From the International Herald Tribune: China might be the world’s third-ranked trading nation and a superpower in the making, but when it comes to the international trade talks taking place here on Chinese soil, Beijing’s representatives are all but invisible. Rather than play a leading role at the World Trade Organization ministerial talks this week, […]
Read MoreVillagers of Dongzhou wear white mourning clothes and cry out in grief, from The Epoch Times.
Read MoreFrom TIME.com: Police shoot peasants, then a police commander is detained. Is an authoritarian regime stumbling towards some form of accountability? When local riot police backed by armed security forces drove tanks into the southern China village of Dongzhou on Dec. 6 and began shooting at demonstrators, there were no journalists present. Still, in this […]
Read MoreFrom YOMIURI ONLINE: Democratic Party of Japan President Seiji Maehara‘s comment during his recent visit to the United States and Beijing that China’s military buildup was “of concern” was lapped up even by some ruling party lawmakers. The DPJ has traditionally sought to maintain friendly ties with China. But Beijing, apparently irritated by Maehara’s comments, […]
Read MoreFrom Reuters, via the Standard: Images of China’s top leader shaking hands with two AIDS patients, meant to dispel widespread discrimination, have brought mockery instead for their now-shunned families, a state newspaper said. President Hu Jintao made an unprecedented visit to AIDS patients in a Beijing hospital in November 2004, urging the nation “to phase […]
Read MoreFrom Xinhua: Nearly 2,500 Chinese archives at and above the county level, or 80 percent of China’s total, have opened once confidential government “red-title” documents for public reference, sources at a national archives directors’ meeting said here Wednesday. China’s official documents, usually with the title printed in red, were once restricted only to government officials […]
Read MoreFrom The Useless Tree: The PRC government is trying to suppress information about the Dongzhou incident. They are blocking websites (not to worry: this blog is already blocked in China, I believe). They are not allowing reports in the domestic media about the shooting and killing of villagers. They even took down the first official […]
Read MoreFrom the South China Morning Post, via Asia Media: Beijing yesterday rejected any attempt at associating the police shooting of villagers in Guangdong last week with the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown on pro-democracy students. The rejection came as activists, intellectuals and the international media drew parallels between the use of force to quell the riot, […]
Read MoreFrom the Thai News Agency: China is to supply Thailand with 96 armoured personnel carriers (APCs) in exchange for 100,000 tonnes of dried longan fruit. The barter trade deal was signed by Suthiporn Chirapandu, a senior official of the Thai Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry, and Guo Zhao Ping of China’s Commission of Science, Technology and […]
Read MoreFrom Time Asia: Hong Kong is headed for political gridlock after a huge rally on Dec. 4 in favor of greater democracy for the city. The unexpectedly big turnout”250,000 claimed by the organizers, 63,000 by the authorities”has hardened the positions of both the pro-democracy camp and the Chinese leadership in Beijing. The democrats are emboldened, […]
Read MoreFrom Time Asia: In the early 1950s, Liu Binyan was a tall, eloquent young man deeply devoted to the ideals of socialism and set for a brilliant career in the People’s Republic of China. When he was purged from the Communist Party in 1957 for writing about corruption and banished to a poor mountain village, […]
Read MoreFrom the Washington Post: State media have said the incident left three dead and eight wounded, but residents have said the shooting resulted in the deaths of as many as 20 villagers. State media first blamed the Dec. 6 confrontation in the town of Dongzhou entirely on a small number of “instigators,” but announced Sunday […]
Read MoreFrom Stratfor (by subscription only, 7 day free pass available): Last week, a group of Chinese villagers staged a demonstration against a wind-power project near Shanwei, a town in Guangdong province about 100 miles from Hong Kong. In the first incident, protesters blocked access to the site of the wind-power generation project. The next day, […]
Read MoreFrom Maclean’s: Increasingly violent protests throughout China over land, taxes and other disputes are forcing the government to strike a difficult balance, trying to maintain order while letting the public vent frustrations to prevent a larger explosion, analysts say. In the latest incident, police last week shot and killed villagers protesting land seizures in Dongzhou, […]
Read MoreFrom the AP, via the Los Angeles Times: The Walt Disney Co. on Wednesday announced its first film production in China, adding to its efforts to break into the booming Chinese entertainment market. The Chinese-language film, “The Secret of the Magic Gourd,” began shooting in October in the eastern city of Hangzhou and is due […]
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