Unable to cope with this crushing burden by the government, one top Chinese journalist announced that he is to resign.

Yu Shaolei, an editor at Southern Metropolis Daily, has had enough of the government’s unending control over the media, and posted his resignation note on social media. On Monday evening, Yu uploaded a photo of his resignation form to his Sin Weibo microblog account.

Yu was certainly cheeky in his post; under the “reason for resignation” section, he put down “Unable to bear your surname”.

This unassuming line is actually a clever dig at President Xi’s demand that journalists must give absolute loyalty to the Chinese Communist Party, and “bear the surname of the Party”.

“I’m getting old, and my knees can’t stand it after so many years [of kneeling],” Yu wrote.

Yu continued his sarcastic tone by wishing well to those responsible for censoring his social media account. He wrote in a message, “To the person responsible for watching my weibo feed and notifying their superiors about what to delete, you can heave a sigh of relief now, apologies for causing you stress over the last few years, and I sincerely wish your career will head in a new direction.”

The government was quick to shut Yu down, deleting his post with urgency. However, the BBC has provided us with a link to a cached copy, which was still available on monitoring sites online.

When John Sudworth of the BBC in Beijing approached Mr. Yu, he told the reporter that he had said everything he wanted to say on social media, not wanting to comment further on his resignation.  

Mr. Sudworth also reported that it is unknown if Mr. Yu had received any admonishment from Chinese authorities.

He was at an event in the wake of his new movie “The Revenent,” which was released in Chinese theaters last
Friday and has since raked in more than $30 million at the box office.

“As we all know, the United States and China are the two biggest contributors, and I think that China has made
radical movements forward as far as alternative energy and ways to be sustainable,” DiCaprio said at the event.
“I really think that China can be the hero of the environmental movement. They can be the hero of the climate
change movement. They have an opportunity to change the world, and I have all the confidence in the world
that that is their intention.”

This view is shared by China’s Environmental Minister Chen Jining who says the country’s green efforts will
serve as a “model” for the west.

China has been pursuing renewable resources of energy. However, it’s still the world’s biggest user of coal and
it leads the planet in green-house gas emissions.

But Leo seems to think China is ready to change its course. He won an Oscar last month for his role in “The
Revenent.” During his acceptance speech, he called on people to protect the environment from the “greedy.”
Leo is a huge star in China even though many of his films haven’t made it to Chinese cinemas. Netizens were
also skeptical that “The Revenent” would make it on the list of 35 foreign films allowed in Chinese theaters this
year. Even more surprisingly, the film made it to theaters mostly intact.

Variety reports that Chinese censors cut only two minutes of the film.

Some are calling for greater autonomy while others, especially young people, are rallying for independence from China. Both sentiments were expressed during Hong Kong’s Umbrella Revolution, which saw 79 days of street protests against Chinese rule.

Young people comprised a bulk of the crowds. Recently, Hong Kong University’s student magazine Undergrad published a manifesto calling for independence by 2047.

“The Umbrella Revolution was our loudest cry,” the editorial read. “We thought naïvely that we could win some political concessions. We didn’t.  Now we know that the movement for democracy is behind us, as we usher in the movement against authoritarian rule.

“We demand that Hong Kong become an independent, sovereign state recognized by the United Nations, the building of a democratic government and the drafting of a Hong Kong Constitution by all the people.”

Hong Kong’s Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying is not too fond of the idea.

“Hong Kong has always been part of China since ancient times,” Leung said. “It will not change after 2047.”

Marcus Lau, who penned the manifesto along with 11 other students, is unfazed.

“At the moment, Hong Kong doesn’t have the conditions for independence,” he told The New York Times. “That is precisely why we need to develop them.”

During last month’s regional election, Edward Leung, (no relation to Hong Kong’s chief executive) won 15 percent of the votes. He had been running on a platform for greater self-determination and his performance solidified the confidence of supporters even though he didn’t win.

Before the election, Leung led a protest against a crackdown on vendors during Lunar New Year. These vendors are often seen as symbolic of Hong Kong tradition. The demonstrations quickly turned violent and erupted into nightlong battle with police.

Chinese officials called the riots acts of “radical separatism.”

When Lau was asked whether he was a speratist, he had this to say.

“If the calls for self-determination of the Catalonians from Spain, Scots from the United Kingdom and Taiwanese from China are separatist,’’ he said, “then I’m one, too.”

This announcement, however, is not fooling the rest of the world. China is infamous for being perceived as having a corrupt, unlawful criminal justice system, if you can call it that. Rights groups across the globe say that forced confessions are still in abundance in China, and that China practices “rule by law” rather than “rule of law”.

Forced confessions are not the only factor for China’s decrepit “criminal justice system”.  Adding to this problem is the ongoing crackdown against lawyers, which prohibits Chinese citizens from being given adequate and fair representation, therefore reducing their chances for a favorable verdict or acquittal.

Zhou assured, though, that “We’re doing our utmost to let the public feel equality and justice in every court verdict.” He also added that that “innocent until proven guilty” in China is under strict implementation to prevent wrongful convictions.

This 2015 criminal conviction rate figure was only slightly lower than the previous year, as the number of acquittals rose by a colossal 34 percent. The court cleared 1,039 people, but when you posit that number against the 1.232 million defendants found guilty, the very skewed perception the Chinese government wants its citizens to see becomes clear. While state-run media headlines boasted “Courts clear over 1,000 defendants”, they failed to notify the public of the atrocious amount of guilty verdicts they hand out.

Zhou also spoke to how when courts’ mistakes had been exposed in 2014, saying that Chinese courts “corrected” 1,357 verdicts in 2015. He announced that 240 million yuan in compensation was paid to the individuals whose rights were violated by State power, a 50% increase from the year before.

Still, the world remains skeptical – and rightly so. Being proud of a 99.92 percent criminal conviction rate is not something to be proud of.  

“We are concerned that China has taken a number of unilateral steps over the last several years that we think raise tensions in the region and are destabilizing,” said Daniel Kritenbrink, senior director for Asian affairs at the National Security Council.

Earlier this week, US Pacific Command chief Admiral Harry Harris noted China was “changing the operational landscape of the region.”

The South China Sea serves as a passageway for more than $1 trillion in ship-borne goods including a third of the world’s oil shipments each year. China claims virtually the entire region. It is also claimed in whole or in part by Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam.

“Short of war with the United States, China will exercise de facto control of the South China Sea,” Admiral Harris said.

During a state visit in September, President Xi Jinping maintained that Beijing “does not intend to pursue militarization” in the Spratly Island chain.

Speaking at a forum at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, Kritenbrink said the US wants China to extend its non-militarization pledge “across the entire South China Sea.”

China continues to expand its military footprint in the South China Sea while expanding its artificial islands there, despite warnings from the US and regional neighbors.

Earlier this year, the US Navy sent a Destroyer vessel near disputed islands to uphold international freedom-of navigation laws. China has ratified the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.

The US also wants China to respect an upcoming ruling in The Philippines’ lawsuit over territory in the region. China does not recognize the Hague-based international court involved.

Kritenbrink says the “extremely important” ruling will outline how countries can peacefully solve territorial disputes.

“When that ruling comes out, it will be binding on both parties,” Kritenbrink said. “That will be an important moment that all of us in the region should focus on.”

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His comments came a day before Taiwan announced China had deployed surface-to-air missiles on Woody Island in the Paracel Islands chain.

“We think China is resorting to the old style of might makes right, as opposed to working through international law and international norms to establish claims, and to resolve disputes,” Obama said in the interview recorded Feb 16.

The Chinese Defense Ministry called reports about the missile deployment “hype by certain Western media outlets,” adding that it has controlled the Paracels since the end of the Vietnam War. However, Taiwan and Vietnam also claim parts of it.

“The Paracel Islands have always been a part of China’s territory,” the ministry said in a statement. “China has the legitimate and legal rights to deploy defense facilities within its territory, in order to defend the sovereignty and security of the country.”

Obama’s interview was held on the sidelines of the president’s meeting with the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations. The first such meeting of its kind on US soil brought together leaders to discuss regional issues.

During the interview, Obama said there remains “significant potential for conflict” between claimants in the South China Sea dispute. However, he did not elaborate on whether the US would war with China over territorial matters.

“The fact is that my administration had maintained a very constructive relationship with the Chinese government. We believe very much in a peaceful, rising China. We think we have much more to fear from a weak, chaotic China, than a China that continues to progress and fulfill the aspirations of its people,” Obama said.

The meeting statement didn’t mention China by name, but referred to a general “peaceful resolution of disputes.”

Nonetheless, China has showed little signs of keeping their promise to not militarize the South China Sea.

US Secretary of State John Kerry criticized Beijing following news of the missile deployment.

“There is every evidence, every day, that there has been an increase of militarization of one kind or another. It’s of a serious concern,” Kerry said.

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“None of these 366 cities meet the World Health Organization’s air quality standard,” said Dong Liansai, a climate and energy campaigner for Greenpeace. “That is to say 100 percent of Chinese cities studied fail to meet the WHO’s standard.”

The report also indicated that China’s national average concentration level of PM2.5, a particulate matter that’s linked to lung and heart illnesses, is dramatically high.

Its PM2.5 level stands at 50.2 parts per cubic meter, which is well above the World Health Organization’s preferred annual average of less than 10 micrograms.

PM2.5 is released during the burning of coal. It also makes its way into the air from motor vehicle exhaust.

Researchers at Germany’s Max Planck institute estimate that smog leads to 1.4 million premature deaths in China each year. The non-profit group Berkeley Earth in California put the figure at 1.6 million.

Greenpeace says “Air quality across China is still a major health hazard,” despite some progress.

Greenpeace reports that air quality saw significant improvements last year in Beijing, the Yangtze River Delta communities and the Pearl River Delta area. Despite dangerous levels, national PM2.5 rates also dropped by 10.3 percent from 2014.

China’s economic policy of growth-at-all-costs has been linked to major air, water and soil pollution.

In the face of growing criticism, Beijing has been taking a stronger stance against pollution recently. The government has been more transparent on environmental conditions and it’s offering financial incentives for provinces that can meet air-quality goals.

The WHO reports that developing nations can cut air-pollution related deaths by 15 percent if they help scale back PM2.5 levels to its recommended guideline..

Who is responsible for most of this waste?

If you guessed the U.S., you guessed wrong.

According to Ocean Conservancy, a U.S. non-profit, 60 percent of the plastic that’s dumped into sea comes from five Asian nations: China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.

In these five countries, only 40 percent of waste is properly collected. Throughout Asia, most waste piles up in communal dumps where bits of trash are pulled up by winds and cast into the ocean. Oftentimes, legitimate garbage dump sites are purposely built near rivers that flow into the ocean.

“Waste will intermittently be carried away by heavy rains or current, refreshing the capacity of the dump to receive more waste,” reads a report by Ocean Conservancy.

In some of these five countries, garbage-disposal workers have been known to cut corners and drop waste on illegal dump sites such as roadsides.

Research suggests that in the Philippines, 90 percent of illegally dumped plastic ends up in the ocean. According to Ocean Conservancy, about 1 million metric tons of illegally dumped plastic from the five Asian nations surveyed makes it out to sea.

The result?

The world’s oceans are seeing more and more gyres — masses of floating garbage that stretch for miles along the sea.

But that’s just the tip of the ice berg.

Ocean Conservancy reports these sites account for just 5 percent of the trash in the ocean. The rest is submerged underwater devastating marine life and bringing about environmental hazards.

“At this rate, we would expect nearly one ton of plastic for every three tons of fish in our oceans by 2025 — an unthinkable number with drastic economic and environmental consequences,” says Nicholas Mallos, director of Ocean Conservancy’s marine debris program.

The unlikely heroes in this situation, however small their contributions may be, are garbage pickers.

Braving disease, these people plunge into gyres to collect plastic which they then sell to recyclers for small sums.

Nicholas Mallos, director of Ocean Conservancy’s marine debris program, is calling on the source to take a stand.

Although Mallos agrees corporations aren’t “making plastic with the intent of it ending up in the ocean,” he urges them to use their “world-class logistics, financing, project management and marketing capabilities” to help solve the problem..

The plane landed on Jan. 2 on a runway at the Fiery Cross Reef. Foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying confirmed during the weekend that a civilian plane had landed on the runway during a test flight to see if it met “civilian aviation standards.”

The 10,000-foot-long runway is one of three China has been building in contested waters in the last year. Each runway would support long-range bombers, China’s best jet fighters and other aircraft. This would give China a new, militaristic advantage deep in the maritime center of South East Asia.

The South China Sea serves as a strategic waterway through which $5 trillion in ship borne goods passes through each year.

China is at odds over parts of the South China Sea with Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, the Philippines and Taiwan.

Vietnam responded to the landing by launching formal diplomatic protests and The Philippines said it expects to do the same. Meanwhile in Washington, State Department spokesperson John Kirby said the landing “raises tensions and threatens regional stability.”

While the U.S. does not lay claim to any exclusive economic zone in the South China Sea, it has repeatedly condemned China for threatening regional stability and freedom of navigation through its massive land reclamation.

China has been enraging its neighbors by building artificial islands from seven reefs and atolls in the Spratlys archipelago and claiming virtually all of the South China Sea.

Beijing maintains these islands are being built for civilian purposes such as fishing research and coast guard operations.

In October, The U.S. conducted “freedom of navigation” patrols by sending a guided-missile destroyer near one of China’s artificial islands. American B-52 bombers flew near the islands in November.

Sen. John McCain, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, has criticized the Obama administration for delaying more “freedom of navigation” patrols within 12 nautical miles of China’s artificial islands.

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One husband in China’s Sichuan province came up with more than 1,000.

The heartbroken man who goes by the name “A.Qiang” rented the LED boards of 1,407 taxis in downtown Yibin city for one second chance.

From Saturday through Monday, each board displayed the following message: “I’m sorry darling. Please forgive me.”

Of course, the stunt went viral faster than you could hail a cab. But, it left many nettizens scratching their heads.

Who is this mysterious A.Qiang? To whom is he begging forgiveness from? And what did he do to go this far for an apology?

According to the advertising company the man rented the boards through, his heartfelt message cost around 10,000 Yuan per day.

One can only hope the lady in question noticed the message..