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China’s Rise:
China’s Economic and Social
Developments
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2004 ; 2005 ; 2006 ; 2007
[News] [Papers]
China Can Best Help World by
Growing Fast: Wen
(Reuters, Sep. 27, 2008) Premier Wen Jiabao expressed confidence
on Saturday that China could maintain fast growth and said this was the
greatest contribution it could make to help the world weather the current
financial crisis.
‘China Repression Grow’,
Says US
(BBC, Sep. 20, 2008) Repression of religious
freedom in some parts of China
has intensified over the past year, the US government says.
China Wealth Fund Plays Down
Morgan Stanley Talk
(Reuter, Sep. 19, 2008) China Investment Corp
dampened speculation that the sovereign wealth fund could be ready to
increase its stake in U.S.
investment bank Morgan Stanley.
China Eclipses US as Japan’s
Biggest Customer
(Telegraph, Aug. 21, 2008) China has replaced the US as Japan's biggest customer,
underlining the emergence of the country in the global economy.
China Became Net Food Importer
in 1st Half
(Reuters, Aug. 21, 2008) The swing into deficit
sheds an interesting light on China's stance in last month's abortive global
trade talks when Beijing is increasingly concerned about food
security.
Poll: Most in China Expect
Olympics to Help Image
(AP, Jul. 22, 2008) Overwhelming numbers of
Chinese say next month's Olympics will help their country's tattered image
abroad, and they predict the Beijing Games will be successful, according to a
poll released Tuesday. Pew Research Center Survey
Report
China Orders Probe into
Latest Rural Clash
(Reuters, Jul. 21, 2008) China flew a provincial Communist party boss
to a remote rubber-growing area of southwestern Yunnan to
investigate a weekend clash between police and residents in which two people
were killed, state media said.
China’s Foreign Investment
Up 45 Percent at US$52.4 Billion in First Half of 2008 (AP, Jul. 11, 2008) Foreign investment in China in the first half
of the year rose 45 percent over the same period a year ago to US$52.4
billion, the government said Friday.
China’s Trade Surplus Falls
Nearly 12 Percent in First Half: Customs
(AFP, Jul. 10, 2008) China's trade surplus reached
99.04 billion dollars in the first half of 2008, the customs bureau said
Thursday, a fall of nearly 12 percent from a year ago.
China’s Economy to Become
World’s Biggest in 2035: Study
(AFP, Jul. 9, 2008) China's economy will overtake that of the United States
by 2035 and be twice its size by midcentury, a
study released Tuesday by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace concluded.
Thousands March for Greater
Democracy in HK
(Reuters, Jul. 2, 2008) Thousands in Hong Kong
urged Beijing
to grant it greater democracy on Tuesday, with a recent furor over newly
appointed political aides stoking perceptions of the unelected government's
lack of accountability.
U.N.’s Ban Calls on China to
Be Bigger Peacemaker
(Reuters, Jul. 1, 2008) U.N.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged China
to match its growing economic and political clout with more funding and
troops for peacekeeping operations to meet growing international crises.
China Calls for Rich Country
Help on Climate Change
(Reuters, Jun. 29, 2008) Addressing climate change head-on is in China's best interests, but it
needs developed countries to do their fair share, President Hu Jintao said in a speech
reported by the Xinhua news agency on Saturday.
China Still Lags Behind U.S.
in Influence, Survey Shows
(New York Times, Jun. 17, 2008) Despite China’s
remarkable economic rise, and its efforts to spread its influence in Asia
through what is known as “soft power,” the country still lags far behind the
United States in that sphere, according to a survey to be released Tuesday. Pew Global Attitudes Project A recent survey shows
approval for China
is down while respect is up.
Asia Soft Power Survey 2008 By Christopher Whitney and David Shambaugh (Chicago Council on Global Affairs, Jun. 2008) As China prepares
to host the 2008 Olympics and display the result of its great economic
progress to the world, the survey finds that in the estimation of most
Americans and many Asians, China still has a way to go to claim the world’s
full recognition as a multifaceted power.
New
Disease Outbreaks in China; 15K Children Infected
(AP, May 8, 2008) New outbreaks in China reported Wednesday put the number of
children infected with hand, foot and mouth disease above 15,000 and the
death toll has risen to at least 28 across the country.
China Calls for Halt in 'Radical'
Anti-France Demonstrations
(AP, Apr. 23, 2008) With praise for the French president and appeals for
calm, China's leadership
signaled that it is ready to put an end to anti-France sentiment that has swept the country since the
chaotic Olympic torch
relay in Paris.
Protests of the West Spread in China
(New York Times, Apr. 21, 2008) Nationwide demonstrations against a French
supermarket chain spread on Sunday as thousands of people protested what they
said was France’s sympathy for
pro-Tibetan agitators. The protesters have also been singling out Western
news outlets, especially CNN, for what they said was biased coverage of
unrest in Tibet.
China Urges Control of
'Patriotic Fervor' over Tibet
(AFP, Apr. 18, 2008) China has urged its people to contain their patriotism,
in the first sign Beijing may be
growing uncomfortable with a nationalist outburst over the Tibet issue that
it has tacitly supported.
Europeans See China as
Biggest Threat to Global Stability: Poll
(AFP, Apr. 15, 2008) Europeans see China
as a bigger threat to global stability than the United
States, Iran
or North Korea,
according to a poll. The Harris survey for the Financial Times showed that an average of 35 percent of
voters in Britain,
France, Germany, Spain and Italy saw China as the biggest threat
to global stability, compared to 29 percent who thought the same of the
United States.
China, New Zealand Sign Free Trade Deal
(AP, Apr. 7, 2008) China and New Zealand
signed a sweeping free trade agreement Monday, the rising economic giant's
first such pact with a developed country. The deal, signed by Chinese
Commerce Minister Chen Deming and his New
Zealand counterpart, Phil Goff, will give New Zealand
access to one of the world's fastest-growing economies.
China Hopes to Tame Its
Rapid Economic Growth
(Associated Press, Mar. 5, 2008) China's premier called for "powerful
measures" to rein in the persisting inflation battering ordinary
Chinese, saying the government will use further price controls and curb
soaring investment to hold prices to a 4.8% rise.
China's Communist Party
Approves Leadership, Reform Plans
(AFP, Feb. 28, 2008) China's
ruling communist party approved top leadership jobs and government reform
plans Wednesday, ahead of the annual session of its parliament next week,
state media said.
China Turns to Economic
Controls
(Associated Press, Feb. 11, 2008) Fighting stubbornly high inflation, China's
leaders dusted off a blunt tool from its pre-market reform era and commanded
utility companies to freeze electricity prices.
China Tries to Reassure U.S.
About Its Investing Plans
(New York Times, Feb. 1, 2008) The head of China’s $200 billion government
investment fund, seeking to reassure Americans nervous about the possibility
of foreign takeovers, said that China would invest mostly in portfolios
rather than individual companies — except when a “big fat rabbit” like the
investment banker Morgan Stanley came along.
China Snow Crisis Shows Vulnerability
(AP, Jan. 31, 2008) China's
financial capital saw fresh snowfall as the impact of unusually wintry
weather deepened, highlighting the vulnerabilities of the country's booming
economy. Heavy snows in recent days have stalled shipments of food and fuel,
complicating authorities' efforts to combat a spike in inflation.
Foreign Companies Pour Money into China:
Govt
(Agence France Presse,
Jan. 22, 2008) Foreign firms invested a record 82.7 billion dollars in
booming China
last year, the government said, with analysts adding the tide of money had
undermined efforts to slow economic growth. The 2007 figure for foreign
direct investment, or FDI, was up 13.8 percent from a year earlier.
China's Trade Surplus Surges to Record
(AP, Jan. 11, 2008) China's
global trade surplus soared nearly 50 percent last year to a record despite
an avalanche of safety warnings and recalls of Chinese-made products abroad.
The sharp rise could add to pressure on Beijing
to act on currency controls and import barriers.
China to Launch Rockets, Manned Mission, in Olympic Year
(Associated Press, Jan. 8, 2008) China plans to launch its third
manned space mission that will feature its first-ever space walk during 2008.
China
will also send up 15 rockets and 17 satellites. In 2003, China became only the third country in the
world after the United States
and Russia
to send a human into orbit. It followed with a two-man mission in 2005.
China Clamps Down on Internet
(AFP, Jan. 4, 2008) China has announced tough new rules to crack down on the
explosion of audio-visual content on the Internet, reiterating that sex and
politically sensitive material will not be tolerated. Only state-controlled
entities will have the right to operate websites that post audio-visual
content, according to the rules.
Morgan Stanley Sets Price for China
Deal
(AP, Dec. 25, 2007) Morgan Stanley and the Chinese government said that the U.S. investment bank has determined the range
of prices to be used when China's
international investment fund converts $5 billion worth of securities into
Morgan Stanley stock.
Hong
Kong Leader Presses China
for Vote
(NYT,
Dec 13, 2007) Facing widespread demands from the public for full democracy to
be introduced within five years, the Hong Kong
government urged the Chinese government on Wednesday to set a firm timetable
for direct elections for the region’s leader and legislature.
China Could Be Dragged Down
by Wall Street Crash By William Pesek (Bloomberg, Oct. 3, 2008) China's mercantilist model makes the
most populous nation dangerously dependent on consumers in the biggest
economy. Growth in Asia will experience quite a setback if the U.S.
enters a prolonged period of weakness.
China’s Image Sullied by
Tainted Milk By Mary Kay Magistad
(YaleGlobal, Oct. 1,
2008) Without swift and effective action to better protect its own consumers
and citizens, China’s
leaders may find that the wave of goodwill they’ve been riding of late may
dry up, and bring them down to earth with a thud.
Surveillance of Skype
Messages Found in China By John Markoff
(New York Times, Oct. 1, 2008) A group of
Canadian human-rights activists and computer security researchers has discovered
a huge surveillance system in China
that monitors and archives certain Internet text conversations that include
politically charged words.
The World Is Observing What
China will Do Amid Crisis By Rowan Callick (The Australian, Sep. 29, 2008) What Asia needed China to do in
1997, the whole world is looking for it to do right now. Premier Wen Jiabao won't find much
disagreement.
Tainted Milk Flowed Through
Holes in Scrutiny By Jim Yardley and David Barboza (New York Times, Sep.
26, 2008) The dairy scandal raises the core question of whether the
ruling Communist Party is capable of creating a transparent, accountable
regulatory structure within a one-party system.
China’s Top Paper Says
Olympics Shows Party Rule Works By Chris Buckley
(Reuters, Sep. 26, 2008) The United States' economic woes show the bankruptcy
of Western-style democracy while China's Olympic Games triumph shows the
growing "superiority" of its Communist Party rule, China's top
newspaper said.
China’s Milk Scandal Bares
Government Shortcomings By Charles Hutzler (AP, Sep. 24, 2008) Galling to many Chinese is the suspicion that
high-level pressures for a successful Beijing Olympics added momentum for a
cover-up.
‘Little Emperors’ Surprise
China Elders with Work at Olympics By Dune Lawrence (Bloomberg, Sep. 23, 2008) China's pampered, 20-something
``little emperors'' surprised the nation with their hard work during the
Beijing Olympics and the May earthquake that killed an estimated 87,500
people.
China Joins a Turf War By Malik Fareed
(Guardian, Sep. 22, 2008) Online, astroturfing - whereby stealth PR tactics are passed off
as grassroots enthusiasm for a product or candidate - is flourishing. But in China,
things have gone one step further - with the establishment of the country's
50-cent army.
China Seeks to Calm Fears
Amid Scandal By Jim Yardley
(New York Times, Sep. 20, 2008) The broad
response underscores how deeply the dairy crisis has resonated with the
Chinese public as well as the political problem the scandal has presented for
the government.
Public Anger Over Milk
Scandal Forces China’s Hand By Ariana Eunjung
Cha (Washington Post, Sep. 19, 2008) The scandal
over tainted milk powder, which has killed four people and sickened 6,244
more, has fueled such universal outrage that the Chinese government in recent
days has thrown out its playbook for how it deals with such incidents.
China’s Top Trade Official:
Don’t Abandon the Doha Round By Chen Deming (BusinessWeek, Sep. 15, 2008) The Chinese Commerce
Minister writes that resuming the key trade talks is needed to combat a
global economic slowdown.
China’s Rulers Look to Space
to Maintain Olympic Pride
(AFP, Sep. 9, 2008) China's rulers are looking to
catapult overflowing pride and patriotism from the Beijing Olympics into
another stratosphere when the nation's first "taikonaut"
walks in space this month.
Populists Gain Seats in
Election in Hong Kong By Keith Bradsher
(New York Times, Sep. 7, 2008) The
biggest rift in Hong Kong politics, between those who favor greater democracy
and those who support the Beijing-backed local government, produced little
change on Sunday.
In China, Police Clash with
Protesters Who Invested in Illegal Schemes By Maureen Fan (Washington Post, Sep. 6, 2008)
Corruption is endemic in China
as the country gains in affluence. Last month, China's top auditor said that 10
central government departments misused or embezzled $660 million in 117 cases
last year.
China Trade Outguns Europe’s
Rights Concern By Julio Godoy
(Inter Press Service, Sep. 5, 2008) European
Union leaders speak repeatedly of tying increasing Chinese investment in
Africa to respect for human rights. No such considerations come in the way of
the EU's own dealings with China.
China’s Olympic Run—Part II By Pallavi Aiyar
(YaleGlobal, Aug. 29,
2008) Without the Games and their prestige to drive home the necessity of
“harmony” at any cost, China’s ruling party will have to confront its greatest
Achilles heel – its inability to admit to the existence of real diversity and
dissent – head on.
Where Next for Post-Games
China? By Michael Bristow
(BBC, Aug. 28, 2008) The Olympics in Tokyo in 1964 and Seoul
in 1988 both marked turning points in the development of Japan and South Korea. Many hope it will be
the same for Beijing.
China’s Olympic Run—Part I By Mary Kay Magistad
(YaleGlobal, Aug. 27,
2008) China’s leaders are caught between conflicting instincts – to play to
both audiences, to trumpet China’s rise as a formidable power, while trying
to reassure the world of its friendly, non-threatening nature.
Slipping Over the Great
Firewall of China By Nicholas D. Kristof
(NYT, Aug. 24, 2008) It’s true that the
government censors critical Web sites and closes down troublesome blogs. Yet there aren’t nearly enough censors to manage
the job, and many Chinese are quite adept at technological ladders over the
Great Firewall of China.
Post-Games China to Refocus
on Economy, Stability By Benjamin Kang Lim
(Reuters, Aug. 24, 2008) China's
leaders will breath a sigh of relief as the Beijing
Olympics close, turning their attention back on the economy, keen to prevent
any slowdown and possible unrest.
The Chinese Dream Has
Replaced America’s By Martin Fletcher
(Times, Aug. 23, 2008) China’s economy may be
lagging behind the U.S., but it is miles ahead in optimism, dynamism, and patriotism.
Will the Olympics Boost
China Human Rights? By Bruce Einhorn and Lawrence
Delevingne (BusinessWeek, Aug. 22, 2008) Many were hoping a new
openness would emerge as the mainland took center stage, but most experts
agree the Games won't change much.
New Strategies for
‘Democratizing’ China By James Gomez
(Asia Times, Aug. 21, 2008) An integrated
approach that is based closer in the region seems to be the way forward to
bring democracy to China
as well as to other parts of Asia.
Harmony and the Dream By David Brooks
(New York Times, Aug. 11, 2008) The rise of China
isn’t only an economic event. It’s a cultural one. The ideal of a harmonious
collective may turn out to be as attractive as the ideal of the American
Dream.
U.S. in “Firm Opposition” to
Chinese Human Rights Policies, Bush Says By Michael Abramowitz (Washington Post, Aug. 7, 2008) President Bush on Thursday used
some of his bluntest language to date on human rights in China,
saying that "America stands in firm opposition" to China's
detention of political dissidents and religious activists.
China’s Leaders Are
Resilient in Face of Change By Jim Yardley
(NYT, Aug. 6, 2008) If the Olympics have
presented unmistakable challenges and crises, the Communist Party has proved
resilient. The short-term byproduct of the Olympics has been a surge in
Chinese patriotism that bolstered the party against international criticism.
China Shouldn’t Be
Inscrutable By Fareed Zakaria
(Newsweek, Aug. 11, 2008) To say that this new
China is the same as the old is to be utterly ignorant or ideological—perhaps
both.
Despite Flaws, Rights in
China Have Expanded By Howard W. French (New
York Times, Aug. 2, 2008) Political change, however gradual and inconsistent,
has made China
a significantly more open place for average people than it was a generation
ago.
China’s Dash for Freedom
(The Economist, Jul. 31, 2008) On balance, the
award of the games has done more harm than good to the opening up of China.
The big forces driving that opening are independent of the games.
China Emerges as Major
Player in Global Trade Talks By Stephen Castle (New
York Times, Jul. 29, 2008) As seven years of global trade talks approach
another climax, China is emerging as a central player — and coming under
heavy criticism from the United States and others for its tactics.
China Using Olympics as
‘Pretext’ for Crackdown: Amnesty
(AFP, Jul. 29, 2008) China is using the Beijing Olympics as a pretext
to pursue -- and in some cases tighten -- a crackdown on human rights,
notably ridding the capital of "undesirables," Amnesty
International charged Monday.
Rights Issue Looms as Bush
Heads to China By Michael Abramowitz
(Washington
Post, Jul. 28, 2008) With President
Bush set to leave next week for the Olympics in Beijing, the White House
is coming under increased pressure from lawmakers and advocacy groups to make
a public statement of concern about the crackdown on human rights and freedom
in China.
Olympics: Wary China Readies
for Some Patriot Games By Jonathan Watts
(Guardian, Jul. 28, 2008) With less than two weeks until the opening
ceremony, the tide of nationalist fervor is rising to fever pitch as the torch
enters the final stages of its epic and controversial journey to Beijing.
China’s Agony of Defeat By Orville Schell
(Newsweek, Aug. 4, 2008) The Beijing Games
present a fraught and sensitive moment. China has made a Herculean effort
to prepare the way for this spectacle, in which ordinary Chinese, not just
their leaders, can announce themselves to the world as having regained their
national greatness.
A Long Wait at the Gate to
Greatness By John Pomfret
(Washington Post, Jul. 27, 2008) China, the
drumbeat goes, is poised to become the 800-pound gorilla of the international
system, ready to dominate the 21st century the way the United States
dominated the 20th. Except that it's not.
The Man Who Swam to China
Floats to the Top of Global Banking By Heather Stewart (Guardian, Jul. 27, 2008) Lin says China’s
most important link with Africa is in
providing an example of economic success. 'China provides a role model to
show that it's possible to change from a very desperate situation into a very
promising, dynamic country - and that kind of role model is very important.'
In Washington, China and
Critics Spread Separate Versions of Coming Olympic Games (AP, Jul. 25, 2008) The Olympic games begin in Beijing
on Aug. 8, but already the competition to sway public opinion in the United States
is heating up between anti-China activists and Chinese authorities. It is
transforming the run-up to the global sports gathering into a public
relations marathon.
China’s
Evolving Perspective on Darfur: Significance and Policy Implications By Chin-Hao Huang (PacNet #40,
Pacific Forum, CSIS, Jul. 24, 2008) It appears that there is greater
consensus on hot spots in Africa such as Darfur, in
part because there is growing congruence in Beijing’s
evolving perspective and Washington’s
outlook.
Open China’s Great Firewall
(Christian Science Monitor, Jul. 24, 2008) China
has more people online than any other country. But its rulers are also
world-class obstructors of the Internet, a practice
sure to be under scrutiny during the Olympic Games, when foreigners used to
Web freedom will visit Beijing.
In China, Fine Line Between
Response and Overreaction By Jill Drew (Washington Post, Jul. 23,
2008) The goading note was a stark reminder that connecting all the dots
before an act of violence and providing an ironclad protection against it is
nearly impossible, experts said.
China’s Unreality TV
(Editorial, New York Times, Jul. 22, 2008) We
will never know whether China’s
leaders intended to keep their word. What we do know is that the
International Olympic Committee, corporate sponsors and governments around
the world should have held China
to its word.
Confronting Income
Inequality in China By Alan Wheatley
(Reuters, Jul. 22, 2008) In "China's Dilemma," a collection of papers co-published
by the Australian National University
and the Asia Pacific Press, Yifu Lin argued that
fundamental flaws in China's
economic model were partly to blame for the yawning gap between rich
and poor.
China is Growing Unfriendly
to Foreigners, Visitors Say By Ariana Eunjung
Cha (Washington
Post, Jul. 19, 2008) Some human rights advocates, business associations and
foreign visitors say the visa crackdown has more to do with keeping out
potential foreign protesters. They say the process is alienating foreigners.
China ‘Is Fueling War in Darfur’ By Hilary Andersson
(BBC, Jul. 13, 2008) The BBC has found the first
evidence that China is currently helping Sudan's government militarily in Darfur.
Faster, Higher – But Freer?
(Editorial, The Guardian, Jul. 12, 2008) The opening ceremony will be less of a coming-out parade for Chinese leaders than a
coronation. For the very same reasons, western leaders rightly remain uneasy
about giving their imprimatur to a regime which jails dissidents, persecutes
religious groups, backs Burma
and bankrolls Darfur.
China Crackdown Targets
Critics Ahead of Olympics By Henry Sanderson
(AP, Jul. 11, 2008) As Beijing enters the final stretch before the August
8-24 Olympics, the government is trying to shut out anyone it believes might
mar an event meant to showcase China as a modern nation.
Fraying at the Edges
(The Economist, Jul. 10, 2008) Taiwan is a big unfinished
nationalist project at a time when Chinese nationalism is gaining potency. Beijing’s present policy relies on Taiwan’s refraining from any
“provocation”. This is dangerously fragile.
Confucianism Makes a
Comeback in China By Daniel A. Bell
(Japan
Times, Jul. 10, 2008) Communism has lost its capacity to inspire the Chinese.
So what should replace it? Most Westerners think the answer is liberal
democracy, but there is another answer, which takes the form of the old and
venerable tradition of Confucianism.
Around the World, Activists
Assemble to Press China on Rights By Robin Shulman (Washington
Post, Jul. 9, 2008) Marking the one-month countdown to the start of the
Beijing Olympic Games, activists gathered here and in cities around the world
Tuesday to call on China
to ease crackdowns on dissenters and release political prisoners.
China Seen as Reneging on
Media-Freedom Vow By Geoffrey York
(Globe and Mail, Jul. 7, 2008) When 25,000
foreign journalists descend on Beijing next month to cover the Olympics, they
will face restrictions that are far from the "complete freedom"
China promised in its bid for the Games.
China Protests: A New
Approach? By Simon Elegant
(Time,
Jul. 4, 2008) The incident that took place in the remote town of Weng’an is more than a mere pre-Olympics anomaly and may
be part of a new, more open approach by Beijing to outbursts of
long-simmering rage.
Victims of the Boom By David Harrison
(Telegraph, Jun. 29, 2008) The cities may be
thriving but in the countryside 800m
peasants struggle to survive. As pollution, migration and 'land grabs'
threaten to destroy rural China,
protests are growing. How much longer can the people be ignored?
Nationalist Fervor in China
Is Backed by Anger By Ted Plafker
(International Herald Tribune, Jun. 27, 2008)
Wrought from several sets of interwoven strands, the Chinese impulse toward
nationalism is an intricate fabric. Love of country is mixed with a sometimes
venomous ethnic chauvinism.
To Understand China’s Future,
Look to Its Past By Jonathan Fenby
(The Times, Jun. 24, 2008) Given the fault
lines created by 30 years of invigorating but unbalanced growth, China's
leaders need to show a degree of benevolence to buttress popular support. How
to do that without relinquishing their grip on power is a problem they share
with rulers dating back through the millennia.
Return to Repression
(Editorial, Washington
Post, Jun. 23, 2008) The suppression of critical coverage and the harassment
of foreign journalists are the norms in China. What makes it remarkable
now is not only the brief relaxation of control that preceded it but the fact
that it comes just weeks before the Olympic Games in Beijing.
A New China Appears Amid Quake Rubble By Mark Magnier
(LA
Times, Jun. 17, 2008) One month after a massive earthquake
killed nearly 70,000 people, some of the effects of the crisis may hardly
outlast the rubble, even as other seismic shifts irrevocably shake the
Chinese government and society.
In China, the Game Has
Changed By Victor D. Cha
(LA
Times, Jun. 15, 2008) Political change in China is unavoidable, however. Beijing's leaders face a
Catch-22. The price for seeking the Olympic limelight to showcase China's
greatness is increased exposure to pressures to change.
China to Keep Grip on
Society as Challenges Loom By Benjamin Kang Lim (Reuters,
Jun. 9, 2008) Chinese government's burst of openness in the aftermath of its
devastating earthquake was not a signal that the Communist Party is relaxing
its grip on a rapidly changing society -- far from it.
Victim Or Victor? China’s
Olympic Odyssey By Ian Buruma
(Wall Street Journal, Jun. 7, 2008) Resurgent
nationalists are counting on a torrent of gold medals to erase centuries of
humiliation. Will the Beijing
Games complete a restoration of Chinese greatness or arrogance?
Setting Politics Aside to
Help Victims of China Earthquake By Kirk Semple (NYT, Jun. 1, 2008) The emergency has temporarily unified the various and
sometimes competing strands of the Chinese diaspora,
including anti-Communist groups, which have suspended their political
animosities toward Beijing for now, to support the victims of the earthquake.
Two Images of China By Lee Kuan Yew
(Forbes, Jun. 16, 2008) this moment of world
sympathy will pass, and concerns over China's future role will remain.
The West is uncertain whether this huge nation will be good or bad for the
world. This tension will only be resolved when both sides approximate each
other's worldviews and accept that they will never have identical cultural
values.
Outpouring of Help Shifts
Mood in China By Edward Cody
(Washington Post, May 27, 2008) Foreign Ministry
spokesmen were appealing for help from anywhere abroad within a week of the
quake. It was a departure for China,
which typically accepts only small amounts of aid in times of crisis.
China Enjoys Rare Moment of
Global Support By Peter Ford
(Christian Science Monitor, May 27, 2008) In an
unexpected silver lining to the tragic Sichuan earthquake, China's
international image has enjoyed dramatic improvement over the past two weeks.
But the turnaround remains fragile, say Chinese and foreign scholars.
A Thwarted Search for
Information By Maureen Fan
(Washington Post, May 26, 2008) Thousands of
children died in the May 12 Sichuan earthquake. The loss has been
particularly hard because of China’s
limits on family size a nearly 30-year-old policy designed to curb population
growth and reduce poverty.
China
Teaches Something in Quake By Frederick Kempe
(Bloomberg, May 20, 2008) Tempting as it is to judge China's
response as further evidence of the country's unstoppable rise, it is a
reminder of Chinese fragility. What lurks beneath the firm surface of
accomplishment are growing economic, social and environmental shifts that
might threaten the country's single-party, technocratic leadership.
Many Hands, Not Held by
China, Aid in Quake By Jim Yardley and David Barboza (New
York Times, May 20, 2008) The public outpouring is so overwhelming that
analysts are debating whether it will create political aftershocks and place
pressure on China’s
authoritarian state to allow more space for civil society.
A Hard
Look at China's Soft Power
(Asia Times, May 16, 2008) China's
attempts to use its "soft power" assets are increasingly
successful, although not without problems, according to a recent United States
congressional study. China
also deploys its soft power as part of the political dynamic of trying to
separate Taiwan
from its remaining diplomatic relationships.
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