Author Archives: Barry van Wyk

More dead pigs and a thousand dead ducks dumped in rivers

Posted on 2013-03-22 by Barry van Wyk

Has tragedy become farce? As the vile mystery of several thousand dead pigs floating down rivers in Shanghai continues to roil, Chinese newspapers today report that a thousand dead ducks have been found floating down a river in Sichuan, and fifty dead … Continue reading →

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China’s “most famous peasant” dies, and he never appeared on the cover of Time

Posted on 2013-03-19 by Barry van Wyk

What’s a little embellishment of a famous man after his death? Chinese newspapers today note with sadness the death of a man that became known as “China’s most famous peasant”, Wu Renbao (吴仁宝). Wu was the man responsible for transforming … Continue reading →

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It’s Xi Jinping!

Posted on 2013-03-15 by Barry van Wyk

Yesterday was the day: the baton has been passed to a new generation of leaders. The very moment of this transition was captured in the form of a handshake between former president Hu Jintao and new president Xi Jinping yesterday … Continue reading →

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Changsha’s unruly drivers challenged to be like butterflies shaking their wings

Posted on 2013-03-13 by Barry van Wyk

The front page of the Sanxiang Metropolis Daily from Changsha, the capital of Hunan province, today unloads on the city’s unruly drivers. The front page is festooned with a line of images of orderly straight lines of traffic in Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou and Shenzhen, contrasted … Continue reading →

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Smooth talking entrepreneurs at the Two Sessions

Posted on 2013-03-12 by Barry van Wyk

If you thought that the Two Sessions taking place in Beijing right now were boring and trite and not made for vigorous discussion and a frank exchange of ideas, the Entrepreneurs’ Daily newspaper is today intent on convincing you that the outspokenness of a … Continue reading →

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Farewell Ministry of Railways

Posted on 2013-03-11 by Barry van Wyk

China’s newspapers today slightly ruefully report the departure of an institution as old as the PRC itself: the Ministry of Railways. The behemoth ministry has overseen the rapid development of the railway network in China in the last decade but … Continue reading →

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Master Kong: How Internet rumors can affect share prices

Posted on 2013-03-07 by Barry van Wyk

The chart above illustrates how Internet rumors can ravage a company’s stock price. The company in question is Master Kong (康师傅), China’s best-loved brand of instant noodles. In 2011, Master Kong ranked second only to Sony in a survey of the … Continue reading →

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The elegant new spokesperson vs. the steadfast old cultural icon

Posted on 2013-03-05 by Barry van Wyk

Today is Lei Feng Day, but there’s an elegant and amiable woman who stole his thunder on China’s newspaper front pages today. Who would you put on your front page today? There’s the elegant, amiable, humble, eloquent and female new … Continue reading →

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“Red descendants” at this year’s “two sessions”

Posted on 2013-03-04 by Barry van Wyk

The annual session of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), dubbed China’s leading political advisory body, commenced at the Great Hall of the People on Tiananmen Square in Beijing yesterday, and will run until 12 April. Traditionally held concurrently … Continue reading →

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Did you lose something? Micro Lei Feng can help

Posted on 2013-03-01 by Barry van Wyk

Is there no end to the multifarious usefulness of the paragon of selflessness and virtue that is Lei Feng? A little early for Lei Feng Day on March 5, but the front page of the South-East Business Daily (东南商报) from Zhejiang province today tells … Continue reading →

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