Stories from and

An Election Film Week in Lebanon to Say #NoToExtension of Parliament Term

  1 September 2014

What better than the seventh art to mobilize? In another effort to push for Elections in Lebanon and prevent an extension of the Parliamentary term #NoToExtension, Lebanese NGO Nahwa Al Muwatiniya (meaning Towards Citizenship) held an “Election Film Week”. Six works from Chile, Iran, China, Ghana and the US, varying between documentaries...

Chinese President Xi Jinping Cartoons

  12 March 2014

Under a special section dedicated to China’s on-going National People’s Congress, iFeng.com, a pro-Beijing TV broadcaster based in Hong Kong, featured series of Chinese president Xi Jinping cartoons. The cartoons are about Xi meeting with ordinary people. Some stories in the cartoon are based on real events.  Offbeat China has translated the...

Video: China's Social Media Reacts to the Kunming Attacks

  12 March 2014

The attack at a railway station in China’s Southwestern Kunming city has led to heated discussions on Chinese social media. Many netizens think western media were trying to downplay the incident by calling it “a senseless act of violence.” Watch the video below to find out more comments and discussions...

Censorship Instructions During China's “Two Sessions”

  9 March 2014

Chinese government has issued censorship instructions during the “Two Sessions” to Chinese media. The instructions, which have been leaked and distributed online, include: Do not report hearsay concerning high-level cadres, such as the news on March 2 about Zhou Yongkang; Keep a reliable handle on the developments in Ukraine. CHINA DIGITAL TIMES has translated the instructions into...

Xinjiang People Fight Stereotypes Online

  7 March 2014

After China's Railway Station attack last Saturday, the tension between Uighurs and majority Han people has escalated. However, a group of ordinary Uighur people started an online campaign “#I’m from Xinjiang#” to fight stereotypes of Xinjiang people. In China, “Uighurs” are often labeled as  “thieves,” “unappreciative separatists” and “knife-wielding terrorists.” Read more details from Offbeat...

China Central TV Blames Beijing Government for Air Pollution

  16 February 2014

Beijing has reached Red Alert Levels of Smog during the past few days. China's state media CCTV wrote some comments on Sina Weibo on Feb 15, 2014, blaming Beijing government's impotency: 连续几天的沉默,说明了一个问题,严重雾霾天气多了,民众自然就会麻木,社会也会熟视无睹,但央视财经提醒的是,政府不能当瞎子,它必须要肩负起自己的责任,守土要有责,莫无知!无畏!无为!所以,央视财经大声的问一句,这里,还有人管雾霾吗? Several days of silence indicates one problem: with constant smog, people will become numb, the society will turn a blind...

China: Cleaning Up The Yellow

  12 February 2014

扫黄 pic.twitter.com/GuCIkzcRF3 — 变态辣椒 (@remonwangxt) February 11, 2014 In Chinese language, the color yellow also signifies sex and pornography. The crackdown of sex industry and pornographic materials is termed as “cleaning-up the yellow”. Political cartoonist @remonwangxt's latest work is about the “Cleaning-up yellow” campaign in China.

Heavy Snowfall Brings Playtime to Tokyo

  9 February 2014

Heavy snowstorms hit Japan on Feb 8, 2014. Twenty seven centimeters of snow fell in central Tokyo, for the first time in 45 years. Moro Miya, a writer and a blogger who specializes in introducing Japanese culture to Chinese readers, collected the photos of snowmen and snow-animals that were posted...

15-year-old Girl Spins for Four Hours in Spring Festival Gala

  4 February 2014

Chinese netizens were outraged about such ridiculous performance. The girl Wei Caiqi rotated more than 8000 circles non-stop for four hours as performance. As explained by the TV hosts, the spinning performance is to indicate the Chinese sense of “time” and “history”. It sounds like a mockery. ChinaSMACK translated some...

The Horse Year is Coming. Be Happy!

  4 February 2014

A happy lunar new year video is circulated in China WeChat. Bill Bishop made a backup in Youtube: According to Lunar Chinese calendar, starting from January 30, 2014, is the Year of the Horse. In Chinese, Ma (horse) when uses with the word Shang (Up), means coming. The lyric of...

Zhihu: A New Space for Questions and Discussion in China

  24 January 2014

Since China's crackdown on the most popular social media Sina Weibo, a new online platform Zhihu has become popular among public intellectuals as a space for rich discussion. Similar to Quora.com, Zhihu allows Chinese web users to post questions, with the best responses upvoted by others. It is free from...

Photos: Chinese New Year Holiday Travel Rush

  20 January 2014

The Spring Festival, or lunar new year, is China's most important holiday for family reunions. According to The Ministry of Transportation, around 258 million train trips are estimated to be made during this year's Spring Festival, which runs from January 16 to February 24. China's news website iFeng.com shows images of people...

Chinese Mum Buys Ad to Urge Her Son to Come Home for New Year

  16 January 2014

Chinese New Year is a time for family reunion. For many Chinese singles, returning home during Chinese New Year can be a real headache as the attention and pressure surrounding personal matters from the whole family is simply unbearable. Earlier this week, a Chinese mom bought a whole page of ad...

Video: Music Parody about Food in China

  15 January 2014

“Rice, Rice baby” is a recent parody about the food culture in China from the expats’ point of view. The video is about how expats in China love the food but also are a little nervous of its effects.   The lyrics says: “Love it or leave it, you better...

China's Viral Sex Education Videos

  15 January 2014

A small team has released a collection of one-minute childhood sex education videos on China's youku, China's YouTube. The videos, involving topics such as “Why Are Boys Different from Girls” and “Where Do Babies Come From?”, have become the second most popular search on Baidu and have drawn over one...