Last month here on Beyond the Headlines we reported on the controversial case of a professor in the city of Nanjing who was jailed for holding partner swapping parties in his home.

Professor Ma Xiaochun was sentenced to three and a half years behind bars and his case sparked a debate here about what should, and should not, be allowed to go on behind people’s doors.

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FUN AND GAMES

China's Communist Party recently celebrated its 89th birthday, and really, why not celebrate? It's the largest political party in the world by membership, unchallenged ruler of the world's most populous nation, admired by other bureaucracies around the world for its efficiency and adaptability: we should all be so lucky to look so good at 89! BON'S MATT SCHRADER pes into the birthday celebrations for a closer look at what it means to party and non-party members alike . . .

Across China last week, communist officials and party members celebrated the 89th anniversary of the founding of the country’s Communist Party or CPC. In China’s Hunan province, local government even unveiled a golden statue of Chairman Mao Zedong – one of the men who co-founded the CPC back in 1921.
But amidst all this hoopla marking almost 9 decades of the communist party’s existence, another significant event took place. On the eve of the anniversary, domestic and foreign journalists from around the world convened in the nation’s capital as 11 spokespersons answered questions about the functioning of the CPC.

Prof For Hire
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Acupuncture World Heritage

At the tender age of 74 years that puts him in the record books here at Peking University - the Harvard of China, Professor Kong Xian Duo is lining up to receive his PHD in genetics.

Professor Kong is the oldest PHD student at this prestigious university, and quite possibly the whole of China. Not that you'd know by talking to this humble veteran of learning.  “Students thought I was a professor but I said I'm just a student too!”

The Communist Party of China has recently launched an online bulletin board called “direct line to Zhongnanhai” on which citizens can leave message to their senior political leaders.

Zhongnanhai, refers to the compound housing the party leadership’s offices and homes in central Beijing.

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