It was just Easter here in the Western world, and it was Easter in China, too. The fact that it's Easter is becoming more worth mentioning in the Chinese press. I've previously alluded to the ... more

The Economist, of all publications, has a fascinating story on names in Chinese orphanages, what they're likely to mean and where some of them come from.

And, incidentally, just how very strange some of them are.

Common choices are Dang meaning “party” (the Communist one, naturally), or Guo meaning “country” or “state”. Those saddled with these names face a lifetime of funny looks, or a bureaucratic quagmire trying to change them.

In February... more

But they're both in red and gold!

There's McLabor trouble in China....

U.S. fast-food chains McDonald‘s and KFC said Thursday they are working with Chinese authorities to resolve allegations that the companies underpay their part-time workers, as a labor probe expands to other cities. The companies said they were seeking clarification of labor laws, while China‘s government-affiliated trade union demanded redress, noting that probes... more

First thing one: China is launching its first gay talk show

"My mother was very supportive," she said on Thursday, as cameras rolled in a small studio in northwest Beijing. "But my father still has not accepted it." "He said I was young and would feel different when I was older ... But he is still saying that even though I'm now in my thirties," she said. Qiao Qiao was the first guest on "Tongxing Xinglian", China's first gay chat show, an interactive online forum hosted by gay presenters and accessible... more

Asia's richest woman has died, according to her secretary, Ringo Wong.

Wang's habit of wearing tight pigtails earned her the nickname "Little Sweetie," or "Siu Tim Tim" in Cantonese.

Friends say the Shanghai-born magnate knew she only had months to live, having been diagnosed with ovarian cancer in December.

She'd been a subject of some controversy because of legal battles with husband Teddy Wang's estate and a passel of ... more

…or at least questions that might be asked by those traveling to China.

Um, this week, at least.

Question 1: Why are they burning Viagra? Or, well, pictures of Viagra? Those guys in the cemetery… the ones with the funny-looking money? And why do they seem so *serious* about it?

Well, so Great-grandpa... more

Are you afraid of Chinese grannies?

Respect their power.

So, as you may or may not know, I work in a rather odd newsroom while I'm not doing this thing on here.

While writing that previous entry on the hexagram heng and how it represents an unusual sort of marriage, I get assigned to write two stories based on news clips from China -- one on this married couple and one on this married couple.

Must mean *something*, mustn't it?

Kentucky and China get all officially buddy-buddy. If you happen to live in KY, this relationship could be a chance to absorb some Chinese culture, start some kind of China-related something or maybe even swing some kind of official travel thing. Who knows?

They just had a conference, but it's part of a deeper relationship, or at least it wants... more

I remember when we were in China last, our facilitator explained that she had adopted a daughter, and that because she worked such long periods (three weeks in a go, 24 hours a day, babysitting groups of adoptive parents who needed help with paperwork, child care and, like, ordering food and hailing taxis) that her daughter went to a boarding kindergarten. And that this wasn't unusual in China. It gave only children an opportunity to bond, which is nice.

But ... more