The global-warming debate has introduced some new catchphrases into the business lexicon. Becoming carbon neutral, for example, is now a goal for multinationals like Dell, HSBC and Tesco. But for another well-known international brand, becoming carbon neutral isn't enough. Last June, Coca-Cola CEO Neville Isdell flew to Beijing and pledged that his company would become "water neutral" — every drop of water it uses to produce beverages would be returned to the earth or compensated for through conservation and recycling ...

In the inevitable comparisons that economists and businesspeople make between Asia's two rising giants, China and India, China nearly always comes out on top. The Chinese economy historically outpaces India's by just about every measure. China's fast-acting government implements new policies with blinding speed, making India's fractured political system appear sluggish and chaotic. Beijing's shiny new airport and wide freeways are models of modern development, contrasting sharply with the sagging infrastructure of New Delhi and Mumbai. And as ...

The anonymous call for a "jasmine revolution" in China's major cities was made online, first on a website run by overseas dissidents, then on Twitter, which despite being blocked is still widely used by activists in China. But unlike what happened in Tunisia and Egypt, where such efforts prompted massive street protests that eventually toppled both governments, the biggest response in China was from the state. Over the weekend the government rounded up lawyers, activists and dissidents, ...

Li Li has lost exact count of how many men she has bedded, but she knows the number is far above 100. "I don't keep statistics," says the former journalist, 27. But she isn't averse to kissing and telling. For the past couple of years, Li has kept a blog--written under the pen name Muzi Mei--that has chronicled everything from her penchant for orgies and Internet dating to her skepticism toward marriage when it means staying faithful to one man. ...

When people write on Chinese websites that they "love the future," it should be a sentiment the government can get behind. After all, the authorities in Beijing have pressed their subjects to embrace the country's bright economic prospects. But of late, "love the future" has taken on a new meaning. Online, people have begun to use the phrase, which is ai wei lai in Mandarin, as a code for the artist and political activist Ai Weiwei, whose name became too ...

The five flagpoles that stand in front of the Star Ferry terminal at the tip of the Kowloon peninsula in Hong Kong have long been a popular meeting place. It was at this familiar spot 20 years ago that democracy advocates sold commemorative items to raise money for the victims of the June 4 crackdown at Beijing's Tiananmen Square. I bought one: a four-inch plastic replica of the Goddess of Democracy statue that had been erected at the square. For ...

The passport on Yang Hua's desk is stamped with visas that would alarm immigration clerks around the world. He showed up in Indonesia two days after the Bali nightclub bombings in 2002. He's logged trips on a moment's notice to Iran, Yemen and Qatar, as well as to the U.S., Australia, Canada, England and Brazil. But Yang doesn't try to hide the substances contained in little glass vials that he brings home from his travels. They're lined up on the ...

Authorities detained activists, elevated the number of police about the streets, disconnected some cell phone text messaging companies and censored Web postings regarding the contact to stage protests in Beijing, Shanghai and 11 other key metropolitan areas. Jittery Chinese authorities wary of any domestic dissent staged a display of force Sunday to squelch a mysterious on line phone to get a "Jasmine Revolution," with only a handful of individuals becoming a member of protests apparently modeled on the pro-democracy demonstrations sweeping ...

China ordered its banking institutions Friday to maintain back more funds as reserves in its newest transfer to curb lending and cool a spike in inflation The buy raising reserves 0.5% of deposits is the second this kind of move this year by the central financial institution and follows 6 reserve raises in 2010. Reserves differ by institution but are about 20% for China's largest state-owned lenders. * Food Requirements: China anticipated to import extra grain * IN U.S.: Wholesale cost will increase stoke inflation ...

China won't use 'rare earths' as a bargaining chip China bid to defuse a percolating crisis Thursday, vowing not to use "rare earth" minerals as a bargaining chip in world trade discussions and not to cut exports any more next year, state-run media reported. Earlier this month, reports surfaced that China has significantly decreased imports of 17 rare-earth minerals to the United States and Europe. Such elements -- of which 97 percent produced in 2009 came from China, according to the U.S. ...