Today's Links: Blogger exposes fire truths, Golden Week reports, Darfur arms embargos, and trains trains trains!

Chinese blogger exposes a 1994 fire that killed 288 pupils as officials fled
"A local education official who organised the song and dance performance, Kuang Li, locked herself in the toilet, keeping out children who suffocated, according to Chen's blog. Kuang was jailed for four years."

China and Russia accused of arming Sudan
"China and Russia are supplying arms to Sudan that are being used to fuel the violence in the Darfur region in violation of a U.N. arms embargo, a human rights group said in a report Tuesday."

China to send engineers to Darfur but continues to fend off accusations of arms trading
Foreign Ministry spokesman "China is willing to work with the rest of the international community for peace and stability in Darfur at an early date,"... "She said some activists' accusations were "totally unreasonable"..."

Baby Boom fears in China
"China's wealthy were showing disdain for the policy by paying to have as many children as they wanted."

Will The Gift of a Plant Open the Sore Wound of Japan-China relations?
"Mr. Abe, who has worked to improve relations with booming China, has for months refused to say if he would visit the shrine... ...Mr. Abe sent a small plant as a type of compromise — a way of paying his respects and playing to his conservative base..."

China Tells Little About Illness That Kills Pigs
"The lack of even basic details is reviving longstanding questions about whether China is willing to share information about health and food safety issues with potentially global implications."

Chinese Premier calls for greater environmental controls
"... the nation will tighten land use and credit supply and set stricter market access and environmental standards for new projects amid efforts to rein in the rapid expansion of energy-gorging industries..."

The RMB breaks the 7.7 barrier
The rise of the Chinese Renminbi continues as the Yuan broke through the 7.70 barrier on Tuesday following the resumption of trading following May's Golden Week holiday.

May's Golden Week Train Surge
"from May 1, a total of 1,293 trains pulled into local railway stations, carrying 1.32 million passengers to Shanghai. The number increased by about 31 percent from the same period last year."

Bullet trains hit the mark
"It's wonderful, it cuts journey time, the trains are comfortable, and service excellent." Shanghaiist agrees. Wow!

Shanghai scientists developing cancer detecting biochip
Local scientists are developing a new human-gene chip that can predict the possibility of breast or stomach cancer in patients.

Red Cross recruits volunteers in Shanghai
"Shanghai Red Cross Association yesterday launched a service hotline (6323-7380) to recruit volunteers to serve in the city's 10 Red Cross institutes as part of its celebrations for the 16th Red Cross Day today."

A Story Behind The Shanghai World Financial Center
Howard W. French writes... "When work began on the Shanghai World Financial Center in 1997, in the headiest days of China’s economic takeoff, Shanghai was already a city that was hard to impress..."

Shanghai Shenhua B-side face full-strength Sydney FC in Sydney tonight
"Sydney FC are expected to encounter an almost second-string opposition when they take on Shanghai Shenhua in their Asian Champions League group match at Aussie Stadium".

Even our water meters aren't safe
Local police have teamed up with water suppliers to crack down on water meter theft. "Thefts of our meters happen all the time but in the past few months it has seemed more serious than ever".

How Law and Order Works in Suzhou
"It’s easy as a Westerner in Suzhou to assume that everything runs swimmingly in this small city: the streets are clean, the people in general pleasant, and the trains and buses run on time. I was reminded a couple of weeks ago though that there is a seamy underside to the routines I take for granted that help make all appear as business as usual. "

Where are the blind in Shanghai?
"Since what I'm missing are the blind people themselves to use this. First, I meet in the city center (compared to other Chinese cities) very seldom blind people and when they are there they do not use the stuff. Maybe somebody should teach them how to use it. Where are they anyway?"

Old Chinese nuclear weapons base open to tourists
China declassified its first nuclear weapons base and immediately invites tourists to visit the site in Qinghai.

Woman hit by falling cat sues 200 people - cat dies
200 residents in a block of flats are being sued by a Chongqing woman who was knocked out by a cat falling from their building. Why? Because none will admit responsibility of course!

Strange but true: International Clown Festival a big hit in Guangxi
Unnamed "Hosting the festival is a good chance for China's mid-west cities like Liuzhou to develop its cultural industry and promote the overall development of the city"

For more del.icio.us links, visit the Shanghaiist Contribute page, which is updated throughout the day.

Photo by dcspear456 was found via the Shanghaiist Contribute page.