Palace Intrigue: Chinese Soldiers Storm Replica of Taiwan Presidential Office
Is Beijing doubling down on its longstanding threat to reclaim Taiwan by force?
Suicide Bombings in China: Beyond Terrorism
A suicide bomber attacked a park in Heze in China’s Shandong province, killing two (including the bomber) and injuring 24, with three people receiving “relatively severe” injuries.
What Did China Bring to the Iran Talks?
While China stood with the Western powers in insisting Iran give up its ambitions for nuclear weapons, Beijing took Iran’s side in calling for more rapid sanctions relief.
Confucius Says, Xi Does
Since he came to power in 2012, Mr Xi has sought to elevate Confucius—whom Mao vilified—as the grand progenitor of Chinese culture.
Media
07.23.15
Why Taylor Swift’s 1989 Merchandise Is Not Going to Get Her Banned in China
On July 20, one of China’s largest e-commerce websites, JD.com, announced that it is partnering with popular American singer Taylor Swift...
In Quirky Hong Kong Voting System, Fishermen Play Key Role
Fishing and farming make up less than 1 percent of Hong Kong's $274 billion economy but command 60 votes in the leadership committee.
China Cracks Down on Hong Kong Evangelists
A 2014 survey of more than 1,000 Protestant churches in Hong Kong by the Hong Kong Church Renewal Movement gives some insight into their activities.
China May Adopt 'Two-child Policy, Demographic Timebomb Looms
China could be on the verge of introducing a two-child policy, under which all Chinese couples would be allowed to have two children.
China Targeting Rights Lawyers in a Crackdown
Beijing is mounting a broad crackdown on human rights lawyers, contending that they have exploited contentious cases to enrich themselves and attack the party.
The China Africa Project
07.23.15
A Kenyan Columnist’s Provocative Views on the Chinese in Africa
In Mark Kapchanga’s view, the West, particularly the media, really does not understand what the Chinese are doing in Africa. Kapchanga, a provocative Nairobi-based journalist and columnist, isn’t shy in arguing his case that on balance China’s...
China Calls Japan Foreign Policy 'Two-faced'
China's Defense Ministry says it reserves the right to a "necessary reaction" after Japan called on Beijing to stop building oil and gas exploration platforms close to disputed waters.
China Feared CIA Worked with Sheldon Adelson's Casinos to Bust Officials
China fears that casinos owned by Sheldon Adelson were used by the CIA to blackmail Chinese officials.
Myanmar Gives 153 Chinese Life in Jail for Illegal Logging
A court in Myanmar sentenced 153 Chinese nationals to life in prison on after convicting them of illegal logging in a case that has already strained relations with Beijing.
China Probes Senior Xinjiang Security Official For Graft
A deputy regional security chief and former head of the prison system, Xie Hui, in Xinjiang has been put under investigation for suspected corruption.
Chinese Police Seize Ashes of Tibetan Monk Tenzin Delek Rinpoche
Chinese police forcibly seized the ashes of a prominent Tibetan monk whose death in prison set off public demonstrations.
Wan Li Obituary
Former leader Wan Li, who died at age 98, was a reform-minded communist. In the post-Mao Zedong era, Wan achieved one great success only to fail dismally in another crucial enterprise.
Xi Turns Back the Clock on Women’s Rights in China
Although it is unthinkable today, two decades ago 30,000 women from around the world converged outside Beijing to promote a host of social and political causes.
Chinese Art Curator Admits to Faking Masterpieces
A prestigious art institute in Guangzhou has discovered that it had forged artwork in its collection — faked by none other than one of its curators.
Louisa Lim: “How Chinese People Became Complicit...”
I didn’t want to write this book. Even the thought of it scared me, but it hammered away at my conscience. When I finally gave in, I took elaborate precautions.
Media
07.21.15
China: The Best and the Worst Place to Be a Muslim Woman
A woman’s solitary voice, earthy and low, rises above the seated worshipers. More than 100 women stand, bow, and touch their foreheads to the floor as a female imam leads evening prayers at a women-only mosque during the first...
Conversation
07.21.15
Is China’s Reform Era Over and, If So, What’s Next?
Fordham Law School professor and regular ChinaFile contributor Carl Minzner says we've arrived at “...
Chinese Stocks Rise as Shenzen Gains 20% on July Low
Pressure remains from a continuing unwinding of leveraged positions and analysts said they aren’t optimistic about cash-backed state support.
Japan Sharpens Censure of China Disputed Sea Activity
Japan is nearing approval of changes to a national security law that would allow Japanese troops to fight overseas for the first time since World War II.
Understanding Xi Jinping’s ‘Key Minority’
Xi’s renewed attention to the performance of county leaders shows that he is relying on local officials to play a pivotal role in implementing his program.
Two Way Street
07.20.15
How China and the U.S. Will Manage Competition for Influence
from Two Way StreetWashington refuses to accept that though the United States is not in decline, its international influence is not what it was. It is unlikely to regain the leverage it once wielded, because China and so many others now have more than enough...
One-Time Aide to China’s Ex-President Accused of Corruption
Party investigators accuse Ling Jihua, 58, once aide to former President Hu Jintao, of accepting bribes and illegally obtaining party and state secrets.
Media
07.20.15
Taming the Flood
In August 1975, Typhoon Nina, one of the most powerful tropical storms on record, surged inland from the Taiwan Strait, causing floods so catastrophic they overwhelmed dam networks...
Caixin Media
07.20.15
How Beijing Intervened to Save China’s Stocks
Top executives from 21 securities firms spent the morning of Saturday July 4 pinned to government office chairs while the future of China’s stock markets hung in the balance.
They’d been summoned on a day off to the Beijing office of the...
As Beijing Becomes a Supercity, the Rapid Growth Brings Pains
The planned megalopolis, a metropolitan area that would be about six times the size of New York's, is meant to revamp northern China's economy.
The Most-Viewed Fitting Room in China
Aside from shielding Internet users from political discussions the government considers deviant, China’s online censorship seeks to protect users minds from pornography.
China Warns Japan Over Laws to Allow Troops to Fight Abroad
China warns Japan against “crippling regional peace and security” after Tokyo passes bills to allow Japanese troops to fight abroad.
Could China Be the Next Japan?
Even as China's economy shows signs of recovering from a slowdown, it is vulnerable to the crash that dragged Japan into falling consumer prices and stagnant growth.
Amazon Prime sale--a Chinese import?
Prime Day is "Amazon's effort to try and capture the magic that Alibaba has captured with its November 11 Singles' Day promotion," said Kevin Carter, founder of EMQQ
China Locks Up Lawyers, Defending the Rule of Law
Amnesty International says 120 lawyers, and more than 50 support staff, family members and activists, have been rounded up in China since July 9th.
Tibetans Protest to Demand Release of Monk's Body in China
Dozens of Tibetans shouting "return the body" protested outside a prison in China after a prominent Tibetan monk died in jail, reflecting anger amongst his supporters and family, who believe he was murdered.
Google Alters Name of Disputed South China Sea Reef
Google says it has altered its map of a disputed reef in the South China Sea, removing its Chinese name in favor of what it says is its internationally recognized moniker.
China Detains South Africans, Britons Accused of Viewing 'Terror' Videos
China detained nine foreign tourists including South Africans, Britons and an Indian national.
The Real Risk Behind China’s Stock-Market Drama
More recently, the Party has offered annual targets for economic growth that almost always bear out, no matter what sort of creative policy, or accounting, steps are required
China Surprises With 7% Growth in Second Quarter
China’s growth remained at 7% in the second quarter, a level economists had thought would be hard to reach amid broad signs that Beijing’s policies to jump-start the economy hadn’t taken hold.
China's Pollution Quagmire
China’s efforts to reduce air pollution could be negated by its unregulated and unmonitored burning of petcoke, a fuel dirtier than coal, an expert on Chinese climate and energy policy said.
Conversation
07.14.15
China’s ‘Rule by Law’ Takes an Ugly Turn
Yet another crackdown has begun under Chinese President Xi Jinping. This time, the target is so-called “rights lawyers,” loosely defined as those who defend unpopular or dissident clients, or bring cases against the state that rest on claims of...
Lawyers and Activists Detained or Questioned by Police Since 9 July 2015
Amnesty International
Amnesty International has compiled this list of Lawyers and Activists in China who have been detained or questioned by police since July 9, 2015. The list was collated based on various sources. Amnesty International attempted to confirm all...
Sinica Podcast
07.13.15
Good Riddance, Monsieur Epstein
from Sinica PodcastThe hosts of the Sinica Podcast are not surprised that Gady Epstein is moving on. We used to buy the papers for his “Telegrams from the Orient”, but then he took that Economist gig and his productivity plummeted and it has become hard to even...
Two Way Street
07.09.15
The ‘Two Orders’ and the Future of China-U.S. Relations
from Two Way StreetThe China-U.S. relationship may be the most complex relationship that has ever existed between two major powers. Ties between China and the United States are deepening, and at every level the interaction between the two countries is marked by...
The NYRB China Archive
07.09.15
A Blind Lawyer vs. Blind Chinese Power
from New York Review of BooksIn early 2012, Chen Guangcheng, a self-taught lawyer who had been blind since infancy, lived with his wife and two children in the village of Dongshigu, where he’d been raised, on the eastern edge of the North China plain. They were not there by...
China’s War Against One American Journalist
Shohret Hoshur’s brothers are being disappeared by the Chinese government. Beijing is trying to silence an American reporter by sentencing his brothers to China’s gulag.
Angolans Resentful as China Tightens its Grip
After oil prices fell, leaving a huge hole in Angola's finances, it became clear sub-Saharan Africa's third largest economy needed - and President Jose Eduardo dos Santos signed multi billion dollar loans with China.
Oil Prices Rise on China Recovery and Iran Deadlock
Oil prices climb as Chinese stocks rebounded, easing concerns about China’s economic growth, and expectations of higher Iranian crude-oil exports receded.
Thailand Deports 100 Muslim Uighurs to China
Thailand deported some 100 members of a Turkic Muslim minority group wanted by China as illegal migrants, drawing a rare rebuke from the United Nations and causing protesters in Turkey to storm a Thai consulate.
China's Richest Lost $195 bn In One Month
The country’s stock market has been a wild ride this year, especially for millions of rookie retail investors who rushed to open their accounts for the first time.
Why Worry About China?
The Chinese government has stepped in to the market, the police are involved, and short selling is under fire.
China’s Web Users Find NYSE Shutdown Hilarious
Within 30 minutes of the NYSE shutdown, the word spread on the Chinese Internet, and jokes came pouring in on China’s Twitter-like microblogging platform Weibo.
The Philippines Takes China to Court
The Philippines argued at a closed that an international court should intervene in its dispute with China over rights to exploit natural resources and fish in the South China Sea.
Why Russia’s Turn to China is a Mirage
Chinese companies provide Russian companies with technology which they cannot access due to sanctions, and Chinese banks are a source of loans for Russian businesses.
China's Stock Market Crash, Explained
Chinese stocks surged last year, but those gains didn't reflect broader economic gains. They were a result of more people investing in the stock market with borrowed funds.
China Takes More Steps to Stop ‘Irrational’ Selling'
Chinese government agencies step up efforts to shore up China’s plunging stock markets that the securities regulator described as facing panic and irrational selling.
Both China and Taiwan Have South China Sea Obligations
China and Taiwan share claims to the South China Sea, a legacy of the civil war when the Communists beat the Nationalists and took control of the mainland in 1949.
China’s Confucius Institutes and the Soft War
The first Confucius Institute opened its door in November 2004 in Seoul, South Korea. Hanban, or the Chinese National Office for Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language.
'The Autobots' Hits Theaters, and Many Chinese Say They've Seen It Before
Many expressed outrage over the newest animated children’s movie, “The Autobots,” which bears an uncanny resemblance to Disney's "Cars.”
China Stock Slump Spreads as Alibaba to JD.com Whipsaw Investors
U.S.-traded Chinese stocks tumbled at least four years before rebounding in late trading as the rout that’s wiped $3.2 trillion from the value of mainland equities spreads.