London Review of Books

on May 3, 2012

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Since 1979, the London Review of Books has stood up for the tradition of the literary and intellectual essay in English. Each issue contains up to 15 long reviews and essays by academics, writers and journalists. There are also shorter art and film reviews, as well as poems and a lively letters page.

A typical issue moves through political commentary to science or ancient history by way ofliterary criticism and social anthropology. So, for example, an issue can open with a piece on the rhetoric of war, move on to reassessing the reputation of Pythagoras, follow that with articles on the situation in Iraq, the 19th-century super-rich, Nabokov’s unpublished novel, how saints got to be saints, the life and work of William Empson, and an assessment of the poetry of Alice Oswald.

Debacle in Beijing

By Ian Johnson on May 3, 2012

The story of a blind Chinese lawyer’s flight to the US Embassy in Beijing is likely to ignite accusations and recriminations until the US presidential election in November. But what few will acknowledge is a harsher truth: that for all our desire to effect change, outsiders have little leverage to shape China’s future. This isn’t to say that China is permanently stuck in an authoritarian quagmire and outsiders can only watch.

Sustainable Low Carbon City Development in China

By Axel Baeumler, Ede Ijjasz-Vasquez, and Shomik Mehndiratta on May 3, 2012

By embarking on a low-carbon growth path, China’s cities can help reach the country’s targets for reducing the energy and carbon intensity of its economy, and become more livable, efficient, competitive, and ultimately sustainable. Cities contribute an estimated 70% of energy-related greenhouse gases. With China set to add an estimated 350 million residents to its cities over the next 20 years, the case for urgent action is strong. This report aims to provide central government policymakers and those of municipalities, cities, and townships in China with practical lessons on sustainable low-carbon development, based on the World Bank’s experience and its long-term relationship with many Chinese provinces and cities. In the 12th Five-Year Plan period and beyond, China has an opportunity to implement low-carbon strategies and approaches, ranging from innovations in new technology, to increased efficiency in existing industries, and to better management of the growth of cities. This will also make its future cities more sustainable, more efficient, more competitive, and more livable.

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Topics: 
Energy
Environment
Keywords: 
Carbon
Environmental Regulation
Greenhouse Gases
Urban Issues
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World Bank

Yearning for the Yuan

on May 2, 2012

London is forging ahead with plans for yuan-based financial services by developing an infrastructure and banking services that match its ambitions for the Chinese currency.

On April 18, the city welcomed the first yuan-denominated bond issuance outside China’s sovereign territory: HSBC Holdings Plc issued about 2 billion yuan worth of bonds at a 3 percent interest rate. The placement was significantly oversubscribed.

Garish Flowers of War

on May 2, 2012

The Flowers of War begins December 13, 1937, with young convent girls fleeing for their lives through a besieged Nanjing shrouded in mist. The first words heard are those of the lead girl Shujuan: “Everybody was running that day but no one could escape the thick fog.”

It feels odd to have such a young actress reflect on events that occurred long before her lifetime, yet the opening monologue succeeds with immediate tension.

China Through An Independent Lens

Six Experts Recommend Their Favorite Chinese Documentary Films

By La Frances Hui on May 1, 2012

Chinese documentaries have gained global attention in the past decade or so, thanks partly to the creative originality of young filmmakers and partly to a rapidly changing China that fascinates viewers from around the world. Wang Bing’s nine-hour epic West of the Tracks (2003), which chronicles the decline of state-owned industries in the city of Shenyang, garnered multiple international awards.