China's Foreign Ministry has voiced "strong dissatisfaction" over the awarding of the $1.7 million Templeton Prize to the Dalai Lama at St Paul's Cathedral in London. It has also summoned the British ambassador Sebastian Wood to protest the meeting between UK Prime Minister David Cameron and the Dalai Lama. more ›

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"We don't have a reaction. He's cancelled his trip and that's it. We have not said no. We've not refused him a visa; the visa was still being processed. It's only on 20 September that he submitted his full paperwork. In some countries a visa can take two months. I don't know why people are criticizing the government." more ›

If you thought the Dalai Lama's newly-announced succession plans were ridiculous, then you really need to read China's response:

China says the Dalai Lama does not have the right to decide who will take over from him when he dies. It says Beijing will decide who will be the next Dalai Lama. more ›

Tough times call for tough measures. What's a Dalai Lama to do when he knows unfriendly forces may usurp his office after he's gone? Well, apparently, he could start "emanating" instead of reincarnating (more on what this means later), or he could completely abolish the office of the Dalai Lama. These options were announced in a lengthy statement released yesterday by the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, 76, on the subject of his reincarnation. more ›

The hurt feelings of the Chinese people, caused by the meeting between US President Barack Obama and the Dalai Lama, dramatised by the one and only Next Media Animation: more ›

"Such an act has grossly interfered in China's internal affairs, hurt the feelings of Chinese people and damaged the Sino-American relations. We demand the US side to seriously consider China's stance, immediately adopt measures to wipe out the baneful impact, stop interfering in China's internal affairs and cease to connive and support anti-China separatist forces that seek 'Tibet independence'. China objects firmly to any foreign leader's meeting with the Dalai Lama in any form and opposes to any country, or anyone, to interfere in China's internal affairs by using the Dalai Lama" more ›

If you weren't aware, the Chinese national basketball team is currently touring Australia in the inaugural YouYi (友谊, "friendship") Games. Besides their miserable results, the Chinese team had other things to worry about down under... namely, the Dalai Lama. more ›

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

The Chinese government's BFF, the Dalai Lama, has just made it public that he is going to retire from his political post as leader of the Tibetan government in exile. The announcement was given in India on the 52nd anniversary of his fleeing China. He assured the crowds, "My desire to devolve authority has nothing to do with a wish to shirk responsibility. It is to benefit Tibetans in the long run. It is not because I feel disheartened. I am committed to playing my part in the just cause of Tibet." more ›

Yesterday the Chinese government officially denied that the Karmapa Lama, currently in exile in India, is a Chinese spy. The Karmapa (the third most important figure in Tibetan Buddhism) has been embroiled in controversy this past week after about $1.5 million in foreign currencies were found in his monastery in Dharamsala last Friday. Chinese yuan was among the cash found and subsequently sparked speculation that the Karmapa might be an agent for the Chinese government. more ›

• As Beijing political season heats up, Chinese blogger Wan Xiaodao has created a how-to list instructing would-be "corrupt officials." Highlights include not writing a diary, living in a nondescript house and not training the next generation to take your place. We're all for dissent, rebellion and free speech, but we always thought part of being corrupt was having money, as well as the thing that come along with it. [china/divide]
• The Great Wall. Terra Cotta Soldiers. Sea of death? Apparently, there a body of water up in Xinjiang that's been causing trouble for centuries - and China has decided to build a railway bridge over it. With a price tag of nearly 4 billion yuan and on track to be completed in just two years, the railway extension seems to be aimed only at cargo - namely potassium salt - which, last we checked, wasn't threatened by death. [China.org.cn]
• Now this is dissent we can get behind! A so-called "naked" blogger - that is, a netizen who has disclosed his real identity to the government and agreed to have his online movements monitored - has taken to his own blog to satirize the "Great Firewall," the Chinese pre-occupation with "walls" in general and the current porn witch hunts. [Global Voices Online]

Things aren't looking too great between China and the U.S. these days. While some say it'll all blow over (because it has to), a China with hurt feelings makes us bite our nails at least a little. Not to mention, the sheer amount of things annoying this country can get kind of confusing! So for your sake and ours, we've listed them out below: more ›

• Whether or not you believe in this commentary about how China is like Apple - and we're pretty sure we don't because, well, your iPod can't force you to have an abortion and Jobs can't menace you for meeting with people it finds "unstable" - it's an interesting read. [A Product Guy]
• Like for instance, China has now explicitly said it opposes Obama meeting with the Dalai Lama and doing so would "seriously undermind the political foundation of Sino-U.S. relations." [AP]
• And then responding to the Taiwan arms sale, Beijing has said it will retailiate against the U.S. by suspending military ties and imposing sanctions on American companies involved. [The Globe and Mail]

• Now that Google's revealed its worries about China hacking into people's emails accounts. It seems like everyone's realizing that their email accounts are being hacked or trying to be hacked into by China. Huh. [Ars Technica]
• Chinese directors feel super insecure after Avatar, which has earned $1.1 billion USD so far in China. Well, guys, that's the power of Cameron. [China Daily]
• When it comes to big renewable energy deals, Red China ought to be called Green China, says Todd Woody. [Grist]

• DPRK tells Wen it open to nuke talks [China Daily] "Premier of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) Kim Yong-il told his visiting Chinese counterpart Wen Jiabao Sunday that the country was open to bilateral and multilateral talks on its nuclear programmes, China Central Television (CCTV) reported. "DPRK has never abandoned the goal (of denuclearising the Korean peninsula). We are willing to seek to realize this goal through bilateral and multilateral dialogue," Kim was quoted as saying by the CCTV."
• China Hopes to Create Its Own Media Empires [NYTimes] ""China plans to spend billions of dollars in the next few years to develop media and entertainment companies that it hopes can compete with global giants like the News Corporation and Time Warner, and will in the process loosen some of its tight control of these industries. An ambitious plan, set forth in guidelines last week by China’s State Council, envisions the creation of entertainment, news and culture companies with a market orientation and with less government backing. China, in short, would like to consolidate its industry into companies resembling Bloomberg, Time Warner and Viacom, analysts say."
• Obama's Meeting With the Dalai Lama Is Delayed [Washington Post] "In an attempt to gain favor with China, the United States pressured Tibetan representatives to postpone a meeting between the Dalai Lama and President Obama until after Obama's summit with his Chinese counterpart, Hu Jintao, scheduled for next month, according to diplomats, government officials and other sources familiar with the talks."

• Critics howl at pooch's pampering, price tag [China Daily] "A welcome worthy of a world leader that was given to a 4-million-yuan ($588,000) dog has raised the hackles of critics. The Tibetan mastiff, or Zang'ao in Chinese, arrived in his new masters' hometown of Xi'an, Shaanxi province, by air on Wednesday after he was bought for the colossal sum. After his safe landing, a motorcade comprising 30 Mercedes-Benz vehicles escorted the canine to his new digs."
• China and U.S.: Tire-d of Fighting [Forbes] "There was a time not too long ago when little seemed more important in U.S.-China relations than the politics of trade -- when a dispute over steel tariffs or the value of Chinese currency would bring out fire-breathers on either side of the Pacific. Now we'll find out if that time finally has passed. By Thursday Sept 17th, President Obama will take up the first big China trade issue of his presidency: tires, as in the cheap Chinese tires that millions of Americans have on their cars. Obama must decide whether to impose a tariff of as high as 55 percent that has been recommended to him by the U.S. International Trade Commission."
• High hurdles for China's commercial aviation ambitions [Reuters] "As Boeing and Airbus grapple with problems from global recession to manufacturing glitches, a longer-term worry looms: China's ambition to compete in the aerospace business. Beijing has declared its goal to manufacture large passenger jets with more than 150 seats and freighters capable of handling over 100 tonnes of cargo, with the explicit aim of taking on Boeing and Airbus."

• On the Rarity of Foreign Women and Chinese Boyfriends/Chinese Husbands [Speaking of China] "When I’m in China, I tend to turn a lot of heads, especially in the countryside — and that’s not just because I’m a foreigner. It’s because I’m often seen holding hands with my Chinese husband. It’s true — the sight of a foreign woman and Chinese boyfriend or Chinese husband is much rarer than its counterpart, the foreign man and Chinese woman."
• Tim’s Texas Roadhouse, R.I.P. [WSJ] "Roadhouse proprietor Tim Hilbert, who arrived before 9 a.m., was barred from entering, forced to watch the preparations from outside. Since the Journal’s article on Hilbert Aug. 24, he’d been forced to cancel his planned “beer, barbeque, and blues” party - which he billed as a good-will gesture to local officials - because police were afraid it would turn into a mass protest. Hilbert received several inquiries from Chinese reporters about his predicament since the Journal article ran, and articles were published, but he continued to be frustrated in his efforts to seek more compensation from local courts and other government offices."
• China's newest lead poisoning investigation underway in Kunming [Go Kunming] "More than 200 children in Kunming's Dongchuan district have been found to have unsafe levels of lead in their blood, the third major case of child lead poisoning in China this month. During routine blood testing in Dongchuan's Tongdu county, more than 200 out of 1,000 children tested were found to have blood lead levels of more than 100 micrograms per liter."

Surprising no one, China's pretty nonplussed about the Dalai Lama's visit to Taiwan, letting it be known yesterday that they "resolutely oppose" it "in whatever form and capacity." Said a spokesman for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, "The Dalai Lama is not a pure religious figure... Under the pretext of religion, he has all along been engaged in separatist activities." It accused the Democratic Progressive Party of Taiwan, known for its pro-independence platform, of stirring up trouble by inviting him. The situation makes us feel sorry for Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou, who's kind of stuck between a rock and a hard place this time around - on one hand, you've got a populace that already accuses you of being useless and a China butt kisser and on the other hand, you've got... well, China. Source: Xinhua Photo from Taiwan Guide more ›

• Taiwan to Allow Dalai Lama Visit [NY Times] "The president of Taiwan said Thursday that he would allow the Dalai Lama to visit the island next week, a move likely to infuriate China and jeopardize rapidly improving relations between Taipei and Beijing. The Tibetan spiritual leader is expected to arrive Monday for a six-day tour of southern Taiwan, which was ravaged by a typhoon three weeks ago that left at least 650 dead."
• Thousands of Myanmar refugees flowing into Yunnan [Go Kunming] "An attempt by Myanmar's ruling military junta to bring rebel ethnic fighters under its control has led to escalating tensions, reports of fighting and a looming specter of war, with thousands of refugees fleeing into southwestern Yunnan, according to a Reuters report. China- and Thailand-based media outlets have reported that on August 8 the Myanmar army sent hundreds of troops to the region of Kokang in the country's northeastern Shan State. Kokong, which has held to a 20-year ceasefire with the Myanmar government in Yangon, is home to many ethnic Chinese as well as other ethnic groups."
• Conrad Black: Much ado about China [National Post] "Overblown announcements heralding the supposed coming of the Age of China have become a staple of journalistic futurism in recent years. When Maclean's magazine banners across the top of its cover "When China Rules the World," as it did last month -- and it is not a Monty Python send-up of swarms of incomprehensible people in Mao suits -- I know it is time to raise a peep of dissent."

• Former Beijing airport boss executed in China [AP] "The former head of Beijing airport's management company was executed Friday following his conviction on corruption charges, state media reported. An intermediate court found 60-year-old Li Peiying guilty in February of accepting almost $4 million in bribes and embezzling about $12 million in public funds over the past 14 years, the Xinhua News Agency said."
• Australia Plans to Make Arrangements for Second Hu China Visit [Bloomberg] "Australia will soon be making arrangements for a second consular visit with Rio Tinto Group executive Stern Hu, detained in China for allegedly stealing state secrets, a government spokeswoman said. 'According to the consular agreement, visits must take place at least once per month,' a spokeswoman for the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, who asked not to be named, said today in an e-mailed statement."
• Uighur unrest shows China's failures - Dalai Lama [Reuters] "Ethnic riots in northwest China have exposed the failings of Beijing's minority policies, and a more "realistic" stance toward Tibetans and others could emerge within a decade, the Dalai Lama said on Thursday. The Tibetan spiritual leader said the Uighur unrest in Xinjiang province in July, in which 197 people died according to the official death toll, showed the need for the Chinese Communist Party to rethink its approach."

• China says seven "terror cells" found in Kashgar [Reuters] "China uncovered seven "terror cells" in the western frontier city of Kashgar in the first four months of 2009, the China Daily said on Wednesday, citing the city's party secretary."
• Chinese groups protest Dalai honor [China Daily]"Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said yesterday that Beijing remains opposed to "foreign political figures having official exchanges with the Dalai Lama". Qin said "any irresponsible moves taken by whatever country on this issue will constitute gross intervention in China's internal affairs and will certainly seriously damage China's relations with the relevant countries"."

• China says Obama should not meet the Dalai Lama [Associated Press] “China said Thursday that President Barack Obama should not meet the Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, when he visits the United States in October. Although a meeting has not been confirmed, every president since George H.W. Bush has met the Dalai Lama, raising the ire of China, which says the Nobel Peace laureate is bent on splitting Tibet from China. "We firmly oppose the Dalai's engagement in separatist activities in any country under whatever capacity and under whatever name," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said when asked to comment on a possible meeting.”

• 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."

• 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."

• 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."

• China opens bidding on moon probe technology [Reuters]"China will open competitive bidding so that domestic schools and institutions can help build crucial parts of the country's moon exploration craft, an official newspaper said on Wednesday."
• China launches satellite TV channel to train students, teachers and migrant workers [Xinhua] China Education Television (CETV) is to open a new satellite channel to offer educational services and vocational training for primary and middle school students, teachers, and migrant workers beginning on March 2.

Tibetan lawmakers have designated March 28 as an annual "Serfs Emancipation Day" to mark the liberation of about one million serfs in the region and the end of what the Chinese government says was a system of feudal oppression 50 years ago. This CCTV report carries the official party line of what life in pre-Liberation Tibet looked like for serfs. It portrays them as having suffered immensely under a theocratic system and the despotic rule of lamas and aristocrats, and how they were often subjected to judicial mutilation such as the gouging out of eyes, and the cutting off of hands or feet. more ›

Edison Chen was narrowly beaten by Barack Obama for "Person of the Year 2008" in Radio Television Hong Kong's poll. The public was "cordially invited to vote for the most outstanding personality of the year at RTHK or by calling in during the program "Backchat". The results of the poll were announced on Radio 3, on Friday, January 2nd. The RTHK nominees were as follows: more ›