Summary: This week on Sinica: China makes an about-face on Libya, we discuss a recent controversy in Beijing's arts community over independent filmmaker Zhao Liang, and get an on-the-ground update on the state of China's South-North Water Diversion Project: a little-publicized infrastructure effort that already dwarfs the Three Gorges Dam in both its human and environmental impact. And we're lucky to have an incredible line-up of guests. Joining Kaiser Kuo in our studio this week is Ed Wong from the New York Times, whose recent profile of independent filmmaker Zhao Liang sets the stage for our discussion today. Kathleen McLaughlin from the Global Post is also here, fresh back in Beijing from a trip to Shaanxi to investigate the state of China's plans to redirect southern water to the country's parched north. We are also lucky to be joined by Sinica-stalwart Will Moss of Imagethief fame. This week's recommendations from the host and guests of the Sinica podcast: Kathleen recommends animal rights charity Animal Asia. Ed recommends his favorite Zhao Liang films Crime and Punishment (Zuì Yǔ Fá) and Petition (Shàng Fǎng) as well as Jia Zhangke's documentary Still Life (Sǎn Xiá Hǎo Rén). Will recommends Guardian Asia environment correspondent and former Sinica guest Jonathan Watts' book on environmental impact, policy, and realities in China When A Billion Chinese Jump. Kaiser "recommends" with caveats Sir Edmund Trelawney Backhouse's China memoir Décadence Mandchoue and recommends sincerely Hugh Trevor-Roper's biography of Edmund Backhouse, The Hermit of Peking. Finally, for an interesting take on "filming a filmmaker," check out visual journalist Jonah Kessel's account of filming Zhao Liang for Ed's New York Times profile here. Enjoy Sinica? Get on-the-ground commentary on all things China fresh in your MP3 player each week by signing up for a Popup Chinese account and subscribing to the Sinica show. Alternately, you can also download this show as a standalone MP3 file, or signup manually through iTunes by selecting "Subscribe to Podcast" from the Advanced file menu, and providing the URL http://popupchinese.com/feeds/custom/sinica when prompted. Enjoy the show, and let us know if you run into any problems.
