From Red Mansion to a prison cell

Lai Changxing rose from obscurity to run an illegal empire built on smuggling, before fleeing to Canada, from where he fought for 12 years to avoid justice

Calls for political reform renewed

Political change should focus on people’s rights and limiting power of officials, says People’s Daily a second time since Bo Xilai was swept from power

Passport ban ends on Yunnan women

Young women in three counties in Yunnan will be able to apply for passports like other mainlanders from today after the lifting of restrictions imposed seven years ago due to concerns that many were becoming prostitutes in nearby countries.

Beijing in drive on illegal foreigners

Beijing has launched a 100-day crackdown targeting foreigners who have entered the country illegally, stayed longer than allowed or who are working in the capital illegally.

Chinese wines beat French in tasting, but it's not best vs best

Chinese wines took the top four places in a China vs Bordeaux blind tasting competition on Wednesday, but it wasn't exactly a thrashing of the world's most elite wines by Chinese upstarts.

Chinese wine makers looking to win back local taste buds

While China’s wine lovers continue their obsession with French vintages, a number of local labels are determined to lead the charge to convince them that Chinese winemakers can compete with the very best there is.

In Rise and Fall of China’s Bo Xilai, an Arc of Ruthlessness

“News 1+1” is a sort of Chinese “60 Minutes,” a newsmagazine on state-run China Central Television that explores — as much as the censors permit — the more contentious corners of Chinese society. In December 2009, the program took aim at a much-publicized anticorruption campaign in the metropolis of Chongqing, a crusade that had grabbed national attention for its sweep, but raised deep concerns about its brutality and disregard for the law.

Parents pay the price in grey area of school entry

Despite nine years of free education, Shanghai people pay dear for flats in top schools’ catchment areas

Myanmar villagers want share of energy bonanza

For decades, the islanders of Shweri Chai, a speck of land in the Bay of Bengal, have extracted oil using makeshift pulleys to draw the reddish liquid from the ground.

Wenzhou’s grey loan market in downturn

Private lending sinks 30pc from last summer’s highs, government survey finds, amid concerns about risks and overall drop in business activity

Wealthy Americans get the cold shoulder

The looming Fatca tax evasion law sends global financial institutions running for cover with its ‘draconian’ range of rules and penalties