
In one week last December, five members of Guan Yao’s family in Beijing died, including his father, his father-in-law and his grandmother. In an interview with a journalist, Guan, who lives in California, appeared powerless and dejected. Yet – for reasons that anyone from China understands – he chose his words carefully. Avoiding directly mentioning the Chinese government, he referred only to an ambiguous “them”. “It is difficult to understand,” Guan said, “why they abruptly lifted all restrictions.”












Watching a baseball game on TV can provide astounding moments. Sensational fielding, clutch hitting, pinpoint pitching. But nothing was more astounding to me than a promotion they used to run on Blue Jays telecasts way back when.