China Stories
China Stories from the Sinica Network on SupChina brings you audio narration of the best articles and op-eds appearing in Sixth Tone, Caixin Global, The Wire China, Week in China, The World of Chinese, Protocol China, and of course SupChina. Subscribe to the podcast and you can listen to features on the go, with narrators who won’t butcher the pronunciation of Chinese names and words.
China’s ‘Sun King’ plots a stock market comeback with Asia Silicon IPO.
Read the article: https://www.weekinchina.com/2021/03/a-new-dawn-2/
Narrated by Elyse Ribbons.
Wang Zhaojun is one of the four beauties of ancient China, a woman who prevented bloodshed by being a "peace bride."
Read the article by Alex Colville: https://supchina.com/2021/03/22/ancient-beauty-wang-zhaojuns-shifting-significance/
Narrated by Alex Colville.
In his first five-year term as General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party and President of the People’s Republic of China, Xi Jinping regularly cited classical Chinese philosophy in order to bolster his image as a man of learning and virtue.
Read the article by Sam Crane: https://chinachannel.org/2017/11/17/philosopher-king/
Narrated by Kaiser Kuo.
Internet giants in China have expanded rapidly due to the business opportunities brought by the COVID-19 pandemic, yet the expansion has come at the cost of the health of their employees.
Read the article by Yuan Ruiyang, Guan Cong, Qian Tong, Qu Yunxu, and Timmy Shen: https://www.caixinglobal.com/tech-giants-overwork-culture/
Narrated by Heather Mowbry.
A Jan. 10 explosion at a gold mine in Qixia in eastern China’s Shandong province set off a desperate search and rescue mission for trapped miners.
Read the article by Qin Jianxing, Feng Huamei and Han Wei: https://www.caixinglobal.com/2021-02-12/in-depth-chinas-unfinished-fight-for-mine-safety-101663298.html
Narrated by Heather Mowbry.
Fan Xiaoqin became an instant online child star for looking like Jack Ma. Now, that fame has faded and so has the wealth it once promised. What’s left is an innocence lost and a childhood compromised.
Read the article by Ming Que: https://www.sixthtone.com/news/1006988/the-unbearable-likeness-of-being-the-story-of-little-jack-ma#
Narrated by Anthony Tao.
Last April, as the world fell to COVID-19, one Chinese company was there to offer a helping hand: BGI. But the line between the biotech giant and Beijing is increasingly blurry.
Read the article by Brent Crane: https://www.thewirechina.com/2021/03/21/jolly-gene-giant/
Narrated by Kaiser Kuo.
State media and new regulations are going after dodgy company practices. Government still gets a free pass.
Read the article by Zeyi Yang: https://www.protocol.com/china/china-facial-recognition?utm_campaign=post-teaser&utm_content=2gqzffnb
Narrated by Kaiser Kuo.
Memories from a northeastern Chinese logging camp.
Read the article by Yu Guangyi: https://www.theworldofchinese.com/2021/02/the-last-lumberjacks/
Narrated by Anthony Tao.
In China, a sassy chat bot is stealing millions of men’s hearts. It’s also recording their most intimate desires and emotions.
Read the article by Zhang Wanqing: https://www.sixthtone.com/news/1006531/the-ai-girlfriend-seducing-chinas-lonely-men
Narrated by Elyse Ribbons.
Four months before June 4, 1989, an unknown artist triggered the state by pulling a trigger.
Read the article by Alex Colville: https://supchina.com/2021/03/16/an-artist-and-her-gun-in-1989-xiao-lus-accidental-revolt/
Narrated by Alex Colville.
China’s truckers try to make a living in a dangerous and increasingly competitive industry.
Read the article by Sam Davies: https://www.theworldofchinese.com/2020/11/wheels-of-fortune/
Narrated by Kaiser Kuo.
On March 19, 1912, about a dozen women armed with pistols, led by Tang Qunying, broke into the parliament in Nanjing, where a framework for the new Republic of China was being hammered out. The women were determined to be heard.
Read the article by James Carter: https://supchina.com/2021/03/17/a-fight-for-womens-suffrage-in-the-early-days-of-the-chinese-republic/
Narrated by James Carter.
Chinese authorities are gradually shifting from policy incentives to market forces to encourage the financial sector's support of greener growth as the country's push toward carbon neutrality creates new investment opportunities.
Read the article by Wang Liwei and Peng Qinqin: https://www.caixinglobal.com/2021-03-05/in-depth-how-china-plans-to-harness-market-forces-for-carbon-neutrality-101670771.html
Narrated by Alex Urist.
With U.S. sanctions biting hard, everyone from Alibaba to appliance king Gree are designing their own chips as a side gig.
Read the article by Zeyi Yang: https://www.protocol.com/china/chinese-companies-make-own-semiconductors
Narrated by Kaiser Kuo.
Those looking for China’s national spirit won’t find it in Xi Jinping’s writing.
Read the article by Orville Schell: https://www.thewirechina.com/2021/03/14/the-soul-of-lu-xun/
Narrated by Kaiser Kuo.
Top 50 China unicorns ranking reveals it’s all about tech and the ‘Big Four’.
Read the article: https://www.weekinchina.com/2021/03/horns-of-plenty/
Narrated by Elyse Ribbons.
The Chinese Communist Party, in its earliest days, outwardly championed women and their place in the revolution. But one writer — on the heels of International Women's Day in 1942 — had the courage to point out the CCP's hypocrisies and the persistence of patriarchy.
Read the article by James Carter: https://supchina.com/2021/03/10/ding-lings-thoughts-on-international-womens-day-1942/
Narrated by Anthony Tao.
Bytedance Ltd. brought on 40,000 new employees last year.
Read the article by Yuan Ruiyang, Guan Cong, Qian Tong, Qu Yunxu and Timmy Shen: https://www.caixinglobal.com/2021-02-23/in-depth-behind-bytedances-hiring-binge-101666298.html
Narrated by Alex Urist.
With a new generation increasingly burned out by the “996” grind and liberal platitudes of their elders, can Marxism make a comeback?
Read the article by Wang Rui: https://www.sixthtone.com/news/1006523/fed-up-with-capitalism%2C-young-chinese-brush-up-on-das-kapital#
Narrated by Kaiser Kuo.
Liu didn't want to pay for extra surgery, even though his doctor insisted it was essential.
Read the article by Matthew Walsh: https://www.caixinglobal.com/2021-02-10/in-depth-scam-surgeries-expose-ills-at-chinas-for-profit-hospitals-101663075.html
Narrated by Heather Mowbray.
Xiaomi might be blacklisted in the U.S. But in China, it makes over 1,000 smart home devices, creating a network nobody can match.
Read the article by Zeyi Yang: https://www.protocol.com/china/china-smart-homes-future
Narrated by Kaiser Kuo.
Chloé Zhao made history when she became the first Asian woman to win Best Director at the Golden Globes on February 28.
Read the article by Alex Colville: https://supchina.com/2021/03/08/song-dandan-chinas-beloved-comic-actress-chloe-zhao/
Narrated by Kaiser Kuo.
The American business community is determined not to comment on the crackdown in Xinjiang — atrocities the U.S. government has deemed a genocide. But how long can their silence last?
Read the article by Katrina Northrop and Eli Binder: https://www.thewirechina.com/2021/03/07/the-xinjiang-silence/
Narrated by Kaiser Kuo.
On the morning of March 2, 1969, 30 or so Chinese soldiers stepped onto a frozen Ussuri River and were confronted by Soviet border guards.
Read the article by James Carter: https://supchina.com/2021/03/03/how-close-exactly-were-russia-and-china-to-nuclear-war/
Narrated by Kaiser Kuo.
Throughout Chinese history emperors surrounded their heirs with the most trustworthy of court officials in a bid to ensure the longevity of their dynasty.
Read the article: https://www.weekinchina.com/2021/02/the-complete-package/
Narrated by Kaiser Kuo.
The recent deaths of two young employees of e-commerce upstart Pinduoduo Inc. have raised concerns that the company may be exploiting its employees at the expense of their health, deepening criticism of the Chinese tech sector's punishing work culture.
Read the article by Yuan Ruiyang, Guan Cong, Qian Tong, and Tang Ziyi: https://www.caixinglobal.com/2021-02-24/in-depth-the-brutal-human-cost-of-pinduoduos-breakneck-expansion-101666785.html
Narrated by Heather Mowbray.
Gu Wei, a perpetrator of domestic abuse turned volunteer and advocate, shares his story.
Read the article by Gu Wei: https://www.sixthtone.com/news/1006898/i-was-the-abuser-in-my-family
Narrated by Anthony Tao.
China has a workday crisis: People are working too many hours, and without proper overtime compensation.
Read the article by Lelan Wu: https://supchina.com/2021/02/10/eight-hour-workday-in-china-workers-lobby/
Narrated by Jiayun Feng.
The "Yunnan Outrage" — in which a scouting party led by British diplomat Augustus Margary was ambushed and killed while exploring China's "persistent frontier" — is all but forgotten today. But it had significant implications for Qing rulers.
Read the article by James Carter: https://supchina.com/2021/02/24/the-margary-affair-and-british-imperialism-on-the-china-myanmar-border/
Narrated by Kaiser Kuo.
The streaming site was once a quirky place for young men. Now it's nationalistic and misogynist, and women have had enough.
Read the article by Shen Lu: https://www.protocol.com/china/bilibili-misogyny
Narrated by Kaiser Kuo.
Zhang Heng was a genuine polymath whose achievements in science, mathematics, cartography, literature, and the arts make him a towering figure in the popular Chinese imagination.
Read the article by Alex Colville: https://supchina.com/2021/03/01/chinas-renaissance-man/
Narrated by Kaiser Kuo.
A few hours before the sun goes down, Yaojia Road on the outskirts of Nanjing becomes a confluence of beeping vehicles.
Read the article by Chen Liang: https://www.theworldofchinese.com/2017/02/dark-was-the-night-market/
Narrated by Anthony Tao.
The fast food giant’s decision to spin off its China operations could serve as a reality check for U.S. companies.
Read the article by Matt Schiavenza: https://www.thewirechina.com/2021/02/28/the-yum-model/
Narrated by Kaiser Kuo.
In southwestern China, bovine brawls attract big crowds. But as the sport grows, it's also charging into controversy.
Read the article by Kenrick Davis: https://www.sixthtone.com/news/1006372/in-chinas-villages%2C-bullfighting-enjoys-a-bloody-renaissance
Narrated by Elyse Ribbons.
As Trump’s presidency ends, his impact on Sino-US relations will be lasting.
Read the article: https://www.weekinchina.com/2021/01/exit-the-disrupter-in-chief/
Narrated by Elyse Ribbons.
A rugged battle is underway between the coronavirus and humanity trying to bring the Covid-19 pandemic to an end.
Read the article by Ma Danmeng, Wang Simin, Wang Lijun, Zhao Jinzhao, Xu Wen, Jia Tianqiong and Han Wei: https://www.caixinglobal.com/2021-02-11/in-depth-why-vaccines-wont-soon-end-the-covid-19-pandemic-101663123.html
Narrated by Kaiser Kuo.
Named “Brother Requested” by her paternal grandmother, a woman shares her struggle for a name of her own.
Read the article by Fang Qian: https://www.sixthtone.com/news/1006663/dont-call-me-zhaodi
Narrated by Jiayun Feng.
Hundreds of Chinese heart disease patients died avoidable deaths, with more still suffering heart attacks and strokes, after 100,000 went untreated in unnecessary trials of widely used medication, new research suggests.
Read the article by Flynn Murphy and Wang Zhuoqing: https://www.caixinglobal.com/2021-02-18/in-depth-hundreds-of-chinese-patients-died-in-redundant-trials-of-proven-drugs-101664417.html
Narrated by Kaiser Kuo.
A nixed deal offers a rare window into how Chinese companies often work in tandem with, and sometimes on behalf of, Beijing.
Read the article by Alex W. Palmer: https://www.thewirechina.com/2021/02/21/deep-state-inc/
Narrated by Kaiser Kuo.
Wang Xing is CEO of tech titan Meituan. Why is he still obsessed with an obscure social media platform he founded a generation ago?
Read the article by Zeyi Yang: https://www.protocol.com/china/china-digital-ghost-town-mayor
Narrated by Kaiser Kuo.
There’s nothing particularly surprising about the emergence of “vaccine diplomacy” as a foreign policy buzzword in 2021.
Read the article by Jacob Mardell: https://supchina.com/2021/02/18/the-meaning-of-chinas-vaccine-diplomacy/
Narrated by Kaiser Kuo.
Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou hasn’t set foot in China since 2018. Instead the daughter of Huawei boss Ren Zhengfei remains holed up in Vancouver, under house arrest as she fights against an extradition request from the US.
Read the article: https://www.weekinchina.com/2021/01/a-tale-of-two-sisters/
Narrated by Elyse Ribbons.
I wasn't proud of it, and neither were my coworkers. But that's life in today's China.
Read the article by Shen Lu: https://www.protocol.com/china/i-built-bytedance-censorship-machine
Narrated by Kaiser Kuo.
John Le Carré’s Asia-set magnum opus is his 1977 novel "The Honourable Schoolboy." The book is one of le Carré’s most personal, offering us a number of insights into Asia and China that are key to understanding the trajectory of Western relations with China after World War II.
Read the article by Paul French: https://supchina.com/2021/02/05/what-a-john-le-carre-novel-can-teach-about-china/
Narrated by Paul French.
With demand surging, China’s private detectives are coming out of the legal shadows.
Read the article by Han Rubo: https://www.theworldofchinese.com/2020/11/a-private-practice/
Narrated by Anthony Tao.
In 1724, the Yongzheng Emperor proscribed Christianity. But what he really wanted is what rulers always want: people who will serve their state but not threaten its order. Jesuit advisers working in China's capital at that time, after all, had proved useful to the empire.
Read the article by James Carter: https://supchina.com/2021/02/10/the-yongzheng-emperor-and-christianity-in-china/
Narrated by Kaiser Kuo.
People from across China share how they’re celebrating the Lunar New Year holidays, dampened for the second straight year by COVID-19 outbreaks.
Read the article by Cai Xuejiao and Chen Qi'an: http://www.sixthtone.com/news/1006785/the-human-side-to-another-lost-spring-festival
Narrated by Kaiser Kuo and Elyse Ribbons.
Every app now wants to lend you money. It's driving some users into debt and foreshadows a broader crackdown.
Read the article by Zeyi Yang: https://www.protocol.com/china/chinese-microlending-out-of-control
Narrated by Anthony Tao.
A single machine from the Netherlands could catapult China to the leading edge of the semiconductor industry. If the U.S. allowed it, that is.
Read the article by Tim De Chant: https://www.thewirechina.com/2021/02/07/the-chip-chokepoint/
Narrated by Kaiser Kuo.
“Why do you ask, are you a spy or something?”
Rattling machine guns and the dying yells of Japanese soldiers blare from a TV behind the newsagent. Framed by the glaring lights of his booth on a busy Beijing street, he eyes me with a joking smile — but the beginnings of a frown — as I casually ask which papers sell well. The state secrets of this kiosk are closely guarded. Only when he’s satisfied that I’m merely curious does he rummage among the popular local morning and evening dailies, flipping out a tabloid sporting the loud red and yellow banner of the Global Times.
Read the article by Alex Colville: https://supchina.com/2020/10/12/hu-xijin-chinas-greatest-internet-troll/
Read by Lucas Niewenhuis.
I can hear the beastly engines revving from hundreds of meters away. Up close, the machines gleam in the autumn sun. Benellis, chrome Harley Davidsons, dark-tinted BMWs, and Shinerays are all lined up for display on the deck of an abandoned freight train platform in Beijing’s 798 Art District.
Read the article by Mads Vesterager Nielsen: https://www.theworldofchinese.com/2021/02/ride-or-die/
Narrated by Anthony Tao.
Fed up with the grind of urban life, young Chinese are starting over in the countryside, where they aim to build a new society without “privilege or hierarchy.”
Read the article by Wang Xuandi: https://www.sixthtone.com/news/1006694/in-chinas-new-age-communes%2C-burned-out-millennials-go-back-to-nature
Narrated by Elyse Ribbons.
China has fleshed out details of mandated “cooling-off” periods for couples seeking divorce, a policy that critics said could leave victims of violent and abusive relationships in greater danger.
Read the article by Matthew Walsh and Tang Ailin: https://www.caixinglobal.com/2020-12-07/cooling-off-periods-for-divorcing-couples-could-put-abuse-victims-in-danger-critics-say-101636689.html
Narrated by Elyse Ribbons.
In China, the Rabbit God — Tu'er Shen — is a relatively obscure deity. But at one point in history, it held special significance, particularly for same-sex couples who looked to it for guidance and true love. Remnants of the Rabbit God can still be found today, if one looks hard enough.
Read the article by David Volodzko: https://supchina.com/2020/10/09/how-fujian-was-once-an-lgbt-mecca/
Narrated by Anthony Tao.
The Canadian prime minister was using his father’s playbook when it came to China. But the game has changed.
Read the article by Christopher Beam: https://www.thewirechina.com/2021/01/31/trudeaus-move/
Narrated by Kaiser Kuo.
Zhou Li (not his real name) was glad he escaped Nepal before the big Christmas Eve police raid.
A couple of days before the Nepali cops detained 122 Chinese nationals Dec. 24 for suspected involvement in financial crimes, Zhou fled to China from an online gaming company where he worked for about two weeks in Katmandu, the Nepali capital.
Read the story by Tang Ailin and Denise Jia: https://www.caixinglobal.com/2020-01-09/in-depth-a-chinese-con-mans-two-weeks-in-nepal-101502387.html
Narrated by Elyse Ribbons.
Yue Fei was a 12th-century Song dynasty general who was betrayed by the minister Qin Hui. Throughout history, his reputation has changed - from symbol of ethnic nationalism to hero of the people - but his status still looms large.
Read the article by James Carter: https://supchina.com/2021/01/27/the-evolving-hero-status-of-the-executed-general-yue-fei/
Narrated by Kaiser Kuo.
When China’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (MARA) released a list of 192 genetically modified (GM) food strains awaiting biosafety certification in December last year, the reaction was predictably hostile.
“Reject GM food!” read a comment on microblog platform Weibo, with nearly 5,000 “likes.” “GMO agriculture in China must be totally prohibited!” read another. And finally, “Ban GM crops from entering China’s territory! We must be healthy! We love our land!”
Read the article by Sam Davies: https://www.theworldofchinese.com/2020/05/unnatural-selection/
Narrated by Kaiser Kuo.
Chinese experts have called on the country to step up control of the production and sale of nitrous oxide, or laughing gas, amid signs that an increasing number of people are recreationally abusing the common industrial and medical substance.
Read the article by Fang Zuwang and Matthew Walsh: https://www.caixinglobal.com/2020-12-21/in-depth-china-needs-to-get-serious-about-the-growing-abuse-of-laughing-gas-experts-say-101641604.html
Narrated by Elyse Ribbons.
Su Min never thought that one day she would feel this free.
She had finally reclaimed the white Volkswagen Polo she’d bought with the money she’d earned working at the supermarket for two years. There was no need to worry about her husband snatching the car keys, nor having to deal with a co-pilot bombarding her with directions as she drove. She could even eat whatever she felt like — in the past, she always had to cater to her husband’s bland palate. Now she was heartily adding chili peppers to the pot until beads of sweat covered her nose.
Read the story by Yin Shenglin: https://www.sixthtone.com/news/1006624/how-a-womans-cant-stand-it-anymore-road-trip-inspired-china
Narrated by Ada Shen.
How DLive, a platform owned by a Chinese cryptocurrency entrepreneur named Justin Sun, became the home for Capitol rioters.
Read the story by Eli Binder and Katrina Northrop: https://www.thewirechina.com/2021/01/24/the-crypto-kid/
Narrated by Kaiser Kuo.
Wearing a crimson jersey featuring No. 25 alongside a Chinese flag, soccer player Nico Yennaris, or Li Ke as he is known in China, sang the national anthem. When he was 20, Yennaris had declared that were he not a professional athlete, he’d be a singer. These days, besides listening to Beyoncé, Drake and Miley Cyrus, he also had a recently downloaded copy of “March of the Volunteers,” the Chinese national anthem, on his phone. Yennaris had been studying it in-between practices, waiting for this exact moment.
Read the article by Lin Zizhen, Dave Yin, and Xiang Siqi: https://www.caixinglobal.com/2019-09-25/in-depth-what-chinas-naturalized-athletes-reveal-about-its-immigration-policy-101466045.html
Narrated by Kaiser Kuo.
It’s been five years since China ended the one-child policy. Yet many couples still prefer not to have a second baby.
Read the article by Wang Lianzhang: https://www.sixthtone.com/news/1006334/china-wants-a-baby-boom.-its-parents-arent-interested.
Narrated by Elyse Ribbons.
Litmus tests for U.S. citizenship based on Communist Party membership are a throwback to the 1950s. They still don't make sense.
Read the article by Tianyu M. Fang: https://supchina.com/2021/01/19/ghosts-of-communists-past/
Narrated by Kaiser Kuo.
