Society

Border restrictions during the coronavirus pandemic have apparently paved the way for a comeback of a rare creature in Hong Kong waters, the Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin, also known as Chinese white dolphin or pink dolphin. Seas off southern Lantau Island have been quieter than usual with fewer high-speed ferries crossing the marine mammals’ natural habitat. Researchers say that sightings of the dolphins are up by as much as 30% and the animals they see appear to be less “stressed”

Every Tuesday and Thursday, China Trends takes the pulse of the Chinese social media to keep you in the loop of what the world’s biggest internet population is talking about. American citizen accused of rape to be deported A Chinese-American lawyer will be deported from China after rape accusations against him prompted public outrage. In one of the most talked-about sexual assault cases this year, a Chinese woman told reporters in May that lawyer Bao Yuming, who was her “fostered father,” started to sexually assault her when she was 14 years old.  Her allegations led to a wave of condemnations of Bao and calls to raise the age of consent in China.   In an investigation report released on Thu

Every Tuesday and Thursday, China Trends takes the pulse of the Chinese social media to keep you in the loop of what the world’s biggest internet population is talking about. Same-sex family in China A lesbian couple’s child custody case set a legal precedent in China and ignited a robust discussion about the rights of same-sex partners.  Using in vitro fertilization (IVF) and donor sperm, a woman in the southern city of Xiamen gave birth to a child, with her partner providing the egg. In February, three months after the woman gave birth, she left her partner, taking the daughter with her and preventing her partner from seeing the girl. The woman who provided the egg sued the birth mother, i

Every Tuesday and Thursday, Inkstone Index features a single, illuminating number that helps you make sense of China. 13%: the share of the Chinese population that has a passport. About one in eight Chinese people held a passport in 2019, China’s state news agency Xinhua reported. In other words, about 182 million people in the world’s second-largest economy can travel abroad, making tourists from China the world’s biggest spender in global tourism. Although the Covid-19 pandemic has halted travel, the sheer (and growing) number of Chinese travelers translates to an economic opportunity for destinations and, in some cases, political leverage for the Chinese government. Before the pandemic,

Every Tuesday and Thursday, China Trends takes the pulse of the Chinese social media to keep you in the loop of what the world’s biggest internet population is talking about. Extra time for food delivery workers A recent news report in China about the harsh working condition of food deliverers has prompted a delivery company to let users grant couriers more time to deliver their meals. A report this week by Chinese magazine Renwu highlighted how food delivery workers are often pressured to violate traffic rules and take multiple orders at a time in order to meet the time limits set by delivery apps. The report sparked renewed criticism of food delivery companies for profiting off a cut-throa

Every Tuesday and Thursday, China Trends takes the pulse of the Chinese social media to keep you in the loop of what the world’s biggest internet population is talking about. Sticking it to the man A top Chinese semiconductor manufacturer has been accused at home of “kowtowing” to the American government in an effort to avoid being punished by the United States. Angry comments have flooded Chinese social media criticizing the Chinese chip maker, Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC), for “submitting” to US pressure, after the company vowed to “clarify any misunderstanding” with the Trump administration a day after Reuters reported that the US was considering sanctionin

Every Tuesday and Thursday, Inkstone Index features one important number about China to give you insight into the rising power. One year: How long China’s emergency food supply is expected to last. The Chinese government has stored a year’s worth of grains, the Chinese National Food and Strategic Reserve Administration said. The country stocks items such as wheat, rice, corn, cooking oil and pork. These reserves are released to the market in case of emergency and are used to manage food prices. The ruling Communist Party has been running a national grain reserve since 1955, which was initially intended to be used in times of war and natural disasters. Notably, China released 10,000 tons of

Every Tuesday and Thursday, China Trends takes the pulse of the Chinese social media to keep you in the loop of what the world’s biggest internet population is talking about. Netflix to adapt The Three-Body Problem Netflix on Tuesday announced it plans to adapt Chinese science fiction trilogy Remembrance of Earth’s Past into an English-language series. Fans often call the series by the name of its first novel, The Three-Body Problem. The show will be led by Game of Thrones creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss. The trilogy’s author Liu Cixin and American sci-fi author Ken Liu, who translated two of the three books, will be consulting producers. The news has prompted heated discussions on Chi

A three-year-old girl in Taiwan was sent flying into the air by a giant kite, during a kite festival in the northern city of Hsinchu. 

When the fundraising campaign started last week, 17-year-old high school student Joyce Peng thought the target might have been too ambitious. The plan was to raise 90,000 yuan ($13,100) for sanitary products for girls in a remote, mountainous part of southwest China. Joyce and her friends, part of a feminist club called Stand TogetHer in Chengdu, Sichuan province, launched the online charity campaign. Their doubts were quickly erased. In just over a day, the group raised just under 125,000 yuan ($18,240) to help 700 impoverished girls at a primary school in Liangshan Yi autonomous prefecture, one of the poorest parts of the country, access sanitary products. “I’m very excited and so happy,”