This week, the Chinese Supreme People's Court overturned the death sentence of 31-year-old Wu Ying, who was convicted of financial fraud in 2007. Wu, who had amassed a fortune of 3.6 billion RMB (US $567 million) by the time she was 25, allegedly cheated investors the Madoff-esque sum of nearly $60.2 million between the span of 2005-2007, and was sentenced to death in late 2009. more ›

Previously China's 6th richest woman, Wu Ying seems likely to face the death penalty after her appeal against a financial fraud conviction has been rejected. In a controversial case which has divided national opinion over the use of the death sentence in non-violent crimes, Zhejiang Higher People's Court reached their decision on the grounds that Wu "brought huge losses to the nation and people with her severe crimes, and should therefore be severely punished." more ›

According to the Russian Embassy in Beijing, a Russian woman has been sentenced to death in China for drug smuggling, with her execution delayed for a period of two years. more ›

"In fact, it's not as complicated as outsiders think. We all use rifles, stand about four meters from the condemned prisoner with a barrel one meter-long, take aim, press the trigger, and that's that," Hu told the newspaper. more ›

Here's what's happening around Shanghai: more ›

Remember that really outrageous one million RMB gold heist that happened during the expo last year? Neither do we. Nevertheless, officials have reported today about the successful trials of the three convicted “gold raiders”. We got ‘em! more ›

China's death penalty is undergoing a huge overhaul. Officials today announced a new set of rules as to what crimes qualify for execution. In addition, courts around China have been told to forgo any further executions until a universal guideline is approved throughout China. This has been the first time a reform has been conducted to the Criminal Law since 1979. more ›

"The Philippine government said China on Wednesday executed three Filipinos convicted of drug smuggling despite last-minute appeals for clemency and political concessions by the Southeast Asian country's leaders. Sally Ordinario-Villanueva, 32, and Ramon Credo, 42, met their families for the last time early Wednesday before they were put to death by lethal injection in Xiamen city in southeastern China, said Philippine Consul Noel Novicio. Elizabeth Batain, 38, was allowed to meet with her relatives hours ahead of her execution in southeastern Shenzhen city, Novicio said. The three were not aware they would be executed Wednesday, although their sentences were promulgated early in the day, Novicio said. It was the first time that Philippine citizens were executed in China." [AP via NPR] more ›

They are both one of the 17 countries that still don't allow gays in the military and also execute people, according to this infographic from Esquire. Though there's signs that the U.S.'s policy towards the homosexual soldier thing may have changed. more ›

• Those of you who want to buy a cheap DVD of the Olympic opening ceremony had better hurry up as the Shanghai Culture Inspection Team is planning a crackdown on pirated versions of this show. No worries though, the official DVD of the ceremony will still be available RMB 55.
• Just as school is about to start Shanghai has been listed as the most expensive city for university and college students in mainland China. According to the China News Agency's, a university student in Shanghai needs to spend about RMB1000 on food and housing each month. In the cheapest city for students, Chongqing, just RMB500 would suffice each month!
• As anyone living here will have noticed, a storm with heavy thunder and rain — the worst in 100 years — hit Shanghai on Monday the 25th. No casualties have been reported, but over 60 of the city's streets were flooded.

What's interesting is this: the headline says that there are at least one million female sex slaves in the US. And the first paragraph of the article goes on to say that these figures from the US Department of Justice (DOJ), which estimates that anywhere from 100,000-3 million underage people are somehow involved in prostitution in the US. more ›

It is no secret by now. China executes more people than the rest of the world put together (yes, even more than the Islamic world). In fact, Amnesty International says China carries out about 80 percent of the world's total capital punishments, if not more (1,770 people in 2005). The recent UN vote for a moratorium on executions saw a fractious two-day debate between the anti-execution camp led by Italy and the pro-execution camp led by Singapore, which has the ignominious honour of having the highest number of executions per capita in the world (coming from there, we are ashamed). The result of the vote: 104 for, 54 against and 29 abstentions. Opponents of the moratorium included the United States, China and Iran (one rarely finds these three countries in the same camp). more ›

Some things you were never supposed to hear about ... so keep them to yourselves please! Shhhhh. more ›

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Photo by Shanghai Sky taken from the Shanghaiist Contribute page. more ›

Photo by Les Izmore taken from the Shanghaiist Contribute page. To see your photos on our Contribute page, use Flickr and tag your photos “shanghaiist”. Or you can email your photos to photos@shanghaiist.com and they will automatically appear on our site. more ›

It's good news for those of you who stand accused of one of the nearly 70 offenses that are punishable by death in China. Under legislation enacted on Tuesday, as of January 1, all death sentences handed out by provincial courts must be reviewed and ratified by China's Supreme People's Court. This reverses a 1983 law which gave such powers to the provincial courts in an effort to crack down on rising crime and corruption that occurred early under the reforms implemented under Deng Xiaoping. However, such liberal use of the death penalty in the world's most populous country and in a poor legal environment led predictably to large numbers of death sentences, many of them carried out on innocent people. Last year, a woman in Hunan reappeared 16 years after her accused killer had been executed for her murder. more ›

Zhu said that after 10 minutes of treatment Bai's lung cancer had been cured and he would recover quickly. more ›

First the sad news: Man kills prostitute, gets the death penalty. Much to everyone's surprise they found the woman's diary -- 60 pages worth, all letters of love and devotion to her husband. more ›

The Los Angeles Times reports that Chinese children are being so unfilial these days that they have to fine them in order to get them spend more time with their elderly parents: more ›

Blogwatch is a semi-regular look at what is going on in the English-language Chinese blogosphere. more ›

Because they will kill you. Seriously. In a move that would make even the craziest Texan cringe, southern Guangdong has "introduced the death penalty for purse-snatching": more ›

The economy expanded by 12 percent per year since 1990, house prices rose to 55 times the level of average annual disposable salaries, and more skyscrapers were built in Shanghai than in New York. A 100-square-metre new apartment costs an average of 914,000 yuan ($112,800 US), according to the Shanghai Real Estate Exchange. more ›