The peoples choice
The week's news at a glance.
Beijing
Millions of Chinese experienced democracy for the the first time this week, when they voted in the season finale of The Mongolian Cow Sour Yogurt Super Girl Contest, China’s answer to American Idol. Some 400 million people—more than the entire population of the U.S.—watched on TV as aspiring singer Li Yuchun won the runoff. Only 8 million votes were cast, because the balloting was by text messaging, which costs money and is not available to many. But millions more joined fan clubs and chat sites. The winner was not the demure beauty typical of state television: Li, 21, is outspoken and tomboyish. “It’s like a gigantic game that has swept so many people into a euphoria of voting,” said social commentator Zhu Dake.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Book reviews: ‘Red Scare: Blacklists, McCarthyism, and the Making of Modern America’ and ‘How to End a Story: Collected Diaries, 1978–1998’
Feature A political ‘witch hunt’ and Helen Garner’s journal entries
By The Week US Published
-
The backlash against ChatGPT's Studio Ghibli filter
The Explainer The studio's charming style has become part of a nebulous social media trend
By Theara Coleman, The Week US Published
-
Why are student loan borrowers falling behind on payments?
Today's Big Question Delinquencies surge as the Trump administration upends the program
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published