China :: Commentaries

Authorities in the south China province of Guangdong Friday denied media reports it plans to create the world's largest metropolis. Foreign media, including The Telegraph and Daily Mail newspapers, reported that Guangdong plans to merge nine cities in the Pearl River Delta - including Shenzhen and Guangzhou - to create a megacity. Guo Yuewen, spokesman for the Guangdong Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China, said the reports are false. Guo said the province has no intention to merge the nine cities. "There is no such thing," Guo said. The government aims to promote the development of three economic circles, each of which has three cities, by integrating infrastructure, industrial distribution, urban and rural planning, environment protection and basic public services, he said. "We want to speed up economic and social development in the Pearl River Delta and boost its competitive edge through the sharing of infrastructure, cooperative management of publ...

Much of China still depend on coal for energy. This was a husband and wife team delivering coal bricks to some of the tourists shops in Dali. It's back breaking work.

The Live From Beijing blog rejoices over the capital's air quality. Link picked by Danwei.org

Daily Sunshine, January 28, 2011 Li Na has advanced to the finals of the Australia Open and will become the first Chinese player to appear in a Grand Slam final. The Daily Sunshine demonstrates that it is able to find inspiration from even the most tired of online memes with the headline "'Geili Na' Makes History." Geili (, rendered into English as "gelivable") originated as a netspeak term used to describe something impressive or powerful, but it has been run into the ground by the mainstream media in recent months. The paper's top headline was also featured in many of today's newspapers and announces that property taxes will soon launch in Shanghai and Chongqing as part of an effort to curb runaway housing prices. Links and Sources China Daily: China unveils property tax in two cities Earlier on Danwei: People's Daily endorses a new meme Tags : Daily Sunshine , Li Na , meme This article is from Danwei.org . Mainland accessible mirror on Danwei....

Tania Branigan in The Guardian: A leading Chinese journalist said he had been forced out of his job this week amid tightened restrictions on the media. Zhang Ping, better known as Chang Ping, is an influential editor and columnist who had worked at the Southern Media Group - one of the country's best respected news organisations - for many years. His departure has increased concerns that authorities, who already censor publications and broadcasts heavily, are clamping down harder on China's increasingly independent-minded journalists. Zhang has repeatedly been punished for tackling sensitive issues and was banned from writing columns for the Southern Weekend and Southern Metropolis Daily newspapers last July. Link picked by Danwei.org

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A man, who was caught taking explosive materials to Beijing for a petition, has been approved of arrest after one month of detention. He is accused of causing an accident with dangerous goods, the Beijing Times reported Wednesday. The prosecution said the man surnamed Hou, 35, was found carrying a set of crossbows, two self-made explosive devices and gunpowder weighing 1,019 g inside his car. Hou from northeast China's Liaoning Province claimed that he came to the capital to petition because he had been "tracked" and "framed up". He confessed that, if he failed in the petition, he would detonate the device at public places to arouse attention. One month earlier, Hou refused to pay for petrol at a gas station and hurt an employee with the crossbow at the Beijing-Harbin expressway's Tianjin section. After breaking through several toll gates he was stopped by police at Beijng's West Dawang Road.