Friday, April 3, 2009

China Tightens Security in Tibet

Security forces in central Tibet have increased patrols and border vigilance ahead of a sensitive anniversary.

China’s Leaders See a Calendar Full of Trouble

Anniversaries of the Tibetan uprising and the Tiananmen Square crackdown are seen as possible triggers for unrest.

In China, No Plans to Emulate West’s Way

A high-ranking official of the Communist Party told the National People’s Congress that the country would never adopt a multiparty political system.

China Harassed U.S. Ship, the Pentagon Says

The Pentagon has lodged a formal protest with the government in Beijing, saying five Chinese ships harassed an American surveillance vessel in international waters.

Chinese Official Defends Construction of Schools Felled in Quake

A vice governor of the Chinese province hardest hit by the earthquake last May said that many schools collapsed then because of the strength of the 7.9 magnitude quake.

Seeking Justice, Chinese Land in Secret Jails

Rights advocates say leaders are using “black houses” to reduce the number of petitioners reaching Beijing.

Band Says Beijing Canceled Concert Over Tibet

The rock band Oasis said that China canceled the band’s upcoming concerts in China because a band member appeared at a Free Tibet concert in 1997.

China Calls for Closer Ties With Taiwan

Prime Minister Wen Jiabao signaled support for the gradual integration of banking and financial services across the Taiwan Straits.

50 Years After Revolt, Clampdown on Tibetans

Chinese authorities have imposed unofficial martial law in areas where ethnic Tibetans live.

A Home on the Internet Shelters Beijing’s Homeless

South of Tiananmen Square, mazelike neighborhoods are being bulldozed and grand shopping promenades erected, but homeless people keep resurfacing.

Saturday, March 14, 2009

Twist in Sale of Relics Has China Winking

The bidder for two prized Chinese sculptures surfaced, saying it was his patriotic duty to refuse to pay the $40 million winning bid.

Facing Counterfeiting Crackdown, Beijing Vendors Fight Back

Tenacious vendors have staged protests against lawyers who are pursuing trademark cases, mocking them as bourgeois puppets of foreigners.

Volunteers Put the Economist Into Chinese

A Chinese group has been working to translate each issue of the British newsweekly The Economist, a risky enterprise since authorities have banned the magazine in the past.

U.S. and China Revive Military Talks

The Chinese had suspended senior-level military contacts with the United States in October, protesting the Bush administration’s $6.5 billion arms sale to Taiwan.

A Textile Capital of China Is Hobbled by a Downturn Gone Global

Shaoxing, where 20,000 textile and garment factories once hummed, was a city that globalization built. Now, it is suffering as demand wanes in the U.S.

China Says U.S. Distorts Facts in Report on Rights

The State Department sees “poor” respect for rights in China, but China says the United States has impeded rights of Americans.

China Fails to Halt the Sale of Looted Relics at a Paris Auction

Anonymous bidders bought two bronze animal heads from the 18th century that had been in the collection of the French fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent.

Tibetans Greet New Year in Opposition

Tibetans are marking the normally joyous Losar holiday with an informal boycott and vigils.