Brian Rhoads

WUKAN, China (Reuters) - Residents of a southern Chinese village on Saturday elected a reformist leader to run a new administrative authority that many hail as a model for greater grassroots democracy following an uncompromising standoff over land grabs and abuse of power.

WUKAN, China (Reuters) - Residents of a southern Chinese village on Saturday elected a reformist leader to run a new administrative authority that many hail as a model for greater grassroots democracy following an uncompromising standoff over land grabs and abuse of power.

WUKAN, China (Reuters) - Hundreds of Chinese clapped and cheered their favorite candidates on Wednesday ahead of the election of a new village committee, creating a front line of democratic activism after a violent standoff over corrupt land grabs.

BEIJING (Reuters) - The New York Knicks may have given Jeremy Lin his break in the NBA, but a sports ball maker in eastern China saw potential in the Harvard-educated Chinese-American more than a year and a half ago -- and quietly registered his trademark for $700.

LANGMU, China (Reuters) - Tibetans in northwest China marked a tense traditional new year with prayer, the sounding of a gong and subdued defiance on Wednesday, in the wake of a string of self-immolations and protests against Chinese control.

HONG KONG (Reuters) - A political storm that has rocked the candidacy of the frontrunner to become Hong Kong's next leader poses a delicate challenge for Beijing, and in particular for the man expected to take over as China's president in 2013.

NEW YORK/HONG KONG (Reuters) - Wynn Resorts Ltd Chief Executive Steve Wynn upped the ante in his fight against former business partner Kazuo Okada, accusing the Japanese gaming mogul of improper payments to foreign gaming regulators and forcibly buying back Okada's 20 percent stake in the casino company at a deep discount.

BEIJING (Reuters) - After bowing to Western pressure over Libya a year ago, China blocked a move pressing Syria's leader to step down, exposing the difficulties Beijing faces in deciding when to go along with and when to rebuff demands piling up at its door.

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Wynn Resorts Ltd, the $15 billion gaming empire of Las Vegas tycoon Steve Wynn, may be forced to give its biggest shareholder access to its financial papers, a U.S. judge has ruled, the latest turn in a case that has transfixed the casino world with implications for the company's control.

WANGGANG, China (Reuters) - As China gears up for a leadership transition, a small fishing village that stood up to official corruption and rural land grabs has become a touchstone for other communities striving to fight back against grassroots abuses.

WANGGANG, China (Reuters) - As China gears up for a leadership transition, a small fishing village that stood up to official corruption and rural land grabs has become a touchstone for other communities striving to fight back against grassroots abuses.

TAIPEI (Reuters) - Taiwan voters re-elected incumbent President Ma Ying-jeou on Saturday, endorsing his push for closer ties with Beijing and removing a potential irritant in Sino-U.S. relations as those two powers head for a year of political transition.

TAIPEI (Reuters) - Thousands of Chinese have flown to Taiwan ahead of the island's presidential and parliamentary elections this weekend, eager -- and bemused -- to see how democracy works in the land of the old enemy.

BEIJING (Reuters) - North Korea's new young leader will have to share power with an uncle and the military after the death of his father Kim Jong-il as the isolated country shifts to collective rule from strongman dictatorship, a source with close ties to Pyongyang and Beijing said.

BEIJING (Reuters) - North Korea's new young leader will have to share power with an uncle and the military after the death of his father Kim Jong-il as the isolated country shifts to collective rule from strongman dictatorship, a source with close ties to Pyongyang and Beijing said.

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Apple Inc's share of China's booming smartphone market has risen sharply in the past two years, but for now the company that sells the iconic iPhone is being outpaced by nimble rivals.

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Apple Inc's share of China's booming smartphone market has risen sharply in the past two years, but for now the company that sells the iconic iPhone is being outpaced by nimble rivals.

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's plan for a new $300 billion sovereign wealth fund is as much a warning to Washington as it is a body blow to Brussels.

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's plan for a new $300 billion sovereign wealth fund is as much a warning to Washington as it is a body blow to Brussels.

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's plan for a new $300 billion sovereign wealth fund is as much a warning to Washington as it is a body blow to Brussels.