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Mar 17

Since the Olympics torch relay last year, much have been written about Chinese nationalism (see, e.g., this time article, this newsweek article, this new yorker article) – often in a negative (and unfair) light.

Earlier today, we at foolsmountain ran across a more thoughtful, subdued but perhaps equally critical view of Chinese nationalism – written from an immigrant’s perspective. In this wall street journal op ed, Ms. Ying Ma, an American educated Chinese American, wrote: Continue reading »

Mar 17

In a previous thread, Steve asked why, with so much material improvement in Tibet region shown by MAJ, the Chinese government still can’t win Tibetan’s heart? I have been asking the same question too.

Following recent MAJ’s comments, I came across this article ‘Reflections on Tibet‘ by Wang Lixiong published in 2002. Wang Lixiong is the writer of ‘Roadmap of Tibetan Independence’ published last year. In the article, Wang Lixiong “considers some of the bitter paradoxes of Tibetan history under Communist rule, and their roots in the confrontation of an alien bureaucracy and fear-stricken religion”. It’s worth pointing out that the original article 西藏问题的文化反思 was published in Chinese in 2001 and therefore we need to be careful how relevant it is to today’s Tibet issue.
Continue reading »

Mar 11

The U.S. accused China of harassing a U.S. surveillance ship in the South China Seas earlier this week.  According to this CNN report,

During the incident, five Chinese vessels “shadowed and aggressively maneuvered in dangerously close proximity to USNS Impeccable, in an apparent coordinated effort to harass the U.S. ocean surveillance ship while it was conducting routine operations in international waters,” the Pentagon said in a written statement. Continue reading »

Mar 05

As the current world economy crisis drags on, there are still lingering hopes that China just might remain a bright spot in the world economy and help lead the world back to recovery. Continue reading »

Feb 25

Judging by reactions from the Chinese government, Secretary of State Clinton’s state visit to China last weekend has been a great success.

This trip is foremost about realism. Continue reading »

Feb 23

A few threads ago, we discussed the topic of who owns the Chinese imperial arts in the context of Taiwan vis-a-vis the Mainland.

Well – it may be timely to also discuss who should own the Chinese imperial arts in the context of China vis-a-vis great collections of art in the West looted from China during her century of shame. Continue reading »

Feb 22

New Star sinking near Russias far-eastern port of Vladivostok. Three Chinese crew members were rescued and 7 others were missing, according to Chinese Foreign Ministry.

New Star sinking near Russia's far-eastern port of Vladivostok. Three Chinese crew members were rescued and 7 others were missing, according to Chinese Foreign Ministry.

Four days ago, it was widely reported on the front page of almost every Chinese newspaper that Russian warships had sunk a Chinese cargo ship – New Star – off the coast of Vladivostok. According to an article from the People’s Daily, Continue reading »

Feb 04

In an interview to XinHua, Former U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson declared that he was wrongly portrayed to have laid blame on China for causing today’s global economic crisis. Continue reading »

Jan 30

President Obama has not exactly started out making a great impression that he will bring U.S.-China relations to a new high – what with unwelcomed vague belligerent references against communist and authoritarian governments in his inaugural speech, followed up by now Treasury Secretary’s Geithner’s sharp tone and use of the legally-loaded term “currency manipulation” in Geithner’s confirmation hearings (I don’t want to get into the “currency manipulation” debate here since we will have specific posts on those topics soon). Continue reading »

Jan 22

The money laundering saga of self-proclaimed son-of-Taiwan Chen Shuibian continues.

On Wednesday, Chen Shuibian’s son Chen Chih-chung and daughter-in-law Huang Jui-ching both pleaded guilty to money laundering charges in exchange for leniency.

According to China Times, the main terms of the plead bargain includes: Continue reading »

Jan 21

Today we witnessed again another routine yet extraordinary democratic transfer of power in the world’s most powerful country.  For many, this particular occasion carries an especially momentous meaning because not only has America elected her first black (should be mixed) president, but Obama has also promised dramatic changes in the role the government plays in domestic governance as well as the way U.S. – as the world’s lone super power – exercises diplomacy abroad. Continue reading »

Jan 12

The recent tragedies in Gaza have reminded me again the mind-numbing role the sensationalistic use of emotionally charged words can play in international politics.

Recently, Israel railed against the Vatican when Cardinal Renato Martino, the president of the Council for Justice and Peace of the Vatican, characterized Gaza as a “concentration camp.”  According to the NY Times: Continue reading »

Jan 07

For many Chinese website operators, 2009 didn’t start very well. China Internet Illegal Information Reporting Centre, a semi-government agency, has published a list of websites which contain “vulgar and unhealthy information” deemed to be harmful to the country’s youth. The list (in Chinese) can be found here.

The interesting thing about this list is that it covered majority of the most popular websites in China. Google was ranked number one “vulgar” site (see, e.g., NYTimes article), followed by Baidu and Sina.

I’m very confident that every Chinese netizen have visited at least one of such vulgar websites. I myself must have visited at least 75% of the websites listed and would probably be diagnosed as psychotic under the Chinese guideline. Continue reading »

Jan 07

Later this month will mark the 45th anniversay of French’s diplomatic recognition of the People’s Republic of China.

I had not known that 45 years ago, France was the first major Western nation, despite stiff American opposition of that time, to recognize the People’s Republic of China.

I also had not known that – contrary to the faux paux spats that occurred between the two nations the last year – the modern relationship between France and China had actually started on a high note of mutual respect and admiration. Continue reading »

Jan 06

中国的2009年:毛泽东归来

2009-01-02    作者: 侨报评论员 

  

【侨报13日社论】新年伊始瞻望世界的2009年,中国必然还是超级焦点:经济学家仍将继续争论这个全球市场新星会否率先走出金融危机的阴影而引领世界经济复苏,政治学者则会观察万众瞩目的新中国六十周年庆典(一般预料会有大阅兵)之前,北京将如何应对从三月到七月的一系列政治敏感事件纪念日——中国的牛年,似乎并不比2008年轻松。

 

  如果说改革开放30年的记忆最终定格在邓小平的剪影上那么对新中国60年的图像重现难离毛泽东。在最近60年的世界当代史上,这个名字并不曾冷却:

 

  从政治符号上说,无论是天安门城楼那幅每年都要更换新作的毛泽东画像,还是对面的毛主席纪念堂,无论首都群众集会还是解放军大阅兵,历史场景必然重现天安门的象征——60年前,毛站在城楼上宣告“中国人民从此站起来了”。而今,面对动荡不安和风雨飘摇的世界,中国人的国家独立和民族复兴已经不再是遥远的梦想。

 

  从经济符号上说,带着毛泽东头像的人民币如今成为世界上最具看点、大受欢迎的货币。毛泽东时代制定的最严格的外汇管理制度,不仅“成功保护中国免受十年前的亚洲金融风暴”(上海财经闻人童牧野语),也在当前危机暗影里发出光亮,以至大陆民间学者有人戏言:2009年的世界经济,将是毛泽东(人民币)和华盛顿(美元)的对话。

 

  从社会符号上说,有谁会想到那本红色封皮的《毛主席语录》在台湾的书市已畅销三年,那只印有毛泽东书写“为人民服务”字样的绿色军用书包眼下已成外国游客在北京秀水市场最青睐的伴手礼……尽管在今天有宅男、有街舞、有互联网的时代谈到毛泽东看上去更像是一种时尚的象征,而无关信仰、思想、力量、革命甚或铁的纪律。

 

  事实上,中国的2009年无论是在政治、经济领域还是民生、社会方面,中国人都将面对一个比改革开放30年更长的历史梳理。特别是在中国尚无一部官修的、权威的《共和国史》的情况下,当代中国人那种避谈新中国开国之初公私合营、避谈人民公社、避谈文化大革命、总之避谈共和国前三十年史实的现象,将会面临着理性的拷问。这些省思尤其是在当前世界的资本主义危机和中国特色社会主义的对视中显得更为必要。

 

  历史当然不会是简单的轮回,中共更是在实践中通过不断的学习、反思、批评和修正才逐渐找到一条带领这个庞大国家走上民族复兴之路。虽然当年毛泽东发动的一连串内部政治斗争格局早已被一个新的经济增长时代所抛弃,但人们都不会忘记,追求独立自主建国的中国钢铁工业、纺织工业、化学工业、机械工业及军事科技(更包括成功造出原子弹和氢弹)如果没有毛泽东的时代,同样不会有未来甚至难以支撑改革开放30年。

 

  如果把共和国六十年历史分成前后三十年的话,毛泽东的三十年在追求“有饭大家吃”(尽管政治内斗搞得最终快没饭吃了),而邓小平的三十年则是在追求“大家有饭吃”——这两个在经济社会学者眼中分别代表公平和效率的词组,成为某种简约版的社会路径预测:或许未来三十年,中国需要重新强调公平化分配的制度体系。

 

  邓小平属于中国,毛泽东也属于中国。把毛邓相对立,相排斥,既不符合历史,也不符合逻辑,正如把追求公平和追求效率相对立会行不通。如果说过去60年的历史离不开毛泽东,中国的明天也需要重新发现毛泽东。因此,必须站在今天而不是昨天的坐标上,重新认识毛泽东的谬误和价值。而且,必须寻找和厘清从毛泽东到邓小平的历史逻辑。

 

  中国充满希望,信心重过黄金。 2009年的中国又将在人类当代史上写下什么样的字句,的确是一个见仁见智的有趣话题。当前国际形势的深刻变化特别是国际金融危机的不断扩散和蔓延,很有可能会成为中国实现民族复兴图景的一个历史性机遇。本报相信,只要中国增强忧患意识,始终居安思危,就能抓住机遇,更上层楼,“沧海横流,方显英雄本色 ”。

 

  已经来临的2009年,中国故事引人关注。如果毛泽东还活着,他会做些什么?

本文来源于侨报网,转载请以链接形式注明出处 www.usqiaobao.com

Dec 24

Yesterday, the pair of Giant Pandas Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan finally arrived in Taiwan.  More than just normal “diplomatic pandas,” Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan’s represents the culmination of much political wranglings between the Mainland and Taiwan that included formal rejections of the pandas in 2005 by ex-President Chen Shui Bian (now formally indicted for  graver crimes, including embezzlement). Continue reading »

Dec 20

China’s journey of reform and opening up over the last the last 30 years have definitely been, if nothing else, colorful and eventful.  Last week, Chinese officials marked the 30 year anniversary of China’s reforms and opening up with a series of meetings and speeches. Continue reading »

Dec 18

No, China will not buy GM, Ford or Chrysler. But there is another way – a scheme of division of labor in which the U.S. will focus on design and innovation while China on manufacturing efficiency. Continue reading »

Dec 16

Chinese Foreign Ministry recently described French President Sarkozy’s meeting with the Dalai Lama as an act that would “gravely hurt the feelings of the Chinese people”.

It is the kind of phrase you are looking for in every Chinese official indignation – ok, feelings hurt, this isn’t something good. However, this is the first time I actually didn’t let it just pass, and asked myself: what does this phrase actually mean? Sure some countries have hurt our feelings, so what? You expect an apology or something else from the other side to compensate your “hurt feelings”? Continue reading »

Dec 13

On my trip to Mainland China a couple of weeks ago, I happened to run into an old family friend who used to be my mom’s acupuncturist (who has since retired).  Despite having emigrated from the Mainland to the U.S. almost forty years ago, she still loves China – and has continually made her annual trip back to her home town for over three decades.  And this time – true to form, I saw her with 3-4 luggage in tow – full of gifts for her extended family and village friends. Continue reading »

Dec 11

A couple of days ago, the Beijing News reported how local officials in Xintai – a city in the eastern province of Shandong – locked up citizens in mental hospitals to prevent them from making journeys to Beijing to alert central government officials of local injustices going on in Xintai (see original story – and english version translated by Global Voices). Continue reading »