Chen Guangcheng, a blind villager who learned law while moonlighting as a masseur, had already changed China. Now, some believe he may change the world by precipitating a diplomatic crisis. On April 28th, word got …
Read MoreVideo — High Stakes Mating: Men v. Women
Are men without money no better than garbage? Many Chinese women seem to think so, at least in this video. With that opening salvo, the battle of the sexes is well and truly on as …
Read MoreNetizens Light a Flame for Escaped 'Bare Foot' Attorney
High value target in China slips past tight security cordon and makes way to U.S. embassy in dramatic escape. Sound familiar? No, not Wang Lijun redux. This time it’s Chen Guangcheng (陈光诚), a celebrated human …
Read MoreJournalism 2.0: Microblogging the Lede
On February 9th, Wuhan Evening News published a story entitled “Young Mother Nurses 6-month Baby Into Cerebral Palsy,” that described a distraught mother who turned to infant formula to cure her child, based on the …
Read MoreA Case Study of Chinese Netizen Attitude Towards Homosexuality
It’s not easy being gay in China. China’s first gay pride week was not held until 2009 in Shanghai, and even then the Christian Science Monitor reported that police discouraged venues from hosting it. A …
Read MoreOp-Ed: Bo Xilai Just a Sideshow
One of the most common shortcomings in U.S. thought on China is overgeneralization, the tendency to see diverse incidents as the concerted actions of a monolithic super state. In the case of Bo Xilai, however, …
Read MoreIs Aung San Suu Kyi Losing Her Shine?
Aung San Suu Kyi had near unanimous support among Chinese netizens, but could her latest move take that glow away? After over a decade under house arrest, the Burmese opposition party leader (and Nobel Peace …
Read MoreImage – Mao Temple in China – Chairman Mao Becomes Local God
Photos of a Mao temple in Mianyang, Sichuan Province were posted to Sina Weibo, China’s Twitter, by Lin Jie (@林洁), chairman of B.A. Consulting, a real estate service group. The temple was built in 2006, but …
Read MoreName of World's Largest Municipality Censored on China's Twitter
Shhhh…don’t type that name! “Chongqing” (重庆, which literally means “double celebration”), is currently not searchable on either the Sina or Tencent versions of China’s Twitter-like Weibo platforms. It is searchable on Sohu Weibo, which perhaps …
Read MoreDoes Bribery = Chinese Culture? One Iowa County Attorney Thinks So
A parent’s love knows no bounds. But to keep a son out of jail by trying to bribe the victim of the son’s sexual assault? Is that a part of Chinese culture? As reported on …
Read MoreToday's Most Viral Image: A Donated School Makes Way For Luxury
It’s one tragedy after another. After Mianyang, Sichuan suffered in the horrible earthquake of 2008, millions of RMB were donated to rebuild a local school. Now, that school has suffered not from a quake, but …
Read MoreWith North Korean Repatriation Possibly Ended, Chinese Netizens Relieved But Angry
With one policy shift, China’s government could save thousands of lives. On April 18, Japanese newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun quoted a Chinese provincial official who said China was ceasing its policy of repatriating North Koreans who have …
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