Economist Lin Yifu on State-Sustained Growth

on August 18, 2012

Standing up to a wave of pessimism about China’s prospects for continuing high-level economic growth is no easy task.

But economist Lin Yifu, who recently retired as a senior vice president and chief economist at the World Bank, is holding his ground with a prediction that China’s gross domestic product will grow by 8 percent in 2012.

Underpinning Lin’s sometimes controversial position is what he calls “new structural economics”—a theoretical framework that emphasizes the importance of a state role in shaping and directing an economy.

Hong Kong After Island Landing: Who You Calling Unpatriotic?

By Te-Ping Chen on August 18, 2012

We don’t need patriotism lessons, Hong Kongers say—and yesterday’s successful landing on the contested Senkaku Islands proves it. On Thursday, local newspapers across the city carried full-page spreads showing photos of Hong Kong activists waving Chinese flags as they waded jubilantly through the water to reach the shores of the Senkaku Islands, which are controlled by Japan but also claimed by China, where they are known as the Diaoyu Islands. Headlines lauded members of the Bao Diao II—or “Defend the Diaoyu II”—as brave heroes.

Media
Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands, Hong Kong, Media, Newspapers

Pursuing Soft Power, China Puts Stamp on Africa’s News

By Andrew Jacobs on August 18, 2012

China’s investment prowess and construction know-how is widely on display in this long-congested African capital. A $200 million ring road is being built and partly financed by Beijing. The international airport is undergoing a $208 million expansion supported by the Chinese, whose loans also paid for a working-class housing complex that residents have nicknamed the Great Wall apartments.

Media
CCTV, Media, Xinhua, Africa

Marco Polo Skeptic Has Her Say

By Andrew Moody on August 17, 2012

Frances Wood, head of the Chinese collection at the British Library, seems almost too unassuming to have exposed a celebrated figure in Chinese history as a possible fake. She remains best known, however, for her book, Did Marco Polo Go to China?, which argued he didn't and that the Venetian merchant explorer's tales were in reality merely a second-hand travel guide.

History
Marco Polo

The Fourth Estate

By Kaiser Kuo, Jeremy Goldkorn & more on August 17, 2012

Following the Chinese media’s intense coverage of the blitzkrieg trial of Gu Kailai, those of us at Sinica want to take this opportunity to look back at the most riveting China story of the year. And while we’ve covered developments week-by-week and assume you have too, as Kaiser Kuo and Jeremy Goldkorn point out in today’s show, there’s been very little discussion of how the story itself broke: How and when did Western journalists cut through the Chinese rumor mill?

Chinese Media Praises Landing of Activists on Diaoyu Islands

By Jing Gao on August 16, 2012

Wednesday afternoon, 14 activists from Hong Kong successfully landed on one of a set of disputed islands, over which Japan, China and Taiwan all claim sovereignty, and planted Chinese flags on the island as a gesture of declaring ownership. Chinese media, including the state broadcaster China Central Television, reported and lauded their patriotic feat, while trying their best efforts to hide the national flag of Taiwan in an iconic photo. Senkaku Islands, popularly known to the Chinese-speaking population as Diaoyu Islands, are currently controlled by Japan. But both People’s Republic of China and Taiwan (Republic of China) claim sovereignty over the territory, citing historical records back in the 15th century, an unequal treaty signed by China’s Qing Dynasty in 1895 that ceded Diaoyu with the whole island of Taiwan to Japan, and clandestine deal made between Japan and the United States after the defeat of Japan in the World War II that allows Japan to retain ownership.

Media, Politics
Hong Kong, Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands, Censorship, Media, Taiwan

The People’s Daily Said What?

By Bi Cheng on August 16, 2012

In the course of its dramatic growth, China often churns out unprecedented numbers. But few of them have been more controversial than the recently released National Revival Index, a formula devised to measure China’s economic and social development by the Academy of Macroeconomic Research (AMR), an affiliate of the government’s National Development and Reform Commission.

The Bogu Kailai Case: Underwritten by Privilege

By Hu Shuli on August 16, 2012

A review of Xinhua News Agency's account of the Bogu Kailai and Zhang Xiaojun murder trial released last Friday revealed a trove of fresh information. The details included the criminal charges, the type of evidence brought forward, expert opinion and a story on the circumstances surrounding British businessman Neil Heywood's death.

Law, Politics
Gu Kailai, Bo Xilai, Neil Heywood, Corruption

Black Box by the Sea

on August 16, 2012

This week China’s Communist Party announced the election of the 2,270 delegates who will gather later this year in Beijing’s Great Hall of the People for the 18th National Party Congress. They will be tasked with determining a new roster of top leaders to replace the outgoing crop—and guiding the country for the next ten years. As is so often the case with the grand set-piece conclaves that take place in that imposing structure on the edge of Tiananmen Square, the real decisions about what happens at the Congress will have been made beforehand.

Politics
Beidaihe, Chinese Communist Party, Hu Jintao, National Party Congress

China’s Microbloggers Take On Re-Education Camps

By Adam Minter on August 16, 2012

Over the last two years, as China’s microblogging culture has expanded, observers inside and outside the country have found hopeful signs that the Communist Party is starting to respect and respond to public opinion voiced online. The most notable case comes from the town of Wukan, where, in December, villagers staged anti-corruption protests that quickly developed a national and supportive online constituency. The Party responded with elections for new local leaders.

Media
Sina Weibo, Wukan, Internet, Labor Camps