Just when we thought China couldn’t make itself more unpopular, China made itself more unpopular. Perhaps it was charity. Perhaps it was delusion. We don’t like thinking bad things about others, especially if we sacrificed our jobs and economies to… Read More ›

World Health Organization
Cadence Column: Asia, February 17, 2020
The 2019-nCoV Wuhan virus isn’t doing any good for Xi Jinping’s public trust. Dissidents inside China are silenced and their social media accounts scrubbed. Joshua Wong issues a call to arms from Hong Kong. Taiwan closes its border and plans… Read More ›
Cadence Column: Asia, February 10, 2020
The words of US President Trump set an unsettling policy for Communist China: “We’re also getting our allies, finally, to help pay their fair share.” This is far-reaching. By having multiple nations with multiple militaries operating with appropriate budgets, China… Read More ›
Cadence Column: Asia, February 3, 2020
The world is fed up with China’s Communist Party, including people in China. The Wuhan virus is a blame-blaming scandal of a magnitude greater than Chairman Mao. It could crack the foundation of Xi Jinping’s rule and party confidence along… Read More ›
Has China found the cure for Ebola?
A Chinese pharmaceutical company working with Academy of Military Medical Sciences (AMMS), a PLA-affiliated research institution, claims to have developed an experimental cure for the Ebola virus. An outbreak of the deadly virus in west Africa has become a global… Read More ›
China: Flights delayed as air pollution hits record in Shanghai
Hundreds of flights were delayed or cancelled on Friday in China’s commercial hub of Shanghai as record levels of air pollution shrouded the city in smog, prompting authorities to issue the highest level of health warning. The incident is especially… Read More ›
China’s anti-pollution drive risks running out of gas
A chronic shortage of natural gas is hurting China’s plan to move away from burning coal to heat homes and offices, raising the prospect of more choking air pollution this winter and beyond. The problem is worst in northern China,… Read More ›
Is China really ready for the next influenza outbreak?
Reports on China’s recent response to the outbreak of novel influenza have reflected broad international satisfaction. While we share this satisfaction, we are nonetheless concerned that the international public health community overestimates China’s ability to effectively contain and control a… 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 bird flu outbreak: 3 good, 3 bad and 3 very bad signs
Since the new avian flu strain H7N9 began appearing in China earlier this year, it’s infected over 100 people, killed 22, spread to five provinces plus Beijing and Shanghai and, as of Wednesday, is confirmed to have spread abroad to Taiwan. How… Read More ›
Will China ever get its pollution problem under control?
When Beijing was choking on record levels of smog, observers wondered whether China would ever get its pollution problem under control. It’s an insanely difficult question, with huge implications from climate change to the global economy. Here’s one stab at an… Read More ›
China plans emergency measures to control Beijing air pollution
Beijing is to unveil unprecedented new rules governing how China‘s capital reacts to hazardous air pollution, the official Xinhua news agency said, as deteriorating air quality threatens to become a rallying point for wider political dissatisfaction. The rules will formalize… Read More ›
China: PM2.5 air pollutants causing more deaths than estimated, study says
The health risks of microscopic air pollutants have been grossly underestimated on the mainland, with nearly 8,600 premature deaths expected this year in four major cities, a study has revealed. And premature deaths are “just a tiny fraction” of the… Read More ›
China to flatten 700 mountains to build a city
Last month China made news with the surprising announcement that a firm in the city of Changsha would attempt to build the world’s tallest skyscraper in 90 days. Now, the country is making headlines with another ambitious challenge — flattening… Read More ›
Rising birth defects in mainland China blamed on pollution, unhealthy living
Pollution and unhealthy lifestyle choices have contributed to a big rise in the incidence of birth defects on the mainland in the past 15 years, experts say. Last year, birth defects were detected in 1.53 per cent of newborns in… Read More ›
China to phase out harvesting organs from executed prisoners
The mainland will cut down on the unethical harvesting of organs from executed prisoners early next year when a new organ donation system is set up, a government expert said yesterday. Dr Wang Haibo , director of the Ministry of… Read More ›
Survey reports China most stressful country in the world
The following was translated and edited from an article that appeared on the Chinese news site Huanqiu.com. It discusses the results of a recent survey on workplace stress by international business service provider Regus, which names China, and in particular… Read More ›
China tells US to stop reporting pollution
A senior Chinese official demanded on Tuesday that foreign embassies stop issuing air pollution readings, saying it was against the law and diplomatic conventions, in pointed criticism of a closely watched US embassy index. The level of air pollution in… Read More ›