China
Amateur photos of train crash carnage
These amateur photos, taken after the fatal train crash in Shandong, eastern China, were posted online just hours after the carnage occurred. The collision happened early Monday morning when a coastal bound passenger train jumped the rails and struck a crossing overnight express train. Seventy people have been confirmed dead and over 420 injured. See the photos.
Publicly humiliated, like in the Mao days
When a local factory owner filed a case against a power station for stealing his sand and tampering with the land, he did not expect to be found guilty of blackmail. Paraded through the streets for eight hours, condemned in public and jailed for three months, Tang Xiaodong has now launched a campaign to seek justice. Read more...
Chinese ship endeavours to get weapons to Zimbabwe
Refused in South Africa and turned away from Mozambique, 77 tons of weaponry bound for Zimbabwe are now heading towards Angola in hope of access to land. Will the Chinese vessel succeed in reaching its final destination? Unions, lawyers and anti-arms activists hope not. Read more...
China's new chart-topper: "Don’t be too like CNN"
We've published several posts about the onslaught of online criticism aimed at the Western media, in particular CNN, over its coverage of violence in Tibet. Here's the latest example of CNN bashing : a song originally broadcast on the state TV channel CCTV, is now running rife on the Internet. See the video.
A Chinese protester campaigns in front of Carrefour in Beijing
UPDATE (18
APRIL 08 10am): Protests against Carrefour have sprung up all over China and the demonstrators
have extended their crusade to several other French companies including Luis
Vuitton, Sephora and Dior. New pictures at the bottom of the post...
"Putting out the flame is really going to upset the Chinese people"
The Olympic flame had to be put out for half an hour during its tour around Paris because of havoc caused by mainly pro-Tibetan protesters. ChinaWolf, who set up a YouTube channel to "defend the Chinese reputation", explains to us why he thinks the protests were unacceptable. Read more...
The saddest peep show in the world
These desperate migrant workers from south east China, who often leave their wives behind to find work, are reduced to paying women ten cents to see their private parts. Read more...
The Child Coal Hauler
Since blogger Xu Alun released this documentary on February 10, it's had over half a million hits. It tells the story of three homeless orphans working as coal-haulers in a southern city of China. According to our Observer in Hong Kong, a specialist in social problems in China, this is just one example of millions of "left-behind children" in the country. Read more...
Yahoo and MSN helping to root out Tibetan rioters
The 'most wanted' on Yahoo's homepage this morning
Yahoo! China pasted a "most wanted" poster across its homepage today in aid of the police's witch-hunt for 24 Tibetans accused of taking part in the recent riots. MSN China made the same move, although it didn't go as far as publishing the list on its homepage. Read more...
Small shareholders in China fret over tumbling economy
The Shanghai Composite Index has dropped by 40% in the past five months, with a massive 4% tumble occuring on Tuesday (March 19). The Chinese government promised its people immunity from the worldwide financial slump that grew out of the US subprime crisis, but the stark evidence suggests it has failed. Small shareholders fear the worst, and are expressing their worries online, including in songs. Read more...
