The ruling Chinese Communist Party has announced new regulations that will ban foreign companies from publishing online media, games and other “creative” content within China’s borders from next month. The “Regulations for the management of online publishing services” also ban… Read More ›
According to a source in Beijing close to China’s top leadership, Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping has made his first significant move against the former Party boss, and his chief rival, Jiang Zemin. The source said that Jiang and… Read More ›
Can Xi do it? This is the biggest political question in the world today. “Yes, Xi can,” some tell me in Beijing. “No, he can’t,” say others. The wise know that nobody knows. There is a great debate going on… Read More ›
Jiang Zemin was wise to allow Fang Lizhi, Wang Dan and others to leave China, while Hu Jintao was wise to allow Chen Guangcheng to leave China. It is hoped that Xi Jinping is as wise to allow the Uighur… Read More ›
The recent development of Xi Jinping’s anti-corruption storm is the investigation of fourteen People’s Liberation Army (PLA) generals including Major General Guo Zhenggang, the son of Guo Boxiong, who retired as vice chairman of the powerful Central Military Commission (CMC) in… Read More ›
The following is partly a translation from Chinese media, with commentary: Jiang Zemin put forth his Three Represents, and Hu Jintao put forth his Scientific Outlook on Development. Both are regarded as the legacy guidelines they left for the Chinese… Read More ›
Jiang Zemin, the core of the third generation of CCP leadership, has chosen Xi Jinping as his successor as the core of the CCP Dynasty, with a core like an emperor (see the section “Signs of Jiang Zemin’s Intention to… Read More ›
I have pointed out in my book Tiananmen’s Tremendous Achievements (Expanded 2nd Edition) that there are three black boxes in China: The CCP Politburo Standing Committee (PSC), the group of powerful elders who control China behind the scene and the… Read More ›
The Chinese president Xi Jinping’s swift ascent to power raises human rights concerns and has caused anxiety among China’s neighbours, President Barack Obama warned on Wednesday. Obama told members of the Business Roundtable that Xi “taps into nationalism that worries… Read More ›
Ideology is always important in Chinese politics, especially in a power struggle. Now, Xi Jinping has offended many powerful officials with his anti-corruption and mass-line campaigns, and his mentor Jiang Zeming is 88 years old. Conservatives believe that they now… Read More ›
In the expanded 2nd edition of my book Tiananmen’s Tremendous Achievements, I describe in details the commencement of the power struggle between reformists and conservatives. This was done by Hu Jintao’s omission of Mao Zedong Thought, Bo Xilai’s rise as… Read More ›
The Hong Kong protesters know that what’s hailed in the West as ‘the China dream’ is a hoax. Whatever comes next with the demonstrations in Hong Kong, they’ve already performed a historic service. To wit, they remind us of the… Read More ›
When Deng Xiaoping arrived at Andrews Air Force Base outside Washington in January 1979, his country was just emerging from a long revolutionary deep freeze. No one knew much about this five-foot-tall Chinese leader. He had suddenly reappeared on the… Read More ›
Some analysts are nervous when they hear Chinese President Xi Jinping upholding Mao Zedong Thought. Will Xi resume Mao’s policies of class struggle and constant revolution, they wonder. Xi’s predecessor Hu Jintao tried to omit Mao Zedong Thought, but enabled… Read More ›
Just days before China was set to deliver its edict on electoral reform in Hong Kong, Beijing’s most senior official in the city held a rare meeting with several local lawmakers whose determined push for full democracy had incensed Beijing’s… Read More ›
Acclaimed author Chan Kai Yee has released an expanded second edition of his book “Tiananmen’s Tremendous Achievements,” released June 4 to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Tiananmen Massacre. Throughout the month of June, the price of the printed version… Read More ›
On every anniversary of the Tiananmen Protests, one of the most infamous events in Chinese history, a government spokesman is asked by reporters about the Tiananmen Massacre, despite that they clearly know the forever repeated answer. No exception this year…. Read More ›
In my book “Tiananmen’s Tremendous Achievements” (its expanded second edition will soon be released with heavy discount for two weeks in memory of the Tiananmen Protests), I said that when the major reformist Zhao Ziyang fell into disgrace due to… Read More ›
On March 7, Isaac Stone Fish, a well experienced journalist on China, expressed his frustration about the mysteries of Chinese military in his article “The Black Box of China’s Military”. Such frustration is common among people, not only outside, but… Read More ›
A Spanish judge issued international arrest warrants Monday for China’s former President Jiang Zemin and former Prime Minister Li Peng for alleged genocide against the people of Tibet, Spain’s National Court in Madrid said. The warrants against them and three… Read More ›
In its prime time news, China’s official mouthpiece CCTV gave an authoritative interpretation of the reform decisions of the Third Plenum of the Eighteenth CCP Central Committee (the Decisions), stressing that not all families are allowed to have two children… Read More ›
Mao’s saying “Political power comes out of gun barrels” is regarded by some as a talented invention due to ignorance of Chinese history. I explained in my book Tiananmen’s Tremendous Achievements: “For over two thousand years, since the fall of… Read More ›
Chinese Whispers was once a party game. A message would be relayed in hushed tones through a long line of people and emerge at the other end amusingly garbled. Most of us have found alternative amusements nowadays, but the name… Read More ›
I describe in the first edition of my book “Tiananmen’s Tremendous Achievements” that China’s current political system is the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) Dynasty with a core of leadership equivalent to an emperor. Jiang Zemin remained the core after full… Read More ›
In my post South China Disputes: Encirclement of China, I described China’s unrequited love. I said that in spite of China’s efforts and sacrifice in the case of Libya (where it has suffered huge loss due to support for US policy),… Read More ›
With a number of Mao-like pronouncements emanating from Beijing in recent months, some observers of Chinese politics think Xi Jinping might be turning Maoist. The most recent example is an editorial published earlier this week in the authoritative People’s Daily… Read More ›
On June 24 1989, a Saturday, Zhao Ziyang was formally ousted as General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party weeks after voicing sympathy for student demonstrators at Tiananmen Square. Jiang Zemin replaced him, and Zhao spent the rest of his… Read More ›
A Beijing-based business magazine raised eyebrows this week by running a full-page editorial urging the country’s leaders to pursue further political reforms to ensure future economic prosperity. In what many consider a rare and bold move, an editorial entitled “Let’s… Read More ›
In Reuters analysis titled “Analysis of China’s next inner circle”, foreign media again shows its ignorance about China. However, the ignorance is natural. There are three black boxes in China’s power centre. Elaborated description of them will be given in… Read More ›
Reuters publishes a report yesterday titled Analysis: From builders to managers: educating China’s leadership that provides many facts about Chinese leaders being well educated now. However, as it does not know Jiang Zeming’s coup that has substituted intellectuals’ dominance of… Read More ›
In 2001, Gordon Chang predicted in his book “The Coming Collapse of China” that China would collapse within ten years. Ten years later China did not collapse, but instead became even more prosperous. I said in the first edition (writing… Read More ›
Spells on the Xi Jinping Administration – A Japanese Analysis In the aftermath of the anti-Japanese riots, the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China was held to set up the Xi Jinping administration. Before discussing its economic policy,… Read More ›
Of the 480 lower house seats, the Democratic Liberal Party has taken 294 seats, New Komeito, 31, and Japan Restoration Party, 54. Japanese hardliners have an overwhelming majority of 379, or 79%, in the lower house of Japan’s parliament now…. Read More ›
It is undeniable that the transfer of power to the fifth generation leadership at the 18th Congress of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has been smooth and orderly; especially the rule providing for the retirement of cadres above the age… Read More ›
According to Singtao Daily’s comprehensive report, on November 21, just one week after being reelected into the Politburo Standing Committee that ensures his succession to retiring premier Wen Jiabao, Li Keqiang pointed out at a working conference on pilot projects… Read More ›
SCMP reports: “Ling Jihua, Hu’s former top aide, overcomes scandal of son’s death, and ‘no’ votes, to join Central Committee, the party’s ruling body” perhaps due to his mentor Hu Jintao’s efforts. “However, 94 delegates voted against his re-election, showing… Read More ›
The Chinese Communist Party’s national congress is the most important occasion for powerful retired leaders to show how powerful they remain after their retirement. In spite of his age of 86, Jiang Zemin insisted on attending the opening ceremony of… Read More ›
Jiang Zemin has again proved his dominance as the core of the party’s third collective leadership by obtaining a much bigger majority in China’ new Politburo Standing Committee (PSC). In its report Jiang Zemin faction wins in China’s game of… Read More ›
The unveiling of China’s new leaders is a great disappointment to those hoping to see real reform. Neither of the two reform minded candidates Wang Yang and Li Yuanchao was promoted from the Politburo to the Standing Committee. However, the ultra… Read More ›
SCMP reports: “A few still flex political muscle, but others are happy to pursue the arts, write books or travel” “[W]hen state leaders retire they often vow to refrain from interfering in the nation’s politics and seek more time to… Read More ›
SCMP exclusive report: “Outgoing leader decides to retire and clear way for Xi Jinping, breaking from the unpopular precedent set by his predecessor Jiang Zemin “Outgoing President Hu Jintao will formally relinquish his position as military chief at the end… Read More ›
Hu Jintao’s warning on corruption may have sounded stern, but seems hollow given it has been trotted out myriad times by previous top party officials. The warning by Communist Party general secretary Hu Jintao on Thursday that the party’s failure… Read More ›
In its report yesterday entitled Cautious reformers tipped for new China leadership, Reuters lists ten main candidates for the party’s next Politburo Standing Committee based on information from sources close to the leadership. Reuters provides the reform credentials of the… Read More ›
Frustrated, well-known American journalist Nicholas Kristof said, “China-watchers have a deplorable record and China’s history is one of unpredictable twists and turns.” Much earlier, a well-known Chinese poet Zhang Yuangan (1091-1170) displayed similar frustration in his famous line “Heaven is… Read More ›
Lawyers for Wen Jiabao, China‘s Premier, have taken the unprecedented step of issuing a written statement late last night rebuking the claims of the New York Times that Wen’s family have amassed a hidden fortune worth US$2.7 billion. In a… Read More ›
SCMP says in its report today titled Top adviser Wang Huning tipped to become vice-premier, enter Politburo: “Sources say Wang Huning is expected to become vice-premier and gain entrance into Politburo”. In my book Tiananmen’s Tremendous Achievement, I said, quoting… Read More ›
Compared with the history of other countries in the world, China’s history is quite unique. It is a history of one centralised dynasty after another, with a few intervals of chaos when dynasties collapsed. Even after the 1911 democratic revolution… Read More ›
China announced in its prime time TV news the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Politburo decision to expel Bo Xilai from the CCP, remove him from all his official posts and transfer his case to the prosecutor for Bo’s serious crimes… Read More ›
The disintegration of the giant Soviet Union took everyone by surprise. The reasons for the disintegration remain a mystery for most analysts. Perhaps we Chinese, with a history of quite a few disintegrations, may understand it better. Like China with… Read More ›
SCMP says today in its report titled Guangdong party secretary Wang Yang urges reform in late power grab, “Guangdong’s party secretary Wang Yang has made a fresh call for reform in what analysts are describing as a last-ditch attempt to garner… Read More ›
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