The Paint The Town Red Communist Party Party held at Not Me on Friday night was a political and economic success, featuring the Shanghaiist Propaganda Dissemination Committee in attendance, celebrating the Party's 90th Anniversary together with Shanghai's most dedicated Party-loving alcoholics Vanguard Pioneers, in what was a cathartic face-saving success that testified to the vitality and currency the Party still retains amongst the fenqing, eliminating any whisker of doubt regarding the Party's ability to continue onward in its magnanimous rule, New York Times dissident op-ed ninny dogs be damned! more ›

In our ongoing Threesday feature, Shanghaiist takes the time to count out three of well... whatever catches their fancy that week. This week: Three costume ideas to get your communism on for our Shanghaiist Communist Party Party tomorrow! more ›

Greetings, fellow Revolutionary Comrades of highest and utmost esteem! We would like to announce the Shanghaiist work unit's Gloriously Benevolent Anti-Imperialist Peacefully-Rising Chinese Communist Party 90th Anniversary Special Disco Plenary Conference from 9pm to 1am at Not Me on Friday, July 1st! more ›

While membership in the CCP is at its highest levels either, its actual members are a lot less naive and a lot more jaded about China's one party than you'd think. C. Custer posts interviews with several card carrying CCP members: young, well-educated and politically inclined, but who say things like "I don’t believe in anything in the history textbooks. It’s all lies." more ›

• We'll take a moment in this Around Shanghai to highlight this incredibly interesting article about Shanghai's role in the Communist Party. Sure, ex-Prez Jiang Zemin was from here - but it seems like this city's influence stretches deeper than that, and is in fact part of "an on-going factional struggle that has been silently raging at the top levels" of the CCP. [The Hindu]
• Wine critic Jancis Robinson is here in Shanghai, and she's got a lot to say on the subject of Chinese wine faux pas. Um... does buying a 35 kuai bottle at Marks & Spencers count as a faux pas? [CNNGo]
• When an expat mother and her ayi split ways, her children freak out, which makes her worry about where their emotional attachments lie. Hey, expat lady, here's some advice from an expat kid who was basically raised by a string of different ayis: Stop worrying. By the time they're 15, they'll learn not to be attached to anyone. [Cityweekend]

One report we've enjoyed is Melissa Chan of Al Jazeera's highlight on the Long March (on Youtube, unfortunately), when Mao led his forces on a strategic military retreat through China away from the pursuing Kuomingtang forces. The march, which started in Jiangxi, helped propel Mao Zedong to the forefront to the party. more ›

Thought China's international media expansions are over? Think again - it seems that they're at it again. The South China Morning Post reported today that the CCP will be launching an English-language version of its venerable magazine Seeking Truth ("Qiushi", 求是). more ›

Heating up the Chinese blogosphere is a comment made by an official in Henan: "Will you speak for the Party? Or will you speak for the people? (你是准备替党说话，还是准备替老百姓说话？)", insinuating that the two are mutually exclusive. Zhengzhou urban planning development vice director Lu Jun made the comment, allegedly in anger, to a reporter probing a suspicious property scheme. It was broadcast nationwide, nominated as the catch phrase for 2009, and Lu was named "the official who dares most to speak the truth" by Chinese netizens. Lu, who was suspended by his embarrassed superiors, has denied making the comment. Source: Shanghai Daily. Picture from SCOL (Chinese) more ›

• To Protect an Ancient City, China Moves to Raze It [NYT] "Over the next few years, city officials say, they will demolish at least 85 percent of this warren of picturesque, if run-down homes and shops. Many of its 13,000 families, Muslims from a Turkic ethnic group called the Uighurs (pronounced WEE-gurs), will be moved."
• Diabetes more likely to strike the young in Asia [AP] "Without strong government policy, education and good clinical care, Asia's escalating epidemic could "erase economic gains made in recent decades," said Hu, one of the authors. Trends of diabetes in the region are influenced by everything from genetic makeup and cultural differences to smoking and degrees of urbanization, the JAMA study showed. But the most startling findings — which tended to vary from country to country — related to body mass and age."
• China Said to Harass Rights Lawyers [NYT] "Many of the lawyers have taken on cases, involving issues like Tibetan political activism and police brutality, that gained national and even international attention. The advocacy groups, Human Rights Watch and Chinese Human Rights Defenders, called the actions by the legal authorities part of an effort to intimidate the lawyers and their law firms into avoiding sensitive cases."

• 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."

Xinhua News Agency tells us of a celebration held by the Communist Party of Great Britain (Marxist-Leninist) in London for the 59th anniversary of The People's Republic of China. The party's head Harpal Brar was quoted as saying "China has achieved the basic human rights. It's a living example of socialism". This is also the first time we've heard of the "Hands off China" campaign organised by the British commies to support China against the perceived China-bashing in the western media in the run-up to the Olympics. more ›

Photo by ranmachen more ›

Photo of Shanghai Museum, one of four locations offering a free entry trial next month, from mkools. more ›

Just three days after Straits Times journalist Ching Cheong regained his freedom, China has released yet another media man — Yu Huafeng (喻华峰), general manager and deputy editor of the Southern Metropolis News《南方都市报》, the Guangzhou-based paper that is one of China's boldest and most critical papers. more ›

People who made the news this week more ›

The Red Laowai (红老外) — yes, that shirtless dude in New York that's been singing communist propaganda songs such as “My China Heart"《我的中国心》, "Without the Communist Party, there is no New China"《没有共产党就没有新中国》and "Oriental Red"《东方红》and putting his videos online — has done it again. This time, he has put his shirt on, created a music video and he's singing Jay Chou and rapping. The song 止战之殇 (The Wound That Ends War) is an anti-war song in... more ›

The yuan broke the 7.4 mark against the US dollar for the first time yesterday largely fueled by expectations that China is seeking a quicker appreciation of the currency to fight inflation. more ›

We didn't know whether to laugh or to cry when we saw this one — a shirtless white guy with a picture of Mao Zedong in the background singing patriotic songs such as “My China Heart"《我的中国心》, "Without the Communist Party, there is no New China"《没有共产党就没有新中国》and "Oriental Red"《东方红》which can be best described as a love song to Chairman Mao. He looks like he's got a chest that would make the ladies swoon and the guys jealous, but apart from that — boy, does he make our hair stair on end! more ›

Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao on Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper's meeting with the Dalai Lama [Reuters]:

"It's gross interference in China's internal affairs. The Chinese side expresses its strong dissatisfaction and resolute opposition... This disgusting conduct has seriously hurt the feelings of the Chinese people and undermined Sino-Canadian relations... The Chinese side demands the Canadian side ... correct its mistaken conduct, immediately adopt effective measures to eliminate adverse impact (from the meeting) and stop winking at or supporting anti-Chinese activities by Tibetan forces."

Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni is bringing a clear message to China: Israel will not allow Iran to get the atom bomb. Israel is concerned that China and Russia, which are permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, have opposed calls by the United States for tougher sanctions on Iran. more ›

"Son preference" is a deep-seated, widespread problem in many cultures, but in China, the problem takes on a frightfully larger scope when "son preference" meets the notorious One Child policy, says Michael Fragoso. more ›

China will offer religious services for foreigners arriving for the 2008 Olympic Games, an official in charge of religious affairs said. more ›

The Chinese Communist Party, the world's largest political party with some 64 million members opened its 17th Party Congress yesterday. With over 2,200 delegates from all over the nation, the congress was opened by parliament chief Wu Bangguo with the national anthem, followed by a moment of silence marked for Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai, Liu Shaoqi, Zhu De, Deng Xiaoping, Chen Yun and other "martyrs of the revolution" before President Hu Jintao began addressing the party. A great sense of expectation there as you can see on the video now that the party has just begun, but as the days go by, we will no doubt see more and more of these scenes instead. more ›

Looks like we spoke too soon. Just when we told you that Chinese media were getting the hang of the art of spin, look what we found in today's Shanghai Daily. Not one, but two pieces of pure, unadulterated propaganda that would make any Xinhua editor blush. Oh wait a minute, they actually came from Xinhua. more ›

China issued a sweeping denunciation of Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian on Thursday, accusing him of stirring animosity between the sides to divert attention from his personal scandals. more ›

... and the rumor-mill is running in overdrive. Recent reports suggest that Shanghai Party Chief Xi Jinping's (习近平) recent entry into the race - apparently at senior leader Zeng Qinghong's (曾庆红) insistence - has shaken things up; forcing Hu Jintao to make some last-minute maneuvering. more ›

Starbucks Corporation, the world’s biggest coffee shop chain, recalled 250,000 children’s plastic cups made in China after receiving reports of the cups breaking and posing a choking hazard. more ›

Shanghai is back in Beijing's good books. Or so an article published by the People's Daily two weeks ago indicates, claims the Associated Press. The article, titled "Glad to hear the new good tidings from Shanghai", lavished praise on Shanghai for it's recent successes. "A golden breeze refreshes Shanghai; one important, auspicious event after another" gushed the lead article. It is a sign, claims AP, that the fallout from last year's pension scandal has started to settle. As AP points out:

...such propaganda is a cue that top communist leaders have come to a consensus that the scandal was confined to a few "bad elements" and that China's biggest and richest city has Beijing's support.

How should a government combat runaway inflation? Most sensible economists would suggest a series of tightening monetary and fiscal policies to realign the aggregate supply demand picture. Well, China has raised interest rate four times this year, twice last month, to no avail. Prices, at both the producer and retail levels continue to bubble up, as do asset prices, such as the real estate and the equity market. more ›