Stories about Chinese from March, 2013
Official Fine Dining Goes Underground as China Curbs Excesses
China's crackdown on extravagance and banqueting has sent official fine dining underground. Local governments have turned in-house cafeterias into fine restaurants and hosted lavish private dinners in their homes in order to avoid being seen indulging in public.
Censoring Censorship in China
The above screen capture of a local news brief has gone viral on Chinese social media yesterday. It said: “Recently Myanmar has unblocked Facebook, the world's most popular social media...
China's Social Web Fawns Over First Lady
China's fashionable first lady Peng Liyuan has not only made the front cover of newspapers home and abroad, but also has attracted a hardcore following on popular Chinese microblogging site Sina Weibo.
Chinese Couples Divorce to Dodge Property Tax
A capital gains tax hike in China has couples rushing to file for divorce to avoid paying a steep rate on the sale of their second home.
Despite Bans, China's Uyghurs Wear their Identity with Pride
A viral photo showing Uyghur students being punished for wearing Muslims caps in Xinjiang's Urumqi city has been labelled by the authorities as a "rumor" and a "plot" by "outside forces." But many Uyghurs wonder when the government will show some respect for their culture.
Chinese Mom Buys NYC Apartment for Toddler
China's state media CCTV News ran a video report on a Chinese mom who bought a USD $6.5 million apartment in Manhattan for her two-year daughter, in preparation for her daughter's...
Xi Jinping's ‘Shoe’ Metaphor Lights Up Web
While discussing the paths that nations take towards development in a speech delivered at Moscow State Institute of International Relations, Chinese president Xi Jinping said, “Only the wearer knows if...
24 Steps to Improve Your Reporting
24 hours in the life of a news room shares great ideas and resources with journalists working in print, TV, radio or on the web. It is available in five languages. For...
China's Red Army Returns Online and Hunts Students
In China's Southern Guangdong province, a local University has been monitoring student conversation online and controlling their negative sentiment for the last 3 years.The news triggered outrage online; many think the university has violated student privacy and demanded a stop to the system.
Hong Kong's Democrats Have Radical Plans
To pressure Beijing to grant Hong Kong genuine universal suffrage, democratic activists have begun discussing civil disobedience as a viable tactic .
The Return of China's First Lady
Reversing a streak decades long of low-profile presidential wives, Chinese first lady Peng Liyuan accompanied her husband, new President Xi Jinping, to Russia on his first foreign tour, marking a return of the role to the political spotlight.
Chinese Microblogger Detained After Questioning Dead Pigs Scandal
The dead pigs scandal in Shanghai has been a hot topic online for the past two weeks, yet one poet's voice on this issue has lead to her detention.
Former President of Google China Reveals Censorship Statistics
Kai-Fu Lee, former president of Google China, published a chart on Twitter showing how often his micro-blog was deleted by the Chinese government's censorship arm. Lee regularly blogs about cultural and...
Today's Tibet, Tomorrow's Hong Kong?
An activist network in Hong Kong organized an assembly to express their solidarity with Tibetans on the 54th Anniversary of Tibetan Uprising Day last Sunday March 10, 2013. Some participants who joined the meeting believed that Hong Kong people should learn from Tibet and avoid the history from recurring in Hong Kong.
China Pollution – Blame it on the World
A Chinese politician has blamed foreign countries’ consumption of China's exports for the environmental problems the country is facing. The Director of the Anhui Provincial Environmental Protection Authority accused foreigners...
China's New Premier Promises Cleaner Government in First Press Conference
In a combination of pragmatism and modeled political language, Li Keqiang, the newly installed Chinese premier, promised a cleaner government and less bureaucracy in his first press conference address to a group of reporters in Beijing’s Great Hall of the People.
China's Social Media Censored After New President Draws Lone Opposing Vote
China's social media censors are cracking down on discussion about the mysterious identity behind the lone vote cast against communist leader Xi Jinping's formal appointment as president.
Skip the Cigarettes, Breathe in Beijing's Air
The former head of Google China and influential Micro-blogger Kai-Fu Lee posted[zh] to his 32 million fans on Sina Weibo an imaginary conversation between a Beijinger and a Shanghainese: Beijinger:...
Fears of Ticket Hikes As China Scraps Indebted Railways Ministry
China has decided to dismantle its powerful but indebted railways ministry in a bid to boost government efficiency and tackle corruption, a move that some Chinese Web users worry could mean higher ticket prices on the horizon.
Thousands of Dead Pigs Found Floating in Shanghai River
Thousands of dead pigs have been found floating in the Huangpu River, which flows through the middle of Shanghai. While the local authorities asserted that the dead pigs have not polluted the city's water supply, people are skeptical of these claims.