29 Chinese fishermen kidnapped by North Koreans have finally been freed and are now home in China. more ›

Vice President Joe Biden has been appointed by the White House to orchestrate the China policy in the upcoming years, a change considered quite practical since Biden's Chinese counterpart, Vice Premier Xi Jinping, is most likely to ascend as China's new president next year. more ›

"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 ›

Just days after Ai Weiwei's release from prison, prominent activist Hu Jia and the four individuals who'd been taken away on account of their relationships to the artist Ai Weiwei have been released. Hu was released after completing a three and half year sentence for state subversion. His wife, Zeng Jinyan confirmed that he arrived home at 2:40am today through her Twitter account. more ›

"We urge the so-called 'U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom' to abandon its prejudices, respect facts and stop intervening in China's domestic affairs by means including issuing reports" more ›

Photos via news.163.com more ›

Sha Zukang, the same Chinese top UN official whose drunken rant against Ban Ki-moon and the United States a few weeks ago made headlines, has just given a "Global Harmony" award to Chi Haotian, the general in charge of the infamous crackdown on protesters in 1989. It remains unclear whether Sha gave the award as an acting UN official, and also whether he plans to continue doing/saying things his colleagues most definitely would not be fond of. more ›

Taiwan-based NextMedia seems to be moving from its more tabloid fodderesque news topics to well... actual news topics, but they're keeping the hilarious, irreverent tone. Case in point: their newest video carefully but quickly outlines the entire Diaoyu Islands conflict - from the initial arrest of a Chinese fisherman to the mysterious panda death to the unlikeliness that any of this will really matter in a couple of months. more ›

"I know you never liked me Mr. Secretary-General -- well, I never liked you, either... I didn't want to come to New York. It was the last thing I wanted to do. But I've come to love the U.N. and I'm coming to admire some things about you..." more ›

Recently, the American Chamber of Commerce in China filed a report saying that China was using increasingly discriminatory rules to reduce access to previously open areas of its economy. While that's true, it's also a very hypocritical complaint considering recent U.S. actions to restrict Chinese companies from investing in their native stock, according to Jack Perkowski of Managing the Dragon. more ›

The G20 summit in Toronto ended on Sunday after tulmultuous negotiations inside, and even more tumultuous stand offs outside. U.S. President Barack Obama challenged China's commitment to "rebalancing the world economy," but ultimately the U.S. was declared a loser in the talks and China a winner. more ›

Imitation may well be the greatest form of flattery but China have failed to charm Russia with their new J11-B Fighter jet. Of course, it doesn't help that China rejected the Russian Sukhoi-Su-27 design, challenging its ability to meet their requirements. Good job the latest Chinese release looks nothing like the original Russian version then...
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We knew Russians were a big fan of Eurovision, that cheesy but extremely popular songfest that pits various European and Eurasian nations against each other in a country-by-country sing off, but we didn't realize how much. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is now urging China to join a song competition of its own - this time between Russia, them and other Central Asian nations. more ›

Yeesh, speaking of propaganda, it seems that China Daily has an entire section devoted solely to foreign dignitaries wishing China, among other things, a happy birthday and a bright future. more ›

So admittedly we're not an expert in India-China relations, but last we checked, they weren't exactly sour. Sure, we're not best buddy-buds with our neighbors to the South, but we seem to back each other up a lot on certain issues (like climate change). more ›

Another day, another clash at sea between the U.S. Navy and Chinese fishing boats. This time around, the USNS Victorious was harassed by two Chinese vessels who maneuvered “dangerous[ly]” around it in the Yellow Sea. more ›

• Child sex scandal involves teachers, officials [Shanghai Daily] "Eight people, including six government officials and teachers, will go on trial for their involvement in a child prostitution scandal affecting a dozen primary and middle school students in southwest China. The Guizhou police launched an investigation after receiving a complaint on August 15 last year from a mother who said her 13-year-old daughter, Li Yu, had been raped after being duped by a classmate, Wang Qing, in Xishui County. The investigation then uncovered a conspiracy which saw girl students being forced into prostitution."
• Mainland tourist apologizes for graffiti in Taiwan under public pressure [Xinhua] "A Chinese mainland tourist who has been lambasted on the Internet for carving his name on a rock face in a Taiwan scenic area apologized to the public on Thursday for his misbehavior. Zhao Genda, a 63-year-old pensioner from Changzhou City, Jiangsu Province, gained instant notoriety after Taiwan TV reported that he carved his name and that of his hometown on the rock face at Taipei Yeliu Geopark on Friday."
• Can China be green by 2020? [BBC] "China's unprecedented economic growth over the past 30 years has come at a huge cost to the environment. The damage has not only been to the air the Chinese breath or the water in their rivers, but also to its reputation across the world. But there are signs that China may now be serious about tackling pollution to prove to the world that it can develop while causing less damage to the environment."

Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner on Meet the Press.