Church in the Park

We lived in a lovely, spacious apartment in a complex of four buildings a block from the PPI studios. We were the only foreigners in the area, so we stood out. The local people were friendly and the guards at the gate were always helpful. We had two bedrooms, one of which became Lovy’s office, two baths, a Chinese kitchen, dining room and living room. We lived on the fourth floor and our balcony overlooked a busy intersection that provided much entertainment.

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OK, I’ll admit it. I like some Christmas songs. Not so much “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” as some of the more traditional ones. So I get a kick out of hearing these songs sung in Chinese. Thinking that some of you may feel the same way (you all seemed to really enjoy the Hakka Jingle Bells song), I decided to put together an album of Chinese Christmas music.

This album contains secular kids’ classics like “Jingle Bells” as well as religious classics like “What Child is This.” Some songs sound like they are sung by a church choir, while others are .…

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In the aftermath of the recent recalls of tainted and toxic China-made products, more than a few have speculated that manufacturers who have outsourced production operations there are no doubt rethinking their sourcing strategies and quality control processes, and, if some of the, shall we say, ‘more aggressive’ pundits are to be believed, even rethinking their continued presence there altogether. However, according to the results of a proprietary survey just completed by the smart cube, the pundits appear to be very much mistaken.

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The recent series of high-profile labor events has thrown a spotlight on the protection of workers’ rights in China.

Several foreign multinationals, including FoxConn, McDonald’s and Yum! Brands Inc - which owns the KFC brand, had been investigated for providing poor working conditions, underpaying their part-time workers and engaging in other unfair labor practices.

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Lovy and I were high-school sweethearts and were married for forty-three years before her untimely death. She had worked and put me through university and contributed mightily to the financial stores of our maturing family. This adventure allowed her the opportunity to retire from being a certified dental assistant and enjoy a totally new life, and China, which she did.

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