"Even though Chen Guangcheng's eyes can't see light, his heart is filled with light. Then there are many people whose eyes can see light, but whose hearts are completely dark." more ›

The survey was conducted by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences' center for social psychology studies and was made part of the Blue Book of Social Mentality 2011, which was published by the center on Wednesday. more ›

One of the most worrisome aspects of the last couple years in China has been its overly rapid development of urban areas - the nonstop construction of skyscrapers, high-rises, highways - and the sometimes careless disregard for its environmental and social impact. At least now it seems like someone in the government is recognizing the problem, to the point of calling the current economic downturn a great opportunity to refocus on other priorities. more ›

The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences' annual rankings for China's most competitive cities are out and Shanghai's gotten the bronze once again, coming behind Hong Kong and Shenzhen for the third time in three years. Drats! But officials in the 'Hai said that the CCP's plan to boost Shanghai into a global financial center by 2020 would definitely improve its chances for next years' rankings. Hopefully so! While Shanghai might be up there with the crème of the crop in China, compared to the rest of the world, all three cities are still lacking. Hong Kong was only listed at 26th in last year's Global Urban Competitiveness Report and Shanghai at 41st. Shenzhen, strangely enough, was placed even lower (at 64th), calling into question the different ways China and the rest of the world justifies competitiveness. more ›

The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences recently published a report about how much income you need in order to be classified as white-collar in various Chinese cities. At the top of the list was Hong Kong, where you needed to make at least 18,500 RMB. As for some of the other cities:The benchmarks in some major cities at the upper end are: 8,900 yuan ($1,194) in Macao, 5,350 yuan ($717) in Shanghai, 5,280 yuan ($708)... more ›