FEATURED ARTICLE
Church-State Clash in China Coalesces Around a Toppled Spire (May 29, 2014, The New York Times)
The leveling of the Sanjiang Church came amid growing tensions not only between Christianity and the Communist government, but also between Christianity and other religions. It was preceded by a local petition accusing the church of destroying the areas feng shui, geomantic principles that underlie traditional Chinese folk religion. Others complained that churches were crowding out traditional temples, which compete for space in the hilly region.
GOVERNMENT / POLITICS / FOREIGN AFFAIRS
China Moves to Calm Restive Xinjiang Region (May 30, 2014, The New York Times)
As the Communist Party struggles to tamp down a deadly wave of ethnic violence in Xinjiang, the Chinese leader, Xi Jinping, has called for tighter state control over religion and for better assimilating Uighurs into Chinese society, including moving more Uighurs from Xinjiang to other parts of China, where they can live among the Han, the nations dominant ethnic group.
Those who frighten China (May 31, 2014, The New Yorker)
Thirteen years ago, terrorism seemed almost exotic to the Chinese, entirely confined to a world outside their borders. Today, citizens are clamoring for recognition of its grave implications in their own nation. Yet the inherently political nature of the crimeparticularly when it is framed as a violent protest against state injusticemakes its handling problematic. Especially in a country known for its imperious style of one-party rule, and censorship of opinions that run contrary to the official script.
China Rises as America Weakens (June 1, 2014, Commentary)
For the past five and a half years, the United States military has suffered the devastating effects of hundreds of billions of dollars in budget cuts. At the same time, Chinas armed forcesboth conventional and nuclearhave made dramatic gains. The Peoples Liberation Army was derided a decade ago by some China-watchers as a junkyard army incapable of coming close to matching the military prowess of the U.S. Army. Today, the PLA boasts new strategic capabilities that validate Hagels words about the new era of declining American military dominance.
China denounces Japan and US over 'provocative' speeches (June 1, 2014, BBC)
China has denounced the Japanese PM and US defence secretary for making "provocative" speeches against China at an Asian security forum in Singapore. Chinese army general Wang Guanzhong said Chuck Hagel and Shinzo Abe's comments at the Shangri-La Dialogue were "unacceptable". Mr. Hagel had earlier said China was "destabilising" the South China Sea. Meanwhile, Japan's PM Shinzo Abe had vowed to give greater support to South-East Asian countries.
Xi Jinpings Anticorruption Crusade Hits Some Speed Bumps (June 2, 2014, China Real Time)
Just like the Chinese economy, Beijings anticorruption crusade might be starting to wobble.President Xi Jinpings promise to rid the Communist Party of both tigers and fliesthat is, high-ranking officials and lower-level cadres engaged in grafthad entailed a hardline approach to the problem of malfeasance. Party media has trumpeted various triumphs against corruption, and the campaign enjoyed both abundant resources (including a website where citizens could report misbehaving officials) and an expanding reach. But in recent weeks, new developments have showed the limits of a purely hardline approach.
Dozens Are Sentenced on Terrorism Charges in Xinjiang (June 5, 2014, The New York Times)
Chinese courts in the northwestern region of Xinjiang sentenced 81 people on terrorism and other charges on Thursday, according to the state broadcaster China Central Television. The sentences are part of a widening crackdown in the region following a spate of deadly violence in China for which the authorities have blamed foreign-backed Islamist separatists. The accused were convicted by courts in six cities on charges including intentional murder, arson and organizing, leading and participating in terrorist activities. Nine people were sentenced to death, with three of those given two-year reprieves.
SPECIAL SECTION: 1989 +25
It was 1989: The Tank Man in Beijings Military History Museum (June 2, 2014, Ant Hill)
Deng Xiaopings decade had unleashed a torrent of creative chaos, and students felt a growing sense of impatience and empowerment.
Live-Blogging the Tiananmen Square Anniversary (June 3, 2014, Sinosphere)
With a GoPro camera stashed in my bike basket, I took a spin around the vast square Wednesday afternoon. Traffic was sparse, and police, soldiers and armed riot police nearly outnumbered pedestrians. But as I passed the enormous portrait of Mao that graces the Forbidden City, my subterfuge was spotted by a man dressed like a tourist but who carried a walkie-talkie. Moments later I was stopped.
Video: China's post Tiananmen generation (June 3, 2014, BBC)
The BBC's China Editor Carrie Gracie has been back to Beijing to find out what young people think today.
Tank Man at 25: Behind the iconic Tiananmen Square photo (June 4, 2014, TIME)
I assume he thinks hes going to die, remembers Widener. But he doesnt care, because for whatever reasoneither hes lost a loved one or hes just had it with the government, or whatever it ishis statement is more important than his own life.
Tiananmen, 25 years later where are they now? (June 4, 2014, China Real Time)
June 3-4 marks the 25th anniversary of the Chinese governments bloody crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in Tiananmen Square in 1989. A look at some of the key figures from the protests movement and where they are now.
RELIGION
China Lifts High the Cross (Right Off Dozens of Churches) (May 30, 2014, Christianity Today)
The latest in the reported "Three Rectifications and One Demolition" campaign comes from the city of Ningbo, where famous missionary James Hudson Taylor once worked.
Its about the Space (June 2, 2014, ChinaSource Blog)
In other words, what is happening in Wenzhou is a reminder that, while the space for Christianity and religious belief IS expanding in China, it is still the government that has the power to determine the limits of that space. And every once in awhile it needs to give a visible demonstration of that power.
Ethical Foundations for China Service (June 3, 2014, ChinaSource Blog)
In 2005-2006, I was a part of a team of ministry leaders that wanted to reevaluate foreign involvement in China to maximize effectiveness. The result of our meetings was a "statement paper" that would guide foreign organizations serving in China and would be used to help the foreign Christian community make the most of their service in China. Although a number of years have passed, I believe that these guidelines for China service are as applicable today as they were when first developed. The current edition of Ethical Foundations for China Service follows with additional insight into each point.
Audio: Christianity in China: A Force for Change? (June 3, 2014, Brookings Institute)
On June 3, the John L. Thornton China Center at Brookings hosted two public panel discussions about how Christianity has transformed Chinese society, and continues to do so. For the first panel, Senior Fellow Richard Bush moderated a discussion on the social and political status of Christianity in China with Liu Peng, Carsten Vala and Reverend Zhang Boli. In the second panel, David Aikman moderated a discussion on the ways Christianity impacts Chinese civil society with Jiexia Zhai Autry, Richard Madsen and Zhao Xiao.
Chinas Other Religious Problem: Christianity (June 3, 2014, The Diplomat)
Signs of a crackdown on Christianity in China may increase the strength of more extremist, quasi-Christian groups.
Living Conditions of Rural Preachers (June 4, 2014, Chinese Church Voices)
The Mainland site Gospel Times recently published an article about the poor living conditions of preachers in the countryside. The article contains stories and photos of preachers in three different counties in southwest China. Below is a translation of one of those stories. The article is set within the context of the Sanjiang Church, an unusually expensive and ornate church in Wenzhou that was demolished last month.
SOCIETY / LIFE
Who Are Chinas Most-Hated Officials? (May 29, 2014, China Real Time)
If becoming a respected and beloved public servant is your dream, then dont become a member of Chinas urban para-police. According to a report by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, such officials, or chengguan, as theyre known, are the most-hated officials in China.
Chinas Social Institution of the Polite Lie (May 29, 2014, Chengdu Living)
It brought to mind the director of my study abroad program in Beijing, who had introduced me to what she dubbed the social institution of the polite lie. The polite lie is a lie that a stranger tells a stranger to avoid the discomfort of being direct.
U.S. Teacher: I Did 7 Months Of Forced Labor In A Chinese Jail (May 29, 2014, NPR)
Prisoner 1741 spent more than seven months inside a jail in southern China, assembling Christmas lights for export to America. Work days stretched up to 10 hours and conditions were tough, he says. One boss used strands of Christmas lights to whip workers and drive production. Stories about forced labor have trickled out of China over the years, but what makes Prisoner 1741's so remarkable is that he isn't Chinese. He's American. In fact, he's a middle-aged, American sociology professor from South Carolina.
Buying fake student cards off pregnant women (May 30, 2014, The World of Chinese)
What do you do if you need a fake ID? Ask your nearest pregnant woman, of course. China has long been a nation known for its wide array of fake goods, everything from from fake clothing to fake Iphones to fake breasts are available, and fake documents are also big news too, and some people, myself included, do not realize that they are available without trawling shady underground locations. To get a fake ID, or to be specific a student ID, you just have to go to the gates of Renmin University, or even to Beijing University of Science and Technology) and find yourself a woman who looks like is about to give birth.
Green card application threshold to be lowered (June 3, 2014, China Daily)
After staying in China for eight years, Mark Levine may find his luck has improved when applying for a Chinese green card, as the country is considering lowering the application and approval threshold. Authorities have drafted regulations on permanent residence for foreigners and will consider more flexible and pragmatic application standards, the Organizational Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China said on Monday.
From Tower Bridge to Sydney Harbour, welcome to Chinas city of clones (June 3, 2014, The Guardian)
Boasting 56 famous replica bridges as well as Venetian- and Dutch-style villages, the Chinese city of Suzhou is the home of duplitecture. But whats driving this passion for urban mimicry?
Chinas Urbanization: Three Things You Should Know (June 2, 2014, ChinaSource Blog)
Like its impact on the environment, urbanization's impact on the church in China can also be seen as having both a positive and a negative side.
China Police Detain Five Cult Members for Murder in McDonalds (June 3, 2014, Bloomberg)
Police in eastern China arrested five people it said were members of a religious cult on charges of murder after a 35-year-old woman was beaten to death in a McDonald's restaurant.
South-west China battered by torrential rain – video report (June 4, 2014, The Guardian)
Torrential downpours have descended on south-west China's Guizhou province with rainfall reaching up to 18.8cm as of Tuesday morning. A nearby reservoir burst during the rainstorm, bringing the water level to about 1.3 metres. The resulting floods have caused widespread damage to houses and vehicles. Although the flood started to recede on Tuesday afternoon, further rain is expected in the next few days.
In One Chinese City, These Foreigners Are Working as Government Bureaucrats (June 5, 2014, China Real Time)A handful of foreigners working for the government in the southern Chinese city of Foshan have become an unexpected media hit, thanks to the novelty of their positions as Chinese bureaucrats.Earlier this year, Foshans foreign trade and economic cooperation bureau hired three young foreignerstwo from the United Kingdom and one from Uruguay. Yesterday, a young Mexican intern joined their ranks, and a fifth foreign hire is on the cards. The hope is that the five can help attract some of the hundreds of billions of investment that flow in and out of China each year. In the meantime, the hires are already paying dividends, at least in terms of public attention.
EDUCATION / HISTORY
Stanford historian sees new perspectives on Chinese border disputes in declassified Qing dynasty maps (May 29, 2014, Stanford News)
Through a study of late 19th-century Chinese maps, doctoral student Eric Vanden Bussche has discovered border development origins that offer a new historical perspective on China's territorial disputes today.
How Chinas Selden Map Rewrote History (May 29, 2014, China Real Time)
For centuries, the vaults of the Bodleian Library at the University of Oxford held a map of the South China Sea that both fascinated and confounded sinologists. Unusually ornate, it was long considered a curiosity, but only recently has its significance come to light.
HEALTH
Few of city's 300,000 Alzheimer's sufferers get treatment, aging symposium told (May 28, 2014, Shanghai Daily)
AT least 300,000 people in the city suffer from Alzheimer's disease but most never get treatment due to poor awareness, experts said at today's launch of the International Symposium on Aging and Medicine in Shanghai. Early detection and early intervention can delay the development of the disease and reduce its seriousness, they said.
Chinese Couples Are Ready for Their Second Child. Hospitals? Not So Much (May 30, 2014, China Real Time)
Chinese couples have embraced the landmark decision to relax the one-child policy, with two million more births expected annually. But the baby boomlet has strained hospital facilities, and authorities will be rolling out additional pregnancy-related services to meet the rising demand.
ECONOMICS / BUSINESS / TRADE
China healthcare reform to relax curbs on foreign investment in hospitals (May 28, 2014, Reuters)
China will ease curbs on foreign investment in joint-venture hospitals, the government said on Wednesday, as it deepens a sweeping overhaul of its healthcare system aimed at cutting costs and sprucing up overloaded public services.
How to pick the right Chinese name for your company (May 30, 2014, Nanjing Marketing Group)
As many brands go global they want to take a slice of the Chinese pie. One of the biggest considerations when moving into the Chinese market is the language barrier. This means having to carefully consider what Chinese name to give your company.
Chinas Game of Real-Estate Chicken (May 30, 2014, China Real Time)
The main question in Chinas housing downturn: Who will blink first? Whether buyers, developers or the government, it will say a lot about how China manages increasing challenges facing its housing market. Amid such a stalemate, will policy makers step in?
China manufacturing up in May (June 1, 2014, AFP)
China's manufacturing activity strengthened to a five-month high in May, the government said Sunday, an optimistic sign amid slumping growth in the world's second-largest economy.
The Chinese technology companies poised to dominate the world (June 3, 2014, The Guardian)
From PCs to smartphones, Chinese firms are outgrowing their home market and making their mark internationally.
Xiaomi's Phones Have Conquered China. Now It's Aiming for the Rest of the World
(June 4, 2014, Business Week)Xiaomi (pronounced she-yow-mee) is one of the fastest-growing tech companies in the world. Its the sixth-largest handset maker on earth and No.3 in China, behind Samsung Electronics and Lenovo Group, according to research firm Canalys. Xiaomis recent growth is impressive, and its potential is even greater.
LinkedIn Said It Would Censor in China. Now That It Is, Some Users Are Unhappy (June 4, 2014, China Real Time)
Its one thing to say you will censor, and another to actually do it. LinkedIn has been learning that firsthand over the past day as it has come in for complaints from several users after it began blocking posts deemed sensitive by the Chinese government within the country ahead of the 25th Anniversary of the crackdown on Tiananmen Square protesters.
China Escalates Its War on American Tech Firms (June 5, 2014, TIME)
The Chinese government, angered by Washington's charge that Beijing engages in cyberspying, is looking for some payback.
One Legacy of Tiananmen: Chinas 100 Million Surveillance Cameras (June 5, 2014, China Real Time)
There was little sign in Shanghai this week of any remembrance of the Chinese governments crackdown on dissent 25 years ago. Yet Chinas commercial capital did pay its respects to a legacy of the disturbance: the booming state security business. The opening of the Shanghai International Exhibition on Public Security and Safety coincided this year with the anniversary of the governments violent suppression of demonstrations in Beijings Tiananmen Square in June 1989.
ARTS / ENTERTAINMENT
Chinese Blogger Han Han Takes His Writing to the Big Screen (May 30, 2014, China Real Time)
One of Chinas most prolific writers, blogger Han Han will soon put his directorial debut to the big screen. Hou Hui Wuqi (Never to Meet Again), a movie about a cross-country road trip by a group of young people that Mr. Han started working on earlier this year, is expected to hit Chinese theaters on July 24. The film features a slate of popular actors from mainland China and Hong Kong, as well as an appearance by Chinese director Jia Zhangke.
Chinas greatest poets (June 3, 2014, The World of Chinese)
Just because you know your Mo Yan from your Lu Xun that doesnt make you some kind of Chinese literary know-it-all. And forget the novelists and short story writers, what about poets? If youre clueless about Li Bai, Du Fu and the whole cohort of drunks, officials, misfits and even the odd Marxist revolutionary who produced Chinas greatest verse, well you better get reading, hadnt you?
FOOD / TRAVEL / CULTURE
Hiking from Daju to Lugu Lake, part 1 (May 29, 2014, Go Kunming)
Photos: Xian, a new city of industry (May 30, 2014, Zachify Photography)
5 Beautiful Views of Urumqi, Capital of Xinjiang (May 30, 2014, Far West China)
Urumqi, the capital of China's western region of Xinjiang, is not as bad as everybody says it is. At least I don't think so and I hope to prove that to you with these recent photos I've taken.
Air China launches non-stop Beijing-Washington flight (June 1, 2014, China Daily)
Air China will offer non-stop flights between Beijing and Washington D.C. four times a week from June 10 this year in the latest move to expand its network in the United States.
Photos: China celebrates Dragon Boat Festival (June 2, 2014, China Real Time)
From the Arctic to Africa: Where Chinas Wealthy Want to Travel (June 4, 2014, China Real Time)
Forget France. Chinas richest travelers want to vacation in much more exotic locations, including Australia, South America, the South and North poles and Africa, according to a new study.
LANGUAGE / LANGUAGE LEARNING
The three de in popular culture (May 29, 2014, Sinosplice)
Ive previously mentioned a song about the three de (, , ) issue in Mandarin Chinese. Now its even been meme-ified using shots from a TV show:
BOOKSTiananmen and After (May 27, 2014, Foreign Affairs)
The arguments presented span the ideological spectrum, and the authors include a range of leading experts from several disciplines and countries, including Elizabeth Economy, Evan Feigenbaum, Yasheng Huang, Robert Kaplan, Eric Li, Damien Ma, Andrew Nathan, Lynette Ong, Lucian Pye, John Thornton, Cui Tiankai, and more.
274 Quotes from Xi Jinping (May 30, 2014, China Digital Times)
The Chinese government has released a book featuring quotations from President Xi Jinping in a move that is believed to be an attempt to trumpet the success of Chinas policies and raise the presidents profile.
Writing China: Louisa Lim, The Peoples Republic of Amnesia (June 2, 2014, China Real Time)
In her new book, The Peoples Republic of Amnesia: Tiananmen Revisited, Ms. Lim deftly tells the stories of what happened in 1989 from a variety of perspectives. She speaks to a mother who cant mourn the place where her son died during the protests because a security camera is always watching for her return as well as to a Peoples Liberation Army solider who was tasked with helping quash the protests by burning any shred of evidence that students had ever camped out in the square. China Real Time spoke with Ms. Lim from her home in Ann Arbor, Mich. Edited excerpts:
At last, a decent China-set spy thriller (June 2, 2014, China Rhyming)A quick plug for Adam Brookess new contemporary Beijing-set spy thriller Night Heron, which really delivers. I think most China Hands have been somewhat repeatedly disappointed by the recent crop of PRC-set thrillers with none quite hitting the mark, but Brookes, it appears, has pulled it off.
ARTICLES FOR RESEARCHERS
Why Do China's Reforms All Fail? (May 30, 2014, The Diplomat)Throughout history, Chinese reformers have fallen short and met grisly ends. Why did they always fail?
What the Chinese people are thinking (3) (June 3, 2014, China Media Project)
A Clash of Security Concepts: Chinas Effort to Redefine Security (June 4, 2014, China Brief)
But his scripted remarks highlighted something which may be an even more fundamental challenge to the U.S. role in the region: Chinas New Security Concept for Asia. This concept appears to be an effort to redefine the idea of security on terms that cast China as a regional security provider and the United States as an over-assertive outsider that threatens to undermine regional security.
The Energy Context behind Chinas Drilling Rig in the South China Sea (June 4, 2014, China Brief)However, the move was not a sudden decision, but the realization of a years-long effort to develop acquire deep-water technology and deploy it to the region.
RESOURCES
Chinese Desktop Wallpaper Calendar: June 2014 (Chinese Hacks)
Image source: Joann Pittman