DONGYANG, China - Officials in China have listed a local food delicacy of eggs soaked in boys' urine as part of the region's intangible cultural heritage.

Every spring, street vendors in the city of Dongyang sell 'virgin boy eggs' as a unique snack.

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Basins and buckets of boys' urine are collected from primary school toilets. Eggs are then soaked and cooked in the urine.

There is no good explanation for why it has to be boys' urine, just that it has been so for centuries.

The scent of these eggs being cooked in pots of urine is unmistakable as people pass the many street vendors in Dongyang who sell it, claiming it has remarkable health properties.

"If you eat this, you will not get heat stroke. These eggs cooked in urine are fragrant," said Ge Yaohua, 51, who owns one of the more popular "virgin boy eggs" stalls.

"They are good for your health. Our family has them for every meal. In Dongyang, every family likes eating them."

It takes nearly an entire day to make these unique eggs, starting off by soaking and then boiling raw eggs in a pot of urine. After that, the shells of the hard-boiled eggs are cracked and they continue to simmer in urine for hours.

Vendors have to keep pouring urine into the pot and controlling the fire to keep the eggs from being overheated and overcooked.

Ge said he has been making the snack, popular due to its fresh and salty taste, for more than 20 years. Each egg goes for 1.50 yuan ($0.24), a little more than twice the price of the regular eggs he also sells.

Many Dongyang residents, young and old, said they believed in the tradition passed on by their ancestors that the eggs decrease body heat, promote better blood circulation and just generally reinvigorate the body.

"By eating these eggs, we will not have any pain in our waists, legs and joints. Also, you will have more energy when you work," said Li Yangzhen, 59, who bought 20 eggs from Ge.

The eggs are not bought only at street stalls. Local residents are also known to personally collect boys' urine from nearby schools to cook the delicacy in their homes.

The popularity of the treat has led the local government to list the "virgin boy eggs" as an intangible cultural heritage.

But not everyone is a fan. Chinese medical experts gave mixed reviews about the health benefits of the practice, with some warning about sanitary issues surrounding the use of urine to cook the eggs.

Some Dongyang residents also said they hated the eggs.

"We have this tradition in Dongyang that these eggs are good for our health and that it would help prevent things like getting a cold," said Wang Junxing, 38. "I don't believe in all this, so I do not eat them."

 

It's illegal for Tibetans to protest, and yet demonstrations against Chinese rule have taken place almost daily for the past two months.

Several monks have set themselves alight, illustrating the desperation of Tibetans resisting Chinese rule.

The spate of self-immolations in the Tibetan-dominated areas of China that have occurred over the past year is "extreme" and hurts social harmony, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said recently.

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Wen's comments, at a news conference at the end of the annual meeting of parliament, come after around 26 Tibetans have set themselves on fire, mostly in southwestern China, to protest against Chinese rule in Tibet. At least 19 have died, according to Tibetan rights groups.

Activists say China violently stamps out religious freedom and culture in Tibet, which has been under Chinese control since 1950.

China rejects criticism that it is eroding Tibetan culture and faith, saying its rule has ended serfdom and brought development to a backward region.

The brother of a monk who self-immolated spoke from exile, saying he was "shocked" when he heard the news, but understands the monk's sacrifice. "I feel really, really proud of him and I respect his sacrifice a lot," he said.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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BEIJING – Asian-Americans continue to be the fastest growing ethnic population in the U.S., according to U.S. Census Bureau statistics released on Wednesday.

The data, which come weeks ahead of Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month in May, also demonstrates how integral a part of the American fabric Asians have been. As many as 1.5 million businesses in the U.S. are owned by Asians. More than a quarter million have served in the U.S. military. And nearly half of the Asian-American electorate voted in the 2008 presidential election.

And yet while generations of Asians have integrated into American society, a small but growing number of the 3.8 million Asian-Americans of Chinese descent are finding themselves in mainland China to study or to work.

Especially since the 2008 global economic crisis, many ethnic Chinese are seeking economic opportunities in China as emigrants. Almost all are also motivated by cultural heritage interests.

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At the same time, Jeremy Lin's popularity has reignited discussions about identity among Chinese-Americans that are unlikely to wane as quickly as Linsanity.

One writer for the sports website Grantland hit on the issue during the height of Lin hype last month: "These have been a revealing two weeks, not only for the Asian-American community or the Ivy League basketball community or the talent evaluator committee, but also for the watchdogs, handwringers, and pulpit-thumpers. Not since Barack Obama's presidential campaign has there been so much national discussion about the appropriateness of discussing race."

And in China, where many American-born Chinese have gravitated over the past few years, race and nationality intersect in interesting, sometimes confusing, ways.

Brittney Wong feels "even less Chinese" in China than she expected.

"I realized how American I am," said the 23-year old Seattle native, who recently arrived in Beijing for a year-long intensive Chinese language course. "Which is strange, because I just assumed I would just blend in perfectly here."

Cultural disconnect
But in trying to befriend local Chinese, Wong came to see that "learning about their experiences in high school and their lives, how they lived so far, [are] so different from my experiences. Even their personalities."

The cultural disconnect is compelling enough to have provided some inspiration for a new feature-length film.

Daniel Hsia is a Los Angeles-based filmmaker who has just wrapped up production for "Shanghai Calling," a movie about American expats in Shanghai. "The world is turning on its head. Expectations are being reversed all the time," said Hsia.

In the movie, the main protagonist is a Chinese-American executive whose employer sends him to Shanghai. "I thought it would be more interesting to have the character [be] of Chinese descent but completely ignorant of Chinese culture. It just creates more conflict. It's more interesting to watch a character who looks like he fits in but doesn't."

Sometimes the cross-culture experience makes people feel even more American.

"In many ways, being in China has caused me to have a strong appreciation for just how American I am," said Jason Chu, a 25-year old Delaware native. "It has helped me come to terms or embrace the positive aspects of being distinctly Asian-American."

Chu is wrapping up two years in Beijing, where he has been dividing his time between serving as a pastor and writing music. The child of ethnic Chinese parents from Malaysia and Thailand, he grew up speaking English and began learning Chinese in college in the U.S. 

Speaking fluent Chinese, Chu has found, is perhaps the most critical determinant of authenticity. "There is this sort of disappointment that many Chinese-Americans are familiar with, where if you look Chinese or people know you're Chinese and your Chinese language isn't good, you're less of a person," he said.

Writer Gish Jen, on a recent trip to Beijing, recalled similar reactions when she first visited the mainland in the 1980s.

"In the early days, I used to feel they were quite critical," said Jen, one of a handful of hyphenated American novelists who led the multicultural wave of fiction in the U.S. in the early 1990s. "They saw me as a sort of fallen Chinese… You don't even speak Chinese, what's the matter with you."

Asian body with a Western mind
Although Jen believes mainstream Chinese attitudes toward overseas Chinese such as herself have improved, she thinks many still fail to understand what it means to be American.

"I don't think they understand what it means to be in between [China and the U.S.]," she explained.

The Chinese "don't distinguish between nationality and ethnicity," said Chu. "They don't understand that it's possible to have an Asian body but a Western mind."

That seemed to be the case when U.S. Ambassador to China Gary Locke arrived on the mainland last year. Some Chinese media commentators and bloggers voiced expectations that Locke, an ethnic Chinese born in the U.S., would be more sympathetic to Beijing's point of view. When it became clear that he was here to represent America, some of those same voices accused him of betrayal. One critic called him a "fake foreign devil who cannot even speak Chinese."

For Chinese-Americans like Chu, being in China means more about being American and behaving more overtly like an American. "I dress more differently [than the Chinese here]," he said. "I over-emphasize my foreignness."

Sense of apartness
Similarly, Toronto native Lili Gao thinks living in China has brought out a sense of apartness that she said she never experienced growing up in Canada.

"I never had any cultural identity issues in Canada. I speak Chinese, but I'm Canadian," said Gao, who was born in Shanxi before moving to Canada when she was 6 years old. "But then, coming back here, I realized I really was not Chinese. That was an interesting experience to have a clearer idea of identity."

As with many other Westernized Chinese, Gao found the issue of identity to be rooted in communication.  Although she speaks fluent Mandarin, the young marketing executive said that social culture was a large hurdle. 

"I couldn't possibly get used to it…the way people interact [here,]" she said. "The Chinese have a different way of communicating" that is not simply about language.

Now, having lived in Beijing for five years and working at Chinese companies, Gao finds herself "over-interpreting all the time, even when I'm communicating with foreigners!"

For someone like Jonny Chin, an 18-year-old senior at an international school in Beijing, it's simply that his American identity is much stronger. Even though he was only 6 years old when his parents, originally from Hong Kong, moved the family to China from San Francisco – meaning he has spent two-thirds of his life in Beijing.

"I still refer to America as home," he said. "Like when I say I'm 'going home' for Christmas. And when people ask, 'Where are you from?' I say I'm from the U.S."

With additional research from Brittany Tom and Isabella Zhong 

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BEIJING – The sudden appearance and rapid disappearance of dissident artist Ai Weiwei on China’s version of Twitter has provided a window into the zany, fast-paced and utterly incomprehensible world of social media censorship in the communist state.

Ai told NBC News that he had been told that -- since new rules were introduced over the weekend on the mandatory real-name registration of every account on the Twitter-style Sina Weibo website -- his name was no longer being blocked on the site.

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“Before if you looked up my name on Sina Weibo you got a message that said that it was a ‘sensitive or illegal word being used,’” Ai told NBC News Monday. “Yesterday a friend told me that my name was no longer being blocked, so we thought we’d give it a try.”

Ai, whose outspoken criticism of China’ ruling Communist Party and alleged tax-evasion led to his detention for 81 days last year, has had his name censored by China’s “Great Firewall” and his physical travel has also been restricted.

So the sudden discovery that his name was suddenly viewable and searchable on Weibo spurred him to experiment.

“I just wanted to see if this policy really applies. They [new internet rules] said if you use your real name and identity, you can open your own Weibo account,” Ai said, “so we tried and found that it worked.”

"Ai Weiwei testing, 3/19/2012" would be Ai’s first and last post under his Weibo account.

Account deleted
In a little under two hours, 10,680 people flocked to follow him online before censors deleted his account.

Though unsurprised by the number of followers he attracted in such a short time, he still can’t explain why he was suddenly able to open an account.

“I have no idea. Some people said it may just be a mistake, I have no idea,” he said. 

Read more news from Behind the Wall

Curiously, the introduction of the new rules was followed shortly afterward by the banning of the Chinese term for “real-name registration.”

Weibo users had been comparing notes regarding whose accounts had or hadn’t been suspended for not providing their real names. The blocking of “real-name registration” appeared to happen because the discussion of the topic became so widespread.

Sildeshow: History of US-China relations

Sina has provided some information about how many of its users have opted to register their Weibo accounts with their real identities. The last official statistic released was a week ago when the company announced that it anticipated 60% of its users would be registered by last Friday’s deadline.

Earlier Monday, NBC News attempted to create a new Weibo account using an anonymous identity. While the site seemed to accept the information filled in, no confirming email required to start using the account ever showed up in our inbox.

'Jasmine Revolution'
However, some users who say they have not submitted any identification to Sina claim they have the ‘V’ badge that all users who verify their identity have on the site.

China’s government is sensitive about the destabilizing potential of social media sites as seen in places like Egypt, Libya and most recently Syria.

Chinese TV show 'Interviews before Execution' stirs controversy

An anonymous call for a “Jasmine Revolution” early last year sparked a tightening of restrictions on such sites and increased calls by Chinese regulators and officials for real name registration.

Another newly banned word was “Ferrari,” amid intense gossiping over the potential identity of the owner of a Ferrari who crashed their car early Sunday morning in Beijing, killing one and injuring two others.

The topic that was quickly censored after users speculated that the victim could have been the child of a high-level Communist official.

NBC News’ Bo Gu contributed research to this report.

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NEWS ANALYSIS

BEIJING – Wednesday’s conclusion of the National People’s Congress seemed to signal the end of Prime Minister Wen Jiaobao’s chapter in Chinese history.

It’s been widely reported though not yet confirmed that Wen—along with President Hu Jintao—is due to step down later this year. 

But little did we know Wen would take the opportunity to carry on a tradition enjoyed by his meddling predecessors: publicly shaking up the political field one last time and consequently sparking the biggest political scandal the nation has seen in years.

At his final press conference yesterday, the senior Chinese leader caused a stir when he criticized the leadership of Chongqing, one of the world’s largest municipalities, for its handling of the Wang Lijun incident, when the former deputy mayor of the western megacity allegedly tried to defect to the United States.

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Shattered leadership dream
The comment was viewed as an ominous sign for the future of Chongqing’s Communist Party secretary, Bo Xilai -- Wang's former boss. Bo, a tough but charismatic crime-fighting politician rapidly became a national figure through self-promotion more often associated with Western politicians.

In particular, Bo’s ruthless crackdown on organized crime in Chongqing and his promotion of Communist rhetoric and values through vehicles like “red songs,” soon gave him a national following that seemed to position him for ascension to the ultimate seat of power: China’s nine-member standing committee, which will be selected later this year.

That dream shattered this morning.

Fall from grace: China leadership contender Bo Xilai sacked

China’s state news service, Xinhua, issued a terse statement announcing that Bo had been replaced by Zhang Dejiang – currently vice premier of China’s state council – as Chongqing Party chief.

The announcement of Bo’s fall from grace was a bombshell for China’s public, who rarely get such a clear look at the political battles Chinese leaders prefer to fight behind closed doors. Bo’s dismissal quickly became the top trending topic on China’s Twitter-like service, Sina Weibo, generating an astounding 4 million tweets in the hours following the announcement.

While some netizens were quick to mock the alleged corruption of a supposedly virtuous politician, others were quick to defend Bo, whose campaign against organized crime captured the imaginations of disenfranchised people nationwide.

“I just want to have a safe and stable life… Bo gave us hope,” wrote one person on Weibo.

Si Weijiang, a Chinese lawyer, countered,  “There's no need to be happy....Sometimes people do need what the leftists offer.”

It’s a dramatic political fall for the 62-year-old Bo, who just weeks before appeared to be on the cusp of becoming part of the Communist Party elite.  

Rapid rise to top
The first public sign of faltering emerged when his vice-mayor Wang Lijun spent the night at the U.S. consulate back in February. It was widely believed that he was seeking refuge after coming under a government investigation for corruption.

Prior to becoming vice-mayor, Wang had spearheaded Bo’s signature political moment: a three-year campaign against criminal gangs in Chongqing that resulted in thousands of arrests and 13 executions. Dubbed the “Smash Black” campaign, the stunt was warmly received by Chongqing’s citizens, who had long bristled at the brazenness of organized crime in the region.

Despite the acclaim that came with their success in smashing organized crime in Chongqing, the two were not immune to criticism. Like so much here in China, the line between business and governance was blurred, and Wang soon found himself embroiled in an economic war between two local moguls.

When one of the Chongqing businessmen was arrested earlier this year, the man claimed he had an audio tape of Wang threatening him and warning him to leave the other mogul alone.

Wang was soon the focus of an investigation that threatened to bring an end to his political career. The very fact that the inquiry was allowed to happen – an act that can only occur with specific authorization from the highest levels of the Communist Party – may have signaled to Wang that his fate was sealed.

He snuck off to the U.S. Consulate in Chengdu, where both Chinese and embassy officials confirmed he spent the night before leaving on his own accord. However, officials on both sides have declined to comment on what was discussed between Wang and U.S. consulate officials that night.

Nonetheless, the slightest possibility that Wang might have revealed sensitive secrets about the Communist Party’s inner workings was not only a massive embarrassment to his boss Bo – who had handpicked Wang as his right-hand man years before – but also a crisis that made Bo a potential political liability with China’s greatest economic rival, the United States.

The incident also opened Bo up to criticism from the ruling elite’s more liberal factions who were outraged by his anti-crime campaign, the manner of which critics say demonstrated a blatant disregard for the criminal process.  In addition, his embrace of leftist policies in everyday life through “red songs,” text messages and a friendly approach to state-owned enterprise helped paint Bo as a polarizing threat to China’s liberalizing voices.

And it appears that Wen Jiabao may have shared those concerns.

Charismatic as he is controversial, Bo had been a wildcard with the potential to alter the dialogue in China’s influential nine-member standing committee, which sets economic and social policy for the nation.

Bo’s dismissal means that a potential voice of opposition to the economic and social map that Wen and Hu have laid the groundwork for over the past eight years has been removed.

Proving once again that in the world of Chinese politics, national stability reigns supreme.

NBC News’ Bo Gu and Isabella Zhong contributed research to this report.

For the first time in its history China's National People's Congress is set to pass new laws to protect the human rights of prisoners.

However, the new laws will not help those held in China's so-called "black jails," the secret detention centers where those who dare to criticize the government are held, without charge and with no access to a lawyer.

ITV’s Angus Walker gets a look at some of these usually hidden "black jails" and talks with some of the people who have escaped them.

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BEIJING – "I went to see your brother and sisters. They all know that you are leaving this world. But, sorry, they didn’t want to see you."

"I don’t want to see them either. Let me die," the man said, wiping his teary eyes. Two policemen stood behind him while a microphone was pointed at him.

"Is there anything you want me to tell your brother and sisters?"

"No. I did something wrong. I killed my mother. "

This exchange was a conversation between TV hostess Ding Yu and Bao Rongting, a convicted murderer, just a few hours before he was executed on Nov. 20, 2008. It was broadcast on "Interviews Before Execution," a weekly TV program, that aired on the Legal Channel in China’s central-eastern Henan Province for over five years.

Starting in late 2006, the hour-long show attracted millions of viewers and ranked among the top-ten TV programs in the province. Every Saturday night, almost half of Henan’s 94 million residents tuned in to watch the show, which was not available to viewers outside the province.

The show has now gained international attention since the BBC aired a documentary, "The Execution Factor," on Monday. A Chinese production company, LIC, worked with the BBC and PBS International, which will soon launch its own documentary on the show and its host, Ding.   

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Last words
Ding interviewed 226 prisoners on death row. Most of the prisoners were executed afterwards, but some received a death penalty "pardon" with a few years of reprieve, which usually means a life sentence in China.

A former law student, Ding’s journalistic style is similar to many female Chinese primetime news anchors: She has short hair, a patient-tone with her interviewees, is well-dressed – but not ostentatious – and her questioning style is straightforward, not dramatic 

She interviewed a husband who killed his ex-wife because he "was still in love with her," a teenage girl who ruthlessly strangled her best friend over a trivial quarrel, and a wife who burned her husband to death after suffering years of domestic abuse.

Ding was particularly blunt with one unrepentant interviewee, saying: "I’m glad you got caught. You are a scumbag." One episode featured a man yelping, "I’m sorry," and kneeling down on the ground hours before his execution. In another, right before his execution a convict asked her: "Can I shake hands with you?"

The producers say the aim of the show was to act as a deterrent to other would-be criminals. And while there are up to 55 crimes in China that carry a potential death penalty sentence, the show focused exclusively on cases of violent murder. The show also got Henan province’s High Court approval for each case that was featured.

"Many people say I’m an angel and devil. I never thought myself as an angel, because it’s work that puts me into contact with these people. I see myself more as a witness," Ding told the BBC in their 50-minute-long documentary.

While 58 countries in the world impose the death penalty, China is believed to have the highest number of executions annually. The exact number is considered to be a "state secret," but the government argues it’s dropped steadily since early 2007 when the Supreme Court took back the right to have the final say on all death verdicts from local courts. 

A 2011 report from Amnesty International indicates China executed thousands of people in 2010.

While it’s hard to determine the exact number, Ding’s show does offer some indication of how big they are, according to He Weifang, a law professor at Peking University. "Ding Yu interviewed 226 prisoners sentenced to death in five years. My guess is all these cases were tried in Henan Province and they only represent part of the whole situation. You can imagine how big the number is nationwide,” He commented on his blog.

Many scholars and lawyers have argued for the abolishment of the death penalty, but in a country with rampant corruption (which is also a capital crime over a certain financial amount), there seems to be little real movement to outlaw it.   

Backlash
With all the international attention on the show, there have been concerns about whether or not it would continue to air.

 

"We were very worried about the consequences after the documentary aired. Some media have distorted our program," Shirley Cheng, a producer from the Chinese production company LIC, told NBC News by phone. "We didn’t do it to discuss the death the penalty. We just wanted to record the process."

A BBC report on Monday claimed the show was taken off the air by Henan TV last Friday. When NBC News reached Henan Legal Channel and asked about it, we were told that was not the case.

The temporary "disappearance" of the show is apparently only making room for a new show, and "Interview before Execution" will come back on air in about six weeks.

However, on the channel’s official website, no links to Ding Yu’s program can be found, while information about other shows is available.  

 
ICHINOSEKI, Japan – We’re on the Iwate coast of Japan this week, looking back on the devastation wrought here nearly a year ago by the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami that flattened coastal communities and killed nearly 20,000 people.

The cleanup we have witnessed on our frequent trips back here since the disaster is simply astounding and is a testament to the strength of the communities that remain. In fishing towns like Otsuchi, Kesennuma and Ichinomaki, NBC News has documented the gradual steps to recovery, from search and rescue, to the clearing of rubble, to the sorting and removal of debris from city streets.

One thing absent in our coverage though: reconstruction.

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My colleague Ian Williams earlier in the week wrote about the issues facing the town of Otsuchi, where 10 percent of the town’s population of 16,000 is dead or missing and nearly 70 percent of the town was obliterated by the tsunami.

Today, all that stands in much of Otsuchi are the foundations of the buildings that once stood there – skeletal remains of sleepy neighborhoods that once occupied these parts. In the surrounding hills around, small communities of short-term, pre-fabricated homes for the displaced have sprung up, granting a small degree of normalcy to residents who had spent months living in schools, recreation centers and other temporary camps.

When the government will allow, much less begin, construction of new permanent homes in these areas is difficult to predict. In communities like Otsuchi, the debate seems to be centered on whether residents should be allowed to begin rebuilding now or must the town’s coastal defenses be strengthened before development can begin.

With many of these coastal towns having disproportionally older populations – a result of the departure of many younger residents to other parts of Japan for work – the desire for quickly built, affordable housing is a popular sentiment among people here.

It was with that backdrop that I watched a video yesterday released in early January of a 30-story hotel tower being built in China in a shockingly quick 360 hours. 

It’s not the first time we’ve seen such feats from China, or from Chinese construction firm, Broad Sustainable Building (BSB). Two years ago, the three-year-old company shocked the world by constructing a 15-floor hotel in two days.

This time around they doubled down on the aptly named T-30 Hotel.

Not only that, but they gave viewers a unique look at a style of building construction that has been employed by the West for some time, but with unique adaptions that BSB developed and hope will help launch the style throughout Asia.

Pre-fab solution?
BSB’s system of pre-fabrication involves constructing segments of a building in advance at an indoor factory. There the basic building blocks of a modern building – things like ventilation, water pipes and electrical wiring – are pre-installed, allowing for the segments to be uniformly stacked at the construction site and assembled like Lego blocks.

The savings in construction time is perhaps the most note-worthy thing. An interesting piece done on BSB and its latest feat by the Los Angeles Times quotes one expert on pre-fabricated architecture who noted that such construction techniques can shave a third or a half off building schedules in western countries.

BSB sliced off between one-half and two-thirds of construction time on T-30.  Not to mention 20 to 30 percent off building costs through reduced construction times and greater efficiencies.

And since much of the construction is done in the relative safety of the factory floor compared to many stories in the air, BSB’s on-site accidents noticeably dipped.

The company also claims a number of innovations in its designs that would certainly appeal to rebuilding residents in northeastern Japan. After all, the inspiration for BSB’s formation were reconstruction efforts in China’s Sichuan province after an 8.0 earthquake rocked the region in 2008, leveling cities and leaving towns in such disrepair, they were forced to completely relocate.

According to the video, which was released by BSB, the new hotel is designed to handle earthquakes up to 9.0 on the Richter scale and incorporates design advances like external solar shading, three-stage air purification systems and improved insulation techniques that make the building five times more energy efficient than other Chinese buildings.

Pre-fabricated building techniques are already in use throughout the affected regions of Japan as a form of temporary housing. In fact, Japan was already moving residents into pre-fabricated houses just eight days after the quake and as of last week there were 52,620 temporary houses built in 911 locations throughout the country.

However, much of this housing is built on school sports fields and other public spaces – often contracted out for two years before the temporary housing must be disassembled and the space returned.

That’s a point not lost on the residents we talked to this week. Many living in short-term housing are older and have no meaningful income. So they live off pensions with no realistic means of building or renting new homes.

To deal with this issue that will seemingly boil over in 2014, Iwate prefecture alone has announced they will construct between 4,000-5,000 permanent public housing units for the displaced.

Where and when these housing blocks will be built in this nation where land is at a premium is one that will certainly keep urban planners here busy for years to come.

The lessons learned from the T-30 exercise should not be lost on municipal governments up and down the Iwate coast. Pre-fabricated housing once viewed as a short-term fix can now be the answer to a very long-term problem.

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BEIJING – Apple’s recent market valuation of over $500 billion has invited countless comparisons, even inspiring a website that gleefully chronicles the places and things the tech giant is now valued more than.

Among other things, Apple is now worth more than the entire GDP of Poland, all the gold in the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank of New York and America’s entire aircraft carrier fleet.

But is that enough to take the sting out of the $1.6 billion in compensation Proview Technology (Shenzhen) is rumored to be demanding in exchange for settling the thorny dispute over ownership of the iPad trademark in China? 

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Last Wednesday, Guangdong’s Higher People’s Court heard an appeal from Apple after a lower court ruled in favor of Proview and declared them the actual owner of the iPad name in China. 

The significance of the case has not been lost in Chinese. Both local and foreign media were said to be staked outside the courtroom. In response to greater calls for transparency from the government, Wednesday’s legal proceedings before the three-judge panel were actually live-blogged by the court on a twitter-like service called Tencent Weibo.

The court now has almost 80,000 followers – but their decision has not been announced yet. According to Chinese law, the time limit for ruling on an appeal is three months. 

The stakes are high for everyone involved: Apple, Proview, the Chinese government and other Western investors.

High stakes
China is Apple’s second largest market behind the United States. It is also where most of its products are made –  including the highly anticipated iPad 3 which some tech-watchers are speculating may be released as soon as tomorrow. 
 
This court is typically the final word on legal proceedings in China, although Apple could still appeal to the Supreme People’s Court in Beijing. A loss would leave two undesirable options: An appeal to a Supreme Court that is not known for overturning many decisions of its lower court; or settling with the cash-strapped Proview. 

For Proview, a company that at one time was an industry leader in the manufacturing of computer displays before falling on hard times, a win or an out-of-court settlement could set the stage for a dramatic revitalization of a company that now counts the Bank of China and China Banking Corp. as creditors. 

According to a Chinese-language report out last Friday, Proview’s consortium of creditors are said to be seeking $400 million from the cash-strapped company.

A settlement with Proview may be anathema to Apple; effectively inviting similar copycat suits against them in other jurisdictions, but the alternative of changing the name of a product they’ve already sold 32 million of worldwide is an equally bitter pill to swallow.

A warning for Western investors?
The need to legally resolve this issue is also uncomfortable for the Chinese government, which stands to lose politically regardless of who wins the case. 

Should Proview prevail and receive control of the trademark in China, it would stir up a certain crisis-of-faith among the foreign business community, whose concerns about intellectual property have become louder in recent years.

Sixty-six percent of respondents to the American Chamber of Commerce’s 2011 China Business Climate Survey said intellectual property rights protection is “very” or “critically” important to their business.

One U.S. businessman, who declined to be named for this piece, noted that while Apple’s spat with Proview is over the sale of a trademark and not the legal standing of the trademark itself, he would nevertheless be concerned about the strength of his company’s own trademarks in China should Apple lose. 

“Remember that line from the movie, ‘The Social Network,’ ‘You better lawyer up!’? You bet we have our lawyers looking closely now at all our company’s legal arrangements.”

It’s an example of corporate skepticism of the legal system here and a growing sentiment among the foreign business community of economic inequality between foreign and domestic companies.

That’s a sentiment that China’s ruling Communist Party wishes to avoid at all cost. In recent years the government has worked hard to improve intellectual property rights law in the country. They touted them as the Guangdong Higher People’s Court did on its Weibo feed of the court proceedings, inviting China’s web sphere to “witness the progress of intellectual property right protection in China.”

Ironically, the enforcement of those laws could potentially unravel the goodwill they were intended to build with foreign companies and investors.

Best for all? Out-of-court settlement
An Apple victory may mollify Western companies. It will also likely draw the ire of a more nationalist section of the population here that may view it as an example of China serving foreign interests before those of its own companies.

As unlikely as it may seem that a decision in Apple’s favor could lead to any mass resentment towards the government, in this sensitive time leading up to China’s leadership transition later this year, the Party is hyper-attuned to perceived public discontent.

So in the meantime, China’s government is quietly pushing through the court’s judges their dream solution to this dispute: out-of-court settlement. At the end of the hearing on Wednesday, the judge apparently gently urged Apple and Proview to consider a private settlement.

The financial motivations are there for both parties to come to the bargaining table, but Apple’s participation will either require a dramatic change of heart by the company which has refused to come to the table so far or a more pessimistic analysis of their chances in court.

Either way, you can bet the Apple CEO Tim Cook is thinking twice about his bold earlier statement last month that the company “has more money than it needs.”

BEIJING – “Why are you going to a Peking opera? It’s slow, boring and you can’t even understand what they’re saying half the time!”

That was the reaction Karolina Shab, a 26-year-old Polish student studying in Beijing, got from a Chinese friend when she said she was going to see a performance of the traditional Chinese theater that combines elaborate Chinese costumes, high-pitch singing, dancing and dramatic facial expressions.

That negative reaction among young people to the classic Chinese art form is common – many would rather wait in line for the latest Apple creation than catch the latest Peking opera.

But director Chen Shi-Zheng hopes to change those impressions with a new, modern production of the classic Chinese folk tale, “Farewell My Concubine" that just premiered in Beijing last month.

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“We want to reconnect young people with Peking Opera and make it relevant to their lives,” Chen told NBC News, “This is a story of love and tragedy – a classic tale that young people can relate to.”

As the director behind the re-imagining of Disney’s High School Musical for Chinese audiences, Chen understands better than most how to relate to China’s mainstream youth. Working alongside an international creative team, the New-York based director incorporated some arguably controversial elements to the production in an attempt to save the art form’s declining reputation.
“I believe it’s important to push boundaries,” Chen explained.

With its fast-paced tempo, rhythmic fight scenes and flashy digital backgrounds, Chen’s East-West fusion resembles the energy and style of a New York Broadway show.

One of the most dynamic parts of the show was the fast-paced acrobatic and mix-martial arts moves displayed during the fight sequences. These kung-fu inspired dance routines are relatable to Western audiences, who associate them with cinematic icons such as Jackie Chan and Jet Li.

But Chen says his reinterpretations have not all been warmly received.

“Most people feel my show is exciting, but it is controversial,” said Chen. “Some people have said that I’ve destroyed Peking opera
and Chinese culture.”

One local Chinese art aficionado who spoke to NBC News, said he believes that Chen’s reinterpretation trivializes the true essence of Peking opera.

“I agree that Peking opera needs modernization, but not like this,” said the critic who wouldn't share his name. “The modern technical elements are too simple and make the performance superficial. People must appreciate the tradition before they can make changes to it.”

But judging by the nearly 5 percent decline in ticket sales every year, a new style may be the only way to appeal to both younger audiences and tourists.

Yu Shaowen, a Beijing local who attended the show with his daughter, found Chen’s reinterpretation more acceptable for younger audiences, comparing it to commercial Chinese tea.

“Traditional Peking opera is like traditional Chinese tea and [Chen’s] show is like commercially bottled tea. Traditional tea takes a connoisseur to appreciate, but bottled tea is easier for the general public to consume and enjoy.”

Indeed, a “commercially bottled” opera might be the only way to quench the thirst of young Beijingers and Western audiences who are accustomed to today’s fast-paced digital world.

 “I was surprised with how easy it was to understand and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I’m going to tell my Chinese friends to see this show,” Shab, the Polish student said after the show.

That’s a sentiment Chen hopes will spread as he works to update traditional Peking opera for the 21st century. “I've tried to create a picture book of modern images so young people won't feel completely put off by Peking opera,” said Chen. “It's an important cultural tradition in Beijing and there is always a need for constant reinterpretation to keep it fresh.”

 

BEIJING – With massive security in Beijing during the annual National People’s Congress, it would seem like a risky time to protest in China’s capital, but for Guan Youming, it’s the best time.

Nearly 3,000 members of the ruling Communist Party gathered in the Great Hall of the People on Monday for the start of the annual meeting amid tight security throughout the city. Premier Wen Jiabao delivered his equivalent of a state-of-the-union speech to the group, setting out the government’s strategy for the coming year.

In addition to economic and military policy, a prominent goal he mentioned was the need to manage major sources of domestic discontent by protecting farmers’ rights and improving rural governance.

Farmers’ rights to their land “must not be violated,” Wen told the politicians, just a day after unprecedented democratic elections in the southern Chinese village of Wukan, which has become a symbol of successful revolt against land grabs and corruption.

You would think that Wen’s words would be music to the ears of Guan, a farmer from central China who made light of his 500-mile journey to brave tight security in Beijing and expose what he claims is illegal confiscation of his land by village authorities.

But Guan was not impressed. “I don’t necessarily believe in what the leaders says, I want to see results,” he told NBC News as he recounted his years of work to try and seek justice for his claim.

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Season of discontent
With China’s booming real estate industry, residential and land prices have skyrocketed and land disputes have become a major cause of mass protests. According to a report by Tsinghua University Professor Sun Liping last year, the number of protests, riots and strikes have doubled over the last five years to almost 500 a day.

And land grabs cause more than 65 percent of rural “mass incidents,” or collective protest actions, according to Yu Jianrong, a leading expert on rural conflicts at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

Reports have estimated that nearly 50 million Chinese farmers have lost their homes during the past 30 years of industrial and urban growth; and that some 60 million more could be further uprooted with accelerated urbanization in the next few years.

Wen promised a better deal for farmers this year, with measures to improve rural incomes and protect farmers’ rights as a “top priority.”

“Farmers’ rights to the land they contract to work on, to the land on which their houses sit, and to proceeds s from collective undertakings are property rights conferred by law, and these rights must not be violated by anyone,” declared Wen during his two-
hour address.

He vowed “better supervision” and “regulation concerning compensation” for farmers in the course of land transfers and expropriations, in a clear signal of a government drive to address the crux of rising rural discontent.

‘Airing dirty laundry in public’
 “From my experience,” Guan said, “the sweeter the words, the more false they are.”

Guan hails from the farming village of Daqiao in Hubei province, where he said local leaders have “illegally” expropriated farmland to build government offices, commercial apartments and roads. Thousands of villagers have been affected, and many have not been adequately compensated, according to Guan, who also said that five fellow villagers have bravely joined him in Beijing to press for their case.

The last straw for Guan was when his quarter acre of farmland – what he said was his “only source of food” – was taken away.  He said he sought the help of various government departments but hasn’t gotten any response.

Asked why he chose this time of tight security in Beijing during the parliament session to make his case – when protesters and petitioners from rural provinces are routinely rounded up or forcibly returned to their villages. Guan said it was a deliberate decision to “exert pressure on leaders.”

“We are seeking out the Western and Taiwan media to explain our plight,” he said.

“Only by doing so can we expect the leaders concerned to pay attention because they are scared of airing our dirty laundry in public,” he explained.

In order to verify Guan’s claims, NBC News reached out to Wu Mingjing, party leader of Wuxie City which oversees Guan’s village.

“No, it’s impossible to for his land to be confiscated,” said Wu. “We have laws and regulations concerning land expropriation and compensation,” he explained, adding that he was not very clear about the details of Guan’s case.

With Guan listening to the telephone conversation, Wu suggested that the Daqiao villagers bring their case to the attention of a local party secretary, with the assurance that “proper action” will be taken.

Guan was not so sure – perhaps Wen’s promises would trickle down after all.

Researcher Isabella Zhong contributed to this report