Who gives authoritative test results?
Two government agencies test Nongfu Spring juices for arsenic and obtain contradictory results. Who should the public trust?
« November 22, 2009 - November 28, 2009 | Main | December 6, 2009 - December 12, 2009 »
December 4, 2009
The dreaded chai
bezdomny ex patria writes about a neighborhood that's about to come down:
Back in August, 2007, a local market, just south of this afternoon’s threatened alley, grew itself a poster or two announcing that it would be demolished to make way for a hospital. After their apperance, these posters were quickly joined by a flurry of protest letters appealing to Beijing’s relevant laws and regulations on the placement of hospitals, the health of the community, and common sense. Two years and four months later, the market is still there and business is booming. Unfortunately, though, I did not see any similar letters this afternoon. Perhaps a difference in the socio-economic statuses of the residents of the endangered houses and the customers of the market is reflected in their relative levels of education, and therefore their responses to the threatening announcements?
In his most recent post, two days after the above one, the buildings have already started to disappear.
5 sentenced to death for murder in Urumqi riot
Xinhua:
Five people were sentenced Thursday to death for murder and other crimes committed in the July 5 riot in Urumqi, capital of west China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.
The defendants were Memeteli Islam, Mamattursun Elmu, Memeteli Abburakm, Kushiman Kurban and Helil Sadir.
Two others were sentenced at the Intermediate People's Court of Urumqi to life imprisonment and another six were given jail terms.
The crumbling fortresses of Guangdong
By Ed Wong in The New York Times:
Hundreds, maybe thousands, of towers rise from the rice fields here in a tableau that is more Tuscan countryside than Chinese landscape.
It is a sight found nowhere else in China: rectangular towers, some made of concrete, some built of stone or other materials, jutting four or five stories high from the flatlands. They have balconies and turrets and Roman-style arches. There are metal shutters to keep out criminals and portholes where defenders can take aim at assailants, explaining why the locals call these buildings “pao lou,” or cannon towers.
December 3, 2009
Mainland university students in Hong Kong
ESWN translates a post by Rose Luqiu relating the reaction of an American journalist to university student forums on the mainland and in Hong Kong:
Actually, the Hong Kong students that this American colleague is referring to are almost 99% from the mainland. Those who raised questions during the forum are probably 100% from the mainland. The only difference is that the former have been in Hong Kong for almost half a year. As a result, they have seen and heard much more. Thus their thinking styles and angles are different from mainlanders around the same age.
New rules target high-income tax dodgers
The Economic Observer reports on new rules from the Ministry of Finance that tax transportation subsidies, phone payments, and other non-salary bonuses:
Despite the intentions of the ministry, the notice caused quite a stir amid the public with many people weighing in on the topic. A large number of regular wage-earners were worried that the implementation of the policy would result in a reduction of their take home pay. In addition, others questioned why the new regulations were only being applied to employees working in companies and were not being extended to include China's public servants.
December 2, 2009
China's first movie song
The Chinese Mirror introduces the "film songs" that accompanied China's silent movies in the early 30s as imported films were making the transition to talkies:
The first recorded movie song was a wax disk dubbed onto a 1930 silent, performed as a duet by its costars. Ironically, the female half of the duo was an actress who never made a sound film -- China's greatest silent diva, Ruan Lingyu. This was the first time Chinese audiences had heard the voices of Ruan and her co-star Jin Yan. In the ensuing decade, the output of China's top composers became a standard part of popular music, and as in the West, provided a springboard for sheet music and recording sales as well as opening up recording careers for the actors and actresses performing them.
Foreign woman petitions in Beijing
From AP:
She joins the crush of Chinese petitioners outside the high, well-guarded gates on cold Beijing mornings. Like the others, she has a grievance against the government, in her case, a fiance jailed on a charge she says is untrue.
But unlike the others, Julie Harms is American and a Harvard graduate. And as she haunts government offices in a long search for justice, even the officials stare.
December 1, 2009
China's highest-earning authors
Professional list-maker Wu Huaiyao is back with the 2009 installment of his authors rich list. Storyteller Zheng Yuanjie grabs the top spot from YA novelist Guo Jingming this year.
Dali government closes 'gay bar' on World AIDS Day
Update: Malcolm Moore has written on his blog that the "gay bar" has actually been closed by the authorities.
In the backpacker town of Dali, China’s first state-sanctioned gay bar would serve as a “common room for partner education” according to the paper. Around 120,000 yuan (£10,600) of public money was going to subsidise its opening costs.
Yunnan was chosen because it has the highest number of HIV/Aids cases in the country. “We might not even sell beverages in the bar. We will turn the bar into a centre to offer lectures and training to gay people in order to reduce Aids infections among them,” said Zhang Jianbo, the bar manager. Sounds like fun!
Well, of course it was too “right-on” to be last long. The volunteers who were going to run the bar have now all mysteriously quit and the Health ministry has nixed the project before it even opened. A spokesman refused to comment.
Chris at Gokunming.com has information and a blog post on its opening.
The curious case of Jay Chou
Josie Liu at the China in Transition blog discusses the pop star's engagement with traditional Chinese culture:
He seems to have a very strong sense of identity. In his early years as a pop star, the identity issue was mostly about who Jay Chou was. Lately, it has been more about what constitutes the Chineseness of a pop star.
Somali pirates: Crew will die if China acts
From the Global Times:
Somali pirates warned yesterday they would kill the crew of a Chinese bulk carrier if the Chinese Navy attempts to wrest control of the vessel from them, Reuters reported Monday.
In a statement, one of the pirates holding the 25 crew members of the coal ship De Xin Hai said the pirates had gotten wind of a Chinese plan to attempt a rescue.
November 30, 2009
A bloody incident in Chengdu
chinaSMACK translates from Mop a Chengdu nailhouse story:
November 13, early morning, a horrific “eviction and demolition” incident occurred on Tianhuizhen street in Jingniu district of Chengdu city. The female owner tried to use death to fight the go-vern-ment organized demolition crew, eventually “self-immolating” on the building’s roof, burnt beyond recognition, her life hanging by a thread.
An illustration of China's rate of development
A rundown of the top ten fastest growing Chinese cities this year, courtesy of People's Daily Online.
Slogans on Tiananmen Gate
A short illustrated history of slogans extolling the People's Republic, the Central People's Government, the unity of the world's peoples, and a new order in East Asia.
The highly educated chengguan
Hefei introduces high standards for prospective urban enforcement officials. Will the squads' violent image be changed, or is the initiative just for show?
Reserve a ticket on the 2012 ark
Inspired by the film, a Taobao seller has put up an auction for a 1 billion-euro ticket on one of the arks that will save humanity in 2012.
Brutal family killing in Beijing: man held
From The China Daily:
A fugitive accused of the fatal stabbing of six family members, including his wife and two sons, has been arrested in Hainan province, Beijing police said.
Li Lei, aged in his 30s, of Daxing district, was detained at a business center in Sanya on Saturday, just 26 hours after the bloody crime scene was uncovered in Beijing.
There is a photo of the accused on Sina.com.
Bloggers face harsh facts
A selection of quotes from bloggers about Twitter and the Great FireWall, in the , from a variety of people including Obama, someone named Xu, and disbarred lawyer Teng Biao:
Asked about Twitter and the Great Firewall of China, US President Obama told students at a town hall meeting recently that he was both a big believer in technology and the abolition of censorship...
...An amateur Twitter user surnamed Xu said the service is not that attractive, as it enabled rightists to disseminate propaganda, benefiting from instant circulation to create a buzz.
...Small actions online caused bigger impacts, according to Teng Biao, a lawyer.
“The trend of Internet is irreversible. We can expect deeper changes from the growth of civil society and separation of powers,” he said.
A construction workers notes
Chinahush has posted a translation of a migrant worker's description of his life on the construction site of a futuristic high-rise building, complete with photos and notes about working conditions, salaries and masturbation.
American 'eco-terrorist' gets 3 years prison for drugs in Yunnan
By Dan Levin in The New York Times:
Justin Franchi Solondz, an environmental activist from New Jersey who spent years evading charges of ecoterrorism in the United States by hiding out in China, was sentenced to three years in prison by a local court on Friday on charges of manufacturing drugs in this backpacker haven.
After serving his time, Mr. Solondz, 30, who is on the F.B.I.’s wanted list, will be deported to the United States, where he faces charges stemming from what the authorities say was his role in an arson rampage that destroyed buildings in three western states as a member of a group related to the environmental extremist organization Earth Liberation Front.
November 29, 2009
Chat with a 17 year old hacker
Boris at The NEXT WEB speaks with a Turkish script kiddie who attacked his personal Wordpress blog:
50,000 websites??? Amazing! So why do you do it?
Well, we are a hacking team so we do this to protest against somethings, for example the last month I think there was a genocide agains the Uygurs in the west of China and we just hacked around one thousand websites of the chinesse government.
Bloggers discuss the role of Tibet in "2012"
Netizens including Woeser and Anti, discuss whether Tibet saves the world in the movie 2012. Woeser says:
I haven’t seen it yet, but I did see the trailer. That most classic scene where the old Lama rings the bell is really not that authentic. Tibetan temples don’t have the custom of striking bells, they play the copper trombone. They strike bells in Notre Dame, they strike bells in Hanshan temple and they also strike bells in Japanese temples but they don’t in Tibetan temples.