https://www.scmp.com/rss/328426/feed Haining Liu lives in Beijing and considers herself a lifelong journalist and aspiring writer. In reality, she pays her rent by providing communications strategies for clients who want to tell good stories. Haining read public policy at St Hugh’s College, University of Oxford. She is a clumsy amateur ballet dancer. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com My 2018 has been bumpy: lost jobs, broken relationships, failed investments, and finally a terrible injury from horse riding, with three broken bones and now three pieces of titanium in my spine. Physically on the mend but spiritually down in the gutter, when Christmas was finally approaching, I felt desperately in need of a long conversation with Santa to make sure he would send me some gifts of peace and joy. Yet Beijing is not exactly the best place to have such a hopeful conversation,... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2179975/enjoying-christmas-doesnt-make-you-any-less-chinese?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2179975/enjoying-christmas-doesnt-make-you-any-less-chinese?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 29 Dec 2018 11:30:30 +0000 The inaugural China International Import Expo wrapped up on the 10th of November with US$57.83 billion worth of deals agreed for the year ahead. This was followed by a record-breaking result of China’s Singles’ Day, or “Double 11” shopping event. For the 24 hours on 11th November, the gross merchandise value (GMV) reported by Alibaba had reached US$30.8 billion, a 27 per cent growth from last year, more than 4,100 times the volume of 2009 when the event was first created. It is now the largest... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2173546/chinas-online-shopping-frenzy-no-panacea-clear-air-and-water-we?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2173546/chinas-online-shopping-frenzy-no-panacea-clear-air-and-water-we?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 18 Nov 2018 05:15:00 +0000 Hospitals are not supposed to be violent. As places to relieve pain and cure diseases, they should be quiet, calm and comforting. In China’s mega public hospitals, however, I feel they are filled with crowds, noise, frustration, and sometimes, hostility. Recently, I had to spend some time in a public hospital in Beijing, going through surgery to correct broken bones. It all started at 4am waiting outside the hospital to get a number to see a specialist, only to find myself in a queue of hundreds... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/asia/article/2170501/amid-pain-and-sometimes-fury-chinas-mega-hospitals-need?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/asia/article/2170501/amid-pain-and-sometimes-fury-chinas-mega-hospitals-need?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 27 Oct 2018 10:44:37 +0000 Actress Cynthia Nixon did not get very far in her recent efforts to become New York governor. Disappointing. But when she first announced she was running for office, I felt my virtual reality had finally coincided with real life. The strong-minded female lawyer Miranda, who Nixon played in the popular show Sex and the City , stepped off the television screen as an aspiring politician, thrusting the series that captivated audiences at the turn of the millennium into relevance again today. In... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/united-states/article/2164662/what-popularity-qing-dynasty-drama-story-yanxi?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/united-states/article/2164662/what-popularity-qing-dynasty-drama-story-yanxi?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 19 Sep 2018 00:00:15 +0000 As a 30-something single woman living in Beijing, I rarely think about babies. After all, there are quite a few hurdles to overcome – getting married; maintaining a stable, high enough post-tax income to cover living costs; miraculously buying a million-dollar flat in the city that is big enough to raise my future child – before I can even sit at the table and join the discussion. But my heart still sank when I read a recent post on social media about babies. Specifically, Xinhua Daily, a... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/united-states/article/2161630/even-if-china-switches-three-child-policy-it?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/united-states/article/2161630/even-if-china-switches-three-child-policy-it?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 28 Aug 2018 06:30:30 +0000