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...

Southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region reported double-digit gross domestic product growth for the 19th consecutive year in 2011, the regional government chairman said Monday. Tibet's GDP is estimated to expand by 12.6 percent year-on-year to 60.5 billion yuan (US$9.6 billion) this year, Padma Choling told the annual regional economic work conference. The per capita disposal income for urban population rose at an estimated annual pace of 7.8 percent. Meanwhile, the per capita net earning for farmers and herdsmen climbed 13.6 percent year-on-year, the ninth year for double-digit growth, said Padma Choling. Local authorities continued to build roads and bring water, electricity, gas, telecommunications, radio and television, and postal service to remote regions this year, he said. The local government helped 223,000 farmers and herdsmen gain access to clean drinking water and 89,000 get access to electricity, the top regional official said.

As Christmas, solar and lunar new years come and go, one after another, China's young people are racking their brains to select and buy appropriate gifts for their friends, relatives and other important people. Shoppers throng the New World Department Store on Beijing's Chongwenmenwai Street at 2 am on Dec 25, trying to claim one of the 100 iPad 2 gifts the store offers to customers buying a product worth more than 8,888 yuan (US$1,410) during the day's Christmas sales promotion. [Tian Baoxi / for China Daily ] Zhao Xiaojuan, 30, would have slept through Christmas Eve, if she had a choice. However, she had to socialize with her clients, inviting them to watch the Chinese pop duo Yu Quan's concert. Since the last three days, she had been taking business partners to a spa and buying them top cosmetics brands. "I was supposed to relax on holidays, but this feels more stressful than working at the office," said Zhao, a manager at a private investment company...

December 26 marks the 3rd anniversary of escort missions by the Chinese navy along the Gulf of Aden and Somalia seas. On Sunday, the tenth escort team has carried out anti-pirate exercises, while on their 404th mission. . These 8 cargo ships from countries including China, Malaysia and Liberia, set sail from the the Gulf of Adens western seas. They are escorted by the Chinese Navy. December 26 marks the 3rd anniversary of escort missions by the Chinese navy along the Gulf of Aden and Somalia seas. Li Shihong, commander of 10th Convoy, Chinese Navy, said, "Only 4 cargo ships were escorted on the first mission, and now on average its more than 10 ships. We have been widely praised by the international community, and have won the trust of foreign ships, through being safe and efficient." During the mission, the tenth escort team carried out anti-pirate drills. To step up the challenge, the command headquarters assumed the role of a hijacked ship named "Haiko...

On the north end of Bahe East Road, there is a cluster of villas standing in the middle of weeds and trees, looking just like those little castles from fairy tales. Surprisingly they are all empty. Netizen " wrote on Huashang Forum and posted some photos, I heard that they have been abandoned for years. What a pity, not only that they are occupying this large area of land for no purpose, also that they are fine houses left unused. Isnt it a waste of resource? Who build them? Is anybody responsible for this? Why they are left unmanaged? (From sohu )Reporter then tracked down this villa cluster according to the description of the post, and spotted it near the intersection of Ba River(), Wei River() and Jing River(). Amongst overgrowing weeds scatters over 10 western style villa buildings with 2 floors. The half-finished buildings are basically just frameworks, whose walls are damaged here and there along the years. Walking inside the area, you would find that the weeds in som...

Unlike many other mayors in the country whose salaries are carefully concealed from the public, the pay of Lu Guoxian, mayor of Jiaozuo, a city in Central China's Henan province , is published online. Along with the salaries of government employees, the website of the Jiaozuo finance bureau also regularly publishes information such as the city's annual budget, the progress of government projects, notices of upcoming hearings and the cell phone numbers of finance officers. A city with a medium-sized economy in Henan, Jiaozuo tops a nationwide government financial transparency ranking with 78 points, according to a study by the Shanghai University of Finance and Economics in 2010. In a country where the disclosure of government information is still not a common practice, Jiaozuo's efforts to disclose its accounts are remarkable, and, to some extent, astonishing. It's important to take a close look at the reform that a small city has taken on, especially at a moment when a...

A set of new corruption patterns in China, including transnational graft and investment-like kickbacks, were disclosed in a blue book published Friday by Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Xinhua reported. The flow and integration of resources, capital, cultures and information around the globe has cultivated cross-border corruption, while cash is no longer the preferred form of bribery, which has instead become long-term benefits such as favorable business contracts, access to resource and investments. More and more cases of corruption in China are involving groups rather than individuals, and acts of corruption are being done through implicit means, the report said. It also noted that the fields of corruption have expanded from the business, political and judicial areas to social, cultural and educational sectors. Taken at the livestock market in Kashgar, Xinjiang, China. -- Woods

Three years ago, several primary schools were chosen to run Peking Opera classes as part of the curriculum. The experiment has since proved that this profound ancient art resonates with many of the young. So let's step into one of these schools in Nanjing, to find out why the pupils there have fallen in love with the performance art. Students from Chengxianjie Primary School are taking part in this grand Peking Opera Cultural Festival. Dressed up as sheng, dan, jing and chou, the children put on a shining show with the Peking Opera repertoire. And grade 5 student, Ma Mingjun, is just one of the stars. Ma Mingjun, student, said, "I felt great to understand the rhythm of Peking Opera. My love for it bursts out from deep in my heart. It's a kind of feeling that cannot be described with words." Not only do the performers love opera, many audience members are also big aficionados. Holding hand-made opera masks, they shout and applaud their Peking Opera idols on...

Ying Guoquan, board chairman of Wenzhou Vegetable Basket Group is on trial. [Photo/66wz] Sixteen people, mostly senior executives of a state-owned enterprise, were tried by a court in East China for a massive graft case which involved 426 million yuan ($67.6 million), court officials said Saturday. Ying Guoquan, board chairman of Wenzhou Vegetable Basket Group, and his managers were accused of pocketing 220 million yuan during the restructuring of the fresh farm produce state company, said officials with the Intermediate People's Court of Wenzhou in eastern Zhejiang province. The court was told that, for one account, Ying bribed local government officials into allowing him to take advantage of the land use rights of about 325 mu (21.67 hectares) under the state-owned company, from which he profited 115.79 million yuan. The trial, which began on Wednesday, was adjourned on Saturday without the announcement of the court decisions. The case was the second in this week that underscored...

AN overloaded van taking 12 students home plunged into a 60-meter-deep valley in rural southwest China yesterday, killing six people and injuring eight others. The eight-seater, loaded with 14 people, rolled into the valley from a mountainous road in the county of Guangnan, Wenshan Zhuang and Miao Prefecture in Yunnan Province at 9am. The fatalities include the driver, four students and an elderly man. Local officials said the van was not a school bus but students in the area usually took it to commute between their homes and school. Many students in the boarding school returned home yesterday morning. The eight injured, all students, were sent to the prefecture hospital of Wenshan, more than three hours drive from the county for treatment. Their conditions were not immediately known. Police launched an investigation into the accident. It is the second traffic accident involving students in Yunnan this week, amid a string of fatal school bus accidents across the country that raised nat...

From Information Times : In the movie 2012, Dec 21st is the end of the world. On this special day, mountains fall down, earth crack, landslides and tsunamis are everywhere. In the movie, Chinese people made a Noahs Ark in Tibet and only government officials and rich people in the world can afford the tickets. But in Taobao(www.taobao.com), a Chinese online shopping web, you can buy a Noahs Ark ticket of 1 billion Euros with only 3 RMB (less than $0.5). It also became the most popular and creative New Years gift. A billion face value tickets sold for less than $0.5 Although there is a year to the prophecy of the end of the world by Maya people, but it cannot stop peoples passion of buying a ticket to escape from the earth. In Taobao, thousands of online stores have sold more than a thousand tickets for only a month. In a store located in Jiangsu, a bundle sale of train and ark tickets for 3 RMB has sold out 2,500 in 30 days. And another 2 RMB Chinese Noahs Ark envelope has sold for 1,70...

The personal information of more than 6 million Internet users on CSDN, or China Software Developer Network, the country's largest programmers' website, was leaked by hackers, raising concerns about web security and triggering widespread panic. The leak was first exposed by China's leading anti-virus software provider, Beijing-based Qihoo 360, on Wednesday. The company said the leak included user IDs, passwords and e-mail addresses in clear text. The hacking case escalated on Thursday after the personal details of subscribers to more websites, including popular online gaming and social networking sites, were leaked. Online media reports said the personal data of up to 50 million Internet users has been leaked so far, but the number could not be independently verified. In response, the National Computer Network Emergency Response Technical Team/Coordination Center of China (CNCERT/CC) issued a statement Thursday, saying the CSDN's user data bank that leaked on the Intern...

Children dressed in new winter coats play outside a primary school in Damxung County in the Tibet Autonomous Region yesterday, after they received clothing donations from a charity campaign initiated in Beijing. Winter clothes were presented to around 1,000 students in the county to keep them warm during chilly weather.

A southwest China court has upheld the death sentence for a former state-owned enterprise (SOE) boss convicted of graft and embezzlement totaling over 30 million yuan (4.72 million U.S. dollars), court officials said Friday. Wang Guanchao, former board chairman of Beijing Triple Nine Automobile Industrial Co., Ltd, and others were found to have pocketed about 26.3 million yuan from the restructuring of the SOE, and Wang embezzled another 4 million yuan in public funds for his personal business. Wang was given a death sentence with a two-year reprieve by the Intermediate People's Court of Chongqing in November 2009. He appealed the sentence, but the Higher People's Court of Chongqing upheld the ruling. Wang's case underscored the alarming situation of corruption in SOEs, especially during the restructuring process, a time when supervision is often lax, prosecutors with the case said. They said Wang's embezzlement scheme was a serious undertaking, and he pledged to steal ...