As the death toll from a mine explosion this weekend in Heilongjiang rose to 104, relatives of miners killed have begun to protest outside of the mine entrance. Though China's Coal industry has gotten safer (only 1,175 people died in mines in the first half of this year, down nearly twenty percent from last year), the constant reoccurrence of deaths from poor safety conditions is nothing more than a tragic leitmotif. more ›

Meanwhile, the Chinese have reduced exports by over eight percent, idled more than 60 coal plants and announced they will lower import tariffs on the commodity, all because of shortages. It’s more than foreign competition and transport prices the country has to worry about — energy supplies within the PRC are dwindling to dangerous lows. We in Shanghai got a taste of what such scarcity might mean when blackouts struck the scorched city earlier this month. more ›