"An official will be sneered at as a freak if he refuses to take money." more ›

Here's more on the DaVinci media extortion case to which real estate mogul Pan Shiyi recently alluded to. The Singapore-based furniture company has accused a CCTV journalist by the name of Li Wenxue (李文学) of fabricating his reports and extorting 1 million yuan from the firm. Ho Aili, Beijing correspondent of the Straits Times, writes: more ›

"I look at the DaVinci case and I'm reminded of something that happened over a decade ago. At that time, we were often extorted by the media. They'd often say to us: The negative reports we have prepared for you have all been typeset and are ready for print. Bring your ad dollars in exchange for them. We were miserable. Eventually we published two books in which we detailed all our mistakes, customer complaints and criticisms from other industry insiders -- and the extorting journalists stopped appearing." more ›

Shanghai Daily reports: "Three local officials are among the six men detained for having sex with two teenage girls in Lueyang County, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, according to the police." more ›

A female government official in Liaoning province has been executed almost a year after she was found guilty of corruption: more ›

This just in, fellow Shanghai residents -- you are miserable! Sure, we may have the highest living standard on the mainland and one of the most vibrant skylines in the world, but who really cares about modern amenities anyway. According to the National China Institute of City Competitiveness, Shanghai ranked dead last among all major metropolitan centers, and was further embarrassed by 90+ smaller cities around China in a report released today. more ›

Though the rumors had been kicking around for a while, an official report from CCTV confirms that the Shanghainese former deputy chief engineer for the Ministry of Railways Zhang Shuguang (张曙光) kept overseas deposits worth $2.8 billion USD. In contrast, former Minister of Railways Liu Zhijun (刘志军, he of the 18 mistresses), made off with only a piddling $155 million USD worth of red-packet money. more ›

Nine months later, the sentences are now beginning to rain down on those the Shanghai government has decided were responsible for the residential blaze in Jing'an district that killed 58 people. Surprisingly, nobody yet is slated to executed. Instead, the highest-profile official has "only" gotten 16 years, which has some of the victims' families upset. more ›

For 12 years the deportation case of Lai Changxing has been languishing in Canadian courts. Though it was known that he scammed the Chinese government out of millions of dollars worth of tax money, his lawyer made the case that, should he be deported, the Chinese justice system would not give him a fair trial. Being returned to China would mean torture and possibly execution, argued Lai's lawyer. “But Justice Shore ruled that ‘Mr. Lai has failed to establish that he will suffer irreparable harm if he were returned to China.’ The judge said the fact that Mr. Lai had been in negotiations with Chinese officials to return belied his assertions of risk if he returns. Chinese officials have assured Canada that Mr. Lai would not be executed or tortured and would get a fair trial with access to a lawyer if he is returned to face charges.” Source: NYTimes.
more ›

"TWO former vice mayors in east China, convicted of corruption and taking millions of yuan in bribes, were put to death today. Xu Maiyong, 52, former vice mayor of Hangzhou, the capital of Zhejiang Province, and Jiang Renjie, former vice mayor of Suzhou, a city in Jiangsu Province, were executed today, Xinhua reported. Xu was given the death sentence for taking 145 million yuan (US$22.31 million) in bribes, embezzling 53 million yuan and abusing power. Nicknamed 'Xu of Plenty' because he possessed a lot of money, houses and women, Xu accepted and sought bribes from 14 companies and individuals and helped them get government projects, evade taxes, obtain land and get government jobs, China News Service reported. Jiang was found guilty of accepting 108.57 million yuan in bribes from property developers between 2001 and 2004 when he was in charge of urban planning, construction and real estate development in Suzhou." [Shanghai Daily] more ›

Congratulations, Red Cross Society! You're now in the running for most venal organization in China, against some pretty stiff competition. But if you keep overspending on real and imagined projects, then who knows, you might just win the title outright. more ›

ibribery.com, where Chinese could go and report incidents of bribery, has been shut down by the authorities. Chen Hong started the website after seeing a similar idea in India. It got 200,000 unique visitors in two weeks before censors banned users inside China from accessing it. Chen closed the website over the weekend. more ›

The past week has seen an unnerving amount of violence and unrest in China. Here's a roundup of what's happening: more ›

"Don't think I'm trying to show off my wealth with this posting," a businessman wrote. "It's just I'm so toothless and helpless in the face of current-day society." (Reuters) This is how an entry for a confession to bribing officials starts on a Chinese website. The writer then describes how he coughed up 3 million RMB to government officials to win contracts and even took an official on a 10-day vacation to Europe. Faced with rampant corruption internet users like that businessman are taking to the net to vent their frustration (and perhaps ease their guilt) for taking part in left-handed dealings with sites like ibribery and 522phone. more ›

On May 26 a local official from Lichuan, Hubei named Ran Jianxin （冉建新） was taken into custody under suspicion of accepting bribes. A 49-year-old man in healthy condition, less than ten days after his arrest he was dead. From ESWN: more ›

Seven women from Gansu province's Hui county (徽县) have claimed they were beaten up and stripped of their clothing by men dressed in black clothing, while trying to report corruption by officials. more ›

If there is one article you must read this weekend, it's this article by John Garnaut of the Sydney Morning Herald, entitled "Show them the money, old China". The article offers fascinating insight into what's going on today in Chongqing, one of China's four direct-controlled municipalities, and the economic hub of the western region. Here is an excerpt: more ›

Liu Shaowu (刘绍武), director of the security management bureau under the Ministry of Public Security, recently emphasised to public security bureaus nationwide the importance of respect as a key touchstone in the crackdown against vice and prostitution. Sex workers, he said, may not be subject to verbal and physical abuse, discrimination and shaming by public parades. He also suggested that the public security bureau would henceforth no longer call prostitutes「卖淫女」(lit. "women who sell vice"), and encourage the use of the term「失足妇女」(lit. "women who have lost their way"). The statement sparked off a flurry of debate in the public, but the ministry's move has received a thumbs up from notable feminist and sexologist Li Yinhe (李银河). Here is our translation of her latest blogpost: more ›

Following a string of at least eight suicides among government officials this year, the state is taking action - by packing potential hires off to the shrink before taking them in. Wu Hanfei, chief of the examination and assessment center of the Communist Party of China announced at a leadership pow-wow on Sunday that those applying for official posts in government will soon have to undergo a psychological analysis during selection to assess their "psychological qualities" as well as "moral integrity". more ›

China is now requiring its officials to report changes in their marital status, whether their families have moved abroad (and where), their personal incomes and family investments. If they don't, they could face punishment, including removing their "official" rank. While the move is the latest to crack down on corruption, some doubt its efficacy. Yang Yang, a professor at China Politics and Law University, argued that "Many officials have children, spouses or relatives who invest in companies or are involved in business projects. This happens all the time. What can you accomplish by requiring people to report it? Even if they report it, it's still legal under current laws." more ›

Chinese Minister of Supervision Ma Wen was recently quoted as saying that public servants will soon be required to disclose "detailed information about income, property owned and investments, and jobs held by their spouses and children." Li Fei, who holds an equally important -sounding position in the NPC Standing Commitee, has refused to comment on precisely when, where and how this might be implemented, stating that measures "[will] proceed only after conditions are ripe." Typical. more ›

Han Han, our favorite novelist cum race-car driver, posted to his blog yesterday about an incident over the weekend in Minhang involving a woman throwing molotov cocktails at a demolition crew. It was one of the many instances where an individual violently protests against the forced destruction of their home by corrupt government officials (molotov cocktails aren't nearly as intense as setting yourself on fire, though). As much outrage as we could express over forcing people to their personal and physical limits to have themselves heard, we always know that Han Han can do it better. more ›

• Renowned Chinese translator Yang Xianyi has died at the age of 94. Yang, with his wife Gladys Taylor, translated such classics as the 18th century "A Dream of Red Mansions." [Associated Press]
• According to a poll on the Economist, 88% of people believe that China is showing more leadership than America in fighting climate change. [Economist]
• While David Brooks may have been impressed by China's strides into modernity, several New York Times readers were much less pleased. [New York Times]

Communist officials are being warned to just say "No" to escort girls after recent scores of corruption and criminal cases involving officials and ladies of the night (including, we suppose, the ongoing charges against Chongqing's highest judicial official, Wen Qiang, who regularly sought out underaged girls and starlets). According to Li Yuanchao, a top member in the CPC Central Committee, "Party officials ought to stay away from vulgar venues and are not allowed to visit 'sanpei xiaojie' (female escorts) for entertainment." Good luck enforcing that one, guys. more ›

China's national games haven't even officially started yet, but they are already the backdrop for an ugly scandal in one of the country's most treasured sports. Don't worry--diving queen Guo Jingjing's piles of Olympic gold aren't in jeopardy. But the integrity of the sport's biggest domestic competition was shaken when a referee quit working the national games because, she says, the result are all fixed. more ›

Months after a building in Minhang literally fell over during construction, the infamous complex has finally been given safety certification by government officials. Of course, living in a newly constructed complex that's already seen a building fall down doesn't inspire much confidence, but it hasn't seemed to deter would-be residents: many of the people who bought flats in the collapsed building decided to take unoccupied flats in the building next door, even though there's a chance of structural damage from the accident. Then again, after a building falls down, you would imagine government inspectors would really inspect the complex. We're just sad we missed the tour. more ›

We love pirates. Eyepatches, peg legs, swashbuckling- you name it, we love it. We even have a soft spot for the Somali pirates, because somewhere deep inside of us, we know that they're keeping the dream alive. Of course, these days it's pretty hard to be a pirate, and it's not as glamorous a lifestyle as it once was. Times have gotten hard: valuable cargo now has military escorts, or avoid the Gulf of Aden altogether. Heck, even Dolphins are getting in the way of your business. more ›

It seems that the Chinese government was just getting started when it arrested employees from Rio Tinto this Summer. The newest company in the hot seat is Coca-Cola, which had an ex-employee arrested by the Shanghai police over corruption charges this weekend. more ›

Shanghai's thinking of putting a stop to revolving doors, debating new regulations for officials after their retirement or resignation in order to check "future corruption." The regulation draft stipulates that high-level officials should not work in profit-making organizations that had a direct link to their government jobs for three years after retiring or resigning. They would also be forbidden from things that might be in conflict with the public interest. Personnel departments are now being asked to keep records of ex-officials' jobs. Source: Xinhua more ›