https://www.scmp.com/rss/322446/feed en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com In February this year, the Town Planning Board completed its review of the draft outline zoning plan supporting a three-runway system at Hong Kong International Airport and agreed to submit it to the Chief Executive in Council for approval. This will pave the way for the implementation of the three-runway system which is essential to meet our long-term air traffic demand. Many opinions were heard during the board review meetings, some of which were misconceptions that have unfortunately... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1934646/criticism-hong-kongs-proposed-third-runway-should-be-based?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1934646/criticism-hong-kongs-proposed-third-runway-should-be-based?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 10 Apr 2016 03:01:15 +0000 One of the enduring images of the Cultural Revolution shows a young Song Binbin pinning a Red Guard armband on Mao Zedong's sleeve as they stand on Tiananmen Rostrum on August 18, 1966. Two weeks earlier, students at Song's high school had beaten their vice-principal to death, in what was widely viewed as one of the first killings of the revolution. In the ensuing decades, the photo came to represent the state's sanction of the violence carried out by the revolution's youth gangs. Last Sunday,... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1408595/song-binbins-cultural-revolution-apology-sparks-national?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1408595/song-binbins-cultural-revolution-apology-sparks-national?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 18 Jan 2014 19:00:15 +0000 Vladimir Lenin, founder of the Soviet Union, once said that to forget the past was tantamount to a betrayal. In the past few months, a number of Red Guards from the Cultural Revolution have decided to betray their consciences no longer, by publicly expressing remorse for their actions during the decade-long paramilitary movement launched by Mao Zedong in 1966. A heated discussion emerged in the media last week over how the public should interpret such acts of contrition, and what younger... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1297429/remorse-over-cultural-revolution-sparks-media-debate?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1297429/remorse-over-cultural-revolution-sparks-media-debate?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 17 Aug 2013 16:00:00 +0000 With reports of toothpick sellers being fined thousands of yuan for not having a logging licence, hundreds of owners of small shops in the provincial capital of Liaoning have chosen to close their doors for fears they could be the next victim of a city government crackdown. The government launched an inspection of Shenyang stores in June, as the northeastern city prepares to host next year's 12th National Games - which mainland media said has appeared to stretch the city's treasury thin. While... https://www.scmp.com/article/1014278/toothpick-sellers-fined-lacking-logging-licence?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/1014278/toothpick-sellers-fined-lacking-logging-licence?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 07 Aug 2012 16:00:00 +0000 A leading newspaper that ran an investigative report on Beijing's recent deadly floods has been accused by the city's authorities of 'violating press regulations' and now faces the risk of its operations being suspended. The city's cultural enforcement agency yesterday raided the Economic Observer's headquarters and removed its sign outside the office. Sources said the raid on the business weekly came two days after its latest edition was pulled from newsstands by the municipal authorities, ... https://www.scmp.com/article/1014196/newspaper-flood-report-upsets-city-officials?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/1014196/newspaper-flood-report-upsets-city-officials?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 06 Aug 2012 16:00:00 +0000 The Chairman Mao Memorial Hall and the Monument to the People's Heroes are likely to be included in the UN application for world heritage status, according to an official from the Dongcheng district Culture Commission in Beijing. The ancient block commonly known as the 'Central Axis', which authorities intend to include in their application for Unesco world heritage status, covers a 7.8-kilometre strip between the Yongding Gate, the reconstructed former front gate of the outer section of... https://www.scmp.com/article/1008507/world-heritage-bid-likely-include-maos-tomb?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/1008507/world-heritage-bid-likely-include-maos-tomb?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 03 Aug 2012 16:00:00 +0000 The news footage on Beijing Television showing Beijing party secretary Guo Jinlong having instant noodles at an emergency meeting over the deadly July 21 flood in the early hours of the following morning lasted only for about three seconds. But it was quickly picked up by Chu Tian Jin Bao, a publication affiliated to provincial party mouthpiece Hubei Daily in Hubei province, as a testament to selflessness and hard work of the Beijing party secretary. 'A moving scene - the 65-year-old Beijing... https://www.scmp.com/article/1008043/gulf-opens-between-residents-and-official-media-over-floods?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/1008043/gulf-opens-between-residents-and-official-media-over-floods?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 28 Jul 2012 16:00:00 +0000 Beijing's Communist Party secretary, Guo Jinlong, yesterday led a tribute to flood victims in Shidu, the township in Fangshan district hardest hit by last weekend's storm. The ceremony was apparently intended to assuage public anger over the authorities' rescue efforts and response to the disaster. Residents are still searching for missing family members and say the government has offered little or no help. Flanked by municipal officials including acting mayor Wang Anshun , Guo admitted that... https://www.scmp.com/article/1007891/party-tribute-flood-dead?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/1007891/party-tribute-flood-dead?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 27 Jul 2012 16:00:00 +0000 The conduct of mainland university officials has been called into question again after the president of Zhejiang University was caught playing a computer poker game at a top-level symposium where controversial Peking University president Zhou Qifeng was also seen promoting a CD single featuring a song dedicated to his mother. The photo of Yang Wei, president of the prestigious university in Hangzhou, one of the nation's oldest, was first posted on the internet on Sunday by a microblogger called... https://www.scmp.com/article/1007581/university-officials-under-fire-again?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/1007581/university-officials-under-fire-again?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 23 Jul 2012 16:00:00 +0000 A debate is growing in cyberspace about a trend that has seen more mainland universities adopt pinyin - romanised versions of Mandarin script - for the official English translations of their names in recent years, with some people hailing the trend as a good reflection of China's rise, while others dismiss it as cosmetic. Citing questions from some online commentators, The Beijing News reported yesterday that English name changes by well-known universities, particularly ones that cater mainly to... https://www.scmp.com/article/1007513/pinyins-rise-fuels-dispute-over-whats-name?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/1007513/pinyins-rise-fuels-dispute-over-whats-name?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 22 Jul 2012 16:00:00 +0000 The amount China spent on fighting HIV/Aids quadrupled to US$530 million last year from US$124 million in 2007, making the nation an important player in the global campaign against the disease, a UNAids report said yesterday. China is now one of the top five contributors to research into HIV, spending US$18.3 million last year, including the pursuit of a vaccine. The report singled out as a milestone a new level of access to antiretroviral treatment - for the first time, half of the people who... https://www.scmp.com/article/1007170/china-top-spender-fight-against-aids?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/1007170/china-top-spender-fight-against-aids?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 18 Jul 2012 16:00:00 +0000 Eight human rights lawyers have urged the Ministry of Education to abolish discriminatory enrolment policies at elite universities which put students from some impoverished and populous regions at a great disadvantage. Chang Boyang, a lawyer from Henan who was one of those who signed the letter to the ministry, said they urged it to reform the university recruitment system, which has been linked to the controversial hukou, or household registration system. Citing official statistics, Chang said... https://www.scmp.com/article/1007086/rights-lawyers-push-enrolment-policy-reform?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/1007086/rights-lawyers-push-enrolment-policy-reform?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 17 Jul 2012 16:00:00 +0000 Flamboyant Peking University president Zhou Qifeng has sparked a public debate over filial piety after returning to his ancestral home in Hunan province for his mother's 90th birthday. Pictures of the professor kneeling in front of his mother before they locked in an emotional embrace have circulated widely on the internet on the mainland. Some people hailed Zhou as a role model for filial piety while others dismissed the whole episode as a show. 'He is a true role model because filial piety is... https://www.scmp.com/article/1006982/sceptics-mock-professors-mother-hugging-display?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/1006982/sceptics-mock-professors-mother-hugging-display?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 16 Jul 2012 16:00:00 +0000 Thousands of new entries, including catchy and popular phrases from the internet age, appear in the sixth edition of a well-known Chinese-language dictionary that hit stores yesterday. The woman behind the compilation said the additions reflected how the country had rapidly transformed in the information age. Geili, meaning 'awesome' or 'well-done', and leiren, 'shocking', are two of the more than 3,000 entries added to the 65,000 that appeared in the last edition of the dictionary, published in... https://www.scmp.com/article/1006904/awesome-times-demand-shocking-new-words?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/1006904/awesome-times-demand-shocking-new-words?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 15 Jul 2012 16:00:00 +0000 One can only wonder what Premier Wen Jiabao thought of the news that a premium site for housing in Beijing sold for a record price last week - just three days after he reaffirmed his commitment to policies aimed at cooling the property market. Reactions by state media to the 'king of all land sales', however, suggest some unease in the central government about whether its programme may be faltering amid a slowing economy that relies heavily on property investments. The residential parcel in the... https://www.scmp.com/article/1006852/king-all-land-sales-gets-sour-reaction-official-press?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/1006852/king-all-land-sales-gets-sour-reaction-official-press?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 14 Jul 2012 16:00:00 +0000 A contentious clause that musicians say will violate their intellectual property rights and undermine creativity has been deleted in an official about-face over a controversial amendment to the Copyright Law. The National Copyright Administration (NCA) made the revised amendment public on Friday and submitted it for public consultation until the end of the month. Among other revisions, the controversial 'Article 46' was dropped. Under the article, those who did not hold the copyright of a... https://www.scmp.com/article/1006280/musicians-win-reprieve-copyright-revision?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/1006280/musicians-win-reprieve-copyright-revision?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 08 Jul 2012 16:00:00 +0000 Qi Yueying, 49, is digging in her heels amid a stand-off with municipal authorities over the demolition of a historic family farmhouse that lies just beyond the southeastern part of Beijing's Second Ring Road. Police officers and security guards maintain a constant presence outside her home. Whenever she wants to run an errand, she must first call the local police station to get permission to leave her house. Qi refuses to accept the compensation offered for the farmhouse, saying it's a tenth of... https://www.scmp.com/article/1006197/housing-compensation-activist-stays-unbowed?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/1006197/housing-compensation-activist-stays-unbowed?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 07 Jul 2012 16:00:00 +0000 Three researchers from a top government think tank are calling for an end to the controversial one-child policy - underscoring a growing consensus in the government to revamp the mainland's family-planning policies. In an article in China Economic Times yesterday, Ge Yanfeng, Yu Dong and Zhang Bingzi, academics from the Development Research Centre of the State Council, attributed the stringent family-planning policies - in place for more than 30 years - to many challenges now faced by the... https://www.scmp.com/article/1005884/academics-join-call-end-one-child-policy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/1005884/academics-join-call-end-one-child-policy?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 04 Jul 2012 16:00:00 +0000 Guangzhou is seeking to ease traffic congestion and curb pollution by limiting the number of vehicles on the road. It has suspended the registration of all new and used small and mid-sized vehicles this month and the monthly registration of such vehicles will be capped at 10,000. The move, announced at the weekend, makes Guangzhou the fourth mainland city to impose a quota system on car purchases. All registrations, including secondhand filings, are suspended this month to give the authorities... https://www.scmp.com/article/1005633/guangzhou-hitting-brakes-traffic-growth?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/1005633/guangzhou-hitting-brakes-traffic-growth?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 01 Jul 2012 16:00:00 +0000 Shanghai subway authorities apparently thought they knew best what women passengers should wear when they urged them to avoid sporting revealing clothing, in the interests of self-respect and to avoid sexual harassment. To drive its point home, the operator of the city's metro posted an entry on its official microblog that featured a woman passenger wearing a see-through blouse with her undergarments clearly visible. Such attire, the subway chiefs said, could make women subject to sexual... https://www.scmp.com/article/1005585/women-say-they-can-do-without-metro-telling-them-how-dress?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/1005585/women-say-they-can-do-without-metro-telling-them-how-dress?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 30 Jun 2012 16:00:00 +0000 Chen Qiang, an actor best known for playing roles of antagonists on the big screen, died at Beijing Anzhen Hospital on Tuesday night at the age of 93. Chen starred in 43 movies, and was most famous for his portrayal of an evil landlord in The White-Haired Girl in 1950, and as a local tyrant in another classic, The Red Detachment of Women, in 1961. Chen was admitted to the hospital earlier this month and died from pneumonia, kidney failure and other complications, state media reported yesterday,... https://www.scmp.com/article/1005224/tributes-screen-villain-chen-qiang?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/1005224/tributes-screen-villain-chen-qiang?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 27 Jun 2012 16:00:00 +0000 Nearly half of university graduates on the mainland see state-owned companies and government agencies as ideal places to work because they provide better fringe benefits and more job security, a survey has found. The survey, conducted by Tsinghua University's China Data Centre and the university's Institute of Education, found that many graduates prefer jobs in state-owned companies and the civil service to working for foreign-funded companies, even though they could earn 20 per cent to 30 per... https://www.scmp.com/article/1005122/graduates-security-state-jobs?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/1005122/graduates-security-state-jobs?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 26 Jun 2012 16:00:00 +0000 The papers ordering Huang Gongdao to be detained while his house was demolished last month are now all he has to aid his fight for justice. All the 63-year-old retiree's possessions, including the identity card he is asked to present whenever he seeks help from the courts, were lost when local officials levelled his six-bedroom home in Beijing's Chaoyang district. Court security guards gave Huang and his family no time to collect their belongings. They were waiting for him when he returned from... https://www.scmp.com/article/1005031/demolition-leaves-family-scattered-defenceless?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/1005031/demolition-leaves-family-scattered-defenceless?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 25 Jun 2012 16:00:00 +0000 Authorities might have to ask themselves if they are serious about the latest national plan to protect human rights after reports emerged about a Shaanxi woman who was forced to abort a seven-month-old fetus. Shaanxi-based hsw.cn reported on Tuesday that county officials forced Feng Jianmei , 22, from Ankang to abort her fetus early this month after she and her husband failed to pay fines for having a second child. Photos of the fetus next to the distressed mother in bed were posted online by a... https://www.scmp.com/article/1004254/forced-abortion-casts-shadow-over-human-rights-plan?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/1004254/forced-abortion-casts-shadow-over-human-rights-plan?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 16 Jun 2012 16:00:00 +0000 A television series intended to pay tribute to the Communist Party has drawn the ire and even disgust of some viewers for its perceived white-washing of a key part of the Cultural Revolution. Zhiqing or Sent-down Youth, which began airing at prime time on the main China Central Television channel last month, centres on the lives of a group of young people sent to rural Heilongjiang province between 1966 and 1976. While much of the story, written by renowned novelist Liang Xiao-sheng, has so far... https://www.scmp.com/article/1004218/tv-drama-sent-down-youth-too-rosy-say-critics?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/1004218/tv-drama-sent-down-youth-too-rosy-say-critics?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 16 Jun 2012 16:00:00 +0000 Since 2008, the number of mainland high-school students signing up for the national university entrance examination has declined every year. Indeed, the once 'make-or-break' examination is losing much of its allure as a growing number of school-leavers choose to study abroad. This year, 9.15 million have signed up for the two-day examination, known as the gaokao. That's 190,000 fewer than last year and 1.4 million below the record number in 2008. Today marks the start of this year's... https://www.scmp.com/article/1003220/more-head-abroad-college-studies?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/1003220/more-head-abroad-college-studies?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 06 Jun 2012 16:00:00 +0000 A new documentary series on Chinese cuisine airing on CCTV has set food lovers abuzz over the nation's rich culinary history, while inadvertently raising a new level of disgust over the seemingly endless food safety scandals. The seven-episode series, A Bite of China, has eclipsed almost all other TV shows in popularity in the past two weeks, garnering praise for its focus on forgotten dishes and religious-like searches for the right ingredients and time-honoured cooking methods that go into... https://www.scmp.com/article/1002866/tv-series-celebrating-food-leaves-sour-taste-some?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/1002866/tv-series-celebrating-food-leaves-sour-taste-some?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 02 Jun 2012 16:00:00 +0000 Children who follow their migrant parents to cities have little chance of getting a complete education but their lives back home under the care of their grandparents could be far worse. The plight of rural children - many of whom have parents working in cities - is the focus of this year's Children's Day, which China observes today. Many mainland newspapers yesterday marked the occasion by carrying a Xinhua report of a trip Premier Wen Jiabao made to a boarding school in Xiangxi prefecture in... https://www.scmp.com/article/1002654/incomplete-life-home-or-road?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/1002654/incomplete-life-home-or-road?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 31 May 2012 16:00:00 +0000 Six people, including three businessmen, have been arrested in Zhejiang province over a prostitution ring involving school girls who were recruited to provide sex to officials and rich clients. Yongkang police said yesterday they launched a crackdown on the ring last month and 10 people had been implicated, including a municipal legislator. The prostitution ring had apparently been operating since February last year and people were asking why it took so long to expose the abuse. The arrests... https://www.scmp.com/article/1002336/six-held-over-schoolgirl-prostitution-ring?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/1002336/six-held-over-schoolgirl-prostitution-ring?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 28 May 2012 16:00:00 +0000 In a move designed to boost domestic consumption and cut carbon emissions, the central government has earmarked 26.5 billion yuan (HK$32.5 billion) in subsidies for energy-saving home appliances. Under a resolution reached at a State Council executive meeting yesterday, the subsidies for energy-saving air conditioners, flat-screen televisions, refrigerators, washing machines and heaters will tentatively last for a year. It did not specify when they would be made available. Beijing launched... https://www.scmp.com/article/1001173/subsidies-unveiled-energy-saving-home-appliances?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/1001173/subsidies-unveiled-energy-saving-home-appliances?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 16 May 2012 16:00:00 +0000 Beijing has launched a 100-day crackdown targeting foreigners who have entered the country illegally, stayed longer than allowed or who are working in the capital illegally. The crackdown by the Public Security Bureau, which will run from today to the end of August, makes Beijing the second mainland jurisdiction to clamp down on foreigners, after a big increase in the number living and working on the mainland as a result of the opportunities offered by its formerly booming economy. Guangdong's... https://www.scmp.com/article/1001014/beijing-drive-illegal-foreigners?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/1001014/beijing-drive-illegal-foreigners?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 14 May 2012 16:00:00 +0000 Parts of the mainland south of the Yangtze River are bracing for torrential rain today and tomorrow, while other areas of the country are still reeling from flooding and hailstorms in recent days that killed dozens and collapsed a large bridge in the central province of Hunan . The death toll from hail and rainstorms on Thursday in mountainous Min county of the northwestern province of Gansu rose to 44 yesterday, with 26 people still missing and 87 injured, Xinhua reported. The hail in Gansu... https://www.scmp.com/article/1000949/storms-toll-hits-44-more-heavy-rain-way?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/1000949/storms-toll-hits-44-more-heavy-rain-way?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 13 May 2012 16:00:00 +0000 The family of writer Zhou Zuoren, who died in 1967, has demanded the cancellation of a weekend auction of a manuscript they say was looted from their home by Red Guards in the Cultural Revolution. Zhou's grandson Zhou Jiyi said yesterday that his lawyers had also sent a letter to China Guardian Auctions asking it to reveal the client's name and documentation proving legal ownership of the manuscript. He also said he would consider further action if the auction house failed to comply. He said he... https://www.scmp.com/article/1000662/writers-family-seeks-halt-manuscript-sale?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/1000662/writers-family-seeks-halt-manuscript-sale?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 10 May 2012 16:00:00 +0000 The mainland's internet police have struck again, closing down or suspending several popular microblogs in the past week as they step up a crackdown on online discussion of politically sensitive issues. One well-known blogger, Wang Xiaoshan, said friends told him yesterday morning that his Sina.com microblog had been closed down. He said he had no idea what was behind the closure or what he had done wrong. Wang said he had written more than 36,000 postings and his microblog had attracted... https://www.scmp.com/article/1000447/net-police-fresh-assault-blogs?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/1000447/net-police-fresh-assault-blogs?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 08 May 2012 16:00:00 +0000 Hubei officials are looking into an incident in which a class of senior high school pupils were intravenously given amino acids in a night course in preparation for the national college entrance exam, an education spokeswoman said yesterday. The bizarre incident, which was exposed when someone posted photos online of the pupils hooked up to intravenous bags on poles, occurred on Friday at the Xiaogan No 1 Middle School and has triggered a public outcry over the hardships that pupils face. Fierce... https://www.scmp.com/article/1000353/probe-intravenous-drips-hubei-pupils?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/1000353/probe-intravenous-drips-hubei-pupils?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 07 May 2012 16:00:00 +0000 Mainland rights activists are divided on whether blind dissident Chen Guangcheng would inspire future civil-rights campaigns. Some hail his dramatic escape from captivity and bid for freedom as a galvanising influence, while others say Chen's case is exceptional and could not be replicated. Wang Xiaodong , a Sichuan-based activist campaigning to expose substandard school buildings that led to numerous deaths in Sichuan's earthquake in May 2008, said Chen's escape dealt a heavy blow to the... https://www.scmp.com/article/1000291/chens-case-divides-activists?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/1000291/chens-case-divides-activists?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 06 May 2012 16:00:00 +0000 Liu Wenwen was barely 22 when success as a soccer cheerleader compelled her to leave Wuhan for a shot at stardom in Beijing. With a sense of adventure and a thirst for fame, she fought her way into numerous modelling gigs, acting roles and television hosting jobs. But Liu is not just another 'young girl with a pretty face', as she describes women like herself. She recently wrote her first novel, Bain Nan - in English, 'to become a man' - about a woman's need to be as tough and aggressive as a... https://www.scmp.com/article/1000253/ex-cheerleader-defies-stereotypes?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/1000253/ex-cheerleader-defies-stereotypes?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 05 May 2012 16:00:00 +0000 A prominent legal academic who lost a two-year legal battle against a big fine for breaking the one-child policy said he stood by his decision to fight for his rights. After two rulings against him, including a failed appeal early last month, his bank account was frozen and a Beijing court withdrew more than 240,000 yuan (HK$295,000) on April 24. 'I've never regretted my decision, because the family-planning policy is inhumane and has artificially distorted the country's demographics, and the... https://www.scmp.com/article/1000105/despite-defeat-academic-remains-defiant-against-unfair-one-child-policy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/1000105/despite-defeat-academic-remains-defiant-against-unfair-one-child-policy?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 04 May 2012 16:00:00 +0000 Increases in admission fees at several scenic spots on the mainland sparked tips online on how to avoid costly fees while still enjoying the often-breathtaking views. Various fare-evasion tips, including ways to avoid ticket booths, were readily available in the lead-up to and during the three-day Labour Day holiday that ended yesterday. But Professor Yao Kunyi , who specialises in tourism planning and management studies at the Shanghai Institute of Foreign Trade, said these back-door tips were... https://www.scmp.com/article/999783/how-avoid-costly-fees-and-enjoy-view?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/999783/how-avoid-costly-fees-and-enjoy-view?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 01 May 2012 16:00:00 +0000 The website of one of the mainland's most high-profile liberal research institutions, the Unirule Institute of Economics, has been shut down amid signs that the policing of online dissent is intensifying. The apparent crackdown comes as the authorities deal with the fallout from the ousting of former Chongqing party chief Bo Xilai and the escape of blind legal activist Chen Guangcheng from house arrest. Yao Zhongqiu, vice-chairman of Unirule's academic committee, said it was noticed late on... https://www.scmp.com/article/999717/cyberpolice-silence-high-profile-think-tank?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/999717/cyberpolice-silence-high-profile-think-tank?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 30 Apr 2012 16:00:00 +0000 The president of People's Daily gave students at Shanghai's Fudan University a rare insight into how the party mouthpiece rallied behind the Communist Party with a series of commentaries over the downfall of the disgraced former Chongqing party chief Bo Xilai . The speech by Zhang Yannong on Thursday is part of a public relations campaign the paper launched at mainland universities this year as it struggles for relevance in a diversifying media market. Zhang, who has worked at People's Daily... https://www.scmp.com/article/999448/peoples-daily-boss-tells-papers-role-bo-saga?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/999448/peoples-daily-boss-tells-papers-role-bo-saga?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 27 Apr 2012 16:00:00 +0000 The Ministry of Education's long-awaited approval of full accreditation for the South University of Science and Technology (SUSTC) in Shenzhen has been hailed as a milestone by university authorities, but analysts say it will leave it with less room to be a beacon for educational reform. A directive issued by the ministry late on Tuesday gave the university full accreditation five years after Shenzhen's city government approved a plan to build the institution, touted as a modern university that... https://www.scmp.com/article/999260/approval-fails-free-university?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/999260/approval-fails-free-university?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 25 Apr 2012 16:00:00 +0000 The top mainland soccer official implicated in an unfolding corruption scandal has accused interrogators of extracting his confession under torture in a dramatic retreat from the bribery charges laid against him. Xie Yalong, the former full-time vice-chairman of the Chinese Football Association, went on trial for bribery at the Dandong Intermediate People's Court, in Liaoning province, yesterday. Xie's lawyer, Jin Xiaoguang, told reporters that his client was subjected to various forms of... https://www.scmp.com/article/999141/former-soccer-chief-says-he-was-tortured?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/999141/former-soccer-chief-says-he-was-tortured?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 24 Apr 2012 16:00:00 +0000 An all-male group of cross-dressing costume players - or 'cosplayers' - from Wuhan, Hubei province, has become a showbiz sensation on the mainland, but a rise in the phenomenon has raised concerns from some quarters about a national 'masculinity crisis'. The Alice Fake Girl Club was established in October 2009 by a group of university students in Wuhan as a cosplay troupe for people who attend fairs dedicated to animated cartoons, comic books and video games. Through a number of high-profile... https://www.scmp.com/article/998905/cross-dressing-troupes-just-passing-fad?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/998905/cross-dressing-troupes-just-passing-fad?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 21 Apr 2012 16:00:00 +0000 An apology by Qingdao's landscaping and forestry bureau over its handling of a controversial tree-planting project is being seen as a victory for the civil rights movement on the mainland. It came in response to a reporter's questions about the project, which was reportedly going to cost taxpayers four billion yuan (HK$4.9 billion) this year. In an open letter on Thursday, the bureau admitted to flaws in its initial planning and an ensuing failure to inform the public about the project and... https://www.scmp.com/article/998904/about-face-tree-plan-win-civil-rights?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/998904/about-face-tree-plan-win-civil-rights?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 21 Apr 2012 16:00:00 +0000 It was 6am when fully armed police officers with sniffer dogs burst into the home of elderly couple Nie Yuxiang and Zhang Yongqing - throwing their lives into a tailspin. The officers were targeting the couple's son, Nie Lei, a triad kingpin who was wanted for gang-related killings and other crimes. Since that raid on June 11, 2010, in the eastern coastal city of Qingdao, Nie and Zhang - in their early 70s - say they have been harassed and tailed by police. Their bank accounts were frozen and,... https://www.scmp.com/article/998404/one-sons-big-mistakes?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/998404/one-sons-big-mistakes?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 16 Apr 2012 16:00:00 +0000 For the second time since July, the Italian Institute for Foreign Trade plans to present the State Intellectual Property Office with a new list of 30 pseudo Italian brands in an ongoing war targeting shady marketing strategies used by Chinese businesses. Giovanni de Sanctis, an intellectual property representative with the institute's Beijing office, said on Tuesday the institute had lodged complaints with the IP office saying that unscrupulous Chinese manufacturers had been discovered... https://www.scmp.com/article/998146/italians-step-war-against-pseudo-brands?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/998146/italians-step-war-against-pseudo-brands?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 12 Apr 2012 16:00:00 +0000 The mainland's media yesterday rallied behind the decision to expel Bo Xilai from the Communist Party's top echelons, hailing his dismissal as a victory for party discipline and the rule of law. People's Daily, the main party mouthpiece, said Bo's behaviour had damaged the party and the country. It said the 'resolute decision' taken by the party under the leadership of President Hu Jintao was a strong sign of its responsibility towards the party and the people. 'The decision must win the... https://www.scmp.com/article/997978/resolute-decision-expel-bo-praised-media?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/997978/resolute-decision-expel-bo-praised-media?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 11 Apr 2012 16:00:00 +0000 Experts agree that greater adoption of voluntary counselling and testing (VCT) programmes is vital in tackling the HIV/Aids epidemic. But a push by mainland authorities to demand real-name registration for such services has put rights activists on a collision course with medical workers. Guangxi is leading the push, with the autonomous region's People's Congress considering a controversial draft regulation to force those seeking counselling and testing to identify themselves at government test... https://www.scmp.com/article/997854/real-name-hivaids-tests-huge-risk-say-medics?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/997854/real-name-hivaids-tests-huge-risk-say-medics?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 09 Apr 2012 16:00:00 +0000 A leading leftist scholar on the mainland says censors have blocked his microblog account on Sina.com after Chongqing party secretary Bo Xilai was ousted last week. It's another sign of a crackdown on conservative forces ahead of a key leadership reshuffle later this year. Social critic Sima Nan said he could no longer post new entries after his earlier postings about Premier Wen Jiabao's annual news conference and Bo's dismissal were deleted last week. A dozen of his video clips of the same... https://www.scmp.com/article/995919/leftist-social-critic-finds-microblog-blocked?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/995919/leftist-social-critic-finds-microblog-blocked?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 18 Mar 2012 16:00:00 +0000