PRC News China Briefing: 2004-03-18

Winds of Change.NET Regional Briefings run on Tuesdays & Wednesdays, and sometimes Fridays too. This Regional Briefing focuses on China and Hong Kong, courtesy of Adam Morris.

Top Topics:

• The Gweilo documents Hong Kong politicians and their hardline -- and therefore "patriotic" -- attitude towards democratic supporters, while Wen Wei Po indicates they'll dissolve the legislature if need be to stem the democratic tide. (via the Duck)
• An extreme example of road rage in the mainland leads to an online public discussion of a court case. Andres Gentry speculates on what this says about the society.
• In the aftermath of SARS, the western press keeps a close eye on diseases and their reporting of them. It turns out that in the case of the avian flu, there's reason to find it lacking.

Other topics today include: Wallmart's dependence on Chinese laborers ... Dual cancellations of Friends and the Vagina Dialogues ... The "other" Superbowl controversy ... Intellectual property issues galore ... and a cross-blog discussion on the Chinese middle class.

Domestic Issues:

• Asian Labour News continues its extensive coverage of labor issues in the mainland, including the gas explosion in Chongqing that got wide attention, and the Hangzhou gas leak that didn't. It also has a reaction worth reading to WaPo's Wallmart Chinese workers article.
• Sinosplice has a unique take on Chinese advertisements admonishing everyone to get immediate surgery on their "foreskins." Meanwhile Danwei documents other various intellectual property rights issues, from Starbucks to Bush.
• China Digital News points us to an article that says teenagers are suffering from "Internet Syndrome," and China's plans to reinvent another wheel: This time it's a WiFi standard called WAPI.

Other:

• The Superbowl was broadcast in the mainland for the first-time ever, and on top of Eagle TE Chad Lewis providing commentary in Mandarin, a commerical was aired with a still image of the politically-sensitive man staring down the tank near Tiananmen Square. As Voluntarily in China called it, it was "The other MTV Super Bowl scandal."
• The Marmot reports that actress Jang Na-ra will be the PRC's newest PR manager.
• A Vagina Monologues show in time for Valentine's that took two years to meticulously prepare for was abruptly cancelled and CCTV's plan to air Friends fell by the wayside due to cross-cultural concerns.
• Danwei says "China News worries about strippers, the Beijing Youth Daily worries about bloggers."
• A lively discussion erupted from a Living in China post that sought to expose the strength of the Chinese middle class' overseas purchasing power as mostly media-generated hype. Be sure to follow the trackbacks.