TOM PLATE WRITES – Does the central government of China and the Chinese Communist Party possess the political wisdom and emotional range to handle all the many difficult challenges that catch the world’s eye precisely because of the centrality of China’s key role? Since the 1997 handover from Her Majesty’s…
One of the most interesting, and politically pivotal, newspapers left on the face of the earth is the South China Morning Post. Located in southernmost China – in the special administrative district of Hong Kong – the SCMP has stood proudly as a stubborn and delightful outpost of honest, non-ideological…
TOM PLATE WRITES – They say some things have to be seen to be believed, which is probably why the sight of a jaunty Mark Zuckerberg social-networking through Tiananmen Square on a bicycle (of all things) was almost unbelievable — unless you were there. Am I saying that the chairman,…
TOM PLATE WRITES — You don’t have to be a saint to be a great and effective leader, but you do have to be audacious. So when an audacious leader comes along that a good many admirers suspect to be a saint, you probably have got something special in front…
MIRANDA PAK WRITES – China’s biggest e-commerce company, Alibaba is rumored to be in talks about investing in SCMP Group Ltd, which publishes Hong Kong’s leading English newspaper the South China Morning Post. According to China Daily, Alibaba is trying to expand into the media and entertainment industries. More specifically, the e-commerce entity…
(This article appears in the South China Morning Post print editions as Dealing with China) TOM PLATE WRITES – Let us recall that almost two decades ago, a cocky William Jefferson Clinton, then president of a country but two-centuries-plus old, bluntly informed Jiang Zemin that his country, of many millennia,…
TOM PLATE WRITES (courtesy of the South China Morning Post): China, it seems, cannot win for losing. Exports-predator China is always ‘beating us’, bombastic billionaire businessman Donald Trump declaimed yet again on the campaign trail. But his timing on this point could have been better as last week was not…
Asia Media Writes: The South China Morning Post, one of Asia’s premier daily newspapers, is offering readers a new regularly appearing column on China. But, surprisingly, the fortnightly ‘Insight’ essay comes from the mind and pen not of a Mainland or even Asia-based commentator but from Professor Tom Plate, founder…
YVONNE EPPS WRITES— We all have our poisons: Japan sips sake, Korea loves its Soju, the Philippines drink Tanduay rum. As for Vietnam, it would seem that they have finally reached their legal drinking age and the parental units are starting to feel uneasy. Out-of-state media sources have recently shown…
The ‘Umbrella Revolution’ proceeds apace in Hong Kong, with the world’s spotlight on it undimmed. Editorials and columns appear in newspapers and websites around the world, supporting the protestors or calling for calm, or even urging Beijing to remain open to discussion and permit some review of its decision on…
BRIAN CANAVE WRITES — The media in Taiwan has been buzzing these past weeks, so here’s a quick rundown starting with Hong Kong. Although the media focuses on the events unfolding in Hong Kong, many sources such as The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), New Tang Dynasty television (NTD), and BBC, reported on…
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?…
LAUREN CHEN WRITES – Media censorship in Hong Kong is on the rise, but it’s not just press freedom that’s at stake. Instead, say Samson Yuen and Kitty Ho of The Diplomat, at risk are the core values that have until now let the “Pearl of the Orient” shine. And it begs…
YVONNE EPPS WRITES — It’s a new year and with Tet rounding the final corner, Vietnam can finally turn over a new leaf. Or it can indulge in more media constriction, give or take. This week marked the 40th anniversary of China’s invasion of Vietnam and its taking of the…
LAUREN CHEN WRITES – Hong Kong’s premier English language newspaper, the South China Morning Post, celebrates 110 years of captivating Hong Kong’s most affluent readers. SCMP has reported on Hong Kong, China and the rest of the world “from the rickshaws and the start of the electric tram.” By the early 20th century,…
YVONNE EPPS WRITES- It’s Throwback Thursday and, while other people are throwing back to their embarrassing baby pictures, one mother throws back to the summer where she lost her two sons to Article 258. The mother of arrested blogger, Dinh Nhat Uy, is urging several media outlets, including Voice of…
