If a horrific, “unforeseen and natural” disaster happens in China these days, what is the actual betting that it was, in fact, both man-made and foreseeable? Well, unless it’s a direct hit with an asteroid, the answer is: quite high.
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Results tagged “flood”
Gansu landslide: Another manmade disaster?
Photos: Shanghai, after the storm
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Around Asia: Poverty in Vietnam, Gay rights in Singapore and Islam in Malaysia
World Bank President Robert Zoellick on Monday praised Vietnam as a "tremendous success story" in fighting poverty but said institutional reforms were needed as it seeks middle-income country status.
Today's Links: Waltzing for students, a floating yuan for China and entrepreneurs for the Party
Shanghai has taken another step forward in the battle against Chinglish street signs. The city has enacted new guidelines to provide consistent renderings of Chinese into English on public thoroughfares, officials reported on Saturday.
Photo of the Day: Flood season in China
Villagers help a pregnant woman evacuating from her home in low-lying areas along a water-flooded street in Zi Jin County, South China's Guangdong Province June 10, 2007. It is the worst flood to threaten 15 towns of the county in 50 years.Floods and landslides have killed 1,292 people and left another 332 missing this flood season in China, and crops on at least 15.43 million hectares of farmland have been destroyed and 1.22 million houses ruined, the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters said on Saturday.
Today's Links: Baidu, bullets and stabbed cops
"Video downloads of Guangdong Meng Tong Culture's licensed historical costume drama series "Zhen Guan Chang Ge" were found on Baidu space channel (hi.baidu.com). ... Meng Tone is asking Baidu to pay 440,000 Yuan in compensation."
"The disease has now been officially eradicated in China, but the villages remain partly because the patients were unable to rebuild their lives after being institutionalised for decades."
"Inspectors with the office of the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters said the natural river banks along some sections of the Jingjiang River, part of the Yangtze, could be at risk of collapse."
"Beginning last week, all foreign tourists to Tibet must be approved by the head office of the "Tibet Travel Service" in Lhasa. Needless to say, the PSB is a heavy presence there."
"And coffee grown in China is beginning to climb the quality ladder. Arabica from the southern province of Yunnan is now catching the eye even of specialty roasters such as Starbucks or Italy's Illy."
"Beijing authorities are to raise downtown parking fees by 150 percent to discourage motorists from driving into the congested city center. Motorists will have to pay five yuan per hour instead of two yuan for parking close to downtown commercial areas."
"In Chongqing, a sprawling municipality in central China, so many owners of private cars and trucks are using fraudulent toll-exempt military plates that one toll highway has estimated annual losses at roughly 10 million yuan, or $1.2 million."
"A Chinese policeman was stabbed and wounded on the edge of Tiananmen Square, police said on Tuesday, days after a vandal damaged the huge portrait of late Communist Party Chairman Mao Zedong that hangs nearby."
"In an exercise to attract the attention of the world community, Tibetans in exile here will be organising their maiden 'Olympics' from May 15-25 next year."
"Among the hardest hit is Henan province, the country's bread basket, where rainfall since March has been down 70 percent on the average for the last two years, with no significant rain expected this month, Xinhua news agency said."
"The average disposable income of Shanghai urbanites hit 6,795 yuan for the January to March period, followed by 6,676 yuan in the neighboring province of Zhejiang and 5,901 yuan in Beijing."
"The chief surgeon, who removed the rusty bullet, was amazed it had remained in her head for so long without causing major problems." Wonder if this will spark a new wave of anti-Japan protests.
"The Beijing municipal government blacklisted the horror stories calling them 'illegal terrifying publications.'" The book is called .
"But it won't take long for parents to discover that Shanghai, with its many parks, markets and museums, can captivate the younger set."
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Photo by Slow Boat to China found via the Shanghaiist Contribute page.
Today's Links: Fish, damn dams and the 'Sun King'
"Urban parts of China show about 18.3 per cent of the married men cheating."
"Zhou came to London to gain experience in an event she only began training for in 2002 and promptly gave warning to her better-known rivals that she would be one to watch at the world championships in August and next year's Beijing Olympics."
From the Shanghai Auto Show. "What is missing? Almost anything that could indicate the emergence of a distinctly Chinese school of automotive design."
"On Thursday, 1,700 people had to be evacuated from four villages after a dam in northwest China's Gansu province was breached, causing water to flood the surrounding area and destroying a highway bridge."
"In a major blow to Pakistan's counter-terrorism credentials, China has for the first time publicly acknowledged the existence of terrorist camps within the territory of its 'all-weather' ally."
"China are set to face off against Denmark, New Zealand and Brazil in the group stage of the women's World Cup after the draw was made public on Sunday in Wuhan, the largest city of central China."
"Chinese cosmetic producers are to be banned from exaggerating the effects of their products, with wording like '100 percent effective' or 'removes freckles instantly'."
"Chinese officials have release 400,000 rare fish into the Yangtze River as part of an effort to save the river's fish stocks."
"Today, he has traded his research smock for blue business suits, a CEO's 63rd-floor corner office and a role advising the Chinese government on renewable energy policy."
"Microsoft is stepping up research operations in a market where about 80 percent of business software is pirated, and more than 90 percent of 1.3 billion people don't own computers. Earlier this week, Gates, announced a $3 software package for students."
"That's right, I'm now a semi-quasi-paid blogger, but IMHO the biggest plus is the knowledge that you have your own cartoon headshot."
"This movie turned out to be a classic. I'll wait a while and re-watch it later, but right now I have to say this is both one of the best Chinese movies ever made, and also one of the best movies from the 30s worldwide."
"But at least for a while on this early morning, the small lake in one corner of the park, surrounded by a tumble of boulders and the tall willows, was a place to step back in time." Ritan Park in Beijing.
"Wu Gong is not the only one rejecting China's panda breeding program, in which scientists have deployed everything from panda porn (films of the animals mating) to Viagra (the drug didn't work) ..."
"The message is clear: Shanghai under water, Tibetan glaciers disappearing, crop yields in precipitous decline, epidemics flaring. "
"The Place Hotel & Spa ... will be an exciting new addition to the city’s luxury boutique hotel scene when it opens early next year. The hotel will be ... part of the Park Place development which is set to be a new business landmark on Nanjing Lu West."
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Photo by 2 dogs found via the Shanghaiist Contribute page.
In the immortal words of Lil' Jon, 'Get low'
For those unfamiliar with Shanghai's history, the city was once a giant, stinking swamp. While some say things haven't changed much since then, others have noticed a bit of development going on. Given other coastal cities (on deltas) like New Orleans and Tokyo, it shouldn't be much of a surprise that Shanghai is sinking.
Today's Links: DUI, Nanking and banned books
"The city will ensure the construction of Line 6, Line 8 and the first phase of Line 9 by the end of 2007, the Shanghai Construction and Transport Commission announced." We'll see.
"Shanghai issued a batch of special 'tourist passports' yesterday to provide discounts, ranging from 10 percent to 50 percent, on tickets to the city's tourist attractions."
"A team of 30 officers will patrol suburban streets and downtown entertainment areas at least twice a week during the Spring Festival period on the lookout for drunk drivers. Offenders will face a fine of up to 2,000 yuan (US$250) and 15 days in detention."
"China Central Television (CCTV) that CCTV has purchased the China broadcast rights to the ABC show Grey's Anatomy, reports Nanfang City Daily quoting an inside source. The report said that CCTV has not decided when to broadcast the show."
"Baidu sued its former partnerships manager, who joined Google in 2006, for revealing business secrets to Google. Hearings have already been held for the case on December 14, 2006 and January 15, 2007, said the insider."
"When train is approaching, there are broadcast to notify people about the number of train carts in the coming train, so people don't need to wait before the rest of the gates, where there will be no train carts."
"If the Chinese Government is angry or displeased with the Japanese film being released this year called ‘The Truth about Nanjing”, then they are hiding it very well. ... [D]irector Satoru Mizushima ... announced that was going to produce the ... film to as he says, 'Correct the errors of history'."
"GAPP's deputy director Wu Shulin produced a list of banned books from 2006 and threatened to slap publishers who defy the ban with stiff financial penalties. Of the eight books on the list, seven were blackballed because their contents 'stepped over the line.'"
"GAPP has responded to reports that it banned eight books in January. Singapore's Lianhe Zaobao quotes a representative of the Administration's Department of Books and Publishing: 'The issue of banning is nonexistent; this time we have not banned a single book.'"
"Rape of Nanking - Nanjing Massacre. Japanse Atrocities in Asia. Part I of 2. This documentary is based on 20 years research and consists entirely of archival photos and film-clips."
"Chinese authorities are considering setting up a non-bank money exchange outlet in Shanghai, as China pushes for free conversion of renminbi into foreign currencies, a government source said yesterday."
"Many couples just come to get the certificate with casual dress on, and no friends or family members in attendance. We'd like to remind people that actually getting the marriage certificate is divine and solemn."
"The Dalai Lama accused Beijing today of using a new railway link to flood Tibet with beggars, prostitutes and the unemployed, destroying its culture and traditions."
"Omega have signed a contract to be the title sponsor for the tournament's move to Mission Hills in China through to 2018 and it is hoped that with a powerful backer of this magnitude, the event will regain some of its flagging prestige. "
"Your source for Xinjiang Info"
"Shanghai's three best brewers of coffee were chosen at a competition in the city yesterday, based on their ability to brew up a good cup of espresso, cappuccino and their own signature blend."
"The city had nine Grade 3, or 'slightly polluted, days in January, three times last year's monthly average, the environmental bureau said yesterday."
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Heroine or Criminal?
The Straits Times today tells us about 27 year old Liu Qian who "has been feted as a modern-day heroine, held up as a role model for women, and won the hearts of thousands across China". For the past eight years, Liu was the mistress of Yao Chuanrui, a former manager of a Shenzhen-based state-owned company, who had been detained by police for questioning over the alleged embezzlement of RMB70 million.
Extra! Extra! Mumbai, jailed reporters and self-immolation
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Foreign cartoons banned from Chinese TV during 'golden hours'
CNN reports that foreign cartoons will banned from Chinese TV during the "golden hours" of 5-8 pm, effective September 1.
Batten down the hatches!
The Beaufort scale defines force 8 winds as: "39-46mph. Twigs broken from trees. Cars veer on road."
Meter-deep water floods part of Huaihai Lu
At approximately 1:30 this morning, a section of Huaihai Zhong Lu was flooded by what Shanghaiist suspects was a broken water main. Local residents -- Shanghaiist included -- trudged up the sidewalk in waist-deep murky brown water to higher ground. The area affected seemed to begin around the corner of Wulumuqi Lu, by the old US Consulate building, and continue past Ambassy Court down to the Shanghai Library. At least one Dazhong taxi was stranded in the center of the street where the water was about one meter deep. Police cars blocked the street as officers looked on in bewildered amazement.
Shop Talk: Speed Cat Bicycle on Xiangyang Lu
Bikes get stolen in Shanghai. Sure, they go missing in New York, or Seattle, but Shanghai seems to have less respect for the lock than most metropoli. When our cute orange folding bike turned up missing last week, Shanghaiist went a bit crazy. While many bike theft victims purchase progressively cheaper bikes, following the theory that "this one's so garbage no one could possibly want it," we went the opposite direction. Walking past Speed Cat Bicycle (site in Chinese) every day might have been the reason. In a tiny little shop that would be comfortable in any US college town, Speed Cat is instantly recognizable by the pile of half-assembled frames outside.
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