Hao Hao ReportThe best China news and blog posts

According to Census 2001 data, here, unemployment rates among labour force participants of Chinese origin similar to those for the general population. In 2001, 8.4% of Chinese labour force participants were unemployed, compared with 7.4% of those in the overall population.

Danwei gives a rundown of the Net response to the 'slave labour' case that has been the storm in Chinese news this week. For anyone just tuning in, brick kilns in Shanxi province were found to be using slave labour (including abducted children) to make their stackable product.

This Danwei article also contains the original note from the father's of the children that was sent to the central government and sparked the investigation in the first place.

Life is tough for most Chinese, it's no secret. Instead of taking responsibility for their brand and helping alleviate the massive wage gap and raise the sad minimum wage, why are Western chains, who should know better, doing their best to exploit the pool of cheap labour?

Isn't it great to be the world's supplier of manufactured goods, importing the world's jobs, and having them all pay for your products? Yes, sure, but not at all costs. China bears some of them, too - and it's not only about poor labour standards in some sectors.

This New York Times report shows how the demographics in China's most prosperous and populous city are quickly changing ... leaving a lot of retirees and not enough people to fill the gap in the cheap-labour workplace that's been the city's, and the country's, rise to glory.

Violinist Alec Hou was concertmaster for the Shanghai Conservatory when Mao's Cultural Revolution ended his classical musical career. Imprisoned and forced into labour camps, he fled to Canada. Now, more than 25 years later, he's returning to Shanghai, to face the demons of his past in China, but also to perform the music he loves.

China is holding elections for people's representatives at the county and township levels. The difference this time is that the usual practice of the communist government recommending candidates has been challenged, and some independent candidates and human rights activists are actively running for elections. However, analysts say these independent candidates, instead of receiving election funds, have been suppressed.

ESWN has the translation of a Chinese blog report on the 'most awesome scavengers in history'. In the Guangdong city of Foshan, migrant workers are suspected of being hired by a development company to assist in 'relocation' of the residents that don't wish to move.

Though a pretty big claim, when a group of migrant workers can bring an apartment to its bare shell in under 30 minutes, all while the resident is watching hopelessly, the title of 'most awesome scavengers' might be quite fitting.

The China's Computer Market 2008 Forecast Report has been released recently. It showed that in the first three quarters of 2007, the software industry in China has registered sales revenue of $50 billion, up 23.6% on pcp, accounting for 10.95% of the entire electronics and information industry' sales revenue. As the software market matures, people have higher and higher expectations over software features, quality and reliability. In October 2005, Ministry of Labour and Social Security formally listed computer software product tester (software test engineer) as one of the new professions.