National News

The Empire Strikes Back

Chorus of criticism against Western media bias becomes crescendo
There has been one story burning up the global bandwidth of late which has drawn clear lines in the cyber sand, and one interesting knock-on effect in China has been a torrent of criticism against Western media bias. A late March China Daily story led with three paragraphs from a Chinese blogger in Vancouver blasting Western media for “not understanding the facts” of the situation and “deliberately distorting” the picture. CNN, in particular, has come in for a cyber beating at the hands of Chinese netizens for publishing a photo cropped in a biased manner. An entire website, anti-CNN.com, was launched as result, containing a detailed collection of examples of Western media error and bias. Though CNN later swapped the controversial photo for the original, criticism is threatening to spill over into real life. Danwei reports that Beijing offices of CNN and The Times of London have been deluged by phone calls.

China

Rice Wars

Forget the oil blues engulfing the world, today it’s all about rice, the staple crop which feeds many of China's billion plus mouths. The Shanghaiist reports that the benchmark price for rice has doubled in the last three months provoking Vietnam (the world's second biggest exporter of rice) to slash exports, India and Cambodia to effectively ban rice from leaving the country and Pakistan to deploy troops to guard trucks carrying rice, wheat, and flour. Following a 30 percent hike in March, the Chinese government stepped in to stabilize prices by increasing subsidies to farmers in hopes of avoiding the rice troubles roiling neighboring countries.

CHINA VS. WORLD

China Says

World Rice Price Hikes 'Will Not Hurt Supply' China Daily
“The recent 30 percent jump in international rice prices does have an impact on China's food prices but the country is largely self-dependent for rice.”

Torch Takes off on Global Odyssey China Daily
“I feel upset that some people are trying to disrupt the torch relay and it should not be tinted with politics."

World Says

Jump in Rice Price Fuels Fears of Unrest Financial Times
Global rice stocks are at their lowest since 1976.

Olympic Torch Lit Despite Protest BBC
[Protestors] were quickly bundled away by police.

DIGITS

➜ 1,150
The number of kilometers of brand new paved road connecting Kunming to Bangkok, collectively known as Route 3, which is expected to revolutionize trade in Southeast Asia.
➜ 70
The percentage of Chinese internet users under the age of 30.
➜ Half a Million
The number of people who viewed the Child Coal Hauler documentary in the last two months. It depicts three children who work hauling coal in south China.