Today's Links: E-waste, socialist engineering and the capitalist fight against pollution?

• China chokes on e-waste

  Guiyu is a modern day gold rush town. But instead of panning for gold in babbling streams, workers shift through piles of broken old computer parts in acrid smelling shacks, smelting down parts with crude equipment to extract valuable metals.

• Giant pandas 'expanding habitat' in China

  Researchers in China say they have seen encouraging signs of an increase in giant panda numbers in the country's largest panda reserve.

• As concerns over quality mount, China faces obstacles

  Wang Wenlong knew he wasn't going to get top quality when he plunked down $4,700 for a locally made car. But he didn't expect so many problems from his Xiali subcompact -- from windows that refused to open to windshield wipers that wouldn't wipe.

• China awaits environ study before upgrading road to Everest-China-World-The Times of India

  Responding to global concerns, including that from India, China has decided to seek an environmental study on its controversial plan to upgrade an existing road to Nepal and Mt Everest in the fragile Himalayan region of Tibet.

• China moves to change damaged global image

  After years of being accused by Western nations of making only token gestures to fight fake goods and months of complaints about the safety of its exports, China is taking extraordinary steps to change its image.

• Tibet is remade by hand of Chinese government

  In a massive campaign that recalls the socialist engineering of an earlier era, the Chinese government has relocated 250,000 Tibetans - nearly one-tenth the population - from scattered rural hamlets to new "socialist villages,".

• The capitalist fight against pollution? The State Environmental Protection Administration is working with the banking authorities to identify companies that fail pollution checks or bypass environmental assessments for new projects and to restrict their access to fresh credit.

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