Zhang Renliang (张仁良), the former Jing'an district chief who was sacked last year in the wake of the devastating 2010 fire that ravaged an apartment building, killing 58 and injuring 71, has been given a political resurrection with his new appointment as deputy party secretary of Xinjiang's Kashgar prefecture. Zhang's new job comes just seven months after he was sacked from Jingan district, along with dozens of other officials that were either replaced, punished or jailed. more ›

South Korea's Chosun Ilbo has translated some very interesting comments by Kim Jong-nam -- the eldest son, and at one point, the presumed successor of the late Kim Jong-il -- made to Yoji Komi, an editor at the Tokyo Shimbun daily, in private emails sent between 2004 and 2011. In the emails, Kim reveals he has never met his half-brother Kim Jong-un, that his regime will not last very long, and that the "Great Successor" once went to Japan on a fake passport. He also admitted to being "protected" by the Chinese government: more ›

A Guangdong member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), China's political advisory body, has proposed to build a "Goddess of Harmony" (和谐女神像) at an important bridge linking Hong Kong, Zhuhai and Macau. more ›

Kim Jong Il, Supreme Leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, passed away Saturday of exhaustion brought on by a sudden illness, according to the Korean Central News Agency. more ›

Chinese President Hu Jintao and other top party leaders went to the polls on November 8 to elect the people's representatives for their respective districts. As usual, state broadcaster CCTV's news bulletin Xinwen Lianbo was on hand to dutifully cover the president's every step. This time, however, it probably gave a little too much, or rather, too little away. more ›

In an appearance that has created more excitement on Sina Weibo than any other UFO sighting this year, former president Jiang Zemin (江泽民) attended the 100th anniversary celebrations of the Xinhai Revolution at the Great Hall of the People today. News of Jiang's first public appearance since rumours of his death surfaced in July quickly trended on Sina Weibo before censors stepped in to remove the subject from the day's trending topics. more ›

US Ambassador Gary Locke may have only just touched down in China but he's already making waves in the People's Republic. more ›

There's been some confusion among several foreign correspondents about Prime Minister Wen Jiabao's comments in Wenzhou arising from a slightly faulty translation in Xinhua's English-language newswire, so we thought we'd jump into the discussion. more ›

Are you still not convinced that former president Jiang Zemin (江泽民), is alive? Here's proof that our good old friend is alive and kicking. more ›

At home, that's where! According to the latest news from the South China Morning Post, "Jiang Zemin was resting at home last week when news media - reporting amid intense speculation over his health - said the former president had died, sources who have been briefed about Jiang's health said yesterday." Aiyoh. So many reputable sources out there we don't know which one to believe any more. Let's just hope old Jiang will be good enough to make an appearance on television soon. more ›

"The commonfolk in Germany have a very hard time accessing the Internet. Not only do they have to jump through hoops to get approval, it's also very expensive. In the West, there is a great focus on ideological mangement, and they go way further than we do in their control of the Internet. Therefore, we can say that our country is very civilised, very democratic, and everybody should feel very fortunate." more ›

In Pyongyang, streams of North Korean civilians and soldiers lay bouquets and bow three times before a statue of Kim Il Sung to mark the 17th anniversary of his death. Kim has been named the DPRK's "Eternal President", and massive celebrations are expected in 2012 to mark the 100th anniversary of his birth. more ›

Xinhua News Agency has refuted earlier reports by Hong Kong broadcaster ATV and other foreign news outlets that former paramount leader Jiang Zemin (江泽民) has died. more ›

Internet censors have pulled the plug off the state-owned Shandong provincial news portal SDnews.com.cn (山东新闻网) after a screengrab of a banner commemorating the death of former president Jiang Zemin (江泽民) began circulating on Sina Weibo, China's number one microblogging platform. It is unclear if the banner was published live on the homepage of the news portal, or if the screengrab was taken from a tribute mini-site that had been prepared for the event. more ›

“The iPad is produced in China. It's not produced here in the United States. So the Chinese get to take advantage of our First Amendment value to provide freedom of speech through the iPad to the American people, but there is no protection of jobs here in America.” more ›

Local legislators have elected Jiang Ping (姜平), secretary-general of the Shanghai municipal government and director of the government's general office, as vice mayor in a meeting yesterday morning. more ›

While President Hu Jintao may be the captain of the world's second largest economy, he pays himself a very modest salary of approximately US$10,633 per annum. That's a tiny fraction of the US$184,000 that Ma Ying-Jeou, the President of Taiwan, and the US$530,000 that Donald Tsang, the Chief Executive of Hong Kong, take home each year. more ›

"Hong Kong is my branch -- a branch that has a purpose to serve even after the flowers have faded. It's in keeping this branch that we can look forward to more flowers blooming. Since 1997, I think the human rights situation in Hong Kong has been regressing slowly. It could be that in China, the situation has been improving slowly, and when both sides eventually meet, they can move forward together. My hope is that the regression in Hong Kong will be a little slower, and the improvement in China a little faster, so that both sides meet at a higher point." more ›