#PRC Pictures

[matthewgrantanson]

Tea House, Nanjing -- October 13th, 2023

Etsy

[wikipediapictures]

Wan Tsai

[thefirsthogokage]

Motaz lost another important person to him in another war crime against paramedics.

Pictures from Motaz' stories.

Captions from @a-captions-blog (thank you!)

[OP plain text: Motaz lost another important person to him in another war crimes against paramedics. \End PT]

[Image descriptions: Photos of Motaz Azaiza with Mohammed Omari, overlaid with text. Long descriptions follow.

1. The two pose together in Red Crescent clothing. The text says, ‘Another big loss for me. Like a father, Mohammed Omari. He got killed by Israeli snipers while doing his humanitarion work to evacuate injured people from Gaza city to the sout as the PRCS coordinated with the ICRC and they got the permission to do their job. They shoted him in the chest.

2. A photo of the two in an ambulance, with Mohammed at the wheel. The text reads, ‘I used to get my first aid training/first responder training with him.’

3. A photo of Mohammed in Red Crescent clothing, standing with a little person similarly dressed. The text says, ‘He was a human. Israel killed him.’

4. A photo of the two along with two other people, all in Red Crescent shirts. The text says, ‘First they killed Hatem then they killed four others. Now they killed Mohammed.’

5. A photo of two Mohammed and another person in Red Crescent clothing helping an injured person on the ground. The text reads, ‘Mohammed and Fadi. Fadi passed couple weeks ago after the Israeli tanks opened fire on the ambulance he rides.’

6. A photo of Mohammed in a blue zip-up jacket and jeans, sitting cross legged outdoors and smiling at the camera. The text reads, ‘Miss you my friend. I am sure you and khaled in a better place.’ \End descriptions]

[shoebillstork]

Mutual 1: (An extremely extensive post detailing their trauma on their secret blog)

Mutual 1: (A picture of the soup they finished making) Eeatting penis soup grab a bowl

Mutual 2: (Cropped batman yaoi) This scene was so compelling in the comics qnd established so much for Bruce Waynes character as a bottom

Mutual 3: Just updated my comic (it is one of the most compelling pieces of narrative youve ever read. Its based off of a bad game)

Mutual 4: Ngl this omegaverse gacha life youtube video is more compelling than most shows i watch

Mutual 5: Finally cocking out i swear if one more thing happens today i will snap

Mutual 6: PENIS TYPO

Mutual 7: PENIS TYPO

Mutual 8: PENIS TYPO

Mutual 9: This yak tranquilizer weak af

Mutual 10: Come make my sinister potion (posts how to make a pipebomb)

Mutual 11: Do i get plastic surgery and change my name and move to a different country y/n (poll is in favor of yes by a huge margin)

Mutual 12: Mutual 13 is a lying fucking piece of trash and i think they should drop dead. They live at 308 Negra Aroya Lane, Albuquerque, New Mexico, 87104 and im going to record me beating the shit out of them

Mutual 13: Aww my bestie is coming to visit me soon :]

(Mutual 12 and 13 are dating)

Mutual 14: who tf does she think she is (posts a sc of mutual 8 from three url changes ago. It is mutual 8 saying theyre going to the park)

Mutual 15: So in my latest session in dnd we rolled 1d12 for dick size and i rolled a nat 20 and idk what to do with this reponsibility now

Mutual 16: he looks so good im going to scream (a screenshot where said character is so far in the background he doesnt even have a face)

Mutual 17: eho up thinking about the moral dillemma presented in pokemon go

Mutual 18: take a look at my ocs :D (mona lisa if dhe was gay)

Mutual 19: i hadba really good day today i got to spend some time bonding with my entire family and we got to celebrate something we havent had the time for in 37 years

Mutual 20: (reblogging mutual 19) L + Don't care + 632146K~P PRC, dl.2146K~P, 5K > 2146K~P, 5K > JF 2146K~P, 2H, WS ([4]6H->P), 623H

Mutual 21: (Blurry photo of them running from police) they're after me for my stash kf yaoi cocaine

Mutual 22: (Miles long RP chain they started 2 months ago. You have post notification on for them because its awesome)

Mutual 23: Discussing the morality of liking bananas over mangoes

Mutuals 24 ans 25: having a dramatic wedding where theyre acting as a crack ship. They're on the verge of divorce

Mutual 26: She winding onbmy waker (is in the middle of intense controversy)

Mutual 27: (Callout for mutual 26)

Mutual 28: If Mutual 17 asked i would give them a sloppy toppy

Mutual 29: Anon get out of my inbox before j block you his ass is NOT flat. (His ass is fucking concave)

Mutual 30: Shes just like me fr (a picture kf a shopping cart)

[wlwcatalogue]

Chinese GL Webseries & Shorts for the Wuxia-Uninclined

Have you ever wanted to venture into the world of Chinese GL webseries and short films, only to find yourself at a loss about where to begin, or intimidated by the unfamiliar tropes and terms of the wuxia genre?

Well, worry no more! Here's a selection of non-wuxia webseries and short films curated by yours truly. Now you too can enjoy the lavish costumes and location shoots of these Chinese productions, so rarely seen in F/F works outside of feature films and the occasional TV series~

By the way, these are all translated and subbed by the inimitable Douqi (@douqi7s), whose immense contribution to the English-language baihe fandom is surely in breach of anti-monopoly laws. Offer up your thanks at her Tumblr and Twitter!

At-a-glance list

Webseries:

Ye-Mu Season 2 (1 hr 20m total, 2023) - standalone

The Vampires (41m total, 2022)

Ye-Mu Season 1 (27m total, 2022) - standalone

The Lost World (1hr 5m total, 2023)

Short films - order corresponding to the pictures above:

A Tale of Yearning (5 mins, 2022)

"She Brought Colour Into My World" (2.5 mins, 2023)

"I'm Her Weapon" (3 mins, 2022)

Miss Shen and the Woman Warlord (6 mins, 2023)

Women's Script (5 mins, 2023)

The Caged Canary (5 mins, 2023)

The Beauty of the Law (6 mins, 2023)

Flowers Bloom; Flowers Wither (9 mins, 2022)

Commentary under the cut!

FYI, I've opted to link directly to the subtitled versions since they're probably more difficult to find than regular anime, TV series, movies etc. If a link is broken, please refer to Douqi's blog directly.

Important note for the uninitiated:

It’s a bit difficult to talk about canonicity in relation to live-action works made in the PRC, as things which would normally be used as evidence of canonicity all fall under the censorship regulations— explicit references to romantic relationships or queerness, declarations of love, kissing etc. are all off the table. So while these may not look canon in the most traditional sense, they are intended to be read as such and should certainly not be dismissed as queerbaiting or yuribait. Also, the creators can get very imaginative, so this is less of a problem than you may think – see the entries on Ye-Mu Season 2 and The Lost World in particular!

1. Ye-Mu Season 2 / 叶穆 2 (32 episodes / 1hr 20m total, 2023, dir. Zhang Zhiwei) - MyDramaList

(Note: Despite the name, Ye-Mu Season 2 is completely unrelated to the first season; the only thing the two share is the cast, crew, and focus on Penthouse-style melodrama.)

Determined to take revenge for her mother's death, Xu Baiqing (Sheng Wei) marries a wealthy and much older businessman in the hope of finding evidence to put him behind bars. But first she must assuage the suspicions of his cheerily hostile second daughter, moody youngest son, and estranged eldest daughter (Ye-Mu Zhixia, played by Wang Laoji), the latter of whom Xu Baiqing dated in university and who is currently seething at the sight of her former girlfriend marrying her father...

If you want to get a sense of the potential breadth of Chinese GL webseries, this is a pretty good place to start. It does a decent job of matching the tone and presentation of a melodrama you might catch on TV (and in fact looks higher-budget than some I can think of), while committing to something that can’t be done on TV yet— namely, featuring an F/F exes-to-stepmother storyline and delivering on the drama inherent in such a premise. Of particular note is how the framing and behaviour of Ye-Mu Zhixia is very much consistent with that of a male romantic lead; thanks to some clever writing, it’s basically impossible to deny the nature of her relationship with the main character. They don’t even lean on the plausible deniability afforded by the label of “friendship”— in fact, in an early scene she is incensed when the protagonist refers to her as “[her] only friend”. There are a few caveats – the main character ends up in a lot of scrapes that her ex-girlfriend has to save her from, the reveals are often rather unsurprising, and the story shifts more to a mystery focus around halfway – but it’s still worth checking out if a Korean-style melodrama with an F/F take on a romantic storyline sounds appealing.

 (CW: violence, murder, attempted sexual assault)

Note: See The Lost World (below), from the same creative team, for an even more impressive example of Chinese GL pushing the limits of censorship.

Links: MEGA / Internet Archive (compilation)

2. The Vampires / 吸血鬼鬼盲盒 (7 episodes / 41m total, 2022, dir. Zhang Zhiwei) - MyDramaList

(Note: Spoilers for the first 15 minutes or so, because otherwise the summary would be “They end up locked inside with the monsters on board”, which wouldn’t tell you much more than the title already does)

Every night, Tianyue (Ye Miao/夜喵) has been having dreams about the mysterious cruise ship docked at the pier. Convinced that there is treasure hidden inside, she and her exorcist-cultivator girlfriend Xiao Ling (Wei Miao/微渺) sneak on board only to find that they are trapped there until the sun comes up. Things don’t seem too bad at first: although they run into two vampires – the cute, cheeky Xingming (Yang Fuyu) and her elegant mistress Su Tanya (Sheng Wei) – they are able to call a truce, on the condition that the humans help search the ship for the latter’s beloved (Fu Cha, played by Wang Laoji). But when Fu Cha wakes up without her memories, it is clear that something is terribly wrong, and that the ship and its inhabitants harbour more secrets than expected.

For a webseries, The Vampires takes a while to get started— it’s a bit difficult to tell what kind of story or indeed what kind of tone it’s going for just based on the somewhat campy and comedic first section. But after that wobbly beginning, it manages to pull itself together to tell a compelling – and sometimes genuinely tense – tale about a motley band of humans and vampires, and the truths they have to face together. While the ending is no happily-ever-after, I found it satisfying and hopeful, and surprisingly affecting. Also, a bunch of the characters have real polyam energy, and this is reflected in the narrative beyond mere flirting!

(CW: abusive parents)

Links - MEGA / Internet Archive (compilation) / YouTube (compilation)

3. Ye-Mu Season 1 / 叶穆 (12 episodes / 27m total, 2022, dir. Zhang Zhiwei) - MyDramaList

(Note: Ye-Mu Seasons 1 and 2 are standalone stories; each season is entirely self-contained and the second season is not a continuation of the first.)

The head of the Ye-Mu family has died, leaving the next generation to squabble over the inheritance. It's a web of secrets, lies, and hidden resentments, as the characters dig out old grievances and fresh accusations in a desperate attempt to one-up each other. They're tangled up together to an almost incestuous degree, and indeed, the F/F subtext here is the ambiguous relationship between eldest daughter Ye-Mu Nanzhu (Sheng Wei) and second daughter Ye-Mu Nanmo (Wang Laoji) (rest assured that they are at least not biologically related).

Those who prefer darker stories and don't mind the pseudo-incest or other content warnings will find a melodrama which makes good use of its short runtime to deliver on twists, turns, and an explosive - if tragic - conclusion. That being said, the story is about the family drama in general, so do note that while the relationship between Nanzhu and Nanmo is narratively important, it is not fleshed out in great detail and certainly not the focus of the series.

(CW: suicide, ableist trope (spoiler – disabled character turns out to have been faking it), ableist language)

Links - MEGA / Internet Archive (compilation)

4. The Lost World / 夏夜知道风的甜 (1hr 5m total, 2023, dir. Zhang Zhiwei) - MyDramaList

(Note: Spoilers for the purpose of flagging triggering content, as it’s particularly easy to trip into for this show. Also, some vague spoilers for later episodes in order to highlight in order to highlight the themes etc.)

This webseries feels like two shows smushed into one: apart from the very beginning, the first half is a gritty, bullying-focused take on university life, while the second is a true-blue romantic comedy (aside from one blip – see the note below for details). But even if you’re wary of the bullying, I would still recommend watching the back half – which is basically standalone – as it’s a very funny and heartfelt story about two childhood friends finally getting their act together. Without further ado, here’s two blurbs!

From episode 1 onwards: After saving a classmate from the class bully, popular college student Xia Huaichu (Yang Fuyu) is subjected to a lengthy harassment campaign by the latter. She is suddenly faced with having to protect her reputation in the face of false allegations and fake nudes– despite the fact that all she wants to do is focus on reconciling with another classmate, a high school best friend whom she had previously lost touch with (Mu Qingfeng, played by Wang Laoji). From episode 14 onwards: Childhood friends Xia Huaichu (Yang Fuyu) and Mu Qingfeng (Wang Laoji) are caught in a weird gay purgatory where each has feelings for the other, and suspects that the other has feelings for them too. But both are exceedingly stubborn and want the other one to take the initiative in confessing, leading to ridiculous displays of I-don’t-care-isms and lots and lots of UST. (Does anybody use that term anymore??)

As you may have guessed, I’m not too keen on the first part of this show, nor the decidedly unnecessary attempted rape segment, though that’s partly on me for not checking the content warnings beforehand. And yet I’m very glad to have stuck with it, because the second half is not only hilarious, but also a masterclass in censorship-dodging that needs to be seen to be believed. Not just in terms of the suggestive scenes, of which there are many, either— the story is literally about two women starting a relationship and having to reckon with parental disapproval, homophobia, and other obstacles which platonic friends wouldn’t have to deal with. I honestly don’t know how this ever got approved, and can only applaud. Bravo.

Note: For those who want to avoid the triggering content, I’d recommend starting at episode 14, but make sure to skip episodes 19 and 20 as there is a foiled rape attempt.

(CW for entire series: bullying (incl. violence, fake nudes), sexual harassment, attempted sexual assault, fatphobic language, homophobia

CW for episodes 14-24: attempted sexual assault in episodes 19-20, homophobia)

Links - MEGA / Dropbox

SHORT FILMS

Quick note: Click on the English titles for the subtitled versions, and the Chinese titles (which are really just the video titles) for the originals. And yes, although the majority of these are shampoo commercials, they really do hold up as short films in their own right. Give them a try, you might be surprised!

A Tale of Yearning / 一见误终生，不见终生误 (5 mins, 2022, dir. Liu Yun Rui/流云蕊) – A bittersweet story about a literature-minded young woman (Sheng Wei) and a Chinese opera performer (Ai Ye) who bond over their love of fiction, only to be torn apart by harsh reality. Tragic ending, but I liked the more literary turn of the dialogue. Shampoo ad. (CW: homophobia)

“She Brought Colour Into My World” / “她走后，我的世界又失去了颜色” (2.5 mins, 2023, dir. Zou Hui Qu Le/走回去了) – A very restrained short film (actually, more like a music video) set during the late Qing era, wherein a sheltered young woman (Xiao Yu Za/小宇咂) falls for her female neighbour, recently returned from studying abroad (Sheng Wei). Lovely use of music and visuals to create a dreamlike atmosphere. Tragic ending. Not a shampoo ad.

“I’m Her Weapon” / 我是你手里的一把刀 (3 mins, 2022, dir. Liu Yun Rui/流云蕊) – A moody, interior piece about an assassin (Ai Ye) who yearns for some sign of affection from her handler (Sheng Wei), only to be left devastated by her new assignment. Surprisingly not a shampoo ad.

Miss Shen and the Woman Warlord / 我们是孤独行走的钟，但也要做敲响希望的钟 (6 mins, 2023, dir. Liu Yun Rui/流云蕊) – I’d like to describe this as being inspired by the story of Mai Jia’s novel The Message and the aesthetics of Kawashima Yoshiko (1990), but most Tumblr users would probably find those references deeply unhelpful. Basically, a female spy (Sheng Wei) disguises herself as a male soldier and infiltrates the mansion of a Republican warlord. There, she meets the warlord’s daughter (Ai Ye), who quickly realises that there is more to the promising young officer than meets the eye. Shampoo ad.

Women’s Script / 纵使“科考”无女子，无碍红袖书香，星辰有光 (5 mins, 2023, dir. Liu Yun Rui/流云蕊) – While sailing down a river, a girl (Zhi Chun He/至春禾) catches sight of a woman writing poetry on the riverbank (Sheng Wei), and is fascinated by both her beauty and her flaunting of the rules against women’s literacy. Shampoo ad. (CW: domestic violence)

The Caged Canary / 如果这是一场骗局，那我也只愿意输给你 (5 mins, 2023, dir. Liu Yun Rui/流云蕊) – The protagonist (Ai Ye) is sent by her parents to beguile a wealthy young man into marriage, but ends up developing feelings for his modern-woman sister (Sheng Wei) instead. Shampoo ad. (CW: attempted sexual assault)

Flowers Bloom; Flowers Wither / 她们一个被铁链禁锢，一个被男装束缚，直到救赎彼此 (9 mins, 2022, dir. Qian Li Min/千里明) – Takes the romance between a cross-dressing noblewoman (Du Ruo/杜若) and her supposedly-mad stepmother (Rou Lian Cheng/肉脸橙) to tell a story about the restrictions placed on women in historical times, and how resistance, even when futile, can still have meaning. Tragic ending, obviously. Not a shampoo ad. (CW: domestic violence, misogyny, accidental misgendering, gender dysphoria)

[guerillas-of-history]

Operation Dissipated Illusion.

On this day in 2006, and 17 days after the assassination of PRC founder Jamal Abu Samahdana (Abu Ataya), Hamas and the Al-Nasser Salah Al-Din Brigades carried out Operation Dissipated Illusion, kidnapping Gilad Shalit, a soldier who would be exchanged for over 1,000 prisoners five years later; just a one minute video of him was exchanged for 19 women prisoners. Two IOF soldiers were killed, and five were wounded in the operation in which two martyrs also ascended. In honor of this heroic operation, we are reposting Abu Ataya's legendary story.

As expected, traitor-in-chief Mahmoud Abbas and Fatah condemned the operation, calling for the return of the killer soldier free of charge and emphasizing that is against such operations "now and tomorrow and after tomorrow!" Such statements are in line with the PA's anti-resistance and anti-liberation positions as a comprador arm of the zionist entity.

A number of other IOF soldiers or settlers are currently held captive in Gaza, including Hadar Goldin, Oron Shaul, Avera Mengistu, and Hisham Al-Sayed (for whom Hamas released a video in June 2022 of him hooked up to an oxygen machine). Check the links for recent developments on each of the captives.

In December 2022, Hamas head Yahya Sinwar revealed the details of ongoing prisoner exchange agreements. However, such an agreement has fallen flat following the massive uptick in resistance in tandem with zionst violence. Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, in his interview this week, noted that there will be no deal unless the enemy agrees to all demands; otherwise, more IOF soldiers will be captured. Previous prisoner exchanges have freed resistance leaders Ahmed Yassin, Ziad Al-Nakhaleh, Kozo Okamoto (in 1985) and Yahya Sinwar (in 2011).

The attached picture displays a Hamas poster in Nablus that read: "Our heroic prisoners. May every year bring new Gilad. [Our prisoners] are not alone."

[i-am-curd]

CHIBIS FOR PALESTINE RED CRESCENT SOCIETY !

[ I got the idea for this from ladybugboots ][Check them out]

for personal reasons i am not able to donate to charities myself so:

I will be drawing little versions of characters (chibis) in exchange for proof of donations to the PRCS (MORE INFO BELLOW)

What is PRCS?:

The Palestine Red Crescent Society is a humanitarian organization that is the international Red Cross and Red Crescent movement in the state of Palestine, which includes the West Bank, including East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip. It caters to the health and welfare of the Palestinian people.

! here is a good thread on their activity

! And this is their official twitter account where they post daily

Where you can donate:

- right here! -

What will i draw?:

Any fictional character in chibi form as shown above (this includes OCs, fursonas, or any kind of sonas for that matter) complex detailed designs may take longer than 1 day for me draw.

10 $ in donations = lineart drawing

20$ in donations = flat color drawing

30$ and up in donations = shaded drawing

pose is random!

How you can get a chibi:

It's simple!

click the link above that leads to the PRCS donation page.

Do the donation.

Take a picture proving the donation. (something like this)

(It is important to show the amount and date of the donation)

Send proof picture to my dm on tumblr alongside an image of the character you would like me to draw.

Thank you!

[mykingdomforapen]

I love the almost escapism of Link Click’s China, in the sense that I love how the show beautifies and highlights mundane modern-day life in China, something I miss and long for. But I can’t stop thinking about how subversive the story, mainly Cheng Xiaoshi and Lu Guang’s abilities, can be in the face of the bigger picture of China. Namely, People’s Republic of China.

Photography is a storyteller, and a powerful one at that. National memory of history is shaped through photographs. Your image and reputation is immortalized through visual record keeping. What you show, what you stage, and equally as importantly what you hide, is controlled by where you point the camera. What you know or don’t know depends on what photos you were allowed to see, and what was erased. And man, did PRC lean on that during the Great Leap Forward and et cetera.

I think about photographs my family showed me that portrayed their life a certain way, and when asked about it my parents would laugh and say, well, actually. The Party arranged that so it would look like we were doing well. What really happened was…

For these two young men who grew up under mainland’s censorship, what would happen if they got their eyes on the Tank Man?

[transboysokka]

Taiwan FAQ [Updated 2024/5/26]

[See the 5/28 updated here]

[Photo credit CNA/Taiwan News]

[Image ID: A large crowd of Taiwanese protestors, many holding signs in Chinese displaying their criticism of current legislative goings on. Rather than focusing on individuals, the photo focuses on the size of the crowd. The crowd fills a wide avenue and disappears into the horizon. There are hundreds, perhaps thousands, of people pictured. /. End ID]

As Taiwan continues to strive to protect its autonomy and democracy, it is my goal to spread accurate, firsthand information about its current events worldwide with the aid of reblogs from people who also support democracy.

Here is a list I’ve compiled of basic questions and answers, and more importantly, further reading to help worldwide English speakers to understand Taiwan’s history and current situation.

One of the biggest weapons the PRC (China) is currently using right now is misinformation meant to confuse international audiences and deter support of Taiwan (ROC). I find it INCREDIBLY important that we start doing all we can to fight that.

FAQs

Acronyms/political parties explained (PRC/ROC/KMT/TPP/DPP)

How new is democracy in Taiwan?

Is Taiwan a part of China?/Does China control Taiwan?

Is Taiwan recognized internationally?

What was the Wild Lily Movement?

What was the Sunflower Movement?

What is the Bluebird Movement? / What is going on right now? / What are the details of the legislative reforms the KMT/TPP are trying to pass?

Why does the Bluebird Movement matter so much?

What is the Legislative Yuan?

Important names to know in the LY

Can the president veto these reforms?

Is the Bluebird Movement focused on China’s recent military actions?

What has China been doing militarily in recent years?

What did President Lai recently say to provoke China?

Is it illegal for foreigners to protest in Taiwan?

Should foreigners protest in Taiwan?

How to use Chinese-language resources as an English-speaker/Keywords to search in order to do so

What can I do to support Taiwan from abroad?

Further Resources

Talk from 5/25 on the current situation

Politics of Taiwan on Wikipedia (Government of the Republic of China on Wikipedia)

Post-WWII History of Taiwan on Wikipedia

Cross-Strait Relations on Wikipedia

Brian Hioe, journalist on Twitter (New Bloom Magazine)

Aurora Chang, activist on Twitter

Erin Hale on Twitter

James Hsieh on Twitter (Chinese-language)

Autum Huang on Twitter (Chinese-language)

It’s important to note that a lot of recent mobilization has been happening on Threads but I am not active there

Taiwan Plus (English news)

Taiwan News (English news)

CNA Focus Taiwan (English news)

TVBS World Taiwan (English news)

When reading global news media about current events in Taiwan, I urge you to look into an article/tweet’s author, their country of origin, and where they are based

Here’s the Taiwan tag on my blog

[theculturedmarxist]

The Chinese healthcare system has a long way to go before it can adequately satisfy the needs of the country's huge population. However, I take great pride in the high quality of China's healthcare at such low costs for the average Chinese person.

Yesterday, a little winged insect flew into my right eye, leaving a red spot on my eyeball. I opened my medical app at 12 a.m., scheduled an appointment at 2 p.m., waited for half an hour, and had a medical examination. Most of the bill was paid for by my national health insurance.

I also tried making an appointment with a neurosurgeon through the Peking University People's Hospital mobile app. When I checked the app at 21:44, I saw that the earliest available appointment with a chief physician (professor) would be 16 hours later and would cost 300 RMB ($41, most of which would be reimbursed by my medical care). [Picture 1]

The earliest appointment I can get with an attending physician is a day later, and it will cost me 50 RMB ($6.8). With my healthcare, I only pay 10 RMB ($1.4). [Picture 2]

For people in immediate need, the system is incredibly affordable and effective (I don't want to have a red eye for days).

Here are some statistics on China's healthcare system.

🏥 When the PRC was founded in 1949, the average life expectancy in China was 35 years; in 2022, it was 77.93 years, mostly due to the country's improving medical care system.

🏥 Its basic medical insurance covers approximately 1.3 billion people.

🏥 China has a three-tier system to grade hospitals, with tertiary hospitals -- which have the largest number of beds and provide comprehensive medical services -- at the top of the system.

🏥 Basic public health services provided at the primary level have been bolstered. In the first half of 2023, nearly 90 million people aged 65 and above enjoyed health management through such services, increasing by 40 percent compared with the same period last year.

🏥 Health authorities and medical institutions have made proactive efforts to ensure the accessibility and equitability of health services. Currently, 82.7 percent of all medical institutions at or above the secondary level in the country have established a system that enables patients to schedule appointments for diagnosis and treatment.

🏥 Internet-powered health services are playing an increasingly important role in China's health system. By 2020, over 1,600 internet hospitals were opened in China, and almost 49 million people had used the service to receive a diagnosis and treatment.

🏥 By the end of 2021, the number of doctors in China had reached 4.2 million, and the number of doctors per 1,000 people had reached 3.04, close to the level of developed countries.

🏥 The Chinese government announced in 2022 a strategy to increase the number of health professionals as part of the country's 14th Five-Year Plan. It aims to increase the number of physicians to 3.2 per 1,000 people by 2025.

🏥 From January to September, medical institutions in China saw a total of 5.11 billion medical visits.

[matthewgrantanson]

Celebration, Nanjing -- October 13th, 2023

Etsy

[wikipediapictures]

Monster Building

“Yick Cheong Building and Yick Fat Building, Quarry Bay, Hong Kong.” - via Wikimedia Commons

[practically-an-x-man]

Director’s Commentary on your favorite scene from “Heart in Your Hands” so far?

Oooh, hell yeah! Though that requires me to choose my favorite scene, and that's a really tough pick... I think I'm gonna go with when Jimmy and Lars take a walk around the PRC in chapter 5, I feel like there's a lot of things to talk about there

Fanfic Writers: Director's Cut

____

“Just a walk around.” Jimmy found himself continuing, surprised even at his own desperation. Now that the thought had struck him, it wouldn’t leave his head - he needed the sun. There was so little else that made him feel human, these days. “A lap around the aquarium. Down to the shore and back. I’ll take any security you need - your traps, your ropes of light, whatever you need to prove I won’t run.”

Fun fact: human beings have a biological need to be near sunlight and plant life, or they start to experience adverse mental effects. Almost all modern-built prisons have windows in the cells, even small ones, because the lack of sunlight caused prisoners to become more erratic and mentally unstable over time. Similarly, astronauts have recorded mental health difficulties from being separated from plant life while on long missions, and keeping houseplants has been linked to boosting mental health during difficult times.

And Jimmy's still human, of course, from a mental perspective if not a physical one. He's been in the same cell in the aquarium for months at this point, without any nearby plant life or windows to provide him those benefits. He really does need to walk around in nature for a bit, on an instinctive level.

“I thought they were brown, back in the lab.” he continued after a moment or two, “Just the light, or maybe the angle. But here in the sunlight, they’re sort of… gray? Or blue- dark blue. It’s pretty.”

Can we talk about the amount of pictures I had to look at just to figure out what freaking color this man's eyes are? Between the lighting in the movie and the fact that he tends to squint in publicity photos and things, I had such a time trying to pinpoint it for the sake of description. I think eventually it was the start of that clip of him on Bake-Off that got me there, since he's standing outside in the sunlight and that would be the most accurate lighting for this moment in the fic.

They really are an interesting color, though. It's pretty.

(My eyes are kind of a dark gray too and I now understand why I had one friend who thought I had brown eyes after only meeting me in person after previously only seeing me on Zoom, and why another friend asked me if I had put color-contacts in when I had green eyeshadow on lol)

Jimmy reached out and took his hand, freeing it from the strap of his pack. It brought his eyes down, looking at him in candid surprise- though, the ghost noticed, he hadn’t let go. “So you know I’m not going to disappear.” Jimmy explained. Lars nodded, though his eyebrows had drawn together in thought.

This moment here was actually the inspiration for the entire scene, I had the image of Jimmy taking Lars' hand with that same line and had to come up with the context surrounding it. Funny how that works sometimes, I have a ton of chapters and ficlets that I wrote solely based on one little moment that wouldn't leave my head.

“That was a lot more than twenty minutes,” he said, tossing a series of empty chip bags into the trash can before he stood up from his chair, “And you need to clean up that desk, I don’t know how you find anything in all that mess.”

Winston's voice, as a whole, was the one I'd struggled most with in this scene, or even in this fic in general. I work very hard as a writer to try and make my dialogue really sound like the characters, and I felt like Lars and Lucky came naturally to me (though Lars' voice may have been helped by the fact that I was bingeing Taskmaster Series 7 when I started this fic too), but Winston's took a lot more work.

I think it turned out well in the end, but I was worried the entire time writing it that the tone would be off. He's a very grounded character, serious but not obsessed with his work, stern and protective but with kindness and warmth behind it, and I was afraid of tilting too far into one of those sides without maintaining a balance to it. In particular, I was worried that Winston would come off as too harsh in his conversation with Jimmy, and that the audience would miss that his worry was all out of protectiveness over Lars (and that it really isn't personal towards Jimmy in any way, he's just spent a long time around ghosts).

I see Winston as a bit paternal towards Lars and Lucky, because they're both younger employees who aren't from NYC, and are separated from their families or other parental figures they may have. I wanted this conversation to feel stern but parental, but not so sharp that we lose Winston's very warm way of speaking.

“Back to my oubliette. Mind getting the door, darling?” “That’s not what oubliette means,” Lars argued, though he pulled the door open and waved Jimmy inside.

Lastly... I don't know, I just really loved this interaction. I feel like it's a good display of how they are together, and the lighthearted nature of their relationship (even before their "relationship" from a romantic perspective really develops). I think as a whole I love their interactions during Phoebe's introduction a little better, where they know each other almost implicitly and Phoebe compares them to an old married couple.

It's just really fun to place these two together, with Jimmy's open and often grandiose expressions of affection put against Lars' more contained, reserved nature. I wrote this whole chapter just buzzing with how badly I wanted them to admit their feelings and kiss already, the chemistry makes me want to scream, but I have to slowburn this out a little more lmao. We'll get there.

[dani-the-goblin]

๋࣭ ⭑⋆｡°✩✧˖°₊ ⊹OC Inspo⊹ ₊°˖✧✩°｡⋆⭑ ๋࣭

Guidelines: share something that acts as inspiration for your OC(s)! It could be anything; a moodboard, a collection of pictures, a playlist, a movie, etc. Explaining why you like it as inspiration is optional.

tagged by @katsigian 🩷

Valerie June Friedman (VJF)

I really wanted to do all my babies, but my brain just won't let me right now. I'll probably come back to it at some point, but let's start with my firstborn for now, huh?

Her main inspirations are

reputation - LWYMMD could be applied to most Vs if we're being honest, but that album is hers. ...Ready For It? & Dress actually have lore surrounding them. One was on purpose. One was not. 👀

Maxwell Jacob Friedman - I did a whole post on that here

Peach PRC - her general aesthetic, Heavy, & Manic Dream Pixie

tagging @streetkid-named-desire @wanderingaldecaldo @fly-amanitaa @elvenbeard @medtech-mara & anyone else who wants to ✨✨

I used this template

[saturniandevil]

February 2024 Important Dates

AKA my notes on The Astrology Podcast's February forecast.

January recap: With Pluto now in Aquarius we've got new technological developments: "flying taxis" going to market, Google's new AI set to release around Jupiter in Gemini, and the first commercially available see-through LED screens. In Saturn-Neptune news, Apple's new VR operating system is being advertised as "spatial computing." Aquarius loves to experiment for the joy of discovery--even if society ends up rejecting some of these new projects. Austin points out many prophetic "near future" fiction stories came out under Jupiter-Saturn in Libra in the 1980s, which was a preview of those conjunctions occurring in air signs for the next 200 years (we had the last earth ones a few years ago). Saturn-Neptune also connotes widespread political misinformation (as it did in 2016)--we've got AI deepfake videos of political figures being used not just for humor, but also to try and sway voters in the New Hampshire Primary. Another notable Saturn in Pisces story is the restriction of the Red Sea trade route and subsequent rerouting of cargo ships along global trade routes. The Mars-Saturn conjunction in Pisces in March will likely show major developments in maritime combat or disasters.

We enter the month fresh off Pluto's ingress into Aquarius. There's a lot of energy in the sign this month, some good and some difficult. The faster-moving planets will be joining Pluto in Aquarius specifically for the first time since the 18th century, giving us the first tastes of what the next 20 years will bring for society at large. For personal charts, what house does Aquarius fall in?

February 5th - Mercury enters Aquarius, conjoins Pluto This is the first planet to join the Sun and Pluto in Aquarius. Venus and Mars will follow this ingress-conjunction pattern later this month--and the new Moon is in Aquarius. Mercury-Pluto brings up information and power such as classified document leaks, as well as hidden pathways or getting lost in the labyrinth. Determined efforts to delve into deeper truths can pay off, but we can also become obsessed with something no one else can see. Other significations include taboo subjects, with science and social rules being especially important in Aquarius, and negating ideas we once thought were true. Paranoia and manipulations also abound with Pluto-Mercury. In Aquarius we'll see these issues take light especially through new technologies. In general Pluto magnifies small things to their biggest extremes--something microscopic may change society irrevocably, etc. The PRC has a timed chart with Aquarius rising with the Moon in Aquarius, and indeed has been leading the world in uses & development of certain new technologies, which in turn has brought power struggles with other major players in those fields.

February 6th - Fortunate date (not pictured)

Set at about 8:00AM local time, this chart should give you 11° Pisces rising. The Ascendant ruler Jupiter is in the 3rd house in a day chart, emphasizing communication and other 3rd house topics. The Moon in early Capricorn applies to a trine with Jupiter, bonifying her. The Jupiter-Saturn sextile is emphasized here; while Saturn is very close to the Ascendant, he's more cooperative in a day chart, and is being received by Jupiter (is in Jupiter's sign), who he's trining. Thus Chris predicts it'll be a good balance of consolidation and growth. This does have Mars in the 11th house in a day chart, so it's not great for matters involving friends, groups, and alliances. But it is good for communicating, neighborhood, education/learning, weekly schedule, siblings, and starting a daily practice (Saturn will help us establish routines).

February 9th - Aquarius New Moon

At 20° of Aquarius, the closest configuration is a square from Uranus (19♉), connoting a disruptive or unexpected component. This is also the first Aquarius New Moon with Pluto present--Pluto will be weighing in on all monthly meetings in Aquarius for now. We can expect concerns around independence and freedom, but also emotional volatility. "How do I break from this pattern?" asks the rebel, knowing it'll be better than keeping things as they are. Mercury also applies to a square with a Jupiter during this time, expanding communications & bringing (possibly excessive) optimism. The Jupiter-Saturn sextile that hung over much of January weighs in as well, balancing our drives for both growth and consolidation.

February - 12th/13th Mars enters Aquarius Soon after he conjoins Pluto.

February 14th - Mars conjunct Pluto This is the first hard aspect since the square circa October 7th. There are going to be about 10 of these conjunctions during Pluto's trip through Aquarius. Mars connotes military operations, while Pluto brings underground groups and struggles. We've been having power dynamics stirred up in the Capricorn parts of our charts the past 20 years, and now this moves to our Aquarius house/area of life. Possessiveness and excessive force are also connoted by this planetary combination; exercise caution and take special care not to go too far. Austin describes this feeling as a "struggle against annihilation," even when we're not actually fighting for our lives. It'll take self-control and grace to navigate this Valentine's day well.

February 16th - Venus enters Aquarius Soon after she will conjoin Pluto, and later Mars.

February 17th - Venus conjunct Pluto The intensity, obsessions, and making mountains of molehills brought up by other planets' Pluto contacts will now show itself in the realm of relationships and social interactions. We get the extremes of affection and its negation with Venus-Pluto. This can be a good time for experimenting in the arts: we're getting a new movie based off Frankenstein, which was published under Pluto in Aquarius. Much of the novel is from the perspective of no the doctor but his experiment--when are we our own lab rats?

February 18th - Sun enters Pisces

February 22nd - Venus conjunct Mars Unfortunately Mars, Aquarius, and Pluto do not bode well for Valentine's-adjacent activities. Some positive connotations include magnetic allure and deep, passionate connections with others, extreme vulnerability and devotion. However, keep watchful for power struggles and manipulation in relationships and attraction. Ask yourself, "is this healthy or is this too far?" and try to set healthy boundaries. (Though the answers may be clearer in hindsight.) Look out for hastiness in relationships, jealous and aggression in love, or attraction to drama or conflict. Try to balance passion with reason, communicate clearly, and express that energy through creative outlets.

February 23rd - Mercury enters Pisces

February 24th - Virgo Full Moon

Immediately after its exact opposition to Saturn, the Moon applies to one with Saturn, who as a matter of course is also applying to Saturn by conjunction (pictured above is the Moon between these oppositions). Austin describes this as a magnified check-in with Saturn, as we're approaching the 1-year mark for Saturn in Pisces (early March). How have you been bearing having to swim with weights on? Or maybe you've hooked something powerful on your fishing line--how will you reel it in? Chris says this lunation highlights tension in the Virgo part of our charts as well, shedding light that may help us identify solutions. We have a Sun-Mercury-Saturn conjunction a few days later that will bring our attention back to Pisces.

February 26th/27th - Mars square Jupiter Jupiter wants to help, but something's getting in his way. We can also think about taking risks, leaving our comfort zone, and increased energy/enthusiasm. However, as Mars is overcoming Jupiter (earlier in the zodiac), traditional sources would indicate that the warlike side of things will gain the upper hand over peaceful Jupiter. Mars in Aquarius connotes rogue or outsider forces, while Jupiter is privileged by stability in Taurus. Keep a lookout for global trade points and major conflicts, which will likely see developments around this time. Some positives of Mars-Jupiter include increased motivation, taking bold actions, and meeting ambitious goals. On the flipside is impulsiveness, overconfidence, and recklessness. Mars-Jupiter is willing to take a risk. Sometimes, it's better not to know exactly what you're getting into so you don't get overwhelmed by a monumental task; other times, it doesn't work out. This is the placement of the intrepid explorer.

February 28th - Moon, Mercury, and Saturn conjunction in Pisces This occurs at 9 degrees of Pisces, and each planet applies to a sextile with Pisces in the following days. Jupiter brings us another management check-in after Saturn's: how have we been balancing growth with consolidation? Jupiter's going to pick up speed and zoom out of Taurus later this year, moving away from this balanced position to a difficult square with Saturn. We've been balancing weight with buoyancy, but once in Gemini Jupiter forms more of helicopter to Saturn's submarine--vehicles that can't be combined. With Saturn and Mercury (and the Sun shedding light), we'll likely see changes in the status of maritime trade and travel. From Saturn to Jupiter we may see something go from being stuck to unstuck.

As we wrap up the month, we've got some Pisces planets approaching Neptune while Jupiter approaches Uranus. And don't forget, we've got 29 days in February this year!

[ridgeracerpictures]

Daily Ridge Racer picture #142

"Gripping Downhill" feat. PRC Terrazi Destroyer on Heaven and Hell -- R4 / Ridge Racer Type 4