China :: Commentaries

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...