* Richard the Peking Duck continues his yeoman's work -- be it SARS, AIDS, corruption or oppression, Richard can be counted to shine a bright light upon the mainland authorities latest outrage. Lately he's been covering the central government's crackdown on anything that might be seen as internet dissent. You can find the Duck's most recent observations on that subject here, here and here. * And speaking of Richard, Hailey Xie, a young mainland Chinese blogger posting in English expresses her views on foreign criticism of her government, taking Richard as her example. * Hailey's thoughts on China's simmering AIDS crises are also worth a look. Her English can be eccentric, but her heartfelt posts provide an interesting insight into the thoughts of China's young people. * On the subject of AIDS (see how well I'm transitioning today), Adam Morris, at PRC News, notes the similarities between the PRC's reaction to the SARS outbreak and AIDS-HIV, and suggests that the authorities may be applying lessons learned during the former, to the latter. * Andres Gentry links to this disturbing first-hand report on the recent anti-Japanese, student riots in Xi'an. * Why Read This notes the revival of a policy from China's Maoist past, the forced migration of educated workers from the cities to the country's underdeveloped countryside. * Frank Yu takes note of China's adoption of a hard line anti-independence approach to Taiwan. China's change in rhetoric likely reflects its realization that, having witnessed Hong Kong's experience, the 'one country, two systems policy' is a dead letter as far as the Taiwanese are concerned. * The Old China Hand links to a piece revealing that, in a country where private gun ownership is prohibited and violent crime rare, rat poison has become a murder weapon of choice. * In the Hong Kong SAR, public attention has been diverted from the ongoing scandal surrounding the government's attempt to curb its own Equal Opportunities Commission from enforcing equality (about which more here), by the continuing adventures of Gucci, the wily crocodile who's been making sport of the government and the expert Australian trapper brought in to assist in his capture. Finally, the inimitable Hemlock proposes a unique but fitting disposition for certain proposals pending before the Hong Kong Legislative Council: bq. "[T]he motions themselves should not be amended – they should be rammed up their proposers’ backsides with red-hot pokers. One motion calls on the Government to lavish public wealth upon tycoons who move factories back here from the Mainland. The other, from the loquacious Chan Yuen-han, eschews blatant self-interest in favour of plain dementedness and asks our leadership to "...collect views from different sectors of the community for the purpose of reviewing and improving the existing policies relating to various industrial and commercial sectors and, having regard to the characteristics of the different sectors, implement the policies flexibly..." and make everything wonderful, to cut a long story short."