Do you know a rebellious, b.b.c. teen?

Readers, do you know any misbehaved, spoilt or downright out of control British Chinese teenagers?

Are their parents at a loss as to how to get through to them or change their behaviour? Perhaps you are one of these unruly teens yourself?

The BBC is looking for more participants for its successful reality show The World's Strictest Parents and would are inviting applications from the UK Chinese community.

In each episode two teens are sent to live with a ‘strict’ family abroad, where they are asked to live according to new rules, required to attend school, and get a taste of what it is to be a teenager in a very different, and often less fortunate culture. In previous programmes the show has sent teenagers everywhere from Jaipur to Jamaica, and Accra to Atlanta.

Do you know of anyone who would benefit from such an experience? If so, please contact the programme makers here.

Who knows, we might be seeing a b.b.c. face on this show in the future?

Link: The World's Strictest Parents

Is Susan Ma the feistiest and smartest candidate of The Apprentice 2011?

She's certainly the youngest and unfortunately she may also the be most naive, and the least adept at defending herself in an argument. So what will become of the Shanghai-born, British based entrepreneur currently battling it out for a business partnership with Lord Alan Sugar?

If you've been following this year's 'The Apprentice', you can't have failed to notice Susan Ma, who has emerged as one of the characters to watch not least because of her ongoing rows with fellow contestants.

Aged 21 at the time of filming, Susan is full of youthful enthusiasm as opposed to boardroom soundbites in stark contrast to her fellow candidates. But whilst she often displays quickness of mind and eagerness, she has also stumbled in the tasks (overestimating her ability to sell luxury fake tan to the good people of Birmingham and comically failing to explain her idea for a mobile phone app, for example).

Outside of the show, though, there is little doubt about her business abilities as she has built up a bona fide business selling natural skincare products, an enterprise that she says enabled her to pay off her mother's mortgage.

My view is that Susan is a smart young woman with good business instincts but hindered by poor communication skills and lacking maturity. Will Lord Sugar see past the flaws and give her a shot at the ultimate prize of a £250,000 business investment?

Tune in tonight on BBC1 at 9:00 to find out.



Link: The Apprentice, BBC

Link: Susan Ma homepage

Link: Susan Ma's company, Tropic Skincare

'Why Can't I Be More Chinese' by Lawrence Leung

Ladies and gentlemen, I think we have found the b.b.c anthem.

I'd like to present for your viewing pleasure Australian comedian Lawrence Leung with... well, just watch it. It's very funny!

Silver Vauxhall Corsa sought in connection with Northampton deaths

Police are searching for a rented Silver Vauxhall Corsa in connection with the apparent murder of a Chinese family in Northampton, in the East Midlands.

UPDATE: The main suspect has been named as Anxiang Du (above). Press are reporting that Du recently lost a court case against the Dings to do with their joint herbal remedy business. Did a money dispute lead to these tragic deaths?

A mother, father and 2 daughters were the victims. The father was Jeff Ding (below), a lecturer at Manchester Metropolitan University.

Police suspect the attack may have been targeted rather than a botched robbery or a random incident.


Anyone with details about the incident can call police on 0800 0961011 or 0207 1580126 and ask for Operation Nene.

Source: Northampton Chronicle

Is this a sad sight?

Walk to the centre of London's historic Chinatown and what will you find? Perhaps a museum charting the history of Chinese immigrants in the UK? A cultural centre celebrating the richness and diversity of Chinese art and society? Well, not quite. How about a giant betting shop?




To be fair you will also find many great restaurants, community centres and lots of Chinese-run businesses and services. I just find it a little sad that this is what occupies such a prominent position in Chinatown (and the fact it wouldn't be there if there wasn't a demand for it).

Baby milk formula shortages hit Hong Kong

Not nice for any parent... Incidents of toxic milk and rising prices in China have prompted many mainland Chinese to bulk buy baby formula in Hong Kong, creating territory-wide shortages.



It's not happening quietly either - there have been reports of mainlanders working in teams to jump queues in order to clear stocks, leaving local parents struggling to find supplies of milk formula for their babies.

Modern China, old fashioned disappearance

The whereabouts of artist Ai Wei Wei is still unknown after he was taken into custody by Chinese authorities as part of a major crackdown on dissent in China. Some have described as a return to the 'bad old days'.

The following is the timeline of his disappearance as reported by Western media.

October 11th 2010



November 8th 2010



March 7th 2011



April 3rd 2011


April 4th 2011


April 5th 2011

Photo: The Guardian

How to make a Chinese style paper boat

This brought back some childhood memories....