Danwei
Danwei is a website about media, advertising, and urban life in China. With frequent reference to and translations from Mainland Chinese media, we publish fresh information about China that you won\'t find anywhere else.
New rules for online trading, auctions and e-commerce
(Jul 4)
Lots of people buy and sell on Taobao, China's eBay
Yesterday, the Beijing Administration of Industry and Commerce published on its website the draft of a new set of rules governing Internet commerce.
The rules, set to take effect on August 1, stipulate that all "for-profit online stores" are required to register for a license while "individuals who sell or exchange items for personal use" are not. This has aroused questions about how to draw the line between "for-profit" stores and "not-for-profit" ones.
According to a report in yesterday's The Beijing News, anyone who wants to open a home-based "for-profit" online store must have the permission of their local neighborhood committee (居委会或业委会) after consulting nearby residents, for example, the neighbors.
Trying to explain the difference between "for-profit" and "not-for-profit" e-coommerce, the newspaper quoted an explanation from Wang Jing, an official in Beijing Administration of Industry and Commerce:
"If the price is n...
Celebrities on Sina write fake fan comments
(Jul 4)
Ji Sha's blog: "I love you, my whole class loves you"
China's biggest blog host Sina has recently upgraded its blogging system. A bug in the new system has caused some revealing and laughable accidents: The real identities of some of the fans who post sugary comments anonymously on some entertainment celebrities' blogs were revealed, and turned out to be the celebrities themselves.
Self-promotion and egos aside, it seems curious that these celebrities would waste their precious time engaging in this kind of childish behavior.
Jin Sha, a singer, actress and one of the self-commenting bloggers, wrote on her blog about her feeling after what she did was exposed.
It was when I opened my blog and few people knew about it, so I just entertained myself a little bit with those anonymous posts. I didn't expect that when it was upgraded, anonymous comment became "posted by hosts". So embarrassing.
The image above is a screen grab of Jin's own 'fan' comments:
- You are so cut...
Wikipedia Chinese version unblocked
(Jul 3)
Most of Wikipedia was unblocked in April this year but the Chinese language sections of the website were not accessible.
The Chinese language version is also accessible in Beijing now. Perhaps this is part of the Olympic polishing project, or just the Net Nanny's nap time. Whatever the cause, it's good news.
Blogspot has also been accessible for most of the time since April.
Below is a chronology of recent blockings and unblockings of Wikipedia and Blogspot:
Wikipedia and Blogspot unblockdd April 1, 2008
Blogspot unblocked and blocked again January 14, 2008
Blogspot blocked again — ongoing saga June 1, 2007
Blogspot unblocked again March 29, 2007
Foreign blog providers (including Blogspot) blockedMarch 20, 2007
Blogspot working in Beijing again November 23, 2006
Blogspot blocked again October 27, 2006
Blogspot unblocked August 9, 2006 This article is from Danwei.org
Ice hockey and the last days of old Beijing
(Jul 3)
People's winter sports
Long time China resident Michael Meyer spent the last few years living in a small hutong house near Dashalan'r, south of Tiananmen Square. He taught English at the local school, and became friends with many of the residents of one of the last and most interesting areas of old Beijing.
He has written an entertaining and informative book about his experiences and about the changes that have swept the capital in the reform era: titled Last Days of Old Beijing — Life in the Vanishing Backstreets of a City Transformed.
Below is a chapter of the book, originally titled 'Winter'.
There is a BBC program about Meyer (with Paul Merton) on Youtube, and you can read the publisher's description of the book here. You can buy the whole thing on Amazon.com here.
Forbidden City ice hockey
by Michael Meyer
Beijing’s lakes froze in mid-December, the earliest that the ice had come in for a decade. The polar bear swimmers chopped their hole on the south shore of Front L...
In cold blood
(Jul 3)
Information Times July 3, 2008
Another police officer who was attacked in July 1st's stabbing spree in Shanghai was confirmed dead, which increases the number of fatalities to six. The condition of the other three injured officers and the security guard are not yet clear.
The suspect, a 28-year-old who is identified by the newspaper as Yang Jia (杨佳) is under police's custody now.
On July 1st, around 9:40 a.m, Yang ignited three home-made Molotov cocktails and caused a fire in the police building located in Zhabei district. Taking advantage of the chaos, Yang entered the building and carried out the crime.
It may seem unbelievable that so many officers were attacked in a police station. The newspaper says that all the officers who were attacked were office staff and, according to police regulations, were not armed. In the newspaper article, a policeman named Wang was quoted as saying that the standard training a police officer recieves doesn't explain how to deal with this kind ...
Hong Kong's schizophrenic China patriotism
(Jul 3)
Eleven years after Britain returned its crown colony to China, Stephen Vines, journalist and entrepreneur, speaks with Thomas Crampton about Hong Kong's schizophrenic patriotism.This article is from Danwei.org
Facebook is screwing with your mind
(Jul 2)
This is from an email to Danwei from a self-described geek in Mountain View about the recent possible blocking of Facebook:
Silly people! It's not the government screwing with you, it's Facebook. They have started a Chinese language version, and now they are trying to direct all visitors from IP addresses in China to the Chinese page, and something is going wrong.
Your correspondent has no idea if it there is any truth in the above. Please comment if you know something about it. This article is from Danwei.org
Shanghai stabbing spree
(Jul 2)
Beijing Times July 2, 2008The top headline of today's Beijing Times announces the details of the tax rebate that will go out to drivers affected by the new Olympic traffic control rules. (see Danwei's previous report for details). These laws, intended to reduce pollution and ease traffic jams during the Olympics, will come into effect on July 20 and continue three months. According to the article, a Beijing resident who owns a typical sedan will receive around 450 yuan in tax rebate.
The photo on the front page shows police investigating a crime scene in Shanghai. Yesterday morning, a male suspect wielding a knife broke into the Zhabei branch of Shanghai Police Department, and stabbed nine police officers and a security guard killing five, before he was restrained.The article says that revenge was likely the motive for the attack. The suspect is now in police custody and the investigation is ongoing.
Other headlines including:
The Ministry of Public Security has published a new...
Beijing: Urbane Magazine seeks Editorial Assistant
(Jul 2)
This is a recruitment advertisement. Please contact the advertiser directly if you are interested. See all job ads or place a job ad.
Into design, architecture and urban development? Fascinated by the ever-changing fabric of our city? Urbane magazine is looking for a talented Editorial Assistant. Qualified applicants should be able to write and speak English fluently, possess native Chinese speaking ability, and have an eye for design and extensive contacts in the fields of design, art, architecture, lifestyle and travel. Previous editorial experience is a must. Send a cv and English writing samples to editor@truerun.com.This article is from Danwei.org
Beijing: Global Media Auditor is seeking a Marketing Manager
(Jul 2)
This is a recruitment advertisement. Please contact the advertiser directly if you are interested. See all job ads or place a job ad.
Since 1931, BPA Worldwide has been the preferred global provider of audited data for the marketing and media/information industries. Media owners, advertisers, and advertising agencies govern the tripartite organization. Our membership consists of more than 2,600 media properties (media, electronic, face-to-face, wireless, databases) and 2,800 media buyers in over 24 countries. We have seven offices worldwide.
At our Asia Pacific regional office, located in Beijing China, we are seeking candidates to fill the following position available currently: Marketing ManagerWe are seeking a marketing manager to develop our media audit business in mainland China. The position requires travels in China and occasionally overseas.
Primary Responsibilities:
Primarily responsible for seeking out new audit business on a daily basis. Contact potential pro...
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