Newsmakers

Saintly Sinner of Shaolin temple  2009-11-27 11:17:02

Shaolin Temple's website recently took on a new look.



All the drama about Obama  2009-11-20 08:11:28

A presidential visit is always taken so seriously in China that nothing is left to chance. But nobody could have scripted the most memorable moment of United States President Barack Obama's visit early this week. I'm sure the PR teams had thought of every scenario and the security personnel every contingency, but who'd have known?



Three younglives riseabove death  2009-10-28 07:42:29

I have written several columns on today's high school and college students, expressing my worries over their being pampered by parents and their susceptibility to hedonism.



A fight to the death  2009-11-09 07:42:23

A noisy cab speeds along a dark country road on a muggy Friday night in July. Dr Gui Xi'en, 72, sits on the cramped back seat with a satchel on his shoulder and suitcase on his lap.



Shadow play in stardom  2009-08-28 08:17:46

Andy Lau is facing the biggest dilemma of his career. He loves to keep up the facade of being a happy-go-lucky bachelor, yet custom mandates he perform certain tasks that contradict that appearance.



Zhang's hip-hopera hoopla  2009-10-09 08:16:30

Ever since Zhang Yimou was invited to stage Turandot in Florence, Italy, in 1996, he has been fixated on this operatic gem. But the many productions he has undertaken do not vary much in concept and only slightly in execution. Yes, the venues change and the sets become larger and more extravagant, but what else?



A death and the disturbing facts behind it  2009-07-30 07:48:38

Workers of State-owned Tong-hua Iron and Steel Group lynched Chen Guojun, an executive of the group sent by private steel company Jianlong, in Jilin province on Friday. The workers, many of whom hold shares in the State-owned enterprise (SOE), feared that the takeover by Jianlong could either cost them their jobs or force them to take a pay cut despite the company's profit of 42.7 million yuan ($6.2 million) in June.



Will someone solve driver Hu's riddle, please?  2009-07-23 07:49:08

It's difficult to predict what direction public opinion on the Internet will take when the issue is highly controversial; in this case a rich brat running over an innocent pedestrian in Hangzhou and the subsequent court verdict.



Chronicle of two deaths retold as a message  2009-07-16 07:50:46

It's tragic to see two luminous stars of the academic world stop shining on the same day over the weekend. Surprisingly, the mourning and eulogies for Ji Xianlin and Ren Jiyu were not restricted to the academic circle.



Reality of the real estate market is really bitter  2009-07-09 07:44:45

The collapse of a 13-storey apartment building in Shanghai symbolizes the future of the Chinese property market. This is the belief of some commentators, but Ren Zhiqiang begs to differ.



What's the fuss about the young mayor?  2009-07-02 07:47:22

For Zhou Senfeng, every day of the past week must have felt like a year. The newly elected mayor of Yicheng city in Hubei province was grilled 24x7 by the media and netizens. Though not face-to-face, their questions have ranged from his family background and personal connections to his academic record and the brand of cigarettes he smokes. In short, they wonder how he could become a mayor at 29?





Debate

Is climate change the most pressing threat for mankind?

As world leaders are slated to gather in Copenhagen this month to find a replacement to the Kyoto Protocol, talks about climate change are gathering steam. But is climate change the most pressing threat for mankind?

From the Readers

Classical Chinese tests necessary

There has been a suggestion recently that tests in classical Chinese language are unnecessary.

Reports

Asia faces two economic challenges - IMF

Asia has rebounded fast from the depth of the global crisis. Initially, the region was hit extremely hard, with output in most countries shrinking by much more than even those nations at the epicenter of the crisis.

IMF: Resore health to financial system

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