Today's Links: Barbie, Jesse and the eye-raising arrest of a CCTV journalist

• Shanghai surprise for the all-American Barbie [Financial Times]
  "... the world’s largest toymaker is using the doll’s 50th anniversary to relaunch it in a blizzard of worldwide events, starting with the opening of an experimental 36,000 sq ft flagship store in Shanghai."
• Roguish Waiters Serve Fatty Pork at Jesse’s: Shanghai Dining [Bloomberg]
  "So crammed is this restaurant that its waiters could barely squeeze between tables, and have to enlist diners to pass dishes to guests outside their reach. "
• China: France should work to repair strained ties [AP]
  "China urged France on Tuesday to "take responsibility and concrete measures" to repair strained ties stemming from a weekend meeting between French President Nicolas Sarkozy and the Dalai Lama."
• CCTV Reporter’s Arrest Causes a Stir [WSJ China Journal]
  "On Dec. 4, four policemen from Taiyuan city in Shanxi province traveled to Beijing to arrest a reporter from China Central Television (CCTV) in her apartment for alleged bribery after she investigated a case involving a local procuratorate (or prosecutor), Chinese media report."
• Initial trial on China's AIDS vaccine yields "good" results, but caution remains [Xinhua]
  "An AIDS vaccine developed by Chinese scientists has completed initial clinical trials with "good results." But researchers cautioned that further studies need to be done to verify its effectiveness. "
• Workers stage sit-in at Shanghai factory [AFP]
  "Nearly 1,000 workers staged a rare sit-in protest outside a Shanghai factory Tuesday in the latest sign of strain in China's manufacturing industry, which has been hit hard by the economic crisis."

Photo from Gary Soup: Our favourite Shanghainese eatery, Jesse Restaurant, makes it to Bloomberg.