ZGBriefs from 2015
The Resource Library is where you will find the latest resources from across our publications.
ZGBriefs | December 31, 2015
A Chinese Company in India, Stumbling Over a Culture (December 30, 2015, The New York Times)
Chinese companies have embarked on ambitious overseas expansion efforts, snapping up land in dozens of countries to build factories, industrial parks, power plants and other operations. While the investments provide critical support for many economies, Chinese businesses are struggling to navigate complex cultural, political and competitive dynamics.
ZGBriefs — December 24, 2015
China’s Reckoning: The Economic Miracle Hits Troubled Times (December 22, 2015, Wall Street Journal)
China's Communist Party promised to transform people's lives after decades of chaos. Higher living standards underpin the party’s rule, making limits on personal freedoms worthwhile for many. As the economy slows, that social compact is fraying.
ZGBriefs | December 17, 2015
China to ease restrictions on living in cities for millions (December 12, 2015, The Guardian)
Beijing announces loosening of ‘hukou’ system governing access to public services, making it easier for workers from countryside to move to urban areas.
ZGBriefs | December 10, 2015
In Xinjiang, a Battle Over Bread (December 2015, Ethno Traveler)
When is bread no longer just any old bread? The answer of course, at least in Xinjiang, is when it’s Uyghur Nan. Like many loaves in other cultures, Nan is made with flour, yeast, and water and baked in an oven, but that’s where the similarities end. Nan might look and taste like bread, but for the Uyghurs of far western China, a Muslim minority group at odds with Han Chinese culture, it is a source of ethnic pride — a tasty yet sacred way of asserting independence.
ZGBriefs | December 3, 2015
Amid Smog Wave, an Artist Molds a Potent Symbol of Beijing’s Pollution (December 1, 2015, The New York Times)
For 100 days, Brother Nut dragged a roaring, industrial-strength vacuum cleaner around the Chinese capital’s landmarks, sucking up dust from the atmosphere. He has mixed the accumulated gray gunk with red clay to create a small but potent symbol of the city’s air problems.
ZGBriefs | November 19, 2015
Government Enlists NGOs to Help Homeless (November 18, 2015, China File)
Wang and her colleagues are visiting Chen as social workers from a non-governmental organization called Ruifeng Social Service Center. Every Thursday evening, they take to the streets to find homeless people who need help. Tonight, they’re caring for Chen.
ZGBriefs | November 12, 2015
NGOs in China: Seeing through a Law, Darkly (November 11, 2015, LinkedIn Pulse)
International NGOs operating in China not only need to understand how the law will regulate their operations in China, but also how the exigencies of their China operation may compel them to alter their behavior abroad. At some point, many NGOs will face a hard choice between sticking to their principles globally on one hand, and continuing to operate in China on the other.
ZGBriefs | November 5, 2015
Calling China’s New National Spy Hotline (November 2, 2015, China Real Time)
A man answering the hotline Monday afternoon said he didn’t know why the national hotline was not located in a more central city like Beijing or whether the government planned to set up a toll-free version. So far, he said, no one had called to report any suspicious activity.
ZGBriefs | October 29, 2015
New areas of the Forbidden City open to visitors (October 27, 2015, Jottings from the Granite Studio)
The Palace Museum at the Forbidden City opened four new areas to the public this past month, a move which coincided with the 90th anniversary of the museum’s founding. The opening of new spaces, and the unprecedented care to their renovation and restoration, should be welcome news to travelers and Beijing residents who had previously dismissed the Forbidden City as a vast array of sameness and symmetry.
ZGBriefs | October 22, 2015
University Of Illinois Engages Chinese Students With Mandarin Football Broadcast (October 16, 2015, NPR)
For the first time, Illinois football will have a Mandarin play-by-play and color team calling the game for streaming in China. The University of Illinois has a huge number of Chinese students, and the activity has been getting the community more involved in campus culture.