Winds of Change.NET Regional Breifings run on Tuesdays & Wednesdays, and sometimes Fridays too. This Regional Briefing focuses on China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, courtesy of Adam Morris in Tianjin.
HOT TOPICS
- The Beijing-based doctor previously shot to fame for blowing the whistle on the SARS-era coverup writes a letter to the central government eloquently requesting that the government rethink the 1989 Tiananmen Square "incident." Official reaction has been muted, but the unofficial reaction is that of blocking and shutting down Chinese-language blog communities as well as some other news-based websites.
- In a sign of increasing belligerence and perhaps of political instability, a series of editorials has appeared casting the debate over Hong Kong's democratic future in patriotic terms and reminding citizens of the PRC's right to declare a "state of emergency" should certain bodies not vote a certain way.
- The book China's Peasants: A Survey hits the stands and the minds of those concerned for the plight of the peasants getting left behind despite solid GDP numbers.
INTERNATIONAL AND THE ISLANDS
- Taiwan president Chen Shuibian pulls off a brilliant publicity stunt in front of a deciding election later this week by holding a "Hand-in-Hand" demonstration in rebuttal to the mainland's opposition to the content of the referendum to be voted upon on the same day.
- Simon World argues that the PRC's stance toward Hong Kong amounts to stating that they are the law, period.
- China and France engage in joint military exercises four days before the Taiwanese elections, and although some circles see it as another effort by the PRC to intimidate Taiwan as it did in 1996, it may be a case of connecting too many dots.
- Joe Katzman says that China is already becoming a player in the Middle East for its resources in oil, portending international relations nightmares.
- Flying Chair has a very interesting anecdote on what it's like to buy pirated software in Hong Kong.
- China's GDP numbers are up, but Shanghai Eye points out that the share is getting more uneven, specifically that peasants are getting left behind.
- Some China-based search engines are preparing to take on Google.
- When astronaut Yang Liwei orbited the Earth he reported that he could not see the Great Wall, smashing the myth that it's the only artificial object that can be seen from space. As a result, China announces it will update its textbooks to reflect the discovery.
- The BMW car incident reported on last month that led to a public discussion may have led to crackdown on some news discussion sites, Voluntarily in China reports.
- Asian Labour News continues its coverage of every work-related incident and labor issues that didn't make the major outlets, and those that did. If you read one labor-related blog post this month...
- Another sex blogger appears, posting a nude picture of herself, and gains instant fame and record traffic.
- Sinosplice notes a case of CNN lifting graphics from a popular dictionary website. The article in question talks about the ascendency of Mandarin and bilingualism as a global language and phenomenon.
- Danwei notes that China's sex education extends to promotional postcards.
- Bradf.com recounts the legendary customer service the Middle Kingdom is famous for, that, fortunately, is getting better but that doesn't mean we can't enjoy the anecdotes.
- An extensive discussion takes place regarding how accurate it is to compare modern day PRC to Germany in 1935.
- Finally, a complete list of China-, Taiwan-, and Hong Kong-based blogs can be found at Sinosplice's China Blog List for your daily dose of China.
Good work Adam.
The only serious enemy of China is ... China. What generally tears China apart are internal divisions and not external powers. The two exceptions to this were the 19th century Europeans and the 12th century Mongols. But the nouveau riche modernizing regions in the Southeast are far outstripping the anachronistic interior and the CCP doesn't have a clue about what to do about it.
To SIMON:
AGREED. China's internal control problems, however, can only get worse once it begins implementation of its proposed new "EXCESSIVE CAPITALISM/FREE TRADE ZONES"! As aptly demonstated by post-OSAKA Tokugawa Japan, despite severe attempts by the Tokugawa Shoguns to limit international or Western influences, inevitably the ruling samurai class, as represented by the local Japanese DAIMYOS and HATAMOTOS, learned to become wealthy merchants - so wealthy that it led to major clans to begin pressuring the Shogunate-Bakufu government to open restrictive Japanese markets to intensified international trade! Once the trickle starts, it can become a flood - outside of achieving new Communist and Asian empire via REGIONAL WAR, I can't comprehend or foresee China staying per se COMMUNIST after 2020 the longer it continues tolerating quasi-Western, de-regulated, quasi-Capitalist FREE TRADE/EXCLUSIVE TRADE ZONES! Once PLA soldiers and Chinese homemakers begin to realize what they've been missing, the CCCP/CPC in Beijing will be in deep trouble!
One of the most intriguing books about China's relations to the outside world I've read recently is Ian Buruma's Bad Elements: Chinese Rebels from Los Angeles to Beijing (Vintage, 2001). I'm excerpting representative chunks of it over on my blog. Buruma presents a pretty grim picture of Singapore, a much more hopeful picture of Taiwan, a much less optimistic take on China, and some truly poignant portraits of Chinese exiles abroad.