FILM REVIEW BY LANI LUO – “Wake up. This is the new China. Things need to be planned and centrally controlled.” This quote comes from a short film written by Craig Rosenthal called Shanghai Love Market. Clearly, the title indicates that the story is not an academic critique on the…
Category: China
TAIWAN: Why Should the People Know?
BRIAN CANAVE WRITES – Has Taiwan developed its first medium-range guided missile that can be used against mainland China? According to South China Morning Post and Michael Tsai, defense minister of the former government of the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party, this is true. In fact, Taiwan had successfully developed the…
NORTH KOREA: Ball Is In China’s Court
RYAN LIPPERT WRITES – It will take a lot more than a friendship with Dennis Rodman to bring peace to the Korean Peninsula. After a short period of reduced tension between North Korea and the international community, things are now back to the way they were. North Korea’s nuclear program…
TAIWAN: We’re Protecting Our Cyber Security
In light of news that the Chinese military has been engaged in cyber-espionage attacks around the world, the publication Taiwan News asked both the Executive Yuan and the Taiwanese National Security Council what’s been done to ensure the country’s cyber safety. The National Security Council has yet to provide a…
CHINA: Who’s Hertz, Who’s Avis?
Despite recent media reports that China had surpassed the US when it comes to trade, the recent reports from the Chinese Ministry of Commerce announced that this is not, in fact, the case. The two largest economies in the world, China and the United States have always been neck and…
NORTH KOREA: International Drama Queen.
North Korea has been, and is increasingly becoming, a topic of heightened concern within the international community. In December, their government tested long-range rockets, violating international law. Although the North Korean government claims that the rockets were carrying satellites for their space program, the U.N. increased sanctions against North Korea…
CHINA: Better Brace Yourself!
Fake it til’ you make it. Teens in Asia are taking that concept literally as they apply fake braces on their teeth as a fashion trend. This curious fad first started in Southeast Asia, and it is now taking Asia by storm, making its way into many Chinese teenagers’ mouth.…
CHINA: Always a Villain, Never the Hero
Chinese authorities once praised him; now he’s being condemned. Back in November, Zhu Ruifeng, a blogger from Beijing, released image stills of a tape exposing a sex scandal featuring Chongqing district party chief Lei Zhengfu. At first, China Daily newspaper received independent bloggers who used the Internet as a “tool…
JAPAN: New Year, New Government, Same Issues
Both the passage of time and the ushering in of new leaders have proven to be fruitless in the alleviation of the tension felt in East Asia. It may be well into the new year, but the ties between Japan and China continue to exhibit signs of deterioration thanks to…
China Blog Blotter: Too Soon for Equal Rights?
“Gays Dare to Love” was the slogan for the Equal Rights for Gays Parade that took place in Hong Kong recently. Much like America’s own Pride Parades, Equal Rights for Gays Parade is public, loud, and flamboyant. Although parades like these have happened in the past in Hong Kong, this…
CHINA: A Glorious Print Revolution
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) publicity chief recently accentuated efforts to improve the media’s reporting style during an inspection tour of the Party’s flagship newspaper. Liu Qibao visited the headquarters of the official newspaper of the CCP Central Committee, The People’s Daily, and remarked that media organizations should start to…
U.S.: On This Issue, Even China Does It Better
It would not be hard to convince many us who live in the West Coast of the painfully obvious need for severe gun-restrictions laws and attendant gun-control law-enforcement. We’re easy. California is just that way. Why recently, we actually voted to increase our taxes to support our schools! Imagine. Call…
CHINA: A New Fashion Model In Town
Heels, lace, and mini-skirts! These are some of our favorite things. By “our,” I mean the possessive term for females. China’s new clothing line, Yuekou, is marketing these pieces to young Chinese fashionistas in a brand new way that is shocking to their audience, as well as the rest of…
INDIA: China’s Passport to Trouble
China is at it again! Existing territorial conflict between New Delhi and Beijing over Arunchal Pradesh is no concern of the past. The controversial issue has been revived as China recently took matters into its own hands, launching new e-passports in which it showed the regions of Arunachal Pradesh and…
CHINA: What the U.S. Election and iPhone 5 Have in Common
It is not a rhetorical question: a US immigrant officer asked a Chinese journalist this question verbatim when he applied for a visa to cover the election in U.S. The journalist was caught off guard; he had many answers to that question, but in his point of view none of…
JAPAN: Banzai! Here’s to Four More Years and Closer Ties!
The 2012 U.S. Presidential Election garnered countless reactions from across the globe, and Japan was no different. The island nation, according to Mainichi Daily, has welcomed Barack Obama’s victory over Mitt Romney. The reelection comes at a crucial time for US-Japan relations, considering China’s recent push to increase authority in…