What's happening in China 02.06.09
* Ma Jian, the exiled writer (now living in London) who was described by the Nobel laureate Gao Xingjian as "one of the most important and courageous voices in Chinese literature" has travelled back to Tiananmen Square to assess China today. (Guardian) Â Â
* Chinese and Australian engineers are about to start building the final stretch of railway that will bind Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand with Vietnam, Cambodia and China. The line will arrive in Kunming, in China's south west. (Voice of America)
* Mara Hvistendahl looks at the impact of Tiananmen Square on Chinese universities and asks whether the grant system for professors encourages political obedience. (Chronicle of Higher Education)
* Gome Electrical Appliances, China's largest electronics retailer, has admitted it needs money and is looking for investors. The company's founder, Huang Guangyu, was arrested last year for suspected fraud. (China Daily)Â Â Â
* Two gauges of China's manufacturing activity showed continued expansion in May, mainly due to the government's stimulus package. (WSJ)
* Chinese authorities will ban restaurants serving chickens which have been killed by snake poison, a supposedly detoxing dish in Guangdong and Chongqing.Â Video of chef killing chicken with snake: http:/you.video.sina.com.cn/b/21145091-1405053100.htmlÂ
* A satirical set of instructions to anyone who wants insight into the way official history is told to Chinese. (China Geeks)
* Wu Gaoxing, one of the five Tiananmen Square protestors who recently wrote an open letter calling for compensation has been detained, according to Human Rights in China.
* Local governments have been told off for not understanding the power of the internet to stir up protests. They must try harder to get things under control, says a Xinhua magazine. (SCMP, Paywall)
* Goldman Sachs is selling $2 billion worth of shares in Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, the world's largest lender by market value, the equivalent of a 0.9pc stake. Goldman is not allowed to sell any more until a lockup period expires. (Caijing)
* China's cabinet has lowered the minimum capital required to start residential developments, which signals a shift in real estate policies from stimulating demand to boosting supply and has received mixed responses.(Caijing)
* Ai Weiwei, the outspoken designer of the Bird's Nest stadium whose blog has now been blocked, has opened another. And to prove it is really his blog, he has shown us far more than we might have wanted to see. (Time)
* And finally, a travel report from Moganshan, the bamboo-fringed mountain close to Shanghai which has become a popular escape in summer. (Shanghaiist)
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