Friday, March 20, 2020

The Struggle For Democracy In China

The Struggle For Democracy In China Democracy has been the objective in controversial struggles for a multitude of nations. Though the meaning of democracy changes each time it translates into a different language, and might not propose the same idea to everyone everywhere. For example, democracy translated into Chinese is "minzhu", or "people-as-masters". This ideology is not a concept deep-seated in Chinese culture or it's political philosophy. It actually goes completely against Confucian beliefs, "which stresses harmony and obedience. But neither is democracy a concept that has just recently taken hold in the minds of Chinese youth who have seen the wonders of democracy in Western-style discos and fast food"‚  (Barme par. 2). The youths' concluded that these luxuries were achieved through democracy and if China converted, then they too will get the amenities that western countries have. But more importantly, they longed for ideas such as: an end to corruption, freedom of expression, free elections, accurate news reporting, etc.Tiananmen Square as seen from the Tiananmen Gate i...These were the desires that led to the pro-democracy movement and the events that occurred at Tiananmen Square.The first gathering at the Tiananmen Square was to commemorate the death of Former Party General Secretary Hu Yaobang. Then the official memorial service for him was held in the Great Hall of the People where three student representatives demanding to meet with Premier Li Peng, carried a petition and kneeled on the steps of the Great Hall in front of a hundred thousand students. Li Peng did not respond to the students and they refused to let minor officials pass on the petition. Angered by the officials' indifference to their petition, the students decide to boycott their classes.On April 26 the Communist Party newspaper People's Daily published an editorial saying that the student protests are just an "organized conspiracy to sew chaos." Not long after over...

Tuesday, March 3, 2020

Practice Creative Writing With These Prompts

Practice Creative Writing With These Prompts You need to write a story for your creative writing class? Would you like it to be a horror story, a suspense, a romance or a sci-fi one? Whatever genre you choose, here are some creative writing prompts for you: Your Biggest Fan This one is straight out of the book Misery by Stephen King where a deranged fan kidnaps and tortures her favorite writer. How can you put a twist on a creepy, invasive fan that will make peoples skin crawl? The Reader Takes Part in the Action Why not write a book where the narrator slowly falls in love with the reader? How would you describe that? Haunted House Is there a creepy old house in your neighborhood that nobody wants to walk past? Are there steep stairs leading up to it like in Psycho? Maybe its a mystery who lives there as nobody is ever seen going in or out, yet theres always a candle in the window at night? What finally brings you to an encounter with the house? A dare from your friends? Did your cat escape and run into the scary house and you have to find it? What do you see when you enter? Vampires, Monsters and Zombies Then there are the traditional monster and zombie stories where bloodthirsty supernatural beings invade a town and start a killing spree. Where are you when this happens? How do you escape? What scenes of horror do you witness as you run for your life? Alternative Dreams The kids usually dream of becoming ninjas, astronauts, cowboys. Instead, they grow up to become bankers, accountants. Imagine the alternative reality, where a little boy wanted to be a lawyer whereas had to become an FBI agent. How would the story evolve? Ghosts These can be some of the scariest stories. Someone has died, but their spirit wont leave. How do you come into contact with this ghost? How do things develop? In the beginning, you merely sense something strange, but as time goes on, the ghost becomes more and more invasive in your life until you find yourself possessed by it! How do you fight the ghost? With a priest? Why is it tormenting you? How can you put it to rest? What is its story? Another Kind of Death In this universe, the dead dont just become limp corpses. They function just like regular bodies, just without a soul. How do they interact with those alive? Why not break the clichà © and make zombies good this time? The Forgotten You awake and start getting ready for work, you go downstairs and no one in your house knows who you are and your pictures have vanished. What do you do first? How do you make your loved ones remember you? Buried Alive As in The Raven where Poes fiancà ©e is buried alive slowly, how could you write this theme to evoke the terror of feeling the earth cover you while youre still alive? Does your victim escape? How do they do it? Who put them there in the first place and why? Accident Sometimes there doesnt have to be a villain for the story to be terrifying. What if you were in an accident, a car crash, or are hanging from a cliff? How do you overcome the situation and make it out alive? Bring on Some Sci-Fi You have invented an A.I system that integrates with a human body to automatically provide adjustments that will allow you to evolve and better your life. You are the first person to test new technology out. What adjustments do you think will be made? A great idea is always vital for a successful story. Pick one of the above or think of one yourself and go ahead, start creating! Got some incredible prompts youd like to share with others? Write them in the comments!