China

China: Beijing Traffic Jams Only to Get Worse

Date: September 29th, 2010 |

Beijing traffic jams became notorious in August when a 60-mile tie up lasted 10 days and reached the outskirts of the city, and traffic within Beijing has grown increasingly congested as the Chinese economy has hummed along. Now Beijing ranks along with Mexico City as having the world’s worst commute, and the situation isn’t likely [read more]

China: Floods Swamp Three-Fourths of Country

Date: August 4th, 2010 |

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Devastating floods have killed more than 1,000 people since June, affecting three quarters of China’s provinces and disrupting train, air and road travel. The provinces most severely affected are Shaanxi, Sichuan, Henan and Jilin. Giant mounds of debris flushed along with the floods were threatening two dams, one in northeastern Jilin province and the other [read more]

China: Let’s Text Again, Like We Did Last Summer: China Lifts Messaging Ban in Xinjiang

Date: January 20th, 2010 |

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Authorities restored text messaging in Xinjiang province Jan. 17 more than six months after shutting it down during riots in the provincial capital of Urumqi. Restrictions still apply, however: text messages cannot be sent outside China, and individuals can send no more than 20 messages a day. Cell phone use is also restricted, with roaming [read more]

China: Hong Kong Air Deteriorates, Beijing Sees Heaviest Snowfall in 60 Years

Date: January 6th, 2010 |

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Hong Kong has been covered by a thick blanket of haze almost daily the past few months and a new air quality study by the Environmental Protection Department showed that street-level pollution reached life-threatening levels on 44 days last year, up from 39 in 2008 and 13 in 2005. The worst area was Hong Kong’s [read more]

China: Security Crackdown in Xinjiang

Date: November 5th, 2009 |

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Authorities launched a crackdown in far western Xinjiang province where ethnic riots in July killed nearly 200 people. The government shut down long-distance phone lines and internet access in the region and is hunting down people who took part in the riots. The “Strike Hard” campaign is set to run through the end of the [read more]

China: New UNESCO Site to Limit Tourists; 60-Mile Traffic Jam to Last for Weeks

Date: August 25th, 2010 |

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Officials in Henan province plan to restrict tourists visiting the UNESCO World Heritage Site known as the Historic Monuments of Dengfeng, which comprises several structures including the renowned Shaolin Monastery and was added to UNESCO’s list on Aug. 1. During peak times tourist numbers will be held down to reduce damage from burning incense, carbon [read more]

China: Floods Swamp Southern Provinces

Date: June 23rd, 2010 |

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Floods ravaged 10 provinces in southern China, killing some 200 people and displacing more than 2 million. Some of these areas had just suffered their worst drought in decades only to see three times the normal rainfall for the period come in a week. With rivers bursting their banks and at least one dike having [read more]

China: Acid Hurler Hits Hong Kong’s Kowloon Again

Date: January 13th, 2010 |

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Some 30 people, including children, suffered burns when an attacker threw two bottles of acid into the popular Temple Street night market in Kowloon, Hong Kong Jan. 9. The incident follows a pattern of attacks over the past 13 months that have injured at least 100 people. The acid attacks have usually taken place in [read more]

China: Government Lifting Restrictions on Internet Access, Text Messages, Phone Calls

Date: December 30th, 2009 |

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Authorities are easing restrictions on internet access, text messaging and international phone calls in Xinjiang province after isolating the region during and after ethnic unrest in July. The lifting of the communications shutdown began Dec. 28 and will continue gradually, starting first with opening parts of the web sites for the official Xinhua news agency [read more]

China: Quarantine Rules May Vary throughout China This Fall

Date: October 1st, 2009 |

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National authorities instructed local and provincial officials to tighten disease control measures for residents and travelers as October holidays and the fall-winter flu season approached. According to the U.S. State Department, this means that local policies toward 2009-H1N1 influenza (swine flu) may be unpredictable, and quarantine of individuals with flu-like symptoms in hospitals is possible. [read more]

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