A series of fascinating posts on the panicked reaction inside China’s propaganda machine to the early, erroneous reports that the Virginia Tech shooter was a Chinese national. There are observations by foreigners working on the inside, the blog itself belonging to a sub editor working form Xinhua, the official Chinese news agency. There …

This is a quick follow-up to the post earlier this month on Chinese blogger Isaac Mao’s talk at Hong Kong University. Rebecca MacKinnon, an assistant professor at the university’s journalism school, has a post on key points of Mao’s presentation and also a summary of a talk by Chinese blogger Michael Anti. There are also links to videos …

On my first visit to Hong Kong six years ago, I was surprised not so much by the bright lights, buildings or crowds. Rather, it was that amid the bright lights, buildings and crowds, a monkey managed to clamber through the busy Tsim Sha Tsui district in Kowloon, board a cross-harbor ferry, and arrive in the Wanchai district of Hong Kong …

After criticizing Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao’s choice of words recently, I think it’s only fair to point out some impressive oration on his part yesterday. It came during a speech to the Japanese Diet, the first by a Chinese leader to that body in more than 20 years. He said that while Japan’s invasion of China caused great loss …

The White House official was jubilant: “The Chinese have promised to close down all the counterfeit DVD factories. And this time they really mean it!” I was chatting with the official in Hong Kong where she had landed on her way back to Washington from talks in Beijing. She was convinced that after years of foot dragging and bureaucratic …

My post yesterday on Premier Wen Jiabao’s stern encouragement to Hong Kong Chief Executive Donald Tsang aroused a few heated comments. I’ll reply to them here.

First off, there were some questions of the translation provided. If you follow the link, you’ll see that it comes from the China Daily, the state-run English language newspaper. …

Here’s Susan’s reply to questions and comments on her post. Thanks again to Susan for guest blogging.

I am very gratified that my debut as a blogger has stimulated such a lively and interesting discussion. It’s a terrific new opportunity for me to hear the direct and unvarnished views of people living all over the world – …

Hong Kong’s Chief Executive picked up his official appointment for a 5-year term in Beijing yesterday, but Premier Wen Jiabao gave him a life sentence. Quoting a line from the Analects of Confucius, Wen said:

The scholar must not be without scope and persistence, for his responsibility is weighty and his way is long. Perfect virtue is

…

We’re going to inaugurate a new, periodic feature on TIME’s China blog today— guest blogging. Susan Shirk was Deputy Assistant Secretary of State overseeing China policy during the Clinton administration and is now director of the University of California’s Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation. She is also the author of a …

With Prime Minister Wen Jiabao’s trip to Tokyo imminent, I thought it might be useful for China focused readers to understand a bit of the //Japanese// political backdrop to the bitter Yasukuni Shrine battle between Beijing and Tokyo. The following link is to a piece in an online Japan focused journal that often contains insightful …

Hong Kong has long promoted itself as a shoppers’ paradise, but that title is a mix of reality and hype. The city has malls galore, no sales tax and many bargains to be found, but it’s also easy to get ripped off. Tourists from mainland China, who make up the largest number of visitors, have been learning that lesson recently. Last week …

A friend of mine, who like me has lived a long time in both Japan and China, says that if you made a movie about the two countries it would have to be called “Natural Born Enemies.” I tend to share that glum view. Forget the U.S. v North Korea. Forget China v Taiwan. The most fraught, perilous relationship in east Asia is Japan v …

Here’s an inspiring tale of survival. From Reuters, the story of a woman in Nanjing who fell from her building and was saved by “a convenient pile of excrement.”