Author Archives: Barry van Wyk

“Let the people have justice”: Xi Jinping calls for reform of “education through labour”

“Education through labor” (劳教) has been the fate of many people in China since the 1950s: confinement to a labor camp to be reformed through hard work. The system is still very much in operation in China today, with more … Continue reading

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Wanton tree destruction in Ningbo and other stories from China’s front pages today

When a user snapped and posted on Weibo a picture of trees mysteriously uprooted on a road in Ningbo and then left there to die, a journalist picked it up and decided to investigate. What he found was no massive … Continue reading

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China’s “most severe traffic law in history”

China’s newspapers are today mulling over what is being portrayed as a sea change on China’s roads, a new regulation that has caused some consternation: Running a yellow light (note yellow, not red) will now be severely punished with an automatic deduction … Continue reading

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Liu Jing and his comic book history of China, Volume Two

In November 2011 Danwei published a brief excerpt and short Q&A with Liu Jing, a Beijing-based entrepreneur and comic book artist. Our post showcased Liu’s Understanding China through Comics, Volume One, a comic book on Chinese history for iPad and Kindle (Amazon and iTunes). The first … Continue reading

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China’s leading entrepreneurs of 2012

The entrepreneur that makes it big in China makes it very big, reaching rock star levels. The Entrepreneurs’ Daily (企业家日报) today is one of a handful of Chinese papers that published a retrospective of the year of 2012. As befits its business … Continue reading

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China’s ten biggest criminal cases of 2012

The Qinghai Legal News (青海法制报) from Qinghai province today published the newspaper’s editorial selection of China’s ten biggest criminal cases of 2012. In a somber tone, the newspaper prefaces its selection with the following summary: This year, all the many public charges that ensued from … Continue reading

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China’s hottest “styles” of 2012

The Six O’Clock This Morning (今晨六点) from Shandong province today has a special feature rounding up the newspaper’s selection of the hottest “styles” of 2012, using an English word that has been popularized in China this year because of the global pop … Continue reading

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The Chinese government and social media

Sina Weibo claims to have more than 400 million users, and its influence and power are without doubt. Yet the Chinese government and all its myriad bodies and institutions are likewise getting in on the act, not just by means … Continue reading

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The Ten Biggest Sex and Gender Stories of 2012

The City Lady (都市女报) from Shandong today has a front page story on the Ten Biggest Sex and Gender Stories of 2012 in China (年度十大性与性别事件). Based on an exercise led by the head of the Sex and Gender Institute at the Beijing … Continue reading

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Xi Jinping does his own Southern Tour

The message today is loud and clear – “No halt in opening up, no stopping reform”: 北京日报 东莞时报 晶报 南方日报 青年报 人民日报 深圳晚报 信息时报 中国青年报 China’s newspapers today are in a festive mood because China is forging ahead with reform, … Continue reading

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