Monologist Mike Daisey has drawn attention to the horrendous labor practices in China that are exploited by Apple and other electronics corporations since he first performed his one-man show, The Agony and the Ecstacy of Steve Jobs, in 2010. Recently, the New York Times has released a series of reports detailing the brutal nature of the Chinese "iEconomy," much of which overlapped with Daisey's show. A Romanesko reader wonders what Daisey thinks of the pieces, and he responded. "I’m absolutely thrilled that the NYT is doing this reporting. It’s what I’ve been hoping for—that journalists would dig in and pull this story out by its roots." more ›

In the wake of some optimistic NY lawmakers' proposed bill to ban food on subways, we thought we'd share the video that's been sparking tensions between Hong Kong residents and mainland Chinese visitors. While it's not as knockdown and drag-out as the infamous NYC subway spaghetti fight, it does get pretty tense—because Hong Kong's subway system, the MTR, prohibits food on its rather immaculate trains—and one Hong Kong rider gets upset at a Chinese girl who spilled some dry noodles on the train floor. The girl's mother says, it's not a big deal... and then all hell breaks loose. more ›

While you're just thinking about where to get Chinese food for the Lunar New Year (Chinatown? Flushing? Sunset Park?), in China, they are taking the upcoming Year of the Dragon very seriously. So seriously that Chinese big spenders have bought all the special edition "Dragon" Rolls-Royce Phantoms which sell for $1.2 million each. more ›

That stuff your squeezed into your Earl Grey or dunked your McNugget in or bought with that French maid costume for "personal reasons" may not actually be honey. FDA regulations require any product labeled "honey" to contain pollen—the naturally occurring ingredient that gives honey nutritional benefits. But a recent study conducted by Food Safety News shows that 76% of honey on the shelves contains no pollen. Why would producers remove all the pollen? Honey laundering. more ›

After Standard & Poor's downgraded the United States' credit rating from AAA to AA+, the single largest foreign holder of American debt spoke up. Yes, that would be China (it has, oh, about $1.1 trillion in U.S. debt) —and China was not happy! The country's official news agency Xinhua issued a statement:

China, the largest creditor of the world’s sole superpower, has every right now to demand the United States to address its structural debt problems and ensure the safety of China’s dollar assets... more ›

If there was any doubt that Apple's neurotic proclivity for secrecy is absolute, the company is suing tiny stores in Queens' Chinatown for trademark infringement. Reuters reports that Apple Story Inc, and Fun Zone "along with an undisclosed number of unnamed businesses and 50 'John Does'" were charged in the complaint. In typical Apple fashion, "documents in the case have been sealed," and the judge in the case allowed pertinent evidence to be seized from the stores that mainly sell iPad and iPhone accessories. No word on whether Apple will change their logo to a clenched, black-gloved fist. more ›

If Connecticut is the land of steady habits, and California is the land of milk and honey, then New York is certainly the land of the (big) apple: apples are our state fruit, apple muffins are our state muffin, and everyone here is really rooting for Fiona Apple to make another record. But according to Crain's, there's an apple conspiracy afoot, and it involves one of Glenn Beck's arch-enemies: China! more ›

Last week, artist Geandy Pavon projected an image of imprisoned Chinese artist Ai Weiwei's face onto the side of the Chinese Consulate building on 12th Avenue. According to Hyperallergic, "The piece is part of Pavon’s Nemesis project," which originally paid tribute to Cuban prisoner Orlando Zapata Tamayo; Pavon said, "The concept of the project is to impose the face of the victim on buildings walls that house government offices … The light on the wall is a symbol of revelation.'" more ›

Over the weekend, artist Ai Weiwei, who has been outspoken about Chinese policies, was arrested by Chinese authorities in Beijing. France and Germany have called for his release, as, the Wall Street Journal reports, "his supporters [worry] that he could be charged with subversion or held indefinitely in extra-judicial custody as dozens of other activists have been over a six-week crackdown on dissent." This comes as Ai has a big public art project, Circle of Animals/Zodiac Heads, scheduled for NYC next month. Still, his NYC organizer tells City Room, "We’re moving ahead in the same way that we started." more ›

Donald Trump keeps talking about his presidential platform—if he actually does run in 2012—and last night, while appearing on CNN, he weaved his current distaste of China and the Chinese at length. Trump proposed a 25% tax on all Chinese products (sorry Wal-Mart shoppers!) and said he wouldn't give the Chinese leader a five-star meal at the White House, "If we don’t work out a deal [at my office], we send him to McDonald’s and send him home." Guess the Chinese are only helpful as investors when Trump has financial problems. more ›

A woman who has claimed China has persecuted her because she removed a government-required intrauterine device is continuing her fight for asylum in the United State. While an immigration judge and immigration appeals panel believed she and her 9-year-old son should be deported, the Daily News reports, "The 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals has ordered the lower courts to take another look and explain why China's policy of forcing women to get the devices doesn't amount to persecution." more ›

From Daily Intel, a quote from fashion designer and icon (and CFDA president) Diane von Furstenberg during a 92nd St. Y talk: "The Chinese people are very individual. I mean, they are not like the Japanese that are obedient. They're very — they're like Jews, really, except that there is a lot more of them. And you know, I mean, try to think of governing a billion and a half Jews." Related: Last January, DVF decided, "My New Year’s resolution was to get known in China." more ›

When the NFL postponed the Eagles-Vikings game due to the blizzard, Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell complained, "We've become a nation of wusses. The Chinese are kicking our butt in everything... If this was in China do you think the Chinese would have called off the game? People would have been marching down to the stadium, they would have walked and they would have been doing calculus on the way down." Now, to explain why Chinese kids seem more successful than others, Yale University law professor and mother of two Amy Chua has written a controversial essay in the Wall Street Journal, "The fact is that Chinese parents can do things that would seem unimaginable—even legally actionable—to Westerners. Chinese mothers can say to their daughters, 'Hey fatty—lose some weight.' By contrast, Western parents have to tiptoe around the issue." more ›

With the Eagles-Vikings game postponed from Sunday to tonight, due to the inclement weather, Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell declared, "We've become a nation of wusses. The Chinese are kicking our butt in everything... If this was in China do you think the Chinese would have called off the game? People would have been marching down to the stadium, they would have walked and they would have been doing calculus on the way down." (He also said, "This is football! Good lord, Vince Lombardi would be spinning in his grave that we canceled the football game for the snow.") more ›

For the first time since 1936, the recipient of the Nobel Peace prize was awarded in absentia. Today in Oslo, there was an empty chair on the stage where Liu Xiaobo, 54, would have been, were he not currently serving an 11-year term on subversion charges from the Chinese government. His wife, Liu Xia, is under house arrest. Human Rights in China, the organization responsible for publishing Liu's writings in English, is based in NYC, and today the Times reported on HRC's director Sharon K. Hom's struggle to make it to the airport in time to fly to Oslo. A traffic jam in the Lincoln Tunnel seemed the perfect metaphor for her work as an activist, and, in a lede fraught with hyperbolic pseudo-poignancy, Times columnist Clyde Haberman determined the experience was "almost enough to make anyone think of herself as the victim of human-rights deprivation." Good thing they didn't take the Holland—that's worse than the Holocaust! more ›

U.S. and South Korean ships have begun joint military exercises in the Yellow Sea, as tensions between North Korea and South Korean—and the rest of the region rise. North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency said that the exercises were "no more than an attempt to find a pretext for aggression and ignite a war at any cost" and added they "are putting the Korean Peninsula at a state of ultra-emergency." This comes after the Tuesday incident where North Korea fired artillery at South Korea's Yeonpyeong Island. more ›

Two days after reports that North Korea showed an enormous, sophisticated new plant used to enrich uranium to an American scientist, the isolated country fired around 100 rounds of artillery (some reports say 200) at the South Korean island of Yeonpyeong in the Yellow Sea, killing two South Korean marines, according to South Korean media. South Korea fired back and its military is in "crisis mode." more ›

In an interview with BlogTalkRadio, Tom Brokaw relayed some advice to college grads: "I wouldn't be looking just within our borders for opportunities. I'd be looking to see what the chances are of getting a job in the Middle East, for example. Or in India. Or in China. I've talked to a number of very senior American executives who -- so much of their work now is offshore -- say one of the things they need are people who are willing to pack up and go there and become middle managers." Wait, is this a plug for a show on Brokaw's former network? more ›