What is interesting is how another critic of the Chinese government, former high-ranking official Bao Tong, has been treated. The Times reports that the fact he has not had any action taken against him (so far) is a sign that he can still be protected by reformists within the CCP. A translated version of Bao’s essay can be found on the Radio Free Asia website. Continue reading »
Jan 04
minipost-(Letter) China rattled by Sun King attack
Written by: guest | Filed under:-mini-posts, politics | Tags:China, political reform
30 Comments » newest
30 Comments » newest
An entry by Steve in late December discussed a petition signed by over 2000 Chinese people calling for democracy and human rights in the PRC. At least some of these prominent citizens were subsequently arrested, like Liu Xiaobo
Jan 01
minipost-The Mystical Gaza Chinese Rocket
Written by: guest | Filed under:-guest-posts, -mini-posts | Tags:China, Israel, rocket
55 Comments » newest
55 Comments » newest
While it is widely reported that Hamas have fired 122mm Grad rockets into Israel, an upgrade from the Qassam, few media have gone further and stated that the new rockets were Chinese-made.
Simple Google searches seem to suggest the reason very few media outlets have made the Chinese connection is because this is somewhat dubious:
– According to Wikipedia the Soviet designed Grad rockts have been profliferated to over 50 counntries, with over a dozon countries manufacturing them.
– None of China’s 122mm Grad rockets were ever exported according to SinoDefense.com: 1) Type 81-90 rockets were never successfuly exported and was decommissioned in the 1990’s; 2) Closest spec’ed WS rocket, WS-1E, never entered production.
So it is a mystery how did Hamas ever get their hands on supposed Chinese-made rocked when it doesn’t exist.
Dec 19
China: Teachers Strikes Spread Nationwide
Written by: guest | Filed under:-guest-posts, News | Tags:China, strike, teachers
2 Comments » newest
2 Comments » newest
By BI Yantao, China
Today(December 19), Lianhe Zaobao (《联合早报》), a mainstream Chinese newspaper based in Singapore, reported that since this October on, teachers in Sichuan, Chongqing, Inner Mongolia, Shanxi, Hunan, Hubei, Guangdong went on strike to demand a salary raise.
Dec 18
minipost-(Guest Post) Can China Save American Automakers?
Written by: guest | Filed under:-mini-posts, Analysis, Letters, News, technology | Tags:america, business, China
38 Comments » newest
38 Comments » newest
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
(Guest Post) A country’s hurt feelings
Written by: Arctosia | Filed under:Analysis, politics | Tags:China, Chinese People, diplomacy
130 Comments » newest
130 Comments » newest
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
Truth About China’s Civil Society
Written by: guest | Filed under:-chinese-posts, -guest-posts | Tags:China, civil society, NGO
2 Comments » newest
2 Comments » newest
China is at a critical intersection. As a communication researcher, I am sure it is the high time to stand up and take whatever responsibility I can.
To a great extent, China’s future will be shaped by its civil society. But what is the true situations China’s civil society is trapped in? What are their hardships and expectations? What roles and functions should the civil society perform in China’s development? How should China’s current policies regarding the civil society be redesigned to ensure China’s sustainable development?
To answer these questions, I am planning an independent research project from the perspective of political communication. My hypothesis is that China’s civil society will grow at a greater pace in the near future, and that a stronger civil society will definitely speed up China’s transition. I was hoping to travel around China to interview activists, academics, newsworkers and politicians, focusing on China’s policies regarding NGOs, religion, minorities, news media, etc. , and on the interactions between the political society and the civil society in China.
If everything goes well, my project will start before this Chinese New Year. I am ready to take any unavoidable risk.
If you are interested in this project, if you are hoping to join us in any possible form , if you are willing to offer me any kind of assistance, please don’t hesitate to contact me via bytaishan@sina.com.
Dec 07
The Partnership between Africa and China – a Force for Good or Evil?
Written by: Allen | Filed under:Analysis, General, media, politics, video | Tags:africa, China, globalism, human rights, neo-colonialism
41 Comments » newest
41 Comments » newest
We’ve had impassioned discussions about Tibet this year. But the controversies surrounding China has not just been about Tibet – they have also been about Africa.
In anticipation of a series of posts on Africa, I thought I would put a few feelers out to see if people on this forum would be interested in discussing the topic, and if so, where people initially stand.
Dec 05
If you’ve been reading the Chinese press this week, you might have come across two strikingly unharmonious pieces of information.
I am speaking of the treatment of the Shanghai Tower news by China Daily (ht Shanghaiist). In the space of 3 days from 11/28 to 12/01 China Daily has changed its tune radically in two articles about the construction of the new tower, which started last Saturday.
The first article is pretty neutral. It announces the beginning of the works, and has Shanghai CCP’s Lin Xu declare that spending on infrastructure will “help companies to weather the crisis“.
The second article, an unsigned editorial, is ripe with criticism of about every possible aspect of the project. Including some juicy ones: “symbolizes that blind worship and race for skyscrapers has reached a new high” and “The money could still be spent better elsewhere on so many priorities“.
What is going on here? Who forced this article into Beijing’s China Daily, the largest English language newspaper in China? It is a quickly written and poorly edited/translated article, someone obviously overrode the usual procedures of the newspaper to get this text to press ASAP. Someone you wouldn’t dare to edit or reject.
Oct 30
minipost-(Letter) China: Internet censorship tightened
Written by: guest | Filed under:-mini-posts, media | Tags:China, Internet censorship
139 Comments » newest
139 Comments » newest
As Beijing Olympics closed, the Internet censorship in China further tightened. Undeniably, this deterioration has affected and frustrated an increasing number of netizens in China. Continue reading »
Oct 08
minipost-Update: McCain injects Presidential Politics into U.S. – China row over Taiwan Weapons Sale
Written by: Allen | Filed under:-mini-posts, Analysis, News, politics | Tags:China, foreign policy, mccain, obama, presidential politics, taiwan
27 Comments » newest
27 Comments » newest
McCain seems to be getting a little desperate. He seems to be pulling all stops (including going negative and aggressive against Obama) and most recently also trying to inject some foreign politiking into his campaign. Continue reading »
Oct 03
(Letter) Call for Materials on Political Communication Studies
Written by: Billy | Filed under:-guest-posts, Announcements | Tags:China, communication, democratization, politcis
No Comments » newest
No Comments » newest
Daizong Meditation Room, established by Professor BI Yantao, is designed to promote the political communication studies in China and advance the democratization of the Chinese mainland. Situated at the foot of the world-famous Mount Taishan, Daizong Meditation Room is the first non-profit research center of its kind in China. It is open to all interested researchers over the world, free of charge. To push our career forward, donations of books, essays, diaries, etc. on political communication studies are welcome. For more information, please contact BI Yantao via bytaishan@sina.com. Thank you.
Sep 28
Chinese elitism versus American parochialism (aka Sarah Palin-style “democracy”): Musings on how different political systems function. Part I: The Chinese story.
Written by: bianxiangbianqiao | Filed under:culture, politics | Tags:China, democracy
35 Comments » newest
35 Comments » newest
Prologue: On my last trip back to China I brought back some reprints of Republican-era books. The following musings are based on my hasty reading notes.
Abstract: The Chinese society functions well when the stuff of its elite works. The American society functions well when the stuff of its elite works and is embraced by its masses (which is far from automatic). The challenge for the Chinese society is that historically the stuff of its elite (e.g., Confucianism, Legalism and revolutionary socialism) has often failed to work. The challenge for the American society is that the stuff of its elite (e.g., science, education and secular humanism) is often rejected by its masses. Continue reading »
Sep 28
minipost-(Letter) Some Chinese Satire: Sanlu Incident Provoked by International Anti-Chinese Imperialist Reactionaries!
Written by: Joel | Filed under:-mini-posts, politics | Tags:China, corruption, ethics, guanxi, Made in China, moral vacuum, morality, product safety, quality control, Sanlu, scandal, standards
34 Comments » newest
34 Comments » newest
A Mainlander uses the Made in China dairy scandal to spoof arguments commonly made by the Chinese government, fenqing, and other blindingly patriotic Mainlanders. Continue reading »
Sep 25
Evolving a self-correcting mechanism for the Chinese society: Thoughts on the tainted milk crisis and other Chinese scandals
Written by: bianxiangbianqiao | Filed under:Analysis | Tags:China, milk powder, scandal
139 Comments » newest
139 Comments » newest
The problem of Chinese powdered and liquid milk producers lacing their products with industrial chemicals has left the Chinese public (especially the parents) in panic. The facts of this crisis have been well-documented. I have a few thoughts about its implications. Continue reading »
Sep 25
(Letter) Chinese advances in stem cell research
Written by: guest | Filed under:-guest-posts | Tags:biotech, China, stem cell
1 Comment » newest
1 Comment » newest
I’ve been reading a lot of bloggs on this topic. It seems a lot are written by patients and asked for by the clinics (or by the clinics). I do not how many are true or just for propaganda. If you have a real case success or failure, please let us know.
Sep 13
minipost-(Letter) Imagining the current US election happens in China…
Written by: sophie | Filed under:-mini-posts, media, politics | Tags:China, democracy, politics, US election
57 Comments » newest
57 Comments » newest
I have been following this year’s US election. As an onlooker, there is some kind of entertaining element in my interest. But, at the same time, I am asking myself how it would be like if this election process was run in China, a country of 1.3 billion population. Since i don’t know the US election process very well, I am asking simple questions here: how feasible is democracy or how to put it in practice in a large country without it being downgraded to image competition? Continue reading »
Sep 09
minipost-(Letter) East is East and West is West… will they ever meet? (a famous poem)
Written by: Joel | Filed under:-mini-posts, culture | Tags:america, China, culture, East, nationalism, race nation, racism, Rudyard Kipling, West
33 Comments » newest
33 Comments » newest
Here’s a bit from a famous poem by a famous colonial-era British author. I’ll put the original and then an updated version, since his English is old and a little hard to understand. It’s from “The Ballad of East and West,” by Rudyard Kipling (1865–1936). Continue reading »
Sep 05
minipost-Pocketbook References for Tibet
Written by: Allen | Filed under:-mini-posts, Analysis, culture, Letters, politics, religion | Tags:China, featured, tibet
187 Comments » newest
187 Comments » newest
Two of the most commented threads over the last week relate to Tibet. Even a neutral posting on the administration of the website has also somehow “devolved” into a debate over Tibet.
Aug 28
Tony Blair’s New Op Ed on China in the Wall Street Journal
Written by: Allen | Filed under:Analysis, News, politics | Tags:China, geopolitics, human rights, olympics, tony blair
59 Comments » newest
59 Comments » newest
I thought I’d bring to people’s attention to a recent Op Ed from Tony Blair in the Wall Street Journal on the Rise of China and the Olympics. I think the piece is interesting as a genuine attempt by a Western Leader (or at least a former Western leader) to understand – in good faith – the Rise of China and the Olympics. Continue reading »
Aug 25
Farewell, Chairman Hua
Written by: DJ | Filed under:News, politics | Tags:China, history, Hua Goufeng
25 Comments » newest
25 Comments » newest
Overshadowed by the Olympics, the news of the passing away of a former supreme leader of China, Hua Guofeng 华国锋, on August 20, 2008 wasn’t particularly noticed by many. I would like to use this post to pay respect to Chairman Hua, as he was once called when I was in my childhood, and offer condolences to his family and friends.
Continue reading »
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