China

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Crouching Tiger Star Stumped by China Protests

Zhang Ziyi dismisses 'negativity' of human-rights protesters

(Newser) - Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon actress Zhang Ziyi is perplexed by the pre-Olympic protests over China's human rights record, the AP reports. She told a Vogue interviewer she doesn't understand why people were being "so negative" ahead of the Beijing Games. "The Games are about friendship," Zhang said....

Leonardo Lifted from Chinese, Historian Claims

Popular amateur says texts brought to Italy 'ignited Renaissance'

(Newser) - Leonardo da Vinci’s renowned mechanical drawings were derived from Chinese originals brought to Europe decades before he was born, a British amateur historian contends in a new book. “This was the spark that really ignited the Renaissance,” Gavin Menzies tells Reuters, a claim that could force “...

Pre-Olympics Eclipse May Give Chinese Jitters

A solar eclipse shortly before the Olympics won't bring doom, 'experts' say

(Newser) - Eager to shake its reputation for being superstitious, China will be downplaying a total solar eclipse—once seen as a portent of disaster—Aug. 1, a week before the Beijing Olympics, AFP reports. Feng shui and astrology experts are predicting that the eclipse, visible in China but not Beijing, will...

Amnesty: China Broke Promises of Free Speech

Olympic committee has hushed dissent despite 2001 vow

(Newser) - Ten days ahead of the Beijing Olympics’ opening ceremony, Amnesty International charged that China hasn’t welched on promises of freedom for activists and journalists it made when it was awarded the Games. “The Chinese authorities are tarnishing the legacy of the Games,” said a rep who called...

China's Thirst for Gaz-Guzzlers Boosts Oil Demand

SUV sales jump 43% over last year

(Newser) - While soaring gas prices are driving Americans to buy more energy-efficient cars, Chinese consumers are opting for gas-guzzling Buicks and Hummers, reports the Washington Post. China accounts for 40% of the world's recent increase in oil demand. There were few private cars in China 15 years ago, but today there...

China Is an Unlikely Superpower
 China Is an Unlikely Superpower 
OPINION
Jul 27, 2008 10:27 AM CDT

China Is an Unlikely Superpower

Despite Americans inflates sense of country's dominance

(Newser) - American pundits are constantly claiming that China will soon overtake the US as the world’s dominant power—but if you look at the facts, that’s just not true, writes John Pomfret in the Washington Post. “Dire demographics, an overrated economy, an environment under siege, and an ideology...

Chinese Gymnasts May be Underage

Passports say girls are 16, but other documents put them at 14

(Newser) - Two of China's Olympic gymnasts may be younger than the cutoff age of 16, although their passports indicate otherwise, the New York Times reports. He Kexin and Jiang Yuyuan both hold papers citing 1991 birthdates, but previous competition records indicate they may be just 14. Why would China want to...

China's Wind Power Takes Off
 China's Wind Power Takes Off
Jul 27, 2008 6:09 AM CDT

China's Wind Power Takes Off

Could compete with coal by 2015

(Newser) - Although known for its monstrous appetite for coal, China has spent the last few years ramping up its wind-power capacity, the Guardian reports. The amount of wind power generated has grown over 100% a year since 2005, with enormous wind farms popping up across the country. "It is huge,...

Disney Fever Sweeps Shanghai
 Disney Fever Sweeps Shanghai  
Jul 26, 2008 9:23 AM CDT

Disney Fever Sweeps Shanghai

Residents scooping up property, hoping for a payoff if city gets theme park

(Newser) - As rumors fly about Disney’s interest in building a theme park in Shanghai, residents are already taking action to profit from the project. They're adding on to their property and establishing false businesses, figuring they’ll be compensated for the loss of such holdings if Disney takes control of...

China's Newest Fitness Trend: Pole Dancing

It's aerobic, not erotic, say the regimen's legions of fans

(Newser) - The latest fitness craze among women in China is pole dancing, and it has nothing to do with strippers, reports the New York Times. Drawn for the exercise, camaraderie, and confidence boost, women are flocking to a growing number of gyms and dance classes offering it. Even without the seedy...

China Pushes 'Hush Money' on Grieving Quake Parents

Pressured to stop questioning school toll

(Newser) - Officials in China's Sichuan province are buying the silence of parents who lost children in May's devastating earthquake, the New York Times reports. Grieving parents are being pressured to sign agreements accepting $9,000 in compensation if they stop asking questions about why so many schools collapsed. They are told...

Beijing to Set Up Olympic Protest Zones

City tense, locked down over fears of attack

(Newser) - Beijing will set up specially designated zones for protesters during next month's Olympics, a security official said today, in a sign that China's authoritarian government may allow some demonstrations during the games. "This will allow people to protest without disrupting the Olympics," said the director of the Shanghai...

Chinese Athletes Destitute After Glory Days

80% are jobless, injured, or impoverished

(Newser) - Zhao Yonghua was a Chinese national skiing champion and won several gold medals. But now, at 31, she is bedridden from diabetes, exacerbated by overtraining. With no hope of recovery or employment, the former star finally had to sell one of her gold medals to raise money for treatment. As...

Critics Make Sport of Olympic Mascots

'Fuwa' are in the firing line ahead of Beijing Games

(Newser) - The troubled run-up to the Beijing Games hasn't spared the cartoon mascots, the Wall Street Journal reports. China's critics have already created mock characters for the five—like "GenGen Genocide"—and superstitious Chinese fear a link between the "witch dolls" and the disasters the country has suffered...

Olympians Fearful of Chinese Food Chemicals

Athletes worried about mystery additives plan to pack their own food

(Newser) - In addition to concerns about air quality in Beijing this August, many Olympic athletes are worried about contaminants and chemicals in the food, ABC News reports. With many of China's agricultural products boosted by growth stimulants, or steroids, or amped by antibiotics, athletes are particularly concerned that they might unwittingly...

Beijing Forces Half of Drivers Off the Road

Move to clear noxious air in countdown to Olympics

(Newser) - Half of Beijing's drivers left their cars at home today and took public transportation on the first workday under new restrictions meant to clear the city's notoriously polluted skies before the Olympics. Under the plan that kicked in yesterday, half of the capital's 3.3 million cars will be removed...

US Athletes Weigh Wearing Masks in Beijing

Specially designed masks would blunt smog—and irk hosts

(Newser) - To protect its athletes from Beijing’s polluted air, the US Olympic Committee has secretly developed a mask for them to wear during next month’s Games, the Wall Street Journal reports. But if the 600-plus American Olympians decide to wear the high-tech filter, they risk insulting their Chinese hosts—...

Blacks Charge Harassment in China

Beijing's African residents targeted as part of pre-Olympic crackdown

(Newser) - African residents of Beijing say they are facing growing harassment from police ahead of the Olympics, reports the Globe and Mail. Bar owners near the city's Workers Stadium have reportedly been ordered not to serve "black people or Mongolians." The groups have been targeted as part of China's...

NBC Chafes Under Olympic Restrictions

Chinese government clamping down on media access ahead of games

(Newser) - NBC paid a record $900 million to cover the Beijing Olympics, but it and other networks are already nervous about how much Chinese officials will actually allow them to cover, reports the New York Times. If political protests erupt, networks will also face the dilemma of covering them and angering...

Chinese Artist Sues Over 'Insulting' Panda

Says Dreamwork disrespected national icon

(Newser) - Kung Fu Panda may not seem very controversial, but it sure offended Zhao Bandi, a Chinese performance artist who is renowned for using panda images in his work. Zhao is suing Dreamworks for the film’s “insulting” portrayal of China’s national icon, the Independent reports. “Designing the...

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