Authorities Wage Campaign On Those They Dislike: The Arrest And Smearing Of Charles Xue

Charles Xue
Whatever happens in the privacy of one's home is apparently not always private, especially if you're a notorious rabblerouser with 12 million followers on Sina Weibo. Chinese American Charles Xue, aka Xue Biqun (and Xue Manzi on Weibo, an anti-trafficking and environmental adovcate), was captured in Beijing last Friday for soliciting a 22-year-old prostitute. That's hardly the end of the story though. In the past week, authorities have gleefully smeared him in public, including on, it seems, every CCTV news broadcast, emphasizing Xue's confession and his love for sex parties. LOCK HIM WITH THE PEDOPHILES!

Superstitious Father Won’t Stop Piercing Two-Month-Old Daughter With Needles

Superstitious family
In the annals of bad parenting, this man here in Harbin, Heilongjiang province deserves a special plaque. As relayed by Offbeat China, earlier this month, a baby girl, Guo Guo, was sent to the hospital to have a 5-centimeter-long sewing needle removed from her chest. Two weeks later, on August 19, the 56-day-old child was in the hospital again, this time with three sewing needles stuck in her: one under her arm and two in her torso.

Shanghai Craigslist Ad Doesn’t Beat Around The Bush

Shanghai Craigslist ad
The start of this Craigslist ad for a "Personal Assistant to Director (Foreigner)" begins like many of these do: with insinuations ("Open Minded Ladies only") and more insinuations ("Females only"), and a few more of those ("Age between 22 to 29... Pleasant looking, well-dressed, well-groomed"). But then, three-quarters of the way down -- far enough for the poster to have finished his whiskey -- the pretenses disappear:

Dispatches From Xinjiang: Uyghur Memories And Berna, A 7-Year-Old Pop Star From Ürümchi (Part 1)

Uyghur Memories And Berna, A 7-Year-Old Pop Star From Ürümchi
As has been well documented in discussions of the cultural situation in Xinjiang, many minority people in Xinjiang feel the future of their language and culture is insecure. Efforts to replace Uyghur-medium education begun in 2004 have intensified as the capillary spread of Chinese capitalism embeds its network and ideology deeper and deeper into southern Xinjiang.

Here’s The Construction Site For North Korea’s Masik-Ryong Ski Resort

Masik ski construction featured image
Kim Jong-un, who studied in Switzerland when he was a lad, enjoys skiing, so much so that he wants to build a ski resort in his home country. (Or is it because South Korea's getting the 2018 Winter Olympics and he can't be seen as falling behind?) Kim picked out a spot, ordered the military to complete construction by the end of this year, and has reportedly made multiple on-site checks. Everything appears to be going smoothly -- except one big, huge hurdle: international sanctions.

Li Tianyi Pleads Not Guilty To Rape, Claims Unconsciousness

Li Tianyi trial in Beijing
Li Tianyi, 17, son of PLA singers Li Shuangjiang and Meng Ge, pleaded not guilty to gang rape on Wednesday as his trial kicked off in Beijing's Haidian People's Court. An "insider" told Beijing News that Li said he was sleepy on February 17 after a night of drinking, so when he and four friends brought the alleged victim, a 23-year-old woman surnamed Yang, up to a hotel room -- where they took turns raping / having sex with her (depending on who you believe) -- he was not up to task.