· May, 2013

Stories about China from May, 2013

Chinese Motherland or Otherland?

  30 May 2013

The micro-blogger explained the meaning of otherland as: You thought it is motherland, in fact it is otherland; this country belongs to foreigners and those whose offsprings are living overseas. You are the stranger of motherland.

13-year-old Girl Publicly Shamed in China

  29 May 2013

A 13-year-old girl was handcuffed and then paraded on the streets after “accidentally spilling water on a town government vehicle” in Guizhou province. Fauna from ChinaSMACK translated Chinese netizens’ reaction.

Shock Over Chinese Teen's Graffiti in Egypt

  28 May 2013

Chinese netizen “Kongyou Wuyi” who took a trip to Egypt recently, posted on his Weibo a picture of a fraction of a wall at Egypt’s Luxor Temple. On the wall, there goes “Ding Jinhao was here.” (Check the picture below) The post soon went viral. Many Chinese netizens felt shocked and...

Demanding Transparency is Not a Crime

  27 May 2013

A number of citizen right advocates issued a public statement demanding the release of 10 citizens who were arrested for demanding officials to publicly disclose their personal assets. Seeing Red in China has translated the joint statement into English.

Attacking China's “Dishonest Americans” Newspaper Series

  27 May 2013

State-controlled media outlet, the People's Daily, has recently published a series of editorials on Dishonest Americans. Like many other propaganda pieces, social media users attack its hypocrisy with questions like “Why do our officials keep sending their wives and sons to this immoral and dishonest country?” More from Beijing Cream.

Chinese Social Web Defends US Vice President Biden

  26 May 2013

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.

Colombian Vallenato Hats Made in China

  25 May 2013

Andrés Bermúdez comments on China Files about ” The day vallenato was sung in Chinese” [es], a musical reaction to the Chinese industrial production of sombreros vueltiaos, one of the most important artisan crafts from Colombia.

Cadmium-Laced Rice Found in China

  22 May 2013

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.

Gender Gap Widens in Chinese Cities

  21 May 2013

China Digital Times highlighted some discussion on gender gap in China. Even though the overall percentage of working women is not very low, as a result of urbanization, employment rate for working-age women in urban areas fell to a new low of 60.8 percent in 2010, down from 77.4 percent...

China: Online Social Management

  20 May 2013

David Bandurski from China Media Project explained the idea of “online social management”, a set of tactics to increase the capacity for channeling online public opinion, put forward by Fu Siming, a professor at the Central Party School.

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

  19 May 2013

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 identity” despite better material living conditions. In response, social media celebrity and social critic “Zuoyeben“[zh] wrote an essay on the real cause...

Hong Kong: ‘Drink Less to Get Raped Less’

  17 May 2013

Hong Wrong rounded up Hong Kong citizens’ responses to the city's security chief's comment on the soaring of rape cases. The police head, Lai Tung-Kwok, told women to cut down on drinking in a press conference.

China: Petition System Reform?

  17 May 2013

Yueran Zhang from Tea Leaf Nation reviews the Chinese petition system and discusses directions for future reform: Ongoing reforms should include the enhancement of the institutional powers of bureaus of letters and visits. On the other hand, the citizens flooding the petitioning offices, which are considered a last resort, reveal...

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