FEATURED ARTICLE
Urge for Faith: Postmodern Beliefs among Urban Chinese (September 2013, ChinaSource Quarterly)
Historical events following Mao's death left an ideological vacuum in China. This has created a strong need for faith, even an urge, so as to avoid the risk of further social disruption and political instability. While postmodernism, with its relativity and lack of absolutes, is trying to fill this void, it also leaves people questioning and open to exploring faith.
GOVERNMENT / POLITICS / FOREIGN AFFAIRS
China, Taiwan in "milestone" talks at APEC (October 6, 2013, Channel News Asia)
China said it was open to a visit by Taiwan's top cross-strait official as it called for a political settlement to prevent their differences being handed down "from generation to generation".
China's Xi says political solution for Taiwan can't wait forever (October 6, 2013, Reuters)
Chinese President Xi Jinping told a senior envoy from self-ruled Taiwan on Sunday that a political solution to a standoff over sovereignty lasting more than six decades cannot be postponed forever, drawing a cool, non-committal response.
The good, the bad and the exiled? China's Class of '77 (October 7, 2013, CNN)
During the four years I spent at Beida, I met many other fascinating fellow students who went on to become important players in China's divisive political scene. Among them was Bo Xilai, once one of the most powerful politicians in China, now disgraced and sentenced to life in prison for corruption and abuse of power.
Chinese court to allow Bo Xilai appeal (October 9, 2013, BBC)
A Chinese court says it has agreed to consider an appeal by disgraced top politician Bo Xilai.The former Chongqing party leader was convicted of bribery, embezzlement and abuse of power last month and jailed for life. At his trial, he denied all the charges in a fiery defence.
Tibetan Religious Leader Is Stabbed to Death in China (October 9, 2013, The New York Times)
Three men have been arrested in the stabbing death of a prominent Tibetan religious leader and British citizen who founded a monastery and Buddhist center in Scotland, Chinese state news media reported on Wednesday. The religious leaders nephew and driver were also killed in the attack, which took place Tuesday in the western provincial capital of Chengdu.
China arrests 139 in Xinjiang for urging jihad (October 9, 2013, AFP)
China has arrested 139 people in Xinjiang for allegedly spreading jihad, state-run media said Wednesday, as it warns of growing religious extremism in the far western region home to Muslim Uighurs. Beijing has pointed to violent incidents to indicate a rising militant threat among the ethnic minority, but information in the vast region is tightly controlled and Uighur organisations complain of cultural and religious repression.
China extends hand to wary SE Asia at summit (October 9, 2013, AFP)
China offered an olive branch Wednesday to Southeast Asian nations wary of its territorial claims, displaying its growing influence at another summit notable for US President Barack Obama's absence. Premier Li Keqiang called for peace in the South China Sea and expanded Chinese trade with the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) as he met the bloc's leaders in the oil-flush sultanate of Brunei.
China journalist arrested after exposing corruption (October 10, 2013, BBC)
A Chinese journalist who posted alleged corruption details of some high-ranking officials on his microblog has been arrested, state-run media report. Police took Liu Hu from his home in the city of Chongqing in August and he was formally arrested late last month. He has been charged with defamation, according to his lawyer, Zhou Ze. The prosecution of Mr Liu is regarded by analysts as part of a campaign by the Chinese authorities to tighten control over the internet.
How Social Media Complicates the Role of Chinas Rights Lawyers (October 10, 2013, Tea Leaf Nation)
Xia Junfeng was once unknown, but his 2009 arrest for the murder of security officers who, he alleged, had savagely beaten him made him a symbolic figure in a national debate about human rights and reform in China. Yet many wonder whether this notoriety did more harm than good for Xia, who was executed on Sept. 25 for the murders.
Chinas Real and Present Danger (September, October 2013, Foreign Affairs)
Much of the debate about Chinas rise in recent years has focused on the potential dangers China could pose as an eventual peer competitor to the United States bent on challenging the existing international order. But another issue is far more pressing. For at least the next decade, while China remains relatively weak compared to the United States, there is a real danger that Beijing and Washington will find themselves in a crisis that could quickly escalate to military conflict. Unlike a long-term great-power strategic rivalry that might or might not develop down the road, the danger of a crisis involving the two nuclear-armed countries is a tangible, near-term concernand the events of the past few years suggest the risk might be increasing.
RELIGION
How Many Catholics in China? (September 11, 2013, ChinaSource Blog)
A Research Agenda on Religious Freedom in China. (Summer, 2013, Institute for Global Engagement)
The House Churches Understanding of the Three-Self Church, Chinese Government and Themselves (Pacific Institute for Social Sciences)
SOCIETY / LIFE
Postmodernism and Its Effects on China (September, 2013, ChinaSource Quarterly)
An explanation of the rapid infiltration and rise of postmodernism in China is followed by a look at postmodernism's multifaceted effects on the nation. Postmodern trends in modern society, its challenges to traditional values and the infiltration of New Age and postmodern spirituality are discussed.
China employs two million microblog monitors state media say (October 4, 2013, BBC)
More than two million people in China are employed by the government to monitor web activity, state media say, providing a rare glimpse into how the state tries to control the internet.The Beijing News says the monitors, described as internet opinion analysts, are on state and commercial payrolls. China's hundreds of millions of web users increasingly use microblogs to criticise the state or vent anger. Recent research suggested Chinese censors actively target social media. The report by the Beijing News said that these monitors were not required to delete postings.
Video: The Chinese city living in fear of giant killer hornets (October 4, 2013, The Guardian)
Jonathan Kaiman visits Ankang municipality where swarms of highly venomous hornets have killed 41 people in three months.
China trying to pull back on gift-giving (October 6, 2013, Los Angeles Times)
If you want a full-time teaching job, but you're stuck in a temporary gig without health benefits, Luo Chunlei advises that you buy the school principal a box of mooncakes and follow up with an envelope of dough. Having an operation? Better slip the surgeon some cash. And don't forget the anesthesiologist. "I'm absolutely disgusted by it, but this is how our system works," said Luo, a 32-year-old math teacher turned activist who is campaigning against what he sees as Chinese society's pervasive culture of corruption.
What Chinese Young Men See in the Great Gatsby (October 7, 2013, Tea Leaf Nation)
Although the story is set almost 100 years ago on the other side of the Pacific Ocean, the film version of F. Scott Fitzgeralds 1920s classic has found an unlikely group of sympathizers among Chinas urban youngsters, who share Gatsbys frustration in love and in life.
Uighurs in China Say Bias Is Growing (October 7, 2013, The New York Times)
Uighurs are largely frozen out of the regions booming gas and oil industry, airport jobs are mostly reserved for Han applicants, and truck drivers whose national identity cards list their ethnicity as Uighur cannot obtain the licenses required to haul fuel, an unwritten rule based on the fear that oil and gas tankers could easily be turned into weapons, according to several trucking companies.
Chinese long for different kind of holiday (October 8, 2013, Xinhua)
The holiday has now become a government-led economic campaign instead of a chance for workers to relax, said Zhao, adding that Chinese people do need long holidays for leisure, but in a different way. "The mess of the holiday revealed that China's holiday system needs to be improved," he said, adding that paid leave should be strictly enacted to protect workers' legal rights.
Photos: Double Vision in Chinas New Clothing Trend (October 10, 2013, China Real Time)
Kept women (September 2013, Aeon Magazine)
Mistresses are big business in China, where no official is a real man without his own ernai. Whats in it for the girls?
China's scorned mistresses take revenge on 'corrupt lovers' (October 9, 2013, BBC)
Lust, power and corruption can make for an explosive mix. An unlikely whistle-blower for President Xi Jinping's much publicised crackdown on official corruption has emerged – the scorned mistress.In recent weeks their public accounts have offered a rare glimpse of the extravagant lifestyles of the Communist Party elite, enraging the Chinese public.
EDUCATION / HISTORY
Why Are Hundreds of Harvard Students Studying Ancient Chinese Philosophy? (October 8, 2013, The Atlantic)
Why are so many undergraduates spending a semester poring over abstruse Chinese philosophy by scholars who lived thousands of years ago? For one thing, the class fulfills one of Harvard's more challenging core requirements, Ethical Reasoning. It's clear, though, that students are also lured in by Puett's bold promise: This course will change your life.
HEALTH
China to build network to monitor smog impact on health (October 6, 2013, Xinhua)
China will build a nation-wide network within three to five years to monitor the impact of air pollution on health, a latest step to deal with a persistent smog crisis in big cities, an official said. A total of 43 monitoring spots will be set up in 16 provinces and municipalities frequently engulfed by smog so as to facilitate research on air pollutants in different regions, the impact on the health of vulnerable groups and the study of related diseases, said Xu Dongqun, an official with the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
266 million Chinese suffer from hypertension (October 8, 2013, Xinhua)
At least one in five adults in China suffers from hypertension, or high blood pressure, an official with the national disease control agency said on Tuesday. A total of 266 million Chinese suffer from hypertension and, among those aged 15 and above, about 24 percent have the condition, said Shi Xiaoming, head of the chronic diseases division at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention. An estimated 40 percent of patients are not aware of their hypertension and only about 25 percent of patients receive treatment, Shi said.
ECONOMICS / BUSINESS / TRADE
Inside the world of China's "shadow banks" (October 3, 2013, Marketplace)
Some here say the government got out of the wayallowing the capitalist-minded people of Wenzhou to develop their own economy, complete with a lending system that predates banks. A place where a loan is simply a pile of money pooled together by friends and family. "I began making cigarette lighters 20 years ago," continues Huang. "Four of my family members each put in $1,500 and lent it to me without interest. Thats what we call a Wenzhou loan."
Chinese Think Tank Puts Shadow Banking at 40% of GDP (October 9, 2013, China Real Time)
As the fastest-growing part of Chinas financial sector, shadow banking is no longer the sideshow it was five years ago. The sector grew from almost nothing a few years ago to the equivalent of 40% of gross domestic product at the end of 2012, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences said in a report published Tuesday.
Video: Inside Chinas Social Media Platforms (October 10, 2013, Wall Street Journal)
From social media to online commerce, China's digital platforms are growing. Mariko Sanchanta speaks to Duncan Clark, CEO of investment advisory firm BDA, about how successful China can be in the digital space.
China is biggest oil importer (October 10, 2013, Business Times)
China has achieved another world-beating status its leaders don't want: Biggest oil importer.China passed the United States in September as the world's biggest net oil importer, driven by faster economic growth and strong auto sales, according to US government data released this week. Chinese oil consumption outstripped production by 6.3 million barrels per day, which indicates the country had to import that much to fill the gap, the Energy Information Administration said this week.
SCIENCE / TECHNOLOGY / ENVIRONMENT
Photography: Chinas Environment in Crisis (October 8, 2013, China Real Time)
Summer snowstorms, foul air pollution, litter-choked waterways, grasslands turning to desert these are just some of the challenges China faces as it continues its breakneck economic growth. British photographer Sean Gallagher, who has shot video footage for a Wall Street Journal story on Bo Xilai, throws the spotlight on these issues in a new e-book, Meltdown: Chinas Environment Crisis, published by the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting.
Video: Not for all the rivers left in China (October 10, 2013, Analects)
In the past half-century, China has lost half its rivers. Today, much water is wasted or polluted, and China is turning to gargantuan engineering projects to solve its crisis
ARTS / ENTERTAINMENT
Is Chinese Contemporary Ink Painting the Next Big Thing? (October 7, 2013, China Real Time)
The biggest names in Chinese contemporary art, from Zeng Fanzhi to Yue Minjun and Liu Ye, have all made their mark in oil paintings. But the foundation of Chinese art isnt oil, but ink, a traditional art form that has informed Chinese aesthetics and culture through the ages. Art dealers and auction houses are saying the traditional is new again, marketing contemporary ink paintings to mainland Chinese buyers. Their hope is to expand and diversify the art market in China by tapping into an art form that domestic audiences are familiar with.
FOOD / TRAVEL / CULTURE
Traditional Village Life in China: The Miao Village of Qingman (October 3, 2013, Life on Nanchang Lu)
LANGUAGE / LANGUAGE LEARNING
The (Chinese) Alcohol for (Chinese) Alcoholics (October 8, 2013, Sinosplice)
There's a brand of Chinese rice wine called . […] in Chinese, while often translated as wine, more generally means alcohol. Traditionally, its some kind of grain alcohol, like (Chinese white wine).
BOOKS
Deng Xiaoping and the Transformation of China, by Ezra F. Vogel
ARTICLES IN CHINESE
政教分离国家的危机与新形式的宗教表达方式 (Pacific Institute for Social Sciences)
EVENTS
2nd Annual Child Worker Conference 2013, Guangzhou, November 19-23, 2013.
Sponsored by DawenThe Bridge.Theme: Working with Childrens Hearts.Dawen/The Bridge is hosting their second China-wide conference for Child Workers. This conference is open to all those who work with children in orphanages, kindergartens, or schools and whether they be migrant children, street kids, or other kinds of children. Through the plenary sessions and a wide range of supplementary workshops and opportunities to network together with other Child Workers, the conference aims to equip those who work with children to do so from the heart, with greater skills, more confidence, and stronger support.
Global ReOrient: Chinese Pentecostal/Charismatic Movements in the Global East
October 30-31, 2013, Purdue University
This symposium seeks to assess the status and characteristics of Chinese Pentecostal/charismatic movements in the Global East where both the economy and Christianity have been growing fast. The speakers include renowned and emerging scholars specializing in global Pentecostalism and/or Chinese Christianity. The presentations will especially focus on Chinese charismatic churches in mainland China, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, and North America.
Image credit: Wuzhen, by Guo Qi, via Flickr