Latest Posts
What Xinjiang needs is de-escalation – Ian Johnson
While religion is getting more leeway in China, the opposite is happening for the Tibetans and Uighur, says journalist Ian Johnson, author of the upcoming book The Souls of China: The Return of Religion After Mao in the Globe&Mail. Just last week Xinjiang, home to the Uighur, saw a strong increase in security forces.Read More →
China’s sexual revolution – Zhang Lijia
Author Zhang Lijia explored for her book Lotus: A Novel China’s sex trade. The book is also an account of the sexual revolution the country is going through, she tells City Weekend. “Some women get more pleasure with clients than they experienced with their husbands.”Read More →
China’s gunboat diplomacy, past and present – Howard French
How do China’s current global efforts to expand its power, link to its past as a world might? Journalist Howard French explores in his new book Everything Under the Heavens: How the Past Helps Shape China’s Push for Global Power the historical roots of China’s position as a world power.Read More →
Repressing religion in China is not the big picture – Ian Johnson
The forceful removal of crosses at churches and the arrest of Christians have hit of Western media regularly. But that is not the big picture, says journalist Ian Johnson, author of the upcoming book The Souls of China: The Return of Religion After Mao, at CNN. Those government actions are mainly symbolic, he says.Read More →
At last, Beijing might get serious about North Korea – Paul French
China has been trying to ignore its unruly neighbor North Korea for as long as it was possible. And North Korea was more interested in talking to the US, and less to China. But Beijing might at last be changing its tune, says Paul French, author of North Korea: State of Paranoia (Asian Arguments) to the Washington Post.Read More →
Why we should not worry about Chinese nationalism – Kaiser Kuo
Sometime vehement explosions of nationalism have worried both the outside world, and the Chinese government. But today, nationalism is in decline, notes China-watcher Kaiser Kuo in SupChina. “I’m coming around to the view that we’ve exaggerated its proportions and the dangers it poses.”Read More →
Labor: China’s massive challenge – Ben Cavender
Rising wages have already put China in the same cost-league as Portugal and South-Africa, forcing manufacturers to low-wage countries. But that is only one challenge for a major shift in the labor market, says business analyst Ben Cavender to CNBC.Read More →
Why most startups should avoid China – William Bao Bean
It sounds odd to hear from the managing director if the Chinaccelator in Shanghai, but William Bao Bean sees it as a success when startups decide to avoid the China market and explore other markets. “Interestingly enough, the greatest help that Chinaccelerator can give to start-ups considering China is convincing them otherwise,” he tells Inc-ASEAN.Read More →
China’s new top-planner did not perform well – Victor Shih
Amid the reshuffle of China’s top-officials, He Lifeng will take the helm at the powerful National Development and Reform Commission. But some senior analysts doubted his skills as a planner. Just look at his work in Tianjin, says political analist Victor Shih in AP.Read More →
Why and how should prostitution be decriminalized – Zhang Lijia
In China most women enter the prostitution on their own free will. The government is criminalizing them, forcing them into a submissive position. What can be done? Author Zhang Lijia of Lotus: A Novel on prostitution researched the sex trade in China, and possible solutions and discusses government approaches.Read More →
The success of China’s Communist Party – Ian Johnson interviews Sebastian Heilmann
Few scholars have looked into the inner workings of China’s Communist Party like Sebastian Heilmann, founding president of the Mercator Institute of Chinese Studies (Merics) in Berlin, a government professor at the University of Trier and author of China’s Political System. Journalist Ian Johnson interviews him on the success of the party for the New York Times.Read More →
Ant Financial’s strategy to go global – Ben Cavender
Alibaba’s Ant Financial investment of US$200 million into the Korean mobile payment service Kakao Pay illustrates how the leading Chinese payment platform want to gain global dominance, says business analyst Ben Cavender to Reuters. Buying into strong local players is smarter than competing with them.Read More →