6.99 Is the Magic Number

Fall of the U.S. dollar makes expat packages look not so golden
The RMB broke through the magical seven barrier in April, spawning radio call in shows all over China and hand-wringing among expats on U.S. dollar salaries. For 10 years the RMB-U.S. dollar exchange rate was fixed at 8.3, and as recently as November 2007, you could still get seven and a half RMB for a greenback. All that’s changed and Americans have their own government to thank for it. Henry Paulson, the U.S. Treasury Secretary, has long trumpeted re-valuation of the RMB against the dollar and it looks like he’s finally gotten his wish. A stronger RMB the logic went, would correct the ballooning trade deficit by making U.S. exports more competitive. Pundits are split over the economic logic, but expats in China who earn in U.S. dollars certainly aren’t. “While in the big picture the appreciation of the renminbi is probably small potatoes...it does have a major impact on foreigners doing business in/with China (not to mention those of us earning salaries in RMB),” writes the Cup of Cha blogger. Indeed, in every corner we’ve been hearing grumbles from expats who’ve seen their packages fall in value 5-10 percent over the last four months. Looks like earning RMB isn’t so bad after all.

Duke University

Student In the Middle
There are some weird lines being drawn in the political sand these days. A Chinese student studying at Duke University in the U.S. has been targeted by fellow Chinese foreign students after she was seen attending a Tibet rally. Apparently, some students perceived that she was on the wrong side of the fence, and so proceeded to post her identification and contact information on the Duke Chinese Scholars and Students Association listserv. Despite the fact the student has gone on record explaining her support for China, she reports receiving some rather unfriendly messages.

CHINA VS. WORLD

China Says
CNN Owes China an Apology for Slandering China Daily
Annoyed by [Jack] Cafferty's despicable and shameless attack on an American national TV program, Chinese have launched an online petition requesting an apology from CNN.

Southern Metropolis Chang Ping and the Freedom to Rumor-Monger
Beijing Evening News
This individual had brought "free speech" to an appalling or even "terrifying" degree.

If You Want Freedom, First Discipline Yourself People’s Daily
If some blogs that harm others do not clean up their act, if they insist on waiting for someone else to help them take out the trash, then they may find that there's no place for them anymore.

World Says
Jack Cafferty Showing Complete Ignorance Youtube.com
Jack Cafferty and CNN live in a sad world where they think more than one-third of the world's population are thugs.

Internet Wages War on Liberal Media Danwei.org
There's a war going on over freedom of speech, democracy, and estern "universal values."

Pulling the Strings of China's Internet www.feer.com
“BAOM, an ostensible professional association, was invested with policing powers.”

DIGITS

➜ 1.5 million
The number of web postings expunged by the Beijing Association of Online Media, a trade association with members like Yahoo, Intel, Nokia and Ericsson.
➜ 35
The number of Xinjiang terrorists arrested by the Chinese government in connection with a plot to disrupt the Olympics. Chinese authorities also report finding 22 pounds of explosives.
➜ 50 percent
The clinical diagnosis error rate in China according to Guangdong's vice director of the Health Department.