MigmarTsering, 25, is from the remote province of Nubri, Nepal. He sports an afro hairstyle, a swag beard and a charming smile, and an earring on his left ear. He carries a chic, leather backpack. When I first spotted him, he was bowing full-length on a plyboard, in front of three Buddha statues. He has […]
The Department of Health states that around 300 to 600 Filipinos die from rabies per year. More than half of the victims are children between five to 14 years of age. According to the World Health Organization, the Philippines ranks among the highest in the world in terms of rabies prevalence. Rabies is a deadly […]
Hokkien, on the tongues of Tsinoys, has grown and evolved, taking on a life of its own. Sometimes words simply fail us. With some creativity, Tsinoys have strung together words to form colorful phrases that simply hit the bull’s eye. Here are some expressions unique to Hokkien as favored by Tsinoys. 搧給你坐東看西 sam ho di […]
Shanghai is moving further into the digital age by hanging plates with quick response (QR) codes on the outside 10 of its landmark buildings. A QR code is machine-readable, made up of black and white squares that are typically used for storing web addresses and other information. It can be read by a barcode reader […]
Residents of Arab descent in Quanzhou, Fujian province want to revive a traditional family business: making incense. Arab traders in ancient times first brought incense to Quanzhou, an important port along China’s historic Maritime Silk Road, 1,000 years ago. It was a prevalent product on the route, and its manufacture soon became a pillar industry […]
China’s most popular spirit brand, Moutai, wants to set up a college to teach wine-related science. Already approved by the Ministry of Education, Moutai College will have five undergraduate programs, including wine-making, viticulture and enological engineering, food quality and safety, resource recycling sciences and marketing. The college aims to enroll 5,000 students and will emphasize […]
Visitors to China will soon see public signs in more standardized English. Authorities have issued a national standard for the use of English in the public domain, in efforts to bring in translations that are grammatically and politically correct. Linguists have pointed out that poor translations block development of a multilingual society, and can create […]
In an ambitious undertaking, Beijing is building a new international airport that may become the world’s biggest aviation hub when it is done. The new airport is under construction south of the capital in Daxing district, near the border with Hebei province. It will be completed in 2019 and run concurrently with the present airport […]
Italy’s Order of Merit for Legarda Senator Loren Legarda received the award of Cavaliere nell’Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana (Knight in the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic) from Italian Ambassador Massimo Roscigno during ceremonies on July 13 in Makati City. The prestigious Order of Merit of the Italian Republic is awarded for […]
Who were afraid of the mestizos? Answer: The Spanish colonizers during the 19th century. We are not kidding. Referring again to Alfredo Roces’ Adios Patria Adorada: The Filipino as Ilustrado, the Ilustrado as Filipino, which I cited in the July 4-14, 2017 issue on “The great role of mestizos,” Sinibaldo de Mas in 1842 penned […]