China

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Fisher-Price Courts Far-Flung Fans

Firm adjusts to shifting global sales patterns

(Newser) - Fisher-Price has tackled some unexpected challenges lately, from perfecting a recording of the phrase “It’s learning time!” in Mandarin to removing pig illustrations from Turkish kids’ books. In the past 5 years, Fisher-Price’s sales abroad have more than doubled while sales drop domestically—as traditional toys...

Chinese Hurdler Liu Xiang Will Carry Hopes of 1.3B

24-year-old hurdler holds nation's hope at Beijing Games

(Newser) - Whether he likes it or not, Liu Xiang—China's biggest sports star—will be carrying the hopes of the world's most populous nation as he defends his title in the 110-meter hurdles at the Beijing Olympics. A recent race at the new Bird's Nest Stadium demonstrated the frenzy he inspires:...

Chinese Create Slang for New Technology

Cell phone, computer make way into written and spoken Mandarin

(Newser) - New technology has kids in China generating their own modern lingo, I.D. Magazine reports. The millennia-old Mandarin language lacks terms for things like cell phones (which go as shou ji, or "hand machine") and USB (which goes as yo pan, a word created partly phonetically), forcing users...

China-Taiwan Talks a Landmark
 China-Taiwan Talks a Landmark 

China-Taiwan Talks a Landmark

Summit, aimed to boost business, is highest-level contact since 1949

(Newser) - China's president met today with the leader of Taiwan's governing party, the BBC reports, in the highest-level talks between the two entities since the split in 1949. Wu Poh-hsiung is visiting China to discuss cooperation on transport and tourism, and pressed Hu Jintao for a greater global presence for the...

It's Karma: Chinese Cinema Bans Sharon Stone Films

Star's take on quake infuriates Chinese

(Newser) - Instant karma got actress Sharon Stone in China yesterday, reports the AP. The nation's biggest cinema chain has banned the actress' movies since the shoot-from-the-lip star suggested that the Sichuan earthquake that killed as many as 80,000 people could have been bad "karma" for the way China treats...

China Aftershocks Level 420K Homes

Area pummeled on Sunday hit with more strong tremors

(Newser) - More aftershocks rocked China today, destroying another 420,000 homes in battered Sichuan province, BBC reports. The aftershocks, including one that measured 5.7 magnitude, injured six people, although the majority of the homes were empty when the buildings were leveled. Eight people died when the same area was hit...

Stone Sees 'Karma' in China Quake

Beijing hasn't been treating Tibet very kindly, actress notes

(Newser) - Sharon Stone might consider leaving international politics and the mysteries of the universe alone. The outspoken activist actress raised eyebrows on a Cannes red carpet last week when, during an on-air interview, she suggested that the Chinese earthquake that is believed to have killed 67,000 might have resulted from...

China Evacuates 80,000 on Flood Fears

Dam caused by quake-formed landslide threatens to burst

(Newser) - Chinese officials hurried to evacuate 80,000 people today near quake-hit Beichuan as waters rose in a dammed river, the AP reports. Soldiers are working to blast and dig a channel to drain some of the 34 billion gallons of water now held by the fragile dam, created by a...

China's Olympic Wonders Dazzle&mdash;at First
 China's Olympic Wonders Dazzle—at First
OPINION

China's Olympic Wonders Dazzle—at First

Beijing tried to impress, not deal with deeper issues

(Newser) - Beijing's new Olympic buildings will impress the world at first glance, Paul Goldberger writes in the New Yorker. The National Stadium boasts a lattice of crisscrossing beams, and the blue-gray Aquatic Center seems underwater with its translucent plastic pillows. But peel back the paint, and see evidence of what enrages...

China Eases One-Child Rule for Quake Victims

Many kids were killed in deadly quake

(Newser) - China will waive its one-child policy for some survivors of this month's deadly quakes, the Sydney Morning Herald reports. The 3-decade-old rule meant that many of the 65,000-plus victims of the disaster were only children; parents whose kids were killed or injured will be eligible for permission to have...

China Races to Clear Quake-Dammed Rivers

Rainy season threatens to compound damage

(Newser) - China is struggling to clear rivers and lakes dammed with earthquake debris before the impending rainy season worsens flooding, the AP reports. In Beichuan county, 1,800 soldiers arrived today, each bearing 22 pounds of explosives to blast obstructions impeding access to a nearby lake, and helicopters are airlifting heavy...

Poorly Built Schools Stood No Chance in Earthquake

Up to 10K kids died; parents blame gov't

(Newser) - As a massive earthquake shook Sichuan province, subpar construction turned many Chinese schoolrooms into the mass graves of as many as 10,000 children, the New York Times reports, and grieving parents are pointing fingers at Beijing. The government, aware of the problem, had issued warnings on school safety in...

70,000 Homes Collapse in New China Aftershock

69 reservoirs in 'immediate danger'

(Newser) - Quake-devastated China suffered yet another major setback today when it was rocked by the strongest aftershock since the May 12 earthquake, Bloomberg reports. At least one person was killed and 400 injured when a 5.8 magnitude quake toppled some 70,000 homes in Sichuan province, according to Reuters. The...

Quake May Have Saved Beijing Games

'Few people care about the torch relay these days'

(Newser) - By pushing human rights and torch relay news off the front pages, China's massive earthquake may have revived an Olympics deemed "in crisis" only 2 weeks ago by the IOC chief, the AP reports. "I'm sorry to say it, but this has turned things around," said another...

China Says Toll May Hit 80,000
 China Says Toll May Hit 80,000 

China Says Toll May Hit 80,000

UN chief visits hard-hit region, praises recovery

(Newser) - Up to 80,000 people may have been killed in Sichuan earthquake, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said today, suggesting that hopes of rescuing any of the approximately 20,000 people listed as missing are just about extinguished. The revision came as UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon visited some of the hardest...

Bereaved Parents Question Quake School Safety

Outrage centers on public buildings that survived

(Newser) - Nearly 7,000 schools were destroyed in the Chinese earthquake, and parents want answers. In particular, they want to know why so many nearby government buildings survived while schoolchildren died, the Washington Post reports. “This building is totally a ‘bad tofu’ project,” said one grieving mother. “...

Six Pandas Moved From Rattled Reserve

Damaged shelters and little food prompt transfer

(Newser) - Six hungry pandas have been transferred to a new reserve in southwest China in the wake of the region's massive earthquake, AFP reports. Their shelters damaged and food scarce, the giant pandas were moved from the renowned Wolong breeding center; eight others will be sent to Beijing tomorrow ahead of...

Scenes From an Earthquake Marriage

Photographer shoots wedding day disaster

(Newser) - A wedding photographer shooting pictures of a bride and groom captured instead dramatic images of the catastrophic China earthquake. Photographers were shooting at a popular spot for newly married couples when the earth moved. The photos show young women in wedding attire, dusty and shaken, amid the ruins of China's...

US Casinos Dotting Macau Can't Cash In

Gambling's red hot, but local middlemen take a huge cut

(Newser) - Casinos on the Chinese island of Macau create more gambling revenue than the ones in Las Vegas and Atlantic City combined, but US operators—permitted to set up shop there since 2004—are decidedly not rolling in the money. The Wall Street Journal looks at the bumps in the road...

4K Orphaned in China Quake
 4K Orphaned in China Quake 

4K Orphaned in China Quake

Adoption requests pouring in from across country

(Newser) - The earthquake that killed more than 51,000 Chinese when it ripped through Sichuan province on May 12 also left more than 4,000 children parentless, a Chinese official said today—and the actual number could be yet higher because many remain missing. The Chinese people are rushing to adopt...

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