Today's Links: Tycoon buys "Shanghai Island", religion for the Olympics and China, the land of millionaires

• Chinese property tycoon buys "Shanghai Island" in Dubai [IHT]
  Hu Bin, a Chinese property tycoon said Wednesday he has paid US$28 million (€20 million) to buy an artificial 40,000 square meter island in Dubai — which he plans to call "Shanghai Island" — is part of a development called "The World" that includes 300 islands made from reclaimed land in the shape of a world map.


• China Summons U.S. Envoy to Protest Dalai Lama Medal [Bloomberg]
  China's foreign ministry summoned U.S. Ambassador Clark T. Randt today to protest after Congress gave Tibet's spiritual leader the Dalai Lama its highest civilian award.


• Beijing's clear-air bid may yield environmental gold [New Zealand Herald]
  One of the intriguing questions sinologists might ponder this week, as the Chinese Communist Party holds its party congress, is if climate change is on the agenda.


• China has 345,000 millionaires: study [AFP]
  China had 345,000 millionaires by the end of last year, the second-most in Asia after Japan, according to a new study by US investment bank Merrill Lynch.


• Chinese official in rare 'nice' gesture to Taiwan [Reuters]
  China's Communist Party officials often lambaste Taiwan's ruling, pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party, but on Wednesday, one of its members, Lin Liyun, spoke with unusual affection about her political rivals.


• China promises religious services during Olympics [Shanghai Daily]
  China will offer religious services for foreigners arriving for the 2008 Olympic Games, an official in charge of religious affairs said.

Photo taken on Tianping Lu by Patty Yu