Latest News  Firms mull China-Russia gas pipeline  OAO Gazprom, the world's biggest natural gas producer based in Moscow, said it is in talks with China's largest oil and gas producer to export gas to China through a cross-border pipeline.  Of two p ...  China self-supplies 94% of energy need  At the Rizhao Port, a major coal exporting base in east China's Shandong Province, 25,000 tons of coal are shipped overseas daily, fueling economic growth of neighbouring countries like Japan.  This ...  Urban Chinese take to carpooling - against authorities' wishes  BEIJING - As oil prices rise, carpooling is taking off in China's biggest cities.  But unlike in the West, authorities appear none too happy about it.  Web sites that serve as bulletin boards for tho ...  Korea vs. Taiwan  Korea and Taiwan have pursued export-led development but both have used different industrial organization models.  Medium-sized and family-owned businesses that pursue cost arbitrage dominate Taiwan's ...  War declared on designer drugs as Chinese middle class gets high  A "people's war" on narcotics in China has turned into a campaign against designer drugs after police found a surge in usage of ecstasy, ketamine and methamphetamine, or ice, among urban professionals ...  China Lectured by Taiwan Ally  China's leaders may have felt they had no better friend in Taiwan than Li Ao, a defiant and outspoken politician and author who says that Taiwan should unify with Communist China.  But when China in ...  Past natural disaster tolls will remain in the past  Beijing will not revise or offer new information about death tolls from past natural disasters despite no longer considering the numbers state secrets, a senior official said yesterday.  The announc ...  Higher salaries fail to fill all empty seats  THE LABOUR shortage in the Pearl River Delta is continuing as manufacturers find that increasing salaries is not enough to draw migrant workers to Guangdong.  Samson Chan, chairman of the Hong Kong ...  Delta face-off  CHINA'S ECONOMIC reforms began in the Pearl River Delta but, over the past three years, the Yangtze River Delta has surpassed it to become the biggest exporter and magnet for foreign investment in Chi ...  Officials found reluctant to retract stakes in coal mines  China's latest effort to clean up its terrible coal-mine safety record by breaking the links between colliery owners and officials has not had the desired effect, industry figures and experts said. ...  The forbidden tongue  Nushu, the secret women's script of the Yao minority in China, was widely declared extinct last year, when its most famous user, Yang Huangyi, a local matriarch, died aged 92.  But obituaries for the w ...  China Sets New Rules on Internet News  BEIJING - China set new regulations on Internet news content on Sunday, widening a campaign of controls it has imposed on other Web sites, such as discussion groups. ``The state bans the spreading ...  Grain production rises; price fall hurts farmers  A continuous increase in China's grain output this year will ensure "food security," but falling crop prices will create difficulties for farmers, according to a top agricultural policy maker.  Chen ...  Foreign firms may control brokerages  China's securities regulator is considering relaxing rules to allow foreign financial firms to take control of the nation's securities brokers, the Financial Times reported, citing unidentified people ...  Xiong Xianghui  The former senior Chinese diplomat Xiong Xiang-hui, who has died aged 86, played a vital undercover role during the final phase of the communist revolution, after the second world war, which may have ...  Chinese leadership plans to honour ousted party "reformer"  The General Office of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Central Committee issued a plan last month to officially mark the 90th anniversary of the birth of former party secretary Hu Yaobang on November ...  Shenzhen at 25  The list of world cities with over 10 million residents isn't very long, and mostly contains familiar names like Tokyo, Lagos, Rio de Janeiro, and New York City.  But what if we were to ask: out of the ...  'Barefoot lawyer' exposes abuses by Chinese officials  For a blind man described by supporters as a "barefoot lawyer" for his work advising villagers fighting brutal population control measures in Shandong province, Chen Guangcheng has attracted the kind ...  Bank IPO set to break the record at US$7.7b  China Construction Bank, the country's largest property lender, could raise as much as US$7.7 billion (HK$60.06 billion) in its upcoming initial public offering, easily topping the previous Hong Kong ...  Maids plan WTO show of strength  Despite growing fears that World Trade Organization protests may be stifled, Hong Kong's foreign domestic helpers' Asian Migrants Coordinating Body has begun "intensifying" a campaign to mobilize its ...  Japan's Observance Opens Wounds  The observance was central to the roiling dispute over history that has engulfed Japan and its primary wartime victims, China and South Korea.  5/8/2005 - 6:03 pm GMT  Hu Jintao Tightens Party's Grip on Power  Chinese president is emerging as an unyielding leader determined to preserve the Communist Party's monopoly on power and willing to impose new limits on speech and other civil liberties to do it.  5/8/2005 - 6:03 pm GMT  Koizumi, Hu Meet to Address Tensions   JAKARTA, Indonesia, April 23 -- Chinese President Hu Jintao urged Japan to translate its remorse over wartime atrocities into "actual action" during a much-anticipated meeting here Saturday that both sides said they hoped would ease dangerously heightened tensions between the two countries.  5/8/2005 - 6:03 pm GMT  16 Arrested in Anti-Japan Protests   BEIJING, April 26 -- Chinese authorities announced Tuesday that 16 youths had been formally arrested and 26 others temporarily jailed in connection with violent anti-Japanese protests that erupted 10 days ago in Shanghai.  5/8/2005 - 6:03 pm GMT  Short-Lived Strike Reflects Strength of Japan-China Ties   SHENZHEN, China, April 25 -- On the face of it, the 10,000 fired-up workers at Uniden Electronic Products seemed to have a lot going for them when they went on strike.  5/8/2005 - 6:03 pm GMT  Nationalists Return To Chinese Mainland   BEIJING, April 26 -- The head of Taiwan's Nationalist Party came to China for history-making talks with Communist Party officials Tuesday, the first Nationalist leader welcomed here since Mao Zedong's forces drove Chiang Kai-shek from the mainland in 1949.  5/8/2005 - 6:03 pm GMT  Brief Rise In Chinese Currency Stirs Markets   Tantalizing hints surfaced yesterday that China might be on the brink of letting its currency rise in value -- and although the evidence was tenuous, it was enough to send foreign exchange markets into a lather.  5/8/2005 - 6:03 pm GMT  U.S. Seeks Improved SE Asia Ties   The United States, building on the massive humanitarian effort after the Indian Ocean tsunami in December, plans an aggressive effort to build economic, political and security links with Southeast Asian nations, Deputy Secretary of State Robert B. Zoellick said yesterday.  5/8/2005 - 6:03 pm GMT  Historic Enemies Meet in Beijing   BEIJING, April 29 -- The leader of Taiwan's opposition Nationalist Party and Chinese President Hu Jintao met here Friday and pledged to work together to end hostilities between the Taipei and Beijing governments.  It was the highest-level meeting between the two sides since they fought a civil war six decades ago.  5/8/2005 - 6:03 pm GMT  Taiwan Proposes Peace Talks With China   TAIPEI, Taiwan, May 2 -- President Chen Shui-bian on Monday offered peace talks with Beijing, apparently seeking to regain the initiative from a political rival who is on a high-profile visit to China.  5/8/2005 - 6:03 pm GMT  Power Drain   BEIJING -- Robert Anderson thought he and his energy company had everything covered.  5/8/2005 - 6:03 pm GMT  Taiwan Nationalist Cites 'Consensus' With Chinese on Ending Hostilities   SHANGHAI, May 3 -- The leader of Taiwan's opposition Nationalist Party, wrapping up a historic visit to mainland China, said he had achieved a "fundamental consensus" with the country's Communist Party leadership to end hostilities that have enveloped the Taiwan Strait for more than half a century.  5/8/2005 - 6:03 pm GMT  In Spite of Prosecutors, Scholar May Be Deported   U.S. immigration officials are moving forward with the deportation of a former American University researcher who pleaded guilty to selling sensitive technology to the Chinese government, despite a request by federal prosecutors that she be allowed to stay.  5/8/2005 - 6:03 pm GMT  China Hosts a 2nd Taiwan Party Head   BEIJING, May 5 -- China extended its campaign to woo public opinion in Taiwan on Thursday by welcoming a second opposition party leader from the island, less than a week after hosting the leader of the opposition Nationalist Party in a historic visit.  5/8/2005 - 6:03 pm GMT  China, U.S. to Monitor Panda Sex Lives (AP via Yahoo! News)   Geez, can't a panda get some privacy? Seeking more data about panda reproduction, a team of Chinese and American scientists plans to monitor their sex lives via the Global Positioning System and other electronic tools, China's official Xinhua News Agency reported Tuesday.  9/27/2005 - 6:45 am GMT - [guid]  UBS to acquire $500 million stake in Bank of China (AFP via Yahoo! News)   Swiss banking giant UBS announced a deeper advance into the Chinese market, saying it was acquiring a 500-million-dollar (416.4-million-euro) stake in Bank of China.  9/27/2005 - 7:43 am GMT - [guid]  Typhoon Damrey hits Vietnam, kills 16 in China (Reuters via Yahoo! News)   Typhoon Damrey smashed into Vietnam on Tuesday after killing 16 people in China, tearing into vital networks of sea dykes on a long stretch of coastline after more than 330,000 people had been evacuated.  9/27/2005 - 9:25 am GMT - [guid]  US, China launch new round of textiles battle (AFP via Yahoo! News)   US and Chinese negotiators held a new round of talks on controlling an upsurge in clothes exports from China that is said to be swamping the US textiles industry.  9/27/2005 - 8:03 am GMT - [guid]  US-China textile talks make progress (Reuters via Yahoo! News)   The United States has made "good progress" in talks aimed at curbing billions of dollars in clothing imports from China, but it's unclear if the two sides will strike a deal, a U.S. negotiator said on Tuesday.  9/27/2005 - 9:46 am GMT - [guid]  UBS to Invest $500M in Bank of China (AP via Yahoo! News)   Swiss bank UBS AG said Tuesday it is investing $500 million in state-owned Bank of China, the nation's second-largest bank, to create a partnership in investment banking and securities services for Chinese clients.  9/27/2005 - 8:36 am GMT - [guid]  China to use GPS to peep on panda sex (CNN.com)  This giant panda cub was born in August at the San Diego Zoo. BEIJING, China (Reuters) -- Chinese scientists will use satellite technology to peep on the sexual antics of China's highly endangered giant pandas, Xinhua news agency said.  9/27/2005 - 9:42 am GMT - [guid]  China Launches Major War Games (AP via Yahoo! News)   China on Tuesday launched major annual war games in Inner Mongolia, pitting 16,000 troops against each other in a mock battle observed by military officers from a record 24 nations.  9/27/2005 - 9:21 am GMT - [guid]  Valley firms get advice on China (SiliconValley.com via Yahoo! News)   Silicon Valley companies must have a three-pronged strategy regarding China, 300 executives and investors were told at a conference of Chinese software professionals.  9/27/2005 - 10:04 am GMT - [guid]  China starts water diversion project (AFP via Yahoo! News)   China embarked on an ambitious north-south diversion project that aims to redirect water from a Yangtze River tributary to the parched north 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) away.  9/27/2005 - 10:46 am GMT - [guid]