• China and Argentina in currency swap [FT.com] "China, which is pushing to end the dominance of the dollar as a worldwide reserve, has agreed a Rmb70bn ($10.24bn, £7.18bn, €7.76bn) currency swap with Argentina that will allow it to receive renminbi instead of dollars for its exports to the Latin American country. Xinhua, the official Chinese news agency, said the deal was signed on Sunday by Zhou Xiaochuan, governor of the People’s Bank of China, and Martín Redrado, Argentine central bank president, in Medellín, Colombia, where they are attending a meeting of the Inter-American Development Bank."
• Nanotechnology: Tom Mackenzie on China's giant step into nanotech [The Guardian] "Nanotechnology is big business conducted on an atomic scale. China is a major player, using it for a speaker just 1mm thick - or super-strong armour."
• China's Far Too Rosy Self Image [Pomfret's China] "A new poll by researchers at the University of Maryland and Globescan sums it up in the starkest terms. A whopping 92 percent of Chinese surveyed believe that China has a mainly positive influence on the world; whereas a mere 39 percent of people polled in 20 other major countries agree. This is the largest perception gap among the countries' polled. (And it's getting worse. Views about China have declined markedly over the last year.)"

• Common sense reigns as IOC ends worldwide torch relay [Yahoo! Sports] "The International Olympic Committee decided to end the globetrotting torch relay, discontinuing an event that began with the Athens Games in 2004 and was used again by the organizers of the Beijing Games this past August. For future games, the torch will only tour the country where the games are being hosted."
• China News: Ai Weiwei: Q&A On Earthquake Toll Accounting Efforts [China Digital Times (CDT)] "Artist, activist, and blogger Ai Weiwei is leading an effort to publish the names of those who died in the May 12 Sichuan earthquake. The action has invited responses from around the globe — and questions from those most nearby, in China. Netizens asked Ai questions ranging from his thoughts on tofu dregs construction to his feelings regarding social responsibility. Ai has responded to dozens of questions found on the posts entitled “做客天涯 (一)” and “做客天涯 (二).” Below is a selection of five of these questions and responses. Translated by CDT." (Blocked in China)
• Analysts dismiss 'cyber spy' claims [China Daily] "Top analysts yesterday refuted claims by researchers hired by the Dalai Lama that China runs a cyper spy network, branding them "exaggerated" and an attempt to paint the nation as a "threat". "This is purely another political issue that the West is trying to exaggerate," said Song Xiaojun, a Beijing-based strategy and military analyst."

• When China is no. 1 [McKinsey: What Matters] "Less tangibly, we should expect to see a Sinicization of global culture through the influence of Chinese consumers’ tastes. Clothing styles, food flavors, the design and packaging of global brands, music, sports, and entertainment will respond to the draw of the Chinese market. More and more, we should expect to see our youngsters studying Chinese from elementary school. Moving to Shanghai or Beijing to start a career will no longer be an exotic adventure."
• China Rises Again - Part I [YaleGlobal] "The Chinese will continue to treat the economic global as means to a greater end and subordinate to what they consider their primary goal: a prosperous and powerful China that enjoyed respect and influence in the world. They also see the need to redefine universalist values for China and accept whatever is necessary to sustain civilized living, and integrate modern ideas with the best of its own heritage."
• China's irrepressible modern art scene [csmonitor.com] "China sits atop a gold mine of contemporary art that few people have ever seen, either inside or outside the country. An exhibition near Boston unveils an unexpected side of China - colorful, winsome, and touched with a subversive kind of humor."

• As China shouts its line on Tibet, is anybody listening? [China Media Project] "These numbers actually pale in comparison to coverage in March and April last year, when Chinese media heaped scorn on the 'Dalai clique' and the 'hostile foreign forces' sowing unrest in China after large-scale riots in the region. But last month, even as the CCP was gearing up for the sensitive anniversary of the 1959 uprising, there were half as many articles with 'Tibet' in the headline as there have been so far this month — with days yet to go until the 28th, which the CCP has designated 'Tibetan Serf Emancipation Day'."
• Taiwan’s Former President Goes on Trial for Corruption [NYTimes.com] "Prosecutors have since charged that he stole or took bribes totaling more than $30 million, sometimes in return for political favors involving land deals. His wife, Wu Shu-chen; his son; and his daughter-in-law pleaded guilty last month to money laundering, and Ms. Wu also pleaded guilty to forgery."
• Filthy hospital responsible for deaths of 5 infants [Xinhua] "Five newborn children from north China's Tianjin Municipality died from hospital-acquired infections, and the hospital's sub-standard hygiene conditions and flawed management were to blame, said experts with the Ministry of Health (MOH) Wednesday."

• 'Slumdog' opens as Boyle says he'll helm Shanghai film fest [Shanghai Daily] "Danny Boyle will be the jury president for this year's Shanghai International Film Festival, the Oscar-winning director confirmed at the Chinese mainland premiere of 'Slumdog Millionaire' in Beijing yesterday. 'It's fantastic to be in a film festival,' Boyle said, adding that the Shanghai event will be his first jury assignment."
• Report Says Executions Doubled in 2008 [NYTimes.com] With at least 1,718, China was responsible for 72 percent of all executions in 2008, the report stated. After China were Iran (346), Saudi Arabia (102), the United States (37) and Pakistan (36), according to the group. 'Together they carried out 93 percent of all executions worldwide,' the report said. The Chinese authorities also handed down at least 7,003 new death sentences last year, although the report said the true total of both executions and death sentences 'remains shrouded in secrecy.' Some countries, China and North Korea among them, do not disclose the number of executions they carry out."
• China Unicom should quash iPhone launch date rumors to secure best deal - expert [Interfax TMT China] "Xiang Ligang, CEO of domestic telecom news portal Cctime.com and guest columnist for Interfax, told Chinese magazine PC Home that he is concerned over the widespread rumor that China Unicom is, for reasons of prestige, determined to strike a deal with Apple in time to allow it to release the iPhone in China by May 17. He said that if true, the rumors reveal China Unicom's bottom line in the negotiations, vastly strengthening Apple's hand."

With all that whining and wheezing earlier this year, you would've thought we'd reached a resolution by now. But even though Disney is pulling resources out of Hong Kong, it still hasn't committed fully to putting them into Shanghai - and it's hard to tell who's fault it is. more ›

• Four dead, more than 10 sick after drinking liquor in Central China [Xinhua] "Problematic liquor in central China's Hubei Province had new victims, with one more died Tuesday night, bringing the death toll from three to four, local police said Wednesday. Meanwhile, more than 10 others have been hospitalized as of Wednesday morning, up from five Tuesday. These people drank bulk Baijiu, a grain alcohol, Monday and Tuesday in Wufeng County. Preliminary tests showed the alcohol they drank contained a larger than normal amount of methanol."
• China raises gasoline, diesel prices [Xinhua] "China said it would raise benchmark retail prices of gasoline and diesel by 290 yuan (42.46 U.S. dollars) per ton and 180 yuan per ton, respectively, as of midnight Tuesday. It is the second oil price adjustment this year. The National Development and Reform Commission, China's top economic planner, cut benchmark pump prices of gasoline and diesel by 140 yuan and 160 yuan per tonne, or 2 percent and 3.2 percent, respectively, on January 14."
• China's top banker proposes new world reserve currency [The Raw Story] "In an essay published Monday, the head of China's central bank proposed a plan to displace the American dollar as the world's standard and replace it with a global reserve currency operated from the International Monetary Fund."

Update (4:45PM): The AFP has corrected the story. The new version sent out across the wires now reads at the top "ATTENTION - CORRECTION: REMOVES quotes from blogger Marc van der Chijs in paras 15-19 which were mistakenly taken from comments made in a blog dated 2007. Here is a corrected repetition." In an email to Shanghaiist, an AFP employee wrote: "The story went out this morning so it should be corrected before it is published in any Australian newspapers and web site versions should also be updated and corrected automatically." more ›

The iPhone's arrival (particularly the 3G variety) has been the subject of a great deal of speculation of late. Particularly since China Unicom, the only mobile carrier to provide the iPhone supported WCDMA 3G standard, already announced that they will be rolling out their 3G service on the 17th May. more ›

• China Daily Assails Prisoner Abuses [NYTimes.com] "Inmates in China’s 2,700 pretrial detention centers suffer bullying and torture at the hands of fellow prisoners and police officers, and some experts want a neutral body to take the centers out of police control to curb the abuses, the state-run English-language newspaper, China Daily, reported on Tuesday."
• Safer Battery Technology Gives China an Edge in Developing Affordable Electric Cars [WSJ] "China’s government is beefing up support for the development of 'new energy' cars, because it thinks China can use electric vehicle technology to leapfrog into the forefront of the global auto industry."
• China spearheads surge in state-sponsored executions [The Independent] "Executions of prisoners almost doubled last year - predominantly because of the Chinese government - according to a report by Amnesty International. Death sentences handed down by China for crimes including tax evasion and bag-snatching represented three-quarters of the 2,390 executions carried out around the world, up from 1,252 in 2007. China's resumption of its death penalty programme comes after a dip in executions during the lead up to the Beijing Olympics that were held last year."

Ugh. Most of you have already noticed by now, but Youtube's been Great Firewall-ed for the second time this month. Unlike the weird half-assed blocking in early March though, it looks like this time the video site is down. completely. everywhere. more ›

Most social networks and web businesses generate their revenues from online advertising - but it looks like some do it much better than others. more ›

• China targets an academic culture of cut-and-paste [csmonitor.com] "Plagiarism and sheer invention have flourished in Chinese academic circles, adds Stephen Stearns, a Yale University professor of ecology and evolutionary biology who taught two classes at Peking University in 2007, because 'at least until recently, the rewards were great and the punishment was trivial. It paid off.'"
• China clears Johnson & Johnson products after probe [The Times of India] "China’s State Food and Drug Administration has cleared baby products manufactured by Johnson & Johnson after a high-profile and widely publicized investigation to determine if they contained potential carcinogens. The Administration launched its probe on the basis of allegations leveled by an US based activist group."
• Beijing Redeploys Its Carmakers For Global Race [Forbes] "Dongfeng Automobile Co., Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp. and Chongqing Changan Automobile Co. have been directed by Beijing to start acquiring smaller rivals in a race to transform themselves into the “Big Two” or “Big Three” in China’s auto industry."

File this under the2010 World Expo actually making our lives marginally more convenient, huzzah! more ›

Shanghai is rapidly losing its previously significant Korean population as Korean businesses withdraw from China due to the Korean economic crisis and the falling value of the won. The Korean consulate estimates that more than 10,000 Koreans have left Shanghai since the beginning of 2008, according to Danwei's translation of an article that appeared in CBNweekly. In Beijing, the numbers are closer to 20,000. more ›

North Korea has confirmed that it's detaining two journalists it may have nabbed before they had even crossed the border from Chinese territory. The two women, Chinese-American Laura Ling and Korean-American Euna Lee, were accused of ignoring warnings to stop filming across the Tumen river. more ›

As the global financial crisis hits rock bottom, especially in the US, the theme park industry is experiencing exceptionally hard times as visitor numbers plummet and projects as far off as the Middle East are put on hold. more ›

• Mandarin Chinese profanity [Wikipedia] "While many offensive words and expletives involve insulting someone's mother, it is also common to show contempt by scorning another person's ancestors. Other Mandarin insults accuse people of not being human. Unlike English, Mandarin words for excrement or feces are less commonly used in slang and insults. Also, there are few parallels to English's blasphemous phrases, such as 'God damn it'."
• NKorea premier ends China visit [AFP] North Korean Premier Kim Yong-Il Saturday wrapped up his first visit to China, which came two weeks before Pyongyang's planned launch of a satellite, the Xinhua news agency reported. Kim's visit, which began Tuesday, was his first since taking office in 2007 and was officially to mark the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations.
• Earthquake Pandas Go Home (with video!) [BBC] "Eight young pandas have returned to their native Sichuan province, after being relocated to Beijing, following last year's earthquake. Large crowds turned out to visit the pandas on their last weekend in Beijing before they are flown back to Sichuan province. The pandas will have a new home in Sichuan province with indoor air conditioning and outdoor swimming pools."

• Arrests made over audio porn [Shanghai Daily] "City police approved the arrest of a Shanghai native surnamed Gong, 30, the general manager of ilisten.cn, for allegedly making a profit by spreading pornography. Other suspects in custody include two of Gong's employees - a local in charge of the company's technical department, and an Anhui Province native who worked in the department. A 23-year-old Shandong Province woman surnamed Ma was caught in Beijing. She was allegedly hired to record some of the audio books, police said."
• The world’s most lucrative social network? China’s Tencent beats $1 billion revenue mark [VentureBeat] "A billion dollars in revenue in a single year? Not even MySpace, currently the most profitable social network outside China, has managed to accomplish that. But publicly traded Tencent, a leading Chinese web portal, instant message client, social network, game developer and more has done it, and largely through the use of virtual goods and other 'Internet valued-added services,' like avatars, dating services, online memberships, music and community sites."
• Dissident warns Taiwan on China [Taipei Times] Yuan Hongbing (袁紅冰), a Chinese democracy activist living in exile in Australia, yesterday warned Taiwanese to beware of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) “two-faced” approach to diplomacy. Yuan made the remarks at a press conference in Taipei after 15 Chinese academics were blocked from leaving the country to take part in a conference on the development of liberalism in China, despite calls for more cross-strait cultural and intellectual exchange by the Chinese leadership.

Is forcing men into unwanted marriages helping the spread of AIDS? According to Zhang Beichuan, a professor at Qingdao University, that—and the lack of men willing to out themselves by taking an AIDS test—has been holding back efforts to treat the endemic. HIV/AIDS was recently declared the deadliest infectious disease in the country. more ›

Details are scarce, but there is billowing black smoke coming from near the Pearl Tower in Lujiazui, Pudong - the financial district of Shanghai. The fire seems to have started in the workers dormitory of a building under construction right next to the Sheraton Hotel on Pujian Road (浦建路 38). more ›

• 87 kg marijuana bust at Beijing airport [Danwei] "The front page of today's Beijing News features a photo of two Beijing airport customs officers, a passenger and the contents of his luggage: 87 kg of marijuana. According to the report, the man flew to Beijing from Lagos via Doha on March 2. He went though customs without his hold luggage. On March 3, he returned to the airport to pick up his overweight baggage, when his plastic-wrapped cargo attracted the interest of the customs officers."
• China Demands West Takes Responsibility for Imports' Carbon Footprint [ClimateBiz] "Speaking at a meeting of large polluters in Washington intended to deliver progress ahead of international talks in Copenhagen later this year, Li Gao said China should not pay for emissions arising from the manufacture of goods that are exported for use in rich nations. Speaking to the BBC, Li said any successor to the Kyoto Accord agreed in Copenhagen should recognize that rich countries are indirectly responsible for a large chunk of China's carbon emissions." A meeting of large polluters?
• Soldier's story a new look at Tiananmen crackdown [AP] "In bearing witness about his role in the military crackdown on the 1989 student demonstrations in Beijing, Zhang says he hopes to add momentum to calls for an investigation and reassessment of the protest movement — and to further its ultimate goal of a democratic China. 'I feel like my spirit is stuck there on the night of June 3,' Zhang, 40, said in an interview at his home in the dusty northern city of Tengzhou, referring to the date in 1989 on which the final assault began."

From the Netease forums comes the story of 皖怀希望小学 (Anhui Hope Elementary School), a grade school for migrant workers in Shanghai that was mysteriously vandalized and then shut down earlier this year. more ›

According to Xinhua, a group of journalists and officials were on a Southern Airlines flight to Nanjing in late February when one of them noticed a unusual luminous object traveling alongside their vessel. more ›

• Graduates retreat to rural China [Financial Times] "The Communist party has a long tradition of sending young intellectuals into China’s vast rural hinterland, often causing terrible suffering and disastrous economic consequences. But Chinese officials and analysts insist that, this time, things are different."
• Taxi agents threatened with violence [Shanghai Daily] "Wu Runyuan, a spokesman for the Shanghai Traffic Law Enforcement Team, said illegal taxi drivers had bribed janitors and the owners of small stores near the watchdog's office to tip them off when the traffic law enforcement team was going out on a raid. 'We even found a makeshift GPS system had been installed by a worker under one of our cars while it was in for routine repairs, so illegal drivers knew where the vehicle was at all times,' Wu said. 'Again, he was paid to do it.'"
• Chinese airline chief goes missing [Financial Times] "The head of a privately owned Chinese airline has disappeared after takeover talks with flag-carrier Air China broke down and Beijing grounded its fleet. The case is raising fears of a trend towards renationalisation in some sectors in China as state groups use their clout to swallow struggling private competitors."

A policewoman daringly rescued a would-be suicide case yesterday in a surprisingly well photographed incident in Changchun City, Jilin. more ›

• Karmapa softens stance on China [BBC] "The Karmapa Lama - Tibetan Buddhism's third-highest figure - has spoken of his admiration for Chinese culture. The comment made in an interview with the BBC Chinese Service suggested a willingness to co-operate with China. He said he backed the Dalai Lama's policy of seeking greater autonomy for Tibetans rather than independence, but blamed Beijing for deadlocked talks."
• ExxonMobil to build tech center in Shanghai [Forbes] "ExxonMobil Chemical Co., one of the world's biggest petrochemical companies, said Tuesday it plans to build a technology center in Shanghai to support its business in the region. The project will involve an initial investment of $70 million and the center will be opened in 2010, said the company."
• China, Taiwan grow closer with new surge in tourism [Reuters] "Taiwan has seen a sudden spike in tourism from China, as an effort by Beijing to improve ties helps its political rival battle recession with a long-sought boost to the service sector."

We all presumed that the one-child policy was going to lead to an aging population, but there's nothing like actual numbers to prove it: 96,700 babies were born in Shanghai last year, while 107,000 people died, according to an official report. more ›

A family in Shaanxi Province has accused police of beating their 19-year-old son to death while trying to force a murder confession out of him. The son, Xu Gengrong, was held for an eight day interrogation and died shortly afterward in a hospital. more ›

• Developers hope to avoid 'skyscraper curse' [China Daily] "Hoping to avoid the "skyscraper curse," China's cities continue to reach for the sky. While most of the world's major construction projects have been put on hold, new skyscrapers are under construction in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, and several smaller cities, defying the global economic slowdown. Developers believe China will prove to be an exception to the "skyscraper index" - popularly known as the "skyscraper curse" - proposed by financial analyst Andrew Lawrence. In 1999, Lawrence noted that major financial crises often follow the construction of record-breaking skyscrapers."
• Grape Wall Challenge: Top ten white wines under RMB100 [Grape Wall of China] "On March 13, a dozen expert and consumer judges met in Beijing for the Grape Wall Challenge and tasted 23 red wines that retail for less than RMB100 in China."
• Prepaid card woes multiply in Shanghai [China Daily] "The Shanghai Committee of Consumers' Rights and Interests Protection yesterday urged consumers opting for prepaid cards to be on guard, in view of the rise in related complaints in the city. The committee said it received more than 4,000 complaints in 2008, up 14 percent than in 2007. Most of these complaints have to do with beauty and hair salons or fitness clubs that often shut down without notifying their clients, said the commission. The credit remaining on the cards issued by them thus becomes invalid."

Baby pandas usually get the lion's share of the attention, but did you know China had a serious Siberian tiger breeding program in place as well? A center located to the northwest of Harbin, in Heilongjiang, has been working on churning out tiger cubs since 1986. more ›

Thinking of buying that swank new apartment in the French Concession? Now's probably not the time. more ›

• B.C. model's killer sentenced to die in China [CTV British Columbia] "He has two years to show good behaviour and if he proves this his sentence could be lowered to a life sentence to be served in jail or even lighter depending on his performance," CTV's Beijing Bureau Chief Steve Chao reported Friday.
• China's last eunuch spills sex secrets [Reuters] "Only two memories brought tears to Sun Yaoting's eyes in old age -- the day his father cut off his genitals, and the day his family threw away the pickled remains that should have made him a whole man again at death...This turbulent life has been recorded in the "The Last Eunuch of China" by amateur historian Jia Yinghua, who over years of friendship drew out of Sun the secrets that were too painful or intimate to spill to prying journalists or state archivists."
• Lonely Boys and Losers: Are we overstating the fenqing phenomenon? [Jottings from the Granite Studio] "I don’t think that fenqing can be defined by a particular perspective or viewpoint. Certainly adopting the CCP or Han nationalist worldview doesn’t make one a fenqing... For me, the defining characteristic of a fenqing is not strong belief in a particular view, but rather an inability to accept that other valid perspectives might exist."

• A shuttlecock fight of epic proportion [theage.com.au] "Emerging superpower China annoyed neighbouring Malaysia this week as an unprecedented Chinese domination of badminton's showpiece event — the All-England Championships — led to heated claims of match-fixing."
• Rumor: Focus Media Executives In China May All Resign [Digital Marketing Inner Circle] "In what is some hot gossip circulating in the digital marketing industry in Beijing is that former Focus Media CEO Tan Zhi will collectively resign with the other Focus Media executives once the executive adjustment plan post the merger of some of its businesses with Sina.com."
• Chinese Officials Prohibit Blizzard's Lich King Expansion [Life from Wired.com] "Chinese World of Warcraft fans will have to wait even longer to enjoy the Wrath of the Lich King expansion, as the Chinese government has twice rejected applications for its release."

Usually when we find ourselves nodding off, we grab a coffee or an energy drink to get an extra jittery boost. It never occurred to us to light our mouths on fire. But police in Sichuan had that exact idea, and are serving free chili peppers to drivers at highway service stations as a way to keep them alert on some of the world's most dangerous stretches of road. more ›

It seems like those hoping to protest over perceived wrongs by the government can't even trust "journalists" to help them out these days. Amongst their various tactics to quell unrest, Chinese police are now posing as reporters in order to catch would-be dissidents before they can even get organized, according to the Telegraph: more ›

• Top 10 Billionaire Cities [Forbes.com] "Hong Kong retains its title as the most popular city for Asian billionaires, with 21 living in the former British colony. … There are two new locales in our list of the top 10 billionaire cities: Chicago and Sao Paulo, which tied for ninth place with Mumbai and Tokyo."
• Thousands of Chinese athletes faking ages in Guangdong [Reuters] Thousands! "The sports ministry in Guangdong Province says it has undertaken X-Ray bone analysis on 15,000 youth athletes and found a fifth of them had misrepresented their age, local media reported. … The result showed 3,000 were older than they claimed, 2,000 of whom were no longer eligible for any youth sport and 1,000 who should have competed in different age categories. Ye said 16 athletes in one event had faked their age and the worst offenders were up to seven years older than they were allowed to be."
• Will China’s Food Safety Law Prevent THIS? [Cleaner Greener China] "Until a couple weeks ago when I picked up this pomelo near my house, cracked it open, and saw the injection mark. As you can clearly see from the pictures below, there is an injection mark and there was an absorption. I must admit that I got lucky when cutting the flesh of the fruit as it came out so clearly, and what is striking about it is the fact that whatever was injected… it did not bleed through to the fruit."

The Net Nanny makes all of our lives a little more annoying, providing hours of infuriating slow and often inaccessible browsing. more ›

• Time to Board China's Infrastructure Train [Barrons.com] "Around 250 Chinese cities are planning to build new subway lines by 2015; the city of Changshang in central China alone is investing 22.4 billion yuan in two new subway lines." Changshang?
• China says U.S. provoked naval confrontation [LA Times] "China blamed the United States on Tuesday for a naval confrontation in the South China Sea over the weekend, contending that an American surveillance vessel was illegally conducting activities in China's special economic zone."
• Hoops in the Far East: A primer on China's basketball development [Sporting News] "Indeed, Yao has been away from the CBA long enough to have lost some perspective on it. But, in the coming years, the league figures to grow in importance. As crises in older economies around the world deepen, belt-tightening already has seeped into the basketball universe, with some players having trouble getting paid in Europe and with the NBA taking out a loan to prop up half of its struggling teams. China, though, is on the uptick, which figures to give its league more sway in the future."

A Shanghai man who had helped hundreds of Chinese travel abroad with visas based on falsified information has been given a 14-year prison sentence. 30-year-old Jiang Yi is accused of running one of the country's biggest human smuggling rings so far discovered. more ›

• Tibet's Tense Anniversary [Council on Foreign Relations] "China views Tibet as a backward, feudal, and superstitious society, which has progressed democratically and economically under Chinese rule. Yet human rights watchdog groups regularly cite Chinese abuses in Tibet."
• Lhasa peaceful and quiet on major Tibet anniversary [Xinhua] "The holy city of Lhasa was quiet and peaceful Tuesday, the day marking 50 years since Tibet's democratic reform and the 14th Dalai Lama's flee from his homeland... The life of the average Tibetans seems unaffected even under close watch by foreign press on this special date. There are as many taxies, pedicabs and buses on the roads as usual. Taxi and pedicab drivers, mostly migrants from the neighboring Sichuan Province and central Henan Province, would slam the horn when they saw a potential passenger at roadside."
• Heavy security as Tibetans mark Dalai Lama's exile [Reuters] "China tightened security across ethnic Tibetan areas on Tuesday, aiming to head off potential unrest on the sensitive 50th anniversary of a failed uprising that prompted the Dalai Lama's flight into exile."

We're not sure why, but Chinese vessels seem to be on an angry, aggressive streak as of late - surrounding and tangling with United States vessels in international waters for seemingly no good reason. The most recent incident being with the U.S.'s USNS Impeccable. more ›

One of the proposals being presented before the National People's Congress and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference is a plan to "restore, resume, resurrect, or return" to traditional characters. more ›

While China lags behind the rest of the world in launching it's 3G service, ChinaTechNews.com have reported from an inside source that China Mobile is already gearing up for a 4G service to be ready by World Expo in 2010. more ›

• After 15 years, China Soccer Ceases Publishing [China Sports Review] "To adapt a new economic climate, we are to restructure our product. During the restructuring, China Soccer will temporarily cease publishing from March 10. Thank you, our readers, for your support all these years and being along with us."
• NBA May Benefit as China Boosts Sports Arena Plans [Bloomberg] "China’s 4 trillion yuan ($585 billion) of extra spending, announced in November, includes boosts for cultural and sports- related infrastructure. That’s prompting local governments to sound out the NBA about managing future stadiums, said Tim Chen, NBA China’s chief executive officer."
• China to Overcome Global Recession First, Rogers Says [Bloomberg] "China’s reserves allow the government to spend on projects that will make the nation more efficient and competitive as the global economy recovers, said Rogers, the author of 'A Bull in China: Investing Profitably in the World’s Greatest Market.' Signs China is taking steps to liberalize its currency will also benefit the country, he added."

Political border disputes will be played out in miniature at Shanghai's World Expo next year, after rumors that World Expo organizers are planning a Taiwan pavilion within the Chinese section of the fair stirred up old tensions about Taiwan's political status. more ›

Curious about what the Chinese stimulus plan looks like? Caijing Magazine has put together an interesting pie chart based on the recent “rebalancing” by the National People's Congress. Some of the biggest changes: a massive injection into sci-tech and social welfare, and surprisingly less towards rural civilian projects, considering how much publicity talks of “helping the rural areas” have been getting. more ›

A man who unwittingly entered the grounds of a Beijing zoo was mauled and eaten by a Siberian tiger, zoo staff said Sunday. more ›

• Advisor: Financial crisis not to affect success of 2010 Shanghai Expo [Xinhua] "The global financial crisis will have only limited impacts on the Shanghai World Expo 2010, an official with the organizers said here Sunday. Wan Jifei, vice director of the Shanghai World Expo Executive Committee, pledged that the financial crisis would not affect the overall success of the Expo at a press conference on the sidelines of the annual session of China's political advisory body."
• The curious case of the disappearing TV drama [Danwei] "Looking at the headline numbers, 2008 was not a good year for TV drama producers in China. While TV drama production has grown by around 1,000 episodes annually every year since 2003, it actually dropped for the first time in five years in 2008."
• China's key sci-tech projects criticized for "retarded progress" [Xinhua] "China's major projects in its 15-year scientific and technological development program initiated in 2006 is progressing very slowly, a political advisor said here Sunday. The State Council, or Cabinet, approved the last major scientific and technological project late last year, he said. "It means we have spent one fifth of the time to start up the program." "

The Adult Care Expo is in town and we, being the naughty naughty children we are, decided to give it a look see earlier this morning. Was it everything we hoped it would be? Unfortunately, no. As one vendor informatively told us, the expos in Hong Kong and Macau are much bigger and rowdier - the Shanghai market for sex-related goodies just hasn't matured yet. more ›

• Meanwhile in China… Sweet Powerpoint-style Graphics of Government Growth Plans [GOOD] "As someone who works in design, and the visual communication of information (like our weekly Transparencies or our recent infographic challenge to explain the financial crisis), I find this wonderful. Sure, it’s like every bad trick in the powerpoint/clipart book has been ruthlessly piled upon these slides. But still, to see typically boring, impenetrable government plans presented in a visual manner that seems sincere in its attempt to communicate with anyone is fascinating."
• Chinese 'gold farmers' making a living playing computer games [The Guardian] "These virtual industries sound surreal, but they are fast entering the mainstream. According to a report by Richard Heeks at Manchester University, an estimated 400,000 Asian workers are now employed in gold farming in a trade worth up to £700m a year. With so many gamers now online, these industries are estimated to have a consumer base of five million to 10 million, and numbers are expected to grow with widening internet access."
• A Chinese Pirate Unmasks: Letter from China [The New Yorker] "In his Internet experiment, Wang has added a compelling twist on the nature of Chinese nationalism. He did not simply want to prove that patriots would predictably bristle at the criticism, but that Chinese readers of all stripes would listen to criticism more closely from an outsider, even if they did not agree with it."

Even with China Unicom basically confirming that they are absolutely talking with Apple, the future of the iPhone in China is still anyone's guess. That's because the company from Cupertino has two choices for who it should throw its precious little moneymaker into. more ›

• Wen says Beijing ready to hold talks with Taiwan [The Associated Press] "China's Premier Wen Jiabao says Beijing is ready to hold talks with Taiwan on political and military issues aimed at ending hostility with the rival island. In a work report he delivered Thursday at the opening of the annual session of parliament, Wen cheered a significant improvement in ties and a major reduction in tensions over the past year with Taiwan."
• In Crisis, China Vows Openness [Washington Post] "In his first online chat with China's 1.3 billion citizens this weekend, Premier Wen Jiabao tried to charm his audience... It was almost as if Wen were campaigning for reelection, an effort unnecessary in China, where the Communist Party enjoys a monopoly on political power. But as the top legislative body, the National People's Congress, holds its annual meeting Thursday in Beijing, China's leaders acknowledge that these are extraordinary times. "
• Highlights of Premier Wen's gov't work report [Xinhua] "Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao is to deliver a report on the work of his cabinet at the opening meeting of the annual full session of the National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislature, scheduled to start in the Great Hall of the People at 9 a.m. Thursday."

Caijing has a spectacular article looking at some of the troubles still shrouding the CCTV fire from last month, and they don't all have to do with the destroyed building. The blaze that gutted the TVCC building on February 9 may have also uncovered questionable financial deals made by high-level CCTV executives. more ›

In lieu of Women's Day, China Crossroads is highlighting women's issues in China including: women in the workplace, migrant women, reproductive health and sex workers. more ›

• Top Chefs Leave Jean-Georges, Head to HK [Cityweekend SH] "Former Jean-Georges Chef/Partner Eric Johnson and his right hand pastry man, Jason Casey, both veterans of Three on the Bund’s most luxurious dining destination, have wrapped up their multi-year stints under Jean-Georges Vongerichten and will launch their own restaurant, Union J, in a prime location in Hong Kong—on the 2nd floor above the California Club."
• Chinese displaced by Three Gorges Dam protest [AP] "More than 2,000 people displaced by construction of the Three Gorges Dam clashed with police in central China during a protest Wednesday over missing resettlement payments, leaving 30 protesters injured, a Hong Kong-based group said."
• Report: Zhang plans film to mark China anniversary [AP] ""Raise the Red Lantern" director Zhang Yimou plans to make a movie to mark the 60th anniversary of communist China, cementing his shift from a dissident to a government-favored artist. Zhang is still working on the script for the film, China Central Television reported Wednesday."

• Organized crime ramps up film piracy efforts [Hollywood Reporter] How much terrorism have you funded? "Organized crime is taking on a larger role in film piracy, according to a new report from the RAND Corp. being released Tuesday. And though it could point to only a handful of examples where the profits from piracy have been used to support terrorist activities, the report warns that the terrorist connection could increase in the future."
• China food security 'grim' [Reuters] "A new food-safety law, approved on Saturday in an accelerated process since the milk scandal came to light in September, attempts to fix a fragmentary regulatory system which officials blame for recurring problems."
• China hails “online democracy” as Wen goes live on the Web [China Media Project] "So why do China’s leaders continue to talk about Internet technology as though it is an exciting and viable new alternative to that old-fashioned democratic technology — the voting booth? Because, at risk of sounding like a broken record, the Internet is the perfect distraction. It is a far-reaching medium symbolic of change that party officials can use to push the perception that political change is happening in China and that leaders are more responsive to citizens."

• Morgan Stanley’s Chinese Land Scandal [NYTimes] "Last month, with property prices here and elsewhere in free fall, the bank dropped a bombshell: in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing, it said it had fired an executive in its China real estate division after uncovering evidence that he might have violated the United States Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which bars American business people from bribing foreign officials."
• U.S. Pavilion at Shanghai Expo to break ground on schedule [Xinhua] "Despite fund raising problems, officials of the U.S. Pavilion for the Shanghai World Expo 2010 say they are confident they will break ground to build a national pavilion on schedule this April."
• Premier Wen urges journalists to write "true, accurate" stories [Xinhua] "Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao on Saturday urged journalists to write 'true and accurate' news stories because it is a fundamental principle and a lifeline for the media. Wen told a group of Xinhua News Agency staff that Xinhua should take the lead in doing so and carry on its tradition of reporting news accurately, effectively and timely."

The man who allegedly bid over 15 million euros to buy two bronze sculptures that caused such a tizzy in China over the last week has no intention on paying for them, according to the BBC. more ›

The mystery surrounding the death of the Yunnan prison inmate has finally been cleared up: Last Friday, prosecutors announced that 24-year-old Li Qiao Ming died as the result of an assault by fellow inmates, rather than accidentally during a prison yard game, as police had claimed. more ›