China – News Stories About China - Page 192

Jan 1, 2008 2:21 PM CST

China Braces for Fallout of Labor Law

New regs may drive manufacturers out in search for cheaper workers

(Newser) - Olympus, Nike, and other manufacturers operating on low margins may close up shop in China after the government’s new labor law protecting workers comes into effect today, reports Bloomberg. The law improves worker security, limits overtime, sets minimum wages, and makes it more difficult to hire temporary workers, among...

Yuan-Dollar Battle Continues

Dec 31, 2007 9:50 AM CST

Yuan-Dollar Battle Continues

Despite currency's growth, US criticism of Beijing endures

(Newser) - Despite the yuan's continued appreciation against the dollar this year, at nearly 7%—double its growth in 2006—critics say the currency needs to adjust even higher to balance China's trade surplus, reports the Wall Street Journal. In the US, China’s economic strength has become a standard concern on...

Investors Uncork Wild Wine Prices

Dec 30, 2007 6:50 PM CST

Investors Uncork Wild Wine Prices

Internet, foreign funds make even second-tier wines pricier

(Newser) - Investors are uncorking a new area of speculation these days: fine wine. Thanks to the Internet, which has turned an elite hobby into a worldwide auction, prices are overflowing. Buyers can even throw money at vino investment funds and an electronic trading exchange based in London, which is up 39%...

China Allows Hong Kong to Vote in 2017

Dec 29, 2007 4:23 PM CST

China Allows Hong Kong to Vote in 2017

Enraged by delay, democracy activists condemn decision

(Newser) - Reacting to years of pro-democracy rallies in Hong Kong, China agreed today to let the territory elect a leader in 2017 and a legislature in 2020, BBC reports. Hong Kong Chief Executive Donald Tsang had lobbied Beijing for elections by 2012, but hailed today's news as a "hard-earned opportunity....

China Dumps Yangtze Dam Plan

Dec 29, 2007 7:05 AM CST

China Dumps Yangtze Dam Plan

Huge dam project nixed but many more on the way

(Newser) - China has decided to scrap plans for a huge dam at Tiger Leaping Gorge on the Yangtze River, the Guardian reports. The dam would have left a popular tourist area underwater and forced 100,000 people from their homes. The decision is a rare victory for Chinese green activists, but...

Fukuda in China to Thaw Frosty Relations

Dec 27, 2007 2:40 PM CST

Fukuda in China to Thaw Frosty Relations

After strain, Japanese PM's charm offensive delights Beijing

(Newser) - Yasuo Fukuda is in Beijing, where the Japanese PM is hoping to solidify improved relations between two countries with a troubled past. In contrast to his two predecessors, Fukuda is a pro-Asian leader; as he reminds his Chinese hosts, his own father brought in the Japan-China peace treaty 29...

New Cisco Unit First Based Abroad

Dec 26, 2007 10:10 PM CST

New Cisco Unit First Based Abroad

Will aim to wire entire cities in Middle East, China, India from Bangalore HQ

(Newser) - Dozens of new cities are to be built in China, India, and the Middle East in the coming decade and Cisco Systems wants to network them top-to-bottom, the Financial Times reports. The networking equipment giant is setting up a new business center in Bangalore, India, as part of its push...

Hillary Was Adviser, Not Decider

Dec 26, 2007 4:33 PM CST

Hillary Was Adviser, Not Decider

First Lady didn't handle intel but was a presidential sounding board

(Newser) - Hillary Clinton spent her 8 years in the White House informally advising her husband and jetting around the world mediating social crises, the New York Times says, but the first lady had little direct experience with war or terrorism. She didn’t do “the heavy lifting of foreign policy,...

Spoiled Chinese Kids Get Traditional Lessons

Dec 25, 2007 11:47 AM CST

Spoiled Chinese Kids Get Traditional Lessons

Self-made parents face badly behaved offspring

(Newser) - China's new millionaires have ridden the waves of the country's transforming economy, but not so their children, writes the Washington Post. Raised in privilege and coddled by parents who obeyed the country's one-child policy, the nation's "little emperors and princes" have little experience of hardship and spend money lavishly....

Russia's Gas Giant Faces
Big Squeeze

Dec 24, 2007 9:00 PM CST

Russia's Gas Giant Faces Big Squeeze

Powerful Gazprom has too little oil to meet demands

(Newser) - Russia faces a threat to its international trump card as Gazprom—its powerful natural gas company—struggles to meet massive worldwide demand, Newsweek reports. The company gets much of its oil dirt cheap from former Soviet republics in Central Asia, then resells it a handsome profit to Europe. Now those...

Nokia Wins Big on Luxe Phones

Dec 24, 2007 4:25 PM CST

Nokia Wins Big on Luxe Phones

Decked-out cell phones seen as status symbol for mega-rich

(Newser) - Nokia is enjoying increasing success with its Vertu subsidiary, a maker of luxury cellphones, as a super expensive phone becomes a status symbol for the mega-rich. Der Spiegel reports that Vertu phones, which come diamond- or gold-encrusted, make the iPhone look absolutely pedestrian with a price range from $6,500...

South Korea Bounces Reign of Baby Boys

Dec 23, 2007 10:10 AM CST

South Korea Bounces Reign of Baby Boys

Girls find new favor as sex imbalance begins to reverse

(Newser) - Shedding an age-old preference for sons, South Korea has in the last two decades become the first Asian country to reverse a large sex imbalance at birth. A radical shift in Koreans' attitude toward female babies—and toward working women—has brought down the rate of sex-selection abortion, the New ...

Thugs Skin Tiger in China Zoo

Dec 23, 2007 7:45 AM CST

Thugs Skin Tiger in China Zoo

Carcass of beheaded female discovered outside cage

(Newser) - Officials are searching for the thugs who skinned and beheaded a rare Siberian tiger at a zoo in central China. The female carcass—missing its head, legs and skin—was found outside its pen in Yichang City in Hubei province. Four homemade anesthetic rifles lay nearby. "It is highly...

Yahoo China Loses Piracy Case

Dec 21, 2007 3:21 PM CST

Yahoo China Loses Piracy Case

Beijing court cracks down on users downloading music

(Newser) - Yahoo China—40% owned by the US Internet giant—can no longer allow users to download unlicensed music on its Web site. A Chinese court yesterday upheld a decision that the company violated copyright laws in effect since last year. The US has long complained about rampant music and movie...

China Unveils 1st Passenger Jet

Dec 21, 2007 12:43 PM CST

China Unveils 1st Passenger Jet

Beijing hopes to compete with Boeing and Airbus

(Newser) - China unveiled its first passenger jet today, the first step in its goal to become a major player in the global aviation industry, Bloomberg reports. The ARJ21, which seats up to 90, will make its maiden voyage in March, and the first planes will be ready for customers in 2009....

World Bank Cuts China's Economy Down to Size

Dec 18, 2007 7:44 AM CST

World Bank Cuts China's Economy Down to Size

World Bank says the world's second-largest economy is poorer than thought

(Newser) - China's economy, predicted to become the world’s largest by 2012, actually is 40% smaller than previously estimated, the World Bank concludes, after updating the way it calculates GDP. Although China’s $5.33-trillion economy is still the second largest in the world behind the $12-trillion US, the new appraisal...

Japan Shoots Down Dummy US Missile

Dec 18, 2007 5:45 AM CST

Japan Shoots Down Dummy US Missile

Japanese expanding missile defense systems with Yank help

(Newser) - A Japanese warship off Hawaii has shot down a US-made mock ballistic missile in flight over the Pacific Ocean, the BBC reports. The test, using a US-developed intercept missile, was the first of its kind by an American ally. Japan and the US stepped up their missile defense cooperation after...

Sex Slaves Win Cash Damages

Dec 16, 2007 12:46 PM CST

Sex Slaves Win Cash Damages

Ruling could open floodgates of compensation for thousands of others

(Newser) - In a groundbreaking decision, Britain has awarded four women smuggled from eastern Europe to the UK and subjected by their captors to "forced prostitution, multiple rapes and beatings" more than £140,000. The decision, the first to consider false imprisonment and forced prostitution as categories for awarding damages,...

Bali: What Was Accomplished?

Dec 16, 2007 11:00 AM CST

Bali: What Was Accomplished?

Developed and developing nations agree to work to end global warming

(Newser) - Dismantling the “Berlin Wall of climate change”—the idea that rich nations alone should lead the fight against global warming—was the big breakthrough at the UN climate change conference in Bali, reports Time. It made it possible for the US, after a bruising confrontation and near-collapse of...

Pandas Prepare for Risky Duty

Dec 16, 2007 6:45 AM CST

Pandas Prepare for Risky Duty

Chinese scientists will set 4 free, but they must learn to defend themselves

(Newser) - Four panda bears bred in captivity in China will soon be set free in a bid to save their species from extinction. But first, they've got to toughen up. Scientists at the nation's biggest panda breeding center are preparing to release two males and two females into the wild, and...