On February 1, a truck carrying fireworks exploded on a bridge in Henan province. According to state news reports, the explosion caused an 87-yard section of the bridge to collapse, in turn killing nine and injuring at least 15. Another news agency reported 26 dead. The Global Times, which usually hews closely to the Communist [...]
This article also appeared in The Atlantic, a Tea Leaf Nation partner site. What a year it has been on the Chinese Internet. In Chinese politics, 2012 brought a long-anticipated leadership transition at the highest levels, but incoming president Xi Jinping hasn’t dominated the headlines all by himself. A post on Weibo, China’s Twitter, by [...]
As it smoldered, Yang Dacai (杨达才) smiled. Then-chief of the Shaanxi Safety Supervision Bureau, Yang had been dispatched to the scene of an August bus fire that killed 36 people along a stretch of Yan’an (延安) highway in the central Chinese province. Almost immediately, Sina Weibo, China’s Twitter, trended pictures of the vehicle’s charcoaled, blown-out [...]
The month-long online campaign to oust Shaanxi safety chief Yang Dacai (杨达才) has finally succeeded. On September 21, Yang, nicknamed by netizens as “Watch Brother” (表哥) for his affinity for expensive time-pieces, was removed from his position because of severe “disciplinary violations” (严重违纪问题). Further investigation is being carried out by Shaanxi’s Commission for Discipline Inspection [...]
As citizens across the globe become better connected, it’s not surprising that politicians find themselves plugging into the Internet to access citizen voices and gauge public opinion. Governments and officials of various nations have established Twitter and Facebook profiles, providing a medium to listen to their constituents. In recent years, the appearance of high-profile politicians [...]
The government official looked at the horrific accident, and he laughed. That, at least, is the story in current circulation on Sina Weibo, China’s Twitter, less than one day after a horrific traffic accident claimed the lives of 36 riders onboard a bus in Shaanxi province after the bus rammed into the back of a [...]
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