Louisa Lim

China's Artist Provocateur Explores New Medium: Heavy Metal

Louisa Lim — Wed, 22 May 2013 17:17:00 +0000

The man ArtReview magazine named the most powerful artist in the world is trying his hand at rock stardom. In 2011, the Chinese artist Ai Weiwei spent 81 days in detention. He was later let go and charged with tax evasion.

Children Of China's Wealthy Learn Expensive Lessons

Louisa Lim — Mon, 20 May 2013 07:05:00 +0000

In China, having too much money is a relatively new problem. But the rapidly growing country is second only to the U.S. in its number of billionaires, according to Forbes magazine. And now an enterprising company has set up a course for kids born into wealthy families, who are learning how to deal with the excesses of extraordinary wealth.

For a moment, it looks like this high-end shopping mall in the southwestern city of Chengdu has been taken over by baby bankers.

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.

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.

Tibetan Customs Include Horse Races ... And Paramilitary Police?

Louisa Lim — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 16:34:00 +0000

In the exiled Tibetan calendar, March 10 is an emotive day, the anniversary of a failed uprising in 1959.

While U.S And South Korea Militaries Drill, 'Bombast Continues' From The North

Louisa Lim — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 12:30:00 +0000

As NPR's Louisa Lim reported Monday on Morning Edition, a week of inflamed rhetoric from North Korea — including talk of a preemptive nuclear strike on the U.S. — is being followed by word that the North has carried through on its threat to annul the 1953 armistice that ended open warfare on the peninsula and has stopped answering calls on the telephone hotline to the South.

Meanwhile, the U.S.

In China, Baby's Brutal Death Raises Questions For Many About Nation's Values

Louisa Lim — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 12:19:00 +0000
A tale of two car thefts has transfixed China, sparking a new bout of soul-searching. It's generated far more attention online than the ongoing legislative session in Beijing, despite leaked orders from the local government restricting official coverage.
In two different countries, two grey SUVs were stolen with babies still inside, while the parents popped into supermarkets.

National People's Congress Opens, Prepares For Leadership Change

Louisa Lim — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 10:18:00 +0000
On the opening day Tuesday, Premier Wen Jiabao delivered his version of the State of the Union address. He's due to step down next week. The annual legislative meeting marks the official transition to power of a new leadership team under Xi Jinping.

'China's Leonard Cohen' Calls Out Political Corruption

Louisa Lim — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 08:20:00 +0000
Zuoxiao Zuzhou is a Chinese singer whose accented, croaky voice is hardly ever in tune. But for his fans he's the voice of a generation — one of the very few voices who dare to speak out.

American Woman Gives Domestic Abuse A Face, And Voice, In China

Louisa Lim — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 19:51:00 +0000
The faces of American Kim Lee and her Chinese husband, Li Yang, both in their 40s, once graced the covers of books that sold in the millions.

'Friends' Will Be There For You At Beijing's Central Perk

Louisa Lim — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 18:49:00 +0000
Almost a decade since the end of the hit American TV series Friends, the show — and, in particular, the fictitious Central Perk cafe, where much of the action took place — is enjoying an afterlife in China's capital, Beijing.

Beijing's Air Quality Reaches Hazardous Levels

Louisa Lim — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 09:33:00 +0000
In China's capital, they're calling it the "airpocalypse," with air pollution that's literally off the charts. The air has been classified as hazardous to human health for a fifth consecutive day, at its worst hitting pollution levels 25 times that considered safe in the U.S. The entire city is blanketed in a thick grey smog that smells of coal and stings the eyes, leading to official warnings to stay inside.
Environmentalists say it's the worst pollution since monitoring began last year, while many others believe the levels are unprecedented in Beijing's history.

How Will China's New Leadership Handle Censorship Issue?

Louisa Lim — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 10:55:00 +0000
In China, one struggle over censorship has been defused — for the moment, at least.
Journalists at one of the country's boldest newspapers have published a new issue after a weeklong standoff that started when censors replaced a New Year's editorial.

Become A Successful Chinese Bureaucrat, In 5 Easy Steps

Louisa Lim — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 08:20:00 +0000
Forget Fifty Shades of Grey. In China, "bureaucracy lit" is flying off bookstore shelves. With the books' stories of Machiavellian office politics, they're read avidly, both as entertainment and as how-to guides for aspiring civil servants.
So what is the secret to success in the corridors of power?
Here is a five-point guide to success, with tips gleaned from the pioneers of bureaucracy lit.
Lesson 1: Cultivate your connections.
A friend of mine is a lower-level civil servant. His boss had a passion for soccer.

China Pledges Reforms To Labor Camps, But Offers Few Details

Louisa Lim — Mon, 07 Jan 2013 21:21:00 +0000
China has indicated that it will stop handing down sentences to its controversial labor camps, which allow detention without trial for up to four years. According to Chinese media, some 160,000 prisoners were held in "re-education centers" at the end of 2008.
Critics of the system greeted the announcement — which was slim on details — with cautious optimism.
Pressure to change the system has been mounting after a number of high-profile cases, including that of Ren Jianyu, who had been a young village official.
He became an outspoken critic of labor camps after spending 15 months in one.

Hunger Still Haunts North Korea, Citizens Say

Louisa Lim — Mon, 10 Dec 2012 19:52:00 +0000
While North Korea has long struggled with dire food shortages, the United Nations now assesses its food situation as being the best in many years. But NPR has had unusual access to five North Koreans in China, who paint a dramatically different, and alarming, picture.
Even as North Korea mourned its leader Kim Jong Il last December, one surprising thing was on people's minds: fish.

A Tumultuous Year, Seen Through North Korean Eyes

Louisa Lim — Mon, 10 Dec 2012 08:20:00 +0000
North Korea is preparing to launch a long-range rocket as it rounds off a tumultuous year marked by the sudden death of leader Kim Jong Il last December, the ascension of his 20-something son, and the humiliating failure of a rocket launch in April.
NPR recently interviewed five North Koreans in a northern Chinese city, gaining a rare glimpse of that eventful year through North Korean eyes.

China's Communists Declare War ... On Boring Meetings

Louisa Lim — Wed, 05 Dec 2012 16:11:00 +0000
Suffer from insomnia? The droning rhythm of a Chinese Communist official reading a work report out loud will likely do the trick.
It certainly does for many party members: Just 10 minutes into any party meeting, look down the serried ranks of the attendees, and you'll spot the dozers and snoozers, napping away, heads lolling lazily toward their neighbors.
But this could be a thing of the past, since the new Communist leadership has declared war on boring meetings.

Will China's First Lady Outshine Her Husband?

Louisa Lim — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 10:13:00 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vFS9zA6mcs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gyymxqps8KY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9pHWXGRxDE

Recording The Untold Stories Of China's Great Famine

Louisa Lim — Sun, 11 Nov 2012 10:44:00 +0000
Second of a two-part series. Find the first part here.
A young man trudges doggedly around his village, notebook in hand, fringe flopping over his glasses. He goes from door to door, calling on the elderly.
The young man has one main question: Who died in our village during the Great Famine?
This is the Folk Memory Project, which has sent 108 young interviewers out to 130 rural villages to gather oral histories.

A Grim Chronicle Of China's Great Famine

Louisa Lim — Sat, 10 Nov 2012 10:26:00 +0000
First of two parts
It's not often that a book comes out that rewrites a country's history. But that's the case with Tombstone, which was written by a retired Chinese reporter who spent 10 years secretly collecting official evidence about the country's devastating great famine. The famine, which began in the late 1950s, resulted in the deaths of millions of Chinese.
For Yang Jisheng, now 72, the famine hit home while he was away.

For China's Rising Leader, A Cave Was Once Home

Louisa Lim — Fri, 09 Nov 2012 08:16:00 +0000
Far from the political theater of China's Communist Party Congress in Beijing this week is a cave that the country's next leader once called home.
Just 15 at the time, Xi Jinping was sent by his family in Beijing to the remote rural village Liangjiahe in the hills of Shaanxi Province, hundreds of miles away, where for seven years he lived in a cave scooped out of the yellow loess hillsides.
He arrived there in 1968, after his father, a revolutionary fighter and former vice premier, had fallen from political favor.
"Many kids were leaving Beijing and being seen off by their parents," says

Highly Scripted, China Moves Toward New Leaders

Louisa Lim — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 18:32:00 +0000
Two days after the U.S. election, another major political development is unfolding on the other side of the world. China began its once-in-a-decade transition of power on Thursday with the opening of its 18th Communist Party Congress.
With its lack of personalities or political platforms, it is almost diametrically opposed to the hurly-burly of U.S. elections. In Beijing, the message was about fighting corruption and keeping the Communist Party in power.
The Communist Party's Congress is a highly choreographed political ritual that plays out in the Great Hall of the People.

China Greets Obama's Re-Election With Muted Relief

Louisa Lim — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 12:47:00 +0000
Transcript
STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
In China, President Obama's re-election has been greeted with muted relief, as NPR's Louisa Lim reports from Beijing.
LOUISA LIM, BYLINE: As the vote closed in the U.S., ballots were still being cast in Beijing at a mock voting booth at the U.S. embassy's election party. For Chinese students like Lily Zhang and Zhang Weiwen, the novelty of voting was a heady experience.
LILY ZHANG: It was great. The first time I vote for the American president.

China's Assertive Behavior Makes Neighbors Wary

Louisa Lim — Fri, 02 Nov 2012 15:09:00 +0000
As China's global stature grows, Beijing appears to be flexing its muscles more frequently on the international stage. As part of NPR's series on China this week, correspondents Louisa Lim and Frank Langfitt are looking at this evolving foreign policy.