China Daily reported on three surveys conducted among readers of various papers this week, and most of the results don't look so good. In a nutshell, nobody's happy, everybody wants to be an official, and the dual-pension system sucks.
1
![Is China the second most powerful country in the world?]()
New York Yankees sign on first Chinese players.
The New York Yankees announced today that they have signed left-handed pitcher Kai Liu and catcher Zhenwang Zhang to minor league contracts, becoming the first Major League team to sign a player from the People's Republic of China with approval from the country's baseball association.
For more del.icio.us. links, visit the Shanghaiist Contribute page, which is updated throughout the day.
Photo by yunny.more ›
For more del.icio.us links, visit the Shanghaiist Contribute page, which is updated throughout the day.
Photo by shanghaistreets found via the Shanghaiist Contribute page.more ›
more ›
Results tagged “poll”
Numbers: Aspiring officials, unhappiness, and pensions
Chinese universities are missing the mark, students complain
Students are unsatisfied with the quality of higher education here in China, a recent survey discovered. A China Youth Daily poll of 4,488 students found that 59% think China's universities don't rank among the world's top schools. Even though Peking University got 12th place in the latest QS Asian University Ranking, its students say they "have not learned much," and 61% also admitted to observing academic cheating. They blame the schools: over half say their education did not encourage innovation, that the criteria for academic achievement was poor, that their university lacked first-level educators. Instead, over 71% wish to see "independent culture" and a "cultivation of talent" at the top university of their dreams.
USA Pavilion hits top spot in poll, scares us about what's to come
The good people at Ogilvy have polled the Chinese peoples and the results are out: Despite knowing almost nothing about the USA Pavilion (and maybe because of that), the Chinese want to check that out the most.
Bokee's List of 2007's movers and shakers
Bokee.com is doing an online poll to determine who were the real movers and shakers of China in 2007. The plug they're using is "谁最敢动中国" (who most dared to move China), and you can vote and then see the results, live. They also have little blurbs about each of the front-runners, explaining why they've been in the news. The frontrunner thus far, with 19% of the vote is China Mobile, who people are accusing of...
Is China the second most powerful country in the world?
According to a blog essay we found, a recent poll by Harris Interactive showed that of 6,000 people from France, Germany, Italy, the UK, and the US, the overwhelming majority considered China the second most powerful nation in the world after the USA. We did some searching on the internet, and couldn't find mention of that report. We tried on Harris Interactive's site as well, but no dice. Perhaps we haven't looked hard enough? Or...
Useless links to beat the Monday Blues
Back in the office and just can't concentrate on work? Here's a bunch of useless links we gathered that you can entertain yourself with (while pretending to look oh-so-busy)!
Around Asia: Singing presidents, straitjacket elections and the Asian space race
Locals cynically call him "papa," or praise him as their "king." Some expats, meanwhile, call him "big head." Whatever the moniker applied to him these days, Tajik President Imomali Rahmon is showing himself to be a man full of surprises.
Around Asia: Heart transplants, the Pakistani election and .asia domain names
As ice is melting between North Korea and the United States, more and more Chinese businessmen have been rushing to the border with the secretive communist country, looking to cash in on its trade and investment potential.
China home to the world's largest Christian population?
Colleague: Haha, I understand. I'm not a very good CCP member, and not a very bad one either, but you probably can't say I'm a member anymore. I have not been paying my party membership fees for three years now, and haven't been keeping up with the meetings, so they probably struck my name off the list.
Share an apartment and break the law!
Recently while out of town, our landlord called us on our cell phone to inform us that he wanted his apartment back ASAP. Why, we asked? He wanted to renovate it, he said, but we were not convinced. You see, the few of us have been living in this apartment for coming to 3 years now, and there was this implicit agreement that we could stay on for as long as we liked, so some time back we didn't sign any lease with him, but continued to dutifully pay our rent each month (no delays) as we have done for such a long time.
Shanghai Metro shows middle finger to language watchdog
Not so long after its crackdown on foreign-language only signs in Xintiandi, the language police are now on to their next target -- the Shanghai Metro! They have objected to plans by the subway operator to train its staff to learn basic phrases in five major Chinese dialects -- a plan that is not without controversy -- so as to help domestic tourists and visitors when they ask for fares and directions.
The Great Wall among the New Seven Wonders
It is now official: The Great Wall has been chosen as one of the new Seven Wonders of the World in an unprecedented global vote that drew nearly 100 million internet and telephone voters. In fact it received the most votes among the 21 finalist sites (not very surprising as China has one of the biggest internet populations?). Other sites that have been recognised as new wonders include:
Today's Links: Chinese Yankees, Mega IPOs and Buddha Demolitions
The New York Yankees announced today that they have signed left-handed pitcher Kai Liu and catcher Zhenwang Zhang to minor league contracts, becoming the first Major League team to sign a player from the People's Republic of China with approval from the country's baseball association.
China Fines Six Banks for Lending to Stock Purchases
China's banking regulator fined six banks for making loans that were illegally invested in shares, the first sanctions announced after a yearlong investigation aimed at cooling speculation and curbing financial risks.
China’s double-digit economic growth remains sustainable with the rapid expansion expected to continue over the next few years, state media reported, citing a senior government advisor.
China Mobile eyes biggest ever Shanghai listing
China Mobile , the world's largest mobile phone operator, plans to raise more than $6 billion in a stock offer in Shanghai as early as next month that would be China's largest ever.
Microsoft will set up a SQL Server R&D Center in China
Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates announced during his visit to China last month that his company would further expand its research and development institutes in Beijing and Shanghai.
Shanghai set to overtake Singapore as world`s busiest port
Shanghai is set to overtake Singapore as the world's busiest port in 2008 as the Chinese economy continues with its stellar growth, an executive of the city-state's port operator said in remarks published Monday.
Free dinosaur exhibition to open on July 10
Workers at Shanghai Science and Technology Museum today opened 59 cases containing more than 20 scarce dinosaur fossils from Zigong City, Sichuan Province, which will be exhibited at the museum for free from July 10 through August 31.
Shanghai's new height: 423.8 meters
The unfinished Shanghai World Financial Center eclipsed Jinmao Tower to become the tallest building on the Chinese mainland as it scraped the sky at 423.8 meters yesterday, exceeding Jinmao's 420.5 meters.
China's rural labor force shrinking fast
China will begin to feel the pain of labor shortages nationwide in the next couple of years - much earlier than previously forecast - as the country's seemingly ample supply of rural migrant workers dries up, say latest studies by state think-tanks.
China Confirms Demolition of Giant Buddha Statue At Tibetan Monastery
The Chinese authorities have acknowledged the 'removal' of a giant gold and copper plated statue of Guru Rinpoche (Padmasambhava) donated by Chinese Buddhists to Samye monastery in Tibet and demolished by Chinese People's Armed Police in mid-May.
Sudanese students flock to learn Chinese
Tong Xiaofeng, a Chinese professor at Khartoum University, says most of the Sudanese students in his class are motivated by money.
Taiwanese Upset at China's Policies
Many people in Taiwan are disappointed with the behaviour of the Chinese government, according to a poll by Taiwan Thinktank. 85 per cent of respondents think China’s efforts to exclude Taiwan from world bodies will affect two-way relations.
China's Alibaba plans HK IPO for $1 bln-report
Alibaba.com, China's biggest e-commerce company, will raise up to US$1 billion in a Hong Kong initial public offering this year, spurning the U.S. markets, the South China Morning Post reported on Monday.
Explaining the Vanishing Pirate
According to Xinhua, the Chinese state news agency, Chow Yun-fat's role in the latest Pirates of the Caribbean movie was censored for "for vilifying and defacing the Chinese and insulting Singapore."
Danone Executives Targeted In Shanghai Protest
Dozens of employees from Chinese beverage giant Wahaha descended upon a five-star hotel and office complex in one of the city’s richest districts last week to shout their wrath at Groupe Danone of France for its attempted takeover activities.
Wahaha workers protest Danone bid
Dozens of Wahaha employees took to the street yesterday shouting "Oppose Danone" and "Boycott Danone" to protest the alleged takeover bid by Groupe Danone SA of its Chinese partner Wahaha.
For more del.icio.us. links, visit the Shanghaiist Contribute page, which is updated throughout the day.
Photo by yunny.
Today's Links: Canada, chocolate and burning puppies
"Almost half of counter-espionage efforts in Canada target Chinese spies, the head of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service told a senate committee on Monday."
"In the prosperous metropolis of Shanghai, migrant workers even joined in performances, singing and dancing and taking part in games to show their talents."
"The century-old Hershey, synonymous with chocolate in the United States but relatively unknown abroad, must learn how to get products to shelves in countries where most shoppers buy from small family-owned grocers and street vendors."
"The Food and Drug Administration is enforcing a new import alert that greatly expands its curtailment of some food ingredients imported from China, authorizing border inspectors to detain ingredients used in everything from noodles to breakfast bars."
"A popular buzzword on the Internet these days is the Japanese phrase for 'orgy party' -- Google the term ranko party and you'll come up with hundreds of thousands of hits." NSFW.
"An incident of burning dogs in the city of Nanjing drew nearly 17000 comments from web users on Thursday and triggered a huge debate about dog rights."
"On March 16, 2007, China adopted a new Property Law, set to become effective on October 1, 2007. This post will be the first in a fairly long series of posts explaining China's real estate laws."
"The current stock market mania in China's mainland has as much in common with the Tulipmania of the 17th century, as it does with the Internet boom of the late 1990s."
"The dogs yelped in the middle of night and disturbed the sleeping humans. The problem can be solved by killing them."
"The Shanghai-based News Times reported Wentworth Miller as having been invited by Zhongbo Media Group, who have bought the rights from Fox to shoot an online video adaptation of the American hit TV drama."
"It is probable that melamine is not the major or only culprit in the pet food illnesses and deaths. So then what exactly is causing the recent spate of pet illnesses and deaths?"
"One stroll through M50 leaves me marveling over Shanghai’s capacity to take a novel or original idea, and turn it into absolute crap."
"China has inaugurated what is believed to be the world's tallest pagoda, which at almost 154 metres reaches even higher than the Great Pyramid of Egypt, state media said today." It's in Changzhou, which we think is in Jiangsu.
"Canada's Foreign Minister Peter MacKay said he was assured by his Chinese counterpart Monday that a Canadian Muslim activist serving a life sentence in a Chinese jail for alleged terror links was not tortured."
"Only one in a 1,000 children in China's financial hub want to grow up to be a common worker, once hailed as the vanguard of class struggle, a Communist Party newspaper said on Monday a day before the Labour Day holiday."
"The 17th China International Bicycle & Motor Fair is scheduled on May 4-7, 2007 in Shanghai New International Expo Center. The theme of 2007 edition is 'Science makes dream come true, Innovation creates incentive'."
"Any doctor found to be involved in such activities will have their licences revoked, while clinics or hospitals will be suspended from doing organ transplant operations for at least three years, it said."
"Paul, Hastings, Janofsky &Walker is putting its stamp on China. Literally.The firm is paying at least $40,000 toward the construction of a facility in China's remote Longqui village that will soon bear its name: the Paul Hastings Hope Elementary School."
"U.S. Congress members [criticized] Beijing's test of an anti-satellite weapon, its military buildup, its policy of forced abortion, its support of ruthless regimes, and its repatriation of North Korean refugees in violation of international law."
"The man, in his 50s, was reportedly hit in the neck by a bullet from a police warning shot as he rode a motorbike with his son 300 metres from the scene of the demonstrations Tuesday afternoon."
"Alibaba, which is part-owned by Yahoo! Inc, plans to list its core business-to-business operation that helps match suppliers in China and elsewhere with purchasers over the Internet, the China Financial Online website said."
"After years of suffering, powerless 'victim' states have turned pollution forecasting into a fine art, setting up sophisticated systems to predict transnational pollution invasions."
"Dr. Zhang Xiaopeng, a leading researcher in world table tennis, explains the sport's playing styles ahead of the world table tennis championships."
For more del.icio.us links, visit the Shanghaiist Contribute page, which is updated throughout the day.
Photo by shanghaistreets found via the Shanghaiist Contribute page.
This Week In -ist: Elsewhere in the Gothamist Network
This was not a very happy week for the -ist network as one of our own, Phillyist co-editor Star C. Foster, passed away early in the week. Her wit, intelligence, and good nature shone through the site, making Phillyist an immensely fun read. She was loved by many and will be missed by all.
A subway car built for two
Yesterday's Metro Express reports on a vote by 2470 internet users of real-estate website Sofun.com to decide which Shanghai metro station has the most romantic potential, ie where you would be most likely to meet your one true commuting love.
Extra! Extra! Money shots, gold farmers and panda biters
Photo by raincontreras taken from the Shanghaiist Contribute page. To see your photos on our Contribute page, use Flickr and tag your photos “shanghaiist”. Or you can email your photos to photos@shanghaiist.com and they will automatically appear on our site.
Toilets churn anger and spin
In her August 31 appearance on the Taiwanese talk show Red Storm, Meng commented:
Help us choose LeBron James' new Chinese name
Why does an NBA player need a Chinese name, you ask? Well, for one thing, it might help him in his quest for world domination. And it appears LeBron James indeed has plans to dominate the world. Via ChinesePod we learned of this MSNBC story that talks about LeBron's "goal to become the first billionaire athlete" ... and his desire to be able to speak Mandarin in interviews at the Beijing Olympics. During the ongoing World Championships -- which we haven't mentioned lately because there hasn't been much to cheer about China-wise ... until today -- LeBron is reportedly holding private press conferences for the Chinese and Japanese press on days when Team USA is supposed to be unavailable to the media.
Expo round-up
- Shanghai cuisine is set to be "improved", so that a menu can be created for Expo visitors, and they're hoping that "Shanghai snacks in the 2010 Expo will enjoy such worldwide fame as sushi, hotdog, and ice cream." The competition to create new snacks is open to the public, and they say that people can participate via Sohu.
- You can also contribute your thoughts about the layout and other details of the Expo by taking part in the poll on the Expo site, according to Shanghai Daily. However we had a quick look around and couldn't find much about it.
- People's Daily reported an article (from China Daily) several days ago, which bemoaned the sacrifice of old land to make way for futuristic buildings, complaining that vintage Shanghai homes were being destroyed. The article pleads for this not to be the case with the Expo site. Good luck.
CCTV sportscaster apologizes (still a dick)
Anyway, Huang Jianxiang, the idiot in question, has apologized:
New That's website: You either like it, or you are 'still browsing'
That's Shanghai gave its website a a much-needed makeover recently ... and they want to know what you think of the new look. Well, they kind of want to know your opinion ... only if you think the site is "Ok" or better. There is a poll on the right column of most pages on the site. This is the question posed: "Do you like the new That's website?" Here are the possible answers provided by the the folks at That's: "Very much", "It's good", "Ok", "Interesting", "Don't know, I'm still browsing". Feeling confident, are we? We were looking for a "Better than it was before, but still not very user friendly" option, or even a simple "Meh".
BlackBerry vs. RedBerry: Wall Street Journal chimes in
The Wall Street Journal has finally picked up on the BlackBerry/RedBerry fight in China -- maybe they have been reading Shanghaiist? Nah. Maybe? WSJ’s online edition has an interesting article here (in Chinese) if you want to find out the latest goings-on in the “War of the Berries”.
Yahoo! wants to make you the next big thing
Stirred by the unprecedented success of Super Voice Girls for Hunan TV, Zhejiang TV and Yahoo are jumping on the bandwagon. Yahoo -- or should we say, Yahoo! -- is duking it out with Baidu and Google, and their latest ploy is this contest, which involves three famous directors: Feng Xiaogang, Chen Kaige and Zhang Jizhong. The contest is called Sou Xing ("searching for stars"), and it's subtitled 让你红的发紫, which literally means that you'll be so red (i.e. popular) that you'll turn purple. Sounds better in Chinese. Anyhow, there's internet voting, all kinds of lists, PK speculations, and, like any good Chinese site, has countless pictures of soulless good-looking-in-that-cookie-cutter-pop-star-way people. The first part was conducted online during March, and the final parts will be shown on Zhejiang TV later this month, when the final 12 contestants for each director will square off against each other. The final prize is an acting contract and the chance to use those "acting" skills for the directors when they make their commercials for Yahoo!.
'Say Hello' to Deep Dish
The validity of DJ rankings can certainly be debated, and frequently is. Lucky #8 on the oft-lauded DJ Mag poll is Grammy winning Deep Dish. Ali "Dubfire" Shirazinia and Sharam Tayebi are two Americans (born in Iran) from Washington, D.C., who are among the most well-known and respected artists/producers in electronic dance music today. They hit it big with debut "Junk Science" in 1998 and have been producing and DJing consistently since then. In demand as remix specialists, they've re-worked tracks from artists like Depeche Mode, Madonna, the Rolling Stones, and the White Stripes. Dubfire and Sharam are regulars in Ibiza and are currently touring the world in support of their latest effort, George Is On. Saturday night clubgoers should plan on battling a crowded queue to hear hot single "Flashdance".
To all Oakenfolk: Here's news you already know
Some guy named Paul Oakenfold (Paul Oakenfield according to page E04 of the current issue of City Weekend) is in town today and Shanghai's netizens seem to be talking about it. Paul is a DJ. A very famous one. And he will be doing what he does tonight at Club DKD. When? "Late." How much? 180 RMB at the door. The show is being presented by the "Cool DJ Agency" -- so it's guaranteed to be good.
personals
Enter our FREE personals site!send a tip
tips@shanghaiist.comabout
advertising / arts/entertainment / calendar / contact / contribute / facebook / food/drink / jobs / mobile / news / other / personals / photos / popular / RSS / staff / twitter / videos write for us / weibosubscribe
Use an RSS reader to stay up to date with the latest news and posts from Chicagoist.