Sexiest Man Alive... Not.

By Taviana MacLeod
Brad Pitt and Johnny Depp ain't got nothing on this North Korean dictator. Kim Jong-un was voted "Sexiest man alive" by The Onion, a US based website. This article included a 55-page photo spread of this knight in shinning armour, but the fact that this handsome fellow was voted to be the most wateringly sexy by Americans is not the funnypart...
People's Daily is a English website of the Communist Party in China. They not only quoted The Onion very seriously about this news (that was obvously a SPOOF!) but whithin the article decribed the man to a tee to proove his sexyness."With his devastatingly handsome, round face, his boyish charm, and his strong, sturdy frame, this Pyongyang-bred heartthrob is every woman's dream come true," the People's Daily's English website quoted The Onion as saying. This article was serious for the people of China to see, but is now causing disturbance because China is so embarassed to not have caught on to the joke. The article by People's Daily has since been deleted as much as possible in China but while it was published was nearly the most popular the Chinese website has ever seen. The North Korean embassy in Beijing refused to comment.

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Where is China?

-By Taviana MacLeod

Disputes about maritime territory are ongoing problems between China and it's neighbors. Who's island is who's? Who's fishing where? China has decided to put it's foot down by drawing a big ol' "THIS IS OURS" all over these territories; in the form of dotted lines on it's new passports. The new Chinese passports that are currently being issued in Beijing show the map of China including territories that are being disputed about in the South China Sea and Himalayan land. It even included peices of land that are not claimed by China, but by other countries. India is furious and Vietnam is refusing to stamp passports, insisting to post stamps for travellers on different peices of paper.The Philippines, Brunei and Malaysia are other countries that are very unhappy about this map (that is drawn on page 8 of the passport) because it was done so silently and secretly. They say that it is not part of international standards that passports must meet.  "But it offers a glimpse into the tensions sparked by China's growing heft both economically and military, as well as its increasingly assertive attitude toward territories it has long claimed as its own. " (Larano, Muoi, Thu, 2012) According to an article in the Wall Street Journal. Sneaky, sneaky China.

Falun Gong

By: Kassy Sangster

Falun Gong members handed out homemade pamphlets of their struggles, sang songs of hope and raised awareness about the organ harvesting that has happened to chinese citizens at many chinese gatherings and festivals. Some of these events had police officers who took a step back from their duty to the government and let the them continue their good work.
A man named Zhou was lucky at such events because he got calls from an informant in the police, warning him when raids were coming but many others weren't so lucky. Some who practice Falun Gong get kidnapped and brainwashed, others end up in prisons and some end up at the end of scapels as the victims of live organ harvesting.
Zhou ended up leaving China because the government was determined to imprison him. However there is some hope for the people of China, even if there is none for the Chinese Communist Party, as there has been an increase in protection and support coming from the citizens.

Socialism... with some Chinese Characteristics

This November held the 18th National Congress for the Communist Party of China. The opening ceremony began November 8 and it concluded November 14. The general secretary was Xi Jinping, Vice President who is destined to become the President of China in 2013. The opening ceremony on November eighth was opened with a speech by Hu Jintao, the current President.

All throughout China, the word ‘Reform’ seems to be whispered by all people. It was the theme of Hu Jintao’s message, as he laid out what he thought was a correct reform, using this word over eighty times in this single speech. He stated clearly that a reform of any type in China would begin with a restructuring of the political system. All the same, analysts and critiques are weighing his statements heavily. Reform could mean anything, and Hu stated that the holding up the leadership of the communist party would be a vital part of any change. He later mentioned, “We will never copy a Western political system.”

China is a country that clings to its past while constantly looking forward and demanding change. Since the establishment of communism in the 50’s, it has hardly gone a decade without a reform of some type. Hu has said interesting and provocative words, but his decade of power has made it clear that he does not have the heart of a reformer, which makes this transition to Xi so fascinating. As people debate what form of reform China is facing, they are staring at Xi Jinping and wondering who he is and what change he is bringing.

On November 15, the day after the National Congress ended, the Politburo met to discuss the and analyze their meetings from the previous week. The meeting was presided over by Xi, who made a speech, calling for the Politburo to develop “socialism with Chinese characteristics,” as he seems to fond to call the reform he in eager to implement. In this meeting, the Politburo outlined their blueprint of how, under new circumstances, they would encourage prosperity, advance socialist modernization and “win new victory for socialism with Chinese characteristics” (Whatever that means).

Leading China for the Next Decade

By Taviana MacLeod
On Thursday, November 15  Xi Jinping walked out on stage first after the chinese elections, which suggeted that he had been chosen to lead the country along with seven other men that followed him. He will now be in power not ONLY of China's superpower economy, but of the entire country for the next decade - ten yeards - 10! Which in my opinion is an icredibly long time to run a country of 1,344,130,000 people, which is 1.3 billion people. He vowed to build a ''better life' and seeing as how the previous committee had 9 elite men who help make decisions instead of 7, the tension of decision making is expected to slightly ease. He also appears much more relaxed and at ease the people during his acceptance speech than previous leader Hu. He mentioned: "Under the new conditions, our party faces many severe challenges, and there are also many pressing problems within the party that need to be resolved," Xi said, highlighting corruption and "being divorced from the people".He hopes that exports and manifacting compagnies in the country that are very successful will continue to offer  jobs to the people of China.

China Knock-Offs to the Next Level

By Taviana MacLeod
Worldwide, China is known for it's fake this and fake thats when it comes to almost anything sold in the market. From Gucci purses in new York City's Chinatown to fake Nike, North Face, Gilette razors, DVD's and almost any other merchandise that you can think of is made by the Chinese and sold for cheap. Why? Because it's fake. According to ABC news "Chinese counterfeiting now costs foreign firms an estimated $20 billion a year in lost profits." which is staggeringly high. 

What's even more interesting is that it has recently been found that China is going to a new extreme by counterfeiting  ENTIRE COMPANIES such as Apple and IKEA stores. People who are employed aren't even aware themselves that they are working for a fraud. The stores look like the companies and sell what the original brands do; only fake versions.

Child protection laws in china need to be adjusted

By: Kassy Sangster

This picture was one of more than 700 pictures found on the online album that belonged to the kindergarten teacher Yan Yanhong. This twenty year old uncertified teacher also showed pictures where she had taped the mouths of her young students and in other states of misery.It is cases like this that have people both in and out of China calling for changes to the child protection laws of China. This crime can only be punished under a charge for picking fights and provoking trouble because it is only considered a child abuse if one of the attackers is a relative and could only be a crime of intentional harm if the child was hurt more badly. This women was fired and with her current charge she may face up to 7 years but considering the evidence there is against her cruelty this seems like a small punishment. Stopping crimes like this in the future are important, and the importance of having licensed teachers also comes into question.