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 →
The 50-year anniversary of the Cultural Revolution has passed mostly in silence. China media mentioned briefly the event was with hindsight not a good idea, much of the families of Chinese leader – including the Xi family – suffered from it, but talking to victims is not easy discovered the Globe&Mail. Author Zhang Lijia comments.Read More →
Author Zhang Lijia enthusiastically reviews on her weblog Eight Juxtapositions: China Through Imperfect Analogies: Penguin Specials by Jeff Wasserstrom. “In the final chapter entitled The People’s Pope and Big Daddy Xi, he compared the Chinese Communist Party with the Catholic Church and the president Xi with the Pope.”Read More →
In her upcoming book Lotus author Zhang Lijia explores the life of Chinese sex workers, taking the life of her grandmother, a concubine, as a starting point. On the weblog Zhen de Gender, she explains what it took to do her research. “Prostitution is just a device, a window to show the tensions and the changes.”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 →
The government has tried to keep the lid on the gruesome events during the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976)- even though much of the current leadership has suffered personally. But much of the younger Chinese have no clue. Author Zhang Lijia looks for Al Jazeera how things are changing, very slowly.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 →
Traditionally, between the active women in China, there was not much coherence. But since this Spring, partly caused by the government crackdown on feminists, things are changing, Beijing-based author Zhang Lijia tells the BBC.Read More →
An aging population is no exception, but China is becoming grey fast, before it earned enough money to deal with the consequences, writes author and journalist Zhang Lijia in Al Jazeera. The dramatic fallout of the one-child policy.Read More →
Feminists and their lawyers and NGO´s have a hard time as they face continued repression under Xi Jinping´s tenure. Author Zhang Lijia explains in Al Jazeera why China needs feminists and the current crackdown is not night.Read More →
Beijing has many ways to dive into its colorful past. Author Zhang Lijia joined last Sunday the Boxer rebellion walking tour, an episode in China’s history where interpretation way much, depending whether you are a Western of a Chinese scholar.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 →