Being great buddies with the fastest growing power in the world carries a number of perks...as Spain can most recently attest to. Relations between the two countries have warmed considerably this week with Vice Premier Li Keqiang announcing that China has committed to buying up more of Spain's debt and working together on a number of fronts. more ›

Just a stone’s throw away South Shaanxi Station (Line 1), and hidden behind the hustle and bustle of Huaihai Lu is, ‘ART in Capitals’. China’s only Spanish art gallery, ‘ART in Capitals’ focuses on modern and contemporary Spanish and Western art. The gallery is a light, open, airy space where you can really absorb the art around you. With long opening hours (12 - 8pm Monday - Saturday), no cover charge and friendly staff who are willing to engage in conversation about the pieces displayed; ‘ART in Capitals’ is a cultural ‘must’. more ›

Last May we were introduced to the kookaburra "Peng Peng", Australia’s cheeky mascot for the 2010 World Expo. Shortly after, a whole gaggle of pavillion mascots started popping up: the Francophile feline "Léon", the stinkin "Durian Star" from Singapore, the turd-like “Yabi” from Taiwan, the not-so-gentle Giant “Tai” from (you guessed it) Thailand and everybody’s favorite blue gang “the Smurfs” representing the shared Belgium/ EU pavilion. more ›

• Party Secretary Indicted, part of Spain's "Universal Jurisdiction" [Xinjiang: Far West China] "Last Tuesday Spanish Judge Santiago Pedráz requested authorization from the Chinese Ministry of Justice to investigate eight Chinese leaders, including the Party Secretary of both Xinjiang and Tibet, on charges of mistreatment of minorities, a charge that involves not a single Spanish citizen."
• Chinese anger at student ID theft [BBC] "There has been outrage in China over reports that a police official helped his daughter get into university by stealing another student's identity. The official, Wang Zhengrong, stole the name and ID number of his daughter's classmate, state media reports. While Mr Wang's child took her university place, the other girl had to spend a year re-taking the exam."
• Taxing fun with (yes!) cell phones [Shenzhen Noted] "One of the events being promoted by the Shenzhen Bureau of Taxation is citizen participation in the 3rd National Tax Collection Text Message Publicity Contest (第三届全国税收宣传短信大赛). I hadn’t realized that the first and second contests had come and gone, but the current contest is open until June 30, 2009. The particularly ambitious can also compete in the ring-tone competition and the multi-media message competition (basically flash for phone)."

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That's the headline of a New York Times story about the controversy surrounding a now much-talked-about photo of the men's Olympic basketball team from Spain (See: "Spain's Olympic Basketball Team: Racist? Or just stupid?" for details). Oddly, the story has nothing to do with any possible punishments the Spaniards would face (honestly, we can't think of any — the bad PR and embarrassment should be punishment enough), but the story does offer a little bit of insight as to why the Chinese don't appear to be too bothered by any of this. We are also treated to some rather awkward quotes from the Spanish players trying to explain away their actions. José Calderon even broke out the “Some of my best friends are of Chinese origin" line! more ›

From The Guardian: more ›

On August the 5th the Spanish National Court agreed to hear a lawsuit accusing the Chinese government of genocide in Tibet. According to SBS World News Australia the suit was filed on July 9 against seven Chinese leaders, including Defence Minister Liang Guanglie, by the Tibet Support Committee and two other Tibetan groups. The lawsuit relates to the unrest in Tibet in March this year where, according to the Tibetan government-in-exile, 203 Tibetans were killed. According to Beijing though, only one Tibetan died during the unrest. Spain's National Court is able to try this kind of case under the principal of "universal competence" adopted by the Spanish judiciary in 2005, which allows countries courts to hear cases of genocide and crimes against humanity wherever they occur and whatever the nationality of the defendant. Hmm. more ›