China
Public pressure on Olympic hurdler Liu Xiang highlights rise of Chinese nationalism
By John Chan, August 23, 2008
The Chinese government came under sharp pressure when 110-metre hurdler Liu Xiang withdrew from the Olympic competition on August 18 due to injury. His failure to participate caused uproar among a lay...
Beneath the Olympic glitter, massive police presence highlights China’s social tensions
By John Chan, August 21, 2008
Beijing has gone to considerable expense and effort at the Olympics to present a shiny, modern image of the new China. The reality is not too far below the surface, however. The security measures empl...
Inflation, manufacturing contraction and property bubble haunts Chinese government
By John Chan, August 13, 2008
Recent figures on the Chinese economy demolish claims that the country’s rapid growth would allow it to “decouple” from the US financial crisis. In fact, an emergency meeting of the ...
Beijing Olympic Games opening ceremony blacks out most of twentieth century
By John Chan, August 12, 2008
Last Friday’s opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympics was a $US100 million public relations exercise by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to refashion its image as a pro-business regime th...
Beijing Olympics celebrate the capitalist market and nationalism
By John Chan, August 8, 2008
Tonight’s Olympic Games opening ceremony in Beijing has been carefully prepared by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) regime over the past seven years to showcase China’s rise as a new econ...
China’s Olympic security measures reveal a regime under siege
By John Chan, July 22, 2008
With less than a month before the Olympic Games in Beijing, the Chinese government has implemented extraordinary security measures, including the mobilisation of the military. Amid widespread disconte...
China: Guizhou riots over cover-up of teenager’s death
By Alex Lantier, July 4, 2008
On June 26 popular anger at the response of local authorities to a teenage girl’s death in the inland province of Guizhou boiled over in a riot of 10,000 people, who burned local Communist Party...
Inflation worsens as China lifts petrol prices
By John Chan, July 4, 2008
In a major shift, the Chinese government raised retail fuel prices by 16-18 percent on June 19. The move will inevitably stoke further inflation and follows similar measures by other Asian countries i...
China drains “quake lake”, but dangers remain
By John Chan, June 13, 2008
A month after the May 12 earthquake in south-western China, aftershocks and “quake lakes” continue to threaten the lives of millions in Sichuan province. According to the latest figures, t...
Taiwan’s new president makes immediate overtures to China
By John Chan, June 4, 2008
The inauguration of the new Taiwanese President, Ma Ying-jeou, from the Kuomintang (KMT) on May 20 has already resulted in moves toward improved relations with China. KMT chairman Wu Poh-hsiung conduc...
Chinese earthquake victims face continuing hardship and new threats
By John Chan, May 31, 2008
Nearly three weeks after the earthquake that struck the southwestern Chinese province of Sichuan, millions of people are still struggling to cope with its devastating impact. With more than 68,000 dea...
Chinese earthquake threatens wider economic dislocation
By John Chan, May 26, 2008
There was a sense of relief in international financial circles after it became clear that the destruction from China’s earthquake on May 12 was confined largely to the mountainous areas of Sichu...
