Alice Yan

Scientists are stepping up efforts to protect the stocks of wild yellow croaker fish – the most popular sea fish on Chinese dinner tables – by preparing fry for release into the wild, state news agency Xinhua reported on Monday. News of the conservation plan came about two weeks after the Chinese paddlefish, a species indigenous to the Yangtze River and one of the world’s largest freshwater fish, was declared extinct, prompting a public backlash against dam-building, overfishing, heavy water traffic, pollution and other human activities on Asia’s longest river. A 10-year commercial fishing ban has been announced to protect the aquatic life in the Yangtze.  The yellow croaker is often found o

A research paper filled with praise for the author’s supervisor was met with a wave of ridicule and anger online in China’s latest academic scandal. The paper published in the Journal of Glaciology and Geocryology seven years ago suddenly went viral last week, after some internet users posted screenshots of the article on social media.  Many people were shocked to find that the article on ecological economics was actually filled with extravagant praise for the author’s supervisor Cheng Guodong and Cheng’s wife Zhou Youfen.  Cheng was also the chief editor of the Journal of Glaciology and Geocryology.  The 35-page paper by Xu Zhongmin, a specialist in frozen ground and permafrost with the sta

China has imposed a 10-year commercial fishing ban in the Yangtze – the first ever for Asia’s longest river – in a bid to protect its aquatic life. Facing dwindling fish stocks and declining biodiversity in the 3,915-mile river, the Chinese government decided seasonal moratoriums were not enough. The ban took effect on Wednesday, and will be applied at 332 conservation sites along the river.  It will be extended to cover the main river course and key tributaries by January 1 next year, according to a State Council notice. “The Yangtze is a major river in the world in terms of its aquatic species diversity. It is also an important shield for protecting our country’s ecology and improving cons

The father of the “Ice Boy” – who became the face of China’s fight against poverty after he was pictured covered in icicles following a freezing trek to school – said the family was still struggling to make ends meet.  The boy, Wang Fuman, from the southwestern province of Yunnan, was eight when a photo of him taken by a teacher went viral on social media in January 2018.  It showed the little boy with his hair and eyebrows covered in ice and his cheeks ruddy from the cold after he had walked for more than an hour from his home in thin clothing along treacherous mountain paths. The plight of the impoverished primary school student touched hearts across China, with many people expressing symp

A woman from southwestern China, whose YouTube video channel celebrating rural life is followed by nearly 7.5 million people, has been hailed by state media for her role in promoting Chinese culture. Li Ziqi, 29, from Pingwu in Sichuan province, started her video blogs on traditional food and crafts three years ago after giving up city life to return to the village where she was raised by her grandparents. Li, who now looks after her grandmother, has a library of 100 videos that have been seen tens of millions of times by audiences across the world.  Supporters argue that she has done more to sell Chinese culture than the Confucius Institute, the government-backed soft power promotional org

A Chinese live-streaming app has lost its appeal and was ordered to pay compensation after a “rooftopper” fell to his death while doing live-streaming from the top of a skyscraper.  Wu Yongning, known as China’s No 1 rooftopper, had more than one million followers on several live-streaming apps and had uploaded almost 300 videos of his daredevil stunts in which he scaled tall buildings without any safety equipment. Wu, who said he relied only on “martial arts training and careful planning,” plunged to his death from the top of the 62-story Huayuan Hua Center in the central Chinese city of Changsha during a live stream in November 2017. He was 26. In May, the Beijing Internet Court ruled that

A man from Inner Mongolia, in northern China, has contracted the bubonic plague after eating a wild rabbit, the local health authority said on Sunday.  The diagnosis came less than a week after two other people from the region were reported to have fallen ill with the pneumonic form of the disease. Plague, which comes in three strains – bubonic, pneumonic and septicaemic – is categorized as the most severe contagious disease in China due to its high infection and mortality rates. The latest victim is a 55-year-old man who was not named. He caught and ate the rabbit on November 5 and appeared unaffected for more than a week. However, on Saturday he fell ill with a fever and went to the hospit

The biggest landfill site in China is about to be filled to the brim, two decades ahead of schedule.  The Jiangcungou landfill in Xian, a northwestern metropolis with a population of 10 million people, occupies more than 160 acres of land.  When it was built in 1994, the dump was designed to process some 2,500 metric tons of residential garbage every day and operate until 2044. But in reality, it receives four times as much garbage, according to a report by state broadcaster CCTV. Garbage has already piled up nearly 500 feet high, local media reported in September. Soon the landfill will have to be closed.  As more landfills fill up across China, the country is facing an acute challenge of

Two endangered finless porpoises have been found dead in China in the space of a week, according to media reports. Both were found dead in different parts of the Yangtze River, China’s longest. One body was found in Jiayu county, which is located in the central Chinese province of Hubei, on Monday.  Four days before that, the remains of another porpoise were recovered from Dongting Lake, a large flood basin of the Yangtze River, in Hunan province in central China, news website Thepaper.cn reported. China’s finless porpoises are classified as extremely endangered by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs. Last year, vice-minister Yu Kangzhen said surveys showed there were 1,012 of the

In an emotional message to the UN’s Climate Action Summit in New York this week, 16-year-old Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg slammed world leaders for failing to take action on climate change. But China’s online community was largely unmoved and divided over whether her activism was meaningful. “What this girl is doing is just talking the talk,” read a comment on China’s Twitter-like Weibo.  “She started to go on strike at age 14. How much knowledge does she have? Without much knowledge in her mind, how can she propose solutions to deal with environmental problems?” it continued. While the Chinese government has vowed to play a major role in responding to climate change, the online