Now for something a little lighter, Stephen Colbert interviews Jennifer 8 Lee, author of the new book The Fortune Cookie Chronicles: Adventures in the world of Chinese Food.

It’s all in good fun, and as a historian, I (Jeremiah) was pleased to see Zuo Zongtang get his props as something more than “The Chicken Guy” (as my students occasionally refer to him).

Colbert quote: “Is Chinese food safer to eat than Chinese toys?”

It’s been a long time since we’ve done this, but Jeremiah and I would like to host a blogger dinner in Beijing this coming Friday so we can all meet the faces behind the monikers and indulge in the usual intense conversations about life in general and China in particular.

I’m getting kind of tired of the same old restaurant and hope someone can suggest something new – preferably a place with great food, a private room and big tables. Peking duck on the menu would be nice but not essential. The plan is to meet at 7.30 for drinks, and to have dinner at 8.30.

Please confirm with me by email so I can send you the restaurant map and ensure we have enough seats. Thanks, and hope you can make it. I will keep this post at the top until Friday.

Breaking news: CCP propagandists lie. Write that down and memorize it.

Below is a letter from an environmental consultant that was sent by the Foreign Correspondents Club of China (FCCC) to every foreign reporter in town. The lying liars are caught with their lying pants down around their lying ankles.

Monitoring and Reporting of Beijing Air Quality

Several reporters have mentioned that they have had difficulty in finding me, and I wanted to share my contact information (located below).

The Beijing Environmental Protection Bureau recently held a press conference and denied manipulating Beijing air quality data.

“So there is no such thing we crossed out some stations in heavy-traffic areas,” Du Shaozhong.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-02/27/content_7681326.htm

In case you want to confirm that Mr. Du’s statements were factually incorrect you can check the website he suggested:

Here’s the link for December 31, 2007. http://www.bjepb.gov.cn/air/Air.aspx?time-2007-12-31
Notice that air quality for Qianmen (东城区前门) and Chegongzhuang (海淀区车公庄) are reported

Check the link for January 1, 2008. Notice neither Qianmen nor Chegongzhuang are reported.
http://www.bjepb.gov.cn/air2008/Air.aspx?time=2008-1-1

These are the two monitoring stations in traffic areas that were removed. See for example the 1998 BJEPB Annual Environmental Statement: “车公庄和前门两个监测
子站位于交通路口，主要监测交通环境状况；
其他各子站分别代表居住区、
商业区和工业区的环境状况”
http://www.bjepb.gov.cn/bjhb/tabid/68/InfoID/2614/frtid/66/Default.aspx

I am happy to respond to any questions regarding the monitoring and reporting of Beijing air quality. If the links above are removed, I’m also happy to provide PDF versions for any and all dates if anyone is interested.

Regards,
Steven Q. Andrews
Independent Environmental Consultant
Washington, DC

Well, there you have it. And yes, Bush and his henchmen lie, too. But at least they do it with a little more finesse.

I removed Mr. Andrews’ email address, which was in the original letter, knowing how some commenters have taken to sending rather outspoken emails to people mentioned here.

Too strange – you just have to check it out. Then follow the link... The author doesn’t look like a fool, but I’ll have more faith in his theories after I understand them better.