Conversation
03.02.14
A Racist Farewell to Outgoing U.S. Ambassador Gary Locke
Reacting to departing U.S. Ambassador Gary Locke’s February 27 farewell news conference in...
Media
03.01.14
China’s Oscar Challenge
On January 3, the film critics of The New York Times published their Oscar nominations wish list. Many of...
Sinica Podcast
03.01.14
In Line Behind a Billion People
from Sinica PodcastThis week on Sinica, Kaiser and Jeremy are joined by Damien Ma, author of In Line Behind a Billion People, a new book for China-watchers looking at how...
Viewpoint
02.27.14
Why Frank Underwood is Great for China’s Soft Power
In depicting U.S. politics as just as vicious, if not more, sociopathic than its Chinese counterpart, House of Cards delivered a sweet Valentine’s Day gift to the Chinese government. The show handed the Chinese state an instant victory...
Conversation
02.27.14
How Responsible Are Americans for China’s Pollution Problem?
David Vance Wagner: China’s latest “airpocalypse” has again sent air pollution in Beijing soaring to hazardous levels for days straight....
Environment
02.26.14
South-North Water Transfer ‘Not Sustainable,’ Official Says
from chinadialogueThe $62 billion South-North Water Transfer Project would be rendered irrelevant if one-third of buildings in Beijing could collect more rainwater and recycle more wastewater, according to a Chinese ministerial official.
The remarks made...
China, Eyeing Japan, Seeks WW2 Focus for Xi During Germany Visit
Diplomatic sources said Germany did not want to get dragged into the dispute between China and Japan, and dislikes China constantly bringing up Germany's painful past.
Beijing Official Detained in Investigation of Former Security Chief
Liang Ke, the director of the Beijing Municipal Bureau of State Security, was taken into custody last month by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection.
Press Barred From Dalai Lama Meeting
The White House press corps is once again protesting its lack of access to the president, this time after it was barred from photographing the meeting between Obama and the Dalai Lama.
China Angry at Obama’s Meeting with Dalai Lama
Beijing remains determined to limit the Dalai Lama's international influence and pressures governments worldwide not to meet the Buddhist monk.
Obama Meets with Dalai Lama Despite China Warnings
The White House sidestepped questions about whether it was worried Obama's meeting would upset its relationship with China.
Obama to Host Dalai Lama on Friday at White House
China urged Obama to immediately cancel the meeting, accusing him of letting the Buddhist monk use the White House as a podium to promote anti-Chinese activities.
Rendezvous with Power
Apart from providing a glimpse into politics in the United States, the popular drama series depicts a shift in stereotypes of China.
Pushing Back Against Government Surveillance
Xie Yanyi, a Beijing lawyer, asked the Ministry of Public Security to tell him about Chinese security officials’ spying on their own citizens.
‘House of Cards’ in China: Surprisingly Available and Popular
Some analysts are surprised by the government's largely hands-off approach to video streaming sites, but caution that it may not last.
‘House of Cards’ Breaks Barriers in China
Although the second season paints an unflattering picture of Chinese diplomacy and officials, “House of Cards” wasn't prescreened by Chinese regulators and airs uncensored.
China Faults Report Blaming North Korean Leader for Atrocities
Chinese officials criticized a United Nations report serving notice to Kim Jong-un that he might be personally held liable in court for crimes against humanity.
Caixin Media
02.25.14
Sichuan Tycoon Charged with Murder Linked to Ex-Top Security Czar’s Son
A Sichuan tycoon who has been charged with a host of gang-related crimes, including murder, was a close business partner of a former top leader’s son, himself caught in a corruption inquiry.
Prosecutors say Sichuan Hanlong Group chairman...
Conversation
02.22.14
What Can the Dalai Lama’s White House Visit Actually Accomplish?
On February 21, the Dalai Lama visited United States President Barack Obama in the White House over the objections of the Chinese government. Beijing labels the exiled spiritual leader a "wolf in sheep's clothing" who seeks to use violence to...
Media
02.21.14
How the Internet and Social Media Are Transforming China
“The Internet has radically transformed China,” said Emily Parker, author of the book...
Taiwan and China Edge Ever Closer
Recent official talks between China and Taiwan were symbolic of the strengthening of cross-Strait ties under President Ma Ying-jeou of Taiwan.
Environment
02.20.14
Pollution Tax Suggested for Wealthy Chinese Fleeing for Greener Pastures
from chinadialogueEnvironmental problems have become an important factor causing the rich to leave China—but one academic has now suggested that they should first pay an environmental levy. Chen Guoen, a professor at Wuhan University, said
...How China and America See Each Other
China scholar Minxin Pei reviews the high-level exchanges published in Nina Hachigian's book “Debating China: The U.S.-China Relationship in Ten Conversations”.
China Set to Press North Korea Further on Nuclear Aims, Kerry Says
Mr. Kerry urged President Xi Jinping and senior Chinese officials to “use every tool at their disposal” to persuade North Korea to rethink its decision to be a nuclear power.
Local Government Threatens Severe Punishments for Families of Tibetan Self-Immolators
A county in Sichuan province has issued guidelines aimed at punishing family members of Tibetans who have set themselves on fire to protest Chinese rule in their homeland.
Media
02.19.14
Chinese Netizens (Still) Love ‘House of Cards’
“Everyone in China who works on this level pays who they need to pay.” Mild spoiler alert: These are the words of the fictitious Xander Feng, an influential Chinese billionaire on the Netflix series "House of Cards," a show that follows the...
Caixin Media
02.18.14
Lee Hsien Loong on What Singapore Can—and Can’t—Teach China
As one of the Four Asian Tigers, Singapore is known for its strong economy and orderly society. The city-state, with its population of 5.3 million people, is listed by the World Bank as fourth in the world in terms of per capita income. As a...
Media
02.13.14
Did President Xi’s Dumpling Outing Create a Pilgrimage Site?
Beijing, China—It’s well after lunch and Liu Fengju still hasn’t gotten her food. The sixty-seven-year-old wife of a retired railway worker came to Beijing to spend Spring Festival, the annual seven-day Chinese New Year celebration, with her...
Conversation
02.13.14
Are Ethnic Tensions on the Rise in China?
On December 31, President Xi Jinping appeared on CCTV and extended his “New Year’s wishes to Chinese of all ethnic groups.” On January 15, Beijing officials...
Two New Reports Slam Hong Kong Media Self-Censorship
Hong Kong fell to 61st in the Reporters Without Borders Press Freedom Index, behind Burkina Faso, Moldova and Haiti.
This Woman is the Voice of Tibet for China and the World
Tsering Woeser is a prolific blogger who writes in Chinese, the language she grew up with in school in Tibetan towns in southwestern Sichuan province. This makes Woeser's voice for the...
An Offer They Can’t Refuse
Will China win its 65-year war with Taiwan—without firing a shot?
Russia, China Snub U.N. Talks on Syria Aid Access
Russia and China on rebuffed the United States, France and Britain by failing to attend negotiations on a draft UN Security Council resolution to boost aid access in Syria.
Caixin Media
02.11.14
Local Governments Aim for Lower GDP Growth This Year
Most of the local governments that have announced their GDP targets for this year aimed lower than they did in 2013, citing the need to rebalance the economy and improve the quality of growth. Many missed their growth targets last year.
...
Spanish Judge Orders Arrest of China's Former President Jiang Zemin
A Spanish judge seeks to arrest Jiang and four others for alleged genocide in Tibet under a ‘universal jurisdiction’ doctrine that can prosecute human rights cases which took place outside Spain.
China and Taiwan Hold First Official Talks Since Civil War
The discussions were not expected to produce major breakthroughs, but they had important symbolic significance.
How Does China Impact the Global Economy? (Video)
Council on Foreign Relations Senior Fellow Elizabeth C. Economy discusses the Chinese economy, natural resources, the pollution problem, the fallacies of referring to the C.C.P. as a “totalitarian regime”, and more on Bloomberg Television’s...
Chinese Dissident Lands at Cato Institute With a Caution to Colleauges
Xia Yeliang, dismissed from his job as an economics professor at Peking University after clashes with his government over liberalization, warned that American universities should be careful about partnerships with Chinese universities. “They use...
No, China Did Not Win the Global Battle for Supremacy
Eric X. Li enumerates the defects of a U.S.-centric international system that he perceives to be crumbling, praises the deftness and strength he sees in China's statecraft, and predicts a coming period of international volatility as China...
China’s Television War on Japan
The state prohibits content that “incites ethnic hatred,” yet according to Southern Weekly more than 70 anti-Japanese TV series were screened in China in 2012. The result of this stream of rancor is just what you’d expect. ...
Tangling with China
The international community should insist China abide the rule of law and heed the United Nations arbitration ruling where tensions around China’s claims in the South and East China Seas are concerned.
The State of Journalism in China
How reporters are trying to work around China’s resurgent censorship, 25 years after Tiananmen.
Media
02.06.14
Beijing’s State Secrets Law—Still Broad, Still Opaque
Beijing may be whittling back its widely reviled state secrets laws—but given their opacity, it’s hard to say for sure. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang signed a regulation, announced February 2, that would prohibit Chinese government organs from “...
The Original Manchurian Candidate
In 1868 Anson Burlingame became not only America’s first minister to China to reside in Beijing, but also China’s first ambassador to the world.
China, the Death Star of Emerging Markets
On any list of banking accidents waiting to happen, China is assured a place at the very top. But could a crash there take the entire global economy down with it?
Growing Concern With China's Behavior at Sea: Senior U.S. Diplomat
The United States has growing concerns that China's maritime claims in the disputed South China Sea are an effort to control oceans in the Asia-Pacific region, a senior U.S. official said on Wednesday.
Commentary: Philippine Leader's Senseless Attack Against China Smells of Amateurish Politician
A Xinhua writer fiercely responds to Philippine President Benigno S. Aquino III’s comparison of China to Nazy Germany.
The Censorship Pendulum
People like to hear voices critical of the government, so social media companies can’t silence them entirely.
China Ends One Notorious Form Of Detention, But Keeps Others
Despite the closure of labor camps across China, groups targeted as political threats are still subject to incarceration in mental institutions and secret jails.
Philippine Leader Sounds Alarm on China
President Benigno S. Aquino III called for nations around the world to support the Philippines in resisting China’s claims to the seas near his country, drawing a comparison to the West’s failure to support Czechoslovakia against Hitler’s demands...
Xi Jinping’s Inner Circle: The Shaanxi Gang
This analysis is an excerpt of a paper examining the members of Xi Jinping's inner circle. It specifically looks at the “Shaanxi Gang,” national leaders tied to Shaanxi province whose ascent to leadership paralleled Xi’s own.
Conversation
02.05.14
What Should the U.S. Do about China’s Barring Foreign Reporters?
Last week, the White House said it was “very disappointed” in China for denying a visa to...
Books
02.05.14
By All Means Necessary
In the past thirty years, China has transformed from an impoverished country where peasants comprised the largest portion of the populace to an economic power with an expanding middle class and more megacities than anywhere else on earth. This remarkable transformation has required, and will continue to demand, massive quantities of resources. Like every other major power in modern history, China is looking outward to find them.
China to Ramp Up Military Spending
China will spend $148 billion on its military this year, up from $139.2 billion in 2013, according to IHS Jane’s, a defense industry consulting and analysis company.
Taiwan: The Winner in the China-Japan Row?
Dispute between two powers results in unexpected benefits for tiny Taiwan's fishing industry.