China Reveals Members of New Leading Group on Reform
The highly publicized nature of the meeting implies that the Party intends for the group to play a prominent role in future reforms.
A Dream Deferred
The challenge the ICIJ expose poses to Xi's reputation as an anti-corruption crusader, is a vindication of Xu's advocacy.
Features
01.26.14
For Freedom, Justice, and Love
from China ChangeFollowing is legal activist Xu Zhiyong’s closing statement at the end of his trial in Beijing on January 22, 2014. According to his...
Li Na Beats Cibulkova to Win Australian Open Title in Her 3rd Appearance in the Final
Li Na made beat Dominika Cibulkova 7-6 (3), 6-0 the Australian Open final on January 25 to become the oldest woman to clinch the title in the Open era.
China Loses its Allure
Life is getting tougher for foreign companies. Those that want to stay will have to adjust.
China Media: Xi's Chinese New Year Greetings
President Xi Jinping said the Communist Party of China “firmly relying on the people, including non-communist members, defeated various challenges and difficulties in the last year and achieved outstanding results.”
Why China Needs to Rethink the Way It Treats the Foreign Press
A new report on elite wealth by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists suggests Beijing may need to change its whack-a-mole strategy of removing offending reporters one by one.
Sinica Podcast
01.24.14
Talking About Taiwan
from Sinica PodcastThis week on Sinica, Kaiser Kuo is joined by David Moser and Paul Mozur for an in-depth discussion about everyone’s favorite renegade province. This is a lively conversation that stretches from questions of Taiwanese personal identity to its...
Media
01.23.14
Carpe Coin: Crowdfunding Could Change Chinese Politics
Crowdfunding, which allows web users to contribute small sums of money to fund collective projects like concerts and films, is taking off in China—and just how far it will go is more than a business question. By allowing netizens to vote with...
Investigative Stories Delve Into the Use of Offshore Companies by Chinese
This year's first big China investigative story has come from the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists.
“Chinaleaks” Stories Censored in Mainland China
Chinese authorities blocked online access to news reports exposing the secrecy-cloaked offshore holdings of China's political and financial elites.
Why It Matters That Ellen is the First U.S. Talk Show in China
The show may be a spark for change in attitudes toward LGBT Chinese.
Report Says China’s Elite Use Offshore Companies
The report names many of China's wealthiest citizens, as well as relatives of Xi Jinping, Wen Jiabao, and descendants of the CCP's founders.
Report Links Chinese Elite to Offshore Tax Havens
Attention is on President Xi Jinping's family and its wealth at a time when Xi has emphasized fighting corruption.
China Mobilizes Cyber-cops After Leak on Elite Overseas Wealth
(Op-ed) “surprising behavior from a government that says it really wants transparency to flush out corruption.”
China Suffers Massive Internet Outage, Analysts Suspect Hackers
The state-run China Internet Network Information Center blamed the blockage on a “malfunction in root servers.”
ICIJ Offshore Records Reveal Tax Haven Clients in China, Hong Kong
More than 50 reporting partners in Europe, North America, Asia and other regions investigated 2.5 million leaked files.
How We Did Offshore Leaks China
Chinese, European and Western journalists worked together to successfully leak a highly sensitive and secretive story.
China Teams Up with Hollywood for Terracotta Army Superhero Movie
"Super Terracotta Warriors" is China's response to the recent slew of Hollywood films based on comic books.
China’s Temporary-Worker Ploy
Scandals are often blamed on lin shi gong, or “temporary workers," but why have they been hired in the first place?
China, Japan Slug It Out in World’s Press
Escalating disputes between Japan and China are spilling onto newspaper opinion pages around the globe as the rivals try to sway attitudes abroad and placate nationalist fervor at home.
Spring Festival Gala Performance by Chinese Rock Icon in Doubt
The popularity and pizzazz of China's “Godfather of Rock” is not worth the political risk for CCTV.
Books
01.16.14
Debating China
America and China are the two most powerful players in global affairs, and no relationship is more consequential. How they choose to cooperate and compete affects billions of lives. But U.S.-China relations are complex and often delicate, featuring a multitude of critical issues that America and China must navigate together. Missteps could spell catastrophe.
Found in Translation: King’s ‘Dream’ Plays in Beijing
The CCP emphasizes American history of inequality while leaving out points of domestic overlap.
Though I am Gone
(Vid) Wang Jingyao chronicles the murder of his wife, the first victim of the Cultural Revolution.
Bowed and Remorseful, Former Red Guard Recalls Teacher’s Death
“How a country faces the future depends in large part on how it faces its past,” said former Red Gaurd in public apology for past violence.
The New York Times Hires Michael Forsythe
Forsythe left Bloomberg after writing an article that threatened the Publication's presence in China.
New Detail Emerges About Bo Xilai’s Downfall
Sanlian Life said Australian reporter, John Garnaut, was involved in the Bo Xilai case.
White House Responds to Jimmy Kimmel’s China Controversy
A joke concerning the killing of Chinese people to avoid paying down U.S. debt was said live on ABC.
Major Leadership Shake-Up at China Film Group
La Peikang will take over from Han Sanping as the new head of the all-powerful state-backed film company, in a rare power transition for the Chinese industry.
China Fines ‘House of Flying Daggers’ Director for Breaching One-child Policy
Film-maker Zhang Yimou, who has three children with wife Chen Ting, has to pay £750,000 for breaking law.
China Renews Western Journalists’ Visas After Months-Long Standoff
Several Western journalists who faced expulsion from China were issued renewed visas by the Chinese government, ending a months-long standoff. But China is still on track to force at least one New York Times reporter to leave for the second year...
Why are China and Japan Accusing Each Other of Being Voldemort?
Ill-tempered media exchanges between the Chinese and Japanese ambassadors to London invoked the universal cultural icon to embellish attacks over islands in the Asia-Pacific.
Guardian Website Blocked in China
The newspaper said that it may be due to a recently run article about ethnic tensions in the western region of Xinjiang.
Media
01.07.14
Grand Theft China: Tase Corrupt Officials in New Online Game
Official corruption in China is a serious matter: In January 2013, Chinese President Xi Jinping openly vowed to tackle it, and a 2013...
‘Saturday Night Live’ comes to China's Internet
One such episode portraying Hu Jintao berating Barack Obama over the national debt shows the potential for more political discussion in China's television industry.
Conversation
01.06.14
Will Xi Jinping Bring a Positive New Day to China?
Chinese President Xi Jinping, just over a year in office, recently made a rare appearance in public in a Beijing restaurant, buying a cheap lunch and paying for it himself...
Snowden Lied About China Contacts
The New York Times has urged the Obama administration to offer Edward Snowden “a plea bargain or some...
Media
01.03.14
2013, According to the Chinese Communist Party
What did the year in foreign policy look like in Chinese official circles? Divining the thoughts and motives of China’s leadership is a famously abstruse exercise even for Chinese citizens, who are often left to parse bland quotes or keep their...
Environment
01.03.14
Predictions for China’s Environment in 2014
from chinadialogueFrom dead pigs in the Shanghai river to toxic smog in major cities, 2013 was a year of dramatic environmental...
China 2013 Box Office Surges 27 Percent to $3.6 Billion
Chinese box office revenue rose $760 million to $3.57 billion, an increase of 27 percent over last year's $2.8 billion (17 billion yuan), data from China's biggest online film review site, Mtime, showed.
China of My Mind
When I tell people that I have recently published a novel set in China, one of the first questions they ask is whether I’ve been there. My response seems to be a letdown.
Sinica Podcast
12.27.13
Sinica Goes to the Movies
from Sinica PodcastAs much as expats in China like to complain about the state of Chinese film and television, this week Kaiser and Jeremy remind us that there is a lot of great art out there, too, in a show that asks the critical question of: what is worth our...
Chinese Netizens Give Max Baucus a Chinese Name
The new U.S. Ambassador to China, Max Baucus, asked for suggestions for his Chinese name. Everyone unanimously replied, “Meikesi? Baokesi.” [“He hasn’t...
Are You Qualified to Be a Journalist in China? Take the Test
The test is seen as another step in tightening the party’s control over media. At a conference in August, President Xi Jinping called for the “consolidation of mainstream ideology and opinion” to ensure a correct political direction by media...
Paying a Price to Cross China’s Border
For Chinese critics of the government, the border long ago acquired a political toll booth: Whichever way you cross, you pay a price.
Other
12.23.13
[Transcript] One Year Later, China’s New Leaders
Nearly a year to the day after seven new leaders ascended to their posts on the Standing Committee of China’s Politburo, the Asia Society held a public...
China Pressures Media to Tone Down Cash Crunch Story
Chinese propaganda officials have ordered financial journalists and some media outlets to tone down their coverage of a...
Li Ruigang’s CMC Buys Stake in Caixin Media
China Media Capital, a $833 million venture capital fund with connections to...
The New Face of Chinese Propaganda
Not too long ago, the party’s Propaganda Department was renamed the Publicity Department. Old militant expressions like “overthrow,” “thoroughly destroy” and “strike hard,” and images of muscular workers and peasants in heroic postures, have been...
Culture
12.19.13
Chinese Literature Online
In July of last year, Brixton, U.K.-based novelist Zelda Rhiando won the inaugural Kidwell-e Ebook Award. The award was billed as “the...
Media
12.19.13
Chinese Admiral to U.S. Navy: ‘We Will Block You’
On December 5, the U.S. missile-carrying cruiser Cowpens almost collided with a Chinese ship in international waters. The Cowpens was...
Riot in China’s Xinjiang Kills 16, ‘Terror Gang’ Blamed
Chinese police shot and killed 14 people during a riot near the old Silk Road city of Kashgar in which two policemen were also killed, the latest unrest in a region that has a substantial Muslim population.
Is Beijing About to Pull the Plug on Two Major American News Operations in China?
In an unprecedented move, the Chinese government has declined to process visa applications for the entire Beijing bureaus of The New York Times and Bloomberg News, in apparent retaliation for investigative reporting those two media...
Apple Blocks Anti-Censorship ‘FreeWeibo’ App in China
U.S. technology giant Apple has removed the FreeWeibo application intended to allow users to read sensitive postings on Sina Weibo, a Chinese equivalent of Twitter, from its Chinese app store on orders from Beijing.
China Spins Mandela to Fit Its Political Narrative
State-run newspaper Global Times dismisses Western media comparisons between recently deceased anti-apartheid campaigner Nelson Mandela, who spent 27 years in prison in South Africa, and veteran Chinese human rights advocate, Liu Xiaobo, now...