Click here to view old videos.Nov
17
2006
Only in China(and Apparently Australia, Too)
This information comes from a frequent visitor of mine named Erick. Because China hates me, I couldn’t go to his blog, even through a proxy for a good while, but now that I am not being blocked anymore I can easily visit his blog as well. So take THAT you big, mean evil Golden Shield YOU! So, thank you Erick for giving me a good laugh. A laugh a day keeps the Commies away! Heh. Heh. Sorry, I had to do it. Those wondering about the good laugh can either go here to read it or just let your eyes follow down the page.
| BEIJING, China (Reuters) — The Chinese appear not to have warmed to a “free hugs” campaign aimed at cheering up strangers by hugging them on the street, with some huggers even being hauled away by police for questioning, media said on Monday.The campaign hit the streets of Beijing, Changsha and Xi’an over the weekend, with participants opening their arms to embrace passers-by and brandishing cards saying “free hugs,” “care from strangers,” “refuse to be apathetic,” the Beijing News said. In the capital, police moved in and took away four huggers briefly for questioning, baffled by their wacky, Western-style activities on a busy downtown shopping street. In the ancient capital of Xi’an, home to the terra cotta warriors, no more than 20 people, mostly children, had volunteered for the free hugs in two hours. “Passers-by showed interest and curiosity, stopped and asked, but most of them walked away after hearing the explanation,” Xinhua news agency said, quoting a local newspaper. “Embracing is a foreign tradition. Chinese are not accustomed to this,” a man named Li, a Xi’an citizen, was quoted as saying. The ancient city of Changsha, capital of Hunan province, fared better, a local affairs Web site reported. “Though some people refused (to be hugged), I hugged 20 people in one minute,” one girl was quoted as saying.
The Free Hugs campaign started in Australia and gained fame with a music video this year. |
Now that I think about it, I’d probably be equally as creeped if some stranger walked up to me and offered a hug here in the U.S. (Unless, of course, she was hot.)
But seriously, no problem about the linkage. We’ll reserve that for the day you’re feeling a bit spontaneous and want to tip-toe on the daring side.
November 17, 2006 @ 7:02 PM