Tibetan poet Woeser, called "the poet who forgot to be afraid," speaks out against the Chinese government's repression of human rights in this short clip by Al Jazeera English. According to Al Jazeera, during "crackdowns" on Tibetan dissidents in March, Woeser's Internet blogs were among the few sources of information from the sealed-off region. She is now prohibited from leaving the country; Chinese officials refuse to issue her a passport. She is not allowed......

Photo courtesy of Danwei. A new ad campaign for Amnesty International has Chinese Netizens seeing red, according to The Wall Street Journal. The campaign, designed by TBWA Worldwide, features Chinese athletes being tortured by Chinese authorities. It reads at the bottom: "After the Olympic Games, the fight for human rights must go on." WSJ reports bloggers demanding the boycott of all TBWA ads, as well as suggesting that all Chinese employees at TBWA resign......

It won’t just be athletes and tourists descending on Beijing for the Olympics — an estimated 25,000 foreign journalists will be coming to the city to provide coverage for the event. We’ve already mentioned some of the tools being offered to the reporters, but a new report by New York organization Human Rights Watch released yesterday makes it clear how badly those resources may be needed. The report alleges that the Chinese government has violated......

After serving more than ten years of a 16-year term, U.S. entrepreneur Jude Shao was released on Wednesday from Shanghai's Qingpu Prison. Shao was arrested in 1998 and convicted of tax evasion and fraud. Following his imprisonment, Shao's former classmates from the Stanford Graduate School of Business led a campaign for his freedom (their homepage on the right), and many members of Congress and the Bush administration repeatedly called for his release. Shao's release......

For those with little money and fewer scruples, a new business is taking off in town — wedding venue scalping. With this being the popular marriage year of the Olympics and lucky number 8, demand for reception spaces has been at an unprecedented high throughout the city, forcing many to contact the new wedding banquet resale moguls who reserve spaces in advance and charge desperate couples a fee to use them.A Hong-Kong based human......

With the upcoming Olympics and the subsequent global attention, the government obviously wants the nation to look its best, which in China sometimes translates to quashing dissent. Two European-based human rights groups working together as the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders recently published a report declaring that the government has stepped up attempts to quiet dissidents, citing four people arrested for Olympic Games protests, including Hu Jia, who was sentenced to three......

Xinhua has an interesting opinion piece about the recent unbanning on mobile phones and computers in Cuba. First, the title of the article: 从免于匮乏的自由开始 meaning "Starting with the freedom from want". The political significance of the phrase "freedom from want" comes from Franklin D. Roosevelt's State of the Union address, and comes, as we say nowadays, bundled with three other freedoms: speech and expression, religion, and fear. After reviewing history, the author then begins to......

美国数以百万计未成年少女沦为性奴隶_国际时事_新闻_腾讯网 via kwout 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. What somewhat pisses us off is the headline, which blatantly contradicts the first paragraph.......

From Al-Jazeera English:The Beijing Olympics are still 5 months away but they're attracting attention for all the wrong reasons. Human rights campaigners have been staging protests, demanding China be called to account for its human rights record in Tibet. Owen Fay reports on protests designed to place pressure on Beijing. Related stories: New York Times: Tibetan Marchers Arrested in India AHN: Tibetan Exiles Embark On Hunger Strike In India To Protest Against Arrests International Herald......

Anti-China exiles ready for Tibet trek [AFP] "Tibetan exiles in India were set to begin marching to their homeland Monday as part of protests marking the Dalai Lama's escape from China in 1959 and the run-up to the Beijing Olympics."China's International Schools are Growing [US-China Today] "Christiana Lilly is not your typical American girl. As the daughter of a diplomat, her world and life experiences extend far beyond the United States. Between Taiwan, Singapore, Burma,......

In an unexpected turn of events, China has announced that is willing to throw face to the wind and reenter human rights talks with the USA. ``The Chinese side is willing to keep contact with the U.S. in all areas,'' Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi said today at the end of a Beijing press conference with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, neither elaborating nor giving her the chance to respond. ``We're ready to resume......

Just three days after Straits Times journalist Ching Cheong regained his freedom, China has released yet another media man — Yu Huafeng (喻华峰), general manager and deputy editor of the Southern Metropolis News《南方都市报》, the Guangzhou-based paper that is one of China's boldest and most critical papers. According to AP, this is the Yu is the third journalist to be freed this month. Li Changqing (李长青), a former writer with Fuzhou Daily《福州日报》, was apparently released on......

Reuters: China urges flexibility from Iran and the West The Press Association: Brown in first visit to China as PM Reuters: UK's Brown urged to press China on human rights Reuters: China housing prices jump 10.5% in December AFP: Kung fu out in Beijing Olympic Games cold Taipei Times: Beijing, not Huang, should be blamed: Chen The Times of India: China is India's largest trade ally Photo from 2 dogs......

China Daily: Beijing-Shanghai Railway to break ground mid-Jan Xinhua: Shanghai launches research center to study job-related crimes WSJ: China Punishes Violators Of One-Child Policy Reuters: China Party expels members for flouting one-child rule The Canadian Press: Canadian exports to China rise strongly, unaffected by human rights emphasis Xinhua: Beijing student commits suicide for 'hukou' Forbes: Taiwan president says opposition win could see island join China Photo from Ken Yip......

So we know that scientists get paid peanuts in China, but there's hope yet: China Daily ran article about an amended national law which allows scientists to report failures.:The law, for the first time, allows scientists to report failures during the process of innovation without harming their records in future funding applications. "The country encourages scientists and technicians to freely explore innovation and bravely shoulder risks," reads the bill. Scientists and technicians, who can provide......

What's happening around the nation as one year closes and another begins 2007 is definitely the year of angry students. After last month's bloody riot at the Hefei PLA Artillery Academy is a Christmas Eve clash in Tianjin's Nankai University, said to be among China's top ten universities. We all know the powers-that-be do not like angry students, so they will be watching this in 2008.In the above picture, laid off bank workers at the......

Our recruitment page has been updated! If you have a keen interest in journalism, new media and blogging and are looking for an internship that promises to be a rewarding experience, read on! Internship position: Editorial intern Shanghaiist is looking for interns with a keen interest in journalism, new media and blogging. They must possess excellent people skills, great phone etiquette and a talent for producing crisp, concise copy. Interns will be expected to possess......

From Reuters:A group of lawyers and human rights campaigners are objecting to China's "re-education through labour" system which allows China citizens to be sent to prison-like camps without trial. The government calls the system a humane corrective alternative to jail. But in practice, police use it to hold tens of thousands of people including protesters, thieves and addicts. In another parallel universe, there is the Internal Security Act inherited from the British by countries......

By Julien Bertrand: On his first official visit to China, French President Nicolas Sarkozy must have been dizzy, witnessing the signing of contracts worth 20 billion euros in total, comprising of 160 Airbus aircrafts, two EPR nuclear reactors (to be built in Taishan, Guangdong, by 2014) and signal equipment for Shanghai’s future 36-kilometer metro line #10, a long-awaited deal between Alstom and Shanghai Metro that will link New Jiangwan Town to Hongqiao Airport. In an......

Honestly, when China threw a shitfit after German chancellor Merkel met the Dalai Lama, we really didn't give a hoot, in part because we've given up on seeing our dream of Tibetan secession realized in our lifetimes. But one thing you might not have known is that this diplomatic contretemps spilled over to affect our fair city. There was supposed to be a week long symposium sponsored by Der Spiegel at the Duolun Museum......

Bottom line is China's new party line [AP] Christopher Bodeen of AP looks at Li Keqiang's chances of becoming the heir to President Hu Jintao.China's Communists to Elect New Leadership at 17th Congress [Bloomberg] China's Communist Party delegates will gather at their 17th Party Congress this week to amend a party charter, discuss political reforms and elect a new leadership. China plans vast national park in north west [AFP] China plans to establish its......

China unleashes cautious giant onto world's financial markets [AFP] The low-key ceremony that marked the launch of China Investment Corp. this weekend could reflect the cautious manner in which Beijing intends to unleash the largest fund in history onto the world's financial markets. Irish charity calls for boycott of Beijing Olympics [Belfast Telegraph] Irish charity Trocaire has called for a boycott of next year's Olympics in Beijing, to highlight China's failure to act on the......

Fresh off the press: A video of the secret police who watched over AIDS, environmental and democracy activist Hu Jia (胡嘉) day and night while they were under house arrest from July last year to March this year has just been released (h/t to CDT). Who is Hu Jia and why are the powers-that-be watching over him? Perhaps the best summary of Hu's trouble-making activities is found in a report by Jonathan Watts of the......

China to report military data to UN [Al Jazeera] China says it will provide the United Nations with information on its military spending and arms deals for the first time in more than a decade. Beijing launches food safety crackdown [Washington Post] Beijing is targeting unlicensed restaurants and checking the quality of many foods in a crackdown on unsafe products less than a year before the city welcomes hundreds of thousands of visitors to the......

Shanghai's booming subway [LA Times] The Chinese metropolis was even later than L.A. in building its system. But it is already big, with plans to make it the biggest within a decade. Shanghai: Art Deco capital - for now [The Telegraph] Just as Shanghai's priceless architectural legacy is gaining overdue recognition, it faces new threats from developers, reports Richard Spencer. Don't exaggerate product quality issues--China [The Inquirer] Concerns about the quality and safety of products......

Gold, silver, bronze? Nah. According to Bloomberg.com athletes the world over have smog on their minds when it comes to the quadrennial Olympics competition next year in Beijing. Gunn-Rita Dhale, Norway’s reigning world champion for women’s mountain biking had this to say about her future host city, It's probably the most polluted place I've ever competed. Your mouth and throat dry up because of the dust. It's not good for the system. Clearly, Ms. Dhale......

In just three hours ago from a Reuters report:Three underground priests - Liang Aijun, Wang Zhong and Gao Jinbao - who have been unwilling to join China's Catholic Patriotic Church have been detained by plain clothes police in Inner Mongolia, having fled there from neighboring Hebei province, a Catholic stronghold. From the article: [Joseph Kung of the Cardinal Kung Foundation] said he did not know if the men have been charged. Another underground priest, Cui......

In a report just released an hour ago, Reuters tells us that Shanghai housing rights activist, Chen Xiaoming, who was one of seven Chinese activists awarded the 2006 Housing Rights Defender Award by the Geneva-based Centre for Housing Rights and Evictions, "has died hours after he was released on medical parole". From the Reuters report: Shanghai authorities had repeatedly rejected applications by Chen Xiaoming's family to release him on parole for treatment for a chronic......

Kathmandu, Nepal - Living goddess loses status A 10-year-old Nepalese girl was stripped of her title as a living goddess because she traveled overseas to promote a documentary about the centuries-old tradition, an official said Tuesday. Singapore - Longer-term worry is talent: SM Goh Singapore's current property bubble is a short-term phenomenon that is not a cause for worry, said Singapore's Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong, neither is rising costs as it will mean......

China's west swelters under record high temperatures. Westernmost China's Xinjiang region was under a blistering heatwave Sunday, with the mercury hitting as high as 44.8 degrees Celsius (112.6 degrees Fahrenheit) in Turpan city, a local official said. Analysts warn China vulnerable to a Japan-style debt meltdown. Today, China could be ripe for a crisis of its own that might resemble the collapse of Japan's "Bubble Economy" in the early 1990's and have enormous global impact,......