Caixin Media

07.22.14

Stability the Watchword for Progress in China

Chinese diplomacy has had a busy few months, with numerous visits abroad by leaders and a constant stream of foreign leaders coming to the country.Amid the flurry of activity, two meetings were particularly noteworthy: the sixth U.S.-China Strategic...

Heard in the Hutong: Will China’s Rise Lead to Conflict?

Wall Street Journal
With Xi Jinping currently finishing up a trip to South America following a meeting of BRICS leaders in Brazil, China Real Time hit the streets of Beijing to find out what residents think about China’s place in the world.

Twitter Acts Quickly on Suspect Pro-China Accounts

ANDREW JACOBS
New York Times
Just hours after The New York Times posted an article about bogus Twitter accounts dedicated to spreading pro-China propaganda—and a Tibetan advocacy group demanded that the company take action—Twitter appears to have hit the kill switch on a score...

Media

07.22.14

All Hail ‘Fatty Kim the Third’

David Wertime
It’s North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un as the world has never seen him. In a three-minute clip that has accumulated over 200,000 views after its early July posting on Chinese video site Tudou, a crudely photoshopped Kim dances on the street,...

Media

07.21.14

Everybody Hates Rui

He may be widely reviled in his home country, but oh, what a resume: The son of an author and screenwriter; a graduate of the prestigious China Foreign Affairs University; a Yale World Fellow; and state-run China Central Television (CCTV)’s best-...

China’s Rich Look Abroad as Home Prices Fall, Others Stay Put

Xiaoyi Shao and Koh Gui Qing
Reuters
“Smart money” checking the exit is a bad omen for any market, especially one considered frothy after a five-year record-breaking bull run, but analysts say there is no reason for alarm yet.

Edelman, Rui Chenggang, and China PR

David Wolf
Silicon Hutong
Operating ethically is seen as naive at best, and culturally imperialist at worst (“how dare you impose your values on us!”).

China’s Response to the MH17 Tragedy? Condemn the West

Hannah Beech
Time
Despite memories of decades of Cold War frostiness, Beijing is now quite chummy with Moscow.

Alibaba’s IPO Could Be a Bonanza for the Scions of Chinese Leaders

Michael Forsythe
New York Times
Firm didn’t reveal deep political connections of its investment backers, Boyu Capital, Citic Capital Holdings and CDB Capital.

China’s Support of Latin America ‘Doesn’t Come for Free’

Víctor M. Mijares
Deutsche Welle
After the BRICS summit and a visit to Brazil, China’s President Xi Jinping is embarking on a tour of Argentina, Venezuela and Cuba in a bid to boost ties and gain clout in the region.

Helping China’s Doves

Kishore Mahbubani
New York Times
Since Beijing wants to focus on domestic problems the international community should ask itself one simple question: What can we do to help the doves?

Anti-corruption Drive—Anchor away: A Famous Newsman is Detained

Economist
In the midst of an ongoing anti-corruption campaign popular, jet-setting China Central Television “Economic News” anchor Rui Changgang is questioned.

Conversation

07.17.14

How to Read China’s New Press Restrictions

David Schlesinger, Orville Schell & more
On June 30, China’s State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film, and Television posted a statement on its website warning Chinese journalists not to share information with their counterparts in the foreign press corps. Most major...

Chinese Communists’ Adultery Ban – A Propaganda Stunt?

Martin Patience
BBC
Just when you thought the Party was taking a puritanical stand, the newspaper said that when authorities had previously accused officials of “moral corruption” they defined this as having more than “three mistresses”.

Japan’s Opposition Leader Visits Beijing, Vows Candid Talks

Li Xiaokun
China Daily
Banri Kaieda, who arrived in Beijing on July 15, told journalists that he would discuss with high-ranking Chinese officials ways to break the impasse in ties and smooth out disputes China has with current Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

China Widens Anti-Corruption Drive to Officials with Family Abroad

Reuters
Wang Qishan, secretary of its watchdog Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, told investigators to go after “naked officials”, state media said, referring to those who have children or spouses who live abroad. 

Inside a Beijing Interrogation Room

Murong Xuecun
New York Times
In the course of my seven-hour interrogation the officers were never ferocious. In fact, they were polite. In this respect, the Chinese government has evolved to appear friendly, but it is still a dictatorial regime that will never...

Environment

07.17.14

China Faces Long Battle to Clean Polluted Soil

from chinadialogue
This is the third of a special three-part series of investigations jointly run by chinadialogue and Yale Environment 360 with the support of the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting. You can also read parts one and two.Luo Jinzhi is 52 and lives in...

Unprecedented: Chinese Company Beats Obama in Court

Wall Street Journal
In an unprecedented development on Tuesday,Chinese-owned Ralls Corp. proved the naysayers wrong, securing a court victory over the president that could shake up the way the U.S. reviews foreign acquisitions with national security concerns.

With Tensions Rising, Japanese Investment in China Plummets

Dexter Roberts
Businessweek
Another consequence of the worsening Sino-Japanese relations: Japanese investment into China dropped by nearly half in the first six month of 2014, according to a new report by China’s Ministry of Commerce.

China’s Censors Take Aim at Popular Internet TV Operators That Offer Foreign Shows

Wu Nan
South China Morning Post
Seven companies told ‘unauthorized’ content will be taken down in seven days and they could see license revoked if breach is found.

Note to Cadres: Hands Off the Black Audi and Chauffeur

CHRIS BUCKLEY
New York Times
Can you take away that ultimate perk of the respectable cadre—the black car with intimidatingly tinted windows, an equally intimidating medley of official insignia, passes and a faithful driver? We’re about to find out.

Chinese Media Blast Fox News Host Bob Beckel Over ‘Chinamen’ Rant

Abid Rahman
Hollywood Reporter
“The Five” co-host’s discriminatory remarks have caused a storm of controversy and anger in China, echoing calls in the U.S. for him to be fired.

Hong Kong Rising: An Interview with Albert Ho

Perry Link & Ian Johnson from New York Review of Books
The former British colony of Hong Kong reverted to China on July 1, 1997, and on every July 1 since then Hong Kong citizens have marched in the streets asking for democracy. The demonstrations on this year’s anniversary, however, were on a much...

Chinese Oil Rig Near Vietnam to Be Moved

Jane Perlez
New York Times
The China National Petroleum Corporation, a state-owned company, said the billion-dollar rig, known as HD 981, would be relocated to an area around the Qiongdongnan basin, closer to Hainan Island, a southern province of China, and apparently in...

Many Asian Nations Believe That a War With China Is Looming

David Stout
Time
A majority in the Asian countries polled in a new Pew study say they fear a looming military conflict with China.

Chinese Hackers Extending Reach to Smaller U.S. Agencies, Officials Say

MICHAEL S. SCHMIDT
New York Times
After years of cyberattacks on the networks of high-profile government targets like the Pentagon, Chinese hackers appear to have turned their attention to far more obscure federal agencies.

China Tells U.S. To Stay Out of South China Seas Dispute

Ben Blanchard
Reuters
China told the United States on Tuesday to stay out of disputes over the South China Sea and leave countries in the region to resolve problems themselves, after Washington said it wanted a freeze on stoking tension.

China’s Campaign Against Corruption Is Huge. Will It Do Any Good?

Hannah Beech
Time
President Xi has netted more “tigers,” or top-level officials, than his predecessor Hu Jintao did during his entire decade in power.

Caixin Media

07.15.14

Silencing a Health Reformer’s Voice

Dr. Liao Xinbo is struggling to square his enormous popularity and thirst for healthcare reform with a recent demotion that, in his words, marked the culmination of his frustrated work life.Liao served as Deputy Director of the Guangdong Province...

All Aboard: China’s Railway Dream

Carrie Gracie
BBC
At Asia’s biggest rail cargo base in Chengdu in south-west China, the cranes are hard at work, swinging containers from trucks onto a freight train. The containers are filled with computers, clothes, even cars.

Chinese Banks Halt Experimental Yuan-Remittance Program

LingLing Wei
Wall Street Journal
China’s major banks have halted an experimental program, sanctioned by the country’s central bank, that helped citizens transfer large sums overseas despite government capital controls, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

China TV Anchor Known For Fatriotic Views is Held in Corruption Probe

Los Angeles Times
For years, TV news anchor Rui Chenggang has been a China booster and an icon for China’s global “soft power” push. But in a development that’s shocked the nation, Rui has been detained on suspicion of corruption, the scourge of the system he has...

China Labels iPhone a Security Threat

Eva Dou
Wall Street Journal
 Report cites researchers who say tracking app could expose ‘state secrets.’

China Aims to Justify New Media Restrictions

Te-Ping Chen
Wall Street Journal
China moved to justify and explain a series of new restrictions on its media that tightened the government’s control of information in the world’s No. 2 economy.

Power Shift: Hopeful Signs in China’s Legal Reform Plan

Stanley Lubman
Wall Street Journal
The Central Leading Group for Judicial Reform of the Chinese Communist Party announced the reform measures last month and an overview of a new five-year plan issued by the Supreme People’s Court on Wednesday signals a serious intention to implement...

China Touts $14.4 Billion in Foreign Aid, Half of Which Went to Africa

James T. Areddy
Wall Street Journal
Instead of focusing on support for pricey, high-profile infrastructure that is often a lightning rod for foreign critics who say it’s less necessary than basic on-the-ground needs, the report highlighted China’s spending on comparatively smaller-...

President Xi Welcomes Obama to Visit China for APEC Summit

Xinhua
Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Thursday that he welcomes and expects talks with Barack Obama when the U.S. president visits China to attend the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting in November.

Environment

07.10.14

U.S.-China Climate Cooperation More Crucial Than Ever

from chinadialogue
As the governments of the United States and China meet in Beijing this week for the Sixth U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue (S&ED), one area worth watching closely is clean energy and climate change cooperation. While this topic may...

Tibet Resists

Jonathan Mirsky from New York Review of Books
Tsering Woeser was born in Lhasa in 1966, the daughter of a senior officer in the Chinese army. She became a passionate supporter of the Dalai Lama. When she was very young the family moved to Tibetan towns inside China proper. In school, only...

Kerry Presses China to Abide by Maritime Laws to Ease Tensions

Jane Perlez
New York Times
In a closed-door session at a high-level gathering of Chinese and American officials here on Wednesday, Secretary of State John Kerry urged China to follow maritime law in nearby seas to reduce regional tensions.

Chinese Hackers Pursue Key Data on U.S. Workers

Michael S. Schmidt, David E. Sanger and...
New York Times
Chinese hackers in March broke into the computer networks of the United States government agency that houses the personal information of all federal employees, according to senior American officials.

Conversation

07.09.14

The U.S. and China Are At the Table: What’s At Stake?

William Adams & Zha Daojiong
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Treasury Secretary Jack Lew are in Beijing this week for the sixth session of the high level bilateral diplomatic exchange known as the Strategic and Economic Dialogue. We asked contributors what’s likely...

The Untold Story of China’s Forgotten Underground Nuclear Reactor

Jeffrey Lewis
Foreign Policy
How social media and a little sleuthing turned up a Mao-era nuclear program.

Media

07.08.14

Changing the Chinese Embassy’s Address to Liu Xiaobo Plaza Is a Silly Idea

I rarely agree with the Chinese Embassy in Washington, but an amendment making its way through Congress has made me unlikely bedfellows with Beijing’s Washington diplomats.Representative Frank Wolf (R-Va.) has sponsored an amendment to rename the...

Caixin Media

07.08.14

Hard Choices for Family Planners and Parents

The technocrats in charge of China’s one-child policy have the power to force sterilizations, abortions, and intra-uterine device (IUD) implants, as well as punish uncooperative parents by denying them jobs, denying their children schooling,...

China’s Rise and Asian Tensions Send U.S. Relations Into Downward Spiral

Simon Denyer
Washington Post
Hundreds of rocky islands, islets, sandbanks, reefs and cays lie scattered across Asia’s eastern waters, unimportant-looking to the naked eye but significant enough to spark what may be the most worrying deterioration in U.S.-China relations in...

What You Need to Know About the U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue

Richard C. Bush III, David Dollar,...
Since 2009, the Strategic and Economic Dialogue has offered a platform for both countries to address bilateral, regional and global challenges and opportunities, and this year’s meeting comes at a critical time to stabilize the U.S.-China...

U.S. Pushes China to Give Ground on Technology Trade Deal

Krista Hughes
Reuters
The United States on Monday urged China to give ground on a deal to eliminate duties on billions of dollars of technology products and said it would use talks in Beijing later this week to push to restart negotiations.

China’s State Media Goes Into Overdrive Over the Marco Polo Incident

Te-Ping Chen
Wall Street Journal
President Xi Jinping led other members of the leadership to the area on the western outskirts of Beijing where 77 years ago Japanese troops attacked Chinese soldiers. The 1937 skirmish led to Japan invading much of eastern China and...

From Mountains, Island, Secret Town, China’s Electronic Spy Shop Watches

James T. Areddy, Paul Mozur, and Danny...
Wall Street Journal
Using Chinese government websites, academic databases and foreign security expertise, The Wall Street Journal assembled an overview of some secret operations of China’s global monitoring organization, the Third Department of the People’s...

China Denies Entry to an American Scholar Who Spoke Up for a Uighur Colleague

Edward Wong
New York Times
When Elliot Sperling landed in Beijing, he found himself dragged by border officers back to the same jet that he had flown in on, despite the fact he had arrived with a valid one-year tourist visa.

China Thinks It Can Defeat America in Battle

David Axe
Week
China is wrong — and for one major reason. It apparently disregards the decisive power of America’s nuclear-powered submarines.

Shadow of Brutal ’79 War Darkens Vietnam’s View of China Relations

Jane Perlez
New York Times
She was 14 when Chinese artillery fire echoed across the hills around her home in northern Vietnam, and hundreds of thousands of Chinese soldiers swarmed across the border.

Two Studies of Modern China: ‘Age of Ambition’ & ‘The New Emperors’

Isabel Hilton
Guardian
Evan Osnos examines a changing China through gentle reportage, while Kerry Brown provides illuminating forensic analysis of its vicious power struggles

An Online Shift in China Muffles an Open Forum

Ian Johnson
New York Times
In recent months, Chinese microblogging service Weibo has been eclipsed by the Facebook-like WeChat, which allows instant messaging within self-selected circles of followers.

Infographics

07.03.14

Spoils of the ‘Tiger’ Hunt

David M. Barreda & Yan Cong
The Chinese Communist Party announced the expulsion from its ranks of Xu Caihou, who before his retirement in 2012 was one of the highest ranking officers in the People’s Liberation Army. He also became the highest-ranking member of the Chinese...

China Bans Xinjiang Officials From Observing Ramadan Fast

BBC
Activists have accused Beijing of exaggerating the threat from Uighur separatists to justify a crackdown on the Uighurs’ religious and cultural freedoms.

‘There Are No Rules in China’

Alexa Olesen
Foreign Policy
When dissident author Murong Xuecun returns home, he says he will tell Beijing authorities they can come and get him.