Valentine’s Day Is “Breeding Ground” Of Corruption For Some Officials, Says People’s Daily

Flowers for Valentine's Day
Valentine’s Day is a lot of things, including fake, commercialized, contrived, and unworthy of intellectual consideration, but in China, it’s also a “breeding ground” of “corruption and debauchery for a minority of party members,” as SCMP puts it, paraphrasing People’s Daily. A four-paragraph story in People’s Daily said Valentine’s Day had become a hatchery of decadent ideology, indulgent lifestyle,... Read more »

How Do You Feel About China’s English-Language News? Let People’s Daily Know!

People's Daily survey 2
People’s Daily Online is openly soliciting feedback for China’s English-language newspapers, using language that doesn’t even try to conceal the fact that papers such as China Daily and Global Times might be affiliated with the government. This is the shocking part, of course. Those of us familiar with China know how complicated the media environment... Read more »

People’s Daily editorializes on the Internet, calls it “not a space beyond the law”

The East is Read
Yesterday, People’s Daily published a front-page column calling for better behavior on the Internet, not sure whether with the window open or closed in its ivory tower. As translated by China Media Project (emphasis theirs): An open China requires a civilized and healthy online world governed by rule of law. Everyone, whether supervising government bodies... Read more »

Here Are Bikinied Women Doing Gangnam Style In China, Because Of Course

Bikinied ladies to Gangnam
Alicia first saw this slideshow on China News, but it’s since migrated to Sina, and if you thought a slideshow of scantily clad women doing Gangnam Style wouldn’t make it to People’s Daily, under the headline, “40 sweet beauties dance Gangnam Style in bikini,” you have been living under a rock. Catch up. These ladies (and... Read more »

You Think The Onion Is Wacky? People’s Daily Really, Truly Loves Kim Jong-Un

TAR Kim Jong-Un
The flagship CPC newspaper People’s Daily is, well, it’s a bit, you know. It’s rubbish. The design is terrible, the editorials are as pleasant as a shirt of broken glass and Captain Crunch, they have military equipment on their flash home page every day and their non-CPC related stories have the detached insouciance of a disabled child petting a kitten too hard.

Let Us Recall That Chinese Satire Has Fooled Western Media Outlets (And James Cameron) As Well

Kim Jong-Un and the Onion
Earlier this year, I gave a lecture to high school journalism students in China about the importance of citation, spending a good 10 minutes on the how and why of it. This may or may not surprise you, depending on whether you read Chinese publications and/or crappy blogs, but sourcing is often optional here; what’s... Read more »

People’s Daily Admits It Fell For The Onion Spoof, Editor Hopes It “Wouldn’t Draw Too Much Attention”

Kim Jong Un on a horse
The Associated Press succeeded in getting People’s Daily on the line to answer for its slideshow, “North Korea’s top leader named The Onion’s Sexiest Man Alive for 2012.” An online editor said the 55-pic spread would be taken offline (note: it already has been), and also: “We have realized it is satirical,” said the editor who... Read more »

Chinese State Media’s People’s Daily Reports Kim Jong-Un Was Named “The Onion’s Sexiest Man Alive” [UPDATE]

People's Daily is had by the Onion
This is too perfect. The Onion — you know, that website whose lead story is currently, “42 Million Dead In Bloodiest Black Friday Weekend On Record” — named North Korea leader Kim Jong-Un its “sexiest man alive” on November 14, writing: “He has that rare ability to somehow be completely adorable and completely macho at... Read more »

People’s Daily Has Slideshow Of “Beautiful Scenery,” By Which It Means Women

National Congress girls
“Look, a female!” exclaims People’s Daily. We’ve been waiting for this. In March, we saw the Ouroboros of Chinese media, when journalists took pictures of other journalists in a slideshow for China Daily. But this year? The humor hasn’t been handed to us on a platter, so we’ve had to dig a little. No longer. Here’s People’s... Read more »