Latest posts by Abby Liu 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.
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.
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.
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.
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...
12,000 Dead Pigs, But Shanghai's Quiet
The number of dead pigs found in the Huangpu River has reached over 12,000, yet there have been no protests in Shanghai. Seeing Red in China explores why Shanghai's citizens remain...
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.
Video: Chinese Journalist Fights Censorship
Committee to Protect Journalists features a special report about media censorship in China. In the report, Jonah Kessel tells a video story about Chinese Journalist Liu Jianfeng who reports on social...
Video: The 70's Generation in China
WORDS OF A GENERATION records personal stories and perspectives from the 70's generation in China who grew up on the perimeter of China's past and live at the forefront of...
Chinese Parliament's First Spokeswoman Charms Media, But Web Unconvinced
Chinese parliament's first spokeswoman Fu Ying charmed mainland media in her debut news conference, but Web users reading between the lines of her remarks suspected that Fu, despite breaking the role's traditional gender boundaries, is hawking the same politics as usual.
Hiding $2.34 Trillion in China
The Chinese hide as much as 14.7 trillion yuan [2.34 trillion US dollars] in income per year from the government's official numbers, deputy director of the National Economic Research Institute Wang Xiaolu reported during a recent talk at the Finance Museum.
Viral Video: China's Foreigners on Politics
Every March, thousands of “people's representatives” to the National People’s Congress (NPC) and members of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) gather in Beijing for the “Two Sessions”. This year, State-run...
China Considers Pollution Data a State Secret
China's Ministry of Environmental Protection has rejected a Chinese lawyer's request for the details of a national survey on soil protection after deeming the information a state secret. The public...
China Gives PM 2.5 a Chinese Name
As Beijing continues to suffer from smog and sandstorms, a new initiative to choose a Chinese name for PM2.5 (sub-2.5 micrometer) pollutant particles has become a hot topic on Weibo....
Internet Post Deletion Business in China
Caixin Magazine[zh] reported about the Internet post deletion business in China: “It costs thousands to delete a negative news article, hundreds of thousands in professional fees to get a key...
