· April, 2010

Stories about Chinese from April, 2010

China: New Avatar theme song inspired by forced evictions

Avatar director James Cameron admits he found inspiration for the film in China, and Chinese viewers saw a common story from today's China being told in the film. Somewhere in between, mashup artists have now imagined a theme song for Avatar as one might have been sung in Chinese.

28 April 2010

China: New real estate policy hits market

A new housing policy in China issued on April 17 is being called “the strictest in history.” The State Council has requested a steep increase in down payments on loans for second homes.

26 April 2010

China: Verdict announced in Fujian Three netizen trial

The three netizens in Fujian province arrested last summer for their role in seeking the truth behind the death of Yan Xiaoling were given sentences on Friday ranging from 1-2 years. One retired senior official sees the charges as part of a larger crackdown on social activism.

18 April 2010

China: Premier Wen remembers Hu Yaobang

In an open letter published Thursday in the People’s Daily, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao recalled an enlightening journey with purged and disgraced former Premier Hu Yaobang.  The letter commemorates the...

17 April 2010

China: Propaganda order Google calendar

Chinese journalists have over the past two years become more open about discussing news blackout orders received from propaganda departments. Those on Twitter have recently begun posting the contents of...

15 April 2010

China: Web mobilizes to help Yushu earthquake victims

Between local government attempts to keep news of the Yushu earthquake contained and China's top leaders calling for "all-out" assistance from the public, desire from offline and virtual civil society to contribute to rescue efforts any way they can has been loud and forward.

14 April 2010

China: The brief lives of Chinese buildings

At a construction and energy conservation conference that opened March 29 in Beijing, a Ministry of Housing and Construction official revealed that construction in China only has a 25–30 year lifespan.

10 April 2010

Taiwan: WhereCamp Taipei

Schee of Hopendata project announces on the project blog(zh) that WhereCamp Taipei is to be held on April 10th in Taipei. This is a an unofficial follow-up event of Where...

9 April 2010

Taiwan: Debate over kitten-slayer case

A National Taiwan University graduate student, Lee Nien Lung, was sentenced to 18 months in prison in the end of March 2010 under the charge of animal cruelty. The sentence...

8 April 2010

The Big Issue Hits Taiwan

Taiwan is the 9th country that publishes The Big Issue. Li Chi Zhong, the founder of Roodo Blog, introduces this model to Taiwan with a hope to develop a new type of social business. One month before publishing the first issue, bigissue.tw started its Facebook fan page to recruit volunteers. So far it has 27,000 fans.

2 April 2010

About our Chinese coverage

Oiwan Lam
Oi wan Lam is the North East Asia editor. Email her story ideas or volunteer to write.