The economics of a traffic jam
2010-05-19 08:02:16
Today, I don't want to bore you with the effervescent housing market, nor do I want to talk about inflation, let GDP forecasters crank out the numbers and comment on the movements of the markets.
Minimum wage hike needed to handle cost of living in capital
2010-05-19 08:02:16
It has been reported that this year Beijing will raise its minimum wage, which is currently 800 yuan a month, by at least 10 percent to 880 yuan a month. What do city residents think about it?
'Educators' target rich parents
2010-05-19 08:02:16
The wealthy Chinese parents sending their scions to special classes for the kids of rich business owners might want to reconsider whether the returns on this investment will please them.
Let's knock off the knockoffs
2010-05-18 07:45:37
Despite a recent renovation that was vaunted as a drive to rid the Silk Market of bogus Burberry and ersatz Emporio, Louis the V's counterfeit cousins still reign.
The long and short of being tall
2010-05-18 07:45:37
153cm. That was how tall I was - or short, if you like - when I was 13 and going to middle school.
Family values under threat
2010-05-18 07:45:37
Chinese media reported on May 12 that the three sons of an elderly woman who was found starved to death in April last year have appealed against their prison sentences.
Indoor smoking rule too heavy
2010-05-17 08:16:10
Beijing smokers - fight for your right to light up.
Working girl arrests might liberate flats
2010-05-17 08:16:10
Last Thursday, city newspapers published front page photos about Chaoyang police raiding four nightclubs for prostitutes, including Heaven Earth nightclub. More than 500 people, allegedly engaged in prostitution, were detained and the four nightclubs were ordered to suspend business for six months. Police said they would not tolerate entertainment venues that organize and facilitate prostitution.
No ifs or butts for cig ban
2010-05-17 08:16:10
This May 1, while most of us were celebrating Labor Day with some well-deserved laziness, I was in mourning. I wore black and lowered the shades in remembrance of what could have been, of what should have been - the Beijing smoking ban that is now two years old and that has all the force of a human of the same age.
Cute but whiny? It's sajiao
2010-05-14 07:55:54
For all that has been written about cross cultural relationships I am really surprised no one has really mentioned sajiao. Of course there are a lot of cultural differences that influence any romantic relationship between a Chinese and a Westerner but in my opinion none as often, or as much, as sajiao.
Attackers deserve no sympathy
2010-05-14 07:55:54
The recent school attacks are appalling. In the latest incident, a knife-wielding man entered a kindergarten in a township in Shaanxi province and stabbed to death at least seven children and two adults. It's heart-breaking to see innocent children killed.
Love lost in translation
2010-05-14 07:55:54
Getting into an intercultural relationship in Beijing is as easy as letting an indiscriminate eye wander during happy hour at Xiu, locating a language exchange partner on online classifieds, or logging onto the many dating websites that cater to English-speakers looking for Chinese love.