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Politics & Society

China won't confirm new Hainan nuclear sub base

China would not confirm or deny the existence of a new underground nuclear submarine base off the southern island of Hainan, Reuters reported. Analysts from Jane’s Information Group said a satellite photograph showed the facility’s existence, and that such a base would be key to future plans of the People’s Liberation Army Navy. "China is […]

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Politics & Society

Beijing admits visa policies have changed

Beijing has officially acknowledged that it has tightened visa procedures ahead of the Olympic Games, AP reported. Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said that the approval process has become "more strict" and authorities were now "more serious" with the visa approval procedures, adding that the stricter policies would continue for "a period of time." Qin […]

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Politics & Society

Hu arrives in Japan for historic visit

President Hu Jintao will arrive in Tokyo today for an official visit, marking the first visit by a Chinese head of state to Japan in 10 years, AFP reported. Ahead of the five-day trip, Hu said he hoped the visit would lead to a "warm spring" with Japan, China’s top commercial partner. The visit is […]

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Politics & Society

China struggles to handle Olympic ticket load

Heavy demand for Olympic tickets caused website problems and hours-long waits at Bank of China (BOC) branches as the third round of domestic ticket sales began on Monday, the Wall Street Journal reported. As the 1.38 million tickets became available for purchase at 9am, both BOC workers and online buyers reported error messages and delays […]

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Politics & Society This Week in China

Waiting for BOCOG

As my colleague Tom Pellman noted yesterday, lining up for Olympics tickets can be quite a pain. Today, I experienced it for myself. A couple of friends had spent most yesterday morning and afternoon industriously refreshing the Olympics ticketing site. Their efforts paid off – we scored nine seats for men’s football quarterfinals at Shanghai […]