Is ‘China’s Machiavelli’ Now Its Most Important Political Philosopher?
Much like a dragon, “the ruler of men has bristling scales. Only if a speaker can avoid brushing against them can he have any hope of success.”
The China Africa Project
01.15.15
Religion Among African Immigrants in China
Nestled in apartments and offices throughout the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou are dozens of improvised churches that cater to the region’s Pentacostal Africans, largely from Nigeria. These churches not only serve the community’s religious...
China Is Using ‘Charlie Hebdo’ to Justify Its Own Crackdown on Free Speech
“The world is diverse and there should be limits on press freedom,” read the editorial by Paris bureau chief Ying Qiang. “Unfettered and unprincipled satire, humiliation, and free speech are not acceptable.”
Obama’s Anti-Islamic State Push May Be Helping China Crack Down on Its Uighurs
en President Barack Obama in September secured passage of a U.N. Security Council resolution requiring nations to prevent their citizens from traveling abroad to participate in acts of terrorism, it was mostly hailed as a landmark achievement to...
Sources: Nicolas Cage’s ‘Outcast’ Has Chinese Release Date Delayed Again
There have been a host of theories about why Outcast is being delayed. Some distribution sources said in September that YFG was unhappy with the number of screens made available for the film.
The Colorful Propaganda of Xinjiang
The government believes religion breeds terror and has been trying to control religious expression in the region by imposing rules on the Uighur community. Critics say it is exacerbating the terror problem.
Xi Calls for More Anti-Corruption Efforts Despite Achievements
Misconduct may have abated but had not vanished, he said, and although counter-corruption mechanisms had been developed, they were not perfect and temptations still existed.
China Has Just Banned the Burqa in Its Biggest Muslim City
Moves like these are likely to further alienate an already disenchanted minority group—the Uighurs, who feel their culture and economy is being overrun by Han Chinese.
Sinica Podcast
01.12.15
From the Interpreter’s Booth
from Sinica PodcastThis week on Sinica, Kaiser and Jeremy are joined by Lynette Shi and William White, two globe-trotting adventurers who've found unconventional careers navigating the shoals of the professional interpretation circuit in China. So whether you’re...
In China, Projects to Make Great Wall Feel Small
The plan here seems far-fetched—a $36 billion tunnel that would run twice the length of the one under the English Channel, and bore deep into one of Asia’s active earthquake zones. When completed, it would be the world’s longest underwater tunnel...
China Steps up Political Arrests, Prosecutions
A total of 2,318 people were arrested or indicted on charges of “endangering state security”, the US-based Dui Hua Foundation said, citing statistics from China’s central prosecution office.
Drawing the News: Wo Shi Chali (Je Suis Charlie)
Chinese cartoonists and netizens have responded quickly to the slaying of cartoonists and editors at the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo yesterday. Masked gunmen entered the offices of the journal and fired automatic weapons at staff in...
Caixin Media
01.09.15
Baby Hatch Programs Struggle to Cope With Number of Infants With Birth Defects
Giving birth to her first baby granted Zheng Yuling no happiness, but instead brought pain and sadness. The seriously ill girl died hours after birth, and Zheng's husband, Chen Dafu, was arrested on suspicion he abandoned the newborn.
...
Media
01.08.15
What Will Happen to Uber in China?
Ride-sharing app Uber has expanded around the world at a blistering pace, launching in a new city every one or two days. At first glance, China...
China’s Empty Promise of Rule by Law
I’m afraid that those of you who excitedly applauded the Communist Party’s rehashing of the term “governing the country according to the law” have forgotten the famous words of Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Jiang Yu, who once warned sternly, “Don...
Sinica Podcast
01.06.15
The Sinica Podcast’s Second Annual Call-In Show
from Sinica PodcastIf you’ve been following all of the news and gossip involving China for the last year, join Kaiser and Jeremy as they take call-in questions and talk insider politics on everything from the ongoing anti-corruption campaign to the question of...
Falling Through the Cracks of China’s Health-Care System
China says 95% of its 1.34 billion people are covered by medical insurance. That should have included Zhao Guomei, whose struggle with a rare but treatable disease shows how the system is failing for millions of China’s workers.
Maoists in China, Given New Life, Attack Dissent
They pounce on bloggers who dare mock their beloved Chairman Mao. They scour the nation’s classrooms and newspapers for strains of Western-inspired liberal heresies. And they have taken down professors, journalists and others deemed disloyal to...
Beijing’s Art Scene Raises Its Profile
On a recent Sunday afternoon in the sunken terrace of Beijing’s sleek Opposite House Hotel, an art event was in full swing. The wine was chilling, the dumplings steaming and a few dozen locals and foreigners were looking on with curiosity as the...
The Politburo’s Predicament
Freedom House
Drawing on an analysis of hundreds of official documents, censorship directives, and human rights reports, as well as some 30 expert interviews, the study finds that the overall degree of repression has increased under the new leadership. Of 17...
Sinica Podcast
12.26.14
Regulating the Fourth Estate in China
from Sinica PodcastThe explosion of the commercial media sphere in China over the last decade hasn't been particularly subtle, especially if you're anything like us and walk past multiple Chinese newsstands in the morning. But let's look beyond the way kiosks have...
Books
12.23.14
Top Five China Books of 2014
As the editor of ChinaFile’s Books section, I have the privilege of meeting and interviewing some amazing writers covering China today—academics, journalists, scholars, activists. Based on...
Reporting & Opinion
12.23.14
China in 2014 Through the Eyes of a Human Rights Advocate
from China ChangeThis time last year, volunteers and I were busy writing and translating articles to prepare for the New Citizens Movement trials. Many Chinese voices were speaking out forcefully against these trials: law professors, rights lawyers, liberal...
China Offers Russia Ruble Help
China says it is willing to provide assistance to Russia following recent sharp drops in the value of its currency, said a senior official, as President Vladimir Putin’s regime faces continuing strains with the U.S. and Europe.
As Obama Opens to Cuba, China Experts Remember Benefits from U.S. Engagement
As Washington moves to restore diplomatic ties with Cuba after decades of trying to isolate and overthrow the Castro regime, Chinese people and China experts in the United States have been reminded of a much more momentous opening 36 years ago...
In China, Expectant Dads Line Up to Experience Labor Pains
He described the treatment as creating a three-part sensation: hot steel balls dropping on his stomach and then a hook being gouged into him, followed by the ripping of his innards. “I treated her to a French dinner after,” says Mr. Li.
The China Africa Project
12.18.14
Who Are the Chinese in Africa?
Some say the number of Chinese in Africa now exceeds one million people; some even go as high as two million. Although no one has a precise accounting of just how many Chinese migrants now live on the continent, there is no doubt their numbers...
Dalai Lama Concedes He May Be the Last
Exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama has said he realizes that he may be the last to hold the title. But he told the BBC it would be better that the centuries-old tradition ceased "at the time of a popular Dalai Lama".
China’s Mountain Hermits Seek a Highway to Heaven
His unheated hut is half way up a mountain with no electricity, and his diet consists mostly of cabbage. But Master Hou says he has found a recipe for joy. "There is no happier way for a person to live on this earth," he declared, balancing on a...
Down to the Countryside
The world has heard much of late about the scale and scope of China’s mass migration from the poor rural countryside to its booming cities. Some think the number of these migrant workers will soon reach some 400 million souls. They have created...
China’s Lost Generation Finds Itself in Ukraine
A working class high-school graduate who scored abysmally on China's college entrance exam, Mei now owns his own business, claims title to three-quarters of an acre of land, lives in a split-level house, and is married to an eighteen-year-old who...
79 Days That Shook Hong Kong
Photo Essay: Hong Kong's street occupations have ended, but many demonstrators say this is only the beginning of their fight for free elections.
Infographics
12.15.14
Is Studying Abroad Worth the Cost?
from Sohu
The number of Chinese students who choose to study abroad has increased by more than 1,000% since 2000. Yet education costs abroad also continue to rise. This infographic looks at reasons why Chinese students are choosing an education overseas.
Fidel Castro Wins China’s Alternative Peace Prize
In line with past recipients, the ailing Castro did not come to Beijing to pick up his award and it was unclear whether he was aware of the honour. The prize, in the form of a gold statuette and certificate, was instead handed to a Cuban foreign...
Young, Idealistic, and Caught Up in a Wave of Detentions
Well educated and deeply committed to helping their fellow Chinese, Liu Jianshu and Zhao Sile are the kind of idealistic young people who pepper the story of China’s transformation over the past century as it searches for a modern identity.
Xi Jinping: The Growing Cult of China’s ‘Big Daddy Xi’
The construction of a cult of personality around president Xi represents a dramatic direction change for a country that sought to rule collectively after the devastation wrought during Chairman Mao's three-decade monopoly on power.
Hong Kong Democracy Protesters Brace for Final Camp Shutdown
The operation reflects the waning support for demonstrators after more than two months of civil disobedience and clashes that began over Beijing’s role in directing elections in the former British colony.
China Mulls Giving Migrant Population More Equal Rights
China's migrant population may get equal access to more public services formerly restricted to the locals, according to a draft document of the government.
Thousands of Local Internet Propaganda Emails Leaked
The archive includes correspondence, photos, directories of “Internet commentators” (网评员), summaries of commentary work, and records of the online activities of specific individuals, among other documents. Over 2,700 emails are included in the...
China Watchdog Says TV Censorship Rules Should Apply Online Too
A more censorious environment coincides with a boom in tie-ups between China and Hollywood. HBO and Tencent have agreed to make HBO content available on a broad basis in China, including shows like The Newsroom, Boardwalk Empire, Rome and Band of...
Media
12.05.14
Repeat After Me: Taiwan’s Recent Elections Had Nothing to Do With Hong Kong
If China was in fact the invisible candidate in Taiwan’s local elections, it just lost in a...
Sinica Podcast
12.05.14
Domestic Abuse in China
from Sinica PodcastIt doesn’t take a lot of time in China to see household violence play out in supermarkets, in schools, or even in the streets. But exactly how common is domestic violence in China? In the face of recent evidence from Peking University that more...
Conversation
12.03.14
Can China Conquer the Internet?
Lu Wei, China’s new Internet Czar, recently tried to get the world to agree to...
Hong Kong Protests Have Produced No Real Winners
There appear to be no real winners from Hong Kong’s umbrella movement: not the demonstrators—who have failed to win the concessions for which they have fought so persistently—nor the authorities, who have veered between aggressive intervention...
Leader Asserts China’s Growing Importance on Global Stage
Sounding confident after a burst of high-profile diplomacy, President Xi Jinping told Communist Party officials in a major address here over the weekend that China would be nice to its neighbors in Asia but that he would run an active foreign...
Despite Persecution, Guardian of Lake Tai Spotlights China’s Polluters
ZHOUTIE, China — By autumn, the stench of Lake Tai and the freakish green glow of its waters usually fade with the ebbing of the summer heat, but this year is different. Standing on a concrete embankment overlooking a fetid, floating array of...
As Chinese Duo Perform at American Music Awards, Those at Home Are Skeptical
In an indication of how fragile domestic confidence is in the country’s cultural exports, many Chinese commentators were immediately skeptical of the award’s authenticity. By the next morning on Weibo, the phrase “Chopstick Brothers bought an...
Viewpoint
11.26.14
Three Views of Local Consciousness in Hong Kong
Hong Kong has been in turmoil. The 2003 demonstration in which more than half a million demonstrators successfully forestalled the Article 23 anti-subversion legislation, as well as the 2012 rally of 130,000 and the threat of general student...
Sinica Podcast
11.25.14
Internet Wrangling in Wuzhen
from Sinica PodcastKaiser Kuo hosts alone this week as we turn our attention to the World Internet Conference (English site) last week, when a...
Xi and Peng Now Have a Song of Their Own
After a series of high-profile events highlighting their marriage bonds, China’s president, Xi Jinping, and his wife, Peng Liyuan, now have a song praising their relationship.
China’s Rich Want to Send Children Abroad for Education
The report said that some 80 percent of the country's rich people have plans to send children abroad, the highest ratio in the world. By contrast, Japan has less than 1 percent and Germany has less than 10 percent of its rich people having such...
Sinica Podcast
11.22.14
Banned but Booming: Golf in China
from Sinica PodcastDespite China's legal moratorium on the development of the golf industry, a policy driven by concerns over illegal farmland seizures and the potential misallocation of agricultural land and water resources, the golf industry has experienced an...