July 4, 2008

Mainland tourist charter flight arrives in Taiwan

Xinhua reports:

The first cross-Strait weekend charter flight from China's mainland to Taiwan landed at Taipei Taoyuan airport early Friday morning.

Forbidden City ice hockey

hockey_mike meyer_s.jpg
A chapter from Michael Meyer's new book:
Last Days of Old Beijing -- Life in the Vanishing Backstreets of a City Transformed.

July 3, 2008

Yunnan to ban all plastic bags in 2009

From GoKunming:

Just weeks after China implemented a nationwide ban on free plastic bags, Yunnan province is once again putting itself at the forefront of the country's environmental movement - this time with a total ban on production, sales and use of plastic bags across the province next year.

Pas les bienvenus pour Sarkozy

From The China Daily:

Chinese people do not want French President Nicolas Sarkozy's to attend the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics, according to the results of a survey published on Wednesday.

The online poll conducted by Sina.com.cn, was held in response to Sarkozy's threat to boycott the ceremony. He said on Monday that his attendance will depend on the progress of the latest talks between the Chinese government and the private representatives of the Dalai Lama

I'm just here to do push ups

From ESWN:

Here comes the third Internet pop phrase of the year 2008. The first one was 'very pornographic, very violent' (很黄很暴力). The second one was 'I'm just here to buy soy sauce' (我出来打酱油的). The third and latest one is 'I'm here to do push-ups (我来做俯卧撑的).' What is its etymology?

July 2, 2008

Jimmy Lai optimistic on press freedom in Hong Kong

Newsweek has published a Q&A with charismatic media mogul Jimmy Lai, who is persona non grata in the Mainland. Although the article is subtitled 'Beijing is interfering more and more deeply in Hong Kong affairs', Lai is actually quite optimistic about the future of the freedoms he currently enjoys.

Mongolian hookers and students visas

Matt at BizCult finds out that a student visa is one way around the current China visa clampdown, but (or and) you have to attend classes together with the Mongolian hookers who have discovered the same visa workaround.

July 1, 2008

Chinese fund manager pays $2.1 million for lunch with Buffett

The China Daily reports:

A Chinese investment fund manager won the chance to have lunch with billionaire Warren Buffett by bidding $2.1 million in the most expensive charity auction on eBay.

Zhao Danyang, of Hong Kong-based Pure Heart China Growth Investment Fund, won the auction, which ended on Friday evening with a bid of $2,110,100.

The Shanghai Dragon

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The new Shanghai Center, nicknamed the Shanghai Dragon, begins construction this year and will top out at 580 meters.

China Daily: 30,000 took part in Guizhou mass action

The state-owned newspaper reports:

Up to 30,000 people took part in the mass action in Weng'an county of Guizhou province on Saturday, torching government buildings and smashing and burning cars.

In its latest update, Xinhua said yesterday that trouble began when about 300 people, protesting against the authenticity of a police report on a 17-year-old girl's death, gathered at the county government and public security bureau around 3 pm.

Mutant seaweed threatens Olympic sailing

The Times reporting from Qingdao:

The bright green algae, described as 'thick as a carpet', is making it impossible for dinghies to navigate the course that will host the Olympic regattas in less than two months.

Mass incident in Weng'an

A rape and murder, a cover up, another murder, and then a riot in Weng'an in Guizhou Province. ESWN has compiled information from a number of sources from Xinhua to Reuters to Anti-CNN.com.

Visa blues for hotels in Yunnan

GoKunming.com has a report from the usually popular tourist towns of Dali and Lijiang where hotel and bar owners are set to have a rough summer.

June 29, 2008

It was a paper tiger after all

Xinhua reports on how Zhou Zhenglong faked his tiger photos with a wooden claw and a paper tiger mockup. Thirteen local officials in Shaanxi have been disciplined.

June 27, 2008

迎奥运、讲文明、树新风

From an article on the official Beijing Olympic website with the slightly plaintive title 'China attempts to clean up the Internet':

The internet-based activity promoted under the slogan 'Welcome the Olympics, Improve Manners and Foster New Attitudes' officially began on Wednesday in Beijing. Aimed at promoting appropriate internet usage for a pleasant internet environment during the Olympic Games, the activity was met with much approval.

Foreign guests at the Olympics will certainly appreciate the new, cleaned-up Internet.

June 26, 2008

Korean citizen journalist conference

Oh My News, the groundbreaking South Korean citizen journalism website is holding its annual citizen journalism conference in Seoul, starting Friday June 27. Might be a while before there is a similar event in Beijing.

Warning from closed hepatitis website

Robin Kwong in the Financial Times:

The Chinese government's recent crackdown on civil rights groups may backfire and incite protests during the Beijing Olympics, warned Lu Jun, who ran a popular website for hepatitis B carriers shut down last month.

Funeral dirge for 56.com?

From Kaiser Kuo's blog:

...Anyone who quotes this blog should do so under the full knowledge that this is all still rumor, and as such all of this must be taken with a grain of salt.

That said, here's what I'm hearing: One or more partners with Sequoia 56.com's board ... paid a visit to SARFT regulators to plead the case for 56 in an episode reminiscent of a visit IDG's Hugo Xiong paid to same to prevent disaster from befalling his portfolio company, Tudou. Unlike Xiong's SARFT audience, this source tells me, this one didn't go well: when the Sequoia partner or partners asked for a dispensation, SARFT's response was a chilly 'Why should we?'

Olympic Games rules for Beijing citizens

From Sexy Beijing blog:

Our local neighborhood grannies came knocking on my door this week to make sure I have a copy of the Olympic Legal Handbook. So forget about getting around the city on your skateboard this summer--according to the handbook, skateboarding on the street is now illegal, along with a host of other activities like hanging clothes outside your window and dumping garbage in the gutter.

Post quake solar schools design competition

From Xinhua:

An international architectural design competition for the so-called 'Sun-lit Schools' was launched here Wednesday, to seek solutions for solar-fueled school buildings in the countryside.

Contestants are required to design 'Sun-lit' school buildings with reference to climatic conditions in earthquake-hit areas such as Maerkang and Mianyang, both in Sichuan Province...

...For more information, visit www.isbdc.cn.

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