It was the year of the housing market (up then down), Ai Weiwei’s imprisonment, Wukan, the Wenzhou train crash, air pollution, gutter oil, tainted milk, clenbuterol, China bulls and bears, government transparency, the soaring price of Maotai, Guo Meimei sticking it to the Red Cross, drinking and driving crackdowns, the sixth plenary session, Weibo and the real name system, Shenzhou 8 and Chinese space exploration, the 100th anniversary of the Xinhai revolution, SARFT’s declaration of war on vulgar culture, Yue Yue and Good/Bad Samaritan laws, the anti-child-tracking campaign, the nationwide abuse of table salt, a Chinese upset at the French Open, Steve Jobs and Pan Shiyi, and more school bus accidents than we can count.
Today on Sinica, hosts Kaiser Kuo and Jeremy Goldkorn take a closer look at the year that was as seen through some of the top ten lists circulating on the Internet. What do we all agree were the top news stories of the past year? How do Chinese and foreign accounts differ, and what stories have slipped through the cracks? Joining Kaiser and Jeremy as we work through the last year are two Sinica regulars: Will Moss of Imagethief fame and Josh Chin of The Wall Street Journal.