raps on the knuckles

A time for chastening: The US asks Taiwan to lift restrictions on trade with the mainland, and the owner of the Mao painting [previously mentioned here] calls off the auction after being criticized by Internet users [fashionably called "netizens" in these parts]. Also chastened is real estate tycoon Zhou Zhengyi, who completes a three-year-sentence for fraud and stock manipulation.

But how about those who just won't learn? So the Pentagon describes China as a "credible threat," as Beijing moves to build a high-tech army. And yet the US is hiring a Chinese company to detect nuclear materials [Dubai Ports World, anybody?], with the lawmakers choosing to concentrate on the appointment of the new trade chief instead.

Back on the mainland, China's central bank blames rising salaries on a shortage of workers, while on the other hand, college enrolment slows so as not to add to the workforce. Huh?

And although the Dalai Lama is slammed for his autonomy demand, his light still burns bright. Which cannot be said, however, for Archbishop Anthony Li Duan.

Incredibly enough, China is said to be winning the war on piracy. But the war on gang crime is harder.

In media news, Tuanjie, China's non-Party newspaper celebrates 50 years.

Finally: the China Daily has pictures from the 2006 China International Advertising Model Contest in Chongqing.