society

www.thehypermodern.com — Nearly everyday when I take the subway I hear the same refrain, "'Respect the old and cherish the young' is a traditional Chinese virtue." So how does one make sense of the news that a two-year-old child was run over twice and passed by no less than 17 people before she was helped?

www.msnbc.msn.com — Xi'an/China: The leaf-strewn median on Eternal Peace Road hides a grim secret: Numerous tiny fetuses lie in unmarked graves dug by women from the abortion clinic across the street. The staff at the small clinic in the heart of this ancient city don't bury most of the fetuses — only those that have reached three or four months, when they clearly resemble miniature babies.

www.economist.com — Other Chinese societies have done. But, unlike the People’s Republic, they did not have the Communist Party to hold them back. “MEN make their own history,” said Karl Marx, “but they do not make it just as they please.” Rather, he continued, they make it in circumstances handed down to them from the past.

uselesstree.typepad.com — Billionaires Bill Gates and Warren Buffet are encouraging wealthy Chinese businessmen to take up philothropic giving. The WaPo picks up the story and speculates on why there has not been much in the way of charitable donation in China. Invariably, Confucianism is invoked:

www.cityweekend.com.cn — What is Second Chance Animal Aid? The first international standard animal welfare organization in Shanghai.