Suicide Bombings in China: Beyond Terrorism
A suicide bomber attacked a park in Heze in China’s Shandong province, killing two (including the bomber) and injuring 24, with three people receiving “relatively severe” injuries.
Media
07.23.15
Why Taylor Swift’s 1989 Merchandise Is Not Going to Get Her Banned in China
On July 20, one of China’s largest e-commerce websites, JD.com, announced that it is partnering with popular American singer Taylor Swift...
China's '300': When Spartans Meet the Beijing Police
Half-naked models, dressed as Spartan warriors were subdued by Beijing police after a marketing stunt, promoting a salad delivery service.
The China Africa Project
07.23.15
A Kenyan Columnist’s Provocative Views on the Chinese in Africa
In Mark Kapchanga’s view, the West, particularly the media, really does not understand what the Chinese are doing in Africa. Kapchanga, a provocative Nairobi-based journalist and columnist, isn’t shy in arguing his case that on balance China’s...
China Feared CIA Worked with Sheldon Adelson's Casinos to Bust Officials
China fears that casinos owned by Sheldon Adelson were used by the CIA to blackmail Chinese officials.
This Instagram Account Offers a New Perspective on China
Some photographs show the surprisingly mundane moments in the life of regular Chinese, such as Albertazzi’s image of a group of men playing cards in their swim shorts on a hot summer afternoon in Beijing; others are images from long-term...
China Box Office Booms with $284-Million Week; Foreign Films Remain Shut Out
The depth and variety of local films suggests growth in China’s domestic production.
Want to Circumvent China’s Great Firewall? Learn These 9 Phrases First
A story about the newly updated e-book Decoding the Chinese Internet: A Glossary of Political Slang”
6 Arrested in China After Dressing Room Sex Video Goes Viral
A 19-year-old man was charged with disseminating obscene material. The couple pictured and three others were detained.
Media
07.20.15
Taming the Flood
In August 1975, Typhoon Nina, one of the most powerful tropical storms on record, surged inland from the Taiwan Strait, causing floods so catastrophic they overwhelmed dam networks...
The Most-Viewed Fitting Room in China
Aside from shielding Internet users from political discussions the government considers deviant, China’s online censorship seeks to protect users minds from pornography.
China’s War Against One American Journalist
Shohret Hoshur’s brothers are being disappeared by the Chinese government. Beijing is trying to silence an American reporter by sentencing his brothers to China’s gulag.
Thailand Deports 100 Muslim Uighurs to China
Thailand deported some 100 members of a Turkic Muslim minority group wanted by China as illegal migrants, drawing a rare rebuke from the United Nations and causing protesters in Turkey to storm a Thai consulate.
China’s Confucius Institutes and the Soft War
The first Confucius Institute opened its door in November 2004 in Seoul, South Korea. Hanban, or the Chinese National Office for Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language.
'The Autobots' Hits Theaters, and Many Chinese Say They've Seen It Before
Many expressed outrage over the newest animated children’s movie, “The Autobots,” which bears an uncanny resemblance to Disney's "Cars.”
Hillary Clinton Says China Hacks into “Everything that Doesn’t Move”
The Democratic presidential candidate accused Chinese hackers of stealing “huge amounts of government information.”
Chinese Tourists Warned over Turkey Uighur Protests
China advised citizens against travelling to Turkey after it said several tourists were attacked in protests over the Chinese government's treatment of Uighur Muslims.
Conversation
07.02.15
How Much Does the Chinese Market Matter to the World?
China’s main market, reflected in the Shanghai Composite Index, has fallen 24 percent since June 12, losing...
Fears Raised as "A Third" of China Great Wall Vanishes
About 30%, of the ancient fortification built in the Ming Dynasty era has disappeared due to natural erosion and human damage, according to the Beijing Times.
Local Filmmakers Must Raise Their Game to Compete With Hollywood
Chen Kaige says that while the movie industry booms in China, local filmmakers need to raise their standards to compete with Hollywood.
Foreign Films Rise Again at China’s Box Office
China’s movie market is booming, with $3.3 billion worth of ticket sales in the first half of the year, up nearly 50% from the same period in 2014.
Sinica Podcast
07.01.15
Who Will Save Us from the Self-help Revolution?
Someone desperately needs to call a fumigator, because China’s self-help bug is eating up the woodwork. Train station bookstores may always have served the genre’s trite pablum to bored businessmen legging it cross-country, but in recent months...
Who Would China Vote for in 2016?
Though media discussion of domestic politics remains muzzled in China, people there generally enjoy greater freedom to debate international news and politics.
The Truth About China’s New National Security Law
China’s national legislature passed a national security law who's mandate covers politics, the military, finance, religion, cyberspace, and even ideology and religion.
Dalai Lama at Glastonbury Music Festival
The Dalai Lama praised the Pope's recent comments on climate change before Patti Smith and attendees sang "Happy Birthday" ahead of his 80th birthday
Episode 36 – Sim Chi Yin
Sharron Lovell speaks with Sim Chi Yin about crossing the lines between journalism and advocacy. Chi Yin recently published her four year story following a Chinese gold miner suffering with the lung disease silicosis, caused by years of inhaling...
Media
06.26.15
‘Why Do Chinese Lack Creativity?’
On June 19, the University of Washington and elite Tsinghua University in Beijing announced a new, richly funded...
China's Alibaba to Remove Listings with Confederate Flag Imagery
Alibaba pledged to pull down links to products with Confederate flag imagery in the wake of the shooting in South Carolina.
China Invests in the World
China’s outward foreign direct investment for the first five months of 2015 is up 50 percent from the same period in 2014, says Chinese Ministry of Commerce.
Rare Access to China's Restive Far West
Raphael Fournier's "Around Taklamakan," is a series of photographs from China's Xinjiang province which emphasize cultural tensions and daily life.
China plays favorites with endangered species
“The Chinese government has put so much money and so much effort into preserving pandas but there are so many other species that need addressing.”
Charleston Shooting: A U.S. Expat’s View From Afar
There’s perspective that’s gained by watching the US from afar; it helps expats understand why locals may view America as dangerous.
Sinica Podcast
06.23.15
The Brother Orange Saga
from Sinica PodcastThe story started when a Buzzfeed editor lost his iPhone in an East Village bar in February of last year and blossomed into the Sino-American romance of the century, and probably the most up-lifting and altogether unlikely China story that we can...
Hunt for Deep Panda Intensifies in Trenches of U.S.-China Cyberwar
Deep Panda is one of several hacking groups that cybersecurity companies accuse of hacking U.S. networks.
Attack Gave Chinese Hackers Privileged Access to U.S. Systems
Chinese intruders' attack gave them “administrator privileges” into Office of Personnel Management computer networks.
The China Africa Project
06.19.15
China’s Controversial Technology Partnership with South Africa
The Chinese and South Africa governments have signed a pact, or a “plan of action,” where Beijing will provide a broad array of...
China’s Annual Dog-Eating Festival Prompts Social Media Firestorm
At a solstice festival in China 10,000 canines are said to be beaten, killed and cooked for human consumption.
China Extends Reach into Hong Kong to Thwart Democrats
Democrats rejected a Beijing-backed Hong Kong electoral reform package but face an increasingly organized Chinese government.
CAA China’s Leader on Censorship, Why China Needs a Global Hit and Translating for Spielberg
The first U.S. talent agency with full-time representation in China marks 10 years in Beijing.
China Military Says Two More top Officers Probed for Graft
Serving and retired Chinese military officers have said military graft is so pervasive it could undermine China's ability to wage war.
Former CIA Chief Says Government Data Breach Could Help China Recruit Spies
Retired Gen. Michael Hayden calls records a ‘legitimate foreign intelligence target’.
‘Jurassic World’ Speaks A Universal Language
Jurassic World was No. 1 last week in China, where only about 30 Hollywood movies may screen officially each year.
Sinica Podcast
06.15.15
The People’s Republic of Cruiseland
from Sinica PodcastWe have enough favorite writers on China that we’ve had to develop a sophisticated classification system just to keep track of everyone. That said, one of our hardest to place within the long-form taxonomy is Chris Beam, who you may have heard on...
Chinese Hackers Circumvent Popular Web Privacy Tools
The attackers compromised websites frequented by Chinese journalists as well as China’s Muslim Uighur ethnic minority.
Media
06.11.15
Zhou Yongkang’s Mask of Fear Falls Quietly Away
Zhou Yongkang—erstwhile oil czar, former chief of China’s dreaded state security apparatus, a man once swaggering and fit enough to perform 50 to 100 pushups in front of...
Viewpoint
06.11.15
Why I Publish in China
A couple of weeks ago, I received a request from a New York Times reporter to talk about publishing in China. The topic has been in the news lately, with the BookExpo in New York...
Breaking Beijing?
The government's harsh crackdown could crack the regime.
China Blacklists 38 Cartoons, Violence, Porn Cited
Among the banned are a 2014 animated TV series set in a Tokyo after a terrorist attack has destroyed the city.
Media
06.09.15
Chinese Censorship of Western Books Is Now Normal. Where’s the Outrage?
In September 2014, I was commissioned by the New York-based free speech advocacy group PEN American Center to investigate how Western authors were navigating the multibillion-dollar Chinese publishing world and its massive, but opaque, censorship...
Obama Vows to Boost U.S. Cyber Defenses Amid Signs of China Hacking
U.S. officials said the probe into a massive breach of federal government networks has yielded growing signs of a direct Chinese role.
Alibaba’s Jack Ma Visiting U.S. to Lure Businesses Into China
Ma is looking for revenue beyond China, where the nation’s economy is projected to grow at its slowest pace since 1990.
Sinica Podcast
06.08.15
Writers: Heroes in China?
from Sinica PodcastIf you happen to live in the anglophone world and aren’t closely tied to China by blood or professional ties, chances are that what you believe to be true about this country is heavily influenced by the opinions of perhaps one hundred other...
With Over 440 Expected Dead, the Yangtze River Cruise Sinking is China’s Worst Boating Disaster
Rescuers initially heard voices of those trapped inside the overturned ship's hull.
Media
06.05.15
Hong Kong’s Long-Standing Unity on Tiananmen Is Unraveling
June 4, a day that changed mainland China forever, has become a cross that the city of Hong Kong bears. Each year, thousands of the city’s residents gather on an often steamy night and share anxious memories of 1989, when tanks rolled by bloodied...
Survivor Accounts Raise Questions About Yangtze Ship’s Final Moments
Four days after the ship, the Oriental Star, flipped over in a ferocious storm, leaving 442 dead or missing.
China Tries To Put A More Positive Spin On Cruise Ship Sinking
Dozens are confirmed dead and the number is expected to pass 400.
Alibaba to Invest in China Business News
E-commerce giant to pay about $200 million for a 30% stake.