Compared to his predecessor Hu Jintao, China seems on the move under president Xi Jinping. But is he really. Journalist Ian Johnson wonders in the New York Review of Books after three years of Xi rule whether under the cosmetic moves, so much is changing.Read More →
Chinese are looking for new meanings in their life, says journalist Ian Johnson. They are looking for religious values, both condoned by the government or illegal, but also shop around for other spiritual values. And mostly the government supports that search, as long as there are no foreign links.Read More →
Artist Ai Weiwei and journalist Ian Johnson met in Berlin for a wide-ranging interview after Ai was allowed to leave China again. Ai Weiwei talks about the role of politics in his life, in the New York Review of Books.Read More →
Journalist and author Ian Johnson interviews Nick Holdstock, who recently published his book China’s Forgotten People: Xinjiang, Terror and the Chinese State for the New York Times. Terror attacks, and the government heavy-handed response have often blurred the image of Xinjiang´s natives.Read More →
Are you still looking for ways to monetize quality content? Watch China, says managing director William Bao Bean of the ChinaAccelerator in Analyse Asia. Mobile applications in China are on average 2 to 3 years ahead of the US, he tells. Mobile commerce 3.0 is highly social, very competitive and does away with the classic ways of making money through advertising. China can focus on mobile innovation, because it has a home-base of 700 million mobile users.Read More →
While China is still executing more prisoners than any other country, those numbers are dropping fast. Author Zhang Lijia looks at the sometimes fierce debate on capital punishment in China for the IA-forum. Most Chinese support the death penalty, but that support is dropping fast, she writes.Read More →
Between China and the rest of the world, an abyss of misunderstandings has to be bridged, and that is one of author Zhang Lijia´s missions, she tells in Prestige Hong Kong. She tells about the research into prostitution in China, the theme of her upcoming book, and inspired by her grandmother. Read More →
Polling Chinese about religion is a field where western researchers fast get lost in translation, journalist Ian Johnson argues in The New York Times, looking at a Win/Gallup poll. Last year Johnson forced the Pew Research Centre to retract their conclusions on atheism in China. Why is it so hard to get a poll on religion in China right?Read More →
Journalist Ian Johnson interviews for the New York Review of Book one of the famous Chinese documentary filmmakers, Hu Jie, whose films have never been shown in China itself, covering subjects like Mao, the Cultural Revolution and the Great Famine. A life of dealing with tough issues.Read More →
Reform of the health care is high on the political agenda, but to eradicate the massive inefficiencies will prove to be tough, writes analyst Sara Hsu in the Diplomat. “Some reforms, however, will take longer than others, particularly improving the quality of health care and changing patient views regarding local and private hospitals.”Read More →
Journalist Ian Johnson will be in Berlin from half June to half September, and is available to share his insights on civil society, culture and religion. He is a Beijing-based writer for the New York Review of Books, and his stories also appear in the New York Times and ChinaFile.Read More →
Author Zhang Lijia attended in March the Bookworm International Literary Festival, and talked about the changing role of women in China´s society. Here is the report of Al Jazeera. Zhang Lijia is currently writing a novel on prostitutes in China.Read More →