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Green Or Gone

Is Air Pollution Driving Rich Chinese To Emigrate?

China risks losing a growing number of so-called “environmental migrants.”

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Economy

Alibaba To Baidu, China’s Internet Giants Duck Responsibility

-Analysis- BEIJING — Over the last week, Tieba, an online forum of Baidu, China’s largest search engine, has sparked a new kind of online controversy that should be a warning around the world. One of the Tieba bulletin board forums, which had originally been created by patients with hemophilia — a genetic blood disorder — […]

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blog

Pakistan University Shooting, Palin & Trump, Plastic & Fish

GUNMEN STORM PAKISTAN UNIVERSITY, DOZENS FEARED DEAD A group of gunmen killed at least 21 people and wounded more than 50 as they stormed the Bacha Khan University in Pakistan’s northwestern Charsadda District this morning, The Express Tribune reports. A security official quoted by Reuters said the death toll could rise to 40. Police have […]

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Geopolitics

Welcome To Yanbian, China’s Flourishing “Third Korea”

Despite China’s geographic and political proximity with North Korea, it’s South Korea for whom the country’s autonomous Yanbian area has rolled out the red carpet.

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Economy Ideas

The “Zombie” Enterprises Holding Back The Chinese Economy

China’s avoidance of market rules have given rise to bloated, wasteful and debt-laden state-owned enterprises that continue to be funded despite their lack of merit. An overhaul of these must be on tap to improve the country’s stagnating e

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blog

Big Fat Marketing Fail For Nike In China

HONG KONG — Just did it. Nike has made a marketing blunder for the ages, Mingbao, a Hong Kong daily reports on Thursday, after the U.S. sports retailer launched a new model of sports shoes onto the Chinese market in the hope of cashing in on the upcoming Chinese New Year spending season. According to […]

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Economy Ideas

The Difference Between Chinese And Western Billionaires

A disproportionately high number of China’s so-called “super-rich” came from real estate. It’s the first clue about what’s wrong with Chinese wealth accumulation.

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blog

China Shuts Down Notorious Army Song-And-Dance Troupe

Chinese President Xi Jinping’s glamorous singer wife Peng Liyuan used to perform with them. But so too did less reputable women, including several who became the center of public scandals. Now, after more than six decades of service, the Chinese People’s Liberation Song and Dance Troupe has been disbanded, reports Taiwanese newspaper China Times. Founded […]

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Future Green Or Gone Smarter Cities

The Illusions That Are China’s Eco-Cities

TIANJIN — A stone’s throw from the highly polluted Bohai Gulf, the Tianjin eco-city is like a mirage. Its buildings, surrounded by trees, offer a rare green and airy setting in the surrounding industrial development zone, which is choked, for much of the year, in a blanket of smog. Public lighting is charged through solar […]

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blog

China Fears North Korea Nuclear Tests Could Trigger Volcano

BEIJING — News of North Korea’s most recent atomic test, which Pyongyang is claiming was its first detonation of a hydrogen bomb, has sparked new fears about the future. But there is a more immediate concern: Neighboring South Korea and China are increasingly worried that the underground nuclear tests could set off the dormant volcano […]

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Society

A Billion Toddlers: China And Early Childhood Education Investment

A recent study found that 40 million rural Chinese children’s cognitive ability was significantly lower than the national average. A program called “Nurturing the Future” focuses on toddlers too often left at home by parents who go to work

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Economy

Lamborghini In China, Racing To Improve Reputation

BEIJING — As it marks the 10th anniversary of its entry into China, Lamborghini is undergoing a major rebranding operation — and one that cuts against the current. While virtually all other luxury carmakers have focused on attracting younger customers, the iconic Italian sports car brand wants to appeal instead to a more mature customer […]

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blog

Paris Attacks Revelations, Apple’s Tax Settlement, Saving Matt Damon

NOV. 13 ATTACKS COORDINATED IN REAL TIME The three terrorist commandos that carried out the Nov. 13 attacks in Paris, killing 130 people, were being coordinated in real time by at least one unknown man in Belgium, Le Monde reports. The three groups were in contact with the coordinator throughout the night using cell phones […]

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Ideas

How China Tries To Censor The Whole World

Already very active within the country, Chinese censorship is now being applied outside its borders, and via the Internet. What are the implications for China, and the rest of us?

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blog

On This Day – December 26

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Society

The Evils Of One-Child Policy Still Lurking In China

BEIJING — President Xi Jinping is now be turning his attention to China’s so-called “black households,” those without an official family registry document, who are thus barred from obtaining legal proof of identity. But China will need more than Xi’s good will to solve the problem, which ultimately can be traced in large part back […]

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blog

Syrian Civilians, Pursuing Khodorkovsky And Kim Dotcom

RUSSIA ACCUSED OF KILLING 200 SYRIAN CIVILIANS The human rights organization Amnesty International released a 28-page report Wednesday accusing the Russian military of launching air attacks with munitions and unguided bombs on civilian areas in Syria in the past three months, killing at least 200 people in what could constitute war crimes. The report, quoting […]

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blog

New VW Scandal, Mother Teresa Miracle, Skype-Diving

ISIS STRIKES BACK, BUT FAILS More than 300 ISIS fighters launched a vast attack against Kurdish forces in several locations near the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, but their assault was repelled by the Kurdish fighters backed by U.S.-led airstrikes, The Washington Post reports. At least 180 jihadist fighters are reported to have been killed […]

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Economy Future Society

Up Close At Huawei, China’s Challenger To Smartphone Giants

A look inside Huawei’s HQ in Shenzen, the Silicon Valley of China, where plans are being laid to overtake Apple and Samsung.

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blog

Markets React To Fed, Rajoy Punched, Brazil v. WhatsApp

EU LEADERS TRY TO MOVE ON MIGRANT CRISIS European leaders are gathered in Brussels for a two-day meeting centered on the 28-nation bloc’s ongoing migrant crisis. Politico reports that proposals will be debated to reinforce external borders, including the possible creation of a new EU law enforcement body that could be sent to respond to […]

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China's Entrepreneurs Economy Future

China, An Economic Superpower Lagging On Innovation

BEIJING — China can be proud of its achievements in both business innovation and in creating a technology-driven economy. In recent years Chinese enterprises have taken their place among the heavyweights in the technological sector and, in particular, in the information and communication industry: names such as Lenovo, Huawei, ZTE, Tencent and Xiaomi are recognized […]

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blog

On This Day – December 14

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blog

Why These Brand New Chinese Skyscrapers Must Be Razed

TIANJIN — In the frenzy of China’s real estate speculation, what goes up must sometimes come down — right away. Two brand new 31-story buildings and another 65-story skyscraper are set to be demolished in China’s northeast port city of Tianjin after undergoing unauthorized design changes during construction. According to the China Times, the three […]

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blog

Syrian Factions Meet, Trump’s “New Furor,” U2 Lifts Paris

SYRIA’S OPPOSITION GROUPS MEET IN RIYADH Syrian armed and political opposition groups are set to meet in the Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh today as part of a three-day conference aimed at finding a common position ahead of potential peace talks with President Bashar al-Assad’s government, Al Jazeera reports. VERBATIM “I am hereby barring Donald Trump […]

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blog Ideas Society

China’s Male Surplus And The Risk Of Rising Violence

Decades of governmental policies and societal mores have created a staggering gender imbalance in China. Thirty million restless males with no romantic prospects is a recipe for disaster.

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blog

German Anti-ISIS News, Europe’s Solar Power, Billboard Shaming

GERMAN CABINET BACKS ANTI-ISIS CAMPAIGN After agreeing last week to send 650 soldiers to Mali to support 1,500 French troops deployed to fight Islamist extremists, Germany could be about to launch a military campaign in Syria. The German cabinet voted today to send reconnaissance aircraft, a naval frigate and a 1,200-strong military force to the […]

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blog

A Quest For Balance

Watching the acrobatic show at the Shanghai Circus, one can’t help but think, “There’s got to be a trick.” But no, the stunning tower of chairs is genuine — the result of gestures perfected over 2,000 years in the quest for perfect balance.

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Society

The Real Math And Meaning Of China’s Two-Child Policy

More consumer spending in the short term, and a demographic correction over time, but China’s loosening of its birth policies may be most powerful as a symbol.

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Economy Future

Meet Zhou Qunfei, China’s Richest Woman

An in-depth interview with the 45-year-old billionaire who has developed groundbreaking lens and smart-screen technology. Business, she says, is about distinguishing between rice pots and hotels.

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Economy Society

Why China Has So Many Smokers: Tobacco Lobby, Chinese-Style

The power of “Big Tobacco” in a state-run industry in China is surprisingly similar to the hold that U.S. cigarette makers long enjoyed. Indeed, Chinese anti-smoking advocates are decades behind Western counterparts.

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blog

On This Day – November 15

Categories
Geopolitics

China In Doubt, Contradictions Of A Nation On The Defensive

Faced with enormous challenges both at home and abroad, China reveals itself as a land of double standards and growing uncertainty.

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blog

Applying Kung Fu Techniques To Kickstart Chinese Soccer

Combining kung fu with soccer? This was a fantasy depicted in Stephen Chow’s 2001 martial arts comedy film Shaolin Soccer. But now, in Henan province, home of the Shaolin Temple famous for its superhuman martial-arts monks, we are set to see a real-life attempt to kick some life into Chinese soccer by applying the methods […]

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Geopolitics Ideas

China-U.S. v China-UK: Two Very Different Kinds Of Diplomacy

BEIJING — Over the past month President Xi Jinping made a state visit to the United States and to the United Kingdom. In the U.S. he was welcomed with a 21-gun salute on the south lawn of the White House followed by a state banquet. In Britain he was greeted by the Queen, and rode […]

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Economy Society

How Northern Laos Is Being Swallowed By China

Thousands of Chinese are moving to Laos to benefit from an expatriation bonus. But their mass use of pesticides on banana plantations has created a serious health issue, and displacement of locals has fomented anti-Chinese sentiment.

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blog

Burmese Political Turmoil, Rouhani’s French Snub, Crocodile Guards

MYANMAR ACCUSED OF DELAYING RESULTS The National League for Democracy (NLD), the Burmese opposition party headed for a sweeping victory after Sunday’s general elections, has accused the government of Myanmar of deliberately delaying release of the results, The Irrawaddy reports. The NLD is expected to win at least 75% of contested seats, according to party […]

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Economy

What China Can Learn From The Volkswagen Fiasco

Doing business at home is always different than doing business abroad. Here are some lessons for Chinese firms from the German company’s problems in the United States.

Categories
Society

A Historical And Etiquette Guide To Using Chopsticks

BEIJING — Throughout the world, people eat in one of three ways: with a knife and fork, with chopsticks, or with their hands. Though the knife-and-fork folk seem to be the most powerful and widespread group, those who use chopsticks most clearly reflects human wisdom when they eat. Nobody is sure when chopsticks were invented, […]

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Economy Geopolitics

Beijing’s Most Important Five-Year Plan Yet

The top leaders of China’s Communist Party are gathering this week to develop the latest roadmap for the country, which could supercede the U.S. in economic and military might as soon as five years from now.

Categories
Society

The Internet In China, A Very Different Kind Of Opportunity

BEIJING — If one were to think of the Internet as a person with flesh, blood and a soul, then what would be the source of its soul? The answer will be a very different one depending on which country’s Internet we are talking about. In the United States, a Time magazine article explored the […]

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