Author Archives: Neil Thomas

China’s two greatest Internet rumor mongers and “black PR” philanderers arrested

Although the entire foreign press corps and many Chinese Internet users are focused on the trial of Bo Xilairight now, many newspapers and websites are devoting space to a news story and propaganda campaign about online “rumor mongering”. Two suspected rumor … Continue reading

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Xue Manzi: How Chinese social media can be a force for good

Update August 25: Soon after this was published, Xue Manzi ran into trouble with the police. See this Shanghaiist story: Chinese-American investor Charles Xue arrested in Beijing in ‘prostitution’ sting. It seems that other social media figures are also being targeted … Continue reading

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“Cash and gifts” will get your child into the right class

Last year the New York Times published an exposé on the culture of corruption in the Chinese schools admissions system, with rich parents able to buy their children into the best schools. But less well documented is that parents with children in primary and … Continue reading

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The branded sex toy business – Zhang Xiaoyu

The BBC recently published a story titled Opening a sex shop in China, glossed as such: In China, sex is not a frequent topic of conversation, but one 23-year-old graduate in China is hoping to change that. Ma Jiajia is not … Continue reading

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“Are you still prostrating yourself before foreign milk powder?”

The vast majority of Chinese daily newspapers yesterday featured the massive New Zealand milk powder product recall as a front page story, most as either the leading headline or as a large and prominent graphic feature. The imagery is very … Continue reading

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60-70% of honey in Jinan is fake

The front cover of yesterday’s Jinan Times is dominated by an exposé of the Shandong honey industry, with a headline proclaiming “60-70% of honey on the market is adulterated,” leading into a detailed feature article on pages two and three. The report claims that … Continue reading

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Baidu’s guide to the eight biggest Internet scams in China

The top headline of the front page of today’s Beijing Evening News (北京晚报) is ‘Bo Xilai indicted today’. The Global Times has a good English summary of the way the party is spinning the story. Also on the front page is the headline “21 … Continue reading

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Chengguan kill melon vendor with his own measure weights

Yesterday’s front page of the Hainan-based Business Daily of International Tourism Island reported on the latest incident of violence involving chengguan, those city management officials tasked with enforcing regulations on local-level law and order, traffic, sanitation, and the environment. Yet this particular incident … Continue reading

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