Those who have visited Beijing in recent years have expressed concern over the city’s air pollution. This report outlines one measure the Beijing city government is planning to take to pass a planned air quality test: Asking drivers to stay off the roads for the duration of the testing period. Is this cheating? Will it […]
Read MoreFrom Reuters: A Chinese couple tried to name their baby “@,” claiming the character used in e-mail addresses echoed their love for the child, an official trying to whip the national language into line said Thursday. The unusual name stands out especially in Chinese, which has no alphabet and instead uses tens of thousands of […]
Read MoreFrom Reuters: A Chinese court jailed a dissident Internet writer for four years on subversion charges on Thursday for posting anti-government articles online, his disbarred lawyer said, the latest case in a government crackdown on dissent. The Intermediate People’s Court in Hangzhou , capital of the eastern coastal province of Zhejiang , convicted Chen Shuqing […]
Read MoreFrom The Christian Science Monitor: Behind the walled farmhouses, where fields of cotton and fennel bask in bright sunshine, the desert begins. Pale ochre sand dunes loom over rows of carefully tended crops that represent a lifetime of labor for the 21 families who live here. As the desert closes in, this community has been […]
Read MoreFrom BBC News: Students translated the final Harry Potter book hours after its publication and months ahead of the official Chinese version, state media reports. The first Chinese version of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows appeared on the internet on 21 July, the day of the English version’s global release. China Daily quoted blogs […]
Read MoreFrom Financial Times: China Mobile , China’s largest mobile phone company, reported a 26 per cent increase in net profit for the first half of the year as it continued its aggressive push into the country’s rural areas. The company’s subscriber base grew more than 20 per cent to 332.4m. As a result, one in […]
Read MoreBusinessWeek takes a look at how Mattel ended up producing unsafe toys and issuing a massive recall, especially since the company is frequently held up as a model of how to operate overseas while respecting product safety and workers’ rights: Mattel is not just another company suffering because it uses low-cost Chinese suppliers. The company […]
Read MoreHoward French reports on the ways in which traditional Tibetan cultural festivals have become a silent political battlefield between Tibetans and Chinese officials, with the main issue being whether or not to wear traditional fur coats: This is the season of Tibetan festivals, where people throughout this region gather to celebrate old traditions during the […]
Read MoreFrom the New York Times: Iran has arrested two Chinese citizens on charges of spying for taking pictures of a military complex in the central city of Arak, where Iran is building a nuclear reactor, the judiciary spokesman said Wednesday. “The Chinese nationals were detained while photographing and recording video of a military complex in […]
Read MoreIn response to the toy recalls and to the numerous food and product safety scares, China has claimed to have stepped up its inspections of its exports and has promised to send delegations to the U.S. to discuss the trade issues this fall. From the New York Times: Chinese government authorities are prepared to require […]
Read MoreSeems the Taihu Lake disaster won’t stay local. Now Beijing is feeling some heat. Translated from the Beijing Times: Shangzhuang Reservoir (‰∏äÂ∫ÑÊ∞¥Â∫ì), 30 kilometers northwest of Beijing, is infected too with what Taihu Lake is struggling to get rid of: algae bloom or eutrophication. About 20 of Haidian District’s water affairs bureau employees are working […]
Read MoreThe New York Times reports that the Chinese government is playing down reports on a virus that is “sweeping” the pig population and impacting pork prices: So far, the mysterious virus ” believed to cause an unusually deadly form of an infection known as blue-ear pig disease ” has spread to 25 of this country’s […]
Read MoreXinyang City Secretary reports on a rare experiment and its achievements: banning alcohol at cadres’ lunches. Benefits are multiple, and enormous. Translated from Xinhua Henan channel: An alcohol ban at lunches for all...
Read MoreA boy plays with his toy train in Shanghai, by Wam Mosely
Read MoreYesterday Japan marked the 62nd Anniversary of its surrender of World War II. Below is a related historical picture posted by Kenneth Tan for Shanghaiist. Kenneth Tan says that “this picture dated August 28, 1937 is of a terrified baby who was almost the only human being left alive in Shanghai’s South Station after brutal […]
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