• “Zhejiang University Girl” Exposed By Human Flesh Search [Chinasmack] "On the evening of April 11th, through the human flesh search of netizens, the person who concocted “Zhejiang University Girl” came forward to apologize. The netizen passing as Zhejiang University Girl is “河谷渔风” ["He Gu Yu Feng"], from Jinhua in Zhejiang province, a male, born 1976 December 17. He admitted “Zhejiang University Girl” was fabricated. Reporters contacted and interviewed “河谷渔风”. “Writing this post was simply a fenqing vent. In the beginning it was posted on Tianya, there was no intention to target Zhejiang University, and even less to point at Professor Zheng Qiang.”"
• After Olympics, national spirit soars while human rights lag [USATODAY] "Not everyone agrees the billions spent on hosting the Summer Games was worthwhile. "I hoped the Olympic Games could improve my life, but they only brought disaster," says Zhang Wei, whose home was demolished in 2006 to make way for an Olympic makeover project just south of Tiananmen Square. She applied for a permit to protest but instead was sent to detention for a month. "The police told me it was because I told the truth about the demolition of my property to journalists," she says."
• Will Ditching The9 Help World Of Warcraft Get Past Chinese Censors? [Business Insider] "Starting in June, NetEase (NTES) will get exclusive operating rights to run the game in mainland China, replacing Blizzard's longtime partner The9 (NCTY), according to reports in Chinese media. Hopefully a new partner will help Blizzard through what's been a difficult period in its relations with the Chinese government. Blizz's latest Warcraft expansion, Wrath of the Lich King, still isn't on sale in China."

Despite some unfavorable reviews, Jackie Chan is currently riding high on the success of his mega-blockbuster Forbidden Kingdom. As such, many are overlooking his brilliant work currently gracing the international satellite television waves. But no longer. This clip comes from a recent ad campaign by the Hong Kong Travel Association (HKTA), a push to bring more attention to the city hosting the Olympic Games' ever-popular equestrian events that will no doubt help to revitalize the long-dormant talking horse genre (See: Mr. Ed and Hot to Trot). more ›

The idea is simple: get five internationally reknowned directors to make short, impressionistic films about Beijing, showing the people of Beijing in their everyday lives and as they prepare for the Olympics—and in the kindest light possible. The five filmmakers were: Patrice Leconte (France), Andrew Lau (Hong Kong/China), Majid Majidi (Iran), Giuseppe Tornatore (Italy), and Daryl Goodrich (UK). You can find a rundown of each film's style and content as well as a link to each one.Whatever their differences in style and subject matter, they are all undeniably and unforgivably cheesy, like postcards of moving images. They remind us of those insipid China Eastern Airlines commercials—except worse—because you have to take into account that these were made by men (not a woman in the bunch) that have, at some point in their lives, made films that were actually fit for human consumption.There's a little voice inside our head that tells us that no one likes the guy that takes things a bit too seriously and can't see the light-hearted side of things—it's the Olympics after all, and Pollyannish is to be expected, Olympic-colored balloons can and should rise and form the Olympic rings in the azure sky. At the same time, there was another little voice in our head that it's also okay for us to slightly downgrade our respect for directors, renowned or not, that strew this kind of filmic excrement over our collective sidewalk. These artists are kinda sucking CCP cock, aren't they? Okay, we know this ain't Cannes, and that it might be considered an honor by some to be allowed to make promotional films for the Olympic Games. But seriously, is banality the new language of ideology? Please, show us more people striking on drums and practicing tai-chi in the park. And throw in some cute little Chinese kids while you're at it. Sorry, < /end_rant_here >. We'll start taking our meds again, we promise. more ›

"China's inflation likely hit a new 11-year high of 8.3 percent last month on the back of rising food prices, state media reported Sunday, triggering speculation of a modest hike in interest rates." more ›

A few weeks ago, Richard Brubaker of All Roads Lead to China reported:

I just received an email from a friend who said that they were being told they could not renew their F visa fro within China anymore. A quick Skype to another confirmed that F visas cannot be extended past the Olympics.

With all the bad press surrounding Steven Spielberg's Olympic boycott, Beijing seems to be scrambling to action to diffuse all the negative publicity by wooing a most unlikely target, the Pope. From Michael Sheridan of the Sunday Times (UK):

TEMPTED by the prize of a historic visit to China by Pope Benedict XVI, the nation’s leaders have authorised a renewed effort in confidential discussions with the Vatican to heal their rift and inaugurate diplomatic ties. more ›

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. more ›

By JFK Miller more ›

We told you about the possibility, but now it is OFFICIAL. China does want to be the next world power in cheerleading. We hear that a series of competitions are being held across schools and tertiary institutions, fitness centres and community clubs across China to select 200 cheerleaders for the Olympic Games. Before you know it, some of them will be mixing acrobatics into their cheerleading routine. more ›

The Times of India: China is India's largest trade ally more ›

Xinhua: Rule on living Buddhas aids religious freedom more ›

Cyber dissident Wang Dejia was arrested for "subverting state secrets" (what else?), which means penning too many articles critical of the government. Some of those critical essays pertained to the upcoming summer Olympics:

In recent months, Wang also gave an interview to the Epoch Times, a media group backed by the banned sect F@lun G0ng, in which he claimed the Olympics would exacerbate the sufferings of Chinese people and leave them "living like dogs and pigs." more ›

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  Shanghai wants 50 top minds every year
  
  
  “Local authorities are offering lucrative packages to lure leading academics to the city under a new scheme to help boost its competitiveness.”
  
  


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  Shanghai to launch int’l channel targeting foreigners
  
  
  “The ICS programs, covering news, information, fashion, entertainment, foreign TV shows and movies, will be aired in English and Japanese, with Chinese captions, for 19 hours a day.”
  
  


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  Shanghai GM to launch Buick LaCrosse hybrid prior to Olympic Games
  
  
  “The move will make Shanghai GM the third joint venture automaker to deliver a hybrid vehicle in China following Toyota and Honda. Toyota Motor Corp is currently the only carmaker that builds a hybrid car in China.”


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  China Eastern to resume Shanghai-Saipan flights
  
  
  “China Eastern will resume its twice weekly Shanghai-Saipan flights starting Jan. 11, 2006, close to five months after the charter flights were suspended because of the decline of tourists coming in from China.”
  
  


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  China to survey dialects to better protect them | World | Reuters
  
  
  “A focus will be the Shanghai dialect … ‘As more and more young people in Shanghai use the dialect to communicate online, and as its vocabulary expands, it will be standardised and promoted as a distinct local language.’”
  
  


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  China’s New Bestseller: The Bible
  “Amity has churned out 41 million Bibles for Chinese believers at its plant outside … Nanjing, including more than 3 million copies last year. (About nine million copies have been exported to Africa, other parts of Asia and Central Europe.)”
• 5 nabbed in whisky sting
  “Police have arrested five people alleged to have duped a Swedish man into paying nearly 5,000 yuan ($680) for coffee and whisky during a recent business trip to the city.”
• Cyclists to race to top of city’s tallest tower on December 31
  “One contestant, Zhang Jincheng, the Guinness record keeper, is a 23-year-old from Wenzhou City, Zhejiang Province. His two challengers are 28-year-old Andorran Xavi Casas and 34-year-old Colombian Javier Zapata.”


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  City tightens protection for historic buildings
  
  
  “The city government issued new rules last week banning road expansion on most of the 144 downtown roads lined with historic houses. The rules also ban tall buildings from being built in conservation areas.”
  
  


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  blognation China
  
  
  China tech blog worth checking out.
  
  


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  China Web2.0 Review
  
  
  Another China tech blog.


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  China: Pollution map of China released
  
  
  “Just over a year since their first mashup was released, the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs, headed by journalist-environmentalist Ma Jun, has just released its Air Pollution Map, complete with its own BBS and space for feedback forum.”
  
  


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  Todd Crowned China’s Sole Survivor
  “The 22-year-old flight attendant and world-class schemer outwitted, outplayed and outlasted his competitors for 39 days to be crowned the $1 million winner of the reality show’s 15th edition and the youngest winner in the series’ history.” 15!
• Three Beijing buildings on Time magazine’s best list
  “Three architectures in Beijing are on the list of 10 best architectural marvels (new and upcoming) selected by the Time magazine to be published on the Dec. 24.” None from Shanghai.

According to the official countdown, the Beijing Olympics are about 240 days away and the pressure is mounting for China's athletes to bring home the bacon, especially in China's strongest events like ping pong, diving, and gymnastics. In traditional Chinese business fashion, gymnastics coaches are making their gymnasts sign a contract to stay injury-free and drug-free in preparation for the Games, according to this article from China Daily. In an unusual move to secure a... more ›

Looks like a high intensity lightning bolt hit someone at the China Daily recently that foreign journalists want to know the truth about China, so they decided to do an article to inform their readers, just in case they, erm, didn't already know. Here's an excerpt from the story:French journalist Caroline Puel wants to present the real China to her readers, who are eager to know more about the country with the Beijing Olympic Games... more ›

Hey all you laowai's out there — yes, you of the caucasoid and negroid variety (and for the record, none of those terms are derogatory) — China wants your blood! Earlier this year, we told you that Shanghai was looking for foreign blood, but this time it's Beijing, and it's for the Olympics! From the Guardian Unlimited:China's capital on Wednesday urged residents with a blood type rare among Chinese people but common among Caucasians and... more ›

China will offer religious services for foreigners arriving for the 2008 Olympic Games, an official in charge of religious affairs said. more ›

English teaching is big business in China, and everyone seems to be trying to cashing in on it — everyone from big global names such as Berlitz to local players with less than orthodox methods. Just look around you, students are literally devouring their English language textbooks (and dictionaries) — on the bus, in the fast-food restaurants and just about anywhere. One of the companies that has benefited greatly in the rising interest in English courses is English First, or EF which has been named as the Official Language Training Services Supplier of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. more ›

China issued a sweeping denunciation of Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian on Thursday, accusing him of stirring animosity between the sides to divert attention from his personal scandals. more ›

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. more ›

People who have made the news this week more ›

China's aviation authority, citing safety concerns, has announced plans to scale back flights at overstretched Beijing airports and ban the creation of new airlines before 2010. more ›

World's hairiest man / pop-star bids to join Beijing Olympic torch relay

Would you believe it? The world's hairiest man is a Chinese, and he is a rock-and-roll singer! Yu Zhenhuan, who has an average 41 hairs on every .4 square inch of his skin, and is now just recovering in Shanghai from an ear operation, says he wants to be part of the torch relay for next year's Beijing Summer Olympic Games.

Notorious NBA bad boy Yao Ming has done it again. He's late for national team training — and China's official sports association has made it clear they are sick and tired of his Rodmanesque antics: more ›

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. more ›

Although the Olympic Games are over a year away, a preview of what's to come next summer has arrived in Shanghai this week. Shanghai is the host for this year's Chinese National Gymnastics Championships, featuring some of China's best and brightest gymnasts. China's men's team AND women's team are the defending World Champions. The preliminary competitions finished up last weekend, with the team finals finishing today and tomorrow, and the individual competitions (all-around final and... more ›

From state media late last week: more ›

It's true, the outdated but once beloved term "W.C." is going to be flushed down the crapper of history (at least in Beijing) before the Olympics, to be replaced by the more widely-used "toilet." But more interesting than that is what they are planning on doing with road signs:

Also on the list are road signs. Use of the romanized form of Chinese, known as "pinyin," will be replaced by the actual English word, except for proper names, the newspaper added. Out will go Dong Changan Jie and in will come East Changan Avenue.

The city is getting ready to purchase three police helicopters, a security improvement leading up to the 2010 World Expo. The Shanghai force decided to go with Eurocopter instead of a domestic manufacture because, as the PSB director put it, ""Flying over Shanghai, a densely populated city with about 20 million residents, demands absolute security insurance." Here's more: more ›