Today's Links: Cancer and consumer confidence rise, blackmailers hit cemeteries, and poisonous fish arrive in Shanghai!

"Cancer topped the list of ten most lethal diseases for urban residents in China last year, followed by cerebrovascular disease and heart disease..."

Bill Dodson writes... "That Freeman could be so comfortable in Suzhou says as much about being an expat in China as it does about Suzhou."

"... over the past few years there have been several stories detailing the efforts of Liu Dan and his colleagues to reintroduce tigers into the wild. But this latest interview exposes the Harbin park as a fraud."

"A stronger yuan will push up real estate sales as more foreign investors buy houses in China to bet on further yuan appreciation,... Banks also benefit from a booming property market.''

"the total retail sales of consumer goods in the country totaled 3.2 trillion yuan in the golden week from the May 1 to May 23 this year, up 15.5% over the same period last year."

"there are other, less rational reasons to disregard the advice of China’s top economic officials and stop worrying about the bubble: some people just like to gamble."

"At least one of the cemeteries hit by the thieves simply paid up and failed to report the crime, apparently out of fear of offending the relatives of the person whose ashes were stolen."

"The house movers used to make a good profit about three years ago with a booming market in this business," said Wu. "The illegal operators are having an adverse effect."

"Officials said the fish could seriously harm aquatic creatures if it is allowed to breed in open water..."

"Teenagers under the age of 18 made up nearly 80 percent of the abortion patients during the holidays and some girls may even have been having their second operations in months,"

"Neighboring residents said the water rose to ankle level and left some of their clothes soaked and floors covered in mud..."