This is Bill Tsutsui with another Postcard from Asia from the Center for East Asian Studies.

The way things are going here in Beijing, you won’t be able to order “Sexually Immature Chicken” at your favorite restaurant very much longer. Sexually Immature Chicken is the kind of mangled English translation for “pullet” that will soon fall victim to Beijing’s pre-Olympics self improvement campaign which is waging war on inaccurate translations such as this one. Signs all around the capital are being vetted and edited and corrected to eliminate national embarrassment when the tourists flock to the city for the Summer Games in 2008. It’s the end of an era and all we can say is, “Waiter! Bring me another serving of Sexually Immature Chicken while it’s still on the menu!”

With thanks to Randi Hacker for this text, from the Center for East Asian Studies, I’m Bill Tsutsui. Wish you were here.