kkleiner writes “Did you know that the president of China is a scientist? President Hu Jintao was trained as a hydraulic engineer. Likewise his Premier, Wen Jiabao, is a geomechanical engineer. In fact, 8 out of China’s top 9 government officials are scientists or engineers.”

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

More…

DaveNJ1987 writes “The Chinese Government has blocked the websites of the BBC, CNN and Norwegian public service broadcaster NRK, less than 24 hours before dissident Chinese writer Liu Xiaobo is due to be awarded the Nobel peace prize. China has been vocally critical of the plans to award the jailed writer the prize and has even gone as far as setting up its own ‘Confucius peace prize’ to rival the awards being held in Oslo tomorrow.”

(more…)

Of all the unfamiliar products in a Chinese supermarket, one of the most shocking to American visitors is a toothpaste featuring the logo of a minstrel singer in a top hat, flashing a white smile. Even worse, the toothpaste, Darlie, used to be called Darkie.

More…

KantIsDead writes “MIT’s Technology Review adds to the ongoing discussion of China’s monopoly on rare earth metals, an issue that was temporarily catapulted to national attention during China’s rare earth embargo of Japan. The current article focuses on the search for alternatives to rare earth metals that would undercut China’s monopoly and allow nations to develop their industry without fearing the hand of a Chinese embargo. From the article: ‘In (more…)

SMP Skate Park is an enormous outdoor spans 44,936 square feet and is the largest skate park in the world. Each year SMP holds an international skate competition known as The Showdown. If youre a skater, its hard to think of a more fitting place to compete. Not a skater, not a problem! Enjoy the activities from a 12,300 square foot viewing deck and plaza!

Here is a demo that was put on by the Dc Shoes in the street course section of this massive (more…)

BEIJING – Efforts were under way to contain and clean up a large oil slick after pipeline explosions at a northeastern Chinese port sent greasy black plumes into the ocean, state media reported Sunday. Maritime workers on 20 boats were sent to install fencing to stop the oil from spreading further in northeastern Dalian’s Xingang Harbor…

More…

Like millions of Chinese, Fu Yajun left her hardscrabble life in the countryside for the promise of high wages at a coastal factory town.

More…

eldavojohn writes “Back in May, China rolled out new laws requiring online mapping services to be ‘certified’ by the State Bureau of Surveying and Mapping. The laws appear to go into effect this month. Today an AFP article outlines Google’s consideration of these rules and notes that it’s unlikely Google will meet the qualifications to become certified as all of its servers holding the mapping data are outside of China. The AFP also reported that (more…)

Sebastian Vettel powers to pole position ahead of team-mate Mark Webber as Red Bull secure a one-two at the front of the grid for Sunday’s Chinese Grand Prix.

More…

A networking error has caused computers in Chile and the U.S. to come under the control of the Great Firewall of China, redirecting Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube users to Chinese servers.

More…