If you've not been living under a rock recently, you've heard the story of the 18-year-old mother in Oklahoma who, armed with a shotgun and handgun, shot and killed an intruder after 911 said she should "do what you have to do to protect your [3-month-old] baby." The story is currently the #1 story on Weibo with over 11,000 forwards and, no surprises here, netizens totally would've shot the intruder too (if they had guns). more ›

Thanks to Mao, gun violence is practically unheard of in China - the closest we've probably come to a drive-by is the snap, crackle and pop of New Year's firecrackers. But recently, there's been an increase in gun-related crimes, with police having to confront more armed suspects. more ›

Can anyone tell us what these kungfu kids should do when faced with a knife-wielding mad man? Wouldn't it be better to just arm them with guns already?
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Now that the suspects have been rounded up and everything has settled down a bit, we can confirm that the shooting in Shanghai's Putuo district on Friday was a fatal clash between two gangs. All in all, four homemade (homemade?) guns were confiscated and 10 people were detained, of which two have now passed away from gunshot wounds. While police would give no more explanation than that the argument was over a dispute, Shanghai Daily speculated that it was a drug deal gone wrong. The last time we saw a shooting was way back in 2002, and there were two injuries. Source: Xinhua more ›

It's not just the United States that has a gun problem. China too is now fighting a tough battle against illegal guns and explosives. While Chinese citizens are prohibited from owning guns, gunfights and gun murders are increasingly being heard of. Guns are now fashionable in paintings and on television, and legal shooting clubs allow you to fire away at targets for a fee. Recent reports are now suggesting that some of the illegals guns originating from China are now making their way overseas to places like Mexico. 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 ›

They say the Germans invented the art of bureaucracy but the Chinese perfected it. This may be true if a recently compiled list on Tianya forum is anything to go by — it contains over 3,000 permits/licences/fees a Chinese citizen may be subjected to through the course of his/her life. China Digital Times translates just a handful of them, and as they correctly pointed out, some sound reasonable while others just make you go huh:... more ›

Even a hundred TV-shows cannot hide that something is seriously wrong in the way quality control is done in this country. And yes, there is now a fair amount of China-bashing going on, but that is very well deserved China-bashing. But the question what Mattel, and other companies, have been doing to stop this scandalous export of faulty products is a question that is all too easy ignored. Of course it is awful that millions of American children might be in danger when they bite on their toys, but has anybody already looked after the thousands of Chinese workers who have been painting those toys? They must have been exposed to much higher dangerous levels of lead than any of the children involved... It is shocking to see that Mattel get almost the role of a victim, instead of that of at least a fellow conspirator.

• China to be world's third largest economy
  China's sizzling economy grew even faster in 2006 than previously reported, the government said Wednesday, moving it closer to overtaking Germany as the world's third-largest and possibly adding to fears of overheating.


• China falling short on energy-saving goals
  China is falling short of its goals in a campaign to boost energy efficiency in its fuel-guzzling economy - the world's No. 2 oil consumer - but is starting to make progress, the government said Thursday.


• China "Liantong" condom makes the right connection
  A condom trademark named after telecommunications giant China Unicom has been approved by the Chinese government's trademark office.

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The hostage crisis at the Putuo KFC two nights ago was a shining triumph for the Shanghai police, who managed to kill the bad guy and save the migrant worker's little four-year-old girl. Now, you can relive the glory with this account of the proceedings (in Chinese). Although we would have preferred to see Samuel L. Jackson or Kevin Spacey handle something of this danger, there was some local talent on hand. One of the negotiators dressed up and pretended to be the store manager, but to no avail. A female special forces officer also dressed up as a KFC employee and brought food and drink, but evidently, someone didn't do the chicken right, because the hostage-taker got nervous. The special forces officer had a gun stuffed in her pants but decided that this wasn't the best moment to use it. more ›

From the Scotsman:

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Chinese quality watchdogs have seized 46 toy guns from a Wal-Mart store in Shanghai because they looked "too realistic", state media reported on Thursday. more ›

We imagine we aren't the only people a little skeptical of the armor-clad and heavily armed guards that accompany the vehicles that transport money to and an from various banks in China. The guards are almost always very young and fresh-faced and look as though they might have, the day before, occupied a seat at a local internet bar playing Counter-Strike and urinating in an empty Coke bottle. We always try to steer clear of these guys, assuming their guns are really loaded and their trigger fingers itchy. And after reading this graphic account (in Chinese) of an incident that happened about a week ago outside a China Construction Bank in Shenyang, Liaoning province, we're sure you will do the same. more ›

Call us stupid (you wouldn't be the first person) but we were kind of confused upon reading this Shanghai Daily story: more ›

As 2006 ends and 2007 begins, the -ists look back not at the past week, but at the past year. So here it is, your Best of 2006 Spectacular. And from all of us at the -ists, happy New Year! more ›

That's what one report suggests is happening, as certain domestic Chinese brands are unable to renew their contracts on Nanjing Lu despite being willing to pay whatever increase in rent was necessary. more ›

It seems that charming Shanghai has become the creative and commercial object of affection for yet another famous Tom (after Cruise and Friedman, of course) and is now featured as one of the backdrops for Ubisoft’s Splinter Cell: Double Agent. The fourth title in the Splinter Cell series is newly available on the Xbox 360, the Nintendo Wii, and the PC, and bears the name and coveted approval of noted author, bass fisherman and Sith Lord Tom Clancy. more ›

Regarding yesterday's afternoon siesta taken by Shanghai's Pudong International Airport, one informed reader offered the following scenario: more ›

Torontoist has some awesome, cutting edge news: A movie is being made about a gay hockey player - filmmakers even got approval from the NHL and the Toronto Maple Leafs! Also awesome: Toronto's "Do the Sneeze Sleeve Campaign". And most awesome is this dreamy photograph of Toronto's skyline in fog. more ›

is a hit. It's getting rave reviews, grossing millions, and definitely the most quotable thing we've seen in ages. But Borat seems to have missed most of the -ist cities, and we were all wondering how the film would have been different if he'd made his way around the world on the -ist tour. more ›

We'd heard a lot of hype about Hong Kong director Johnnie To's (杜棋峰) new film Exiled (放逐), not least of all because it was one of three Chinese language films that competed at the Venice Film Festival (against new works by Jia Zhangke and Tsai Ming-liang). more ›

Phillyist rejoices in the Phillies' wild card chances, mourns the injuries sustained by Eagles defensive end Jevon Kearse, and goes pirate on our asses. more ›

As a kid, Shanghaiist was a video arcade fiend. Looking fondly back on that Golden Age of video game entertainment, plenty of hard earned allowance and Chinese New Year money would have been better off being saved in a bank account rather than being flushed down a coin slot. The Mortal Kombat bloodlust was just too strong to resist! Remember that ego-inflating boost of self-esteem that came with whupping someone's ass for only 25 cents? If you are in need of a reminder, then it would be wise to make your way to the newly opened Sega Player's Arena in People's Square (as previously mentioned). more ›

Admittedly, we attended the Black Eyed Peas show with a detached sense of superiority -- but ask anyone, even those of us who don’t “get” hip-hop, it was, to quote the girl behind us, “a show that made my summer”. Parts of the show that made us forget about those annoying glow sticks? more ›

Yesterday when Shanghaiist arrived at work, the boss said, "pick up a copy of yesterday's China Daily. They've got a story about the gun holdup on [colleague's name]'s flight to Beijing." more ›

LAist has so much fun this week! They go to E3, where they overhear the timeless remark "Man, this is where nerdy girls get laid." Is that a promise? They also give us this week's best CDs and make us realize that LA is the best place to use Zillow. more ›

Shanghaiist probably knows a little more about China than the Chicago Sun-Times. Giving them the benefit of the doubt on that one. The city does to have a music scene. Don't even front like they don't. They also have Dorito bananas. What they don't have is any more tolerance for jaywalkers. more ›

Have you ever heard of Henrik Stenson? He's a very good golfer, but not exactly a household name (unless, of course, you are from Sweden). He is, however, the highest ranked golfer participating in this week's BMW Asian Open in Shanghai. Ernie Els, Luke Donald and David Howell all pulled out of the tournament, citing one ailment or another. It's leading some to wonder: Are the world's top athletes allergic to Shanghai? You may remember the mass exodus of top names at the ATP Tennis Masters Cup last fall. And more recently, many of the big guns did not make the trip to the World Short Course Swimming Championships. The South China Morning Post has taken to calling this the "Shanghai Sickness" -- we always thought that was food poisoning. Anyway, here's a list of athletes that don't seem to be current on their Shanghai shots: more ›

Kerry Shen, model more ›