Today's Links: Eclipse at Sheshan, the corrupt CBA, and dealing with Darfur

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  • Eclipse at Sheshan Hill [The Atlantic] "The forested slopes of Sheshan Hill rise a hundred meters above the plains of once rural, now suburban, Songjiang District in the southwest corner of sprawling Shanghai. At the top, China’s only Catholic basilica - an eighty-year old red brick building with an onion dome - is flanked on one side by the white dome of a modern telescope, and on the other by the century-old buildings that constitute the Shanghai Astronomical Observatory. Most mornings, the hilltop is silent but for a handful of priests and a few locals willing to climb the old stone stairways to go to mass. But this morning was a bit different: Sheshan was in the path of the century’s longest eclipse, and the local media had recommended it as one of three ideal locations for watching the event."
  • In China, a Rocky Ascent for Basketball [NYT] "With 1.3 billion potential fans, China is increasingly seen as a financial promised land for N.B.A. stars through endorsement deals, and the league itself has established a robust organization here valued at $2 billion. But China’s own professional league, the Chinese Basketball Association, has hardly enjoyed a smooth ascendance alongside this country’s basketball boom. American players and agents describe broken contracts, unpaid wages, suspicions of game-fixing and rising resentment toward foreign players. Several players have left China after failing to receive paychecks. Last month, the league announced that it lost $17 million last season, which ended in May."
  • Sweeping Africa under the rug: where is China in Darfur? [The Carter Center] "Given the importance of China's financial ties to Sudan, many in the international community have expected China to play a much larger role in the Darfur peace process. Development aid from China goes directly into the hands of President Omar al-Bashir's National Congress Party, which has been accused of war crimes relating to the Darfur crisis. Consequently, the Chinese government's practices run contrary to their ideology."
  • China vows clean online games within five years [Reuters] "China plans to implement a five year program advocating clean online games, starting next year, an official from the General Administration of Press and Publication told an industry conference Wednesday. The "China Green Online Games Publishing Program" will be launched this year and the implementation begun next year, the Xinhua news agency said, citing remarks by Sun Shoushan, vice director of the GAPP, at an industry conference in Shanghai."
  • iPhone Suicide Case Spotlights Tech’s Dark Side [PC World] "The computer or smartphone you're using now, do you know who made it? Where it was made? Never mind the logo or brand on the case. It won't tell you much. iPhone Suicide Case Spotlights Tech’s Dark SideThese questions once again bubble to the surface in wake of the death of Sun Danyong, an employee of Foxconn, who it is being widely reported committed suicide after losing an iPhone prototype."
  • Chinese Official Defends Policy on Minorities [NYTimes] "A senior Chinese official said the government’s ethnic minority policies were “effective” and were not the root cause of the deadly rioting that occurred on July 5, when ethnic Uighurs killed ethnic Han by the scores in Urumqi, the capital of the western Xinjiang region, the state news media reported on Wednesday."
Photo from Shanghai Daily
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By Elaine Chow in on July 23, 2009 7:20 PM Comments 2 Likes Likes

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