A few days ago, the 1994 film festival sponsored by Human Rights Watch occurred. One of the movies shown was Moving the Mountain, directed by a famous movie director from Britain and produced by an American studio. The film was about a young man from mainland China named Li Lu.

The imprisonment of journalists accused of revealing state secrets has in the past two years become a newsworthy story both in China and abroad. In order to understand this whole business, one has to understand the nature of "secrets" in China and what it means to be accused of leaking them. One must also ask whether it is really possible for journalists in China to have access to secrets and to reveal any secrets. And if they do, then what is (...) the exact nature of their crime? (shrink)

The title of this article sounds quite pedantic and a bit like an academic paper or even a scholarly book. Composing scholarly dissertations is, to us journalists, considered something of an arduous task. But I decided to write this article anyway because of the events surrounding the case of Han Dongfang and the developments within the evolving overseas democratic movement.

The term "public lover" has been a staple term in the Chinese language. Yet another term—"public concern" —has only lately become part of our language. This is largely because China lacks any sense of pluralism and any sense of limitations imposed on rulers by the common people. At present, if we consider both magnitude and timeliness, the "public concern" of both the Chinese people and foreigners is as follows: Will Jiang Zemin, whom Deng Xiaoping appointed, come to the same end (...) as Hua Guofeng, whom Mao Zedong appointed? (shrink)

According to the rumor mill in China: "The Central Discipline Inspection Commission is considering internal party disciplinary action against Song Renqiong and others ." I am truly happy for the CCP—by taking this stand there is still hope it can continue with its mission and transform China into a modern society.

Perhaps the most attractive yet also most mysterious feature of Deng Xiaoping's reform is his support for "allowing some people to become rich first.".

ObjectiveThis study aimed to analyze the hearing improvement and prognosis factors of idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss in different ages with initial total hearing loss.MethodsWe reviewed the medical records of 5,711 hospitalized patients with ISSNHL from 2016 to 2021 in our center. All of the patients had been treated with uniform combination drug therapy. After excluding the patients with initial partial hearing loss and those diagnosed with clear etiology, 188 patients were enrolled in this study and divided into six age (...) groups. In all groups, decreases in pure-tone average 1 month posttreatment, effective rate, and clinical characteristics were analyzed.ResultsAmong the 188 enrolled patients, 86% had vertigo. Complete recovery was seen in 0.5% of patients, and marked recovery was seen in 43% of patients. The mean 1 month posttreatment PTAs were as follows: 18–30 years: 80 ± 7.5 dB; 31–40 years: 100 ± 9.0 dB; 41–50 years: 99 ± 8.3 dB; 51–60 years: 101 ± 8.6 dB; 61–70 years: 96 ± 9.6 dB; and ≥ 71 years: 88 ± 13.0 dB. Compared with the other groups, the 18–30- years group showed better recovery of hearing threshold in five frequencies, and the recovery of hearing threshold at 0.25 and 0.5 Hz was better than the recovery at 1, 2, and 4 kHz. According to the results of the chi-square test statistical analysis, vertigo and comorbidities were associated with a poor prognosis of ISSNHL.ConclusionIn summary, the treatment outcomes of patients with ISSNHL with initial total hearing loss were poor. There was a significant age-related difference with respect to marked recovery 1 month posttreatment, and the 18–30- years group showed better recovery than the other age groups. (shrink)