The LA Times profiles Shen Jianzhong, China’s modern-day Bruce Lee, whose son is still in jail for fighting in self-defense

Forced eviction attempt in China
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXGIk9x-FI0] Shen Jianzhong, who fought back a pack of hoodlums in October who broke into his house and assaulted his wife, is making the most out of his 15 minutes of fame — but out of necessity. The LA Times recently caught up with him as he offered a grim update to his situation, specifically all... Read more »

Pandas might be source of powerful new antibiotic

Panda
Maybe these cuddly creatures are useful for more than just their looks. Via The Telegraph: Scientists have discovered that the animals, of which there are around 1,600 in the wild, produce a powerful antibiotic in their blood stream that kills bacteria and fungi. They believe the substance could be used to create potent new treatments... Read more »

Sunday Viewing: BBC This World’s Profile Of Ding Yu, Interviewer Of Dead Men Walking

Ding Yu
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wR9ova4zG2M] If you haven’t already seen it, our Sunday film recommendation is BBC’s documentary on Ding Yu, host of the extraordinary Chinese talk show Interviews Before Execution. (The good folks over at Reddit recently found the above video.) For just over five years — more than 200 episodes — Ding interviewed prisoners on death row, often... Read more »

Rapist of 7-year-old girl still at large in Beijing

The East is Read
If you want to read a very disturbing opening paragraph from Global Times, click on its Dec. 27 article about a seven-year-old girl who was raped on Monday while walking to school in Beijing. We’ll begin our excerpt from graf no. 2:

A Movie That May Interest You: Youth, by Long Cuu Phan

Youth
Los Angeles filmmaker Long Cuu Phan has lived in Beijing for the last four years, and for at least the last two of them, he’s been working on a script that’s “near and dear” to his heart. Set in modern-day Beijing, Youth is about a college student whose world unravels when she discovers her father’s new wife... Read more »