Chinese Netizens are blocked from using Facebook. What else is new? But now there is another (albeit less popular) American social networking website that the Great Firewall does not block: Google+. Ever since February 20, 2012, the Chinese government lifted its censorship of Google+. Ever since, Chinese Netizens have been…
Category: China
CHINA: Newspaper’s Spin on Policy Unconvincing
Last month the United Nation Security Council took up a resolution that called for the Syrian President, Bashar al-Assad, to step down. As one of the five permanent members of the Security Council, China voted against it, along with Russia. China remains adamant in its decision despite the outcry from…
Why China resists Western intervention in Syria
LOS ANGELES — Intellectual precision is especially vital in times of geopolitical passion. The full totality of evil of the Syrian government is now on display for the entire world to see. The brutality of President Bashar Assad is beyond immense. And so the blame game has begun. The obvious…
WE ASK / THEY ANSWER: Getting to the Bottom of the Top Secrets
Recently I attended a presentation at the University of Southern California’s US-China Institute about the play Top Secret: The Battle for the Pentagon Papers, which last year debuted in China. Afterward, I had an opportunity to talk with Geoffrey Cowan, the distinguished co–author of the play (along with the late…
CHINA: They’re Taking a Bite out of Our Apple!
The iPad is one of the most recognizable pieces of consumer technology on the market today, changing the way people get information on a daily basis. But was Apple really the first company to develop such a device? Some Chinese say no. On February 17th, the Chinese Proview Technology Company…
PACIFIC PERSPECTIVES: Keep the Bickering in Private When Nurturing a Serious Relationship
Don’t get me wrong. Abject kowtowing is no way to forge an honest and productive relationship with anyone, including the People’s Republic of China. We have differences with Beijing ― and Beijing with us. Covering them up or ignoring them will allow them to fester. Relatively minor issues can become…
CHINA BLOG BLOTTER: Beijing Puts On A Serious Face Against Foreign TV Series
On February 13, 2012, Mainland China’s State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT) announced an official restriction on imported TV series. So exactly how is this partial-ban going to work? Pretty exactly, it would seem! The SARFT have issued no less than seven detailed ordinances for television broadcasters. One,…
CHINA: Micro Blogs – Consumer’s Voice in the Free Market
From every indication, should present trends continue, some wags predict that China is destined to become little more than one big blog. Everyone knows the political impact of micro-blogs on mainland China. Now they appear to have become the Chinese people’s greatest weapon in fighting corporate injustice. Such blogs ensure…
CHINA BLOG BLOTTER: Netizens Parody Hong Kong’s Anti-Mainlander Ad
The mutual dislike between Hong Kong-ers and Chinese mainlanders is nothing new. Although Hong Kong is part of China, it runs as a special administrative region and a half autonomous economy. Unlike the motherland, Hong Kong has a historical advantage as an ex-British colony,…
TAIWAN: Cross-strait cooperation – Be careful how you use it?
Publishing representatives in Taiwan are encouraging bilateral exchanges between their island democracy and mainland China, as a means of increasing readership and producing quality Chinese-language publications. According to the Taipei Times, the head of Taiwan’s Planter Press Co., Lee Ho states that one measure would be reducing taxes on books…
CHINA: Professor’s Suggested China Course Calls for Increased Understanding
It’s been said that people fear that which they do not understand. As China continues to grow in power and becomes increasingly important on a global scale, it is increasingly viewed as a “threat.” However, Hugo de Burgh, a professor of journalism and director of the China Media Center at…
TAIWAN: Free At Last?
It seems that Taiwan’s journalists are not in agreement about how “free” their island democracy really is.In fact, there is a trend surfacing in Taiwanese newspapers with many articles implicitly asking the same question of its readership: Are we a democracy? Certain journalists argue that Taiwan is far too influenced…
NORTH KOREA: China’s TV Interviews ‘Fading’ North Korean News Anchorwoman
China Central Television’s Pyongyang reporter gets an exclusive look inside North Korea’s Central Television news studio while interviewing the country’s most recognizable star, anchorwoman Ri Chun Hui, according to the Korea Realtime of the Wall Street Journal Asia. According to NorthKoreaTech.org, a site dedicated to reporting North Korean news, Ri,…
CHINA BLOG BLOTTER: Leaked Tweets on Tibet
Various media outlets around the world have carried reports about the tragic January 23 incident when Chinese security forces opened fire on Tibetan protesters in Northern Sichuan . But no such headline was to be seen in the mainland Chinese news media. According to New York Times, the official Xinhua…
CHINA: Bashing Won’t Solve Problems…but It May Get You Elected
China Daily recently published a seemingly heartfelt article titled “Blaming China won’t solve US problems.” It began the piece with the consoling fact that “blaming China will not solve problems in the United States or help presidential candidates win more votes”.
CHINA: 28,000 die of HIV/AIDS in China 2011
China’s Ministry of Health, along with United Nation’s Program on HIV and Aids and the World Health Organization, reports a total of 28,000 people died of HIV/AIDS in China in 2011. This not-so-small number of deaths is minuscule compared to the 48,000 people in China who were reported to be…