Midi Madness
Is it possible we’re better off postponing?
Everyone knows China’s best outdoor rock concert was unexpectedly canceled last month amid security concerns. Aside from a hundred thousand disappointed rock fans, maybe postponement isn’t such a bad thing. Consider that Midi’s scheduled opening date coincided ... Read More
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 ... Read More
National News: The Torch Arrive
Official arrival of the flame ignites Olympic fever in China
On Monday, March 31, the Olympic flame makes its China debut, exactly 130 days before the Opening Ceremony. Beijing will party for a day, with all the action broadcast live by CCTV, before the torch ... Read More
National News
Will Yao Play?
China's hopes for basketball gold rest on Yao's tender fee
There are 157 days until the Olympics, but for China, it's the next 120 days that matter, as Yao Ming recovers from foot surgery. The season-ending injury has raised a firestorm of ... Read More
Sex, Lies and Video Clips
Edison Chen career is ruined but that's just the start of his troubles
The annual Spring Festival TV variety show, which attracts more viewers than the Super Bowl, had little to offer audiences again this year, save heroic footage of Wen Jiabao climbing a ... Read More
How Yellow Are You?
China’s campaign against smut yields up some unusual bad guys
It’s no secret the Chinese government has taken an increasingly firm stance against all-things-spiritually-polluting, anything from deviant films, to mentions of deviant films in the press, to online porn. The latest twist is the ... Read More
Government outlaws free plastic bags, will expats even notice?
The Chinese government has announced a ban on free plastic bags. Starting June 1, supermarkets will cease giving out the ubiquitous little buggers, though they will still be available for a fee. Meanwhile ultra-thin plastic bags (the kind used bag your ... Read More
When Wild Animals Don’t Attack: Panda pansies learn to how to fight on the playground of life
The Chinese government is planning to use police dogs to teach captive-bred pandas how to fight like real animals. The decision was made after Xiang Xiang, the world’s first artificially-bred panda ... Read More