Discrimination

Customers queue outside an Apple store during the first day of sale of the iPhone 15 smartphone in Beijing, China on 22 September 2023. (Andrea Verdelli/Bloomberg)

Behind Apple’s ‘insult’ of China

A photo on Apple’s customer service webpage sparked controversy in China by featuring a person with “stereotypical” Chinese looks, with slit eyes and a long braid, coming under fire for “uglifying” Chinese people. While aesthetic preferences do differ, is there something deeper under the criticism of a stranger’s looks?
This picture shows workers on a construction site in Shenmu, Shaanxi province, China, on 24 April 2023. (Wang Zhao/AFP)

China’s housing downturn: Household registration reform needed

In China, policy easing in real estate continues even as calls for greater stimulus packages get louder. But to address the nub of the property downturn, says PIIE researcher Tianlei Huang, long-term challenges such as supply-demand imbalances and the discriminatory household registration system should be addressed.
Xu Zaozao speaks to the media before a second hearing of her case suing a Beijing hospital for refusing to freeze her eggs on the basis that she is unmarried, at the No. 3 Intermediate People's Court in Beijing, China, on 9 May 2023. (Jade Gao/AFP)

A woman's right to freeze her eggs: Chinese society debates

As China faces a dire population crisis of ageing population and declining birth rates, public discussion on female reproductive rights have gained attention. Assisted reproductive technologies such as egg freezing has become a sought-after option for women looking to delay child bearing, but it remains a contentious issue in China. Lianhe Zaobao's China Desk tells us more.
People gather to burn incense sticks and offer prayers at the Lama Temple, in Beijing, China, on 19 February 2023. (Jade Gao/AFP)

More Chinese youths visiting temples to seek solace

As Chinese youths face pressures on all fronts, from education to job hunting and even finding love, they are finding some solace in prayers to gods. But a recent article from state media denouncing such behaviours has sparked uproar among the youths, claiming that the authorities are far removed from the problems young people face today.
Mainland Chinese travellers on low-cost tours walk to a tourist bus after lunch at To Kwa Wan in Hong Kong, China, 30 March 2023. (Tyrone Siu/Reuters)

Are mainland China tourists discriminated against in Hong Kong?

The reopening of borders between mainland China and Hong Kong has led to heightened tensions between people on the ground, as each side has their own complaints against the other. The authorities will have to handle the situation carefully to prevent it from boiling over.
A woman hands out sheet of paper in protest over Covid-19 restrictions in mainland China, during a commemoration of the victims of a fire in Urumqi, at the University of Hong Kong (HKU), in Hong Kong, China, 29 November 2022. (Tyrone Siu/Reuters)

Why first-generation Chinese immigrants in the UK fear speaking up

Freelance writer He Yue muses about why first-generation Chinese immigrants in the UK are keeping silent about Chinese politics, even for those who have opinions about what is happening in China. It seems that the opportunities for democracy and freedom while living abroad are still not enough to get them to share how they really feel, even in private chat groups among friends.
A man walks past a mural on a street in Beijing, China, on 28 September 2022. (Jade Gao/AFP)

Being black in China: Loving something that doesn't always love you back

A young black American who has just finished his master’s in Beijing gives a first-hand account of being viewed as the Other in China. Despite some negative encounters, the conversations he has had in the local language and the friendships he has forged have made the experience all worthwhile.
Singaporean conductor Wong Kah Chun conducting the New York Philharmonic during a Chinese New Year concert held at the David Geffen Hall in New York, US, on 6 February 2019. (Photo: Chris Lee)

Building bridges through music: A young Singaporean conductor leads the way

Lee Huay Leng was touched by the live broadcast of a concert in the park put up by the Nuremberg Symphony Orchestra with Singaporean conductor Wong Kah Chun at the helm and Singapore Chinese Orchestra musicians taking part. Chinese instruments found their place in Wong’s arrangement of 19th century Russian composer Modest Mussorgsky’s “Pictures at an Exhibition”. In the aftermath of Covid and an international milieu where politics meddles even in the arts, the young Wong had found a way to stay composed and build a bridge with music. Can countries learn to do the same?
A man wearing a face mask following the Covid-19 outbreak walks past a Chinese flag in Shanghai, China, 2 August 2022. (Aly Song/Reuters)

Female representation in the Chinese leadership: Countdown to CCP's 20th Party Congress

Li Cheng, director of the John L. Thornton China Center of the Brookings Institution, notes that while the Mao-era slogan of "women hold up half the sky" is often repeated, only one woman serves on the current 25-member Politburo (4%), and no woman has ever served on the Politburo Standing Committee, the supreme decision-making body in the country. He asks: what are the prospects for women leaders at the 20th Party Congress? Who are the prominent female candidates for the upper echelons of the CCP leadership?