It's heartwarming to see people succeeding at refusing to sell their little house to the government (picture from Shanghai) when the government wants to evict them,

although it appears from the story that the pictured agreement was reached only after the old woman poured gasoline on herself.

There's actually a (less visually dramatic) version of this in zhongdian. If I rembmer, I'll take a picture of it and post it here. Have any of you heard of stories like this (or alternatively, stories where the government won?)

China is creating new organ transplant rules to prevent organ harvesting abuses:

China will tighten its organ transplant rules to prevent unqualified doctors and profit-hungry hospitals from abusing patients, state media said Monday, amid concerns that executed prisoners have had their organs harvested without consent.

For comparison, in Spain, Austria, Belgium and Singapore, it's legal to use organs from dead bodies unless the individual or family has made a formal objection. Iran has a government regulated organs market.  I don't know if the government picking which hospitals are allowed to do organ transplants is the way to go, but I do think this is one case where adding some regulations to the free(-wheeling), wild, sometimes black market is the way to go.

I was on my way to meet Zhu Xueqin, the best-known of the Chinese intellectuals who describe themselves as ‘liberal’. In 1998, Zhu, often openly critical of the Communist regime, wrote the introduction to a book called Pitfalls of Modernisation, a denunciation of Chinese official corruption, that was subsequently banned; and I expected to meet someone living in somewhat straitened circumstances. . . .

Zhu had just finished elementary school in Shanghai when the Cultural Revolution began. In line with Mao’s desire to expose intellectuals to the conditions of the working class and peasants, he voluntarily spent four years in one of the poorest regions in Henan province with a group of idealistic students who wanted to combine a life of manual labour with self-directed study. In 1972, he moved with them to a factory and spent ten years there, working through the day and reading at night, before eventually resuming his formal education in 1982, just as Deng Xiaoping began to marketise large sections of China’s state-controlled economy. . . .

Wikipedia was blocked for a while, then unblocked for a short bit recently, but it's apparently been blocked again. There's usually some lag before these blocks reach me, but this time it's already blocked here as well. China looks like it won't be getting an online collaborative encyclopedia any time

hey guys i found a website on beijing and shanghai lifestyle. it has a lot of good stuff about nightlife on it

below is one of its content

[URL="http://local.jongo.com/popular/show.do?id=425"]http://local.jongo.com/popular/show.do?id=425[/URL]
As China's capital, there are many different bars and restaurants in Beijing, covering all genres of nightlife. Bar-goers tend to be expatriates, foreign

students, businessmen, white collar workers, artists, and university students. Most of the bars and restaurants in Beijing provide a unique aesthetic

ambience and great service. There are a large variety of bars in Beijing and several of them have their own unique gimmicks: "the bus bar", for example, is

i don't know how to describe!

Romantic spots needed for me and my wife: 

With limited free time (away from a tour) I need an idea for an upscale dinner (Chinese) in Beijing.  Staying in the Haidian district, but will taxi/subway anywhere if it's good.

In Shanghai .... I have a full afternoon (lunch) and dinner free ..... for early drinks and a great dinner...... thinking of the Bund but need restaurant/bar ideas.

Thanks ..... esfeld@cyberdude.com

Look Out: Chinese Send Unmanned Vehicle Onto Streets

Date posted: 09-09-2006

CHANGCHUN, China — At its hometown show last week, China's First Auto Works wowed the locals with a demonstration of what was described as the country's first unmanned vehicle — not counting spacecraft, of course.

The vehicle in question was a specially modified version of FAW's Hongqi (Red Flag) HQ3 sedan, which was unveiled last year as a concept and bears a startling resemblance to the Toyota Crown Majesta, not to mention an older Hyundai XG350.

FAW tested the driverless sedan at speeds of up to 37 mph but said the car can actually reach a top speed of 93 mph. The demonstration took place at the Northeast Asia Investment and Trade Expo here, according to the Shanghai Daily.

According to the newspaper, the specially equipped HQ3, which monitors the road via two onboard cameras and receives its instructions from a computer, "has a strong ability to recognize the environment around it and tackle turnoffs [and] street crossings, as well as broken lines instantly. It's also able to adapt to changes of driving attitude and natural lighting, as well as shadows of trees and bridges."

I am glad to provide Yunnan information for everybody free, including Yunnan
weather/animal/plant/geography/nationality/culture/history
Hi, everyone! My Chinese name is 和丽飞, English name is RAY.
I work for a ecotourism company, because of this, I have many information about Yunnan.
I can offer all of these information to everyone for free.
(because Lijiang is my hometown,I love her and I hope there are more people
understanding this land ,love this land,just like me.)
Certainly, if you are willing to participate our company's travelling offers(No shopping,No others,Just tour),
that will be my honour, but even you are not,
Then I am also glad to tell you that you want to understand(which i am able to reply),
truthfully and fair ,
(Because person needs friend, I am willing my ability to
make a contribution for you extremely, and hope can become friend
with you, as it concerns me, that will be  the happiest
matter in world)
If you have the question, please sends the mail to me or sends the
message ; If you need, I also can help you to book the
room/ticket/weather report and so on in YunNan. Please contact me.
E-mail:ray_ecotourism@yahoo.com.cn

Li Dengcang, 300 kg (661 pounds) in weight rests in a lobby in a public security bureau in Zhengzhou, central China's Henan province July 30, 2006. The overweight boy from Chongqing, west China's Sichuan province is sent home by police officers after his dream of learning martial arts is smashed following the turndown of the Songshan Shaolin Temple.

300kg seems like a bit of an overestimate.  300斤 (1/2 kilos) maybe?