How I Got This Shot: Photog

Government allows memorials for the first time

(NEWSER) - As part of its campaign to attract Western visitors to the 2008 Beijing Olympics, China allowed Tiananmen Square memorials this year for the first time since the protests of June 4, 1989. The government maintains that the uprising was a counterrevolutionary riot and refuses to release details; a security crackdown in the square normally prevents citizens from commemorating the event. More»

Officials worried about 'protest' singer

(NEWSER) - It doesn't take a Chinese weatherman to know which way the wind blows. Government officials are quite clear: "Protester" Bob Dylan, 68, will not be allowed to perform concerts in Beijing and Shanghai, reports the Guardian . The singer, whose biggest protest days are far behind him, is now calling off the rest of his planned tour of east Asia this month that would have included stops in South Korea and Taiwan. China's Ministry of Culture was apparently nervous about Dylan's counterculture status, particularly after feisty singer Björk shouted pro-Tibet slogans at a Shanghai concert 2 years ago. More»

Storms have jumped sixfold in 50 years due to deforestation

(AP) - China's capital woke up to orange-tinted skies today as the strongest sandstorm so far this year hit the country's north, delaying some flights at Beijing's airport and prompting a dust warning for Seoul. The sky glowed and a thin dusting of sand covered Beijing, causing workers to muffle their faces in vast Tiananmen Square. The city's weather bureau gave air quality a rare hazardous ranking. More»

Second stabbing incident in 2 days rattles Beijing

(NEWSER) - A French tourist was attacked and injured by a knife-wielding man near Beijing's Tiananmen Square today, raising tensions as the Chinese capital prepares to mark 60 years of Communist rule, the AP reports. Two security guards were killed and at least a dozen other people were injured in another attack Thursday night, when a knife-wielding man went on the rampage in the same area. More»

(NEWSER) - An annual vigil marking the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre brought a record 150,000 people to a park in Hong Kong, the only place in China to mark the event, reports the BBC. “It is something to remember not only for our generation but for the next generation as well,” said an attendee. In Beijing, both traffic and foreign reporters were barred from the square. More»