Dissident Chen Sure 1-Party China Will Change
“It’s an inevitability of history, whether the party likes it or not,” Chen said. “Once the people are waking up, change is coming for sure.”
China’s Pollution: The Birth Defect Angle
There are persistent rumors that the horrendous pollution in China has led to a huge increase such births in China.
Caixin Media
01.28.13
Cleaning Up China’s Secret Police Sleuthing
Wiretapping, email hacking, cell phone tracking, and secret videotaping are just a few of the cloak-and-dagger techniques long employed by police in the course of criminal investigations in China.
But now, for the first time, new rules say...
Dead-end Trail to Bo’s Trial in China’s South
China scotched reports that disgraced politician Bo Xilai’s much anticipated trial would open on Monday, amid chaotic scenes at a courthouse packed with expectant journalists in the south of the country.
Xi Jinping’s Opposition to Political Reforms Laid out in Leaked Internal Speech
Beijing-based writer Gao Yu’s writing on a speech Xi Jinping made during his “southern tour” in December, suggests Xi, who blames those not “man enough” to do what had to be done to save the Soviet Communist Party from itself, has even less...
Beijing Observation: Xi Jinping the Man
Xi Jinping’s “new southern tour speech,” made in December, began circulating last week in the party. It reads like a confirmation of Harvard Professor Roderick MacFarquhar’s prediction that the likelihood of the Chinese Communist Party reforming...
China’s Rigid Stability – Yu Jianrong analyses a predicament
Foreign Policy named Yu Jianrong one of the Top 100 Global Thinkers and described the famous scholar who works in the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing as a ‘rare Chinese academic who has taken up the challenge of defining...
Eastern Promise in LIttle Africa
Chasing their slice of China’s raging appetite, tens of thousands of African traders are settling uneasily in the ghettos of Guangzhou.
New Komeito, LDP at Odds Over How to Improve Ties with China
New Komeito leader Natsuo Yamaguchi's meeting on Jan. 25 with Chinese leader Xi Jinping highlighted the differences emerging within the ruling coalition over how to improve ties with Beijing.
Will China Buy a Hollywood Studio?
All of China's recent investment in Hollywood raises the question: Is China positioning itself to buy a major studio? Three reasons why it will, and one why it won't.
Peak Toil
In the first of two articles about the impact of China’s one-child policy, The Economist looks at China's shrinking working-age population.
China Wouldn’t Mind a Unified Korea--Just Not Yet
Since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, China has had the dubious distinction of being North Korea’s only ally and friend on the world stage.
Media
01.25.13
Former China State TV Director Bemoans Anti-Japanese Propaganda: “Where’s the Creativity?”
Are Chinese audiences growing weary of anti-Japanese propaganda? It would seem that some, at least, are growing sick of the pathetic villains, superhuman heroes, and lame endings that many Chinese movies and television series about World War II,...
Sen. Kerry’s Approach to China as Secretary of State
On his first trip to China as Secretary of State, Sen. Kerry should make the rhetorical case for a positive future vision of the bilateral relationship based on rules.
Former Porn Star is China’s Hottest New Politician
Actress Diana Pang, known for starring in “Erotic Ghost Story–Perfect Match,” caused a stir by attending the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Congress in Gansu.
“Cloud Atlas” Cut by 38 Minutes for China Audience
Nearly 40 minutes were cut from the Hollywood film “Cloud Atlas” for Chinese audiences, deleting both gay and straight love scenes to satisfy local censors.
China’s Intelligence Reforms?
The Chinese Communist Party is aware of the need to improve governance and recent rumors include a possible change of contols over the Ministry of State Security.
Ex-China Leader Steps Back, Fueling Speculation
A decade after Jiang Zemin stepped down as China’s top leader he has used the death of a former rival to signal that he may allow his political shadow to recede.
Family’s Visit Confirms Chinese Dissident is Alive
The family of one of China’s most prominent dissidents, Gao Zhisheng, got the first confirmation in nine months that he was still alive.
(Editorial) Fate of the World Rests with SIno-U.S. Ties
The gap between the strength of China and the US will narrow. Previous experiences in international politics will be viewed as realistic reasons to exacerbate tensions between the two sides. This is a dangerous era.
How Social Networks Skirt Censorship in China
WeChat, the social network owned by Tencent—China’s largest listed Internet company—provides a way around the traditional text-based censorship rained down upon users by the state.
Pressures at Home, Tensions Offshore
It is tempting to conclude that the increasingly dangerous dispute between China and Japan over the Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands is driven in part by Beijing’s need to distract its populace from problems at home
Crime With Chinese Characteristics
A review of “The Civil Servant’s Notebook,” the first book by popular novelist Wang Xiaofang to be translated into English.
The Next War?
China, Japan, and various other Asian countries insist a group of tiny islands are theirs alone. Toss in national pride and you have the potential for one of the dumber, more destructive face-offs in recent history.
China Says U.S. Culpable in Japan Island Dispute
China says the U.S. has "undeniable historical responsibility" in Beijing's dispute with Japan over islands in the East China Sea.
China Urges Cautious U.N. Resolution on North Korea
China says the United Nations Security Council need pass a cautious resolution on North Korea's December rocket launch, saying that was the way to ensure regional tensions do not escalate...
A New Opportunity for China-South Korea Relations Under Park Geun-hye and Xi Jinping?
South Korea and China are natural economic partners, but North Korea continues to rear its head as a challenging sticking point between the two sides.
China’s Risky Path, from Revolution to War
The scenario of abrupt bottom-up revolution occurring in China has recently generated much debate.
China’s ‘Lamborghini’ Coefficient
According to China's first official Gini coefficient figures in a decade, China today is more equal than in 2003.
China’s Inequality Index Highlights Urgency for Distribution Reforms
The first rich-poor index for the past decade paints a far-from-rosy picture of what must be done to bridge the wealth gap.
ODI-lay Hee-ho: China's Overseas Investment
China’s outward direct investment (ODI) exceeded $77 billion in 2012, an increase of 12.6% on the previous year.
In China, Discontent Among the Communist Party Faithful
Some Chinese say that they are starting to realize that a secure life is dependent on the defense of certain principles, perhaps most crucially freedom of expression.
Infographic Map: Territorial Disputes Involving Japan
Territorial disputes linked to Japan’s 20th-century military expansion across Asia, which ended in World War II, persist today.
Abe Adviser: Japan, China Need “Rules of the Game”
China scrambled two J-10 fighters last week after two Japanese F-15s followed a Chinese military aircraft on a "routine patrol".
Tell-All on the Internet Fells Chinese Official
China's top guardian of Communist literature is said to have provided a woman with a fellowship at his research institute in exchange for $1,600. The sex and jewelry came later.
Economists React: China GDP Growth Hits 7.9% in Fourth Quarter
Chinese growth is likely to stabilize around 8% this year after a more than two-year slowdown.
Economists React: China's GDP Growth Hits 7.9% in Fourth Quarter
Chinese growth is likely to stabilize around 8% this year after a more than two-year slowdown.
In China, Can Pollution Spur Media Transparency?
The Chinese press often puts the best spin on Beijing's pollution problem, questioning the accuracy of air-quality measurements and dismissing concerns as "fog."
Analysis: New China Leaders Must
Xiang Songzuo, the Agricultural Bank of China's chief economist says “stabilizing growth is a pre-condition for delivering on reform.”
Investment into China Declined in 2012
Analysts said cooling growth in China’s foreign direct investment, or F.D.I., did not suggest that investors’ confidence in the country was waning.
Talking Trust with China's Army
With suspicion apparently the order of the day in East and Southeast Asia, an American scholar's visit to a Chinese military forum turned up some fascinating things to say.
Viewpoint
01.15.13
Will Xi Jinping Differ from His Predecessors?
As part of our continuing series on China’s recent leadership transition, Arthur Ross Fellow Ouyang Bin sat down with political scientist Andrew Nathan, who published...
China Allows Media to Report on Air Pollution Crisis
The wide coverage of Beijing’s brown, soupy air, which has been rated “hazardous” or worse by monitors since last week, was the most open in recent memory.
International Schools in China Point Students to the West
Some Chinese pay as much as 260,000 renminbi, or about $42,000, a year for a Western-style education and a possible ticket to a college overseas for their children.
China's Press Freedom Goes South
Censorship is commonplace, but is usually more subtle, with directives described over the phone rather than by email (where it leaves a trail).
Viewpoint
01.13.13
Is Xi Jinping a Reformer? It’s Much Too Early to Tell
Last weekend, Nicholas Kristof wrote in the pages of The New York Times that he feels moderately confident...
(Editorial) Why Southern Weekly Said “No”
The road to freedom of expression as guaranteed in Article 35 of China’s Constitution will be a long one.
China Said to Crack Down on Censorship Protests
People across China have been detained or questioned for supporting protesting Southern Weekend journalists.
A Bowl of Hot Porridge: A Song for Southern Weekend
The Beijing News published a loving tribute, yes, to porridge. In particular, to the porridge of the south. But it is really a song of love and support for Southern Weekly.
China Censorship Protest "Living in Truth" (Opinion)
Protests erupt following a strike by journalists at a Chinese newspaper whose editorial on free speech was censored. Unlike most other protests in China, this one is about living in the truth.
China, America, and the Pivot to Asia
Cato Institute
Despite the United States’ focus on the Middle East and the Islamic world for the past decade, the most important international political developments in the coming years are likely to happen in Asia. The Obama administration has promoted a “...
Solzhenitsyn, Yao Chen, and Chinese Reform
When a Chinese ingénue, beloved for comedy, doe-eyed looks, and middle-class charm, tweets Solzhenitsyn's words, we may be seeing a new relationship between technology, politics, and Chinese prosperity.
Media
01.08.13
Online and Off, Social Media Users Go to War for Freedom of Press in China
When Mr. Tuo Zhen, the propaganda chief of Guangdong province, rewrote and replaced the New Year’s editorial of the Southern Weekend newspaper without the consent of its editors, he probably did not think it would make much of a splash....
Inside the Southern Weekly Incident
A Hong Kong University media scholar's review of the strife that led to a strike at one of China's most influential newspapers.
China Says it Will Overhaul Sprawling System of Reducation Through Labor
China's leaders are signaling plans to alter one of the the most despised cudgels for punishing petty criminals and dissidents.
The NYRB China Archive
01.08.13
The Old Fears of China’s New Leaders
from New York Review of BooksI felt a shudder of déjà vu watching the mounting protests inside China this week of the Communist Party for censoring an editorial in Southern Weekend, a well-known liberal newspaper in the southern city of Guangzhou. It is all too...
Chemical Spill Pollutes Shanxi Politics
After a chemical spill polluted north China waterways–and delays in reporting it raised the specter of an earlier cover-up–the problem is seeping into the political system.