Conscience now grinding soy bean milk fritters

It's been a long time since I've written for lots of great reasons, the main one being that my parents came to visit and there have been lots of guests around. I'm getting a pro at how to get non Chinese speakers to the big sights in Beijing and feeling very local. I am actually writing this entry at the arrivals gate!

News from the past few weeks

Politics
-Xi Jinping is officially in power now with a landslide victory, only one vote in opposition, four abstentions and four votes that seem to have not been counted?
-What this has meant for my life is that again, Internet has been extremely slow and none of the precious vpns were working so limited Facebook access.
-Lots of old people are sitting around with red armbands saying things like 'local protection squad'. As far as I can see this just gives lots of old women to stand around doing what they always did (very little) but look more like they are meant to be there.
-A lot more police around all over the place making trouble. I was in Nian cafe (the one run by some of the art students from the forestry university that I'm friends with) a couple weeks ago when a policeman came in asking lots of mundane questions very aggressively to the five of us in the tiny cafe (where do you study? Do you come here often? Do you like this cafe?? Do cafes in England need licences?!). I think he was angry because he thought they didn't have a licence to operate or something. I'm not sure if they do or not to be honest, but it is only because of the government meetings that anyone cared at all. I think it's all been resolved now, the guys were very chilled about it.

Local news
-In my apartment block they have added a really irritating swipe card system which means that the sleepy looking 'security guards' (they are wearing us army surplus clothes, I think this might give you some indication of their professionalism) now have to swipe everyone in instead of their previous job which was sitting by the gate with a cone in front of it, and moving the cone when a car wanted to get in. They go through phases of being too lazy to open the gate and then they just put the cone back again.
-I found out that beneath the massive apartment complex next to the one I live in there are six floors underground where all the migrant workers who work in nearby shops and buildings live. I had no idea, although it makes a lot of sense because housing is expensive in the student area so there is no way most of the people that staff it could afford to live there when the average waiter gets paid 70-80 pence an hour.

And now we turn to the weather...
-Since I have come back we have had two sandstorms, it's snowed twice, and the weather has been nice enough not to need a coat. Sandstorms are difficult to cycle in because you keep inhaling dust, it gets in your eyes and the wind makes the direction of your bike hard to control. I don't recommend it.
-Yesterday the government turned the Beijing central heating off for the first time since November, so the winter is officially over- unfortunately today it snowed.
-The pollution has been terrible almost all the time with a few days of clear skies. Everyone is really angry and stressed about the pollution, Chinese and westerners are all wearing much more intense World War Two blitz style looking masks and the government is getting a lot of negative attention for it. I don't know if the news story about the 6000 dead pigs turning up in the river in Shanghai reached you or not but
that's also caused a big stir. One Chinese blogger has joked that China is so prosperous that in Beijing you can smoke for free and in Shanghai water is now pork soup which I enjoyed!

Cultural feature piece- how to spot a (south)Korean person or Korean owned establishment

Some background:
My area of town has three distinct groups, Chinese, Korean and all other foreigners. The reason that the Koreans are their own group is because there are so many more of them than all other international students and they have their own very separate social networks. In terms of dress sense and general coolness, I would rank Chinese at the bottom, then foreigners and then Koreans at the top by a long way. This may sound strange to you but I don't think I know anyone here of any category that would dispute this ranking.
The typical Korean student will be
Wearing hipster classes (frames are optional)
Leggings of some variety, guys often wear a cross between sports trackies, leggings and skinny jeans
Some really nicely made University logo sports jacket with their subject written on the back (somehow the Korean networks make these for themselves and you can't buy them, I've asked one once)
A baseball cap (guys not girls)
Perfectly turned out with makeup on and flawless skin. Even the guys wear makeup sometimes, not in a drag queen way but to accentuate their features.
Girls are often very slim and elegant with loose fitting long tops or baggy jumpers on which emphasise their great figure.
Riding an immaculately clean, powerful scooter or motorbike. Chinese ones (and my one) are really dusty because Beijing is dry and dusty but somehow the Korean ones are always spotless. I parked next to a restaurant and instantly knew large group of Koreans were inside just from the vehicles parked outside.
All their electronics are Samsung.
If none of the above are true, you can tell that they are Korean because they will be wearing an outfit with clothes that a westerner is unlikely to think of combining but that on them seems to look really good and well matched.

Korean establishments
-Sell great coffee- Chinese people don't normally drink caffeinated things because its bad for your qi, so all coffee shops tend to be western or Korean.
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Have really stylish interiors that are quirky and cool- Maan coffee for example has massive trees inside it with lanterns and chandeliers hanging off it. When you place an order they give you a teddy bear ( in the winter they are wearing knitted jumpers) which is traded for your drink or waffles when they arrive. The toilets are clean, have scented candles by the sinks and aren't squat toilets like every other place. In another one called Coffee Bean Tree the menu covers are made of little knitted quilts.

In conclusion, Psy aside you can probably see why a Korean wave has hit Asia and that I have also fallen under the spell! If you can't watch the music videos for some Korean girl and boy bands, it's mesmerising.