Did trade war help dissident Liu Xia win freedom?
Writer and human rights advocate Liao Yiwu says the US president’s trade war with China may have helped Liu Xia, the widow of Nobel laureate Liu Xiaobo, win her release,… Read more »
Category: China
Maldives election halts authoritarian drift: a blow to China’s sharp power
Maldives leader Abdulla Yameen conceded defeat on Monday to a candidate who has pledged to reverse the country’s slide toward authoritarianism, marking a setback for China, which had forged strong ties with the president… Read more »
China’s ‘Belt and Road Power Play’ imperils democracy
The United States and China are in a competition to shape the course of the 21st century. At stake is whether the prevailing international order that has backstopped peace, prosperity,… Read more »
Beijing complains as US kicks back against Chinese sharp power
Beijing has complained to the US following reports that Washington has ordered two Chinese state-run media agencies to register as foreign agents, The Guardian (London) reports: The US Department of… Read more »
‘Striking to Survive’ – workers’ resistance in China
What is the meaning of the thousands of strikes in China? Do these strikes add up to a “labor movement”? How can solidarity between Chinese and American workers be built?… Read more »
How ‘corrosive capital’ threatens democracy
Foreign direct investment and government-to-government economic development assistance are critical for emerging economies, the Center for International Private Enterprise observes. Foreign direct investment also signifies a vote of confidence in… Read more »
How India challenges China model
India’s status as the world’s largest democracy and its non-Western identity have buttressed the argument that democracy is a universal idea, says a leading democracy practitioner. In addition, the fact… Read more »
China’s ‘zombified’ civil society features in new clash of ideologies
China’s ruling Communist Party is pursuing an aggressive, covert infiltration of US educational and social institutions to quell dissenting voices and strengthen its soft power overseas, according to a report… Read more »
‘Unify minds’: ideological rallying call to China’s propaganda cadres
China’s President Xi Jinping has issued a rallying call for Communist Party cadres in charge of propaganda and ideology to close ranks around the “party core” as Beijing faces an… Read more »
Soviet collapse ‘echoes’ in China’s Belt and Road Initiative
China’s increasingly image-conscious government has appointed a trusted member of the ruling Communist Party to head up its international propaganda operation, AP reports: Former top internet regulator Xu Lin will… Read more »