The rumors have floated around for a while now, as China’s leadership scrambles to contain political scandals and factional infighting that have inconveniently bubbled up just as the country is gearing up for its …
Hu Jintao
“In fact, those reports made by some foreign media have been circulated long ago on some websites sponsored by the evil cult that the people despise.”
The Bo Xilai Rumor Mill: Is There a Method Behind the Wild Speculation?
Another day, another juicy detail. Once, political scandals in China took months, even years, to reveal themselves. We are, for instance, still gleaning particulars of the power struggles that culminated in the brutal 1989 …
North Korea’s Rocket Launch: Diplomacy Goes Up in Smoke
North Korea is throwing a party this week, and it’s bound to upset all its neighbors. The isolated authoritarian regime says it plans to put a weather satellite into orbit some time between April 12 and 16 as part of celebrations …
Tibetan’s Self-Immolation Casts Shadow over BRICS Summit
The build-up to conclaves like the BRICS summit underway now in New Delhi usually generates lofty rhetoric about the shifting of global power and the emergence of a new world order. The geo-political grouping, which brings …
High-Profile Chinese Politician Bo Xilai Is Removed from Post
Bo Xilai, the high-profile Chinese official who was once seen as a favorite for elevation to the top echelon of Chinese political power, has been removed from his office as Communist Party secretary of the southwestern megacity …
As Tibetans Mark ‘National Uprising Day,’ Tensions Simmer on the High Plateau
It’s known as National Uprising Day to the Tibetans: on March 10, 1959, Tibetans, who had watched Chinese People’s Liberation Army troops march in less than a decade before, rebelled against communist rule on the high …
China’s National People’s Congress: Bling-Bling and Big Glasses
Enter a Beijing eyeglasses shop, and you’ll invariably see a special case filled with thick, oversize spectacles. Salespeople refer to them as lingdao (leaders) glasses. They are considered the preferred style of China’s …
Did America Bond with China’s Heir Apparent, Vice President Xi Jinping?
He received a 19-gun salute at the Pentagon, toured the Port of Los Angeles and took tea in Muscatine, Iowa. On Friday, Feb. 17, Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping will wrap up his five-day trip to the U.S., his first visit since …
The U.S. Military Eyes the Asia-Pacific. China’s Response? So Far, A Shrug
When U.S. President Barack Obama announced earlier this month that the U.S. military would be re-orienting itself toward the Asia-Pacific—a move that many perceive as an attempt to counter China’s rising power—China’s …
Warren Buffett, Surprise Star of China’s Lunar New Year Extravaganza
Each year, China’s state television behemoth CCTV unleashes a five-hour variety show for Chinese New Year. The TV gala usually includes twirling children and armies of acrobats, aggressively cheerful ethnic minorities and …
As U.S. Pivots Toward Asia, China Looks to Strengthen Itself
The “pivot” to Asia, as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has called the new U.S. focus on the region, has given China plenty of reasons to feel uncomfortable. During President Obama’s nine-day trip to Hawaii, Australia and Indonesia, he called on China to behave as a “grown-up” economy and abide by global trade rules. In Australia …
Awkward Anniversary: China Marks the Centenary of the 1911 Revolution
In a country that claims five millennia of history, what’s a mere century? Oct. 10 marks the 100th anniversary of the start of China’s 1911 Xinhai Revolution, which ended 2,000 years of imperial rule. The fall of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) was precipitated by an uprising in the central Chinese city of Wuchang (now part of …