Must-read China news by Danwei

"In your heart, do you believe the Dianchi Administrative Office's position that 'there was no blue algae explosion at Dianchi'?" I asked him next.

"Of course, I don't believe it. We went to observe Dianchi ourselves and we took photographs," Huaiyan said in frustration. "But they called the press conference and this was what they said. News has to be true. Other than reporting what they say, what else can I write?"

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Chinese health authorities have issued new guidelines that restrict organ transplants for foreigners, making it virtually impossible for foreigners on tourist visas to receive transplants.

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Pang Yuliang, an entrepreneur from Central China's Henan Province and chairman of LinkGlobal Logistics Co, said yesterday he would officially acquire the Parchim Airport in northern Germany at a cost of US$130 million on July 5, making himself the first Chinese to buy a European airport.

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For almost five years I have covered the Chinese scrap trade, and in the course of visiting Chinese ports and scrap facilities, I have seen American scrap shipments contaminated with medical waste, household garbage, dead animals, sludge, mud, and other items not included on the shipping manifest. And these are just the shipments that DON'T contain e-waste. All of this occurs despite China's strict laws on waste imports - many of which were implemented in reaction to American exports of hazardous materials to China.

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Chrysler Group's move to outsource the entire assembly of some vehicles to a Chinese company puts it at the leading edge of global auto makers looking to use China as an export base.

Executives at Chrysler, which is struggling to pare costs, said the agreement with China's Chery Automobile Co. to assemble a series of small, inexpensive cars for export under the Dodge brand is likely to serve as a template as the company looks to roll out new models quickly, inexpensively and with less capital investment.

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With its remarkable diversity of wild flora under threat from explosive economic growth, China has announced a radical new 'National Strategy for Plant Conservation'. Coming in the face of what scientists are calling a "burgeoning ecological crisis", this landmark strategy aims to halt China's continuing loss of plant diversity, helping safeguard the future of some 5,000 threatened plant species. The plan brings together 3 state agencies - for the first time - to create a uniquely coordinated, 'whole country' approach to plant conservation in China.

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The following order went out to central party media in the middle of June:

Directions on Reporting of 17th Party Congress
(1) From now onwards, creating a favorable environment for the 17th Party Congress is most important for us all. All reports must be encompassed by this demand as they are carried out. All units must conduct an examination of their own reports and programs, and those not appropriate must be readjusted immediately. [Media must work] with political consciousness [of the party line and party interests], awareness of the overall situation [of the strategy and interests of the central party/大局], and a sense of responsibility.

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In recent years, I have been living in Beijing. I often hear people ask others: "What is your place of origin?" People reply with answers such as: I'm from Henan, Guangdong, Shanghai, Tianjin and so on. But I have never heard anyone say: "I'm Chinese." Could it be that they don't think that they are Chinese? Of course not. It is just that the identity as a Chinese person co-exists with those regional identities, and they are not mutually exclusive.

But in Hong Kong, there are some social scientists who run statistical surveys which ask in the same question: "Please select one of the following - Are you a Hong Kong person, or Chinese person, or Chinese Hong Kong person or Hong Kong Chinese person?"

For this particular question, each option had someone picking it.

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Some Catholic websites in mainland China that uploaded Pope Benedict XVI's letter to Catholics in the mainland shortly after it was released were ordered hours later to remove it. UCA News observed that a few hours after the Vatican issued the letter on June 30 at 6:00 p.m. Beijing time (12:00 noon in Rome), several mainland Catholic websites uploaded the simplified Chinese version of the letter.

However, most of those websites, which usually carry news on the Universal Church, the China Church and the pope, had removed the text by the next day. A priest in charge of such a website registered with the government told UCA News on July 2 he felt helpless because he strongly believes that "China Church websites should publish the pope's letter."

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Yang's best-known work was "Yi yi: A One and a Two ...," the multilayered family drama that won him the director prize at Cannes in 2000.

He studied electrical engineering in Florida and studied film briefly at USC but initially decided against a movie career. His change of heart apparently came after he was introduced to Werner Herzog's 1972 drama "Aguirre: The Wrath of God."

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During a conversation in Beijing one night, I said: "Have you heard what the foreign media are saying...that X has happened?" I can't remember what X was - it doesn't matter. The other person said, "That's not possible. If that had happened, we'd know. Things aren't like they used to be. The media isn't like it used to be. We've got Phoenix."

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People who revere Guoxue as God Almighty do not really understand how civilizations evolve. They believe it is this rigid thing that must be crammed down the throat of youngsters and never accommodate their questions. Most traditional style schools (si shu) that have sprung up in recent years resort to this gorging-without-digesting approach.

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...around the time of the Return, the emphasis was to keep the economic vitality of Hong Kong and therefore more attention was paid to the business interests instead of the middle-class and common people. For example, most of the 800 electors are business people who used to monopolize the economic resources of Hong Kong and are now monopolizing the political resources. During the colonial era, the Hong Kong governor looked after the interests of those business people and that part of the colonial administration has been retained.

This is a lesson that is worth learning and it can be used as reference.

But within the social environment in which the rich-poor gap is increasing, Hong Kong has provided a protective system that will enable the poor to survive with dignity. Apart from the public housing system, there are medical protection, education protection, etc. Society thus avoids instability.

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