China

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IOC, BBC Spar Over Beijing Air
 IOC, BBC Spar Over Beijing Air
Aug 7, 2008 1:50 PM CDT

IOC, BBC Spar Over Beijing Air

But pollution readings by BBC tell a different story

(Newser) - The International Olympic Committee says there is nothing wrong with the air in Beijing and praised China's "extraordinary" efforts to clean up pollution ahead of the Games' kick-off tomorrow. But the BBC disagrees, reporting its own analysis that shows Beijing's air pollution at nearly four times World Health Organization...

Bush: 'Deep Concerns' on Rights in China

President lands in Beijing for opening ceremonies

(Newser) - President Bush landed in Beijing today for the Olympics’ opening ceremony, but not before outlining his “deep concerns” about human rights in the Chinese regime. “America stands in firm opposition to China's detention of political dissidents, human-rights advocates, and religious activists,” Bush said in a speech in...

It's Time for China, Tibet to Cut a Deal
It's Time for China, Tibet
to Cut a Deal
OPINION
Aug 7, 2008 7:01 AM CDT

It's Time for China, Tibet to Cut a Deal

Dalai Lama backs off demand for autonomy, opening window

(Newser) - The Dalai Lama is willing to accept Chinese rule in Tibet, providing Beijing with a major concession in an attempt to preserve the cultural character of the region, writes columnist Nicolas D. Kristof in the New York Times. The Chinese government must recognize the Dalai Lama's willingness to compromise and...

Bush Readies Salvo on China's Rights Record

President's speech tomorrow will express 'deep concern,' US' 'firm opposition'

(Newser) - President Bush will urge the Chinese government toward greater openness and civil freedom, according to excerpts from a speech he’s scheduled give tomorrow in Thailand, the New York Times reports. Bush will keep his criticism mild, not wishing to use his visit to the Olympics to blast Beijing on...

China's Authoritarian Gold Rush Misses Joy of Sports

Beijing may well pass US atop medals table, but citizens' share will be minimal

(Newser) - Beijing’s plan to win the most golds at the Olympics seems likely to pay off in a battle pitting “Chinese authoritarianism versus American liberty,” Matthew Forney writes in the New York Times. Unlike the US, though, China’s citizenry gets little chance to play organized sports, with...

China Revokes Visa of Olympian Darfur Activist

Speedskater Joey Cheek leads team for peace in Sudan

(Newser) - Hours before he was due to leave for Beijing today, US gold-medalist and Darfur activist Joey Cheek got a call from Chinese authorities revoking his visa, the Boston Globe reports. A retired speedskater, Cheek is the founder of Team Darfur, a global group of athletes devoted to bringing peace to...

Faster, Stronger ... and More Polite?

US athletes hit 'manners training' to avoid Bode fiascos

(Newser) - US Olympians are getting a new type of training: lessons in how to behave in Beijing, reports the Wall Street Journal. In a required course the USOC calls the "ambassador program," US athletes are receiving instruction on topics ranging from appropriate chopstick use to the correct way to...

Media at Full Boil Over China Restrictions
Media at Full Boil Over China Restrictions
OPINION
Aug 5, 2008 4:40 PM CDT

Media at Full Boil Over China Restrictions

Awarding Olympics to 'dictatorial regime' was 'drastic mistake'

(Newser) - As the Beijing Games draw near, journalists are worrying about the Chinese government's handling of a swarm of international reporters in an otherwise heavily censored society. Der Spiegel compiles commentaries from varying German sources, all of which agree that the decision to award China the 2008 Olympics was misguided at...

Why the Chinese Need Olympic Glory

(Newser) - Those shocked by China’s bristly response to Olympic protests and criticisms would do well to remember some history, Orville Schell writes for the New York Review of Books. After what the Chinese call a "century of humiliation" at the hands of the West and Japan, the nation has...

16 Killed in China Border Attack
 16 Killed in China Border Attack
Aug 4, 2008 3:18 AM CDT

16 Killed in China Border Attack

East Turkistan Islamic Movement suspected

(Newser) - A pair of supected Islamic terrorists attacked a border post in western China and killed 16 paramilitary police officers, hacking some of them with knives, reports CNN, quoting the Xinhua news agency. The two crashed a truck into a group of officers jogging near the station and then lobbed two...

Slowly but Steadily, Rights Gaining in China

Dynamic economy means people's freedoms are slowly growing

(Newser) - With the Olympics casting an unflattering spotlight on the state of human rights in China, the New York Times takes a longer view, reporting that freedoms have gradually expanded over decades of economic reform. Repression remains in public expression and assembly, but Chinese people can now often live where they...

China Lowers Internet Firewall
 China Lowers Internet Firewall
Aug 1, 2008 8:22 PM CDT

China Lowers Internet Firewall

Beijing allows access to certain sites to appease Olympics

(Newser) - Facing pressure from the Olympics, Beijing lowered its so-called Great Firewall today to allow access to some news and human rights websites, Time reports. But other sites—like those supporting Tibetan independence or the outlawed spiritual group Falun Gong—remain off-limits in China. And "everyone knows that the minute...

Chinese Cheered by Eclipse
 Chinese Cheered by Eclipse 
Aug 1, 2008 5:23 PM CDT

Chinese Cheered by Eclipse

Nation desperate for good sign a week before Olympics

(Newser) - Finally, China had an act of nature it could celebrate. After an Olympic year of freakish natural disasters, crowds of Chinese watched a total solar eclipse along the country's ancient Silk Road on Friday, one week before the start of the Summer Games in Beijing, the AP reports.

Eclipse Draws 15K to Siberia
 Eclipse Draws 15K to Siberia 
Jul 31, 2008 11:01 PM CDT

Eclipse Draws 15K to Siberia

Thousands flock to Russia for rare solar spectacle despite threat of rain

(Newser) - Prospects of rare total solar eclipse have drawn thousands of sky-watchers to the Siberian city of Novosibirsk, where the moon’s passage between the earth and sun will create 140 seconds of darkness at 5:45 pm local time today. Hotels in the city—Russia’s third-largest—are fully booked,...

Beijing Becomes Obsessed With Rain

Chinese people want some, but not too much, for Olympics

(Newser) - Talking about the weather isn’t just idle conversation in Beijing these days—it’s a national obsession, the Washington Post reports. The country is so anxious for a sunny Olympics—with just enough rain to clear the smog, of course—that changes in the forecast have become front-page news....

Beijing Amps Up Anti-Pollution Measures

New cuts on factories, cars as air flunks tests ahead of Olympics

(Newser) - Beijing today rolled out new emergency measures to ease pollution, with the Olympics just more than a week away. The new rules will close more factories and take more vehicles off the road, in a wider radius around the capital, in the event of “extremely unfavorable weather conditions"—...

Architect: China Stadium Is 'Trojan Horse' for Liberty

Herzog defends decision to design for China

(Newser) - There’s no shame in designing a cultural icon for China’s government, says Jacques Herzog, the man behind the already famous “Bird’s Nest” Olympic stadium in Beijing. Though he deplores the regime’s political record, Herzog saw taking the project as a way to change more in...

China Censors Web for Olympic Journos

Sites deemed objectionable blocked, despite promises

(Newser) - Journalists covering the Olympic games in Beijing will not be allowed access to websites deemed objectionable by the Chinese government, the BBC reports, in spite of promises from the IOC that Internet access would be unfettered. Blocked sites include pages related to the Falun Gong spiritual group, as well as...

Bush Meets 5 China Dissidents Ahead of Games

White House steps up support for human rights before Olympics

(Newser) - President Bush welcomed five prominent Chinese dissidents to the White House yesterday, a week before he leaves for the Olympics. The invitation was one of several moves to intensify pressure on Beijing to respect human rights. Earlier in the day, Bush urged the Chinese foreign minister, who was meeting with...

Global Trade Talks Collapse
 Global Trade Talks Collapse
Jul 30, 2008 4:32 AM CDT

Global Trade Talks Collapse

Breakdown halts seven years of progress to hammer out deal

(Newser) - World Trade Organization talks to forge a new global trade pact collapsed yesterday after seven years of negotiations. An EU spokesman called the breakdown a "massive blow to the confidence in the global economy." The talks fell apart as China and India demanded the authortity to impose "...

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