Louisa Lim

Mothers Of Tiananmen Call For Justice, Get Silence In Return

Louisa Lim — Mon, 03 Jun 2013 17:53:00 +0000

Ding Zilin has spent the past 24 years on one mission: seeking justice for the death of her son, 17-year-old Jiang Jielian, who was shot in the back by Chinese soldiers on the night of June 3, 1989.

This year, her mood is one of black despair.

"It's possible that before I leave this world, I won't see justice," the frail 76-year-old told me.

For China's Youth, A Life Of 'Darkness Outside The Night'

Louisa Lim — Wed, 29 May 2013 17:35:00 +0000

Xie Peng, a 36-year-old Chinese graphic novelist, spent six years working on his first book, Darkness Outside the Night. It's been praised by China's first Nobel laureate for literature, Mo Yan, as inspiring people on how to deal with life.

It's a psychological journey into the world of young Chinese: a world of competition, stress and anxiety, but not necessarily one of politics.

Targets Of Disgraced Bo Xilai Still Languish In Jail

Louisa Lim — Mon, 27 May 2013 07:28:00 +0000

It was 5 p.m. on an ordinary Tuesday, and Li Ping was finishing up the company accounts before going to have a facial. She was working for her brother, Li Qiang, who owned one of the biggest private transport companies in Chongqing, a major city in southwestern China.

Suddenly, five plainclothes policemen barged into the room. They asked her name, then put a black hood over her head and drove her to a secret interrogation site. Her ordeal had begun.

"I sat on a chair 24 hours a day," Li Ping remembers. "My hands were cuffed and my feet fettered. I sat there for seven days.

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.

Chasing The Chinese Dream — If You Can Define It

Louisa Lim — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 19:26:00 +0000

Forget about the American dream. Nowadays, the next big thing is the Chinese dream.

Chinese Dreams: Freedom, Democracy And Clean Air

Louisa Lim — 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.

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 19:36:00 +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 12:21:00 +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.