2008 in China

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Contents 1 Events 1.1 January 1.2 February 1.3 March 1.4 April 1.5 May 1.6 June 1.7 July 1.8 August 1.9 September 1.10 October 1.11 November 1.12 December 1.13 Tropical Typhoons of 2008 1.14 See also 2 References

[edit] Events

[edit] January

• January 6 - 2nd leg of the Guangdong-Hong Kong Cup 2007-08.
• January 19 - Hong Kong League Cup 2007-08 (to 22 March)
• January 24 - 2008 Hong Kong-Shanghai Inter Club Championship
• January 25-January 27 - International Youth Football Invitation Tournament 2008 in Hong Kong.
• January 25 - China's worst snowstorm since 1954, delays traffic, and causes massive power outages in central and southern parts of the country. According to Chinese news agency Xinhua report, 133 killed by 2008 China blizzard with snowstorm during January and February.^[1]
• Republic of China legislative election, 2008

[edit] February

• East Asian Cup 2008
• Women's East Asian Cup 2008
• Edison Chen photo scandal
• 2008 Lunar New Year Cup
• 17 February - All Hong Kong Schools Jing Ying Football Tournament 2007-08 (to 22 March)
• The price of food continues its sharp rise, jumping by as much as 23% from January. ^[2]

[edit] March

• 2008 National People's Congress
• 2008 Tibetan unrest
• People's Republic of China presidential election, 2008
• MLB China Series
• China Open 2008 (snooker)
• Republic of China presidential election, 2008
• 2008 Chinese heparin contamination
• March 17: 2nd Asian Film Awards were given in a ceremony at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre as part of the Hong Kong International Film Festival.
• March 28-March 30: 2008 Hong Kong Sevens

[edit] April

• Miss Tourism Queen International 2008
• April 14 - 27th Hong Kong Film Awards
• April 18-April 20: 2008 World Fencing Championships held at the Olympic Green Convention Center in Beijing, China.
• April 23 - Hong Kong FA Cup 2007-08
• April 28 - 2008 China Railways train T195 accident
• Protests in London, Paris and San Francisco during 2008 Olympic Torch Relay.
• 2008 Demonstrations against Carrefour supermarket chain
• Tanker An Yue Jiang containing arms sold to Zimbabwe refused entry into Southern Africa.

[edit] May

• 2008 Chinese motorcycle Grand Prix
• President Hu Jintao visits Japan, meets with Yasuo Fukuda, makes speech at Waseda University.
• May 12 - The 2008 Sichuan earthquake takes place, killing over 70,000 people.
• May 20 - Ma Ying-jeou and Vincent Siew, both of the Kuomintang Party, sworn in as President and Vice President of the Republic of China.
• May 29: 2008 UCI BMX World Championships took place in Taiyuan, China. (to June 1)

[edit] June

• Meetings between the PRC and ROC take place, improving Cross-strait relations.
• Summer 2008 South China floods
• The Chinese government buys Mount Toromocho Copper Mine in Peru for USD$3 billion, with potentially two billion tonnes of copper ore. The deal was brokered by Chinalco, a PRC-government owned company.^[3]
• The Republic of China (Taiwan) reasserts claim to the Diaoyutai Islands. ^{[4] [5]}
• China's national soccer team is victorious over the Australian Socceroos team during the FIFA World Cup qualifier at Sydney Olympic Stadium for the first time in history. The resulting 1-Nil defeat for the Socceroos was their first home defeat in a World Cup qualifier in 27 years. ^[6]
• June 4-June 8: 2008 Jiangsu Snooker Classic
• June 10: The 270 ton sport fishing vessel Lien Ho of Taiwan suffered a collision with a Japanese patrol vessel, Koshiki, and subsequently sank, while in the disputed territorial waters around the Diaoyutai Islands that have been claimed by Japan and Taiwan (ROC). The Taiwanese crew who were aboard the vessel claims that the larger Japanese frigate deliberately crashed into them; their assertions are backed up by recently released video footage.^[7]
• June 13: Gas leak kills six and injures 28 at Chinese fertiliser factory (Wikinews)
• June 14-June 22: 2008 Shanghai International Film Festival
• June 20: Colonel Wang Hui-hsien, a former Military Intelligence Bureau (MIB) analyst, is arrested in Taiwan on charges of selling state secrets to Mainland China. ^[8]
• June 22: Controversial journalist Lu Keng passes away at age 89.
• June 28:The 2008 Guizhou riot takes place following the alleged cover-up by authorities over the death of a teenage girl.

[edit] July

• July 1: A jobless Beijing resident Yang Jia killed six police officers in a Shanghai police station.
• Resumption of Weekend Cross-strait charters between Taiwan and Mainland China after 59 years.
• Six party talks on North Korea's nuclear weapons program continue in Beijing.
• July 4: Chinese Wikipedia unblocked by government (Wikinews)
• July 10: Migrant workers riot in Zhejiang province in Eastern China for three days, which originated from quarrels between workers and police. ^{[9] [10] [11]}
• July 17: The Chinese National People's Congress holds a press conference and releases mid-year financial statistics on the nation's GDP. ^[12]
• July 17-July 21: 2008 Stanković Continental Champions' Cup held in Hangzhou.
• July 21 - Bomb blasts in Southern China, targeting commuter buses. ^[13]
• Typhoon Kalmaegi strikes areas in China.
• Chinese officials claim to have foiled a terrorist plot against the Shanghai Stadium ^[14].
• July 28: Typhoon Fung-wong strikes Fujian, China.

[edit] August

• Leung Chin-man appointment controversy
• HKFA 7-A-Side Competition 2008–09
• August 3: The International Olympic Committee and Chinese organizers announce that all Internet restrictions have been lifted for media covering the Beijing Games.
• August 3: A total solar eclipse is visible from China.
• August 4: 2008 Xinjiang attack
• August 8: 2008 Summer Olympics
• August 19: 2008 Yingjiang earthquakes
• August 26: 2008 Guangxi chemical plant explosions
• August 30: 2008 Panzhihua earthquake

[edit] September

• 2008 Summer Paralympics
• September 2: Further flooding occurs in coastal China. ^[15]
• September 5: Investigation and trial of former ROC President Chen Shui-Bian over corruption charges.^{[16] [17]}
• September 7: Hong Kong legislative election, 2008
• September 8: 2008 Shanxi mudslide
• The 2008 Chinese milk scandal, a food safety incident involving milk and infant formula which had been adulterated with melamine, broke on 9 September.^[18]
• September 10: Chinese video sharing website Tudou receives its SARFT license ^[19].
• September 15-September 21: 2008 Guangzhou International Women's Open
• September 18: An open beta of the high definition channel of the Chinese video sharing website Tudou, also known as Heidou, is released for public use.
• September 20: Fuhua Mining Co. Ltd., coal mine accident (3:30 am - 1930 GMT Friday) in Hegang City, Heilongjiang, where 5 miners were killed, and 27 trapped.^[20][21]
• September 21: 2008 Shenzhen club fire
• September 26: First public release of Anti-Japan War Online, a locally-developed patriotic MMORPG game, released in China.
• September 27: Shenzhou 7 Zhai Zhigang first Chinese person to spacewalk
• September 28: 13th Computer Olympiad held in Beijing. (to 5 October)
• September 29: Shanghai Masters 2008 (to 5 October)

[edit] October

• 2008 Chinese Grand Prix
• October 3-October 18: World Mind Sports Games held in Beijing, China.
• October 6: 2008 Damxung earthquake
• October 20: Windows Genuine Advantage introduced onto Chinese language computers, causing issues for the large majority of users in China running a pirated copy of Microsoft Windows
• October 20: Japanese and Chinese students clash at the Shanghai International Studies University ^[22], sparking mass violence within the campus and controversy regarding Anti-Japanese sentiment among Chinese youths. Ten police vehicles were dispatched to quell the violence.^[23]
• October 21: Zhang Mingqing (張銘清), Beijing official for the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait, was attacked by Taiwan Independence activists.^{[24] [25] [26] [27]}
• October 23: Chinese dissident Hu Jia wins European Union human rights prize
• October 30: Evermore Office suite 2009 downloaded 5.3 million times since Microsoft began its anti-piracy measures with Windows Genuine Advantage.^[28][29]

[edit] November

• Miss International 2008
• 2008 Tennis Masters Cup
• Hong Kong Senior Challenge Shield 2008–09
• November 3: Chen Yunlin 5-day visit to Taiwan
• November 4: 2008 Taiwan-China Cross Straits Economic Pact
• November 7: 2008 Shenzhen anti-police riot
• November 9: 2008 Chinese economic stimulus plan
• November 9: 2008-09 A1 Grand Prix of Nations, China
• November 14: The Chinese fishing vessel FV Tianyu No. 8 was seized by Somali pirates while fishing off the coast of Kenya.^[30][31]
• November 17: 2008 Longnan riot
• November 18-November 23: 2008 China Open Super Series
• November 22-November 29: 2008 AIBA Women's World Boxing Championship held in Ningbo City.
• Lien Chen meets Hu Jintao at APEC Peru 2008, highest level cross-strait exchange since 1949
• November 24-November 30: 2008 Hong Kong Super Series
• November 25: Dongguan toy factory riot^[32]
• November 28: Wo Weihan executed on spying for Taiwan charges

[edit] December

• December 3: Red Flag Linux begin installation in cafe
• December 10: Charter 08
• December 13: The leaders of China, Japan and South Korea meet in Fukuoka, Japan for a trilateral meeting promoting political ties. ^[33]
• December 17: The MV Zhenhua 4, a Chinese fishing boat owned by China Communications Construction, was hijacked by Somali pirates on the way back to Shanghai, but deterred as crews radioed for help. The 30 crew members fought for four hours after nine pirates armed with rocket launchers and heavy machine guns boarded the ship. A Malaysian warship, Sri Indera Sakti and Malaysian military helicopter arrived and fired on the pirates, who fled the scene. No crew members were injured.^[34][35] The crew used water cannons, molotov cocktails and beer bottles to defend against the pirates, whom were fully armed.^[36]
• December 18: Chinese warships depart for the Gulf of Aden in response to the growing threat of Somali pirates. ^[37][38][39] This is the first time China has sent ships on a mission that could involve fighting so far beyond its territorial waters.

[edit] Tropical Typhoons of 2008

• Tropical Storm Kammuri (2008)
• Typhoon Fengshen (2008)
• Typhoon Neoguri (2008)
• Typhoon Nuri (2008)

[edit] See also

• 2008 Chinese export recalls
• 2008 South China animal consumption incidents
• Chinese Football Association Yi League 2008
• Chinese Football Association Jia League 2008
• Chinese Super League 2008
• Hong Kong League Cup 2008–09

[edit] References