China :: Commentaries

Apparently, that's not what President Trump has in mind. Seriously, what does Kim Jong-un wanted? Just as US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jingping are set to have face-to-face talks today in Florida, North Korea, the renegade ally of the Asian superpower, has test-fired yet another ballistic missile in the Sea of Japan. Among the topics that are supposed to be on Mr Trump and Mr Xi's agenda is taming North Korea, one of Asia's most aggressive members, and which has been on the rampage with its testing of ballistic missiles over the course of this year and last. China, as North Korea's closest ally, has itself started to feel the heat and earlier this year decided to suspend the purchase of North Korean coal until the end of the year. But this does not seem to have had an impact on the the country under Kim Jong-un's leadership. Immediately after the last test, China urged all relevant parties to practise restraint and to refrain f...

Causing mischef (not to mention the pollution) three boys burn garbage - market street - west of the city - evening - Shangqiu, Henan, China The escape of blind Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng from house arrest may have been assisted by allies of premier Wen Jiabao, according to a high-level source in Beijing. The source, who is close to senior officials in the capital, told The Epoch Times that the lawyers escape was not only good luck and timing. Wen Jiabaos men persuaded a few plain clothes policemen who were watching over Chen closely at his residence and successfully turned them around, the insider said. The source added that the premiers men told the guards the possible time and location of Chens escape beforehand. It is understood that the intervention came as a result of a long-term disagreement over the handling of the case between the Chinas top police chief Zhou Yongkang and Wen. In a recent interview, the source said that the conflict between the two Party...

We visited the silk factory in Suzhou. They have a working silk production line there for tourist to see. She is sorting the cocoon before they are processed. China The front page of the Beijing Morning Post today features the headline, Hospital appointment scalpers will face the consequences. Chinese hospitals require patients to wait in line to make am appointment. The scalpers wait in line, make appointments and then sell them on to people who have actually come to the hospital to treat a disease. Appointment scalping was one item on a list from the Ministries of Health and Public Security detailing activities that are illegal inside medical institutions. Other infractions include the burning of paper money, illegal possession of flammable or explosive substances, insulting, threatening or intimidating staff members, and theft of private or public property. The notice was meant to inform patients and families of their rights, and remind them to comply with the relevant rules...

Chinese police have arrested a suspect who, among a group of 18 armed poachers, allegedly shot dead an official trying to protect near-extinct Tibetan antelopes in a remote northwestern grassland plateau 17 years ago, police said Tuesday. Tibetan antelope.[File photo] The suspect, surnamed Mu, was arrested in the city of Golmud, Qinghai province, on Sunday night after six others surrendered themselves to police for the 1994 murder of Sonam Dargye. Sonam Dargye was the deputy head of the Zhidoi county government responsible for organizing anti-poaching efforts. He was killed during one of his frequent patrols of the sparsely-populated Hoh Xil grassland on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau when he confronted 18 poachers in January 1994. Sonam Dargye killed one of the two lead poachers in the exchange of fire. The other was executed by the court. Police are still searching for the last four members of the group, officials said. The story of Sonam Dargye became widely known following the release ...

A total of 2,349 officials with the Communist Party of China (CPC) were found to have illegally possessed or traded affordable houses this year, according to Party and government authorities. The violations by these officials involved 6,398 sets of houses that were built for low-income groups, said a statement jointly released yesterday by the Ministry of Supervision and the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection. The statement didn't reveal how these officials have been punished. Meanwhile, some 44,150 Party officials voluntarily handed in 386 million yuan (US$61 million) in goods and money that were sent to them in bribery attempts, said the statement. To gear the property market toward healthy development, China has begun the construction of affordable housing units, aiming to build 36 million subsidized housing units by 2015. Province Sichuan, China, Nov 2005

"The Nutcracker" is one of the most popular compositions in the ballet repertoire. Tchaikovsky's music belongs to the Romantic Period and contains some of most memorable melodies, several of which are frequently used in television and film. Recently, a Chinese version "Nutcracker" was performed at the Harbin International Conference & Culture Center. Different from the original "Nutcracker," the Chinese version tells a story that happens in a Hutong, an old-town area with narrow streets most commonly associated with Beijing. When a westerner gives a nutcracker as a gift to a child on Chinese New Year's Eve, it triggers a fantastic fairy tale. Feng Ying, head of the National Ballet of China, said, "The Chinese version 'Nutcracker' describes how Chinese people celebrate our new year and tells the life of Chinese." While people in north China are enjoying ballet, residents of Shenzhen, in the southern part of China, we...

Tens of thousands of Chinese flocked to the Hunan village of Shaoshan and to Beijing's Tian'anmen Square, two major shrines for Mao Zedong , as well as other public venues yesterday, burning incense, eating noodles and singing "red songs" to mark the late leader's 118th birthday. Thousands honor Mao Zedong on birthday on December 26.[File photo] Normally, the mausoleum of Mao on Tian'anmen Square in Beijing is closed on Mondays for maintenance, but yesterday it was open to tens of thousands who swarmed to the mausoleum to pay their respects. In front of the mausoleum's south gate, about 20 people, who wore red-star caps and pinned Mao badges, faced the shrine and sang "The East Is Red," which extols the deeds of Chairman Mao and was a well-known anthem for every city and village's public address system during Mao's reign for nearly 30 years. After bowing three times, the group punched their fists in the air while hailing "Long Live C...