From the Economist: An elaborate points system that determines the careers of officials is often blamed for many of China’s problems. In their drive to meet targets for economic growth, local mandarins squander money, ride roughshod over citizens and ravish the environment. So now China is trying to devise and embed into its assessment of […]
Read MoreFrom the New York Times: In their new book, “Mao: The Unknown Story,” Jung Chang and Jon Halliday make an impassioned case for Mao as the most monstrous tyrant ever. They argue that he was responsible for “well over 70 million deaths in peacetime, more than any other 20th-century leader,” and they argue that “he […]
Read MoreFrom The South Morning China Post, via Asia Media: A mainland dissident and a labour activist yesterday described the white paper “as a big lie” that sounded “extremely ridiculous and shameful”. Dissident writer Liu Xiaobo said the paper was another official report eulogising communist rule. “It is old wine in a new bottle, but at […]
Read MoreFrom The Guardian: Hopes for political reform in China have suffered a setback with the publication of the government’s first white paper on democracy – a document that despite its name reaffirmed the Communist party’s determination to cling to power and postpone the introduction of elections. The white paper was issued by the cabinet amid […]
Read MoreFrom The Business Week: The biggest IPO on earth may signal the start of a rich, new era of financial markets. No wonder Western institutions are lining up Never accuse the Chinese of thinking small. The global public offering in late October of China Construction Bank, the mainland’s third-largest bank, is set to raise a […]
Read MoreFrom The International Herald Tribune: China’s cancellation of a fence-mending visit by the Japanese foreign minister following Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi’s visit to a shrine dedicated to Japan’s war dead highlights once again where the real threat to security in East Asia is emanating from. The fact that Beijing called off Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura’s […]
Read MoreFor the CDT Bookshelf, China Digital Times invites experts on China to recommend a book to CDT readers. This month, Perry Link, Professor of Chinese at Princeton University, recommends “River Town” by Peter Hessler,...
Read MoreFrom the New York Times: Determined to be the first Western auction house to capitalize firsthand on China’s booming art market, Christie’s has signed an agreement to conduct auctions in Beijing, company officials said. And to meet Chinese government restrictions on foreign businesses holding auctions on their own, it has teamed up with a newly […]
Read MoreFrom AP, via MSNBC: Google Inc.’s popular online mapping service has become entangled in a long-running territorial dispute between China and Taiwan. Until recently, Google’s maps described Taiwan as a “province of China.” That sparked protests from Taiwan’s government, which has considered its island an independent state since ending a civil war with China more […]
Read MoreFrom CNet News: Shanghai police are investigating advertisements offering babies for sale on a Chinese Web site owned by Internet auction power eBay, state media said on Thursday. The ads, which appeared on the Eachnet site on Oct. 16, promised babies under 100 days old from the impoverished central province of Henan at prices of […]
Read MoreFrom the International Herald Tribune: The U.S. defense secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, urged the next generation of China’s Communist leadership on Wednesday to become “a major player” in the global economy by taking steps to strengthen the system and not just reap the financial rewards, and he warned against erecting “another type of Great Wall” restricting […]
Read MoreFrom the South China Morning Post, via Asia Media: Overseas journalists working in Shanghai have issued a statement condemning the violence in Taishi and the attacks on pro-democracy activist Lu Banglie and on reporters covering the unrest. However, the statement from the 140-member Foreign Correspondents’ Club was only issued after heated debate among members over […]
Read MoreFrom CNN.com: China’s best-known Internet guru is Jack Ma, the founder of Alibaba.com, an e-commerce auction site that pitches made-in-China goods to a global market. Earlier this year, Yahoo paid $1 billion and handed over its China unit to Jack for a 40 percent stake in his company, turning Jack into a dotcom millionaire a […]
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