Chinese Electric Vehicle Manufacturer BYD’s Image Hurt by Scandal Involving Dealer’s Suicide

on April 18, 2016

China’s largest electric vehicle manufacturer, BYD Auto Co., is under intense scrutiny following the death of a Nanjing auto dealer who accused the company of bilking a government subsidy program and a Caixin probe suggesting the charge may have legs.

The uproar began on March 9, when media outlets in the eastern city reported the suicide of 53-year-old Liu Peng, General Manager of two BYD dealerships: Shangdi Automobile Trade and Service Co. and Sushunya Automobile Trade and Service Co.

Liu reportedly hanged himself in his office.

China’s Future

By David Shambaugh on April 18, 2016

China’s future arguably is the most consequential question in global affairs. Having enjoyed unprecedented levels of growth, China is at a critical juncture in the development of its economy, society, polity, national security, and international relations. The direction the nation takes at this turning point will determine whether it stalls or continues to develop and prosper.

Will China be successful in implementing a new wave of transformational reforms that could last decades and make it the world’s leading superpower? Or will its leaders shy away from the drastic changes required because the regime’s power is at risk? If so, will that lead to prolonged stagnation or even regime collapse? Might China move down a more liberal or even democratic path? Or will China instead emerge as a hard, authoritarian, and aggressive superstate?

In this new book, David Shambaugh argues that these potential pathways are all possibilities—but they depend on key decisions yet to be made by China’s leaders, different pressures from within Chinese society, as well as actions taken by other nations. Assessing these scenarios and their implications, he offers a thoughtful and clear study of China’s future for all those seeking to understand the country’s likely trajectory over the coming decade and beyond. —Polity Press

Book Review: 

Jeffrey Wasserstrom, The Wall Street Journal (March 28, 2016)
The Economist (March 26, 2016)
Interview with Andrew Browne, The Wall Street Journal (March 14, 2016)

Liu Changchun

on April 18, 2016

Liu Changchun is the Vice Chairman of the Jiaozuo Photographers Association, Honorary President of the Jiaozuo Fine Art Photographers Association, Director of the Gansu Morden Art Photographers Association, and a member of the China Photographers Association.

Liu began working as a photographer in 1980 and has photographed events such as the 1997 closure of Three Gorges Dam, the 1998 flood, and the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake. He has worked with the Li Ka Shing Foundation on several projects, such as one that helps to inform the public about the plight of children with cleft lip and cleft palate. His work has appeared in People’s Daily, Henan Daily, and other publications. His work has been exhibited in the Great Hall of the People and the Pingyao International Photography Festival. Liu is based in Jiaozuo, Henan province.

A ‘Lost’ Daughter Speaks, and All of China Listens

I Went to China to Find My Birth Mother. Instead, I Became the Focus of a Nation’s Buried Pain.

on April 15, 2016

A woman in her mid-40s cradled a scrap of blue cloth checkered with red. “Have you seen this before?” she asked. “Do you recognize this pattern?”

I held it up to the light and noticed the cotton edges had frayed and tattered over years. “We already had three girls,” she explained. “We needed a boy. We were too poor. I saved up money for the cloth, and I spent a month hand-sewing you a little baby suit and matching hat. After 50 days, I abandoned you by a bridge.” But she used the Chinese word for “lost” instead of “abandoned.”