China's rampant smoking problem is not only bad for the health of its people, but might also prove detrimental to the health of the entire economy. Non-communicable diseases like cancer are taking their toll on China's workforce as they account for 80% of nation's deaths (almost 20% more than the global average), and consume 70% of all health spending. The tobacco industry alone has been implicated in the deaths of 1 million people (though the actual figure is probably substantially higher). more ›

In 2010, China overtook Japan to become the world's second largest economy and most experts believe it will only be two or three decades before it becomes number one, officially making the U.S. it's bitch. As shown in a recent article by 24/7 Wall St, China has already surpassed the U.S. in a number of industries that America is traditionally considered to be the world leader - you can view them above. more ›

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Two Hong Kong TV officials have taken responsibility and resigned for broadcasting a false report of Jiang Zemin's death in July. Since 9/11, there have been more than more than 35,000 terrorism convictions in the world, and half of those took place in China and Turkey. Most of the arrests in China were, unsurprisingly, made in Xinjiang. In his new memoirs, Dick Cheney explains how he wishes he could have gotten just a little more intimate with Hu Jintao, instead of getting cockblocked during his first meeting, and spied on in the next! His inability to whisper sweet nothings led eventually to "the end of all conversations between the two politicians." more ›

Bill Gates and Baidu CEO Robin Li recently announced the joint launch of an anti-smoking initiative entitled “Alliance for Healthy China”. Their slogan “Say no to forced smoking" is meant to encourage smokers to be respectful of their surrounding and not “force” second hand smoke onto their immediate company. Along with educating the public, this campaign is meant to provide resources for current smokers to explore methods that could help them quit. more ›

• China Raises Tobacco Tax Rates [Caijing] "China has raised the tobacco tax to as high as 56 percent in a bid to meet the central government's target of 9.8 percent fiscal revenue growth for 2009, according to the State Administration of Taxation (SAT)."
• Why Do Chinese Save? Boys Want to Marry [NYTimes] "The high Chinese savings rate has been one of the wonders of the world. The household savings rate, as a proportion of disposable income, is 30 percent, and has been rising rapidly in recent years. That figure is twice as high as the highest rate ever recorded in the United States. Traditional explanations for varying savings rates, such as life cycles — working age people save more — and income uncertainty, do not help much in explaining the rapid rise in China. Now two economists say they have found a reason that explains a large part of the increase. China has too many boys."
• China to Amend State Secrets Law, Avoid Internet Leaks [Xinhua] "China's top legislature Monday reviewed for the first time a draft revision to the Law on Guarding State Secrets, underlining the cutoff of Internet or other public network access to the country's confidential information. The draft revision was submitted to the ninth session of the Standing Committee of the 11th National People's Congress (NPC) for deliberation. It had been discussed and passed in April at an executive meeting of the State Council, the Cabinet."

Shanghai lawmakers are taking Chinese tobacco giant Chung Hwa to task for its ubiquitous billboard ads that carry the four Chinese characters “爱我中华“ (Ai Wo Zhonghua, or "Loving my China"), and feature an image of the Tiananmen Gate in Beijing, along with the warning that "Smoking can damage your health". Zhonghua (or Chung Hwa in Wade-Giles) refers to China and the Shanghai Tobacco Corporation which produces the Chung Hwa brand, has maintained that its slogan "promoted patriotism and was therefore a public service campaign". City lawmakers, however, are not buying the argument and are now calling for all tobacco ads to be "banned in line with the law". more ›