Xinhua: Foreign reporters enjoy greater freedom covering China's "two sessions":Andrew Kirillov, Beijing bureau chief of the Itar-Tass News Agency in Russia, appeared joyous when registering to cover China's upcoming "two sessions", not only because he was to witness the important political event again, but he would find it much easier to locate interviewees. "In the past, deputies to the National People's Congress were not easy to contact," recalled Kirillov, who first came to China in......

Farrow to kick off torch relay to protest China's Darfur stanceActress Mia Farrow unveiled plans for an Olympic-style torch relay beginning this summer as part of a campaign aimed at shaming China into cutting support for Sudan over its role in the Darfur conflict. Analysis: At what cost the Olympics?With only a year to go until the Summer Olympics, advocacy groups worldwide are ratcheting up efforts to expose the dark side of China, from......

Hollywood actress Sharon Stone arrived in Shanghai late Tuesday night at Pudong International Airport. After passing immigration casually dressed in white slacks and a dark long-sleeved top, she was quickly driven downtown in a Mercedes Sedan to the JW Marriott Hotel. The Basic Instinct actress’s arrival in Shanghai comes four days ahead of this year’s Shanghai International Film Festival where she will be a member of the international panel of judges, headed by acclaimed Chinese......

The tenth Shanghai International Film Festival starts on June 16, and as the time draws near, people have been wondering what actors and celebs will grace the red carpet on opening night. One report we've read says that Oliver Stone, Maggie Cheung, John Woo, and Stephen Chow will be among the stars that show up. A slightly more snarky report states that Sharon Stone will show up, which is great for we connoisseurs of older......

Tradeshows are big business in China and here in Shanghai there is at least one trade show per year per industry, regardless of how obscure it maybe. However, the one tradeshow that is sure to catch people’s attention and make Bund partygoers salivate next weekend is this one. The Millionaire Fair (read our previous posts here, here, here and here) is an international tradeshow for the luxury products and services industries, across a wide range......

"Lost in Beijing" seeks OK from China censors "After seven days spent re-editing the adult drama 'Lost in Beijing,' producer Fang Li said Friday that he and director Li Yu have agreed on 65% of the cuts requested by China's Film Bureau. The movie is scheduled for a February 16 premiere at the Berlin Film Festival." James Bond arrives in China - not shaken not stirred "Craig chatted with fans and signed autographs at......

The China premiere of The Painted Veil last night at Shanghai Museum* had a red carpet and champagne (and prom decorations), but it didn't have Naomi Watts or Ed Norton, the film's two stars. Curiously, Norton was in Beijing on Friday for a Painted Veil press conference — why not have the main press conference and the premiere in the same city? Some of the Chinese stars of the film were in attendance, including familiar......

Hooray! Shanghaiist's favorite American politician is coming to town. Here at Shanghaiist headquarters, we're getting ready to roll out the red carpet for Senators Lindsey Graham and Chuck Schumer, the fantastic bipartisan duo joining forces to root out Communist China economic evil at a city near you on their upcoming China tour: Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer and his Republican colleague Lindsey Graham said that they would visit China before a floor vote on the bill,......

Torontoist throws down the gauntlet and challenges all comers: pillow fight, bitch. They also stand up for a fellow blogger taking heat from the TTC and welcome city-wide WiFi. SFist can finally admit it: It's possible that Bary Bonds juiced. Is Bay Area artist (tempted to put quotes around that) Thomas Kinkaid "kinda crappy" or "explosively crappy" or does he just like marking territory? SFist wonders. Technology comes in the form of new Mac goodness......

As if you needed us to tell you, it's Oscar night morning. We have one eye on the TV right now -- Dragon TV, and at least one other local network -- are showing a "live"[1] feed of the red carpet coverage from E! (with Chinese commentary). Why not watch on our satellite? Because it never freakin' works. CCTV usually replays the Oscars Monday evening, although we haven't found confirmation of that online yet (anyone......

The Shanghai Evening Post tells us that Mission: Impossible III (or M : I : III, as the cool kids are calling it) will make its world premier in Shanghai. Yes, Shanghai! The red carpet event is slated for April 22 at the Shanghai Grand Theater. But leave your camcorders at home: Because the movie will go public in May, the debut on April 22 will employ many high-tech methods to prevent piracy. According to......

In a stunning blow to the competition in this year's ATP Tennis Master's Cup in Shanghai, Rafael Nadal (left foot) and Andre Agassi (ankle) have withdrawn from play. Taking the place of Nadal and Agassi will be Mariano Puerta and Fernando Gonzalez. Agassi and Nadal join Lleyton Hewitt, Andy Roddick, and Marat Safin as big names who have begged out of the tournament due to injury. ESPN.com had this to say:"Having both Raf and Andre......