307 Archives | Week In China

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WiC 307 (Dec 11, 2015)

Train of events

Rail & Infrastructure, Talking Point Hong Kong railway row points to changing times in the Pearl…

"It was not a question of whether the undertaking would be an immediately remunerative concern: it was not a question of whether the railway would pay ...

Economy Slower growth in 2016, but mainland pundits predict stocks to rise…

Making predictions on China’s volatile stock market can be a thankless endeavour. This time last year the Shanghai Composite Index (SHCOMP) had ...

Investors get Jinzhou jitters

Banking & Finance China’s city commercial banks are rushing to list in Hong Kong

The city’s name means colourful prefecture, but the Hong Kong flotation of the largest commercial bank in Jinzhou has appeared nothing but drab. Bank ...

Banking & Finance Debt traps for rural microfinance schemes

“Credit is a human right.” So said Muhammad Yunnus, the Nobel Prize winning founder of Grameen Bank. It has become his most repeated quote over the ...

A tough problem to mask

Environment Red alert in Beijing as Paris talks reach decisive moment

The ‘Mandate of Heaven’ is a Chinese concept about the right to rule that dates back many millennia. And worryingly for China’s current ...

Society Bo Xilai ally dies in jail, a year before scheduled release

Like Icarus, he was the man who flew too close to the sun. In this case that sun was the princeling Bo Xilai, and the man who fell to earth was ...

Box office heist

Entertainment Why the remake of Hollywood cult classic opened in China 3…

Asia has given Hollywood some spectacular remakes – The Seven Samurai became The Magnificent Seven, Infernal Affairs ...

Internet humour

Ask Mei Are Chinese netizens witty?

Most Westerners think we Chinese are too serious, lacking emotions and a sense of humour. Many also think that due to tight government control of the ...

Blue moon, Red cash

World of Weibo Blue moon, Red cash

Prior to this year the ‘hall of fame’ at Britain’s National Football Museum only had seven foreign players: Ossie Ardiles, Dennis Bergkamp, Eric ...

What lies beneath

China Consumer China offers firm support for luxury bra sales

In pre-Communist China a woman’s outerwear was strictly prescribed according to her rank. But her underwear was not and Qing Dynasty courtiers often ...

A China sequel for Spielberg?

Cross Strait A film studio faces scrutiny – despite goodwill in Taipei over…

In May 1960 an American U-2 spy plane was shot down over the Soviet Union. The aircraft’s pilot was later allowed to return home in exchange for ...

Retired promise

Society Athletes grab headlines as they fight for Beijing hukou

What is the toughest prize to win in Chinese sport? Turns out it is getting a Beijing hukou or ‘household registration’. A group of athletes who ...

Planet China On roads around the city of Dongying old ladies are frequently…

On roads around the city of Dongying old ladies are frequently seen towing six foot long balloons filled with natural gas (see photo below). It goes ...

Cartoons Western values

The New York Times visited a resort community this week where more than 1,000 families were living the ‘American Dream’. The surprise was its ...

Putting no gloss on it

Sino-File “The conclusion is that we don’t know what works, which means…

The humble view of Suh Kyung-bae as to which of his cosmetic products sell well in China and which don’t. The boss of South Korea’s AmorePacific ...

And Finally News of family ties to Xi Jinping excites Shanghai investors

Confusing the names Obama and Osama has tripped up quite a few news anchors in the English-language media. Several TV channels, for example, stated ...