Stories about Chinese from August, 2010
China: Hidden village of Dafen produces 60% of world's oil paintings
A small artist colony of 8000 artists outside of Shenzhen, China is producing 60% of the world's oil paintings.
Taiwan: 250000 Facebook users against inadequate court sentence
More than 250 thousand facebook users join together to condemn the recent court sentence that put a rapist in jail for only 3 years and 2 months, much shorter then 7 years and 10 months charged by public prosecutor[zht]. In the verdict the judge claimed that because evidences show the...
Taiwan: Students ask for more rights
A team of university student representatives from various universities and colleges established their official blog[zht] and published the 2010 evaluation result of students’ right in universities. They criticize some universities for opening courses just to ask students to do what employees should do, enforcing students to go to military courses, and...
Taiwan: Learn Wing Chun with blog
Meow Asks Taipei(妙問台北) constantly shares her experiences[zht] of learning and practicing Wing Chun(詠春), a martial art originated from southern China, with detailed human figures and graphs drawn by herself.
Taiwan: Tell the difference between Yukata and Kimono
Famous comic blogger and Japanese culture observer JaeJae teaches us how to tell the difference[zht] between Yukata and Kimono, the two similar Japanese traditional garments.
China: Prostitution, Reality, Hypocrisy and Human Lives
What good does punishing women involved in the sex trade do when the gangs, corporations, and clients are left largely untouched?
China: Fujian Netizen, Fan Yanqiong, Released from Prison
The last of the Fujian 3 netizens still in prison, Fan Yanqiong, was quietly released today on medical parole with nearly a year remaining on her sentence. Watch He Yang's new documentary on her story, as well as that of netizens You Jingyou and Wu Huaying, below the jump.
Taiwan: Who Needs A Founding Father?
Does Dr. Sun Yat-sen deserve the title of “the Founding Father of Republic of China (R.O.C)”? Is he really a flawless idealistic political leader and the hero behind the revolution that overthrew Qing Dynasty? The myth around Dr. Sun has been under scrutiny in Taiwan where people largely do not identify themselves as “Chinese” anymore.
Noam Chomsky in China
On 13 August, Noam Chomsky delivered a speech at the Peking University in Beijing. Chomsky, one of the leading public intellectuals of our age, is famous for his political activism and contributions to linguistic and philosophy. The talk, titled Contours of World Order: Continuities and Changes, was mostly about two...
Taiwan: Let’s go poking around under the rock of ECFA
The Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) between Taiwan and China was signed. The process seems smooth and efficient at the surface, but the story is not simple. Many Taiwanese have poked around under the rock of ECFA and ask their government why.
China: Hype on university virginity rate
On August 16, a survey report on university female student virginity rate was posted around university forums. Since the report was published under the name of Li Yinhe, the most famous sexologist in China, the post quickly became the hottest topic online. Eventhough Professor Li denied her connection with the...
China: Apple Peel
The video shows how the China made new product Apple Peel 520 turns a IPod Touch into an IPhone. More Apple Peel alike products are coming out. This one equips IPhone with an extended keyboard.
China: Did powdered milk cause infant breast development?
Recently across China, more than 20 infant girls have been found to have begun developing breasts in what has been called “mini-puberty”. Reports also indicate that at least 3 infant boys also have been found with elevated estrogen levels. The levels of female hormones in the small children, ranging between...
China: GDP rising, public spending too?
We keep hearing that China's economy is still booming; has public spending increased in step? Private savings are staying in the bank, writes one blogger: from hospitals to schools to pensions for senior folks, China just doesn't compete.
China: Investigative report on Zhouqu landslide
Wangkeqin wrote an investigative report [zh] on the August 7 Zhouqu landslide. The journalist blogger posted a number of photos showing the fragile construction of water dams in Zhouqu.
China: Are the greatest natural disasters Man-Made?
The Chinese Propaganda Department has issued notice to mainstream and online media outlets regarding the recent disaster in Zhouqu. For the Chinese government, it is a time to mourn rather than digging up the man-made mistakes. Reporters, hence, have been asked to leave the landslide area. However, if we don't...
China: I am Liu Xianbin
Liu Xianbin is 42 years old and has spent almost one third of his life time in jail. He has been under arrest again since June and activists are campaigning for him under the slogan: "I am Lui Xianbin".
Taiwan: Dear Premier Wu, Please Stop Calling People “Idiot”
Enable talks about the recent case[zht] of Premier Wu Den Yih, who was sued by pro-independence group for publicly claiming that “only idiots would support Taiwan independence“. By citing the case of U.S. President Obama, the blog post criticizes Taiwanese politicians, entertainers and TV series for their usual usage of insulting...
China: Zhouqu landslide, a man made disaster
On August 8, a landslide happened in Zhouqu in Gansu province. According to official Xinhua news, the disaster has so far taken away 127 people's lives and 1,294 people reported missing. Since there is very limited information from official media outlets, Woeser's coordinated a collaborative investigation via Twitter soon after...
Taiwan: Indigenous people protest against forced eviction
In the video report created by Civilmedia[zht], more than 600 Taiwan indigenous people from different tribes and supporters gathered in front of the Presidential Office and criticize the forced eviction, ignorance on tribal integrity, and vacuum promises from government after Typhoon Morakot that hit southern Taiwan one year ago.
China: Visa tales
With all the economic growth in China over the past few decades and a growing number of global travelers to match, have visa requirements for Chinese citizens been adapting in step? Well-heeled journalist Chen Zikun shares his experiences, see if or how any of them compare to yours.
About our Chinese coverage
Oi wan Lam is the North East Asia editor. Email her story ideas or volunteer to write.
