As China’s Woes Mount, Xi Jinping Faces Rare Rebuke at Home

China’s top leader, Xi Jinping, seemed indomitable when lawmakers abolished a term limit on his power early this year. But months later, China has been struck by economic headwinds, a vaccine scandal and trade battles with Washington, emboldening...

The 2008 Milk Scandal Revisited

Since the regulation of food safety incorporates several mutually reinforcing activities and involves various stakeholders, it is highly unlikely that pure top-down, state-centric regulatory and legal frameworks will be sufficient to defuse China...

Xi Jinping Gets Mocked Going After New Zealand on Food Safety

While China’s new leader has won praise at home for his aggressiveness in pushing China’s interests abroad, this is one situation in which his boldness was bound to backfire. As bad as the Fonterra scandal appeared, China’s own dairy...

Zhu Ling Attempted Murder Case On Weibo

The 19-year-old case has again become so blazing hot on Chinese social media that as of Saturday, the name of the victim, Zhu Ling, was censored on Weibo. But it's too late: The case has been brought to the attention of tens of millions of...

The NYRB China Archive
06.07.12

A Chinese Murder Mystery?

Ian Johnson
from New York Review of Books

Roughly every decade, China’s political system cracks, its veil is rent, and its inner workings are laid bare. 2012, the Year of the Dragon, is turning out to be one of those periods when the country’s high priests can’t quite carry out their...