FEATURED ARTICLE

China’s Instant Cities (June 2007, The National Geographic, by Peter Hessler)
How one supercharged province cranks out lightbulbs, buttons, and bra rings, as well as instant cities for the factory workers. http://www7.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0706/feature4/

GOVERNMENT / POLITICS / FOREIGN AFFAIRS

Chinese to Meet with Bush on Trade (May 24, 2007, AP)
Preparing to meet President Bush, Chinese ministers sought to soothe congressional anxiety about Beijing’s trade practices after high-level economic talks yielded few results. Discussions Wednesday between senior Bush administration officials and the largest high-level Chinese delegation ever to visit the United States also failed to reach a breakthrough in the countries’ biggest dispute: China’s undervalued currency. After the talks, Vice Premier Wu Yi, leading the Chinese group, met privately with frustrated congressional leaders. She also planned separate meetings Thursday with Bush and senators. Wu, speaking through an interpreter, said Wednesday that her discussions with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other lawmakers were “very good,” but she provided no other details. After the meeting, Ways and Means Committee Chairman Rep. Charles Rangel (news, bio, voting record) said the Chinese told lawmakers they needed more time to overhaul their currency system and make other changes. Rangel, a New York Democrat, told reporters that his committee planned to move forward with legislation; some of the bills being considered would impose stiff penalties on Chinese imports for what critics say are unfair Chinese trade practices that have driven U.S. trade deficits to record levels and cost thousands of manufacturing jobs.

China Puts Activist Under House Arrest (May 18, 2007, AP)
A prominent Chinese dissident said he and his wife were detained Friday and put under house arrest as they were leaving for Europe to meet other activists to discuss China’s human rights situation. Hu Jia said security agents came to his house Friday morning and stopped him and his wife Zeng Jinyan, who is three months pregnant, from catching their flight. “There were about 10 of them and they said we were endangering national security,” Hu said by telephone. “They questioned me from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., then brought us home and told us we were under indefinite house arrest.” Hu, an AIDS activist who like most dissidents is under constant surveillance, said he and Zeng had planned to fly to Hong Kong for a few days, then make stops in France, Britain, Germany, Spain, Switzerland and the Netherlands. He said they were going to “introduce China’s human rights situation,” including the cases of Chen Guangcheng, a blind activist who was jailed after he documented cases of forced abortions, and lawyer Gao Zhisheng, a critic of China’s communist leadership.

Chinese Official Slams Dalai Lama (May 21, 2007, AP)
A senior Chinese official has accused the Dalai Lama of conspiring with a host of perceived enemies, from Islamic separatists to the banned Falun Gong spiritual movement, to weaken Beijing’s hold over his homeland in Tibet, state media reported Monday. In a speech, Tibet’s Communist Party secretary, Zhang Qingli, warned that the Dalai Lama was “ganging up with Taiwan independence forces, the East Turkestan Islamic Movement, democracy movements, and the Falun Gong in an attempt to establish an alliance aimed at splitting the motherland,” the official Xinhua News Agency reported on it Web site. The remarks marked an unusually broad attack. The Tibetan leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner, who fled into exile in 1959, is widely revered across ardently Buddhist Tibet, and Beijing fears he could be a rallying point against China’s often harsh rule over the Himalayan region. Xinhua did not specify how the disparate groups were linked or how the Dalai Lama was working with them.

RELIGION

Despite China’s ban on missionaries, Christians to evangelize at 2008 Beijing Olympics (May 17, 2007, AP)
Christian mission groups from around the world plan to quietly defy the Chinese ban on foreign missionaries and send thousands of volunteer evangelists to the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Many mission workers are traveling through China now as tourists to learn their way around and conduct prayer walks meant to spiritually prepare the region for the Gospel. Next summer, just before the games begin, several Christian groups plan to rally in an Asian nation that they will not name, then head out in small teams to Olympic sites and beyond. Citing safety concerns, religious organizers are revealing few specifics of their plans or aren’t commenting at all. But many are expected to put on cultural and sports events — which China allows — with the goal of talking about faith one-on-one with the people they meet. The Southern Baptists are mobilizing thousands of volunteers for what it terms “a spiritual harvest unlike any other,” through humanitarian work, sports clinics, first aid sites and other projects. The denomination is bringing volunteers to China now for orientation trips. Youth With A Mission, or YWAM, an international Christian ministry prominent in Olympic outreach, is planning a “2008 Olympics Discipleship Training School” in Brazil next year, according to its Web site, then will send volunteers to the games. A spokeswoman for Athletes in Action, the sports ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ, a globally known evangelical group, said she could not comment because of security concerns. Asked by The Associated Press for comment, the Beijing Olympic Organizing Committee noted that it plans to follow Olympic tradition and build a religious service center in the Olympic village. It also will advise athletes in other Olympic cities about the available worship services. However, the committee referred questions about evangelization to the Bureau of Religious Affairs, which did not respond to a request for comment.

HEALTH

China Virus Outbreak Kills Third Child (May 24, 2007, Reuters)
A viral disease that has broken out in eastern China’s Shandong province has killed a third child, Xinhua said on Thursday. The news agency said that an 11-month-old boy had developed a fever and blisters before dying on Tuesday in a hospital in Linyi city, where 1,263 cases of “hand, foot, and mouth disease” have been reported since April. The virus, which typically causes painful blisters around the mouth and throat and hands and feet, had already claimed the lives of a 14-month-old boy earlier this month and a two-year-old girl on April 29. Xinhua cited the provincial health bureau as saying that the outbreak of the virus, which is highly contagious among children but not normally fatal, was “slowing down.” The local government has launched a campaign to remind parents to take preventive measures such as frequent handwashing. Chinese bloggers in Shandong said in early May that 26 children had died in the outbreak. Local media said authorities in Linyi had denied that figure.

Women’s Life Expectancy Reaches 74: WHO Report (May 20, 2007, CRI English)
The Chinese female life expectancy has risen to 74.1 years old, according to a recently released report by the World Health Organization (WHO). Hong Kong-based newspaper Wen Wei Po quoted the WHO report as saying that the life expectancy of the Chinese people rises a lot as the country’s health conditions has been further improved. The report said the Chinese men’s life expectancy is 71 years old. The statistics were worked out based on the data in 2005 delivered by 193 WHO member countries. Status in seven areas, including death rate, disease incident control and medical service, were taken into consideration in the compiling.

Xi’an Reaches out to Pregnant Girls with Center (May 23, 2007, Xinhua)
A relief center for pregnant girls is to be built by the end of this month in Xi’an, capital of northwest China’s Shaanxi Province. According to the Xi’an Health Bureau, the center will provide abortions, healthcare and counseling and guidance services to pregnant girls under the age of 16. The center will be part of Xi’an Hospital for Mother and Children. According to the bureau’s statistics, some 46,000 abortions were performed by official medical bodies last year. Many of those treated were young girls who gave false names and ages. “The special aid center for girls will ensure privacy and provide both proper psychological and physiological treatment,” said Liu Lu, a bureau official.

EDUCATION / CULTURE

Ministry to Tighten Security as College Entrance Exam Looms (May 19, 2007, Xinhua)
With the national college entrance exam steaming into view, the Ministry of Education has issued a circular that aims to boost exam security and prevent the spread of fabricated exam papers via internet. The circular said all national college entrance exam papers must be printed at printing houses designated by the National Administration for the Protection of State Secrets. The transportation, distribution and storage of exam papers must be carried out in line with the national regulations on exam security and the protection of state secrets, the circular said. For instance, exam papers must not be stored overnight at the exam venues, but at a designated place guarded by armed police and other special staff, according to the circular. n recent years, some cases have come to light in which people sold “real” national college entrance exam papers at hefty prices on the Internet, claiming that they had got the papers from the exam paper designers. Some parents and students were fooled and lost money. Supervision and inspection of exam venues will be tightened to prevent students using mobile phones or other high-tech gadgets to cheat and to avoid cases of false identity, said the circular. Local education authorities will open a hotline so that the general public can report wrongdoing, such as cheating or abuse of power, said the circular. Last year, 9.5 million students sat for the exam but only 2.6 million secured enrollment to universities or colleges.

Freeze on University Tuition Fees Reaffirmed by Education Ministry (May 22, 2007, South China Morning Post)
The Ministry of Education has reaffirmed a freeze on mainland university tuition fees amid rising concern over soaring expenses for college students. Assistant Education Minister Yang Zhoufu pledged yesterday to keep college fees at last year’s level, even though mainland higher education institutions are facing a cash crunch from rising costs and interest payments on bank loans. He said the overall level of tuition fees for mainland colleges had been stable since 2000 as a result of clampdowns on an almost yearly basis against overcharging at universities. But his upbeat assessment seems at odds with heightened public concern in recent years over escalating university tuition costs. A 2005 Xinhua report said tuition fees rose by a few hundred yuan each year between 1994 and 2004, increasing fees nearly twenty-fold over the period, to 8,000 yuan a year. Rising education fees, along with mounting medical bills and higher housing prices have led to increased social tensions, analysts say. Beijing Institute of Technology professor Yang Dongping said management at mainland universities had good reason to charge students more because many universities, particularly regional colleges, had run up a mountain of debt during a decade of reckless expansion and lack of public funding. He said universities may keep tuition fees at the same level, but students could end up paying more for other types of charges. The Education Ministry said universities should not try to tie costs to tuition fees, and warned that schools would be punished if they raised tuition fees.

36 Million students Admitted into College in 3 Decades (May 23, 2007, People’s Daily)
During the three decades following the resumption of China’s College Entrance Examination in 1977, altogether 36 million students have been admitted into universities, colleges, and vocational and technical schools, with the enrollment rate lifted from 4.7 percent in 1977to 56.85 percent in 2006, according to statistics from the Ministry of Education. In 1999 China started a massive college enrollment expansion. In the year before ordinary colleges nationwide enrolled 1.08 million students, but by 2002 the planned enrollment scale had reached 2.75 million, rising 154.6 percent. This year, the planned number is 5.7 million, with the number of candidates for the first time surpassing 10 million. 1997 marked the year of fiercest competition in China’s history of college entrance exams, with one student picked from more than a score. The ratio began to drop gradually in the early 1980s, from 6:1 to 3.5:1 in the early 1990s, until today’s 2:1.

SOCIETY / LIFE

China Mulls Reform of Household Registration System (May 23, 2007, Xinhua)
China’s decades-long household registration system, which divides the population into urban and rural residents, may be reformed. The central government is considering a proposal from the Ministry of Public Security to scrap the two-tiered “hukou” registration system and allow freer migration between cities and the countryside, China Business News reported Wednesday. Citizens will be able to change registration of their “legal and settled residence”, the newspaper quoted sources close to the ministry as saying. Under the current system set up in 1958 to control citizens’ movements, rural dwellers have little chance to change their registered residence regardless of how long they may have lived or worked in the city. Because China’s social welfare and health care systems are based on the household registration system, rural residents working in the city have little access to social welfare and suffer restrictions on access to public services such as education, medical care, housing and employment. Government estimates suggest that around 120 million migrant workers have moved to cities in search of work, but the real figure could be much higher. In a week-long poll conducted in March by the Sina.com website and the China Youth Daily social survey center, 92 percent of the 11,168 respondents said the system was in need of reform. The Ministry of Public Security has also proposed to make it easier for married couples from different places to change their registered residence. Elderly people who have moved in with their children should also be allowed to change their registered residency, according to the proposal. Wang Taiyuan, a professor with the Chinese People’s University of Public Security, said China has been trying to reform the household registration system since 1991. “But the reforms run into snags each time they start to affect the interests of different departments,” Wang was quoted as saying.

28 Detained in South China Protests (May 23, 2007, AP)
Authorities detained 28 people after thousands of farmers rioted to protest fines levied on those who had more children than allowed under China’s family planning policy, state media said Wednesday. Between 300 and 3,000 people were involved in the demonstrations outside government offices last weekend across six towns in Bobai, a county in southern Guangxi region, the Xinhua News Agency said in the first official account of the violence. “They verbally abused and attacked government workers and civil police,” Xinhua said. “In some cases, the county government office’s main gate, its walls, office equipment, documents and archives were damaged. A few people burned and damaged cars and some motorcycles.” Some 28 people have been detained on suspicion of passing on details of the demonstration, as well as provoking and participating in the violence, Xinhua said. The Xinhua report said the protest was triggered by unhappiness over fines that villagers said were imposed “arbitrarily and brutally” as a way to control population growth in the area. It did not give any details. Reports earlier this week said that all public servants had been ordered to collect fines from people who violated the family planning policy. If violators failed to pay within three days, their homes would be demolished and their belongings seized. One villager said some fees were as high as $1,300 — an unmanageable amount for an area where most annual incomes were only $130.

Divorce Rate Up in 2006 (May 24, 2007, Xinhua)
2006 saw around 1.9 million Chinese couples separate, a seven percent increase or 128,000 couples than the year before, reported the Ministry of Civil Affairs. Civil affairs bureaus nationwide handled 1.29 million divorces last year while another 622,000 divorces were fielded through the courts, the report said. Five provinces in particular proved ill for wedded bliss with Liaoning, Jiangsu, Shandong, Henan and Sichuan each reporting over 100,000 divorce cases in 2006. However, the number of couples getting married also increased with 9.45 million marriages celebrated nationwide, up 1.2 million year-on-year, according to the report. Although divorce is traditionally discouraged in China, the last two decades have seen divorce rates soar as women become more independent and divorce procedures are lightened. Unlike most western countries which track the precise number of marriages that end in divorce, the Ministry of Civil Affairs chooses to release statistics based on the number of divorced couples per 1,000 people. This figure saw a small rise to 1.46, from 1.37 a year earlier.

Beijing Censors Target Luxury Housing Billboards (May 18, 2007, Reuters)
China’s national capital has launched a crackdown on over-the-top advertising, claiming that the ads offend socialist values and threaten “social harmony” in the 2008 Olympic host city. Beijing may be capital of a socialist state, but the city’s aggressive real estate developers have been reaching for Donald Trump-like capitalist superlatives to sell housing. “Luxurious,” “ultra-distinguished,” “supreme pleasure” and other terms crowd billboards that promise buyers the life of moguls or aristocrats. “Be a foreigner’s landlord!” crowed one advertisement — in Chinese only — for buyers to invest in a new apartment block in a Beijing development. Beijing’s mayor, Wang Qishan, recently complained about the rhetorical excess, and on Friday the city’s commercial agency said it had seen enough. “At present, there is a problem with certain advertising not conforming to the demands of socialist spiritual civilization,” the Beijing Administration for Industry and Commerce announced on its Web site (www.hd315.gov.cn). “Nor do they conform to the simple traditional virtues venerated by the Chinese nation, and they are unhelpful for social harmony.” Already many billboards along the city’s clogged expressways have been taken down, apparently to make way for more politically acceptable ways of selling luxury housing.

Confucius Institute to Be Set Up in Nepal (May 22, 2007, Xinhua)
China’s Hebei Economic and Trade University and the Kathmandu University in Nepal have agreed to set up a Confucius Institute teaching Chinese language and culture in Nepal. Approved by the Office of the Chinese Language Council International on May 16, the Hebei Economic and Trade University will manage Chinese language and culture programs for the institute, which will open its doors on June 13 at Kathmandu University. It will be the first Confucius Institute in Nepal. An official with Kathmandu University said that the Confucius Institute would act under the guidance and supervision of the Chinese Language Council International Office. The new institute in Nepal is designed to provide Chinese language study, promote and reinforce Chinese culture, and improve trade exchanges at the campus of the Kathmandu University.

ENVIRONMENT / SCIENCE / TECHNOLOGY

China to Drop Its Ban on Anonymous Bloggers (May 24, 2007, The Telegraph)
China has reversed a decision that would have forced all bloggers to register their real names with the government. Under plans to enforce a “clean and healthy internet”, the country’s internet police proposed to allow online diarists to use pseudonyms only if real names had been logged with internet companies. They would then be available to police if offences, from peddling pornography to criticising the government on sensitive issues, were detected. But the government has now abandoned the plan after an unusually outspoken wave of protest from internet users. “The government looks set to back down from its long-held intention of imposing real-name registration,” announced the China Daily, the English-language government mouthpiece yesterday. When plans for the real-name registration system were leaked on the web in October, a storm of protest followed that even state media felt obliged to report. Although the cited reasons for the need for registration were “online slander, incivility and rights violations”, many bloggers and even some newspapers said it was an attack on freedom of speech. Huang Chengqing, the secretary of the Internet Society of China, yesterday said that the change of heart had been partly because of concern about privacy but also because the technology required was not sophisticated enough. He said the society was now drawing up a code of conduct and encouraging voluntary registration.

Heaviest Floods Since 1998 Could Hit Yangtze Valley (May 24, 2007, China Daily)
The most “severe floods” since 1998 might hit the Yangtze River this summer, a senior flood-control official warned yesterday. “Meteorological and hydrological features in the Yangtze River valley this year are similar to those in 1998,” Cai Qihua, deputy chief of the Yangtze River Flood Control Headquarters, was quoted by the China News Service as saying. She added that studies on the frequency of major flooding also point to the possibility this year. Floods in 1998 killed more than 3,000 people and left 14 million homeless nationwide; and caused losses of US$24 billion. That year, said Cai, China was under the grip of the El Nino weather system, manifested in the form of severe typhoons and floods. The El Nino effect was also felt in the past winter - which was unusually warm - resulting in vast amounts of snow melting in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, where the Yangtze originates. The China Meteorological Administration has forecast heavy rainfalls and typhoons this summer, mainly in the southern part of the country, especially the lower reaches of Yangtze. Heavy floods could be potentially disastrous as affluent and populous cities such as Nanjing, Wuhan and Chongqing are situated along the river. Cai also warned that the Three Georges reservoir might face a severe test.

China plans first Mars probe in 2009 (May 22, 2007, Xinhua)
China’s first Mars probe will be launched in October 2009 as part of a joint mission with Russia, say sources with the Shanghai Space Administration, the main developer of the probe. Researchers are pressing ahead with a joint launch with a Russian probe, said Chen Changya, a researcher at the Shanghai Institute of Satellite Engineering, at a space technology exhibition here. Initiated by Shanghai Space Administration, the China-made probe will be developed by a number of organizations, including the Center of Space Science and Applied Research with the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Shanghai Meteorological Observatory. Under the agreement, a Russian rocket will lift a Chinese probe, actually a satellite, and a Russian exploration vehicle — known as Phobos-Grunt — to survey Mars and Phobos. The small Chinese satellite will explore Mars while the Russian craft will land on Phobos to explore the environment and take soil samples. The two vehicles will reach the orbit of Mars in 2010 more than 10 months after their launch.

2008 OLYMPICS

General Public to Design Pins for Beijing Games (May 21, 2007, Xinhua)
An Olympic pin designing contest was launched on Friday, welcoming people from all over China to share their ideas about the Beijing Games. The contest, lasting until June 30, will have its winners on August 8 to mark the exact one-year countdown for the opening of the Beijing Olympic Games. All contestants can choose between the five categories in their design, namely Olympic and Chinese culture, Olympic sports, torch relay, Green Olympics as well as drawing whatever on your mind about the Games. People can visit the Olympic channel on sohu.com for contesting information.

Paralympic Games Pictograms Unveiled (May 24, 2007, China Daily)
Based on the Chinese seal script and incorporating the pictographic style of oracle bone writing and the bronze-ware script, the 2008 Paralympic pictograms have stayed faithful to the motif and design of the pictograms of the Beijing Olympic Games, which were unveiled last August. The inspiration for these pictograms can be found at the Central Academy of Fine Arts, a member of the design group for the Pictograms of the Beijing Olympic Games. The pictograms will be displayed prominently on road signs, decorations around Paralympic venues and on guides to the Games. They will also be seen in TV broadcasts, promotion materials, adverts and marketing activities to enrich the public experience of the Games. The pictograms for the 2008 Beijing Paralympic Games, unveiled yesterday, combine distinct lines and elements of Chinese cultural heritage to stand as a charming rendition of the events the athletes will compete in. Link to see the pictograms: http://www1.china.org.cn/english/olympic/211699.htm

Extreme AccuracyR for Olympic Weather Forecast
The meteorological department must make sure of the extreme accuracy of weather forecast during the Beijing Olympics next year, a meteorological expert has said. Li Zechun, an academician of Chinese Academy of Engineering, said the weather forecast during the Games will tell people when and where rain is to happen, while vague words like the rainfall probability are absolutely banned. Li Zechun told to students who visit a lab under the National Meteorological Center on Saturday that the Olympic weather forecast are required to be worked out three days in advance and updated every three hours. The normal report is released every 24 hours, he explained. The academician also said the wet season in the city during which the Olympiad is held will bring many difficulties to the weather department.

Beijing to Limit Visitor Numbers at Heritage Sites During Olympics (May 22, 2007, Xinhua)
Beijing is to restrict visitor numbers at heritage sites during the Olympic Games next year in order to protect vulnerable ancient buildings. Shu Xiaofeng, director of the Beijing Municipal Cultural Heritage Bureau, said heritage departments would monitor visitor numbers at ancient buildings during the Games, and plan in advance to protect heritage sites. But bureau officials would not respond on Monday to questions on how many visitors are expected to visit sites such as the Forbidden City, the Great Wall and the Summer Palace during the Olympic Games. Experts have calculated that the appropriate daily number for the Forbidden City at 30,000, and the maximum number at around 50,000. But more than 114,800 tourists visited the Forbidden City on May 1, the first day of China’s week-long Labor Day holiday. Shu said that no major maintenance project would be started at heritage sites in Beijing’s urban area next year so as to avoid inconvenience for tourists.

BUSINESS / ECONOMICS / TRADE

New Deal: US-China Flights to Double by 2012 (May 23, 2007, Reuters)
Passenger flights between the United States and China would more than double by 2012, according to an air services agreement reached by the two countries Wednesday. The Transportation and Treasury departments announced at the conclusion of a U.S.-China economic forum the deal would also eliminate nearly all barriers to cargo service by 2011, a boost for FedEx and UPS. Chinese officials did not comment immediately on the agreement. The United States will designate three additional passenger carriers to fly to China — one in 2007 and two in 2009. Currently, United Airlines, American Airlines, Continental Airlines, and Northwest Airlines offer service. Under the new agreement, the number of daily round-trip flights will jump to 23 from the current 10 within five years. One flight will be awarded this year and next followed by four in 2009, three in 2010 and two each in 2011 and 2012.

LINKS TO DETAILED ARTICLES AND ANALYSIS

Lost in Translation (May 17, 2007, The Economist)
China is being cast as the villain once again. By holding its exchange rate artificially low, it is stealing jobs and causing the United States to run a huge trade deficit. Beijing must therefore be forced to revalue the yuan. These are the arguments behind an increasingly protectionist mood in Washington. Yet they are largely flawed. A stronger Chinese currency would not much reduce America’s trade deficit. Indeed, the irony is that China, not America, has more to gain from setting the yuan free. Without a more flexible exchange rate, there is a growing risk that China’s sizzling economy will boil over.
http://www.economist.com/business/displayStory.cfm?story_id=9184053&fsrc=nwlgafree

The East is Red (May 19, 2007, The Australian, by Rowan Callick)
Chinese painters, filmmakers and composers are winning awards and lots of money overseas. But although they are, for the time being, losing the larger war for the hearts and minds at home, there are reasons to hope that the freedom to express themselves will come in time….Many find the process of finding the space to communicate their art exhausting and constricting. Their negotiating partner, the Communist Party of China, has had almost 60 years in power to hone its skills of patronising, obstructing and marginalising its competitors for the big ideas and values that will shape the country in the 21st century.
http://theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,21735537-16947,00.html

Coffee Gains Foothold in Tea-drinking Nation (May 17, 2007, Reuters)
Du Yansheng, a farmer on the southern Chinese island of Hainan, hasn’t gone without his morning cup of coffee in five decades, not even during the Cultural Revolution — when such “mock-Western” practices could have landed him in prison. “People here have never stopped drinking coffee,” Du told Reuters in Xinglong, the cradle of coffee culture in an otherwise tea-drinking country. Du’s father was one of China’s first coffee farmers, at a time when it was considered an exotic foreign beverage. He brought robusta beans from Indonesia in the 1950s — decades before Nestle or Starbucks Corp. arrived on China’s shores.Today, coffee is fast catching on, especially among younger urban Chinese, and the percentage increase in demand is in the double digits — though still less than one tenth of tea consumption.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070518/lf_nm/china_coffee_dc_1;_ylt=Aimizp7eJnrrHsbe8ODP0JtPzWQA

China Chasing an Urban Utopia (May 18, 2007, Asia Times Online, by David Allen)
In Beijing, Western architects are still clearly held in higher esteem than their local counterparts. However, a new generation of progressive Chinese designers are beginning to make their mark, mixing tradition with the daringly modern, a trend that may soon bring welcome changes to the cityscape.
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China/IE18Ad01.html

The Xinjiang Factor in the New Silk Road (May 22, 2007, Asia Times Online, by David Gosset)
The conflict-oriented “Great Game” in Central Asia is no longer relevant. Today, the ancient Silk Road is the route to cultural, natural-resource and economic riches that could, if used wisely, benefit the world far beyond the region itself. The nexus of this dynamic 21st-century reality is Xinjiang, where Central Asia and China meet.
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Central_Asia/IE22Ag01.html

The Writing is on the Wall (May 23, 2007, Asia Times Online, by Wu Zhong)
From warnings about highway robberies and soliciting prostitutes to advice on family planning, China makes extensive use of outdoor slogans to address issues of concern. Certainly the messages aren’t as political as they were during such tumultuous times as the Cultural Revolution, but Beijing makes good use of slogans as a propaganda tool.
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China/IE23Ad01.html

China’s Additives on Menu in US (May 18, 2007, The Los Angeles Times, by Don Lee)
In the last decade, China has become the world’s leading supplier of many food flavorings, vitamins and preservatives. Like fingernail clippers, playing cards, Christmas ornaments and other items, some food additives are available in vast quantities only from China.
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-chinafood18may18,1,1199284.story (free, but registration required)

Chinese Hackers Grow in Number, Skills (May 18, 2007, PCWorld, by Jeremy Kirk)
China’s hacking scene appears poised for growth, as the number of Internet users rise with a commensurate interest in criminal hacking and government spying, according to a new Symantec Corp. study. China ranks second behind the U.S. as far as malicious activity on the Internet as a whole, Symantec said, citing its own data. The country had 131 million Internet users as of the end of 2006, accounting for about 10 percent of its population and 11 percent of the world’s Internet users.
http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,131992-pg,1/article.html

Even Tigers Get Tired (May 23, 2007, The Economist)
Economic growth is strong, stockmarkets are booming and foreign investment has been pouring in to South-East Asia. But how far is the region merely riding in the slipstream of its bigger neighbour, China, whose economy is soaring? Some multinationals are consciously adopting a “China plus one” strategy, siting a second plant in one of the ten countries of ASEAN, the Association of South-East Asian Nations, to hedge against things’ going wrong in China.
http://www.economist.com/daily/columns/asiaview/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9215401&fsrc=nwl

ARTICLES IN CHINESE

这些官员迷风水 不信马列信鬼神 (May 17, 2007, Southern Weekend)
http://www.nanfangdaily.com.cn/zm/20070517/xw/dcgc/200705170011.asp

户籍改革上报国务院 (May 24, 2007, The Beijing News)
http://news.thebeijingnews.com/0546/2007/0524/014@264428.htm