Journalist Ian Johnson explores for the New York Times, the search by Yang Weidong into what he calls the soul of China. He interviewed and filmed 405 thinkers, artists, musicians, writers, historians — anyone who has thought hard about China’s future. “Some are government critics, others support the party, but all have opinions.”Read More →
The world´s most populous country is facing an unprecedented crisis, as its population ages fast, tells former New York Times Shanghai-bureau chief Howard French to PBS. The fast rising demand for social security, health care and a diminishing work force, will narrow down China´s economic expansion in the near future. The aging crisis not only shows the immense failure of the one-child policy, it will also force the country to become more welcoming to much-needed immigrants.Read More →
Feminism is on the rise in China, and much has changed for the better, tells author and journalist Zhang Lijia of the upcoming novel Lotus: A Novel, in TakePart.Com, in an issue on feminism in China. But too many things have not yet changed, or change too slowly.Read More →
Author Alec Ash published after four years of study Wish Lanterns: Inside the Young Lives of China, documenting the life of the millenniums in China. Journalist Ian Johnson of the New York Times sat down with him to discuss how they are bringing change to China.Read More →
Zhang Lijia´s upcoming novel Lotus: A Novel will only appear early 2017, but the first raving reviews are already coming in. Renowned Indian author Amitav Ghosh praises the story the main figure migrant Lotus and the way she ends up in prostitution.Read More →
China´s country-side has a generation of left-behind children, children who grew up while their parents worked in the big cities, some with their grandparents, some even alone. Author Zhang Lijia visited four-year old Diandian, who lives with his grandparents and writes up his story at her weblog.Read More →
China´s demographic problems might stop its economic development in its tracks, writes author Howard French in the Atlantic. Not only can China not deal with its aging population, “some Chinese experts now say that the country’s economic output may never match that of the U.S..”Read More →
Kaiser Kuo is leaving China after twenty years, and internet giant Baidu after six year. On May 4 he will get an award of the Asia Society Northern California, where he will settle down to work professionally on his Sinica Podcast. For Asia Society Kaiser looks back, on the internet and foreign correspondents.Read More →
After seven years of deliberations, China is ready to adopt its first charity law. The sector has been marred by scandals, and the new law can introduce some oversight, says Rupert Hoogewerf, founder of the Hurun Rich List to Reuters.Read More →
Next year author Zhang Lijia will publish her novel Lotus, on sex workers in southern China, inspired by her grandmother. Caijing interviews her about this inspiration and about how sex changed in China.Read More →
Author Zhang Lijia will visit London for most of the month February She is currently finishing her novel about prostitution in China, and a frequent commentators on social affairs in China. Your can read some of her stories here.Read More →
Despite recent crackdowns on feminists and human rights activists, China´s judicial systems is slowly but surely moving into a more independent force in China´s bureaucracy, says Judge Jiang Huiling of the Supreme Court in an interview with journalist Ian Johnson for the New York Times. Courts get more autonomy, be it limited.Read More →