Authorities play dangerous game by having people still studying at university act as experts.

Many people appeared disappointed Premier Li Keqiang did not give details during his press conference at the National People's Congress about the corruption investigation into former security tsar Zhou Yongkang.

Following the recent news of more bird flu cases in Guangdong - two of them Hong Kong residents who contracted the disease in Shenzhen -authorities in the province appear to be making serious efforts to contain the outbreak.

Who are we to believe? This is the conundrum facing many mainlanders as they witness a saga with multiple twists involving an outspoken tabloid newspaper, one of its reporters now under arrest, a leading heavy equipment manufacturer and, inevitably, the law enforcement agencies.

As once-in-a-century floods ravaged the nation's northeast this month, abnormally heavy rain also struck the southeast. In the Guangdong city of Shantou, 350 kilometres east of Hong Kong, flash floods trapped many people in rural areas in a 24-hour period.

Chinese activist Xu Zhiyong, in police custody since mid-July, has released a video message from his cell, calling on his compatriates "to be citizens" and "realise rights, obligations and dreams" laid down by the nation's constitution.

Beijing has sent more officials from ministries and state-owned enterprises to provinces during the latest leadership reshuffle, amid fears it may lose control of local governments, observers said.

The Pearl River Delta's historic sites are vanishing before most people get a chance to see them. Two cases in Guangzhou, involving the demolition of old buildings and ancient tombs illustrate the sad story.

Many Guangzhou residents have been worried and angry for more than a week after being told that nearly half the rice they buy from local markets may contain excessive levels of cadmium, a carcinogenic heavy metal.

Former Taiwan premier Frank Hsieh Chang-Ting is probably the first heavyweight from the Democratic Progressive Party with his own fan club on the Chinese mainland.

He is one of China's greatest artists, whose works sell for millions. But all of the 15 paintings said to be by the late Fu Baoshi on show in a Hong Kong mall are fakes, according to his granddaughter, who appears in a TV show in which art works are scrutinised for their authenticity.

The website of Yanhuang Chunqiu magazine, one of China’s most prominent pro-reform publications, was closed down on Friday morning.