· May, 2013

Stories about Chinese from May, 2013

Taiwan Copyright Bill Worse Than SOPA

It said the U.S Stop Online Piracy Act demands IP blocking requests to be determined in court while the Taiwan copyrights amendement filter list will be managed by a government...

31 May 2013

Chinese Social Web Defends US Vice President Biden

United States Vice President Joe Biden has faced a firestorm of criticism from Chinese international students after he referred to China as a nation that cannot "think different" or "breathe freely" during his commencement speech at the University of Pennsylvania. But mainland Chinese Web users have hit back, reproaching the students abroad for their behavior and defending Biden's speech as worthy of reflection.

26 May 2013

How Social Commerce Tightens China's Grip on the Internet

A deal between e-commerce firm Alibaba Group and Sina Weibo, China's most popular microblogging service, has been heralded as a jump-start to the era of social commerce in China. But it could also enable the authoritarian state to tighten its grip on the Internet.

22 May 2013

Cadmium-Laced Rice Found in China

Rice contaminated with high levels of the toxic heavy metal cadmium, dubbed "cadmium rice," is the latest food scandal in China to trigger public panic and anger among the country's consumers.

22 May 2013

Why Is China's Post-80’s Generation Dispirited?

China's state-run People’s Daily ran a piece titled “The Post-80′s Generation is Dispirited: Early Decline Cause for Alarm[zh],” arguing that China’s youth born after 1980 face “spiritual confusion and a loss of...

19 May 2013

Chinese Government Bans Seven ‘Speak-Not’ Subjects

A prominent Chinese law professor recently revealed in his microblog on popular Twitter-like site Sina Weibo that the Chinese government has imposed a policy on university professors instructing them not to teach seven subjects, including freedom of the press, past mistakes of the communist party, and human rights.

16 May 2013

WeiboSuite: New Tool to Analyze Sina Weibo

WeiboSuite is a new toolbox for journalists and netizens. Created by data journalists from the University of Hong Kong, WeiboSuite provides English translations of censored materials on Weibo and tools to...

14 May 2013

Chinese Web Floods White House with Petitions

An unsolved case of poisoning of a 19-year college student in 1994 has resurfaced in the Chinese social media sphere. It has not only grabbed the wide attention of Chinese netizens, but also triggered a wave of petitions to the White House.

14 May 2013

Popular Chinese Writer's Microblog Scrubbed from Sina Weibo

The online Sina Weibo microblogging account of Murong Xuecun, one of China's most popular writers and one of the country's foremost critics of censorship, has been deleted from the site, suspected to be part of the government's efforts to crack down on online rumors by targeting high-profile users.

13 May 2013

Chinese Director's Reported Seven Children Shocks Public

China's one-child policy is once again under scrutiny after mainland media revealed that famous Chinese director Zhang Yimou might have fathered seven children. Frustrated netizens thronged to social media, seizing upon the case as yet another example that privilege is what it takes for one in China to flout laws and regulations.

11 May 2013

About our Chinese coverage

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