FEATURED ARTICLE
Confucian Comeback: An Interview with Fenggang Yang (March 13, 2014, ChinaSource Quarterly)
Professor Fenggang Yang provides insightful answers to questions about Confucianism. His comments address topics such as the groups of people among whom Confucianism is growing, the influence of New Confucianists from overseas on Chinese society and thought, and concrete signs that Confucianism is growing in China.
GOVERNMENT / POLITICS / FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Video: China's Rise, as Seen by the Financial Times (Complete) (March 20, 2014, Asia Society)
Several generations of Financial Times correspondents Geoff Dyer, Leslie Hook, James Kynge, Richard McGregor, and David Pilling share their experiences of reporting on the evolution of Chinas economy with Orville Schell, Arthur Ross Director of Asia Society's Center on U.S.-China Relations. (1 hr., 21 min.)
A Capital Idea (March 20, 2014, Tea Leaf Nation)
After heading southwest from Beijing for two and half hours on a highway, a traveler might decide to stretch her legs at Baoding, a medium-sized city of under two million people. She would almost certainly not think the dusty town in northern Hebei province, one best known for its donkey meat burgers, looked like a candidate for Chinas next capital. But that very notion gripped the Chinese Internet on March 19 after Caijing, a reputable state-owned financial magazine, reported that Baoding would become a secondary political center, writing that certain government offices and education institutions would start moving there from Beijing at an unspecified future date.
Obamao Souvenirs Difficult to Find During First Ladys Visit (March 23, 2014, China Real Time)
T-shirts, coin purses and posters that show President Barack Obama portrayed as Chairman Mao are normally available for sale at the Great Wall. But on Sunday, when First Lady Michelle Obama visited the Chinese tourist spot with her daughters, the so-called Obamao souvenirs were no where to be found.
China wants explanation on allegations of US spying (March 24, 2014, BBC)
China has demanded a clear explanation from the United States following reports that it infiltrated the servers of the Chinese telecoms giant, Huawei. The company said it would condemn the invasion of its networks if the reports in the New York Times were true.
What happens to Chinese activists when a US first lady comes to visit? (+video) (March 24, 2014, Christian Science Monitor)
Curious crowds have gathered wherever Michelle Obama and her daughters have appeared in China. But prominent government critic Hu Jia has not been among them. He has been locked up at home, under police guard.
Can China's Economic System Overcome Its Political System? (March 25, 2014, Forbes)
Its fashionable to be bullish on China. But the new book Can China Lead? urges a more cautious view on the prospects of the country, where government bureaucracy stifles innovation.
Chinas PR on Islands Beats Japans, U.S. Military Experts Say (March 26, 2014, China Real Time)
They said China has been succeeding in painting Japan as an aggressor driven by rising militarism, despite Japans long postwar record of pacifism. That is aiding Beijings tactic of slowly putting pressure on Japan to change the status quo over contested East China Sea islands known as the Senkakus in Japan and Diaoyu in China, they said.
MH370: Chinese participation in search is propaganda coup for Xi Jinping (March 26, 2014, The Guardian)
Spotlight turns on China's ambitions in Arctic and Antarctic as ice-breaker Xue Long joins search for debris from missing plane.
Search for Lost Jet Is Complicated by Geopolitics and Rivalries (March 26, 2014, The New York Times)
That extraordinary cooperation has been instrumental in narrowing the search to a remote part of the southern Indian Ocean this week. But the effort has also underscored the limits of trust among powers like China, Malaysia, the United States, India and Thailand, all of which bring their own, often competing, strategic interests to bear.
Wukan: New Election, Same Old Story (March 27, 2014, China Real Time)
Three years ago the people in the village of Wukan overthrew the government in violent revolt to protest against sales of misappropriated land. The provincial government agreed to allow a democratic election, and Wukan was viewed by some as a possible harbinger of reform. Now a new village election is nearing, but the tale it tells is a familiar one of control and corruption.
Dont Get Too Excited About the Investigation of Zhou Yongkang (March 27, 2014, Tea Leaf Nation)
To the party, anti-corruption campaigns are very useful because they are popular with the masses and can help take out political rivals. But because they allow winners in a political struggle to consolidate their gains, the end result of these anti-corruption campaigns is yet more corruption among those lucky enough to remain in the system. A provincial-level official would probably be ashamed if he didnt have millions of dollars worth of illegal income and a couple of starlets as mistresses.
Why Taiwanese Students Stormed The Government (March 27, 2014, NPR)
Protesters in Taiwan are angry. They've taken over the island's parliament, blocking the doors with . They also stormed the offices of the Cabinet, where they armed with batons and water cannons.The source for all this hostility? A proposed trade deal with mainland China that would , ranging from banks and telecommunications to travel agencies and hospitals. But like the protests in Ukraine a few months back, the discontent in Taiwan is about much more than Chinese investors setting up travel agencies on the island. It's about Taiwan's future and how it preserves its identity and relevance in the shadow of China and its growing economic, political and military clout. Many see it as a battle for Taiwan's economic and political survival.
Chinese earthquake activist Tan Zuoren released after five-year prison term (March 27, 2014, The Guardian)
A Chinese activist who investigated whether shoddy construction caused the deaths of thousands of children when their schools collapsed in a 2008 earthquake was released on Thursday after finishing a five-year jail term, his lawyer said. Writer and campaigner Tan Zuoren was heading home to Chengdu, the capital of the south-western province of Sichuan, his lawyer, Pu Zhiqiang, told AFP by phone.
RELIGION
Confucianism in Modern Chinese Society (March 13, 2014, ChinaSource Quarterly)
First, the author takes his readers on a walk through a Chinese megacity to help us "see" how Confucianism is influencing modern Chinese society; then he goes on to discuss some of its influences in key areas of Chinese culture. Is Confucianism today the same as it was historically? What is its relationship with politics? What does it have to do with the Chinese identity? The article discusses these and other relevant questions.
Thousands mourn Shanghai's 'underground' bishop (March 22, 2014, AFP)
Thousands of mourners packed a Shanghai square Saturday to bid farewell to "underground" Catholic Bishop Joseph Fan Zhongliang, whose faith led him to endure decades of suffering at the hands of China's ruling Communist Party, they said.
Chinese Atheists? What the Pew Survey Gets Wrong (March 24, 2014, New York Review of Books)
How, then, to make sense of the Pew findings? According to Pews English-language report, the actual survey asked people to say which of the following statements came closest to their own opinion: It is not necessary to believe in God to in order to be moral and have good values or It is necessary to believe in God to be moral and have good values. I was immediately struck by the use of the word God in the survey statements, capitalized as it is in the Christian, Jewish, or Muslim tradition. Was the question referring solely to the god of these faiths? But I couldnt imagine that Pew would ask such a narrow questionafter all, the study doesnt describe itself as asking whether belief in an Abrahamic being is necessary to morality, but rather asking whether belief in any supreme being is.
China's Deadly Lightning (March 24, 2014, Christianity Today)
A Chinese cult known for physical violence and coercion is prompting Chinese pastors to upgrade theological instruction in their congregations and help government officials understand the difference between orthodox Christianity and cult-like offshoots.
Reflections on China 2014: The Growing Environmental Crisis (March 26, 2014, ChinaSource Blog)
Into this disaster the church needs to speak with a clear, prophetic voice calling the society to care for creation and stop the decline before it is too late. Here is where a true understanding of the gospel, the breadth of redemption, and a solid creation theology is needed in the church in China if it is to be a voice and influence in this crisis.
SOCIETY / LIFE
The Vulnerability of Chinas Left-Behind Children (March 21, 2014, China Real Time)
Among the many appeals made at Chinas annual legislative sessions earlier this month was a call by political advisers for stronger efforts to protect children against sexual assault. According to a study published just ahead of the meetings, Chinese authorities uncovered 125 cases of assault involving 419 victims in 2013. Sexual assault of minors is not a problem unique to China, of course, but experts quoted in local media pointed out that sexual predators in China benefit from having unusually vulnerable prey: left-behind children.
These GIFs Of Rapidly Expanding Chinese Cities Will Blow Your Mind (March 21, 2014, Business Insider)
We've picked out some of the fastest growing cities, shown via satellite images recorded over time by Google's Earth Engine, and turned them into GIFs.
Chongqing relaxes one-child policy (March 23, 2014, Xinhua)
Southwest China's Chongqing Municipality on Wednesday relaxed the city's birth control policy by allowing couples to have a second baby if either parent is an only child, the local legislature said at a press conference.
8 Surprising Things Ive Learned from Living in Chinas Countryside (March 24, 2014, Speaking of China)
I was born and raised in a very white and very average suburb of Cleveland, Ohio in the United States. Yet now, I live in the countryside of Zhejiang, China with my Chinese husband and his family, where bamboo and tea bushes grow wild in the mountains, the chickens are always free range, dog leashes are optional, and central heating doesnt exist.
Chinese MH370 relatives march on Malaysian embassy (March 25, 2014, AFP)
Scores of angry relatives of the Chinese passengers aboard Flight MH370 set out on a protest march to the Malaysian embassy in Beijing Tuesday to demand more answers about the crashed plane's fate. Around 200 family members, some in tears, linked arms and shouted slogans including "The Malaysian government are murderers" and "We want our relatives back".
Tempest in a Tea Egg: Chinese Mock Video Portraying Them as Poor (March 25, 2014, China Real Time)
A cultural brawl is brewing between China and Taiwan over a seemingly innocuous snack: the tea-flavored egg. The roots of the controversy lie in an undated Taiwanese TV segment featuring a guest consultant who says that common Chinese people cant afford tea eggs, hardboiled eggs simmered in tea leaves, spices and soy sauce that are a popular snack in Taiwan, China and beyond.
Rich Chinese overwhelm U.S. visa program (March 25, 2014, CNN)
A dramatic surge in interest from wealthy Chinese is threatening to overwhelm a U.S. program offering investors green cards in exchange for cash.
A $6.8 Trillion Price Tag for China's Urbanization (March 25, 2014, Business Week)
China has finally put a price tag on its massive plan for urbanization, and its a big one. The cost of bringing an additional couple of hundred million people to cities over the next seven years? Some 42 trillion yuan ($6.8 trillion), announced an official from Chinas Ministry of Finance last week.
Video: Fire in Chinese underwear factory kills at least 11 people (March 26, 2014, BBC)
A fire at an underwear factory in southern China has killed at least 11 people and injured 15 more.The cause of the blaze is still being investigated. According to local reports, there have been at least five similar deadly fires in small factories in the region over the past decade.
EDUCATION / HISTORY
Confucius Institutes: Hardly a Threat to Academic Freedoms (March 27, 2014, The Diplomat)
In the end, there is little evidence that the existence of Confucius Institutes threatens the robust atmosphere of academic freedom on U.S. campuses. The Chinese government may indeed hope that greater familiarity with Chinese language and culture will reap soft power benefits for their country; but the U.S. has traditionally also promoted international exchanges (such as the Fulbright programs) with a confidence that such exchanges will also deliver soft power benefits for the U.S. One might argue that the ability to bring so many Chinese teachers into our communities through Confucius Institutes, where they may observe U.S. society first hand, may ultimately serve U.S. interests more than the Chinese.
HEALTH
2 children die of hand, foot and mouth disease (March 22, 2014, Shanghai Daily)
TWO children at a Jinshan District care center blacklisted over hygiene issues died of highly contagious hand, foot and mouth disease this week. Deng Haoxuan, aged 2, the son of the Aimiao Care Centers head, died of the viral infection on Tuesday, the Jinshan District Health and Family Planning Commission said yesterday. And 4-year-old Zhao Hongyun also died of hand, foot and mouth two days later.
Chinese nurses enter training for opportunities abroad (March 24, 2014, South China Morning Post)
Caregivers frustrated by the disrespect their profession often endures in China enter training programmes that offer opportunities overseas.
ECONOMICS / BUSINESS / TRADE
15 Totally Incredible Facts about Chinas Dominance in Manufacturing (March 20, 2014, China Whisper)
China is not only the most populated country on the planet. But when it comes to production, it also dominates in many industries. In our daily life you may find lot of stuff produced in China just look at the label on your computer, toys, and shoes. China dominantes in many fields in global manufacturing.Some people say that Chinese people almost make the whole world. Do not you believe it? Here are 10 facts thatll surprise you.
China's Empty Cities and the Law of Supply and Demand (March 21, 2014, Foreign Policy)
Why Beijing needs to keep on building, snarky bloggers be damned
.Chinas Slowing Fixed Asset Investment (March 24, 2014, The Diplomat)
Chinas rate of growth in fixed asset investment is declining, and while this technical measure of infrastructure, property, and plant and machinery is not as eye-catching as say, consumer sentiment, this particular indicator has been bolstering GDP since the global financial crisis hit China. Its decline means not only that GDP will have to come from other sources in the near future, but that there will be knock-on effects in a number of sectors, including infrastructure, real estate, construction, metals, and machinery, that will compound a slowdown in growth.
China's factories hit 8-month low (March 24, 2014, CNN)
China's factories continued their dramatic slowdown in March, with manufacturing activity falling to an eight-month low amid a slump in the world's second largest economy.
Are International Managers in China Ready for the New Middle Class? (March 27, 2014, China Solved)
The way I see it, there are 3 basic scenarios for the development of Chinas new middle classover the next few years.
SCIENCE / TECHNOLOGY / ENVIRONMENT
Breaking Through China's Great Firewall (March 20, 2014, Business Week)
China has spent more than a decade building the Great Firewall, the digital barrier that prevents the countrys 600 million Internet users from reading what their government doesnt want them to see online. As many as 50,000 government employees enforce the censorship of Web pages and search terms. Greatfire.org, run by three dissidents with sharp computer skills and a penchant for secrecy, is giving people a way around the wall.
FOOD / TRAVEL / CULTURE
Travelers View of Tashkurgan | Living the Slow Life (March 24, 2014, Far West China)
In the middle of nowhere in a wide high altitude glacial valley, Tashkurgan is the very last town before the border between China and Pakistan. We had hired a car and driver and could have covered the thousand kilometer round trip from Kashgar up the famous Karakoram Highway in two days, but in retrospect, it would have been a pity to stop for only a night in Tashkurgan.
China's Forbidden City to control visitor numbers (March 26, 2014, Xinhua)
The Palace Museum, also known as the Forbidden City, on Wednesday unveiled plans to control the number of visitors for protection purposes. The plans, including not allowing annual ticket holders to visit during peak seasons, a seven-day promotion of ticket sales for afternoon visits from July to August, and online pre-sale of tickets during festivals and holidays, were released during a public hearing.
My Top Five: Shanghainese Restaurants in Shanghai (March 27, 2014, Life on Nanchang Lu)
These five restaurants exemplify Shanghai cuisine at its best – laid back, local, and hospitable
LANGUAGE / LANGUAGE LEARNING
Mandarin English Dialogue #37 Company Profile (March 27, 2014, carlgene.com)
You have been called to interpret for an English-Speaking Writer (ESW) and a Mandarin-Speaking Businesswoman (MSB). The writer is researching the company the businesswoman works for, as he is currently writing a feature on it for a finance magazine.
BOOKS
Who Invented the Coffee Cup? (The Answer Might Surprise You) (March 24, 2014, ChinaSource Blog)
The truth is I don't know. But after reading The Man Who Loved China by Simon Winchester you, too, might find yourself wondering about your morning mug as you wait for water to boil. The Man Who Loved China is part biography, part history, part science, and wholly interesting due to Winchester's engaging writing style.
Page Turners: The Siege of Tsingtao (March 26, 2014, The Beijinger Blog)
While The Siege of Tsingtao sounds like a bad night at Nanjie, it is a concise account of the only World War I battle fought entirely in East Asia. When war broke out on July 28, 1914, some areas of China were in the hands of colonial powers that had seized various parts of the coast. With those nations declaring war on each other, what seemed like a remote conflict suddenly became very local.
Three Authors Writing Today About China (March 26, 2014, Old China Books Book Blog)
Here are three recent, remarkable works of fiction by authors who are bringing China of many generations to life for readers in the Western world. The stories range from the distant Mongolian steppes through east China to San Francisco, with a historical sweep that crosses much of the last century.
ARTICLES FOR RESEARCHERS
Fleshing out the Third Plenum: the Direction of Chinas Legal Reform (March 20, 2014, China Brief)
Old Wine in an Ancient Bottle: Changes in Chinese State Ideology (March 20, 2014, China Brief)
Image credit: Eight Confucian Values, 19th Century, Korea, by InSapphoWeTrust, via Flickr