Louisa Lim

After The Quake In China: A Survivor's Story

Louisa Lim — Thu, 16 May 2013 23:29:20 +0000

Zhang Ming lost her 5-year-old daughter, her parents and her home in the powerful earthquake that hit Sichuan province five years ago. She now operates a stall selling soft drinks, homemade tofu, popsicles and souvenirs. She and her husband had another child, a daughter who is now 4.

Five Years After A Quake, Chinese Cite Shoddy Reconstruction

Louisa Lim — Mon, 13 May 2013 19:05:00 +0000
Five years after the massive Wenchuan quake in China's Sichuan province left about 90,000 dead and missing, allegations are surfacing that corruption and official wrongdoing have plagued the five-year-long quake reconstruction effort.
The official press is full of praise for how "all Chinese have a reason to be proud of what the concerted efforts of the entire nation achieved in creating a new life for the survivors."
But an NPR investigation shows that behind the impressive facade the old problems still

To Silence Discontent, Chinese Officials Alter Calendar

Louisa Lim — Sat, 04 May 2013 20:05:00 +0000
How do you prevent protests in China? Move the weekend.
That's the Orwellian step taken by local authorities in the southwestern city of Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province. May 4 is a sensitive date commemorating an influential student movement in 1919.

Chinese Dreams: Freedom, Democracy And Clean Air

Louisa Lim and Angie Quan — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 19:13:00 +0000
"What is your Chinese dream?"
With Chinese leaders and the state-run media now talking about the notion of the Chinese dream, we posed this question on our NPR Weibo account. In China, Weibo is the equivalent of Twitter.

Chasing The Chinese Dream — If You Can Define It

Louisa Lim — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 18:47:00 +0000
Forget about the American dream. Nowadays, the next big thing is the Chinese dream.

For Chinese Women, Marriage Depends On Right 'Bride Price'

Louisa Lim — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 07:42:00 +0000
Women hold up half the sky, China's Chairman Mao famously said. But in China, the one-child policy and the traditional preference for boys mean that 117 boys are born for every 100 baby girls. By one estimate, this means there could be 24 million Chinese men unable to find wives by the end of the decade.
As China's economy booms, the marriage market has become just that: a market, with new demands by women for apartments and cars.
But are women really benefiting from their scarcity?
Let's Make A Deal
It's Derek Wei's big day: his wedding day.

China's New Urban Legend That Turned Out Not To Be

Louisa Lim — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 17:23:17 +0000
In China, countless television soap operas have been based on the adventures of Emperor Kangxi, a Qing ruler in the 17th century who, according to legend, would slip off his yellow dragon-embroidered silk robes to travel incognito among his people.
For several hours Thursday, a story went viral on the Chinese Internet that the new Communist equivalent of the emperor, President Xi Jinping, had pulled the same trick.
At first it seemed that Ta Kung Pao, a Hong Kong daily, had a big scoop, with its tale of how taxi driver Guo Lixin had picked up Xi and ferried him to the reaching new heights, but visitors to the reclusive country say there are few signs the capital is anywhere near a war footing.
International TV broadcasters have been repeatedly showing tanks trundling through Pyongyang's Kim Il Sung Square in a demonstration of North Korean national power.
But when Patrick Thornquist, a Chicago teacher visiting the North Korean capital at the end of last week,

North Korea's Stepped-Up Rhetoric: Is It More Than Talk?

Louisa Lim — Sat, 30 Mar 2013 10:11:00 +0000
North Korea has cut its last military hotlines with South Korea and yet again stepped up its rhetoric, rattling nerves in the region.
Thousands of North Koreans rallied in central Pyongyang, chanting "Death to the U.S. imperialists." Their leader, Kim Jong Un, has been calling for "scores to be settled" with the U.S.
This is just the latest phase in a propaganda war. Pyongyang also released a video showing an invasion of Seoul. In the video, North Korean forces fly across the border to destroy American bases in South Korea.

From Police Chief To Political Office, Jobs Are For Sale In China

Louisa Lim — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 19:23:00 +0000
China's new president, Xi Jinping, who was formally elected Thursday, is already engaged in his own anti-corruption campaign, threatening to go after the key players — the tigers as well as the flies.
Confronting the issue is a matter of political self-interest and survival for China's new leaders. The problem is how to root out corrupt officials when so many are quite literally invested in the system.
Consider the case of Huang Yubiao, a Chinese real estate millionaire with a charitable streak.