A Third of Fish Species in Yellow River Extinct

"There used to be more than 150 species of fish living in the Yellow River, but one-third have disappeared for good," an unnamed Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) official told China's People's Daily newspaper.

The MOA official also reported that the Yellow River's fish catch has declined by about 40 percent and emphasized a human role—such as disruptive dams and pollution—in the environmental catastrophe.

The Chinese government estimates that 66 percent of the Yellow River's water is so polluted that it is undrinkable.

The Yellow River is China's second longest after the Yangtze, flowing for nearly 3,400 miles (5,500 kilometers) from the arid Qinghai-Tibet plateau to the Bo Hai inlet of the Yellow Sea.

Along the way the river brings water to more than 155 million Chinese. (National Geographic)

In 1997 the cutoff days of the Yellow River reached 226 days within one year, the highest record in history. Farmers in Henan, Central China, even started to grow beans in the dried riverbed. 1999 was seen as the turning point when the Chinese central government started to centralize the Yellow River water volume regulation, since which point the Yellow River has had 7 consecutive years without cutoff.

Good news then you might say. However the Yellow River has already become a river with the highest sand content in the world. Pollution of the river is deteriorating and fish species keep disappearing. In front of us are short term economic goals, corruption in local governments, investors' interest in hydropower projects, high water demand in a country where water is as important as oil, and the Mother River exhausted by the civilization she cultivated for thousands of years. Is it a dilemma or actually a revenge?

A race against our mistakes, past and some current decisions and actions. Are we fast enough?

Long-term persistence of antibody found in recovered SARS patients

Chinese researchers have found that a robust antibody against the SARS corona virus remained in the bodies of recovered SARS patients for more than three years. (Xinhua)

Starbucks forbidden in "Forbidden" City?

The Palace Museum made its first response to the public on Tuesday about the Starbucks outlet at the venue. It said a decision about whether the Starbucks outlet will be removed from the attraction will be made no later than June. Negotiations are now in progress, Beijing Morning Post reports.

Early this week, a blog by China Central Television(CCTV) host Rui Chenggang aroused a wide-ranging dispute six years after Starbucks first opened an outlet in the Forbidden City. In his article, Rui Chenggang stated the Starbucks at Forbidden City is a joke among western tycoons. He urges the Starbucks chairman and CEO to get the cafe out of the Forbidden City.

However, Starbucks CEO Jim Donald replied to Rui Chenggang, saying the company has always cooperated to respect and preserve Chinese cultural heritage while doing business there. In fact, it was the Chinese side that invited the chain to open a shop in the Forbidden City initially.

Palace Museum spokesman Feng Naien emphasized that allowing Starbucks to do business in the Forbidden City is not for profit, but meet consumer demands.

Starbucks is not the only American business facing a dilemma in the Chinese market. During the Chinese Political Consultative Conference in 2000, Beijing CPPCC member Ma Yutian said foreign fast-food restaurants run counter to the imperial garden style. Three years later, in 2003, Kentucky Fried Chicken ceased its 10-year business in the imperial Beihai Park. (CRI)

"Consumer demands"... I know some tourists loved to have Starbucks or at least a beer stand in Forbidden City...

Beijing to improve sex education in primary, middle schools

Beijing educational authorities are drafting sex education guidelines for primary and middle schools to cope with increasing sexual behavior among teenagers, Thursday's Beijing Morning Post said.

The guidelines will help fill the vacuum of sex education for young people, which used to be a taboo in Chinese society.

Chinese youth have become increasingly open toward sex.

In a recent survey, 6.2 percent of the 2,000 students interviewed admitted they had had their first sexual experience before the age of 16. Over half the interviewees said a one-night stand was "understandable". (Xinhua)

Kids these days...

To commemorate the Year of the Pig, China releases postage stamp that tastes like sweet and sour pork when licked.

Stamps released in China to celebrate the Year of the Pig taste of sweet and sour pork.

When you scratch the front of the stamps, they smell of the popular Chinese dish. When the back of a stamp is licked, it tastes of the dish too. （IOL)

No news or reports about this stamp on Chinese media yet, so probably we need more evidence to verify that. Anyone in China going to try it? Yum? Let us know. :P