Battle breaks out over game approval
Hu Yinan and Wang Xing, China Daily, November 4, 2009
A conflict of interest over online gaming rights has sparked a battle between the Ministry of Culture (MOC) and the General Administration of Press and Publications (GAPP). Recently, the GAPP has pulled the plug on World of WarCraft, a popular online video game that has massive fanfare worldwide. The MOC has complained, saying that GAPP did not have the authority to block the video game, that anything online is fully administered by the MOC. GAPP has argued that online games are published material, and therefore well within its jurisdiction. As vaguely defined government agencies battle it out, this turf war is greatly impacting China’s 217 million online gamers, with an estimated one million tuned in to World of WarCraft. --posted by Ryan Dalton
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China Unicom: 5,000 iPhones sold in first weekend
Erica Ogg, CNET, November 3, 2009
China Unicom reported that 5,000 iPhones were sold in the first four days of the official launch of the mobile device in China. The carrier says that they are “pleased” with the outcome despite the market’s lukewarm response in the opening weekend. China Unicom Chairman, Chang Xiaobing, told Reuters that the aim is to add an additional one million new 3G subscribers each month in the near future. China has a large gray-market for iPhones knockoffs, where the cheaper prices are far more attractive to Chinese mobile users. The gray-market phone shipments are expected to reach 145 million units year, a 44 percent increase from 2008. Apple analysts have called the phone’s debut in China “a disappointment.” ---posted by Ying Jia Huang
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China sentences notorious gang ‘godmother’
Tini Tran, Associated Press via Google News, November 3, 2009
Xie Caiping, known as the “godmother” of a Chongqing local gang, was sentenced to 18 years in prison for running illegal casinos and bribing government officials. Her trial was part of a series of crackdowns on gangs in the southwestern city of Chongqing by government officials. Xie’s trial has exposed the networks of protection by government officials for local gangs, often using bribery. Chinese state media reported that Xie was convicted of various crimes that included leading a criminal organization, bribery, illegal imprisonment, etc. ---posted by Ying Jia Huang
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US-educated scientist was father of China's space program
Sydney Morning Herald, November 3, 2009
Qian Xuesen was one of China’s greatest scientists that pioneered the research for China’s missile and space program. Educated at Shanghai Jiaotong University and later at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the California Institute of Technology, Qian took part in the Manhattan Project that developed the first atomic bomb. In 1949, he was suspected of being a communist sympathizer and his application for US citizenship was denied, and was later detained after applying to leave the US. Returning to China in 1955, Qian establish an Institute of Mechanics in Beijing and worked on what was to become the Dongfeng missile. His efforts contributed to China’s first test of its atomic bomb in 1963-64. In 2009, China’s preparation to build a space exploration launch pad on the island of Hainan was also owed to much of Qian’s research over the decades.---posted by Ying Jia Huang
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S. Korea seeks Chinese help to track cyber attacks
AFP via Google News, November 2, 2009
The South Korean police are seeking the help of China to find the origins of cyber attacks that briefly crippled US and South Korean government and commercial websites in July. The national police agency official told AFP that they are asking for a joint investigation because the South Korea intelligence service found a line coming from China. This line was found on the Internet protocol that the North Korean Ministry of Post and Telecommunications is using on rent from China. The origin of the attacks still remains unconfirmed, though the intelligence agency said in July that North Korea is the prime suspect in these cyber-attacks.---posted by Ying Jia Huang
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Mainlander Xu Ying crowned Miss Asia 2009
CCTV, November 2, 2009
The 24th Miss Asia International pageant held its final competition Sunday in Hong Kong, crowning Chinese mainlander Xu Ying with the Miss Asia 2009 title. Wang His-yao from Hong Kong/Macau was first runner-up, and Hsu Chia-huei from Taiwan was second runner-up. The Miss Asia International pageant started in 1985 and is organized by Hong Kong's Asia Television Limited broadcast companies. After a brief hiatus from 2000 to 2003, the competition was re-launched in 2004 to include contestants from outside Hong Kong.--posted by Lauren Jung
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More than 3.78 million Chinese inoculated with A/H1N1 flu vaccine
Xinhua, November 1, 2009
More than 3.78 million Chinese people have been inoculated with the A/H1N1 flu vaccine to date according to the Ministry of Health. The vaccination campaign has been launched nation-wide, except in the Chongqing municipality and the provinces of Anhui, Jiangxi, and Sichuan. Twenty-six million vaccines have been dispatched to local medical institutions, and the eight domestic vaccine manufacturers are expected to produce a total of 100 million doses of the A/H1N1 vaccine by next year. The campaign is targeting specific groups, including the People's Liberation Army, armed police forces, medical staff, teachers, students, people working at key public service posts, and patients with chronic or cardiovascular diseases. As of yesterday, 46,000 cases of A/H1N1 have been reported on the Chinese mainland.--posted by Lauren Jung
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iPhone gets slow start at China sales launch
Owen Fletcher, PC World, October 30, 2009
The iPhone launch was welcomed with little enthusiasm in Beijing on Friday as rain, low temperatures and high prices drove away potential buyers. Buyers filled only about two-thirds of an outdoor sales queue set up at a shopping mall in Beijing. China Unicom is selling the iPhones for about 4,999 yuan with no service contract, which is much more expensive than the cracked gray-market iPhones that is sold for around 4,000 yuan (US $587) at many local electronics markets. Apple has also removed Wi-Fi services from the iPhone for China to comply with the country’s regulatory demands, which is another boost to the buyers’ preference for gray-market versions. --posted by Ying Jia Huang
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China extends invitation to N. Korea’s Kim
United Press International, October 30, 2009
Chinese state newspaper, the China Daily, reported on Friday that President Hu Jintao has extended his invitation for North Korean leader Kim Jong Il to visit China “at his convenience.” The invitation was made after a meeting between North Korea and China marking the 60-year alliance between the two countries. North Korean officials said they may consider rejoining the six-party talks with the United States over its nuclear program after a visit in October by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao. ---posted by Ying Jia Huang
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Uighur activist Kadeer says China transfer policy caused riots
Stuart Biggs, Bloomberg, October 30, 2009
Rebiya Kadeer, an exiled Uighur activist and the head of the Washington-based World Uighur Congress, said at a press conference in Tokyo on Friday that the recent violence in Xinjiang was caused by the forced movement of Uighur women to mainland China to work in factories and hotels. According to Kadeer, as many as 300,000 women were assigned to work in areas outside Xinjiang as part of a government program to assimilate ethnic minorities. The Chinese government has repeatedly accused Kadeer of orchestrating the clashes between the Uighurs and the Han Chinese in Urumqi, Xinjiang. Kadeer maintains that she only wants the Uighurs “to live their lives in peace.” ---posted by Ying Jia Huang
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