With the same wit and precision he brings to his lyrics, he fielded questions about the challenges of rhyming traditional Chinese characters (complete with a demonstration), why living in Los Angeles hasn't influenced his aesthetic (but Bali might), and his progress on a stage adaptation of Neil Gaiman's Coraline.

NPR: Stephin Merritt: Musical Polymath

Taiwan residents write Chinese using traditional characters, while mainlanders prefer simplified forms adopted in 1951.

CNN: COMMUNICATION

The advertisements associate Western technology with Chinese traditional fortune telling characters called chaizi.

FORBES: Green Consumption In China--It Takes Time