Robert Daly

on May 19, 2014

Robert Daly is Director of the Kissinger Institute on China and the United States. Before joining the Wilson Center, he was Director of the Maryland China Initiative at the University of Maryland, a position he held since 2007. From 2001 to 2007, he was American Director of the Johns Hopkins University-Nanjing University Center for Chinese and American Studies, in Nanjing, China. Daly began work in U.S.-China relations as a diplomat with the United States Information Agency from 1989 to 1991, after which he taught Chinese at Cornell.

From 1992 to 1999, he worked on television projects in China as a host, actor, and writer, and helped to produce Chinese-language versions of Sesame Street and other Children's Television Workshop programs. During that same period, he directed the Syracuse University China seminar and served as a commentator on U.S.-China relations and Chinese affairs for several U.S. and Chinese media outlets. In 2000 and 2001, he served as American Director of the U.S.-China Housing Initiative. Daly is a regular commentator on current affairs for the Chinese service of the Voice of America.

“White Glove” Sisters at Center of Coal Country Graft Scandal

on May 19, 2014

Two sisters with business savvy and important friends in high places are now the standout figures in the mysterious case of a former Shanxi province government official, Jin Daoming, charged with corruption.

Few details of the Jin case have emerged since he was suddenly kicked out of the provincial branch of the National People's Congress in March. His Beijing bosses with the Party's Central Discipline Inspection Commission said on February 27 he was charged with "serious violation of 'party discipline,'" a euphemism for corruption.

Government Steps Up To Labor’s Demands

Why the Yue Yuen Shoe Factory Strike Was Important

By Kevin Slaten on May 16, 2014

On April 14, most of the 40,000 workers at the Dongguan Yue Yuen shoe factory—supplier to Nike, Adidas, and other international brands—began what would become a two-week work stoppage. While there are thousands of strikes in China every year, the Yue Yuen action broke the mold by attracting an unprecedented show of government support for worker demands.

China’s Fake Urbanization

on May 15, 2014

This infographic explains why it is so hard for rural migrants to settle permanently in cities. For starters, city dwellers were the first to get rich after Reform and Opening Up, which created a large income disparity between them and people living in the countryside. Naturally, first-time migrants to the cities had no money, and high real estate prices made it hard for them to buy homes. But the most valuable property that rural migrants possess is their own land back in the countryside.

Jesse Appell

on May 15, 2014

Jesse Appell is a former Fulbright Scholar whose research focuses on Chinese humor and performance. He is a disciple of master Xiangsheng performer Ding Guangquan, and regularly performs Xiangsheng, bilingual improv comedy, and Chinese-language stand-up live and on TV all around China. Appell creates comedic online videos intended for the Chinese audience; one of these, “Laowai Style,” gathered 2 million hits across several media platforms.

Appell’s performances, writing, and commentary on Chinese comedy, media, and culture have been seen and heard on TEDx, PBS, NPR, BBC, PRI, and The Economist, as well as Chinese media such as CCTV, BTV, and CRI. He was listed as one of the “People of the Year” for 2012 by the Global Times. In 2012, Appell founded LaughBeijing, with the focus of using comedy to bridge cultural gaps.