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At least three kidnapped Chinese oil workers were killed in the South Kordofan region of Sudan on Tuesday. An unidentified group had been holding nine workers of the China National Petroleum Corporation hostage since Oct. 18. The killings apparently took place after a helicopter flying overhead spooked the kidnappers. Chinese and Sudanese officials are now searching for the other hostages.

The Sudanese government has blamed rebel group the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), which has fought with government forces in neighboring Darfur for six years, for the violence. While JEM has previously accused China of abetting government-sponsored brutality through oil investments, the group has denied responsibility for the killings.

China has called the incident an "inhumane terrorist deed." However, it seems unlikely the country will use its petroleum agreements to pressure the Sudanese government into ending the Darfur conflict, as many international diplomats have hoped, unless such incidents become commonplace and severely disrupt production.

General News

A new source of concern has emerged for uneasy Chinese consumers as Hong Kong authorities discover excessive amounts of melamine in mainland eggs.

China opened the 6th National Farmers' Games in Fujian province on Sunday. Events include many familiar sports but also tire-pushing, food-carrying, kite-flying, and tug-of-war.

Politics

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao spoke at the China-Russia Economic and Trade Summit in Moscow Tuesday, praising the strength of economic ties between the two countries.

The government ageed to another round of talks with the personal representatives of the Dalai Lama. However, the Dalai Lama admitted that he has given up on trying to convince Beijing to grant Tibet more autonomy.

Business & Economy

The People's Bank of China cut the benchmark interest rate by 27 basis points to 6.66 percent. This marks the third time China has cut rates in the past six weeks.

Net income at PetroChina, Asia's largest oil producer, jumped 30 percent in the third quarter on record oil prices. Meanwhile, Sinopec, Asia's largest oil refiner, suffered a 39 percent drop in profits. The Chinese government's caps on consumer fuel prices prevented the company from offsetting higher oil costs.

China signed a much anticipated oil pipeline deal with Russia on Tuesday. The deal grants China access to Russian oil in exchange for sizeable loans to Russian energy firms.

Science & Environment

Authorities have discovered a series of iron and gold ore deposits in eastern China that may be worth more than 20 billion RMB ($2.92 billion). 

Workers brought the final power-generation turbine online at the Three Gorges Dam, edging the project towards completion a year ahead of schedule.

China Moment

It's the 21st century. Who better to look over your shoulder than your fellow netizens? Thomas Crampton reports on China's freelance Internet censors.

Photo: Isam Al-Haj/AFP/Getty Images

MARK WILSON/Getty Images

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China's GDP growth dipped to 9 percent in the past three months, the slowest rate in five years. The economy has been dragged down by a slump in the real estate market, weak exports, and a softening of consumer spending, in addition to increased pressures from the global financial crisis.

President Hu Jintao and U.S. President George W. Bush spoke over the phone Wednesday about the ongoing crisis. Hu seems to be growing more concerned about the condition of the U.S. financial system. Some analysts believed that resiliency in the Chinese economy could head off a worldwide recession, but slowing domestic demand will make China more vulnerable to decreases in investment from abroad.

The government has taken such measures as waiving fees on real estate transactions and offering export rebates to bolster the economy. The recent slowdown, however, has not necessarily been unwlecome. China's economic planners have spent years enacting measures to prevent the economy from overheating. The question is: Is economic growth now down to a sustainable level, or were these moves too heavy-handed?

General News

Pro-Taiwan activists assaulted an envoy from the mainland on Tuesday in southern Taiwan.

President Hu Jintao met with the Vietnamese prime minister in Beijing Wednesday. They pledged more high-level contacts between the two countries.

Officials are taking measures to ease a drought in Hunan Province that has led to shortage of water for 78,000 rural people.

Politics

Former Beijing Vice Mayor Liu Zhihua received a suspended death sentence this week for taking 6.97 million RMB (US$1.02 million) in bribes while in office.

Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou vowed no war will break out with the mainland while he is in office.

Business & Economy

PetroChina announced it may acquire overseas oil companies that have been hurt by the global financial crisis to meet growing domestic demand.

Microsoft Windows users got an unwelcome surprise with their latest software updates. In an effort to crack down on pirated copies of Windows in China, the new patch from Microsoft turns users' screens black and admonishes them for using pirated software.

Science & Environment

Beijing's government plans to award companies up to 2.3 million RMB (US$336,500) for cutting high-pollution production.

In an interview with Science, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao commented that future economic growth in China is to be accompanied by a 4 percent annual decrese in energy consumption.

China Moment

Too many people, not enough beds? German photographer Bernd Hagemann has a collection of photos showing Chinese people taking naps on any surface, in all manner of contorted poses.

Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images

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A $6.5 billion U.S. arms deal with Taiwan has soured relations between the U.S. and China. In reaction to the deal, which includes the sale of Apache helicopters, Patriot missiles, and F-16 fighter jet parts to Taiwan, China has canceled several high-level visits and military exchanges.

A spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of National Defense called the actions "reckless" and accused the United States of ruining years of Chinese efforts to build mutual trust on military matters. China views U.S. support of Taiwan as meddling in its domestic affairs.

As this AP report points out, though, the deal marks a certain return to normalcy for the U.S.-China-Taiwan military balance. Sales of defensive arms to Taiwan is longstanding U.S. policy. The Bush administration's eagerness to do the deal had been diminished in recent years by the provocative, pro-indepedence stance of former Taiwan President Chen Shui-Bian. But the election of Kuomintang leader Ma Ying-Jeo, who favors greater cooperation with the mainland, has eased tensions.

On the United States' part, this paradoxical game of distancing itself when cross-strait tensions rise and providing military support when cross-strait relations are good recalls the Cold War era. But as Taiwan's economic dependence on the mainland grows, China has probably realized that the most effective reunification strategy will be economic, not military. U.S. leaders may need to reassess their approach accordingly.

General News

A 6.6-magnitude earthquake hit Tibet Monday. At least 10 people are confirmed dead and 191 homes destroyed. Seven hundred rescuers are on the scene.

The central government granted emergency subsidies to dairy farmers last week, who are suffering from a plunge in demand for their products. More arrests have been made in the tainted-milk scandal and regulators have revised the amount of the industrial chemical melamine that is permissible in dairy products.

Chinese citizens celebrated National Day on October 1, marking the 59th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China. The week-long celebrations are a chance to spend time with family, especially for the millions of laborers who work far from home. Many who missed the Olympics also took the chance to visit Beijing.

Politics

Japan's new Prime Minister, Taro Aso, plans to meet with Chinese leaders later this month.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry voiced opposition to the prospect of imprisoned human rights activist Hu Jia receiving the Nobel Peace Prize, to be announced Friday.

Pro-Beijing politician Jasper Tsang Yok-sing has been elected president of the fourth term Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

Economy

The People's Bank of China cut interest rates along with other central banks Wednesday to loosen up lending markets and stimulate economic activity.

Chinese financial firms are snapping up ex-Wall Street professionals.

Science & Environment

After 10 days of filling, the water level behind the Three Gorges Dam has reached a target of 156 meters. During this second phase of the project, the dam's flood control, power generation, and navigation functions are to be realized. The project will be completed in 2009.

A new study finds that HIV transmission in China has moved beyond cases related to drug addicts and blood transfusions. Gay men and prostitutes are increasingly at risk.

China Moment

In a sign that traditional values may be eroding, a young Nanjing woman adamantly refused to give up her seat on a bus to an elderly woman, citing her affiliation with an online "never give up your seat group."

Via the China Digital Times, a worrisome tale from Taiwan:

The [state-run Radio Taiwan International] chairman and four other colleagues on the 15-member board submitted their collective resignation in the wake of news reports that the KMT government, notably the Government Information Office, and KMT lawmakers had put intense pressure on [the chairman] and RTI management to change its news and programming management.

 

According to Taiwan media reports, GIO officials cited reports by the Guangzhou-based "Global Daily" (Huanqiu shibao), an internationally-directed subsidiary of the PRC's official "People's Daily," that "the independence faction controlled the voice of Taiwan to attack Ma Ying-jeou" and called on RTI management to "make improvements."

Chilling.

JAY DIRECTO/AFP/Getty Images

Amid China's tainted-milk scandal (the subject of this week's photo essay), parents are frightened of buying milk and formula off the shelf for their children. A Chinese entrepreneur was bound to find a way to provide parents an alternative, and one owner of a domestic services company has: the milk nanny.

The entrepreneur, Lin Zhimin, put an ad on the Internet offering the service of milk nannies -- lactating women who get paid for giving away their milk. Calls started pouring in. CNN recently reported on one woman who signed up to provide milk. Last month she had a baby, her second. Due to China's one-child policy, she gave up the infant. Now she wants to give away her breast milk, both to help other parents and earn money -- eight times what she'd make in a factory, she says.

The concept isn't entirely new. Wet nurses have been around a long time, and the custom has been reemerging in the United States. Also, last year, FP interviewed the founder of the International Breast Milk Project, which sends donated breast milk from American women to orphaned babies in Africa. So, I guess you can't blame an entrepreneur for seeing an opportunity and milking it for what it's worth.

There is a lot of scapegoating going on for this financial crisis (think greedy traders, insipid wall street managers, delinquent regulators), but there is one usual suspect who has been left out so far: China. This time around, hardly anyone is talking tough about the People's Republic...because we need them desperately.

It would be enough that the Chinese own the second-most United States' treasury bonds of any foreign nation (about $518 billion as of July). Almost certainly, if the bail out goes forward, that number will rise.

These days, private banks are creditors too. There was a small panic when rumors spread that China had ordered its banks to stop extending credit to U.S. financial institutions as they have been in previous months. The China Banking Regulatory Commission denied the claim, saying that business was going forward as usual. Traders say otherwise.

True or not, the point of the scare remains. We are more interdependent than either country might care to admit. China has taken the hint; last week, it asked banks to disclose their stakes in United States' firms. The government cut interest rates for the first time in six years to boost the markets.

So we're in it together. But lending a hand to a friend in crisis? Not quite.

Goh Chai Hin/AFP/Getty Images

You've got to hand it to the Chinese. They know how to put on a show, as the world saw during the opening of the Beijing Olympics in August—and today for closing ceremony of the Paralympics.

And the world's media were a pushover audience, according to a new study led by the International Center for Media and the Public Agenda (ICMPA) at the University of Maryland and conducted by the Salzburg Academy on Media & Global Change.

How did media cover the Olympics? Overwhelmingly as a sporting event rather than as a political power game. Prior to the Olympics, there was much speculation that the global press would turn the games into an international anti-China campaign—after all there had been extensive coverage of the protests against China's human rights record during the global torch relay and of the rioting in Tibet.

But that all essentially disappeared off the front pages of global newspapers. The brilliantly conceived and staged opening ceremony attracted 'gee-whiz' coverage. The press ignored the attending heads of state—and even, in most instances, the parade of their own countries' athletes—to focus on the new Chinese superpower flexing its muscles with choreographed musicians, lights and fireworks.

The first week of athletic competition was also treated as almost pure spectacle. The reporting—not just of the athletes, but of China—was overwhelmingly either positive or neutral in tone.

Which regions of the world were most favorably disposed towards China? The Arab news outlets were the most positive, followed by other Asian countries (such as India), then Latin America, then Europe and the United States. Which region had the most jaundiced eye? Africa.

The Olympics study also looked at other issues. For example: Were mens' or women's events better covered? The press in the Arab world emphasized the achievements of male athletes and the African media focused on women. The Chinese media offered the most balanced coverage of male and female contestants.

The study, conducted live during the Olympics by faculty and students attending the Salzburg Academy in Salzburg, Austria, looked at the coverage of the first week of the games, from August 8 – 14. Working in their native languages—Afrikaans, Arabic, Chinese, English, French, German, Hindi, Korean, Portuguese and Spanish—the researchers analyzed 68 leading newspapers, in 29 countries, across six continents (click here for the full list of countries).

Susan Moeller is director of ICMPA and associate professor at the Philip Merrill College of Journalism and School of Public Policy, University of Maryland, College Park.

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Feng Li/Getty Images

The Beijing Olympics roused spectators around the world this summer -- if not with athletic spectacles, then certainly with a few controversial highlights.

But the Paralympics and their inspiring opening ceremonies on Saturday may have outdone anything else that has taken place in China's new arenas. The emotion of the night peaked when the final torch bearer, Hou Bin, a wheelchair-bound competitor in the high jump, pulled himself (and his wheel chair) up a rope to the top level of the stadium.

Thanks in part to these games, Beijing now boasts more wheelchair-accessible facilities than ever before. Until recently, China's disabled lived under a stigma left over from the days of Mao, when the word "disabled" was synonymous with "useless." For the disabled community in China, the 2008 Paralympics, which will run through Sept. 17, have delivered a new sense of pride.

General News

The first orphan of the remaining 88 children left without homes from the May 12 earthquake was adopted. The official death toll from the earthquake is holding fast at 69,116.

Meanwhile, the death toll from Monday's mudslide that struck a mine warehouse in Shanxi province has climbed to 128.

The first Chinese tour group to head to Israel to visit Jerusalem and the Dead Sea will depart later this month, Israel's tourism minister announced. 

Politics

Hong Kong's pro-democracy opposition maintained control in elections on Sept. 7, holding onto their veto power over possible reforms to the territory's constitution by securing 24 of the city legislature's 30 electable seats.

Representatives from China, Japan, and South Korea's nuclear regulatory bodies gathered in Tokyo to discuss ways to share information on nuclear safety.

Economy

Data released by the National Bureau of Statistics Wednesday showed a surplus in August trade, while inflation dropped for a fourth straight month.

Sichuan province has received only $180 billion of the estimated $240 billion still needed to repair and rebuild damage left by the May earthquake, according to the province's vice governor.

Chinese troops were deployed to Hunan province to quell protesters demonstrating in front of government buildings. Those gathered were victims of illegal investment schemes run by legitimate real estate and mining companies.

Environment

The two satellites launched to monitor China's environment in an effort to provide more efficient forecasting have begun to send back data.

Beijing city officials apologized to about 30 dozen environmental protestors who demonstrated against the Gaoantun landfill in August.

China Moment

In an attempt to curb nearsightedness and other eye problems so common among young people, a daily curriculum detailing restrictions on font size, teachers' handwriting, and the amount of homework assigned will be implemented in Beijing schools.

Top Story

Violence continues in Xinjiang province (in pink on the map), where a gang of Uighurs killed two police officers and wounded five others last Wednesday. Police responded by shooting six suspects Saturday.

The officers killed Wednesday were also Uighur, underscoring the division in Xinjiang between Uighurs on both sides of the conflict. A perceived failure to share the fruits of an oil boom in the region has fueled Uighur resentment toward Beijing, but some have sought employment in security forces or local government.

The death toll in the spate of attacks has reached 39, and the thousands of security troops deployed in Xinjiang to keep peace during the Olympics are not likely to be leaving any time soon.

General

An earthquake in southwestern China killed at least 38 people and downed 180,000 homes Saturday. Officials say it was not an aftershock of the May 12 earthquake in the same region. Premier Wen Jiabao warned of further hardship in Sichuan as winter approaches.

China plans to launch its third manned spacecraft by the end of the month.

Politics

Village laws for the recall of local officals, an experiment in democracy, are proving difficult to enforce.

Police in Beijing have reportedly harassed the 73-year-old mother of an Olympic protestor.

Economy

Iraq's cabinet approved a $3 billion oil-service deal with the Chinese National Petroleum Company.

Cheap Chinese lanterns are catching on in Egypt during Ramadan, to the dismay of local craftsmen.

Chinese officals say the appreciation of the renmibi does not need to be accelerated, to the dismay of the United States.

A jury in Las Vegas convicted two former Bank of China officials on charges of racketeering and fraud.

Environment

Enjoying blue skies and clear roads, Beijing residents want the emergency pollution measures enacted for the Olypmics to stay for good.

Taiwan

Thousands marched in Taipei Saturday to protest President Ma Ying-jeou's efforts to improve relations with the mainland.

China Moment

Beijing's Central Propaganda Department banned criticism of China's soccer team, which had a disappointing showing during the Olympics.

Top Story

JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images

China passed the Olympic torch to Britain Sunday, bringing an end to a controversial Olympics marked both by spectacle and suppression. On the sporting field, China achieved its goal of winning the gold medal count. The United States, however, dubbed the games a "missed opportunity" for progress on human rights, and expressed disappointment that the Olympics didn't bring more "openness and tolerance" to China. In the face of diplomatic pressure, Chinese authorities freed eight Americans who had been detained for pro-Tibet demonstrations during the games. 

China now faces uncertainty over its economic future, hoping to avoid the infamous Olympic hangover. 

Politics

President Hu Jintao visited South Korea Monday, agreeing to expand ties between the two countries. 

Authorities blocked, then reinstated, access to iTunes because of an album titled Songs for Tibet.

The Dalai Lama alleged that repression worsened in Tibet during the Olympics. The spiritual leader canceled trips to Mexico and the Dominican Republic because of exhaustion.

Economy

Facing increasing costs, manufacturers are beginning to look outside China.

China overtook the United States as Japan's largest export market. 

Chinese companies are exploring ventures for oil in Iraq and copper in Afghanistan. 

The Bank of China is fighting allegations of supporting terrorism.

Environment

Air quality in Beijing is the best in 10 years, and a top environmental official expects the blue skies to continue.

The Olympics diverted water from thousands of farmers, causing a man-made drought that cost locals in Hebei province their homes and land. 

Taiwan

Prosecutors ordered the son and daughter-in-law of Taiwan's former president, Chen Shui-bian, not to leave the island. The former president, his wife, son, daughter-in-law and brother-in-law are all facing investigation for alleged money laundering. 

General News

Explosions at a chemical plant in Guangxi province killed 20 Wednesday. 

Tropical Storm Nuri showered Shanghai with its heaviest rains in 100 years.

When people talk about China's threat to the West, I don't think this is what they mean:

THOMAS COEX/AFP/Getty Images

Misty May-Treanor (L-back to camera) of the US hugs China's Tian Jia (L-facing) as Kerri Walsh (2nd R) of the US hugs China's Tian Jia Wang Jie (R-facing) at the end of their women's final beach volleyball match at Beijing's Chaoyang Park Beach Volleyball Ground on August 21 during the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. The US team won 2-0 and took the gold medal.

iStockphoto.com

I'm not sure if my friends and coworkers agree, but I generally try to keep my New York snobbery to a minimum now that I live outside the five boroughs... except when it comes to bagels. The theory that New York tap water is necessary for the making of proper bagels may be an urban legend but for some reason, bagels outside New York simply don't taste the same.

So I'm somewhat skeptical of New York Times food critic Jennifer 8. Lee's assurances that you can get decent bagels (or "doughnut-shaped Jewish bread" as they are described on one Chinese Web site) in Beijing, although the fact that the Chinese-American owner of Mrs. Shanen's Bagels was raised in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, is encouraging. But Lee's dispatch does provide another reason to be outraged by the excesses of the global drug war:

Because of the country's association with opium, poppy seeds are illegal in China. [...] She emphatically stated, "No one is going to get a poppy seed bagel in Beijing."

A bagel shop that offers chocolate chip and jalapeño but not poppy seed? Now you know it's time to legalize it.

FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/Getty Images

Baseball may be on the way out as an Olympic sport, but observers anticipating the eventual clash of civilizations between the United States and China may have seen a sneak preview on the diamond Monday:

The U.S. beat China 9-1 in the Olympics Monday night, and it was awful. China’s pitchers hit five U.S. batters, sending one to the hospital. U.S. baserunners plowed over two China catchers, likely knocking one out of the Games.

While some reporters at the scene think "Our relations with China were nearly broken at the plate," I wouldn't go that far. After all, the manager of the Chinese team -- who was ejected from Monday's game -- is an American who has been helping establish the national pastime in China since 2003. Personally, I'm still more outraged about the Chinese gymnasts.

NICOLAS ASFOURI/AFP/Getty Images

The Telegraph's indefatigable Richard Spencer reports on yet another bit of fakery at the opening ceremonies in Beijing:

[T]he children supposedly representing the country's 56 ethnic groups were in fact all from the same one, the majority Han Chinese race. [...]

They were dressed in costumes associated with the country's ethnic minorities, including those from troubled areas such as Tibet and the muslim province of Xinjiang. Such displays of "national unity" are a compulsory part of any major state occasion.

But the children were all from the Han Chinese majority, which makes up more than 90 per cent of the population and is culturally and politically dominant, according to an official with the cultural troupe from which they were selected.

Asked about this, a Beijing Olympics spokesman was nonplussed, telling reporters, "I think you are being very meticulous... I would argue it is normal for dancers, performers, to be dressed in other races' clothes."