Mainland home prices fall for ninth straight month

Mainland home prices fell for the ninth straight month as property curbs continued to bite, with major cities posting the biggest falls, a property survey shows.

China developer slashes prices by a quarter

Guangdong-based Agile Holdings offers huge discount on price of flats at 10 of its projects as government refuses to ease curbs to stop market overheating

Row over ‘accept graft’ editorial

China Youth Daily and internet users express outrage over state-run Global Times piece saying corruption is a disease that can never be cured

Banker’s arrest may cause aftershocks in real estate

Property businesses that received loans from ABC executive at risk of being caught up in his graft case

China Arrests Official on Suspicion of Spying for the US

Chinese state security official has been arrested on suspicion of spying for the United States, sources said, a case both countries have kept quiet for several months as they strive to prevent a fresh crisis in relations.

Media coverage of 2011 presidential elections was biased: Tan Cheng Bock

The former presidential candidate Dr Tan Cheng Bock believes the media coverage of last year’s Presidential Elections was “biased towards the government-backed candidate”.

SMS traffic sliding :-(

Users switching to better-value smartphone apps for messaging

Women warming to white wines in China

Fruity reds are the kings of the Chinese wine market, but experts at Asia’s biggest wine fair say women are leading a trend toward whites that will open new revenue streams for producers worldwide.

Shiraz with your Peking Duck? Sacre bleu!

China's rapid emergence as a major international wine market has sparked intense debate among growers about how best to pair their wines with the country's rich array of culinary delights.

Zhang Ziyi demands apology on Bo claims

Mainland actress Zhang Ziyi is demanding an apology from a Hong Kong newspaper over publication of claims that she had a paid relationship with disgraced former Chongqing party chief Bo Xilai.

Lawlessness threatens China, Chen says

Blind activist Chen Guangcheng has accused the government in Beijing of failing to uphold its own laws, saying its abusive treatment of dissidents threatens the country’s political stability.

Top official in dissident’s province sacked

The eastern province of Shandong where blind activist Chen Guangcheng was under house arrest before he fled has sacked the top official in charge of the courts, prosecution and police, state press said on Wednesday.

Chen Xitong praises reformists

Deemed a hardliner, the former Beijing party boss surprises with views on nation’s leaders of the 1980s and ‘90s - describing Jiang Zemin as ‘power crazy’

Chen and Yao’s plan to ‘set the record straight’

Scholar admits courting trouble with decision to publish tell-all book about the events at Tiananmen

Sina imposes code of conduct on weibo users

Users cannot post messages violating principles of the constitution; a points system will penalise offenders

Mainland logs in to world wine web

Online shoppers will now be able to buy brands from the world's top wine producers as the e-service operator Yihaodian widens its retail offer

Classically framed

Fed up with the education system, some mainland parents are sending their children to traditional schools, where the sole subject is the Confucian canon

Zhang Ziyi in paid sex scandal with Bo Xilai

Actress Zhang Ziyi is allegedly under investigation by the Chinese government for being paid to have sex with disgraced former top government official, Bo Xilai.

Jiang behind my downfall, Chen suggests

Former Beijing party leader hints that he was undone by rumours and is the victim of the biggest injustice since the Cultural Revolution

Young Men in China Struggling to Catch Up in Class

Educators say that the academic rift between boys and girls in China is apparent, and statistics indicate that it is quickly growing wider.

A storm over a herbal tea can in China

Firms’ fight over name rights reflects growing recognition of brand value

China detains ex-top official for rape

Accused of sexually assaulting over 10 underage girls he seduced online

Rules will limit work when it’s too hot

Proposed regulations call for all outdoor work to stop if temperature tops 40 degrees Celsius, and employers can be prosecuted if they don’t toe the line

Deaths confirmed of 11 missing in Yunnan

The Central government says it plans to severely penalise local officials whose professional negligence left a 56-year-old suspect at large for several years

Wine expo looks north, where palates gain polish

Anderson says it is difficult to talk about the wine trade in China as a whole, because it is made up of so many different markets, with big differences between the leading and secondary cities. But the days of mainlanders mixing Coke or Sprite with wine are over.

U.S. backs down in visas row

State Department revises directive that led to warning some Chinese teachers working for the Confucius Institute would have to leave America next month

‘Tasting splendour’ ended in tragedy

“There is just one life. Taste all the splendour the world has to offer.”

Those are the words that Ma Chi chose to greet people with on his instant-messaging service.