Thursday, August 31, 2006

What's New In China

Hong Kong Journalist Jailed for Espionage
Ching Cheong, a Hong Kong journalist working for Singapore based Straits Times, was sentenced to jail for five years by a Beijing court on Thursday. He was indicted with espionage, providing China’s national secrets to Taiwanese government, Xinhua reported. The Hong Kong Journalists Association was not convinced by the verdict, saying that the Chinese law’s definition of “national secrets” is vague and could easily capture citizens and journalists, Asia Times reported.

Earlier, Zhao Yan, a researcher for the New York Times’ Beijing Bureau was sentenced three years in jail on the same charge.
http://www5.chinesenewsnet.com/MainNews/SinoNews/Mainland/
2006_8_30_23_31_14_585.html
http://www.atchinese.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=21482&Itemid=110
http://www.chingcheong.com/

Chinese People are Changing Reading Habits
For the first time since 1999, less than 50% lettered Chinese population actually read books, a survey result publicized on Wednesday showed. At the same time, more people read magazines and the Internet. In the past six years, people gaining online reading habit has been increasing by 40% annually, Xinhua reported. In terms of books, the survey indicated that Chinese people love to read fictions most, and above all, martial arts fictions.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/chinese/simp/hi/newsid_5300000/newsid_5300900/5300934.stm

Chinese Women Feeling Happy and Expecting Better Life
Over 45% surveyed women said they have happy marriages, and less than 2% described their marriages as miserable, according to a newly published report. The survey also demonstrated optimism among Chinese women, with nearly 70% of those surveyed said they expect better life in next three years, and those with better education appeared to be more confident about future life. Meanwhile, nearly all the surveyed women said they are concerned about food safety, and over 90% of them admitted pressure from work.

The survey was conducted in eight major cities, mostly among working woman between 20 and 70 years old.
http://society.dayoo.com/gb/content/2006-09/01/content_2619587.htm
http://www.china.com.cn/txt/2006-08/31/content_7122002.htm
http://www5.chinesenewsnet.com/MainNews/SinoNews/Mainland/
xhw_2006_08_31_09_40_26_141.html

----by Josie Liu

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