News

Child theft up in China despite baby-buying ban: The eerie pencil outline of 6-year-old Cheng Ying, drawn by her father one night last summer before she went to sleep, remains on the wall above the bed. Her parents haven't seen her since they sent her off to school in a black-and-white-checked coat more than two months ago. The school was no help in finding her, they say. The police weren't, either, even refusing to fill out a missing person report.

Big freeze to sweep over China: China, already enduring its coldest winter in 20 years, is preparing for a cold snap that will see temperatures drop by as much as 16 degrees Centigrade (29 degrees Fahrenheit).

China confirms new bird flu death: China has confirmed its latest bird flu fatality following tests carried out on a factory worker. Xinhua news agency said the 41-year-old woman from the southern Fujian province had contracted the lethal H5N1 strain of the virus.

Billionaire Builder of China: There are only 10 known billionaires in China, and he is one of them. His name is Xu Rongmao, and he is no Donald Trump, Sam Zell or Mortimer Zuckerman. He's bigger.

China Related TV

China Sprout posts a much-appreciated weekly guide for China Related TV listings.

Happy 2006!

Featured Flickr Photo

Guizhou pastoral scene
Ricefields and Karst mountain formations make a unique landscape.

(Courtesy of Rob Millenaar)

Local Story

Tiny adoptee from China completes Phoenix family: Whitney Elizabeth Lane celebrated her first birthday many thousands of miles away from the rural Chinese village where she was born. On Dec. 20, tiny Whitney dined on her first cupcake after a traditional meal of Chinese food as she spent the day surrounded by her new family in the Lane household of Phoenix.

News

Xinhua picks top 10 news stories in China in 2005: China's Xinhua News Agency has selected the top 10 news stories in China in 2005. In order of occurrence, the list goes as follows.

Chinese firms 'exploiting staff': Private employers in China are breaking the rights of employees, with 80% of firms not signing contracts with workers, a government survey says.

Local Story

Huntsmans 'expecting' a child from India: There may be a new member of Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr.'s family in 2006 -- the governor and his wife are in the process of adopting another child, this time from India. The newest member of Utah's first family will have six siblings, including a 6-year-old sister from China.

News

When Chinese Sue the State, Cases Are Often Smothered: The peasants surrounded the clerk in the busy court anteroom, badgering him to let them sue the officials who had seized their land. No, no, the clerk said, shaking his head and waving his hands, as the peasants recalled it. They were wasting his time and theirs.

Jail for those who help sex selection: Those who assist others with foetal gender selection that leads to abortion will be jailed, according to a revision to the Criminal Law that was discussed by top legislators yesterday.

Bad vaccines may trigger China bird flu: China is most likely using substandard poultry vaccine or not enough good vaccine, which would explain recent outbreaks of the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus in poultry, a prominent virologist said on Thursday.

300 Million Chinese Drink Unsafe Water: About 300 million people living in China's vast countryside drink unsafe water tainted by chemicals and other contaminants, the government said Thursday in its latest acknowledgment of mounting risks from widespread pollution.

Mei Mei -- Little Sister

Mei Mei -- Little Sister: Portraits from a Chinese Orphanage

The Chinese believe an unseen red thread joins those in this life who are destined to connect. For photographer Richard Bowen, that thread led him to China's state-run welfare institutions, where there are thousands of children, primarily girls, growing up without families to take care of them. Mei Mei presents a poignant glimpse of just a few of these remarkable children. Composed against neutral backgrounds, these portraits capture the girls' inner lives, away from their often bleak surroundings.

The images show an almost endless range of expressions: small faces filled with longing and hope, joy and sadness, humor and mischief, defiance and despair. Through the camera's eye these young children are no longer orphans, but individuals whose personalities are as vital, distinct, and beautiful as any mother's child. When that unique human being comes into focus, the connection is made and the red thread becomes visible. And once seen, the bond can never be broken.

News

Dog Year Bigots Barking Up Wrong Tree, Says China: Chinese tradition holds 2006 will be a year of bad luck for people born under the sign of the dog, but misfortune has come early for some looking for jobs. Chinese companies looking for new recruits had deliberately passed over candidates born as dogs in China's ancient 12-animal astrological cycle to ward off the bad luck expected for people in years of their same sign.

China to Get Tough on Cellphone Fraud, Spam: China will require all mobile phone subscribers to register using their real names next year, in a bid to curb rampant spam and growing fraud conducted over mobile services.

China to double spending on AIDS/HIV prevention: China will double its spending on AIDS/HIV prevention to some $370 million over the next two years as the country tries to keep the number of HIV-positive people below 1.5 million by 2010.

Housing, Education and Med Care Most Important: A 2005 survey conducted by Horizon Group revealed that employment, social security and housing are the top three social concerns for Chinese citizens. Accordingly, the public is increasingly focused on reforms in housing, education and medical care.