Summer Storms Hit 119 Million

Deaths from storms and floods across China this summer have reached nearly 700, the state-run news media said. The floods have affected 119 million people, the Xinhua news agency said, with farmers bearing the brunt of the casualties and damage. The Red Cross opened an emergency appeal for aid for those left homeless, and, though summer storms are an annual threat, called the flooding the worst to hit China in a decade. “The frequency and intensity of extreme weather events are increasing,” Dong Wenjie, the director of the state Climate Center, said on its Web site. “Records for worst-in-a-century rainstorms, droughts and heat waves are being broken more often. This, in fact, is closely associated with global warming.” Forecasters said torrential rain was likely to hit parts of the southwestern provinces of Guizhou, Yunnan and Sichuan as well as Hubei in the coming days.

China-U.S. Talks Continue, Amid Legal Volleys

A year after the United States began a “strategic economic dialogue” with China, the word “dialogue” hardly seems to apply.

Japanese comment on China's nationalism "illogical"

China on Thursday dismissed a Japanese official's comment that the country's economic boom will fuel nationalism as illogical.

Rights group says 4 Catholic priests arrested in China

Police in northern China have arrested four Catholic priests who refused to join the state-controlled Catholic Church, a US-based rights group says.

China Moves to Change Damaged Global Image

China is cracking down on pirated goods and has vowed to hold producers responsible for unsafe products.

Mount Everest: Olympic Torch Road on Hold

Plans for a 67-mile blacktop highway to a base camp on the Tibet side of Mount Everest to ease the Olympic torch’s journey to its peak have been put on hold, according to Ju Jianhua, the director of Tibet’s Foreign Affairs Department. He refused to give a reason. In April, organizers for the Beijing Summer Olympics announced plans for the longest torch relay in Olympic history, an 85,000-mile, 130-day route that would cross five continents and reach the top of Everest. Taking the torch to the summit — seen by some as a way for China to underscore its claims to Tibet — is expected to be one of the relay’s highlights.

Aid From China Builds an Ally in East Timor

East Timor, a country with few natural resources and only marginal geographical advantages, shows signs of a growing Chinese presence as China courts its neighbors.

Party’s Ex-Chief in Shanghai Said to Be Ousted From Parliament

Chen Liangyu has been stripped of his membership in Parliament, signaling that he will probably be charged with crimes soon.

Toymaking in China, Mattel’s Way

Concerns about product safety and workplace conditions have driven Mattel to become a role model for how to do business prudently in China.

A Belgian Couple Will Give Beijing a New Home for Contemporary Art

Baron Ullens is to announce on Thursday the details of his plans for one of the largest contemporary art spaces in China.

F.B.I. and Chinese Seize $500 Million of Counterfeit Software

The arrests and seizures came at a time American politicians and executives are pressing China to take strong measures to curb software piracy.

China to expand health coverage

China is setting up a system of basic medical coverage that it aims to roll out nationwide by 2010 as part of efforts to strengthen the social safety net.

Chen vows to persist on UN bid

President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) yesterday said that only the UN Security Council and General Assembly had the right to consider Taiwan's bid for UN membership, adding that the nation would not be deterred by the UN secretary-general's rejection of the application.

Chen's UN bid 'threatens peace, stability'

Beijing yesterday criticized Taiwan leader Chen Shui-bian for his attempt to get Taiwan into the United Nations, calling him a "schemer" and "saboteur" against peace and stability across the Taiwan Straits.

Spielberg's Letter to Hu Jintao

From NPR's "All Things Considered":

The Chinese are looking to the Beijing Olympics in 2008 to raise their image in the world, and they've invited Steven Spielberg to consult on the opening and closing ceremonies. Now Darfur advocates, including Mia Farrow, have criticized Spielberg for working with the Chinese. After Farrow criticized him in an op-ed piece in the NY Times, Spielberg wrote a letter to Chinese President Hu Jintao, outlining his concerns about Beijing's role in Sudan. He called for China to advocate for United Nations action to stop the crisis in Darfur.

So far, there is no word of a reply.

Read the full text of his letter here.

Taiwan 2008 contender Hsieh in appeal to U.S.

Frank Hsieh vowed to boost understanding between Taipei and Washington. Those historic ties have come under strain during the tenure of the independence-minded Chen.

UN rejects Chen Shui-bian's letter in membership bid

The United Nations has refused to accept a letter from Chen Shui-bian to the UN secretary general, in which the Taiwan authorities applied for UN membership under the name of Taiwan.

Confucius Making a Comeback In Money-Driven Modern China

Confucianism is enjoying a resurgence China, as more and more Chinese seek ways to adapt to a culture in which corruption has spread and materialism has become a driving value.

Editor's note:

The final quote of the article is quite telling:

"Confucianism, as far as I understand, calls for universal harmony in the world with a single culture. In a world with universal harmony, all different religions in the world will share a common view, and all different interpretations about the universe will reach a consensus."

Such things can be said of the Communist Party. Despite what academics have been saying these days regarding pluralism and democracy in Confucianism, the current Chinese government's stress on consensus in the name of (what it thinks is) the common good is not new.

On an Ancient Canal, Grunge Gives Way to Grandeur

A $250 million makeover has improved water quality and spurred urban renewal along a 24-mile section of China’s Grand Canal.

KMT protests textbook changes

The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday protested the Ministry of Education's plan to revise some 5,000 terms in school textbooks relating to the nation's ties with China.

Rules on Chinese diplomas stand: Chen

The president said that once the door is opened to Chinese students, the job market would be next, sparking a competition in which Taiwan can only lose.

Waiter, I’m at Your Mercy

In a new twist on conceptual dining, restaurants are turning off the lights to focus attention on the food.

China’s Growth Accelerates to 11.9%, and Food Prices Spur Inflation

China’s economy grew at its fastest pace in a decade in the second quarter, raising fears that the economy was overheating.

Taipei Times Editorial: Time for China to take the long view

China's economy will replace Germany as the world's third-largest by the end of this year. But behind such sparkling figures, economic friction and displeasure are brewing. As China becomes the world's factory and builds huge trade surpluses, there are growing complaints in the US, the EU and Asia about its unfair trade practices. There are also growing concerns over the poor quality and health standards of Chinese foods and other products.

China poison gas victims denied compensation

The Tokyo High Court overturned a lower ruling today and denied financial compensation to a group of Chinese injured by chemical and other weapons abandoned by the Imperial Japanese Army after World War II.

Christianity sparks China's new cultural revolution

Robert L. Moore discusses the increasing number of Christians in China.

HK top court: Law against sodomy in public is discriminatory

Hong Kong's top court rejected a ban yesterday on gay sodomy in public, in a second victory for the territory's gay rights movement against laws they say discriminate against homosexuals.

Silent Hands Behind the iPhone

With little fanfare, Taiwan companies are playing a big role not only in the production of Apple’s latest device but in a wide array of other communications equipment.

Beijing’s Lack of Penalties in Labor Cases Stirs Outrage

The government of Shanxi Province said only six low-level figures in the Communist Party or the local government will be prosecuted in an embarrassing labor scandal over slavelike conditions.

'Rats' on the menu after China swamped by 2 billion rodents

A plague of 2 billion mice in central China was described just days ago as being so bad that it resembled a scene from a horror movie with roads and hillsides turned black with rodents.

But in a remarkable display of entrepreneurship, businessmen are catching, shipping and selling the eastern field mice, also known locally as rats, to the southern city of Guangzhou, where restaurants are reportedly offering rodent banquets to diners notorious for their unusual tastes.

Off-campus living ban irks students

University students are once again at odds with the Ministry of Education over a ban on living off-campus, a rule that is often ignored.

Lin Biao regains his place in army history

Marshall Lin Biao, who was handpicked by Chairman Mao Zedong to succeed him as China's leader but who died a traitor, has been resurrected as an army hero in a new exhibition in Beijing's Military Museum.

NY Times Editorial: Killing the Regulator

What China needs is an effective and transparent regulatory system and a clear understanding that its export boom will suffer if it continues to sell tainted food, toys, and toothpaste.

China’s Ancient Skyline

Ages of geologic change have created one of the most astonishing landscapes on earth in Wulingyuan National Park, and the authorities are working to protect it from being loved to death.

China Blocks Some Imports of U.S. Chicken and Pork

China said it was suspending imports of some chicken and pork after inspectors found shipments that were contaminated with chemicals or bacteria.

The Cultural Revolution and Beyond

Wei Jingsheng is a leading activist and advocate for human rights and democracy in China and critic of the Chinese Communist Party’s rule. He was imprisoned twice for a total of more than 18 years for his activities, including his 1978 essay, “The Fifth Modernization.” He is the author of Courage to Stand Alone: Letters from Prison and Other Writings, which compiles essays written initially on toilet paper in jail. He is the founder of the Overseas Chinese Democracy Coalition and co-founder of Asia Democracy Alliance. This essay is based on his presentation at Living Without Freedom, a History Institute for Teachers sponsored by FPRI’s Marvin Wachman Fund for International Education, May 5-6, 2007, held at and co-sponsored by the National Constitution Center and the National Liberty Museum in Philadelphia.

Carving Plight of Coal Miners, He Churns China

Zhang Jianhua’s temerity in representing Chinese coal miners through life-size sculpture has earned his work what might be called a soft ban.

Dissident Dies Shortly After Release

A legal rights promoter who fought forced evictions in Shanghai and was jailed for two years died shortly after being released on medical parole, said Human Rights in China, a group in New York. The authorities in Shanghai had rejected requests by the family of the promoter, Chen Xiaoming, to release him early on the ground that he had a chronic illness. Mr. Chen, who was jailed for “disturbing order in court,” died of a hemorrhage after being moved to a civilian hospital on July 1, the group said.

Joseph Wu: diplomat without an embassy

Taiwan is a major US trading partner and a like-minded liberal democracy. But its representatives are prevented from enjoying the diplomatic prestige accorded even US adversaries -- such as Syria and Sudan -- that maintain embassies in Washington.

Yu urges Ma to change KMT's name

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairman Yu Shyi-kun yesterday urged Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) to change his party's name to the "Taiwanese Nationalist Party" to show that he really identifies with Taiwan.

Mass murder of mice not enough

About one million mice, up to 40 tons, have been poisoned to death in the past 20 days in the Dongting Lake area of central China's Hunan Province. However, authorities said the dead mice were not buried and their remains could be seen almost everywhere.

People's Daily Editorial: Only death penalty can atone his towering crime!

"The death penalty handed to Zheng Xiaoyu has fully proven the will and desire of the people across China, eloquently showed the spirit of the fairness and justice of legal sanction as well as the firm resolve of the Party and the state."

China Bars U.S. Trip for Doctor Who Exposed SARS Cover-Up

Jiang Yanyong rose to international prominence in 2003, when he disclosed that at least 100 people were being treated in Beijing hospitals for SARS.

Low-Cost Chinese Cars Making Restrained Entry to European Market

Aided by a weak dollar, China is quietly entering the European auto market in the first test of rich markets by Chinese automakers.

A Chinese Reformer Betrays His Cause, and Pays

The Chinese regulator who was executed Tuesday was corrupted by the system he sought to change.

Zheng’s Confession

After his arrest in March, Zheng Xiaoyu, the former head of China’s State Food & Drug Administration, confessed to bribery charges, hoping for leniency he never received.

China Orders Western Newsletter to Halt Operations, Editor Says

The China Development Brief, a popular newsletter about Chinese social and economic development, was ordered closed for conducting “unauthorized surveys.”

China Prohibits Poisonous Industrial Solvent in Toothpaste

China banned manufacturers from making toothpaste with diethylene glycol, a poisonous solvent used in some antifreeze, the state news agency, Xinhua, reported.

China Not Sole Source of Dubious Food

Federal records suggest that China is not the only country that has problems with its exports.

China June Trade Surplus Renews Currency Pressure

The politically sensitive Chinese trade surplus surged to a record $26.9 billion in June, potentially heightening tensions with the United States.

China Quick to Execute Drug Official

The execution was meant to show that Beijing is serious about improving the safety of Chinese products.

3 Charged With Enslaving Members of Chinese Acrobatic Troupe Performing in U.S.

A troupe of young acrobats from China, known for its jaw-dropping contortions and mind-boggling tricks, has been accused of “involuntary servitude.”

As China’s Economy Roars, Consumers Lack Defenders

The food-safety crisis has revealed major weaknesses in China’s emerging civil society, which has never developed a consumer movement or citizen advocacy groups.

In Fear and Scandal, Some Find a New Drum to Beat

There was a time the words “Made in China” immediately evoked “shoddy.” Lately, many Americans are thinking “danger.”

Can China Reform Itself?

After food and safety scandals, the country needs to go through its own version of the Progressive Era.

NY Times Editorial: Politics and the Yuan

Barack Obama has joined Hillary Rodham Clinton on the misguided bandwagon of those seeking to penalize China for manipulating its currency.

China Sentences Official to Death for Corruption

A former high-ranking official at China’s top food and drug watchdog agency has been sentenced to death.

Shenzhen mayor urges residents to'reject' cars

Shenzhen Mayor Xu Zongheng yesterday urged residents not to buy cars to prevent the city's traffic from getting worse.

China Reportedly Urged Omitting Pollution-Death Estimates

Chinese government officials pressed the World Bank into removing estimates of the number of premature deaths linked to pollution in China from a bank report.

Man Bites Dog. Dog Dies.

A man in Hebei Province tried to chase off a dog that was attacking his puppy, and when that failed, he threw himself on the dog and bit it on the neck, eventually killing it, according to the local Yanzhao Cosmopolitan News. He suffered deep cuts to his arms, it said. The puppy survived. Villagers said that a wound on the dead dog’s neck could have been caused only by biting. They also said the man was known for biting people in fights.

China Finds Poor Quality on Its Store Shelves

Nearly a fifth of the food and consumer products checked in a nationwide survey in China this year were found to be substandard or tainted.

‘China’s Mona Lisa’ Makes a Rare Appearance in Hong Kong

Politics and art don’t always mix well, but the combination has yielded a rare chance for Hong Kong residents and visitors to see what is arguably China’s most famous painting.

A Slippery, Writhing Trade Dispute

The Food and Drug Administration says Xulong and other Chinese companies will be restricted from selling certain types of seafood in the United States.

Hong Kong Marks an Anniversary With Fanfare and Protests

Many of the events underlined how Hong Kong has become a far more Chinese city over the past decade, albeit one with more than the usual individual liberties.

Edward Yang, 59, Director Prominent in New Taiwan Cinema, Is Dead

A leading figure in the New Taiwan cinema movement of the 1980s, Mr. Yang was best known for “Yi Yi,” about one family’s life in Taipei.

Companies in U.S. Increase Testing of Chinese Goods

Widening recalls have forced big American companies to focus on potential hazards that were overlooked in the past.

A Leap Forward, or a Great Sellout?

The blockbuster mentality has taken hold in China. Not everyone is pleased.

Pope Urges Reconciliation for China’s Catholics

In a letter, Pope Benedict acknowledged suffering by Catholics under Communist rule, but said it was time to forgive past wrongdoings.

As Unrest Rises, China Broadens Workers’ Rights

A new law strengthens protections amid increasing signs of restiveness among tens of millions of migrant laborers.

China Vows Food-Safety Changes

China promised to cooperate in tackling its food safety problems but urged a quick resolution.

F.D.A. Curbs Sale of 5 Seafoods Farmed in China

The seafood can be sold in the United States only if importers prove it does not contain contaminants.

Wider Sale Is Seen for Toothpaste Tainted in China

Roughly 900,000 tubes containing a poison have turned up in U.S. hospitals and prisons, according to health officials.

Food-Safety Crackdown in China

Chinese regulators closed 180 food plants after a nationwide inspection found thousands of violations of food safety rules.

China’s Leader Vows to Uphold One-Party Rule

President Hu Jintao said attempts to modernize China’s political system must not jeopardize one-party rule, and he ruled out steps toward Western-style democracy.