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We're exploring the possibilities of doing a regular podcast here on ZHN, like other ones we've worked on in the past. Until then, this will have to do.

I've been getting an increasing number of requests to appear on radio shows in Canada to discuss China's reaction to the Tibet mess, torch protests, and looming Olympic games. I appeared on the nationally-syndicated Adler Online during Friday's program, and will guest on Hamilton and Toronto's Ben Guyatt Show and Victoria's Al Ferraby show this week.

You can download the mp3 for the Adler spot below (13 MB). As you'll hear in the interview, Charles Adler, the host, says that the west sorely lacks information on how the Chinese people feel, and more importantly, why they feel that way. It's a substantive interview, one of the longest segments on the program I've done.

The torch relay mess is also having an impact on the Vancouver Olympic Games, scheduled for 2010. VANOC, the organizing committee, has announced it will have an extremely short torch relay or none at all. Right now, it is considering going to London, Paris, and Vimy Ridge (where Canadian soldiers were instrumental in a World War I battle). It may also tour the United States. Canadian Olympic officials are seeking to avoid the fiasco China now finds itself a part of.

The Adler interview, however, focuses mostly on China. He asks genuine questions in trying to understand why China feels the way it does. I think many in the west are perplexed with China's reaction to concerns about Tibet. He asks whether the protests have prompted the Chinese people to put pressure on their own government for policy changes in Tibet. The question is completely understandable from a western perspective, but completely absurd if one has spent any time in China. It's this kind of information - and culture - gap that needs to be bridged. But I feel like many (not all) western media outlets are making a genuine effort. At the very least, reportage of China's point of view has increased. Conversely, China still refuses to report on any of the reasons why Tibetans may be unhappy.

I often feel like the Chinese press criticizing western media on bias is like a 400 pound man telling a 250 pound man to lose weight. Sure, the guy needs to shed a few. But the criticism is coming from an odd source.

You can download the Adler interview here:

Tongzhi Yi Fanren 同志亦凡人 ("Queer as Folk") is a weekly video podcast that discusses LGBT life in China. Informative and interesting, the video series started it's second season in March 2008. Most episodes are done in Chinese; however, in this English-language special, hosts Steven and Jack introduce all things gay in Shanghai.

The QAF Beijing blog offers a bilingual introduction:

《同志亦凡人》视频播客以一种自由轻松的谈话方式与您讨论和分享最新、最前沿的LGBT生活。我们邀请在不同领域工作的LGBT人士，以一种非常个人的态度来分享他们在大环境下自我认同。

《同志亦凡人》第一季从2007年4月至6月播出，期间我们得到了众多网络上下朋友的支持，11集节目在三个主要视频网站（新浪播客、土豆和我乐）的总阅览量已经超过了一百万人次，并且还在递增。

"Queer as Folk Beijing" is a weekly video podcast that provides a forum for wide-ranging and light-hearted discussions on the latest issues affecting LGBT life in China. In each episode we will invite a diverse group of guests from the Chinese LGBT community to share their unique views and intimate stories.

The first season of "Queer as Folk Beijing" debuted in April 2007 and, by the time we aired our last episode in late June, we had won a tremendous amount of support from countless friends worldwide. Eleven episodes shown on three major video-sharing websites (Sina, Tudou and 56.com) have attracted views of one million and counting.

More episodes can be found here.