MIRANDA PAK WRITES- An annual report on the state of press freedom in China offers little to cheer about for fans of Western style journalism and media openness. The report “China’s Media War: Censorship, Corruption & Control” outlines dozens of instances of direct censorship, Internet surveillance, abuse of legal processes,…
SHUTING LI WRITES – In a country of 1.4 billion, with an extreme gender imbalance of 117.6 boys to every 100 girls, competition for love is fierce. But what do Chinese men think of when they imagine a traditionally beautiful woman? The primary factor to be considered is white skin. The…
ASIA MEDIA WRITES: On the whole, the international media has reacted to China’s climate improvement agreement with understandable cynicism. Nations tend to talk a lot and do much less. But the agreement recently reached at the 2014 APEC summit in Beijing might prove the beginning of the real deal. People…
SHUTING LI WRITES – China’s most viewed dating show “Fei Cheng Wu Rao” (“If You Are The One”) is produced by Jiangsu Satellite Television to satisfy Chinese women’s desperate need for the perfect man. And it’s a huge hit. America’s most popular dating show, “The Bachelor” on ABC, has about 7.75…
SHUTING LI WRITES – China is globally known for its uber-firewall and the aggressive censorship of social media. Since 2009, following the Urumqi riots, almost all non-Chinese search engines, microblogs and social media sites that people use elsewhere in the world have been gradually blocked in China. That includes services provided…
AMBER VERNETTI WRITES: China’s influence over outside media outlets is increasing in countries like Australia, analysts report. This ‘soft power’ approach is China’s way of keeping in touch with one million Chinese Australians while censoring what is included in the Chinese language news sources and favoring state-generated content. John Fitzgerald,…
ANNIE LUNDGREN WRITES – A Chinese production company recently launched the 3D cartoon series “Princess Fragrant,” which follows a Uyghur girl’s adventures along the Silk Road. The character, who sports a traditional Uyghur hat and long braids, was inspired by the ancient Chinese legend of “Fragrant Concubine,” the Uyghur consort…
THIS SYNDICATED COLUMN ON POLITICAL TURMOIL IN HONG KONG WAS PUBLISHED 8 SEPTEMBER IN THE ‘SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST’, HONG KONG’S LEAD NEWSPAPER. A VERY SIMILAR VERSION WAS PUBLISHED 10 SEPTEMBER IN ‘CHINA DAILY’, THE LEADING ENGLISH-LANGUAGE DAILY OF CHINA: “Hong Kong is one of the world’s great metropolises, most…
Join the Asia Society Southern California for an exciting evening to celebrate the U.S.-China Film Relationship. As in the past, the Gala Dinner will feature high-profile honorees and guests from China and the U.S. This year’s full-day conference will draw on the Film Summit’s roots in U.S.-China co-production.…
LEXIE TUCKER WRITES – When a grudge is held between two countries, what sort of action is considered “crossing the line?” On July 3, the Chinese paper The Chongqing Youth News published a map of Japan with cartoony drawings of atomic mushroom clouds over Hiroshima and Nagasaki along with a…
RYAN LIPPERT WRITES – If North Korea’s reaction to The Interview has not made it clear that the Hermit Kingdom takes portrayals of its Supreme Leader very seriously, the country’s opinion of a new Chinese music video featuring Kim Jong-Un will. The video consists of various clips of people dancing,…
YVONNE EPPS WRITES— A month has passed since the fiasco in the South China Sea, but it seems that Vietnam has garnered the admiration of another East Asian country. Watch out Vietnam, it seems like ‘senpai’ has noticed you. Major Japanese TV stations like NHK, TBS and Fuji relayed their…
TOM PLATE WRITES – Among the easiest things on the face of the earth on which one can become quickly aware of is an Australian after-party. That’s because it tends to carry on for so long that with each additional (happy) hour, it gets very audibly happier. But, as a…
LEXIE TUCKER WRITES – The past continues to haunt Japan for its treatment of Chinese “comfort women” before and during World War II. On April 25, the archives in China’s Jilin province released 89 documents that include letters written by Japanese soldiers, newspaper articles, and military files that provide solid…
YVONNE EPPS WRITES — Tensions over the South China Sea reached its peak last week, but this kerfuffle between China and Vietnam is quite different than the tug of war over the Parcel Islands earlier this year. Everyone wants a piece of this pie, but who loses in the end?…
ASIA MEDIA WRITES – Looking for international journalist experience? The East-West Center is now accepting applications from US journalists for its 2014 China-United States Journalists Exchange!
