Beijing (HKFP) – Video clips and photos shared on Chinese social media sites on Saturday show police facing off with residents in China’s northern Hebei province amid protests over floods. Villagers in Xingtai, Hebei, claim they were …
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Why is China getting involved in Afghan peace talks?
Beijing (IRIN) – During German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s recent visit to China, the two countries agreed to jointly fund a disaster response centre in Afghanistan. It was just the latest sign of China’s increasingly prominent …
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Foreign investors “scared off” by Mongolian economic crisis
Ulan Bator, Mongolia (dpa) – Inside a cramped traditional tent dwelling called a ger, a formerly nomadic family sleeps and cooks around a coal stove in the polluted provincial capital of Bayankhongor. They have relied …
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Merkel meets human rights lawyers on visit to China
Beijing (dpa) – German Chancellor Angela Merkel met human rights lawyers, an artist, a writer and other civil society representatives in Beijing late Monday after holding government consultations focused on trade during her three-day visit to …
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When disaster strikes, should China do more?
Beijing (IRIN) – Sixty-two Chinese rescuers and six sniffer dogs were the first global team on the ground in Nepal the day after a massive earthquake devastated the country just over a year ago. The quick deployment …
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The smog economy: Bottled air takes off as a big business in China
Beijing (Mashable) — Moses Lam was an overworked mortgage broker when he started selling bags of air from Canada on eBay as a joke. Now his company, Vitality Air, is scrambling to keep up with …
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“I killed my mother”: China’s Cultural Revolution shame, 50 years on
Beijing (dpa) – Zhang Hongbing was 16 years old when he and his father sent his mother to the executioner. At that point, over a million people had already been killed and many millions more …
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Chongqing: China’s biggest experiment in economic reform
The rapid development and urbanization of China’s biggest city, Chongqing, shows how the country’s leaders are trying to revive slowing economic growth. Will the experiment work? Chongqing, China (dpa) – The presenter waved his hand over …
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In Focus special report: China’s five-year plan
China’s 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-2020) was finalised during the government’s annual ‘Two Sessions’ policy meetings in March. Focus asked a number of experts for their views on what it all means. I provide my views …
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For Chinese Victims of Sexual Assault, ‘Going Viral’ Is Best Revenge
Foreign Policy – A violent attack in the Chinese capital of Beijing on the evening of April 3 has set Chinese social media ablaze, calling attention to the indifference that female Chinese citizens encounter when trying …
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China’s quarterly growth falls to lowest rate since financial crisis
Beijing (dpa) – China’s economy grew by 6.7 per cent in the first quarter of 2016, according to official figures released Friday, marking a seven-year low in quarterly growth in the world’s second-largest economy. The figure matched …
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House churches: Underground, overground
The Economist – FOR the past couple of years, China’s tens of millions of Christians, most of whom are Protestants, have been watching events in the coastal province of Zhejiang with anxiety. The authorities there …
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China’s Secret Weapon on Disputed Island: Beer and Badminton
Beijing (Foreign Policy) – Soldiers, ships, and military outposts are the usual tools of nations staking out their territory. But on disputed shoals in the South China Sea, Beijing may be deploying a new arsenal: …
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Column: Equality should be the icing on the marriage cake
Herizons – I am puzzled by many Western wedding traditions. My multicultural family chooses which customs to observe, and, usually, efforts are minimal. We may roast a duck on Thanksgiving, peer at the moon on Mid-Autumn …
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Single parents: Pariahs
The Economist – AFTER more than three decades of often brutal interference by the government in citizens’ reproductive choices, it seemed something of a breakthrough when, in October, it decided to allow all couples to have …
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Mongolia appeals for aid as “dzud” kills livestock and livelihoods
Nature has been hard on Mongolia. Little rain in summer followed by too much snow and cold in winter is killing off the country’s livestock, leaving the people who depend on them in dire straits. …
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Mongolian livestock succumb en masse to the freezing dzud
Ulziit, Mongolia (IRIN) – Daashka and his brother tear across the Mongolian steppe on a motorbike in a desperate search for somewhere to graze their herds. Pastureland is dwindling rapidly as the country is beset by a …
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Amid pollution’s haze, stories make it worth staying in China
This is my second essay for SupChina, a new platform featuring original reporting, commentary and a daily newsletter on China’s business, political and cultural news. SupChina – Beijing and other parts of China may present …
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The one and many ways of being Chinese
This is the first in a series of essays for SupChina, a new platform featuring original reporting, commentary and a daily newsletter on China’s business, political and cultural news. SupChina – Although I possess only a Canadian …
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Seeking Justice for China’s ‘Underage Prostitutes’
After a government crackdown on rights activists, child victims of sex crimes have fewer advocates. BEIJING, China (Foreign Policy)— Four and a half years ago in a small village on the outskirts of the coastal …
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Activist arrest puts foreign NGOs in China on edge
BEIJING, 25 January 2016 (IRIN) – Foreign NGO employees in China watched in horror last week as a Swedish rights activist went on state television to deliver what colleagues described as a “forced confession”. With …
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China’s economic woes: the country’s leadership have much to lose
The National UAE – A quote from China’s architect of free market reforms, Deng Xiaoping, has resurfaced on the country’s social media after multiple trading halts failed to keep Chinese stocks from plunging in January, leading a rout …
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Hong Kong could withdraw from UN torture convention, leader suggests
By Christy Choi with reporting from Joanna Chiu Hong Kong (dpa) – Chief Executive CY Leung’s suggestion that he would consider removing Hong Kong as a signatory to an international torture convention has set off …
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Analysis: China unwilling to punish North Korea for nuclear test, experts say
Beijing (dpa) – North Korea’s surprise claim that it had successfully conducted a fourth nuclear bomb test this week renewed fears and ignited a chorus of condemnation around the world. If confirmed, the detonation would …
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Why millions of Chinese parents left their children behind
Beijing (GlobalPost) — In some ways, Lai Wei and her husband faced the same dilemma that many foreigners who move to Beijing to pursue career opportunities struggle with. Should they bring their daughter to the big city, …
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Worst smog of the winter blankets Beijing, angers residents
Beijing (dpa) – The worst smog of the winter so far enveloped Beijing Monday as recorded air pollution levels reached over 20 times international safety limits. Authorities in the Chinese capital on Sunday issued the …
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South China Morning Post CEO confirms talks over possible sale
By Christy Choi and Joanna Chiu, dpa Hong Kong (dpa) – The venerable Hong Kong-based English broadsheet South China Morning Post confirmed it is in talks to sell stakes in the paper with a yet unidentified interested …
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Alibaba smashes sales record for China’s Singles’ Day with $9.3 billion in 12 hours
Beijing (Mashable) — China’s Singles’ Day, otherwise known as the world’s biggest online shopping event, was bigger and better this year, going by the numbers of its lead online shopping sites. Alibaba said that by mid-day on …
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The very real danger of fake cosmetics from China
Beijing (Mashable) — China is the world capital of fakes. Here you can get counterfeit handbags, watches and electronics that look identical to the real goods. You can visit an amusement park with over 130 replicas …
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Mobile chat apps are latest battleground in war on Chinese fakes
Beijing (dpa) – A woman from south China’s tropical island province of Hainan made 400,000 yuan (63,000 US dollars) last year by selling counterfeit handbags using a mobile chat application. The 27-year-old, who only gave …
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Interview: China-Taiwan summit: High stakes in meeting, says mainland academic
Beijing (dpa) – Chinese President Xi Jinping and Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou are scheduled to hold talks on Saturday in Singapore, the first face-to-face meeting between leaders since the two sides split in 1949 after …
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Commentary: Turn up the volume on Canadian media diversity
Herizons, fall 2015 – As a journalist in my mid-20s, I should have plenty to feel confident about. After getting a master’s degree in journalism from an Ivy League university, I moved to China, where I …
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China to let couples have two children as it ends one-child policy
Beijing (dpa) -China is to abolish its one-child policy and allow all couples to have two children, the official Xinhua news agency reported Thursday from a meeting of the Central Committee of the Communist Party …
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Legal loopholes in China fail to stop sexual abuse of children
Beijing (dpa) – A tax official in south China’s Sichuan province paid 6,000 yuan (945 dollars) in 2009 to have sex with a virgin but escaped with only a 5,000-yuan fine after he told police …
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Managing migration
Tongzhou (The Economist) – Yuan Quan has beaten the odds as a young woman from a small mountainous city in Hubei, a province in central China. She earned one of the few spots available to non-local …
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Chinese philanthropist arrested for rape in school charity scam
Beijing (dpa) – A man in south China’s Guangxi province has been arrested on suspicion of raping underage girls after earning their trust through setting up a charity that raised money for their schooling, according to …
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Chinese models ignore rampant sexual harassment to collect higher-than-average paychecks
This is the first in my series of monthly investigations into China’s fashion and beauty industries for Glammonitor. “Last winter during lunar new year festival, I had to shoot off firecrackers in the snow wearing …
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Beijing on lockdown ahead of big Victory Day military parade
See @dpa’s full coverage of the parade here. Beijing (dpa) – Beijing residents have been relishing “blue sky days” in the run-up to a huge military parade next week, to mark the 70th anniversary of the end …
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Chinese feminists jailed
Commentary for Herizons magazine. Views expressed are my opinions only. I recently had lunch in Shanghai with a young woman who helped to put on plays to raise awareness about gender inequality in her community. In …
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China investors brace for stock market free fall
Beijing (dpa) – China has rolled out a dizzying array of stimulus and loosening measures this year, including multiple interest rate cuts and this month’s surprise yuan devaluations. But investors are increasingly showing signs that …
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Many Chinese gays prefer fake marriages to facing family at home
BEIJING, Global Post— William and Andi, husband and wife of four years, hadn’t seen each other for months. Andi arrived at William’s apartment sweaty from a bicycle ride through the Beijing summer haze. William brought her …
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After scare of yuan’s fall, world anxious for answers on path ahead
Beijing (dpa) – “Trust the market, respect the market, fear the market, and follow the market,” the deputy governor of China’s central bank said at a rare press briefing Thursday as the world tried to …
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At least 50 dead after blasts rock Tianjin, fire fills sky over port
Beijing (dpa) – Explosions and a fireball at a chemical warehouse killed at least 50 people in the north-eastern Chinese port city of Tianjin, news reports said Thursday. The magnitude of the initial blast late …
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China publishes “confession” of law firm director, arrests continue
Beijing (dpa) – Chinese state media has published an alleged confession from the director of a law firm that has been a focus of a nationwide crackdown on human rights lawyers. “I plead guilty,” Zhou …
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Over 100 China lawyers and activists arrested in nationwide crackdown
Beijing (dpa) – More than 100 human rights lawyers and activists from 15 cities and provinces in China have been detained, have disappeared or been summoned by police in a nationwide crackdown, rights groups said …
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Chinese investors dismiss government efforts to prop up stock market
Beijing (dpa) – A quote from China’s architect of free market reforms, Deng Xiaoping, has been going viral on the country’s WeChat messaging service. “Certain aspects of capitalism can be adopted by socialism. We should …
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China adopts sweeping new national security law
Beijing (dpa) – China’s legislature approved a sweeping national security law Wednesday to tighten control of the internet and empower the state to take “all necessary measures” to protect its sovereignty. The far-reaching and vaguely …
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China-led development bank set up in Beijing
Beijing (dpa) – A China-backed Asian development bank was officially established in Beijing Monday, state media reported, capping months of debate over which countries would participate and about China’s growing financial clout abroad. China will …
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Chinese investment in Europe hits 46 billion euros
Beijing (dpa) – Chinese capital is increasingly flowing into Europe, soaring from virtually zero in the mid-2000s to 14 billion euros (16 billion dollars) in 2014, according to the first comprehensive study of China’s investment …
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What next for Hong Kong’s democracy movement?
Hong Kong (dpa) – Hong Kong lawmakers on Thursday successfully blocked a Beijing-backed election reform package that triggered the biggest unrest in years in the Chinese territory. Legislators voted to reject the controversial plan that …
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China detains two rights activists in widening crackdown
Beijing (dpa) – Two former directors of a Beijing-based human rights group have been detained, the group said late Sunday. Guo Bin and Yang Zhanqing, former senior staff members of the Yirenping Center, were detained Friday and accused …
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Chinese lawyers, activists question Beijing report on rights record
China has released an annual report extolling the country’s “unique pattern of protecting human rights.” But activists and lawyers say 2014 was “appalling” for the country’s human rights record. Beijing (dpa) – China released a …
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Chinese authorities censor questions about Yangtze ship sinking
Beijing (dpa) – Chinese Premier Li Keqiang bowed his head Wednesday morning in a moment of silence for victims of a cruise ship accident on the Yangtze River. Since the ship capsized in stormy weather Monday, state media have …
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Hundreds feared dead on riverboat “journey of no return” in China
Beijing (dpa) – Zhang Hui did not know how to swim but he floated in the stormy waters of the Yangtze River for 10 hours after a cruise ship he was travelling on along with …
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Relatives blame “metal foam houses” for China rest home deaths
Beijing (dpa) – Relatives of two people who died in a fire that killed dozens at a retirement home in central China blamed poor quality housing for many deaths Tuesday. At least 38 people died …
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Solar flight pilot: Pacific leg is “most challenging” ever attempted
Beijing (dpa) – Andre Borschberg is attempting to break the record for the longest solo plane flight in history – and he plans to do so in a plane that runs entirely on sunlight. The …
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Chinese question risk of war after US navy plane’s overflight
Beijing (dpa) – A US navy surveillance plane flew over disputed islands in the South China Sea, prompting the Chinese navy to issue several warnings, a news report said Thursday. “This is the Chinese navy … …
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Migrant workers in Beijing to get chance for more equal rights
Beijing (dpa) – When Zhang Jing’s neighborhood was named a pilot zone for a government scheme where migrant workers could earn points toward resident status, she thought it was the stroke of fortune her family …
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China scrambles to fill job vacancies amid graft crackdown
Chinese President Xi’s anti-corruption crackdown has made headlines around the world, but it has also created a headache for provincial authorities having to fill thousands of suddenly vacated posts. Datong, China (dpa) – The new brick …
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China calls for new regional order, defends Silk Road plan
Boao, China (dpa) — Chinese President Xi Jinping called on the world’s nations on Saturday to support Beijing’s ideas for a new development bank and “Silk Road” strategy to serve Asia. The development bank and plans …
