Just after midnight, bullet shots went through a BMW's window in a carjack attempt, eventually slaying two Chinese graduate students, Ying Wu and Ming Qu, near the University of Southern California (USC) campus.
Two Chinese students shot dead after carjacking attempt near USC
Daily LA to Shanghai flights on American Airlines this April
Starting April 5, American Airlines will have daily flights from Los Angeles to Shanghai, making it easier to get from one large, sprawling, smoggy city to another! Currently only China Eastern Airlines flies this route, even though it is the largest air travel market between the US and China. American already flies daily from Chicago to Beijing and Shanghai.
Today's Links: The military budget, Australian hostages in Xi'an and smog measures
China's premier on Wednesday extolled the prosperity the Communist government has brought to many Chinese, yet he sounded an alarm that inflation could derail the country's rapid emergence.
'David Beckham show' a snoozer in Shanghai
Shanghai East Asia Hong Kong United 0 – 3 LA Galaxy
Match of the Day: Shanghai East Asia vs. LA Galaxy
The match is part of the Galaxy’s pre-season tour of East Asia and will also serve as a prelude to the start of the new domestic season in China later this month. Pre-season showpiece games aren’t usually noted for being particularly exciting, but then, for a lot of people, this match isn’t really about the football – it’s about catching a glimpse of David Beckham. As reported yesterday however, it’s still unclear whether the former England captain, currently marooned on 99 caps for his country, will be risked for the match given his history of injury problems since moving to LA last year.
The pitch at the Shanghai Stadium sucks...
... and if the problem is not sorted out in time, Chinese fans may not get to see David Beckham this Wednesday, says Ruud Gullit, head coach of the LA Galaxy.
David Beckham raises a stir in Shanghai
David Beckham was swarmed by fans and journalists when he arrived yesterday at the Pudong airport with the LA Galaxy on the second stop of their three-part Asian tour. The team has just arrived from Seoul, where they were defeated by FC Seoul despite Beckham's stellar performance. The team faces off China All-Star Union at the Shanghai Stadium this Wednesday, March 5 at 7:30 pm. For those of you hoping to catch some Beckham-mania, rumours are that the team will stay at the Hilton, you know, the hotel that was spurned by some girl called Paris?
Spielberg boycotts Beijing (Gebrselassie, too?)
Steven Spielberg's decision to withdraw from arranging the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2008 Olympics caused press around the world (except for China) to rub their hands with glee this week at the prospect of China's dirty laundry being flown from the flagpoles of Beijing.
Tidbits: Dumplings, MP3s, online videos and kosher food
- Japanese investigators have found 'no abnormality' at the dumpling factory in Hebei Province at the centre of a food safety scare in Japan after hundreds of people suffered from pesticide poisoning from eating the dumplings. Traces of pesticide were found on the outside of the dumplings and not in the fillings, leading investigators to point to "deliberate poisoning, rather than accidental contamination". This idea, however, has been rejected by Chinese experts.
- The world's most powerful music labels — Universal Music, Sony BMG (HK) and Warner Music (HK) — have taken Baidu to court in Beijing for not removing links they say infringe on their copyrights. In a related ruling in December, the three firms lost their case against Sohu and Sogou. Meanwhile, Google is preparing to crack China open in the digital music arena. It is in talks with Universal to offer music downloads here. EMI and Sony BMG may join the deal.
- A statement from China's State Administration of Radio, Film and Television and the Ministry of Information Industry has clarified that the controversial new rules requiring online-video companies to be state-controlled don't apply to already-established Web sites, offering hope to privately-owned video startups such as Youku and Tudou which have raised tens of millions of dollars from venture capitalists.
Take me out to the ballgame
Earlier we had reported that America's favorite pastime might soon be making its Chinese debut and now it's official. The China Series 2008, as its being called, will feature two games between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Diego Padres on March 15-16. The games will be held at Beijing's Wukesong Baseball Field, which will also be used for the upcoming Olympics. No word yet on when tickets will be available or how much they will be.
Dodgers, Padres to play in Beijing
According to Major League Baseball's official website, the LA Dodgers and San Diego Padres have committed to playing two exhibition games in Beijing's Olympic stadium next March. The games, scheduled tentatively for the weekend of March 15-16 at the Wukesong baseball stadium, are part of an MLB outreach to Asian baseball fans. The effort also includes season opening games between the Oakland A's and reigning champion Boston Red Sox at the Tokyo Dome, and a...
More bragging rights for China as it launches its first lunar orbiter
Excitement is palpable among the crowd as China launched its first lunar orbiter, the Chang'e One satellite (named after the goddess of the moon 嫦娥), half a century after the Russians became the first to set out to space.
Busdriver kicked out of Canada (on his way to China)
Comments below don’t necessarily represent the Shanghaiist’s point of view or opinion regarding the Canadian government (we don't want them to hold a grudge and kick us out of Canada too!)… we just received it recently from the Busdriver promoter and thought it was kind of funny… shows are still on in Beijing and Shanghai…..and we are as giddy as a school boy in the girls locker room to see Busdriver play live!
Today's Links: Hong Kongers rally for democracy, Typhoon Krosa and the 'Made in India' challenge
A powerful storm drenched China's southeast coast Sunday after killing five people on Taiwan and prompting the mainland to evacuate more than 1 million people, the government announced.
Today's Links: Web addiction, Olympic pigs and Neanderthals
Li Heping, an outspoken Chinese lawyer said Wednesday he was abducted and beaten for hours, and accused of causing unrest by representing clients with complaints of official corruption and police abuse.
Shanghai October Music Festival news
September is quickly sliding into history, which means for all us music fans that the orgy of music festivals Shanghai will experience in the first weeks of October is almost upon us. And of course Shanghaiist is here to bring you the latest in festival news.....
Today's Links: Forced prostitution, Chinese pirates and Shanghai property
CNN's John Vause says he's lost 10 pounds in recent weeks as reports of tainted food have come out in China.
A new bishop for Beijing?
It has been three weeks since Pope Benedict XVI issued his first letter to mainland Chinese Catholics which stirred up a wide range of sentiments, and since then observers have been eagerly watching for the first signs of Beijing's response to the letter.
Bai Ling harbors fantasy that she is literate, publishing a book
Plucky film star / delusional hologram Bai Ling—she of Shanghai Baby, multiple personalities, frequent public nudity, and one monstrously awkward dancefloor seizure caught on tape—announced yesterday that a tell-all memoir is in the works, and slated to publish with HarperCollins.
Construction of Shanghai-Hangzhou maglev halted
It was reported this weekend that the much ballyhooed 25-minutes-from-Shanghai-to-Hangzhou maglev train, which was supposed to be fully operational around 2010, has been delayed. Indefinitely. Which makes us ask, how much longer are we going to have to wait to be ushered into the sci-fi utopia of the 21st century that we spent most of the 20th century dreaming about?
This Week In -ist: Elsewhere in the Gothamist Network
We're guessing most of you are hungover from St. Patrick's Day. We are too. But still, we're going to muddle on through our green haze and give you (drum roll please...) this Week In -ists.
This Week In -ist: Elsewhere in the Gothamist Network
With the sun out, the temperatures high, one can only think of one thing-- what's going on in the World of the -ist's?
Opening day disaster for Shenhua
Yesterday, for the first time since China launched it's professional football league in 1994, Beijing Guoan beat Shanghai Shenhua on their own turf.
This Week In -ist: Elsewhere in the Gothamist Network
Spring appears to have, er, sprung, at least temporarily, in most of the Ist-A-Verse, so naturally, we're all feeling pretty good. (Yes, we know that spring doesn't start till later this month. Just let us enjoy our weather!) And that makes us that much more eager to share all of the nifty things we're up to...
This week in -ist: Elsewhere in the Gothamist network:
star Adrian Grenier, who misses NYC public transportation when he's working in LA. They also reported on NYU students protesting a band whose name is also known as a slur, the new graffiti king in town, Bill Cosby's adorable dog, and the disturbing tale of a yoga instructor who was found guilty of killing his girlfriend, a dancer from Ohio who stripped to make ends meet.
This Week In -ist: Elsewhere in the Gothamist Network
As the world holds it's breath, teetering precariously on the cusp of the Super Bowl (well, at least in America), the wheels of the -ists keep on turning.

