20 « Week In China

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WiC 20 (Jun 19, 2009)

A merger’s in the air

Aviation, Talking Point China Eastern aims to swallow local rival Shanghai Airlines

With time and patience”, promises the Chinese proverb, “the mulberry leaf becomes a silk gown.” China Eastern’s intrepid shareholders will ...

Economy Why China is still buying commodities at a dizzying rate

If the numbers don’t always add up, one fallback is to Google an explanation. At least, this is what the Wall Street Journal says that research ...

Bad news for Hello Kitty fans

China Ink, Internet & Tech An internet filter stirs controversy

This is about privacy and not just pornography... Few newspapers have a good word to say about the filter, with most highlighting a ...

Small can be beautiful too

China Consumer Telcos jump on the netbook bandwagon. Expect sales to surge

KISS or “keep it simple stupid!” is a mantra more commonly repeated on sales training courses. But now it seems to be getting a hearing around ...

Fast Food KFC goes local

What is it? Shaobing is a type of sesame-covered flat bread that can be traced back to the Han Dynasty (206 BC- 220 AD). In Beijing ...

Heroic exploits

Society And exploiting the hero…

Few people take their job as seriously as Lin Hao. The 10-year old Lin Hao was hailed as “Little Hero” after the May 12 Sichuan earthquake. Lin, ...

Entertainment CCTV news programme to try a rethink?

Newscasters are supposed to read the headlines rather than to make them, so recent goings-on at state broadcaster CCTV have been a break with the ...

Hard story to cell

Society Prisoner dies from “nightmare”

Andy Dufresne found a way to stay in the prison guards’ better graces. He offered them tax advice. Dufresne – played by Tim Robbins – is ...

Move over Zhang Ziyi…

Entertainment Fan Bingbing wants to be the nation’s next big cinematic export

You may not have heard of her yet, although that could soon change. Meet Fan Bingbing, China’s most prolific actress. The mainland star will be ...

Quenching Beijing’s thirst

Environment Capital city plans world's biggest desalination plant?

In its long history, China has been defined by a simple commodity: water. Its civilisation grew out of its two major waterways: the Yellow River and ...

Tale of the unexpected

Energy & Resources Environmentalists applaud bans on two titans of the power industry

China’s first emperor, Qin Shi Huangdi once ennobled a tree that had sheltered him from a storm. In fact, he made it a Minister of the Fifth Rank. ...

The man with two names

Banking & Finance A successful IPO and a bid for Hummer. Not bad for…

It is the second biggest IPO in Hong Kong this year. But the size of Lumena’s $149 million offering – which began trading this week – is less ...

Who’s Hu Chef-turned-CEO

Cao Dewang’s business education began on the streets, cycling a round-trip 80km to sell fruit in the city of Fuqing. He spent some time as a chef ...

Planet China Li Jun, the general manager of the Yuping Mountain Scenic Spot,…

Li Jun, the general manager of the Yuping Mountain Scenic Spot, refers to it as “a form of art”. He’s talking about nude bathing. Li’s ...

Blame it on Rio

Cartoons Blame it on Rio

“A wise girl kisses but doesn’t love,” opined Marilyn Monroe. For many Chinese ‘kissing-without-loving’ well describes the short romance ...

The ‘Louis Vuitton’ of vegetables

And Finally Organic food sees growing demand, but it’s too pricey for most

Heavy metals in vegetables, poisonous dyes in eggs and industrial chemicals in tainted milk – the litany of food horror stories coming out of China ...