News

Desire for sons spurs poor Chinese to sell daughters: In March, the police in Guangxi province found the fallout of son worship packed away in the back of a long-haul bus: 28 unwanted baby girls from Yulin, 2 months to 5 months old, being transported like farm animals, for sale.

China bans lewd text messages: China's Liaoning province has launched an attempt to crack down on insulting or sexually explicit mobile phone messages. . . . China's communist authorities already screen email messages and online chat rooms, as well as blocking access to a large numbers of foreign websites which they consider subversive.

Taxation on High-income Earners Urged in China: The State Administration of Taxation (SAT) issued a notice over the weekend calling on taxation authorities of all levels in China to intensify the collection and management of personal income taxes, especially those of high-income earners.

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Ancient temple reopens on new site: The Zhang Fei Temple was too valuable to let it disappear from the map. To save it from going down with the rising water [caused by the Three Gorges Dam], national experts on conservation and the relocation of ancient architecture helped work out a remarkable programme to relocate the temple.

Summer scorcher set to continue in Southern, Eastern china: Southern and eastern areas of China have been blighted by heatwaves and severe drought as floods in the Huaihe River basin subside. . . . Under the influence of a subtropical high pressure system, the province has experienced temperatures of over 35 C [95 F] since June 29. Fuzhou, the capital city, sweltered through a record high of 41.1 C [106 F] on Tuesday.

Ruins of 3,000-year-old Village Unearthed in Central China: Chinese archaeologists have discovered the ruins of a complete ancient village on the western edge of Yinxu, an important archaeological excavation site dating back more than 3,000 years, in central China's Henan province.

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23 dengue fever cases reported in S. China province: South China's Guangdong Province had reported 23 cases of dengue fever by July 16. All of the cases were reported in Guangzhou, capital of the province. The main symptoms of dengue fever, a disease transmitted by mosquitoes, are high fever, muscle pain and headache.

Tourists flock to see Beijing Sars hospital: Thousands of people a week are flocking to Beijing's newest tourist attraction—a decommissioned Sars hospital. More than 1,000 people in one day alone visited the Xiaotangshan Hospital, where most of the Chinese capital's Sars victims were treated and where many died.

2008 Beijing Olympic Mascot : Monkey King, the legend of the Chinese Literature Monkey King, or Sun Wukong has emerged as one of the most likely candidates for the icon of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

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Environmentalists cry 'fore!' in China: Water wastage on golf courses is far worse in some Asian countries. Thai courses exploit nearly 6,500 cubic meters of water per day, or about what 60,000 rural villagers use in a day.

Fury at Nanking 'lie' claim: China has angrily rejected claims that the deaths of 300,000 Chinese civilians at the hands of Japanese troops in the Nanking massacre was a "big lie."

China lags behind in special athletics: Everyone knows that the 2008 Summer Olympic Games will be held in Beijing, China's capital. Fewer people—including the Chinese themselves—have heard that China will also host the 2007 Special Olympics World Games—this despite China's poor showing in the 2003 Special Olympics and a doubtful record of commitment to its own special-needs athletes.

Survivors of SARS now suffer from social stigma: When a nurse named Wang Fang lay in a SARS ward recuperating from the illness that nearly killed her, state-run television proclaimed she was a hero to the Chinese people—a "white-clothed warrior" risking her life to help others. She knew better. When she returned home in May, recovered medically, it was not to a hero's welcome but to scorn and suspicion. To this day, no one shakes her hand, and neighbors avoid her on her nightly walks.

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China's 'Loch Ness Monster' resurfaces: China's legendary 'Lake Tianchi Monster' has surfaced anew, with local officials reporting sightings of as many as 20 of the mysterious and unidentified creatures in a lake near North Korea. (Reuters Photo)

Chinese province bans female aides: Sichuan province made the announcement that males are forbidden to hire female secretaries, assistants or drivers in an attempt to cut down on corruption within the bureaucracy.

Death toll in China flooding climbs beyond 500: More than 500 people have died so far this year in floods and landslides from annual rains inundating central and southern China. At least 1.6 million people have been forced from their homes in two hard-hit eastern provinces, Jiangsu and Anhui. Damage to homes and agriculture had topped $870 million there and in neighboring Henan province.

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Wal-Mart Opens First Store in Beijing: Wal-Mart, the world's biggest retailer, opened its first outlet in China's capital Friday, making its inaugural foray into a major Chinese city after setting up 22 stores elsewhere in the country.

China jails man for killing panda: A farmer has been sentenced to 14 years imprisonment for killing a giant panda. The farmer is reported to have shot and skinned the panda cub and sold the fur to another man for the equivalent of $24.

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5,000-year-old Skeleton Unearthed in South China: Chinese archaeologists have unearthed an intact skeleton at a Neolithic site in Dongguan City of south China's Guangdong Province. Experts say that the 5,000-year-old skeleton, positioned face-up with limbs extended was a male inhabitant of the Pearl River delta in the central-south part of Guangdong.

China launches sex education website: China has launched what is believed to be the first website aimed at giving young Chinese people advice on sexual health.

China's Three Gorges Dam has begun generating electricity: The first of the dam's 26 generators to go into operation was connected to the power grid on Thursday, 20 days ahead of schedule.

SARS Does Little to Slow China's Growth: China's exports soared last month, despite a sluggish world economy and orders canceled because of SARS. In June, exports were up 32.6 percent over the previous year, reaching $34.5 billion.

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Q&A: A fresh glance at China's foreign policy

China flood toll rises to 569: The worst flooding China has seen in years has so far killed 569 people and forced the emergency evacuation of 2.29 million.

NYT Editorial—China's Abuses on AIDS: Hundreds of Henan police officers raided the village of Xiongqiao last month, beating up residents and smashing their property. Thirteen people were arrested. The raid appears to have been a retaliation for a violent protest by villagers over promised help for AIDS that never came.

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Protest Continues In Hong Kong: Tens of thousands of people wearing white shirts and yellow ribbons surrounded Hong Kong's legislative building tonight to celebrate their success in forcing the shelving of an unpopular internal security bill and to demand free elections to replace the city's deeply unpopular leader, who was appointed by the government in Beijing six years ago.

Explosion kills Chinese miners: More than 40 miners were trapped inside the mine when the blast occurred early on Friday. Fifteen were rescued unharmed. The Yakeshi mine, about 1,000 kilometres (600 miles) northeast of Beijing, was government-owned and had operated legally since 1985. Chinese coal mines have the worst safety record in the world. Official figures indicate more than 5,000 people were killed last year alone.

Deadly floods hit eastern China: Heavy floods in eastern China have killed 13 people and left more than a million stranded. It's the worst flooding since 1991 in terms of the volume of rainfall and water level.

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China, India Face Aids Disaster: The director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said China and India—the world's two most populous countries—are facing a potential Aids disaster. China says it has at least a million people with Aids, but the UN estimates this could reach 10 million by the end of the decade.

Two week delay for 2008 Olympic Games: China has won approval to delay the 2008 Beijing Olympics by two weeks. The period around late July early August, when the Games were to be held, is usually an uncomfortable time in Beijing because of the high heat and humidity. The games will start on August 8 and finish on August 24.

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Brain buzz that proves Chinese is harder to learn than English: It's official: Chinese is more difficult than English. The Chinese need both sides of the brain to grapple with challenges of Mandarin, but English speakers listen with only half their minds on the job.

China dismisses official for fathering seven children: The ruling Communist party has expelled a senior official of a township in north China's Hebei province for fathering seven children—a violation of the country's one child per family norm.

'Bigfoot' sighting in China: Chinese authorities are investigating several apparent sightings of a legendary 'ape-like' beast at a nature reserve in the central Hubei province.

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China's new bridge: Images of the world's longest steel arch bridge which has just opened in Shanghai.

Floods, landslides kill 32 in China: Floods and landslides triggered by torrential rain have killed at least 32 people and left thousands homeless in China in the past week.

China Opposes US Report on Human Rights: China advises the United States to devote more attention to problems of its own, including the improvement of its human rights record, and to refrain from intervening in the domestic affairs of others under the pretext of human rights.

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China admits sharp drug abuse rise: Quoting government statistics, the official Xinhua news agency said that there had been an 11% rise in the number of drug users since 2001.

Ancient wine found in China: State media said that when Chinese archaeologists unearthed a large bronze jar in the Western city of Xi'an they discovered about five litres of light green rice wine inside.

China — A chronology of key events

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China Bans Torture of Illegal Migrants: China has announced a ban on torture, extortion and beatings in holding centers used to detain illegal migrant workers. The government hopes the move will end abuses in a system designed to prevent rural migrants from flooding China's cities.

Hong Kong SARS-free, declares WHO: Hong Kong was removed from the WHO list of areas affected by SARS on Monday, drawing a line under the worst crisis faced by the territory since it returned to Chinese rule in 1997.

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Goodbye to China: I believe however that the speed of change in China is now so fast that within the next decade the stereotypes will be shattered—on both sides. [Includes comments about abandoned children.]

Chinese Blacklist: With apologies to former staffers of the Beijing New Times, here are the seven most nauseating things about the Chinese government's recent crackdown on journalists and dissidents.

2,000-Year-Old Liquor: Archaeologists in western China discovered five earthenware jars of 2,000-year-old rice wine in an ancient tomb.

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Encephalitis outbreak in China: An outbreak of Japanese encephalitis has killed 18 children and infected more than 200 others in southern China's Guangdong province.…Japanese encephalitis is a mosquito-borne disease which attacks the brain and the spinal cord, and is endemic to many parts of Asia.

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Chinese Christians arrested: The authorities in China have arrested 12 members of an underground Christian church. At least eight of those arrested face imprisonment in a labour camp on charges of engaging in "feudalistic superstition". The arrests are part of a continuing crackdown on churches operating out of private homes in the country. Although Chinese law recognises religious freedom, the Communist authorities ban all religious activities which are not officially endorsed by the government.…A government official told the BBC that eight of the detainees had been sent for re-education through labour, effectively a prison sentence that under Chinese law requires no trial.

China scraps migrant law: A leading human rights group has praised the Chinese Government for scrapping a controversial rule which allowed extra-judicial detention of the country's huge floating population. The New York-based Human Rights in China group described the repeal of the regulation that let police round up peasants looking for jobs in cities as a step in the right direction.

Couple breathe easier after adoption venture: Bob Glise might deserve a little something extra this Father's Day, considering the lengths he went to for his new adopted daughter, Annie Li. Glise traveled halfway around the world to China—taking seven airline flights and risking exposure to severe acute respiratory syndrome—and picked up 9-month-old Annie from the orphanage, completed the adoption process after a few bureaucratic scares, brought her home to Onalaska, and endured a self-imposed 10-day quarantine for just him and Annie.

Freedom of the press in China

Chinese journalists say that on June 2 editors relayed to them the first extensive list of banned topics issued since March's National People's Congress, when a new president and premier took office.

Among the taboo subjects: military doctor Jiang Yanyong, who blew the whistle on Sars; negative comparisons of China's medical system with those overseas; a revisionist historical television drama; prostitution among female university students in the city of Wuhan; the bribery case of a municipal party secretary in Heilongjiang province; and details of a submarine accident first reported by the Xinhua news agency on May 2.

In addition, the new instructions decree that natural disasters and accidents should be reported only by local media, not by the national media.

From the June 12, 2003 issue of Far Eastern Economic Review.

Chinese Treasure Trove

Crammed into a nondescript house in suburban Los Angeles were roughly 10,000 pieces of Chinese porcelain and pottery, some up to 2,000 years old, so densely packed that any movement threatened to send them crashing to the floor. Some were still encrusted with coral, evidence of their hidden life for centuries under the sea. [article]

The New York Times also has a short slideshow.