Stories about Chinese from December, 2009
China: Akmal's death sentence, a resolute No to memory of humiliation?
Akmal Shaikh, a British citizen convicted of smuggling heroine into China, was executed on Tuesday although his families along with the British government had pleaded for reprieve, claiming that he is mentally ill. The supreme court of China however dismissed the request of a mental assessment because the documents provided...
China: Cui Weiping tweets elite views on Liu Xiaobo
Many Chinese public intellectuals take flack for keeping quiet on major social issues. Beijing Film Academy professor Cui Weiping has sought to change that by tweeting her peers' views on the recent sentencing of China's most prominent democrat.
China and Iran: #CN4Iran
Yesterday, thousands of Iranians took to the street to protest against dictatorship. The protest reminded Chinese people of the Tiananmen democracy movement back in 1989 and Chinese twitterers are using hashtag #cn4iran to show solidarity with Iranian fellows.
China and Hong Kong: Bodyguards and Assassins
Bodyguards and Assassins is an action movie released during Christmas in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. As a patriotic film, it was originally set to release in October for celebrating the 60th year anniversary of PRC but deferred until the end of 2009. In contrast with the Founding of a...
China: ‘How did Copenhagen end up our fault?’
Did China do badly at Copenhagen? Writes one Chinese blogger: "I think Chinese officials acted splendidly at the Copenhagen summit; this was the first time for me to see China be bold like Americans in standing up tough for its own interests."
China: People's microblogging online?
While the Chinese government has blocked a large number of social media websites such as twitter and fanfou, the official online media, people.com.cn, fills in the gap and launches its people's microblogging page.
American Petitioner in China
Julie Harms, an American and a Harvard graduate, hit the news as she becomes one of the few, or perhaps the first, foreign petitioner in China. Her case was a grievance against the government that her fiancé, Liu Shiliang, was jailed on a charge which she says is not true....
China: Development's Toll on Laborers
A second wave of pneumoconiosis cases has been reported among drilling and blasting workers in the southern city of Shenzhen. An article in Beijing Youth Daily reports 119 suspected pneumoconiosis cases among migrant workers from Zhangjiajie, Hunan Province who had engaged in drilling and blasting work in Shenzhen, Guangdong. This...
Hong Kong: Undemocratic Legco set to approve the world's most costly express train
The Legislative Council (Legco) in Hong Kong is about to approve the funding for the world's most expensive Express Rail Link (ERL)'s construction plan on the coming Friday (Dec 18). According to the government budget plan announced in November 2009, the 26 km ERL will cost HKD67 billions (USD8.9 billions)....
China: Another elite's suicide – the story of Yang Yuanyuan
YANG Yuanyuan, a 30-year-old postgraduate at Shanghai Maritime University, hanged herself in her bathroom on November 25. She told her mother that knowledge cannot change destiny on the day before she committed suicide. Recent years have seen an increasing number of suicides committed by Chinese university students, in particular among postgraduates...
China: Pessimism, skepticism and concern over Copenhagen
A number of Chinese media and environmental groups have sent people to Copenhagen to cover the climate talks as well as protest; bloggers back home, meanwhile, don't seem too hopeful that leaders there will commit to meaningful action toward reducing carbon emissions.
China: Government shuts down BitTorrent sites, netizens distressed
Chinese Internet users are scrabbling for downloads from BitTorrent (BT) websites following speculation that authorities will completely shut them down. The largest BitTorrent websites in China like BTCHINA, VeryCD and the Garden of Eden have been closed down or ordered to delete all links to downloaded films or TV series in the...
China: Molding the face of Chinese manufacturing
What is being called a “Chinese manufacturing image advertisement,” as well as China’s first global ad campaign, aired Nov. 23 on CNN Asia. The ad seeks to promote the global reputation of products manufactured in China after years of scrutiny regarding safety and quality. The advertisement, produced by DDB, one...
China: Anniversary of Charter 08
C.A Yeung from Under the Jacaranda Tree translated an article written by Sun Wenguang on a seminar in Shandong by a number of Charter 08 signatories to commemorate the anniversary of Charter 08. The attendees made a joint pleading for the immediate release of Mr Liu Xiaobo, the coordinator of...
China: Forced Demolition
Two recent cases of forced demolitions have raised attention to the protection of citizens’ rights and fair conflict resolution. Chinese netizens provide plenty of comments and reactions.
China: Environmental issues, citizens on move
Last Thursday, in a press conference the Chinese premier Wen promised a 40% carbon emissions cut by 2020 as a measure to deal with climate change. Facing suspicion and questions, he reiterated the next day in a meeting with developing countries that it was a ‘serious and solemn promise’. But...