Visual Report

BIRD STRIKE

Editorial

It is time for the State to protect the property it claims to own

The State Council has pledged to enshrine property rights into law for the first time. But this could be the most daunting task it has

Commentary

Delivering justice means making the police accountable

As a newly-discovered wrongful conviction rekindles public ire over the use of torture to extract confessions, the government is under pressure to deliver on its

Special Report

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Blessing or Burden?

A shrinking trade surplus and economic uncertainty are looming over China’s new leadership. Their response has been a renewed call for further urbanization to boost domestic consumption. But are even bigger cities the solution?

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Flipping Farmland

While China’s new leadership has stated its aims to liberalize rural land policy as a part of a grand urbanization strategy, it seems reluctant to proceed

History

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Censorship Survivor

In 1989, in the wake of the Tian’anmen Square incident, the historical epic The Birth of New China was almost pulled due to its controversial portrayal of China’s former leaders

Society

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A Malignant Issue

China’s cancer rate has outpaced all expectations, hitting a wide range of demographics. Can the country deal with it?

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Refusing Treatment

Choices can have a big influence on China’s cancer problem, but whose matter more – those of individuals, or of policymakers?

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State of the Union

Lacking real independence and expertise, one of China’s first elected labor union leaders faces dismissal after a vote of no confidence

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No More Miracles

The death of Wu Renbao, the Party secretary who led impoverished Huaxi village to relative prosperity, has opened up debate on the viability of Wu’s successful, yet controversial, economic model

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Born Defensive

In a country that often brings charges against defense attorneys upon the conviction of their clients, lawyer Chi Susheng has stood out simply by standing up to power

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Taking Back the Trash

China’s 14-year blanket ban on polystyrene containers is to be lifted on May 1. Banned in the name of public health and environmental protection, officials are now using the same arguments to justify returning polystyrene to the domestic market. Is lobbying now the norm in China’s corridors of power?

News Brief

Netizen Watch

Politics

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The Asset of Ambiguity

Blurred boundaries between central and local power are at the root of the disjointed enforcement of central policy in China. The recent “re-interpretation” of housing price regulations in local jurisdictions is a case in point

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Permanently Provisional

Many“provisional”regulations hurriedly imposed decades ago remain in force in China. But why?

Economy

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Data Discrimination

China’s State-owned telecom giants have enlisted the help of the industry regulator to impose charges on a hot smartphone app that is eroding their profits

Culture

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In Pursuit of Truth

In his novel Winter of Bewilderment, writer Hu Fayun tries to dissect the impact of the Cultural Revolution through individual stories, rather official interpretations

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ROCK FOR THE MASSES

Rock singer Wang Feng’s dream of going mainstream is coming true

Environment

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No Introduction Necessary?

The controversial introduction of seven non-native white rhinos into Pu’er National Park in southern China has been marketed as a “re-introduction” of an extinct, unrelated local species. However, critics claim it is an attempt to kick-start a rhino-farming operation to feed China’s insatiable demand for rhino horn

Outside In

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Sun, Sand and Sea Battles

While firmly on the business map, the northeastern port city of Dalian rarely features on a tourist’s itinerary. That is a shame

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Breaking it Fast

Essay

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I do. And…cut!

“What on earth did I just drink?” he asks me wordlessly. I give an apologetic shrug and move silently to the next table.

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Finding “The One”

However, brides in China don’t form as much of an attachment to their wedding dress. Rather, they’re looking for “the one of many.”

Media Focus

Cultural Listings

China By Numbers

What They Say

“We sold it all to you.”

A villager in Dakuai, Henan Province, when asked by a reporter what the village had done with its crop of rice irrigated with contaminated waste water from a local paper mill.
“Entrepreneurs should be a nation’s most treasured group, much more valuable than politicians and economists, because the future depends on pioneers.”

Liu Qiangdong, CEO of JD.com, a leading online retailer, calling for a more pro-business attitude.
“Both sides are inflamed. They challenge one another mostly out of a sense of pride.”

People’s Liberation Army commissar Liu Yuan on China’s stormy relationship with Japan.
“The longest distance in the world is between the baby in your arms and their foreign milk formula.”

Microblog star Yao Chen on Hong Kong’s recent restrictions on the export of infant formula to the mainland.
“Private enterprises may flirt with government, but must not climb into bed with it… In a society that drives virtuous girls to prostitution, it is a constant but necessary fight to maintain a bottom line.”

Economist Xu Xiaonian on the need for enterprise to maintain a certain distance from politics.