Author Archives: Barry van Wyk

Mo Yan presented with Nobel Prize for Literature

Posted on 2012-12-11 by Barry van Wyk

Yesterday the 10th of December was the anniversary of the death of Alfred Nobel and hence the date of the annual prize-giving ceremony for the Nobel prizes. Chinese writer Mo Yan was handed his Nobel Prize for Literature in the … Continue reading →

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Female mayors given extra classes on makeup, tea ceremonies and flower arranging

Posted on 2012-12-10 by Barry van Wyk

Wouldn’t it be great if you had female leaders in China that are not only strong leaders but also look attractive and know how to work with tea and flowers because these things make them more charming? Or does that … Continue reading →

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Wang Lijun and his Smurfs

Posted on 2012-12-07 by Barry van Wyk

You don’t know Wang Lijun (王立军). You may have last seen him being charged with various serious crimes committed when he was police chief and Bo Xilai strong man in Chongqing, for which he was ultimately sentenced to 15 years in jail. Yet now … Continue reading →

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Unknown migrant worker dies after lying 20 days under a bridge in Henan

Posted on 2012-12-04 by Barry van Wyk

In Zhengzhou (郑州) in Henan province in November, a migrant worker lay under a bridge for more than 20 days. He didn’t seem to be very ill, just cold, hungry and destitute. People came and went, even emergency medical services … Continue reading →

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A thousand miles in search of the finless porpoise

Posted on 2012-12-03 by Barry van Wyk

It is well-known that the Chinese river dolphin, also known as the Baiji, is functionally extinct, in other words: as good as gone forever. The freshwater finless porpoise (江豚), on the other hand, which like the Baiji also lives in China’s Yangtze … Continue reading →

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Contrasting World AIDS Day coverage in China’s newspapers

Posted on 2012-11-30 by Barry van Wyk

With tomorrow being World AIDS Day, a handful of newspapers in China today ran special features and front page headlines on HIV/AIDS-related stories. This coverage came in contrasting styles, however. While most newspapers focused on informative education and prevention activities … Continue reading →

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Chinese warships enter the western Pacific

Posted on 2012-11-29 by Barry van Wyk

Early yesterday morning, Chinese warships passed through the Miyako Strait (or the Gonggu Strait 宫古海峡 in Chinese) just south-west of Okinawa, heading out in the western Pacific for the purpose of carrying out “routine training exercises”. The front page of the Shenzhen Evening … Continue reading →

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Pandemonium on China’s stock market

Posted on 2012-11-28 by Barry van Wyk

There’s pandemonium on China’s newspaper front pages today: the stock market is falling even faster than the sliding temperatures. So there’s graphics of bears and plunging arrows galore. The Southern Metropolis Daily (南方都市报) from Guangdong chose today to dispense with any graphics … Continue reading →

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Aircraft on the Liaoning and other stories from China’s newspapers today

Posted on 2012-11-26 by Barry van Wyk

Most of the front pages of China’s newspapers today revelled in the display of aircraft landing on China’s new aircraft carrier. Scroll down to see a gallery. But there was also much else on China’s front pages to enjoy today, … Continue reading →

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Graduates in Inner Mongolia, the army wants you

Posted on 2012-11-23 by Barry van Wyk

You may be somewhat surprised to find that the main front page headline of the Inner Mongolia Morning Post (内蒙古晨报) today is not an item of breaking news but an army recruitment article aimed at university graduates. The front page announces that 4,884 students … Continue reading →

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