Stories about Chinese from April, 2012
China: The Heroine Behind Chen Guangcheng's Escape Arrested
He Peirong, a Chinese activist who helped blind lawyer and civil rights activist Chen Guangcheng escape his house arrest has herself now been detained.
Taiwan: Travel with Art
Blogger and artists Lovingpure(黃愛淳) uses contemporary paintings about Taiwan from distinguished painters to create this video as the ultimate travel guide for foreign tourists.
China: Reactions to TV Ban on Japanese Porn Star, Sola Aoi
Chinese netizens are frustrated by the government's ban stopping Japanese porn star Sola Aoi from appearing in television shows. To show their support, they displayed a slogan at a Guangzhou football match, which has captured imaginations.
China: What is Causing the Death of Endangered Finless Porpoises?
More than a dozen corpses of the Finless Porpoise, a species even more rare than the Giant Panda, have been found in Dongting Lake in Hubei and Hunan provinces since March 2012. Chinese micro-bloggers are keeping each other updated on the situation while trying to determine the reasons for the deaths of this critically endangered species, as the government is yet to confirm the death toll and put forward a rescue plan.
China: Feminist Questions ‘Date NGO Girls’ Charity Event
A nonprofit organization that supports the development of NGOs recently introduced a charity event in Beijing to help young female NGO staffers to find their marriage match. However, prominent feminist blogger Lu Ping questions why charities and NGOs are spending resources to promote a culture that reinforces gender, marriage and sexual stereotypes.
China: An Insider's Reflection on Keyword Filtering Programs
A reflective article written by a computer programmer about his experience in developing a program for keyword filtering on mobile devices .
China: Struggle to Remember Fang Lizhi
Chinese intellectual Fang Lizhi, who inspired a whole generation of student activists during the 1980s, passed away on April 6, 2012 in the United States, at the age of 76. Authorities were quick to ban the news from the Internet and Chinese netizens now have to struggle with web censors to remember Fang.
Is Basketball's Jeremy Lin the Light of Taiwan?
From a benchwarmer to an NBA player who led the New York Knicks to seven consecutive victories, Jeremy Lin's inspiring Cinderella story has incited “Linsanity” in Taiwan. All major newspapers have extravagantly portrayed him as "the light of Taiwan." However, many Taiwanese bloggers are wary of this kind of blind idolatry.
Taiwan: A Family's Forced Eviction Casts Shadow on Urban Renewal Act
The outraging eviction of Wang family executed by Taipei City government showed the public how fragile citizens' private rights is in front of the urban renewal projects. More and more public opinions urged for the revision of the current Urban Renewal Act.
China: Dissident Artist Ai Weiwei Puts Himself Under Web Surveillance
Prominent Chinese artist Ai Weiwei had installed four live webcams at his home in Beijing as a symbolic protest against the police's 24-hour surveillance of him. However, the Chinese authorities ordered Ai to turn off his webcams yesterday.
Taiwan: Protect Homeowners Against Forced Demolition
About 400 people gathered to protect one Taipei family against eviction by the police. A controversial urban renewal project has made the Wang's house part of the government sanctioned renewal zone, which allows the government to forcibly expel citizens from their own house when 75% of their neighbors agree to sell their land to the developer.
About our Chinese coverage
Oi wan Lam is the North East Asia editor. Email her story ideas or volunteer to write.
