Chinese Poultry Plant Fire Kills More Than 100
on June 4, 2013
Chinese news reports said many of the workers who had died had been hindered from leaving the factory, the Baoyuanfeng Poultry Plant, because the exits had been blocked or inadequate.
The U.S., China, and Cyber Security (Podcast)
on June 4, 2013
Evan Osnos and others discuss the U.S.-China relationship before an upcoming Obama-Xi meeting, covering the topics of cyber security and the two countries’ mutual “strategic distrust.”
Strange Stones
on June 4, 2013
During the past decade, Peter Hessler has persistently illuminated worlds both foreign and familiar—ranging from China, where he served as The New Yorker’s correspondent from 2000 to 2007, to southwestern Colorado, where he lived for four years. Strange Stones is an engaging, thought-provoking collection of Hessler’s best pieces, showcasing his range as a storyteller and his gift for writing as both native and knowledgeable outsider. From a taste test between two rat restaurants in South China to a profile of Yao Ming to the moving story of a small-town pharmacist, these pieces are bound by subtle but meaningful ideas: the strength of local traditions, the surprising overlap between cultures, and the powerful lessons drawn from individuals who straddle different worlds.
Full of unforgettable figures and an unrelenting spirit of adventure, Strange Stones is a dazzling display of the powerful storytelling, shrewd cultural insight, and warm sense of humor that are the trademarks of Peter Hessler’s work. —Harper Collins
Excerpts
05.15.13
When You Grow Up
Little Lu, Little Zhang, and Little Liu waited for me at the end of the bridge. They were ten, twelve, and fourteen years old, respectively, and they had come from the same village in northern Sichuan Province. They said that they had dropped out of...
Book Review:
Mara Hvistendahl, The Wall Street Journal (May 8, 2013)
Julie Makinen, Los Angeles Times (May 31, 2013)
Belay for Hollywood
on June 4, 2013
In summer 2012, when foreign productions were moved out of China’s multiplexes, a widely observed phenomenon unofficially called “domestic movie protection month” was implemented. It seems this measure is going to be repeated this year.
On Eve of Tiananmen Anniversary, China’s Prominent Weiborati Speak Out
on June 4, 2013
“Don’t worry about forgetfulness—at least the Sina censors remember,” tweeted Jia Zhangke, a film director.
Online Outrage After Chinese City Proposes Fine on Single Mothers
on June 3, 2013
Women giving birth out of wedlock in China have to contend with family pressure, social stigma, and financial hardship. Now, some of them may have to pay a hefty fine as well.
Trading Companies and the Business of Illusion
on June 3, 2013
Last year, the owner of an export-processing company whom we will call Lin Minyao learned of an easy way to make money in Shenzhen, the port city next to Hong Kong.
Like his fellow traders, Lin said he could set up two shell companies, one in Hong Kong and the other in special areas set up to encourage trade in Shenzhen, to fake trades and profit from the different yuan exchange rate in the two cities.
It was quite a tempting opportunity, he said. “The return rate could reach up to 20 percent, much higher than the 3 to 5 percent from real trades.”
Obama’s Meeting with China’s Communist Party General Secretary Xi Jinping
on June 3, 2013
President Obama and the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party, Xi Jinping, will meet June 7–8 in California. The meeting has been characterized as a way for the two to establish a personal relationship and build trust. This would all be well if it were President Obama’s first year in office and Sino–American ties were on a sound footing. But it is not and they are not. It is long past time for the U.S. to have a meaningful, tightly focused China policy. This meeting does not appear to support that goal but rather is another in a series of ostensibly important but aimless steps on an increasingly rocky path. The Administration should have specific goals for the summit and the Strategic and Economic Dialogue (S&ED) one month later: ■ A timetable for a major reform to increase competition in the Chinese market, preferably in finance; ■ A detailed pledge of improvement in one area of the multidimensional problem of Chinese cyber-aggression; and ■ An actual reduction in at least one area of tension—for example, the Senkakus dispute with Japan or the disputed territories such as Scarborough Shoal or Second Thomas Shoal near the Philippines.
Organization:
The Heritage Foundation