Results tagged “supremepeople”

It is no secret by now. China executes more people than the rest of the world put together (yes, even more than the Islamic world). In fact, Amnesty International says China carries out about 80 percent of the world's total capital punishments, if not more (1,770 people in 2005). The recent UN vote for a moratorium on executions saw a fractious two-day debate between the anti-execution camp led by Italy and the pro-execution camp led by Singapore, which has the ignominious honour of having the highest number of executions per capita in the world (coming from there, we are ashamed). The result of the vote: 104 for, 54 against and 29 abstentions. Opponents of the moratorium included the United States, China and Iran (one rarely finds these three countries in the same camp).

For more del.icio.us. links, visit the Shanghaiist Contribute page, which is updated throughout the day.

dvd_stand.jpgAre we ethically conflicted but entertainment starved residents about to see a yet another assault on our beloved, pirated copyright-challenged DVDs? According to Yahoo (quoting Xinhua, but we couldn't find it anywhere on their website), the Supreme People's Court decided yesterday to widen their net in their attempts to curb this country's rampant movie and music piracy:



  • "Yuan, who had been a peasant in the late 1960s, noted it is 'uncivilized' to affix derogative connotations to peasant, which for him usually means guilelessness, diligence, and the down-to-earth spirit." They also link to a song called "Peasant."




  • "Only authorized dramas are allowed on Chinese prime-time television, customs inspectors are seizing books on Mao Zedong at China's borders and newspapers are prohibited from running stories on the Communist Party's misdeeds." Has anyone here had a book confiscated at the border?




  • "With a nod to history, Chinese politicians have drawn up a list of 'four pests' to be eradicated before the 2008 Olympic Games - smoking, spitting, queue-jumping and cursing."




  • "Saturday sees Shanghai joining a jolly green club that includes member cities around the world. The city's first St Patrick's Day Parade gets underway at noon at the Xintiandi lakeside and is set to demonstrate the fun-loving nature of the Irish and their ever-increasing presence here in Shanghai."




  • "The Internet communication capacity between China and the United States will be enhanced 60 times the present level once a new Sino-US undersea cable is built by the end of next year." We'll be connected with Oregon.




  • "Xinhua reports that 11 suspects wanted for embezzlement were extradited from overseas last year and 77.2 million yuan (about 9.9 million U.S. dollars) was retrieved, according to the Supreme People’s Procuratorate."




  • "China’s coalmine death rate per million tons is some 50-fold higher than the rates in many developed countries, sending alarming signals to the state work safety body."




  • "A group of Shanghai residents have appealed to the German Chancellor to stop the extension of the Transrapid line near their homes. While some are angry at being evicted to make way for the track, others fear increased noise, magnetic radiation and possible accidents."




  • "Presenting a work report to the annual session of the 10th National People's Congress (NPC), Xiao, who is president of the Supreme People's Court (SPC), said a total of 825 government officials ranking above county level were sentenced in 2006."




  • "After a row with developers, this family's home has been left perched 12m (40ft) up on its own concrete island." Great photo! Thanks, Timothy!




  • Video of two Shanghai dogs jumping.




  • Johnnie Walker loooooooves China.


  • For more del.icio.us links, visit the Shanghaiist Contribute page, which is updated throughout the day.

    Photo by 2 dogs found via the Shanghaiist Contribute page.



  • "China Digital Times has noted a Wall Street Journal article that reports on heightened sensitivities around the subject - sensitivities that may have resulted in the current issue of the business magazine Caijing being pulled and revised."




  • "A member of China's parliament has demanded the immediate closure of a Starbucks coffee shop set up inside Beijing's Forbidden City, the Xinhua news agency reported on Sunday."




  • "Ads for soft drinks and fashion magazines have crept onto Chinese campuses - not only spoiling the ambiance but undermining the very essence of education in the arts and sciences."




  • "The majority of the foreign visitors expected during the 2008 Games have religious beliefs, and we should cater to their needs," said Liu Bainian, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).




  • "What is the truth about the 'green paint on the mountain in Fumin county, Yunnan' incident that shook up the nation? Does the local government bear any responsibility? Was this the act of an individual businessman?"




  • "In a joint statement released late Sunday, the Supreme People's Court, Ministry of Public Security, Ministry of Justice and the country's top prosecutor also said condemned prisoners should not be paraded through the streets and suspects should not be tortured."




  • "The government took its assault on the internet gaming world a step further this week with an announcement that it perceives the explosion in virtual currencies used in a variety of online gaming forums – everything from Second Life to World of Warfare to virtual poker rooms – as a serious threat to its national security."




  • "The overall airport reconstruction project in the western China region will cost 52 billion yuan (6.5 billion US dollars), including an input of 9.6 billion yuan (1.2 billion dollars) and the sum is higher than the input for the same use in east China, according to media reports from the General Administration of Civil Aviation of China (CAAC)."




  • "Apple has sent a letter to Shanghai Municipal Consumer Interest Protection Commission and said that it will make improvements on its after-sales service, which has seen many complaints from Chinese users."




  • "Until now, one kind of establishment has eluded the city: the boutique hotel. But a new wave of these hotels are opening this year, providing yet another lure to entice the young international travelers who are already flocking to this city, whose transformation is occurring at breathtaking speed."




  • "Yet nearly three months later, the deal's appeal among consumers and financial community is waning after an initial burst of interest, according to Tom Group Inc., one of Tom Online's largest shareholders."




  • "China expects to start making large commercial aircraft developed domestically by 2020, an aviation industry official said Monday, raising the possibility of competition for Boeing and Airbus in the country's booming market for new planes."




  • "More than 200 top athletes of extreme sports from America, Brazil, Japan and other Asia-Pacific countries and regions will compete for over US$100,000 on X Games Asia 2007 this May in Shanghai." America? Brazil?




  • "Thousands of residents in the districts of Xuhui, Minhang and Pudong have already been told that move they must. Many feel taken by surprise. Expressions of opposition have proliferated on the internet."




  • "Bookshop owners in Shanghai are snapping at an influx of camera-wielding pirates taking photos of pages to avoid paying for pricey books, local media reported on Monday."




  • "A fierce strike from midfielder Yu Tao seven minutes into the second half, however, gave Shenhua victory over Shandong on Sunday and earned the team a share of a two million yuan ($258,300) bonus from multimillionaire owner Zhu Jun."




  • "Silvercross, the iconic British pram company that supplied generations of Windsor babies, has struck a deal to sell its products in China, becoming the latest UK company to cash in on the booming Chinese middle class desire for heritage brands." Pram?




  • "Traffic authorities in Shanghai will link cycling lanes around the city this year to create a network of lanes with no obstructions, as one of several measures to improve conditions for drivers and cyclists in the city."




  • "The Shanghai Call Centre, which was launched almost a year ago, provides both English and Chinese information about tourist destinations, culture, sports, trade, medical care and other issues concerning daily life in Shanghai."




  • "Please note: supermarket is fine tuned for convinience, not neccessary for price, or quality. If you want more fresh vegetables, and fruits, many some local market is better, such as the Beicai Market nearby."




  • "China will intensify controls of the growing numbers of bloggers using the Internet to lay bare their thoughts, politics and even bodies, the country's chief censor has announced."




  • "All company-operated and licensed Starbucks stores in the U.S., Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and Greater China will be giving away free Tall (12-ounce) cups of coffee to anyone who drops by."




  • "I want to use the blog to not only discuss the development of Chinese Movie Database, but also the movie news that interests me, and my experiences of movie going, and perhaps other things."




  • "A Chinese lawmaker has proposed a tax on urban dog-owners to curb growing numbers of the animals and to fight rabies, state media has reported."




  • "A new property law is a breakthrough, even though it raises hopes that one-party rule may dash"


  • For more del.icio.us links, visit the Shanghaiist Contribute page, which is updated throughout the day.

    Photo by Mike Chen found via the Shanghaiist Contribute page.

    It's good news for those of you who stand accused of one of the nearly 70 offenses that are punishable by death in China. Under legislation enacted on Tuesday, as of January 1, all death sentences handed out by provincial courts must be reviewed and ratified by China's Supreme People's Court. This reverses a 1983 law which gave such powers to the provincial courts in an effort to crack down on rising crime and corruption that occurred early under the reforms implemented under Deng Xiaoping. However, such liberal use of the death penalty in the world's most populous country and in a poor legal environment led predictably to large numbers of death sentences, many of them carried out on innocent people. Last year, a woman in Hunan reappeared 16 years after her accused killer had been executed for her murder.

    The Los Angeles Times reports that Chinese children are being so unfilial these days that they have to fine them in order to get them spend more time with their elderly parents:

    1