Beijing smog clouds Henin’s repeat mission

Justine Henin might not defend her tennis gold medal at the Beijing Olympics, fearing the city’s air pollution could trigger her asthma. The top-ranked Belgian withdrew from the China Open in September because of the complaint.

China warns possible Olympic protesters

China will not tolerate unauthorized parades, demonstrations or other gatherings during next year’s Olympic Games, a police spokesman said Thursday in a warning to groups hoping to use the Games’ visibility to publicize their causes.

Art Says No to Mao

Chinese contemporary artists are making fun of communism’s sacred cows in the name of art, while over 2200 delegates continue political meetings at the 17th Communist Party Congress in Beijing.

Playing the “1989″ game

I would equate the enjoyment experienced by a Xinhua journalist tasked with writing a story relating to Tiananmen Square 1989 to biting into a hollow baozi. Staring into a situation with the neon words “NO WIN” looming large, the writer has to craft the story without stringing the numbers 1, 9, 8 and 9 together, making sure he goes light on the implication; just a sprinkle to prove the subject hasn’t flown over his head, but not so much that his pay check is chopped in half at the end of the month.