over it when he mailed it.)
So if he held up a copy of Jung Chang’s banned book at a panel discussion in Beijing, would that mean that it’s not banned? No.

September 4, 2006 @ 11:45 pm | Comment

Holding up copies in no way lays the matter to rest. I had my own copy of LP China when I was there (borrowed from my co-worker). There are plenty of people who have the book.

Showing it for sale in a few of China’s bookstores would practically lay the matter to rest, at least for me. I did look for it while I was there and so did several other commenters in this thread. If we are mistaken and the book is indeed readily available, that would be great news.

About the original story this post started with: if border guards really are either confiscating copies at the border or ripping out pages, then it’s worthy of discussion. As with all things in China, there’s probably a maze of contradictions. It might be sold here, banned there. Guards at one border might handle the book differently from those at another. But it’s a topic that is legitimate, like the Chinese athletes last week pulling off the Taiwanese flags from the children runners. That really happened. Many Chinese have a, shall we say, strange reactio to the notion of Taiwan as a country, and this story seems like just another manifestation of it. A photo opp of someone in China holding up a book or waving a Taiwanese flag won’t make that any less true.

September 4, 2006 @ 11:48 pm | Comment

Ivan, our comments crossed.

September 4, 2006 @ 11:49 pm | Comment

Heh, for all we know, ESWN/Roland could have gotten some copies through the Ministry of Propaganda after they were confiscated by border guards.

September 5, 2006 @ 12:01 am | Comment

I think I wrote this above, but it might have gotten lost in the flood of comments.
Lonely Planet Taiwan is unavailable. I know because I have asked at all types of foreign language bookstores. It’s a big “no-no.”
I got the Hong Kong Macau one here. Readily available.
I have ever-so-occassionally seen Lonely Planet China. Don’t see it often. Could because I’m in China and thus LP China would probably sell better than, say, LP Norway, or could be because of maps or some other reason. The confiscation of LP China certainly suggests other reasons.
And finally, customs shouldn’t be confiscating and LP’s, just as Taiwanese flags shouldn’t be stolen at children’s athletic meets. Pettiness does not make a great nation.

September 5, 2006 @ 12:39 am | Comment

By the way, anyone know what “LP” stands for in Taiwan? hehe

September 5, 2006 @ 12:39 am | Comment

kevin,

i am not sure i have seen LP China here but i somehow remember that i saw the LP taiwan (with a green cover?)

btw, are there reading materials not allowed to take into the US or taiwan? just curious

September 5, 2006 @ 12:49 am | Comment

I have never heard of prohibition against any literature to the US or Taiwan (except pornography)

September 5, 2006 @ 12:52 am | Comment

The only place where I’ve had my reading materials sifted through was Chinese customs. I can say for certain that US Customs does not have any beef with any Lonely Planet guides…
As for the Taiwan LP, where do you remember seeing it? I’ve asked at all the foreign bookstores I’ve been to in Shanghai, never found it. Also asked them to order it for me, got a “no-no” response.

September 5, 2006 @ 12:56 am | Comment

kevin,

somewhere in fuzhou rd, it could be the foreign language bookstore or some second-hand book store near there

September 5, 2006 @ 1:18 am | Comment

kevin,

what do you think of the panda thing, the DPP regime refused to take the panda from mainland?

personally, i think both (confiscate LP and refuse panda) are stupid

September 5, 2006 @ 1:26 am | Comment

Great non sequitor, man!
Do be sure to contact me when you get LP Taiwan.

September 5, 2006 @ 1:34 am | Comment

it’s a long time ago, and i got my LP china there too, anyway, you don’t have a lot of foreign language bookstores in shanghai

September 5, 2006 @ 1:45 am | Comment

it’s a long time ago, and i got my LP china there too, anyway, you don’t have a lot of foreign language bookstores in shanghai

sure, and do contact me if the DPP regime decides to take the panda

September 5, 2006 @ 1:48 am | Comment

kevin, are you taiwanese?

September 5, 2006 @ 2:00 am | Comment

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bokane/234779204/

Shot on my phone camera in poor lighting, but it should be possible to see three separate editions of the Lonely Planet, one of which is for sale at the bookstore in question, all of which feature the objectionable map. Forgive the blurriness — the night kind of went that way.

I don’t expect that this will end the discussion or convince Ivan to go back on his medication, but a guy can hope.

September 5, 2006 @ 2:22 am | Comment

If I was Taiwanese, I probably wouldn’t need LP Taiwan…
Do you like the movie “Pee-wee’s Big Adventure”?
(Sorry, just trying to find a similar non sequitur.)

September 5, 2006 @ 2:33 am | Comment

As Cartman said on South Park, “This is some fucked up shit going on here.”

Brendan: Go fuck yourself. And I can’t even be bothered to explain that in any more detail.

And Richard, my friend: Eh, well you know what I have to say to you. Boundaries.

September 5, 2006 @ 10:26 am | Comment

Par for the course on the Peking duck.

September 6, 2006 @ 2:05 am | Comment

Micah, you are right and I am unhappy about it. Very. Very.

September 6, 2006 @ 3:28 am | Comment

You can fuind many copies of the lonely planet at the Worl Trade Center shopping mall’s bookstore in Beijing.

And for the border check… I am very surprised since I neve seen any custom control at Beijing Ariport when coming back from abroad .

September 6, 2006 @ 8:39 pm | Comment

Copies of Lonely Planet for which countries? China and Taiwan?

September 6, 2006 @ 8:59 pm | Comment

Taiwan is officially not a country. It is a province of ROC, or PRC, whichever government you want to side with.

September 8, 2006 @ 10:00 pm | Comment

Having just returned from Beijing, I had no attention paid to any of the contents of my bags on entering or leaving China, including the copy of Lonely Planet Beijing. Granted, that book says nothing about outlying destinations like Taiwan and Hong Kong, but I find it surprising that anyone is looking that closely.

On the other hand, I saw many copies of Lonely Planet guides for other countries in the six or seven bookshops I visited, but no Lonely Planet guides for any section of China at bookstores in China.

September 13, 2006 @ 12:15 pm | Comment

I think we all know the Lonely Planet for othger countries – nt Chna or Taiwan – are sold openly in China. And chances are you’ll never have your bags checked at custoims so they’ll never seize your copy of the China or Taiwan books if you’re carrying them. But in a couple places this did happen, or at least pages were torn out. And that’s interesting.

September 13, 2006 @ 5:55 pm | Comment

it’s sad
I grew up in Taiwan, got families there…

and it’s kind of painful to see ppl saying that Taiwan is not technically a country and it belongs to China mainland…

( or, most ppl here in Gold Coast dont know where it is and mix it up with Thailand,sigh…)

when will it ever be in normal diplomatic relationship with the rest of the world?
it’s a dream…

September 19, 2006 @ 1:23 am | Comment

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