China will launch a lander and rover to the moon by the end of this year, officials announced Wednesday, part of an ambitious plan to return samples from the lunar surface by 2017 and send humans within the next decade…. Read More ›
Month: August 2013
China: Xi Jinping chosen by Jiang Zemin as successor and core of CCP
I describe in the first edition of my book “Tiananmen’s Tremendous Achievements” that China’s current political system is the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) Dynasty with a core of leadership equivalent to an emperor. Jiang Zemin remained the core after full… Read More ›
Too weird to be true? In China, you never can tell
A police officer tickets a young woman for parking a Maserati on the double yellow lines in the middle of the street in Chongqing, China. Stories like this one that go viral in China are increasingly available to English audiences, thanks… Read More ›
![Though it has one of the most sophisticated filtering systems in the world, China is not capable of defending itself from an attack, which could have been carried out by a single individual - [China Photos/Getty Images]](https://chinanews01.files.wordpress.com/2013/08/dosattackchina.png?w=120&h=120&crop=1)
Denial-of-service attack shuts down Chinese Internet on Sunday morning
The attack began at 2 a.m. Sunday morning and was followed by a more intense attack at 4 a.m., according to the China Internet Network Information Center, which apologized to affected users in its statement and said it is working to improve… Read More ›
Bo Xilai leaves poisonous legacy in China
A rising political star. A murderous wife. An attempted cover-up. A runaway police chief. A playboy son. A secret French villa. A corrupt official. A political downfall. This conflagration of events surrounding the former high-ranking Chinese official Bo Xilai has captured… Read More ›
Martin Luther King Jr in China
“I have a dream” are words the freshmen students I taught were actually familiar with. They knew that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was perhaps the most influential leader in the fight for racial equality in America, and they knew… Read More ›
Chinese Police Detain Online Commentator Xue Manzi
Chinese authorities are sending a chill through the country’s boisterous community of online social commentators as police detained a prominent Web user and state media stepped up calls for a crackdown on what they describe as spreading rumors online. Xue… Read More ›
China’s Bo Xilai tries to save his skin
The trial of Bo Xilai started to turn into an episode of Maury. Revelations about the tangled web of strained and complicated relationships within his family were used as his testimony, particularly when the evidence seemed most piled up against… Read More ›
China tired of Japan’s “empty talk” and refuses leaders’ meeting to discuss disputed islands
Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has been calling for more dialogue with Beijing since he came to office in December 2012, the same month a Chinese government plane violated Japan’s airspace over the Senkaku and Diaoyu islands. China had been… Read More ›
Chinese boy has his eyes gouged out
It’s beyond horrifying: a six-year-old Chinese boy lured into a field has his eyes gouged out by an assailant, blinding him forever — even more unthinkably, the woman suspected of committing the monstrous crime may have been trying to harvest… Read More ›
China arrests activist who campaigned about leaders’ wealth
Police have arrested one of China’s most prominent rights activists who has called for officials to disclose their wealth, his lawyer said on Friday, raising the stakes in the government’s crackdown on anti-graft campaigners. The arrest of Xu Zhiyong, who… Read More ›
China: Son of prominent general on trial for rape sparks public outcry
The people of China are tired of party officials and their families thinking they are above the law. The children of party officials are especially criticized and seen as “spoiled” because of their behavior. The feelings of outrage surrounding the… Read More ›
China launches three ASAT satellites: Small maneuvering orbiters include one with a robotic arm
China’s military recently launched three small satellites into orbit as part of Beijing’s covert anti-satellite warfare program, according to a U.S. official. The three satellites, launched July 20 by a Long March-4C launcher, were later detected conducting unusual maneuvers in… Read More ›
The birds and the bees in China
The peaceful water town of Tongli is home to a museum one would not expect to find in modern mainland China: a sex museum. The sculpture in the main courtyard that depicts a very small man with deformed limbs and… Read More ›
Chinese hatred of Japan; real or government-created?
“On this day in 1945, Japan announced unconditional surrender.” The official account of China Central Television posted this information on Weibo, one of China’s largest social media platforms, and it quickly spread. Three trending posts, with a combined 236,000 retweets, identified the… Read More ›
China’s Shanghai Tower: A massive urban green space
The newly-topped 632 metre (over 2000 feet) Shanghai Tower is currently the world’s second tallest structure, outdone only by the Burj Khalifa in Dubai. But equally impressive is what it will have going on inside. In addition to 521,000 square… Read More ›
Poll: Young Chinese use ‘daddies’ to get ahead
To get ahead in China, you need the right daddy. So says a recent online survey showing that nearly 84% of respondents believe the young people around them would prefer to play a game of pin die rather than work… Read More ›
Is China building an “aircraft carrier in disguise?”
Earlier this month a series of pictures posted on Chinese military forums appeared to show that China was building its first indigenous aircraft carrier, prompting much speculation and commentary including from The Diplomat. Now some claim that this narrative might have been mistaken. According… Read More ›
Millions face arsenic contamination risk in China
Nearly 20 million people in China live in areas at high risk of arsenic contamination in their water supplies, according to a study published on Thursday. The Chinese government has labelled arsenic contamination, which it first diagnosed in China in the 1970s, as one… Read More ›
China hopes to snatch sales from US with J-31 4th-generation fighter jet
Huanqiu.com says in an article by its special military commentator Lei Ze, “In the afternoon of August 23, test flight of the J-31 ‘Gyrfalcon’ fourth-generation stealth fighter was carried out again. Sources say that recently the fighter has been tested… Read More ›
Mooncake crackdown: China’s annual Mid-Autumn Festival centrepiece banned
First baijiu, then red carpets, and now mooncakes. For Chinese government officials, the list of taboos keeps getting longer. One month before the country celebrates its annual Mid-Autumn Festival, Chinese authorities said Wednesday that they are barring officials from buying… Read More ›
Hong Kong survivors of Manila bus hijacking suing the Philippines
Survivors of a 2010 bus hijacking in Manila are suing the Philippine government in Hong Kong, a move that comes on the third anniversary of the incident that left eight dead. According to Hong Kong-based solicitor John Clancey, two survivors… Read More ›
China concerned by US military buildup in Australia
China has expressed concern at the US decision to ramp up its military presence in the region by establishing a special naval task force to support its troops based in Darwin. A technical “amphibious lift” group will be in place… Read More ›
Analysis: Why China is better than you think
The “imminent” demise of China will have to be postponed…again. The risk to third quarter growth forecasts in the market are now to the upside. On Thursday, HSBC’s China Flash PMI data showed a sharp rebound to 50.1 in August from 47.7 in… Read More ›
China: Response to “Women’s Rights at Risk” by Leta Hong Fincher
With response to the article “Women’s Rights at Risk” by Leta Hong Fincher: What we can say about Mao’s policies during the Cultural Revolution and Great Leap Forward is that they were equally destructive to both men and women. In… Read More ›
Ziyi Zhang’s ‘My Lucky Star’ set for North American release
China Lion has acquired North American rights to Ziyi Zhang’s “My Lucky Star” and will release the Chinese-language comedy Sept. 20 in North America day-and-date with Mainland China. The film, directed by American helmer Dennie Gordon, stars Zhang and Chinese singer Wang… Read More ›
Apple’s grip on China tablet market loosens
Apple’s grip on China’s tablet market has loosened as Asian tech companies increase sales with cheaper Android tablet computers, a market report showed Thursday. Dickie Chang, senior market analyst at research firm IDC, said Apple supplied 28 percent of tablet… Read More ›
Zombie borrowers haunt Chinas shadow banks
Call it the new China Syndrome: Although Asia’s biggest economy is slowing down markedly, credit continues to surge. Dead-end projects and dying industries are sucking up an ever-larger portion of new credit, while more productive borrowers are starved for funds…. Read More ›
China’s rotational political succession system
The only system that can be described as similar to the Chinese “once-in-a-decade transition of power” practice in the 21st century is Plato’s rotational ruler model proposed in The Republic— “those who have come through all our practical and intellectual… Read More ›
Chinese man pays fine in coins
Bank workers in Kunming spent eight hours counting 5,000 yuan in one jiao 0.1 yuan coins thanks to a Chinese man who paid an assault fine with some serious spite. Last year, a woman with the surname Wu was eating… Read More ›
Is China’s space program shaping a celestial empire?
China is pressing forward on its human space exploration plans, intent on establishing an international space station and, experts say, harnessing the technological muscle to launch its astronauts to the moon. Highlighting China’s intent, the country is working with the… Read More ›
I was framed, says China’s Bo as he mounts feisty defence
Fallen politician Bo Xilai put up a feisty defence on Thursday as he faced China’s most political trial in decades, saying he was framed in one of the bribery charges against him and had admitted to it against his will during… Read More ›
Politics, cost of living push Hong Kong residents overseas
Prior to 1997, a flood of residents left Hong Kong’s shores, worried about what would happen when the former British colony returned to Chinese control. Now, more than 15 years after the handover, the number of people emigrating from the… Read More ›
China: Spending a penny could cost 100 yuan in Shenzhen
People with a poor aim are to be fined if they miss their mark when using public toilets in Shenzhen, officials said – provoking online derision over how the rule will be enforced. The penalty will apply to those who… Read More ›
China’s ambassador to Australia speaks of important milestones
In three years as Chinese ambassador to Australia, I have witnessed the rapid development of China-Australia relations. Forty years after our two countries established diplomatic relations, a strategic partnership and the annual leaders meeting are important milestones in the development… Read More ›
In Hong Kong, inflation spooks the spirit world during China’s “Ghost Festival”
Comfort in the afterlife requires lots more ‘Ghost Money‘ – a $1 trillion bill. Deep in China’s spirit world, an inflation crisis is brewing that would give central bankers chills. For hundreds of years, Chinese have burned stacks of so-called… Read More ›
China develops revolutionary submarine with high speed of 100 knots
In its comprehensive report, huanqiu.com says: “Reference News quotes Taiwan’s Central News Agency as reporting that Tan Zuojun, Vice Governor of Liaoning Province, has recently revealed that China has successfully completed the development of its fourth-generation nuclear submarine. It has… Read More ›
Apple CEO meets Chinese mobile carriers in Beijing
Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook is in Beijing this week meeting with China’s largest mobile carriers as the company faces a tougher environment in its second-largest market. Mr. Cook met with China Mobile Ltd. Chairman Xi Guohua on Tuesday, a spokeswoman for the… Read More ›
Philippines must stand up against China with help of international law and ASEAN
I refer to Amado Doronila’s analysis Deal with China? Winner takes all, in the Philippines Daily Inquirer of August 5. As Doronila reported: “The Philippines’ second warship acquired from the United States, the BRP Ramon Alcaraz, arrived on Sunday at… Read More ›
China’s Xi Jinping disappoints world by promoting Maoist revival
In a move sure to dismay the people inside and outside China who hoped Xi Jinping would begin a new era of democratic reform, China’s president has “lurched” to the left, as the WSJ reports, promoting a revitalised version of nationalist Maoism… Read More ›
China’s Bo Xilai to stand trial Thursday
The trial of disgraced senior Chinese politician Bo Xilai will start on Thursday, when he will face charges of bribery, corruption and abuse of power in China’s most divisive and dramatic case in decades. The long-awaited trial of Bo, 64,… Read More ›
Chinese zoo disguises dog as lion
A Chinese zoo is under fire today for trying to disguise a dog as a lion. Zoo officials said in their defense that the Tibetan mastiff, which has a lion-like mane, was only a temporary replacement for the King of… Read More ›
China wants fewer curbs in free trade zones to lure foreign investment
China hopes to suspend its laws governing foreign investment in proposed free trade zones, the cabinet said, in a sign the world’s second-biggest economy could open further to foreign competition. The State Council, China’s cabinet, will ask senior members of… Read More ›
China summons Japanese ambassador over shrine visit
China summoned Japan’s ambassador on Thursday to lodge a strong complaint after two Japanese cabinet ministers publicly paid their respects at a controversial Tokyo shrine for war dead, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said. The ministers’ visit to the Yasukuni Shrine… Read More ›
Japanese Prime Minister to visit Yasukuni Shrine wearing fake moustache; China not fooled
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe may make an offering at Yasukuni Shrine later this week, media reported on Wednesday. The news comes as a surprise, because Abe himself had previously made clear that he would skip the traditional visit to… Read More ›
Hong Kong nets record cocaine haul bound for China
Hong Kong customs seized a record haul of cocaine at its international airport this week, foiling two passengers who tried to smuggle 58 million Hong Kong dollars (US$7.5 million) worth of the drug in their luggage. One 35-year-old man arrived Tuesday… Read More ›
China: Seventy police make graft claims against top Shanghai judge
The acting president of the Shanghai High Court has been accused of corruption and abuse of power during his time as a provincial police chief. The accusations levelled at Cui Yadong were contained in a letter signed by 70 police… Read More ›
Heat wave in China
For the entire month of July and the first half of August, eastern China baked in a record-breaking heat wave. Nineteen provinces endured above-normal temperatures. Shanghai broke its all-time record high three times in as many weeks. The current record –… Read More ›
China: Powerful Beijing doctor’s illegal structure tops them all
When it comes to illegal structures, a rooftop villa built by an eccentric Beijing resident on top of a 26-storey residential building puts Henry Tang’s wine cellar to shame. Beijing‘s chengguan, or urban management, officials on Monday issued an ultimatum… Read More ›
A gaffe-prone Japan is a danger to peace in Asia; China concerned
The Abe government’s disastrous public diplomacy risks alienating not just China but also the US. Japan’s public diplomacy hovers between the ludicrous and the sinister. In recent months, the country has specialised in foreign policy gaffes that seem designed to give maximum… Read More ›
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