Chinese high rollers have transformed Macau and Singapore into two of the world's top gambling destinations. Now, Australia wants a slice of that market too. Peter Gotting of Australia Network News reports. more ›

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The Economist has a really interesting piece based on comments by Geoff Raby, former Australian ambassador to China (and now businessman), made during a gathering with foreign correspondents in Beijing Tuesday evening. Some of you may remember earlier this year that Raby famously snubbed his own boss, foreign minister Kevin Rudd (who was formerly the Australian PM), by saying, ''To speak Chinese is not to know China.'' more ›

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An Aussie was recently gobsmacked to find a caged live koala for edible sale in Guangzhou's Panyu district, with the marsupial available either braised or stewed. Which we find offensive, since it doesn't pay nearly enough respect to Australia's rich culinary traditions of barbecuing, adding Vegemite, or sticking everything in a meat pie and calling it good. more ›

Just as Europe is hoping for China to be its sugar daddy financial savior, tourism industries throughout the Asia Pacific region are bending over backwards to court Chinese tourists and the revenue boost they represent. We thought a special round-up on the subject was in order. more ›

Shanghai-born crime novelist Qiu Xiaolong (裘小龙) is the author of the celebrated Inspector Chen series that has a loyal following among readers not just in China, but also around the world. more ›

A few links to start off your day: more ›

Weibo netizens have continued their pursuit of Guo Meimei and the Red Cross Society. Guo announced last week that she was planning to take a trip to Australia with her mom to "wave goodbye to all her troubles." The post was deleted, but screenshots survived. more ›

Watch as an Australian morning anchor "shares a gag" with the Tibetan spiritual leader, and botches it completely. Pure gold. more ›

More info on that the topic can also be found on their site here and here. Check it out. It's super interesting! more ›

''To speak Chinese is not to know China.'' more ›

Chinese-Australian political blogger and writer Yang Hengjun (杨恒均) has finally broken the silence on his two-day disappearance in Guangzhou. Here's a quick recap of what happened: Shortly after tweeting one day in late March that he was being followed by three men at the Guangzhou Baiyun airport, Yang went incommunicado, sparking off a series of international media reports that yet another Chinese intellectual had gone missing. The Australian government began pulling its strings, and Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu, when pressed by foreign correspondents on the whereabouts of Yang, famously quipped, "I have not heard of that person." On March 31, just two days after his disappearance, Yang resurfaced, assuring everyone he was safe, "recovering" from an "illness", and on his way back to Australia. more ›

In this humorous little clip, Australian channel ABC explains to its curious viewers down under all the inner workings of this wonderful thing called the Great Firewall of China. You see, the Aussies themselves have been thinking of erecting their own little Great Firewall, and what better than to turn to the Chinese for some inspiration? more ›

"CHINA Eastern Airlines will add five weekly flights linking Shanghai with Sydney and Melbourne in Australia from June 20. The Shanghai-based carrier will fly daily on the Shanghai-Sydney route after adding a flight every Tuesday and Sunday. It will also fly daily between Shanghai and Melbourne by adding a flight every Monday, Wednesday and Thursday." [Shanghai Daily] more ›

John Garnaut of the Sydney Morning Herald reports:

An Australian writer who many consider to be the most influential political commentator on the Chinese language internet has disappeared, apparently at the hands of Chinese police. more ›

This is an advertisement. The Australian pavilion at the Shanghai World Expo 2010 is recruiting now! We have a number of positions across a variety of teams. Please visit our website and the recruitment section at australianpavilion.com for the opportunity to be a part of the biggest event in Shanghai next year. More job ads. Place a job ad. more ›

• When I grow up I want to be a corrupt official [Black and White Cat] "On the first day of term, Southern Metropolis Daily asked primary school children in Guangzhou what they want to be when they grow up. Here are some of the answers."
• China pupils told to love nation [BBC] "Chinese children are being told that the first lesson they must learn this school year is "love your country". The ministry of education has produced a special TV programme to encourage patriotism among the nation's youngsters. It is being broadcast as tens of millions of children head back to their classes after the summer holidays."
• U.S., Australia to Ask China to Exercises - Report [Reuters] "China will be asked by the United States and Australia to join military exercises to repair ties after a diplomatic row between Canberra and Beijing, a top U.S. military official said on Thursday. Following a meeting between Australia's military chief Angus Houston and U.S. Pacific Command head Admiral Timothy Keating, both countries agreed to approach China's defense ministry about joint naval and land exercises, Keating told the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper in an interview. "We are anxious to engage with them," Keating said."

• China's secretive military launches Web site [AP] "China's Defense Ministry launched its first official Web site Thursday, part of an effort by the normally secretive military to be more transparent. The launch of the site — including an English version — comes as the U.S. Army's top general visits Beijing for talks with his Chinese counterparts. Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey was to visit the headquarters of the People's Liberation Army on Thursday and meet PLA Chief of the General Staff Chen Bingde."
• More parents protest against lead poisoning in China [Reuters] "The number of Chinese children found with excess lead in their blood near a metal plant in central China has reached 1,354, state media said on Thursday, with new clashes between police and parents over pollution. The rise in initial diagnoses of poisoning around the Wugang Manganese Smelting Plant in Hunan province adds to a recent rash of such cases, which have exposed growing tensions between local governments and residents over pollution, often by poorly regulated plants and factories with ties to local government."
• China bans petitioners in Beijing [BBC News] "The Chinese government has issued a new regulation to stop petitioners from travelling to the capital, Beijing. Legal officials from Beijing will now visit people with complaints in the provinces in order to hear their cases. Petitions can also be filed online and a response or solution is to be given within 60 days."

• China earthquake activist on trial [AFP] "A Chinese activist who was investigating whether shoddy construction caused school collapses in last year's massive Sichuan earthquake went on trial for subversion, his lawyer said. Environmental activist and writer Tan Zuoren, who was charged with "inciting subversion of state power," is accused of defaming the ruling Communist Party and the government over their handling of the Tiananmen crackdown on pro-democracy protestors in 1989. Mr Tan's brief trial in Chengdu, capital of southwest Sichuan province, ended without a verdict, Pu Zhiqiang, one of his two lawyers, said."
• Chinese police detain supporters of quake critic [AP] "A high-profile Chinese government critic said he and 11 others were detained by police in a hotel Wednesday to prevent them from attending the trial of an activist who investigated the deaths of thousands of schoolchildren in last year's earthquake. Avant-garde artist Ai Weiwei said police in the southwestern city of Chengdu also roughed up him and one of the other supporters who had traveled to the city to try to attend the trial of Tan Zuoren, an activist charged with subversion. The charges Tan faces appear to be linked to his quake investigation as well as essays he wrote about the 1989 student-led demonstrations in Tiananmen Square that ended in a deadly military crackdown. Beijing routinely uses the charge of subversion to imprison dissidents for years."
• Murder at the 'reboot' camps [China Daily] "Deng Senshan had never skipped school, never been diagnosed with a mental illness and, according to his family, surfed the Web only on weekends. Yet on Aug 1, the 15-year-old was admitted to a rehab camp for Internet addiction (IA), where, after being ordered to run 5 km as part of his "treatment", he was beaten to death by counselors."

We've been really looking forward to the Jeff Lang concert coming up tomorrow. Jeff Lang, an Australian folk, country and blues artist is a busy guy - besides playing innumerable instruments, he's somehow managed to release nearly one record each year since 1994. more ›

There have now been nine confirmed cases of H1N1 on th Chinese mainland, with two new patients cropping up in Beijing and Fujian province over the weekend. In Fujian, a two-year-old girl tested positive for swine flu after returning from the U.S. with her family via Hong Kong. Meanwhile, in Beijing, the confirmed was a 46-year-old man surnamed Zhang who had flown over from Canada. Unfortunately, he took the subway several times before showing symptoms, possibly contaminating all of Beijing. Meanwhile, there are two suspected cases in Zhenjiang province and Shanghai. The Zhenjiang patient is a 19-year-old boy who came to New York. The Shanghai case is a 30-year-old Chinese man working for an Australian company who flew in from Melbourne. So far, swine flu has claimed no casualties in this country. Source: China Daily more ›

• Shanghai Scrap shows solidarity with Fox News's Roger Friedman by buying a copy of that leaked yet-to-be-released summer blockbuster, X-Men Origins: Wolverine. [Shanghai Scrap]
• He's not the first to do so either. Lost Laowai had already scooped up a fake DVD copy just days after the leak... and then took the time to school a fenqing on the differences between piracy and those looted relic heads. [Lost Laowai]
• Not quitting the new battle for currency supremacy, China is moving to globalize the yuan and promote it overseas - and Shanghai gets to be the command central. [LA Times]
• A cluster of old buildings first constructed in the Qing Dynasty are saved from urban demolition after a national survey of cultural relics finds that many exist in there. They're located in the Chenhang area in Minhang. [Xinhua]

• Child sex scandal involves teachers, officials [Shanghai Daily] "Eight people, including six government officials and teachers, will go on trial for their involvement in a child prostitution scandal affecting a dozen primary and middle school students in southwest China. The Guizhou police launched an investigation after receiving a complaint on August 15 last year from a mother who said her 13-year-old daughter, Li Yu, had been raped after being duped by a classmate, Wang Qing, in Xishui County. The investigation then uncovered a conspiracy which saw girl students being forced into prostitution."
• Mainland tourist apologizes for graffiti in Taiwan under public pressure [Xinhua] "A Chinese mainland tourist who has been lambasted on the Internet for carving his name on a rock face in a Taiwan scenic area apologized to the public on Thursday for his misbehavior. Zhao Genda, a 63-year-old pensioner from Changzhou City, Jiangsu Province, gained instant notoriety after Taiwan TV reported that he carved his name and that of his hometown on the rock face at Taipei Yeliu Geopark on Friday."
• Can China be green by 2020? [BBC] "China's unprecedented economic growth over the past 30 years has come at a huge cost to the environment. The damage has not only been to the air the Chinese breath or the water in their rivers, but also to its reputation across the world. But there are signs that China may now be serious about tackling pollution to prove to the world that it can develop while causing less damage to the environment."

And, of course, Kevin Rudd, the Australian Prime Minister, continues to relish every opportunity he has to practice his Chinese.
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For Wu Liping, mother of an 18 year old Chinese student raped and murdered in Sydney, 2008 has been a year of unfathomable tragedy. Wu flew to Sydney earlier this week to identify the body of her only child who was raped three times before falling off the balcony in a Sydney apartment. The alleged rapist Brendan David Dennison is currently under arrest facing 21 charges. more ›

Chuck Culpepper of the Los Angeles Times has been tracking this and as of his latest posting yesterday, the Beijing Olympics "MPC" leaders are — you guessed it — Armenia. Australia is No. 2. USA? 30th. China? 40th. (We have a feeling the Aussies might climb back to No. 1 after their efforts in the pool this morning.) Australia is not the two-time defending MPC champs, however. That honor goes to the Bahamas, which has the population of a Shanghai city block. They were tops in Sydney and in Athens. more ›

Despite getting docked 10 points by Xinhua (the state-run news agency is reporting a score of 79-68), the U.S. Olympic basketball team cruised past Russia in the team's first defensive struggle leading up to the Beijing Games. Kobe Bryant led the U.S. with 19 points, much to the delight of the crowd at Qizhong Tennis Center in Pudong. The AP reports: "The sellout crowd of 14,523 at this arena built for tennis clearly favored the U.S. team, and Bryant clearly was the fans' favorite. Besides the familiar 'MVP!' chants, fans booed when he was called for an offensive foul in the second quarter, and generally oohed and aahed whenever he squared up to take a shot." Team USA plays Australia at 8 pm on Tuesday, also at Qizhong. Tickets appear to be available, starting at RMB 500 a pop. more ›

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Ok, we know that China are taking on Australia in a crucial World Cup qualifier this afternoon at 2pm, but that's all the way down in Kunming and, frankly, we're not too optimistic about China's chances in this latest 'Group of Death' match. Therefore, match of the day has to be this evening's fixture at Hongkou Stadium where North Korea will take on South Korea (kick-off is 7pm). more ›