Google ‘may end China operations’

Internet giant Google has said it may end its operations in China following a “sophisticated and targeted” cyber attack originating from the country. In Beijing, the news prompted some to leave flowers outside of Google’s offices. We’ll check in with our correspondent in Beijing, and our reporter in San Francisco. (Photo by youthfilm)

• More coverage from the BBC
• Google’s official statement
• Have Your Say: Should Google pull out of China?

Spelling Obama in Chinese, oratory, and chop suey love

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Twitter freedom, a zeitgeisty Chinese word, and Lakota immersion

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China’s lost art

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• BBC coverage

Thames missing

A map of the Tube comes in handy for today’s Geo Quiz. The map of London’s subway, known as The Tube or the Underground, is a classic. The visual design was inspired by electric circuit diagrams. The map helps riders navigate the system’s 270 subway stations…

Just “hanging out” at IKEA in Beijing

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The Swedish home furnishing giant IKEA opened its Beijing store in 1999. A decade later, the store sees plenty of traffic. Thousands of Beijing residents come through the doors every day. It’s just that they’re not actually buying much of anything. Los Angeles Times Beijing Correspondent David Pierson tells us why IKEA is the hang-out of choice for many a Beijinger. Photo by David Pierson. >>> See more of David’s photos.

Entire program – August 27, 2009

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Today on The World: Why the Pentagon is asking a PR firm to rate the work of reporters embedded with US military forces; we hear about the violence and chaos that have made Somalia the prime example of a failed state. Plus, why IKEA customers in China spend so much time in the store — but seldom buy anything.

Lounging at IKEA in China

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Visitors to the IKEA store in Beijing, China treat the experience more like a vacation than a shopping trip. They dress up, have a meal, and spend the day relaxing. Anchor Katy Clark finds out why IKEA fans in China see the superstore as a getaway from LA Times reporter David Pierson.

(Photo by David Pierson) >>> See more of David’s photos.

So, have you ever gone to Ikea just to hang out? What did you do? >>>Leave your comment here

A life in China

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Diane Wei Liang has lived a life framed by events in China’s recent history. She was born in 1966 at the start of the Cultural Revolution. And as a student at Beijing University, she took part in the protests in Tiananmen Square in 1989. She’s written a memoir about her experiences. It’s called “Lake with No Name: A true story of Love and Conflict in Modern China,” and it’s just come out in paperback. Anchor Katy Clark heard from Liang that the suffering of her parents’ generation in the Cultural Revolution had a powerful effect on her generation.

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Love and conflict in modern China

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Anchor Katy Clark speaks with author Diane Wei Liang about her memoir, “Lake with No Name: A true story of Love and Conflict in Modern China.” The author grew up during the Cultural Revolution and was later a part of China’s student pro-democracy movement.

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China’s reaction to Jackson’s death

Anchor Marco Werman speaks with The World’s Mary Kay Magistad in Beijing on reaction there to the death of Michael Jackson. Jackson released his multi-platinum album Thriller just as China was opening its doors to the outside world in the early 1980’s.
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New leadership for North Korea

The son of North Korea’s ailing leader Kim Jong Il was rumored to have visited China’s president last week in Beijing. That’s fueling suspicions that Kim’s third son has been anointed to be North Korea’s next leader. The World’s Mary Kay Magistad has more. Listen

A legal dispute over remembering Tiananmen

Twenty years ago today, Chinese troops cleared Tiananmen Square. Hundreds, possibly thousands of people were killed in and around the square. Chinese students had been calling for democracy and free speech. The World’s Mary Kay Magistad reports from Beijing on an ongoing legal dispute over a documentary about the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown called “The Gate of Heavenly Peace”. The case pits the filmmakers against one of the student demonstrators. Listen

Show Ender: Tiananmen voices

The BBC’s Chinese Service asked people to share some of their thoughts and recollections about China’s Tiananmen crackdown 20 years ago today. Anchor Lisa Mullins introduces us to two of them. Listen