Today's links: Tibet and Taiwan, Olympic updates and dieting pandas

• China releases 1,157 involved in Tibet unrest [Channel NewsAsia]
  “BEIJING - China has released a total of 1,157 people who were involved in riots in the Tibetan capital Lhasa in March, the official Xinhua news agency reported Friday, quoting a senior Tibetan official.”
• Opening the flood gates: airlines allowed to fly between China and Taiwan [flightglobal.com]
  “In a long-awaited political breakthrough, Chinese and Taiwanese carriers will receive a much needed boost with the launch early next month of regular flights between the two countries for the first time in nearly half a century.”
• Cement Contributes to China's Bad Climate Rap [NPR]
  “China, the world's most populous nation, also holds the top spot in another category: carbon dioxide emissions. That's partly because China produces and consumes more cement than the rest of the world combined. Kyle Saunders, a professor at Colorado State University and the editor of the energy blog "The Oil Drum," talks about how cement production relates to global warming.”
• Commentary: PR Meltdown: What went wrong for Beijing? [US-China Today]
  “Why has Chinese Communist Party regime’s crushing of Tibetan resistance to oppression turned into such a public relations nightmare for Beijing? Every March 10 monks from Buddhist monasteries in the Lhasa vicinity march to commemorate the date in 1959 when their spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, fled for safety to India. Chinese security is always intensified on March 10, as it was again this year. So what went wrong for Beijing this time?”
• Skateboarding with Chinese Characteristics [US-China Today]
  “Forget soybeans, aircrafts, and pharmaceuticals. Popular culture is America's most influential export. However, with the careful level of scrutiny on all Western products entering China's borders, what are the prospects for skateboarding in China?”
• China Presses Injured Athletes in Quest for Gold [New York Times]
  “Pressured by the national athletic system and tempted by the commercial riches awaiting star performers in the 2008 Games, China’s athletes are pushing themselves to their limits and beyond, causing some to risk their health in pursuit of nationalist glory.”
• Giant pandas forced to be on diet after quake damaged bamboo forests [People's Daily]
  "The base had to ration bamboo for the bears, who should have eaten more bamboo during the breeding season, a breeder told the Chengdu-based Tianfu Morning Post.
  "An adult giant panda usually created 10 kilograms of faeces perday, however, now it only produced 2-3 kg because of scarce food, said Wang."

Photo from St-Even