Sandstorms and Firewalls

End of the world? Not quite.

An intense sandstorm filled the Beijing air with fine, orange dust on the morning of March 20. The eerie glow of the sky at sunrise gave the cityscape a post-apocalyptic feel.

According to the Post, The storms are a product of worsening desertification in Inner Mongolia and other Gobi Desert regions hundreds of miles to the north and west of Beijing caused by overgrazing, deforestation, drought and urban sprawl.


The sun sets on the first phase of Google in China.

Early last Monday came the eagerly-awaited outcome of the Google-China dispute. Google shut its mainland China search engine and redirected users to its uncensored Hong Kong service. The government responded with boilerplate condemnation.

Google is no longer complicit in censorship; sensitive search results from Hong Kong are blocked without its technical assistance.

As in January, when Google first announced its displeasure with the Chinese government, a few local supporters left flowers and fruit on the sign outside Google headquarters in Beijing. The security presence was notably heavier this time, including a car full of plainclothes officers sipping on juice boxes. Several Google employees snapped photos of the crowd from inside the lobby.

The Beijing office remains open, since Google hopes to retain its local sales and research staff. Services such as Gmail, Google Maps, and Google Earth are still accessible without a VPN. But the search engine drops out more often than before, even on non-controversial topics, possibly indicating government retaliation against a foreign company it now views with the utmost suspicion.


Photojournalists angle for the best shot outside Google headquarters.

Hong Kong at Night

Victoria Harbour

Misty New Year's Day

The Year of the Tiger (specifically, the Metal Tiger) has arrived, according to the Chinese lunar calendar.



Hong Kong is very quiet on the second day of Chinese New Year. Most workers have Monday and Tuesday off. The cool, drizzly weather is also keeping people indoors.



The forest along Barker Road on the Peak, home to some very nice mansions.



Someone left a New Year religious offering of money, fruit, and incense on the Old Peak Road.

Sunset Over the Arctic

View from the flight to Hong Kong.

Scene Outside Google China

Some Beijing residents placed flowers on the Google sign, following the company's announcement that it will no longer censor search results and may exit the Chinese market.


Later, people lit candles, evoking a memorial or a vigil.

Journalists and gawkers outnumbered anyone trying to make a statement.

Flowers for Google

Google announced this morning that it will stop censoring search results in China and is prepared to close its offices in the country if an agreement with the government can not be reached.



Since the Google headquarters in Beijing is a block away from my apartment, I swung by after lunch to see if anything was happening. Several bouquets of flowers had been left (reportedly by supportive Chinese bloggers) on a Google sign on the lawn in front of the building. A small cluster of reporters and photographers had gathered, with a few conspicuous plainclothes officers watching from the sidelines. Otherwise not much going on.

Deep Chill

Today is the coldest day in Beijing in 40 years — 15 mph wind atop a low of -4°F — following the heaviest snowfall since 1951. Many schools closed.

As noted before, the capital does not deal well with snow. Outside the city center, roads are not treated in any way: no plows, no salt, no sand. The streets look like something from backcountry Vermont. And since Beijing drivers have an inordinate fear of snow, only a handful of cars went past my apartment during the morning rush hour.