Chinese Twitter and the Big-V Takedown

By Kaiser Kuo, Jeremy Goldkorn & more on September 20, 2013

Joining Kaiser and Jeremy this week are David Wertime and Rachel Lu from Tea Leaf Nation, along with Paul Mozur from The Wall Street Journal. And our topic? None other than the firestorm that has engulfed Sina Weibo following China’s effective criminalization of anti-government tweeting on September 9, and then the political crackdown that followed this week targeting the more rabble-rousing of celebrity microbloggers on China’s most popular public messaging service.

The Mooncake Economy

Inside China’s Most Crooked Confection

on September 19, 2013

Across the country, Chinese are observing the annual harvest festival by giving and receiving mooncakes, pastries whose round shape is meant to evoke the full moon of the autumnal equinox. In recent years, bemoaning the debasement of this tradition has become as much of an annual ritual as the festival itself. This is because the once homey, hockey-puck-like confections have become vessels for all that is perceived to be rotten—and much that actually is—in Chinese society: bribery, piracy, conspicuous consumption, and waste.

For Chinese, Violence in the Middle East Sparks Debate on Democracy, Stability

on September 18, 2013

Recent months have been rocky for the Middle East: harsh crackdowns on protesters in Egypt and a Rashomon-like scenario in which the Syrian government and the rebels have accused each other of using chemical weapons, just to name a few. The region’s great distance from China has not diminished Chinese netizens’ interest in its unrest.

China Welcomes Russia’s Proposal for Syria Weapons Handover

By Ben Blanchard and Michael Martina on September 17, 2013

China said on Tuesday it backed a Russian proposal for Syria to hand over its chemical weapons for destruction, a plan that could avert planned U.S. military strikes in response to the country's suspected use of its arsenal on civilians.

 

Military, Politics
Syria, U.S.-Russia Relations, China-Russia Relations, Chemical Weapons

Free Republic

on September 17, 2013

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