China

Yang asks U.S. to seek release of jailed Chinese writers

Yahoo Chief Executive Jerry Yang is asking U.S. officials to secure the release of political dissidents jailed for using the Internet to share information about life in China.

Several of the dissidents were imprisoned with 10-year sentences after Yahoo provided to the Chinese government evidence from the mens' Yahoo accounts.

In a letter sent Thursday to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Yang writes: "I believe it is essential for our government--led by the State Department--to actively pursue the release of Shi Tao, Wang Xiaoning and other Chinese dissidents who have been imprisoned for exercising internationally recognized rights of … Read more

Getting into the YouTube jam on the Beijing subway (video)

Via Danwei, a fan-produced music video for a song by Electric Six: "Getting into the Jam." Starring this guy.

Report: Russia passes China to become malware leader

Russia has passed China to become the largest generator of spyware and other malicious code, according to a report set to be released on Friday.

Security software maker PC Tools says that Russia now accounts for 27.9 percent of such software, compared with China's 26.5 percent. The U.S., which had been the second largest producer in prior surveys, is now in third place, accounting for a hair less than 10 percent of malware.

Russia is also known as a hotbed for junk e-mail, known as spam.

PC Tools said that the death of Russian Business Network, … Read more

Relaxed rules for U.S.-China tech dealings spark controversy

WASHINGTON--The Bush administration sought to deflect criticism Wednesday over a new policy that clears hurdles for certain companies in China to receive exports of American-made multigigaflop computers, lasers, and other "sensitive" technologies with potential military uses.

Under rules that took effect last summer, some companies in China are--or will be--permitted to bypass normal legal procedures for receiving exports of certain restricted hardware and software from the United States. That list includes certain chemicals that could be used to build weapons, telecommunications equipment designed to operate at very high and very low temperatures, and computers with processor performance speeds &… Read more

Celebrity porn scandal rocks Internet in China

A pink MacBook, a computer repair shop, an internationally renowned actor, and eight female pop stars are at the center of what is being described as the biggest Internet sex scandal in China.

It all began last year, when Edison Chen, a star of Infernal Affairs--the movie that inspired Martin Scorsese's The Departed, dropped off his custom pink MacBook at a repair shop. Then in late January, thousands of sexually explicit images began appearing on the Internet that showed Chen in rather compromising positions with eight of the region's most popular actresses and singers. Authorities say the images … Read more

Shooting down satellites with much China-U.S. consternation

You really have to hand it to the United States. After putting up a remarkable ruckus in November when a Chinese rocket annihilated an old satellite and spread undetermined amounts of debris orbiting Earth, the United States government has decided to do the same to a malfunctioning spy satellite that could rain sizable and toxic debris somewhere on the planet if not destroyed. And China's government urges caution.

The situation is hard to grasp. According to the International Herald Tribune, China and Russia have recently called for a ban on all space weapons, which the United States has opposed. … Read more

Rumor: China authorities eye Microsoft-Yahoo deal

"According to Zaobao.com, Beijing has intervened into Microsoft's acquisition of Yahoo by asking Chinese online e-commerce service provider Alibaba to provide detailed information on the acquisition and by keeping a close watch on the process of the acquisition as well as its possible influence," writes ChinaTechNews.com.

Chinese authorities have an interest in the deal partly because Yahoo is a major shareholder of Alibaba, a major online marketplace where manufacturers find customers.

The Olympics would be wise to embrace athlete blogs, not just permit them

The English-language China blogosphere is crowded, interconnected, and decidedly lacking in jocks. All the more reason to see what Olympic athletes have to say about their experience in China this summer. Luckily, the IOC, after forbidding athlete blogging in the past, has lifted its ban. Kudos, but a little more vision would really bring the Olympics into the digital age.

Imagethief, whose post reminded me of the news, says, "It will be interesting to see if this becomes a route to expression for athletes who have something controversial to say but don't relish the idea of a 1968-style … Read more

China Mobile running 400,000 unlocked iPhones

As many as 400,000 unlocked iPhones were running on China Mobile's cellular network at the end of last year, according to market research firm In-Stat.

Apple sold 3.7 million iPhones in 2007, and more than 10 percent of them are in China, In-Stat said, attributing that information to China Mobile. That helps explain part of the "iPhone gap" created by the difference between Apple's shipping totals for 2007 and the activations reported by its carrier partners in the U.S. and Europe.

Despite Apple's attempts to keep iPhone unlocking under wraps with new … Read more