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Japan tells world to stand up to China or face consequences
apanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe delivers his special address at the opening session of the World Economic Forum in Davos on January 22, 2014 (AFP Photo/Eric Piermont) Davos (Switzerland) (AFP) – Japan on Wednesday told the world it must stand up to an increasingly assertive China or risk a regional read more →
China’s princelings storing riches in Caribbean offshore haven
The Guardian, 21 January 2014 Relatives of political leaders including China’s current president and former premier named in trove of leaked documents from the British Virgin Islands By James Ball and Guardian US Interactive Team More than a dozen family members of China’s top political and military leaders are making read more →
China activist lawyer Xu Zhiyong on trial
Human rights lawyer Xu Zhiyong is on trial in Beijing [BBC] Xu Zhiyong, a prominent human rights lawyer who campaigned against corruption, has gone on trial in China. Mr Xu is charged with “gathering crowds to disrupt public order”. He is one of several activists from a transparency movement read more →
Two’s company: dissident literary couple Tsering Woeser and Wang Lixiong
[South China Morning Post] United by their passion for a new China, the outspoken literary couple have become a force to be reckoned with. Violet S. Law reports Wang Lixiong and Tsering Woeser, argu-ably China’s most famous dissident literary couple, could hardly be more different as individuals. A Han Chinese read more →
Get ready, the indispensable Americans are pulling back
By Gideon Rachman The rest of the world is adjusting to an emerging political and security vacuum. The official theme for this year’s World Economic Forum is predictably bland – “Reshaping the World”. But the unofficial slogan will be “America is back”. Predictions that the US economy will grow by read more →
The grim history of the real-life Shangri-La
Review by Amy Kazmin [Financial Times] In ‘Tibet’, Lezlee Brown Halper and Stefan Halper look behind a tragic past and uncertain future Tibet: An Unfinished Story’, by Lezlee Brown Halper and Stefan Halper, Hurst, RRP£20/$29.95 In a world where modern communications has stripped most of the romance from faraway places, the read more →
Tibet’s Ticking Time Bomb
Photo by Kim Kyung Hoon/Reuters The Daily Beast As the West quietly turns away from Tibet for closer ties with China, young Tibetans are exchanging the Dalai Lama’s gospel of non-violence for more desperate measures. After lunch one afternoon in December of last year, Tsulrim Gyatso repaired to his room read more →
How Xi Can Solve The Tibet Problem
By Kerry Brown Xi Jinping could help quiet unrest in Tibet simply by making sure existing policies are enacted more efficiently. In every political culture — even in ones with a premium on stressing continuity, consensus and unity — at some point, newly appointed leaders will want to respond to read more →
Chinese Activists Test New Leader and Are Crushed
Andrew Jacobs and Chris Buckley, The New York Times, Jan. 15, 2014 Xu Zhiyong, center, was indicted last month for “gathering a crowd to disrupt public order” and faces almost certain conviction. Greg Baker/Associated Press BEIJING — The 20 or so activists gathered at an isolated guesthouse on the outskirts read more →
China’s Brand-New, Centuries-Old Shangri-La
The Atlantic Home By Matt Schiavenza A fire engulfed the Chinese town of Shangri-La, destroying over 65 percent of the homes and businesses there. (Reuters) Early Saturday morning, a fire erupted in the Chinese town of Dukezong and, despite the effort of firefighters, destroyed more than 65 percent of the read more →
Will ‘strongman’ Xi Jinping lead China into armed conflicts with rival neighbours?
South China Morning Post Monday, 13 January, 2014, 9:23am Minnie Chan President’s assertive tone and focus on military power of growing concern in region, experts say. China has become more willing to show off its military might since President Xi Jinping came to power as he wants to send a read more →
CHINA: 20 POLITICAL CASES IN TIBET LAST YEAR
BEIJING (AP) — China prosecuted 20 cases involving national security in Tibet last year, a state newspaper reported Monday, in an indication of continuing low-level unrest in the Himalayan region. The cases dealt a “heavy blow” to those seeking the region’s independence, the official China Daily quoted a judge, Sodar, read more →
The Doors of Chairman Mao
Wang Kang, Human Rights in China, Dec. 30, 2014 Like layers of haze and smog, Mao Zedong’s ghost continues to linger over China today. Agnes Smedley (1892-1950),[1] Mao’s Western confidante, using her feminine intuition, noticed that there was a door of Mao’s that was never open to anyone. As a read more →
Is China Losing Hong Kong?
Bloomberg.com By Adam Minter Jan 6, 2014 10:27 AM ET Are China’s leaders destined to ask each other, “Who lost Hong Kong?” It’s a question worth pondering after a holiday week that offered a stark reminder of just how restless — if not unhappy — a sizable percentage of the read more →
Will China be able to unite two Maoist parties?
PURNA BASNET, (myrepublica.net) Published on 2014-01-06 01:57:24 HONG KONG, Jan 6:Despite the yawning gap between the UCPN (Maoist) and its break away faction CPN -Maoist, the leaders from both the parties are, nevertheless, pining their hope on China to bring them together. Both parties are optimistic about the possible unification read more →