Extra! Extra! China’s work in Africa, credit risk and water pollution levels
- A lot of China’s work in Africa has been called everything from “rogue donating” that “hurts ordinary system,” but there are a lot of myths and half-truths that need to be addressed before we can accurately assess what they’re actually doing there. [Aidwatch]
- China apparently has 8,000 or so credit risks, since it holds billions of dollars in off-balance-sheet debt that would vastly undermine its 9% growth rate. [WSJ]
- More than 300 villagers attacked a Guangdong government building on Sunday to protest a project that would’ve diverted some of its water to a neighboring town. [China Daily]
- A new government survey has found that water pollution levels in 2007 were twice the government’s official estimate – mainly because the previous one didn’t include agricultural waste. [Reuters]
- What’s going to happen to artist villages in China? While some, like 798 in Beijing, have managed to get semi-”official” art center status, others are being repeatedly threatened by hungry real estate developers. [Red Box Studio]
- The Times recently reported on the rise of Chinese language studies in American schools, but will Americans actually choose it? Room for Debate debates about it. [New York Times]
- China has shut down a bunch of ice cream makers for using melamine-tainted milk powder. [Business Week]
- While everyone’s been touting the new energy initiatives in China and the U.S. as the “new Sputnik,” one person questions if there actually is an energy race at all. [The New Republic]
