Society

Just like Shanghai people enjoy being referred as Shanghainese, people in Beijing call themselves Beijingers.

But don't be so naive to think that because you have worked or lived in Beijing for several years, you are entitled to call yourself a Beijinger. The title of Beijinger belongs to those people who have Beijing registered residence permit, or hukou.

Registered residence permit represents a lot of things other than residency. Unless you are born with one, you have to work really hard in order to get one in Beijing.

Several days ago, I interviewed some black taxi drivers, those who don't work for any taxi companies and don't have permits to drive a taxi. Since these taxis are illegal and are relatively cheaper than official taxis, they are often accused of "stealing" customers.

However, asked about whether they would prefer to drive a legal taxi, most of the black taxi drivers said: "We can't. Only those with Beijing hukou get the right to work for taxi companies."

What's more, hukou is becoming a new criterion to testify if you have a relatively successful life in Beijing.

Two months ago when I proudly announced to my family and friends that I had been offered the perfect job in Beijing, the only question they asked me was "Does your employer offer you a Beijing hukou?"

After being told no, their disappointed faces made me believe that the job was not so perfect.

When it comes to relationships, Beijing hukou is definitely something you can brag about in front of your date. A man refused one of my best friends, a fantastic girl with a great job, over hukou. The man said: "Sorry, I only date those with Beijing hukou."

It's not because he is a Beijinger or dislikes anyone from outside of Beijing. He hoped to get a Beijing hukou by marrying a Beijinger. However, he has a long way to go before becoming an official Beijinger - he needs to stay married for at least 10 years before he gets hukou.
 

China has closed one of the country's largest file-sharing sites in what it says is a fight against copyright infringement, but could be seen as another measure aimed at controlling what content the country's Web users can find online.

The file-sharing site BTCHINA — a major source of overseas movies, television shows and games in the country — has been closed since Friday, and another site, VeryCD.com, was down Wednesday. A report in the Southern Metropolis Daily said other file sharing sites would be closed in the coming days.

The State Administration of Radio, Film and Television said BTCHINA did not have a license to distribute audio and video content. "SARFT has deleted our site's registration and shut down our site," a notice on the BTCHINA site said.

There have already been around 400 tons of leaves that have fallen alongside the streets of Shijingshan District this winter. Instead of being mixed with domestic waste and buried on landfill sites like in the past, the leaves have been used to feed oxen and sheep at a livestock farm whose owner came to sanitation stations and asked for the leaves. This not only helps the livestock pass the winter, but it also saves the sanitation stations from covering the costs of clearing, transporting and burying the leaves. Reporters learned that the Shijingshan District Santitation Center has used this method to process the fallen leaves for the second consecutive year. 

Reporters learned that the leaves lying along the streets of Shijingshan District mainly fell from Populus lasiocarpa, Populus simonii, Chinese toon and pagoda trees. "The leaves we collected were buried at landfill sites in Mentougou District in the past, so we not only covered the high costs of clearing and transporting leaves, but also paid landfill sites fees. There was inevitably some air pollution such as dust that was kicked up during the transportation process," said Gao Fei, an official from the Shijingshan District Sanitation Center.

Many foreign policy analysts in America and around the world perceive a growing alliance between Russia and China to counter U.S. influence. By looking at the diplomatic statements of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and the increasing amount of trade and joint military exercises between Russia and China, it is easy for an American to come to this conclusion. But this simplistic analysis overlooks the sentiments of many Russian academics and ordinary citizens who fear the superpower rising on Russia's doorstep.

The photo : "Chinese soldiers help Russian lady" was described as threat in Russia Blog