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Economy Geopolitics

Why Peru’s President Is Going To China — It’s Not Just The Billions In Trade

Peru’s President Dina Boluarte is traveling to China to fine tune free trade with this vital, if overbearing, business partner. It will also help her flee the deep and wide popularity among Peruvians.

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Green

Wild Animals Invading 8 Cities Around The World

An elephant in the street in India, otters on the beach in Cape Town, wild boars in Rome, big cats in Colombia cities, polar bears in Russian towns: a series of factors, including climate change and urbanization, is creating unlikely encounters between humans and the rest of the animal kingdom.

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Economy Food / Travel Society

Tea Be Damned! Inside The Massive Starbucks Bet On China’s Shift To Coffee

A gigantic and multi-faceted new location near Shanghai epitomizes the American giant’s ambition to quench China’s growing but still-nascent thirst for coffee.

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Economy Society

A Refuge From China’s Rat Race: The Young People Flocking To Buddhist Monasteries

Unemployment, stress in the workplace, economic difficulties: more and more young Chinese graduates are flocking to monasteries to find “another school of life.”

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Geopolitics Ideas

Ya Ya, Between A Broken Heart And Big Chill In Giant Panda Diplomacy

This is the story of Ya Ya, a female panda whose fate captures for the degrading relationship and eroding trust between China and the U.S.

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Green

Did Climate Change Cause The Fall Of The Ming Dynasty?

In the mid-17th century, the weather in China got colder. The frequency of droughts and floods increased while some regions were wiped out by tragic famines. And the once-unstoppable Ming dynasty began to lose power.

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In The News

China’s “Two-Legged Sheep” And The Cost Of COVID Discrimination

As China holds firm in its zero-COVID approach, discrimination against those who have tested positive is rampant. Some even find themselves homeless and jobless. Now, the government is trying to tackle the stigma, but it won’t be easy.

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In The News

In Shanghai, A Brewing Expat Exodus As COVID Crackdown Shows “Real” China

Not only strict rules of freedom of movement as part of Zero-COVID policy but also an increase in censorship has raised many questions for the expat population in the megacity of 26 million that had long enjoyed a kind of special status in China as a place of freedom and openness. A recent survey of foreigners in the Chinese megacity found that 48% of respondents said they would leave Shanghai within the next year.

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In The News

Shanghai Stakes: Why COVID In China’s “Bourgeois” Capital Is A High-Risk Affair

The port city is China’s most international and cosmopolitan, which helps explain the ongoing culture clash between its residents and Chinese authorities aiming to enforce a strict Zero-Covid policy of restrictions on movement and freedom.

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In The News

Xiongan, Xi Jinping’s Dream Megacity To Burnish His Legacy

Ground has been broken on the signature domestic project of the Chinese leader’s next term. It is meant to be a massive model city of innovation, forever linked to Xi’s Chinese Dream.

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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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Economy Ideas

Why Hong Kong Is Still A Model For Mainland China

-OpEd- HONG KONG — Lately there have been snarky voices and Internet taunting directed at Hong Kong. This mostly comes from Chinese mainlanders declaring that Hong Kong’s economy is doddering and unprogressive, and that from both an entrepreneurial and infrastructure point of view, it is lagging behind the world and mainland China. Other critics say […]

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blog

Why Shanghai Doesn’t Want To Talk About GDP

SHANGHAI — The most important recent piece of economic data in Shanghai is the number that’s missing. At the annual new year session of the Shanghai Municipal People’s Congress, the megacity chose not to set an annual GDP growth target, an unprecedented move for a country where local governments’ political performances are largely tied directly […]

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Economy Society

Anti-Uber Anger Is Spreading Around The World

Its early adopters swear by the SF-based car-service app. But as Uber expands internationally, local cabbies in Milan and Paris are fighting back. Will rickshaw drivers in Bangalore be next?

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Ideas Society

China: Sickness, Murder And A Doctor-Patient Crisis Of Trust

SHANGHAI — Recently, two Shanghai hospitals have held special training courses for their doctors. One invited a Taekwondo coach to teach the physicians self-defense skills, while the other featured a local police expert in crisis negotiation to brief them about violence prevention. The Chinese public of course understands what this is all about. Just two […]

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Food / Travel

Fecal Rain? Near Shanghai Airport, Unpleasant Droppings From Above

SHANGHAI — Some inhabitants near Shanghai’s Pudong International Airport are reporting something far more odious than the usual noise pollution. According to Zhou, who lives just south of Shanghai in Luchaogang, even on sunny days, he can see “golden raindrops” falling down, accompanied by a bad smell, the Dongfang Daily reported. The droppings, which Dongfang […]

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Economy Geopolitics

How The Chinese Yuan Is Threatening The Dollar’s Hegemony

PARIS — Will the yuan dethrone the dollar one day? The Chinese currency may have just moved a step further in that direction with the October 10 signature between the European Central Bank and the People’s Bank of China (the country’s central bank) for the establishment of a “currency swap” mechanism. The terms of the […]

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Economy

Why China’s Business Leaders Don’t Sleep Well At Night

BEIJING — The “Hierarchy of Needs,” an influential psychological theory put forth by American psychologist Abraham Maslow, tells us that humans have different levels of needs. From the most basic physiological necessities such as water, food and sex, to love, belonging and self-actualization. It is notable that security comes in second on the hierarchy after […]

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Economy

China To Open First Free Trade Zone To Reform Economy

AFP, CHINA DAILY, THE ECONOMIC TIMES (India) Worldcrunch SHANGHAI — In a bold push to reform the world’s second-largest economy and open it to cross-border business, China will allow unfettered exchange of its RMB currency in the country’s first free trade zone, according to a draft plan AFP previewed Thursday. The Free Trade Zone is […]

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Society

Striving Chinese Kids Head West For Sleepaway Camp, Teen Tours And Summer School

Buyer beware: both prestigious boarding schools and summer tours have major drawbacks.

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Geopolitics

At Least 10 Die In “Hottest Shanghai Summer” In 140 Years

XINHUA (China) Worldcrunch SHANGHAI – Over 10 people in Shanghai have died of heatstroke in the east China city’s unprecedented summer heat, local health officials said Tuesday. The Shanghai Municipal Center for Disease Control & Prevention said the persisting high temperatures this summer have caused a spike in the number of heliosis patients in the […]

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Economy

A Special Italian-Style Around-The-World Cruise To Seduce Rich Chinese

GENOA – How do you bring the Dolce Vita Italian lifestyle to the Chinese without actually landing in China? Well, the Costa Cruises company will be offering all the top Made-in-Italy food, fashion and style with a new around-the-world “Italian” cruise geared to a Chinese public. The Italian cruise line opened its doors to the […]

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Society

Pollution Driving Expats To Pack Up And Leave Beijing

ECONOMIC OBSERVER (China) Worldcrunch BEIJING – With air pollution continuing to plague Beijing, there are increasing signs that it is pushing foreigners, often well-to-do expats, to leave the city. “It’s supposed to take up to a decade to solve the smog problem, but who knows what problems the pollution might have caused our bodies by […]

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In The News

Asia’s 21st Century Billionaires – Two Tales Of Success And Loss In The Big City

SHANGHAI – Times are tough for billionaires. In Italy, their tax returns are being tracked down. In France, their overseas accounts are being scrutinized. Brussels wants to ban bankers’ bonuses. Switzerland voted to outlaw golden handshakes. Even in the United States, billionaires – unless they are also philanthropists – have become suspicious characters. Fortunately, there […]

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Society

Bay Of Pigs: Toll Of Dead Pigs In Shanghai River Nears 6000

SINA, CHINA DAILY, JIAXING DAILY (China) BBC (UK) Worldcrunch SHANGHAI – The first reports came Sunday, and were shocking enough: more than 1000 dead pigs were fished out of Huangpu River in Shanghai, China Daily reported. But by Wednesday the count was approaching 6,000. According to the labels pinned in the ears of the pigs […]

Categories
Future

Sandy’s Asian Sisters: Five Superstorms You May Have Missed

Worldcrunch As Sandy pummels the United States, the Pacific typhoon season has been well underway on the other side of the world, resulting in some 500 deaths and $3.36 billion in total damages in Asia. Take a look at the five storms that you may have missed: 1. Typhoon KhanunIn mid-July, Typhoon Khanun swept over […]

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Food / Travel

Land Of A Thousand Artificial Lakes: Perils Of China’s Boomtime Water Policy

On October 18, water started flowing along a 20 kilometer (12.4 mile) aqueduct from the Yellow River into a gigantic pit in Zhengzhou City. In two months this pit will turn into an artificial lake with a surface of 5.6 square kilometers (3.5 square miles). It has taken two years of digging and has cost […]

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Society

Back-To-School In China – Instead Of Shiny Red Apples, Teachers Get Cash And Gucci Bags

WUHAN MORNING POST (China), CHINA TIMES (Taiwan) Worldcrunch BEIJING – These days, being a teacher in China comes with its perks. Not only would the position offer you absolute imperial authority, but you would also get lots of presents. Some very NICE presents. September 10 was Teacher’s Day, and on that day Chinese teachers are […]

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Society

If You Can Make It There – Broadway Takes China By Storm

SHANGHAI – Two weeks ago Cats, the legendary musical with its record $2 billion box office sales and worldwide audience of 73 million people, had its Chinese language premiere in Shanghai. This will be followed by a tour of 162 performances in other major Chinese cities. Following the success of Mamma Mia!, Cats is the […]

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Geopolitics

Typhoon Forces Millions To Evacuate Shanghai, Eastern China

CHINA METEOROLOGICAL ADMINISTRATION, CHINA DAILY, XINHUA (China) SHANGHAI – Typhoon Haikui ploughed into China’s eastern coast on Wednesday morning, knocking down buildings, cutting off power, disrupting train and airline services and forcing authorities to relocate millions of people. The winds were at “severe typhoon” strength when Haikui made landfall in the province of Zhejiang, about […]

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