Stories about China from May, 2010
China: lost in translation
The machine translation of Chinese character into English can be really hilarious. PH from veggie discourse has a few examples.
China: Responses to FoxConn's suicides
SACOM have several updates on reactions and responses to FoxConn workers’ consecutive suicides, including 1. Appeal by Sociologists on FoxConn suicides, 2. Global Day of Remembrance for Victims of Foxconn, 3. Letter to Apple and 4. A protest action in Hong Kong
China and Hong Kong: Responses to Cheonan sinking incident
The release of the international investigation report on sinking of Cheonan in May 20, 2010, concluding that the South Korean warship had been bombed by a North Korean torpedo has alleviating the tension in Northeast Asia region. South Korea suspended all trade and investment with North Korea while Pyongyang denied...
China: Hebei’s “Great Leap Forward”
More than 1000 residents of Hebei Province will be subject to forced evictions before June 5, in a government development project online opinion has dubbed a “Great Leap Forward.” Guangping County, an impoverished area in southern Hebei, will see 2 billion yuan ($293 million) invested in new building and development...
China: English Language Blogs
Kai Pan from china/divide takes his readers for a tour around different kind of English language blogs about China.
China: Baidu vs. Google: in search of accessible, useful results
Joel Martinsen from DANWEI translated a blog post from Oh My Media which compared the search result of “CPU, temperature, software” in Google and Baidu.
China: Dying young in FoxConn
SACOM, a NGO in Hong Kong which concerns about labour rights issue, posted an investigative report on the 10 consecutive suicide cases in FoxConn, one of the I-phone subcontractor in China.
Taiwan: Responses to Thailand's upheaval, if there is any
Taiwan is no stranger in terms of “Red Shirts” and street protests. In September, 2006, the island had its own anti-corruption campaign which also involved about one million red-shirt protesters demonstrating against the former President Chen Shui-bain (who has been still under custody since Nov.12, 2008). And when the first...
Taiwan: In memory of Chao-Jung Hsu, a Taiwanese WWII veteran
As part of an impassioned campaign to create a memorial park for Taiwanese WWII veterans, Chao-Jung Hsu's set himself on fire and died exactly two years ago.
China: Blogger interrogated after criticizing Shanghai EXPO 2010
A blogger, A Bad Friend, was summoned by security police for interrogation over tea upon writing an article, 10 sins of EXPO 2010, on his blog. After the tea session, he wrote another article, “La Dernière Classe”, recording the conversation between the security police and himself. The exchange reflects the ideological conflict between a party-state nation represented by the security police and a people-orientated nation represented by the student blogger.
China: Do Officials Really Fear the Internet?
Chinageeks picks up a local media debate on whether or not Chinese officials are afraid of Internet public opinion.
China: Is there a place in education for high culture?
Is there a place for liberal education in today’s modern society, where competition for jobs is fierce, and occupations are increasingly specialized and technical? An April issue of the Southern Metropolitan Weekend published a letter written by a Year 3 university student from Tianjin, a major metropolis in Northeast China:...
China reconnects Xinjiang
After more than 10 months of near to complete online darkness, internet service resumed Friday in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, according to a notice from the Xinjiang Government News Office,. The notice was first posted at Tianshan Net, then quickly distributed to other online news services across the country. Several blogs...
China: I-Phone subcontractor's workers commit suicide
7 workers from Foxconn, I-Phone subcontractor in China, have committed suicide since January 2010. China Hush summarized an investigative report on the consecutive suicide.
Secrets of a Chinese Restaurant
PH from Veggie discourse translates a post at MOP written by a Cook about how in general food is prepared in Chinese restaurant.
China: Shoe-throwing at real estate tycoon
The real estate bubble has enraged the public and real estate tycoon Ren Zhiqiang received a pair of shoes while delivering a speech in a conference in Dalian. Shanghaiist has the background of the story. ESWN translates online and offline discussions about the incident.
China: expelling the unemployed from Shenzhen
Ridding the city of those unemployed for longer than three months—that’s what Shenzhen’s vice mayor and police chief suggested April 29 in response to security problems in this special economic zone in South China. The suggestion has generated a strong online response. In a meeting with the Hong Kong-Macau Political...
China: Naked official debate
A “naked official” is an official whose wife and kids have left China to live in a foreign country, leaving only him behind to take care of things at home. Juilian from DANWEI translated a debate from Southern Weekend on whether or not these naked officials should be fired as...
China and the U.S: The fake chips
Angry Chinese blogger comments on the U.S government's accusation of the inflow of low grade technology products, such as fake chips into the U.S military.
China: School killings and social pathology
Within 5 weeks, there were 5 school killings in China. All the victims are innocent primary and kindergarten school kids, while all the murderers are also victims of social injustice. The problem of the cold-blooded murders comes from society, but again, mainstream media are told not to further investigate the...
Technology for Transparency in China
Some recent online projects promoting greater civic engagement and government accountability reflect the emerging power of the middle class and the democratic influence from outside of China. However, while the country undergoes a fundamental shift in how information is spread and controlled, the power of Chinese authorities in regulating communication and participation should never be under-estimated.
About our China coverage
Oi wan Lam is the North East Asia editor. Email her story ideas or volunteer to write.
