Shalom Michael Yu shall be fed

Back when I lived in Beijing, I went to the Chabad seder, and left halfway through, disappointed in the tone of the festivities and, most importantly, in the food! My friends and I ended up eating at Feichang Thai that night instead.

That next week, I heard about Kehillat Beijing and checked it out. I enjoyed a great Rosh Hashana and some really exquisite Shabbat services and dinners there, which is certainly a less intimidating crowd than the Chabad scene -- mostly embassy staffers and lawyers (and their families).

From their website (http://www.sinogogue.org), it seems like they're having a seder again this year, on Sunday night. I'd highly recommend you check it out!

-Ali, who'll be enjoying her family's seder back home in NY this year

Are their kosher (halal) Macdonalds in Beijing?

@Ali: Thanks for the tip! I'm gonna try to participate in that Kehillat Seder.

@James: Kosher isn't the same as Halal... but all the same, I don't think McDonalds adheres to either set of dietary laws. (Neither do I.)

Chabad should be a good place to go (not sure if there's more in Beijing). I'm going here in Shenzhen. They're pretty good about understanding that most of the Jews here don't follow their rules so much. They're just happy to have people join in.

Unfortunately, the police have instructed them to restrict entrance to all Jewish events to foreign passport holders only. It kind of angers me because now I can't bring my wife along (and she's been looking forward to this for a while).

If you were in israel it would be a little better... almost every McDonalds is kosher, and you can get invited to a seder in like 3 seconds. Wish you were here.

oh great but me want halal not sanctified kosher

Restive Xinjiang: China's Next Trouble Spot After Tibet?

By REUTERS
Published: April 18, 2008
Filed at 8:13 a.m. ET

Skip to next paragraph KHOTAN, China (Reuters) - The two young women trying on headscarves at a dusty market stall have heard of the recent unrest in Tibet's capital Lhasa, but they say the same could never happen here in China's border region of Xinjiang.

Despite their confidence, tensions have bubbled to the surface in Xinjiang, much to the dismay of China's leaders who are anxious to maintain stability in the oil-rich region which borders Afghanistan and Pakistan and is home to about 8 million Uighurs, a Muslim Turkic-speaking people. "All the ethnicities in China are one big family," said one of the women, 19, as she studied herself in an orange headscarf in the mirror, debating whether to buy it.

It's a line that echoes the statements of China's Communist leaders in Beijing, but the sentiment felt hollow when the wave of anti-government protests erupted in its ethnic Tibetan areas last month.

Then came a demonstration in Khotan, an Uighur-majority town on the edge of Xinjiang's forbidding desert, where hundreds marched through the weekly bazaar in late March in a protest the city government blamed on ethnic separatists.

The demonstration, which was by all accounts a peaceful and isolated incident, nonetheless touched on the worst fears of China's leaders: the prospect Tibet's unrest could have a contagion effect on Xinjiang, its other sensitive border region, ahead of the Beijing Olympics in August.

But analysts say Xinjiang is not likely to be the next Tibet despite distrust between Han Chinese and Uighurs and disgruntlement among Uighurs over restrictions on their religion and culture.

"The broader perspective on this is that these kind of local demonstrations happen all over China -- if the security figures are to be believed, by the tens of thousands every year," said one Western analyst, who declined to be named, citing the sensitivity of the issue.

"It's become almost a standard way of dealing with local issues, a pressure release, but of course it's much harder for Uighurs to do this because they're branded separatists."

REPRESSION

The road to Khotan, flanked on either sides by unbroken stretches of desolate desert, is free of the kind of security personnel that has flooded into Tibetan areas since the protests began there in March.

At its weekly market, merchants flog everything from sides of mutton to delicate threads of saffron, much as they have for generations.

Residents say there is plenty of discontent, but not many outlets to express it.

"I could guarantee that kind of thing couldn't happen here," said Ahyiguzai, a 17-year-old Uighur resident, referring to the Lhasa riot.

"People have those feeling of dissatisfaction sometimes, but they wouldn't dare do anything. Those kinds of things are resolutely not allowed," she said.

Analysts say fears of separatist sentiment and the prospect of radical Islam making inroads have meant that Beijing's grip on the region is especially tight.

In its annual report, the U.S. Congressional-Executive Commission on China said that religious restrictions on Uighurs remained "severe" and cited increased control over Muslim pilgrimages and vetting of the content of sermons.

But rather than having the assimilationist effect the government seeks, those policies could be having the opposite impact, driving the Uighur community to close ranks.

"The policies are actually widening the gap between Uighurs and the rest of the population," said Nicholas Bequelin, a Hong Kong-based researcher for Human Rights Watch.

"People build up barriers to protect their ethnic identity from the attempt by the state to remodel it."

Everywhere in Khotan and nearby towns there are signs of a community that is increasingly devout, an anomaly in officially atheist China.

Uighur women wear headscarves and, once married, many also cover their faces, leaving only their eyes visible.

Many residents in Khotan, as well as Yarkand and Kashgar, Uighur towns stretching along the ancient Silk Route, express a desire to make the pilgrimage to the Muslim holy city of Mecca, and unhappiness with government restrictions on the number of pilgrims permitted to do so.

TERROR THREAT?

China says the community poses a significant terror threat, and points to a January raid on a group that Xinjiang's Communist Party boss described as a "terrorist gang" as well as a foiled plot to attack a jet from the region bound for Beijing.

Last week, Chinese authorities announced the detention of 45 East Turkestan "terrorist" suspects, and foiled plots to carry out suicide bombings and kidnap athletes to disrupt the Olympics. Uighur activists say the terror plots have been fabricated.

The United States listed the East Turkestan Islamic Movement, which advocates for a separate state in Xinjiang, as a terrorist organization in 2002.

Rights groups say China exaggerates the threat of militant activity in the region to exert greater control, and analysts say those exaggerations mean that Beijing's intelligence on the issue tends to be unreliable.

Still, global fears about Islamic radicalism may limit the kind of international support that has helped the Tibet protests.

Uighurs also lack a figurehead such as the Dalai Lama to press their cause abroad, or an obvious catalyst for protest, such as the March 10 anniversary of the uprising against Chinese rule in Tibet that sparked the marches there.

But most of all there simply may be no space in Uighur society for widespread dissent to bubble to the surface.

"Even for small things you hear about people being taken away," said Ahyiguzai. "So any kind of bigger incident I don't think could happen here."

(Editing by Megan Goldin)

Thanks Lucus, if anyone else has any articles on restrictions to Mecca please lead me to them. Doing a thesis on it. Sorry for the shameless self-promotion on your blog Michael.

@jimba,

Here is one for you:

http://uyghuramerican.org/articles/530/1/Uyghur-pilgrims-denied-Saudi-visas-in-Pakistan/Uyghur-pilgrims-denied-Saudi-visas-in-Pakistan.html

why do foreigners, especially those from the west come to a country and just want to hang out with other foreigners? if you like your own people so much, why dont you go back and just stay there?

this is the enigma of the backpacker trail dear emperor - Yangshuo's a gresat place coz its got "khatmandu" type restaurants, like Dali, like Lijiang, like.....yu r right.....we all travel lin familiar territory-------

Emperor,

The Chinese tourists here in Los Angeles do the same thing. They hang out with each other, visit Chinatown, and sample the food at the local Chinese restaurants. Human nature, I guess...

@emperor: So, I'm not supposed to celebrate one of the most important religious holidays for Jews because I'm in China? I guess I'd better tell all the Chinese people back in the US to close their Chinese restaurants and no longer celebrate Spring Festival?

Just because I live in China it doesn't make me Chinese.

never said anything about your religious holiday, so stop crying.

you said

"One of the main reasons I moved to Beijing was to be a part of the vibrant expat community here."
if you wanna be around westerners so much, just go back to your home country and stay there is what i meant.

Im not chinese but i have travelled a lot around china, and the same thing i always see is a bunch of westerners get together and talk about how disgusting and weird china is.

just curious why westerners come to china, and only hang out with other westerners and go places where other westerners go.

@michael, you need to hook up with Anna Sophie Loewenberg of http://www.sexybeijing.tv. She's jewish. I saw an online video once of her attending a jewish event in Beijing.
mikvah bath

"In this episode of Sexy Beijing, Su Fei tries to please her mother and go for one of her own kind. She visits the opening of the mikvah bath at a new Jewish community centre in Beijing and finds out what it would be like to go Orthodox."

ouyang,

Jewish people like Su Fei will be always welcomed by Chinese people.
Jewish people like Michael Manning... consider his significant contribution to Chinese natioanlist spirit, is welcome now. We should donate money, buy him a airticket, send him to Iraq after the Olympic Games...

Wondered what "Chag Sameach!"means.

Jewish in China? So are they the 'bad' (yes just bad) guy or what. Where normally do they hang around? Why are they in China? Care to explain how many of them are in China.

@manmansha: Chag sameach means "joyous festival" or "happy holidays" in Hebrew.

@emperor: Expats all over the world want to stay connected to people from their country and to their own traditions. It's just human nature.

The Jewish community in Kaifeng is one of the oldest in the world (Iran's is the oldest).

Of course, that doesn't really help you, but I think it's interesting.

Barbershop Ben is another Jew who used to blog from China. His degree is in anthropology.

Some Jews have an interest in ethnic minorities because they naturally identify with them. When the Japanese were committing atrocities against the Chinese, the Jews were on the verge of a major persecution by the Germans. Jews and Chinese share certain characteristics, especially those who are living in America.

Like any other people, there are good and bad Jews. I've met both Michael and Ben, and, like Su Fei, they're pretty fluent in Mandarin. Most Chinese are very appreciative and welcoming when people make an effort and are clever enough to learn hanyu.

@Michail, I notice now that you have a link to DANWEI on his front page, which was Su Fei's first website. I wonder if you are too intimidated by her being a sexy, popular, famous, foreign Bejinger to call her up. You should tell her you could help her make a video in Xinjiang sometime.

@ouyang: Yes, I'm intimidated by Su Fei. I'll admit it! And which one am I, the good Jew or the bad Jew?

@ emperor re:
"Im not chinese but i have travelled a lot around china, and the same thing i always see is a bunch of westerners get together and talk about how disgusting and weird china is.

just curious why westerners come to china, and only hang out with other westerners and go places where other westerners go."

One problem may be the Lonely Planet type Travel Guides. Peopel are unimaginative and programmed. Also need to be told wher to go - read potted inacurate histories, receifve cultural stereotypes and know where they can get their favorite food...In China and India its the same- peopel bump into each other in the cafes reading teh same information ...yu may even hear people quoting them...the big mantra out of the "book" in the late 1980's was: "China is changing all the time" - and that the Kazaks were Cossaks--and that 'tribesmen' in the Pamir still took shots at travellers so beware (rough guide)- sounded liek the Khyber rather than Khunjerab. yu know people dont question stuff enough out of those books. They are a product. designed.

but Michaels also right. People need to be with their own;eat their own foood as well...so..but ...how about travelling by readiong history books, making ya own maps and learning alil bit of language before yu get lost at midnight on an train to who knows where....thats travel

I don't understand why the emperor has such hostility for people like Michael.Does he realize Michael spent 3 years living in a remote village in western China without any expat community?Isn't it normal for any nationality to want to participate in apart in a holiday that has personal meaning?Don't most people enjoy connecting with people of similar backrounds?Just curious why the emperor feels as he or she does

Uh oh! You all better watch out now... you've angered my mother! Run for the hills!

In case anyone is wondering, I ended up being invited to a Seder on Saturday night at someone's house and it was fantastic.

"And which one am I, the good Jew or the bad Jew?"

You and Ben are both good guys, but I wonder who would make the best match for Su Fei. I think she ought to make a show where she goes on two double dates, one with you and a couple of her Chinsese friends and one with Ben and the same friends.

They would look at your blogs before the dates and could ask you questions about them during the date. After the dates, they would advise Su Fei on which of you would be the best guy for her.

I feel the way i do, bc i see it so often, a group of westerners get together in a large group and go around to other countries looking at other cultures as if they were some freak show.

Im not chinese and im not a westerner, and actually, i do what james has suggested, i toss the lonely planet, (which is a load of crap if you ask me) take a history book as my guide, a language phrase book and throw myself into a culture head on, i only interact with locals. if you want to be with your own kind, just stay in your country, otherwise it seems like you came here to mock cultures, rather than learn about them.

im not hostile to the author of this blog specifically, but rather curious at the hordes of westerners who come to china/beijing, hang out in sunlitun (western hangout area), hang out with only westerners, cant speak a word of chinese, and then go back to their home countries and talk like they understand china or is an expert on china's issues.

its not in just china too. when westerners get together in groups and travel across the developed world, they are looked on as ignorant, arrogant travelers who go to poor places to look down on a people, treat them like some freak show or zoo exhibit.

@emperor,"when westerners get together in groups and travel across the developed world, they are looked on as ignorant, arrogant travelers who go to poor places to look down on a people, treat them like some freak show or zoo exhibit."

Does that also apply to the Japanese and Chinese who do the same thing? To the Japanese "sex tours" in Thailand? To the Chinese who come to America in groups and only visit the Chinatowns and Chinese restaurants? Or are you just another example of anti-western jealousy and hypocrisy?

@ emperor

a more probing question maybe these days adressed to the media addicted traveller:

Could westerners live (or travel) in China without their gadgets - computers, access to email, sykpe?

Without telling everyone at home everyday what is happening?

Without everyone at home knowing every minute of the day where they are?

(Remember the days of the once a month phone call?)

Do they live in China or in fact in a virtual China with the 'real' China as backdrop?

Is not all now simalucrum?...

and you are never alone...wherever you are

@photog

dont know why people keep bringing up Chinese example, and i never said chinese were any better. im not chinese so i dont know you keep mentioning it, maybe you want me to be chinese so you can insult me.

btw, germans, canadians are the bigger clients for lady boys in thailand and 8 years old in cambodia.

anti western jealousy? haha, typical, photog, anytime someone criticizes westerners or western values, its because, im so jealous. next time you post something, hit the preview button, and read what you say first, to save yourself some embarrassment.

@emperor
So basically you have a problem with tourists? most people want to see another country, culture etc, but dont have the time energy or drive to learn a foreign language and become immersed in a culture; true, that is the more fulfilling and interesting way to go visit somewhere, but the majority of people don't want to do that. Tourists are tourists, im glad you have the will to travel the way thats best, i don't and most people dont. And when you are in a completely foreign place its natural to find something familiar, i dont see why you have all this anger directed at tourists. let them be tourists and live how you want to. I also don't see why you bring this up about michael and then say it has nothing to do with michael.

i have nothing against tourists, just expats and bloggers like this one who treat asians like freak shows.

Michael,

A pity I didn't see your post earlier! I'm based in Beijing and had a big seder at my apartment with matzah and macaroons and even a kugel. No doubt, you and my Uyghur teacher would have had a lot to discuss. We would have loved to have you. Next year at my house.

From Urumqi,
Mike

Mike

@emperor
I am surprised to see that many people here are even bothered to answer to your silly comments.
but I am doing the same thing, telling you a simple truth:
tourist come together to exchange ideas, opinions and experienced. One can not learn everything from a travel handbook, neither them have enough time to cover all the places. the forums on the internet, bars in the real world are meant for that purpose.
One other reason you may not able to realize such simple truth is chinese people only talk among their circle, to their friends not to other strangers. I believe chinese people in abroad are the same; they do not even talk to other chinese people unless they want to ask a direction or a question. chinese people has very strong relationship among the family, relatives and friends but very careless to any other stranger.

that is why majority of chinese people can not understand the simple reason why foreiners care for tibetans or uygurs, they think there are some political couses or bad intention behind that, as a matter of fact it can be just a human feeling bad about the misfortune of other human.
It is hard to develop such a mentality for chinese within a short time but at least try to understand it.