Zeng Jinyan: Biting the Hand that Detains You

As I say, I think Zeng will eventually be more of a problem than her husband for the authorities in the run up to the Olympics, and not just because she obviously isn’t easily intimidated. As more and more foreign reporters arrive in China, they’ll all be looking for a quick story that’s easily accessible, has guaranteed human interest and so on. What better than a innocent young mother corralled by hordes of police, struggling to get out of the house so her baby can get a check up ? They would after all be merely exercising the rights China has guaranteed, i.e. that foreign reporters can interview anyone who agrees, which Zeng certainly does. And then there’s the added possibility that the police might rough up the pushier reporters (who have been known to actually be provocative, gasp!) for some extra color. There’ll be a growing stream of hacks beating a path to the doors of Bobo Freedom City, mark my words. Actually, I don’t want to put ideas in anyone’s head, but I’d take pretty long odds that eventually they’ll be forced to detain her too.

China’s new intelligentsia

Paradoxically, the power of the Chinese intellectual is amplified by China’s repressive political system, where there are no opposition parties, no independent trade unions, no public disagreements between politicians and a media that exists to underpin social control rather than promote political accountability. Intellectual debate in this world can become a surrogate for politics—if only because it is more personal, aggressive and emotive than anything that formal politics can muster.

Simpson Returns To China

John Simpson reports on modern China.

The safe subversive

She has brought ‘lifestyle’ and red lipstick to millions and millions of the Chinese. She is a television icon who dispenses risqué sex advice and insists she’s an American. And yet the authorities love her. Yue-Sai Kan tells Emma Brockes how she pulls it off

Confessions Of A Propagandist

While foreign visitors to Beijing, Shanghai or Guangzhou see mainly the glitz of a booming economy, listening to China’s rulers provides an entirely different perspective on the nation. There are few things left untouched by the country’s furious rush to modernize, but one is China’s official government language, where the Communist Party remains hopelessly devoted to cryptic Marxist code.

Angry Young Chinese People Who Are Poisoned By Nationalism

The fervent political nationalism in China has caused damage to both the sporting and nationalistic spirits in China. It is also a defilement of the international spirit of sports. After the 2004 Asian Championship, the ugly nationalism exhibited by the Chinese people caused the international community to have doubts about the Beijing Olympics. If this distorted form of nationalism is not rectified, then this single-bladed poisonous sword will continue to shine. While this sword may seem to be awesomely powerful from the outside, the truth is that each swing of the sword ends up hurting China itself.

People’s Daily: Politicizing Beijing Olympics unacceptable

A Western film director is so “naive and simple-minded” that he has made an inopportune move on the issue of Beijing’s 2008 Olympic Games by linking it to Darfur issue in Sudan, and this perhaps exhibited the “unique” qualities of this Hollywood celebrity. Nevertheless, the “naivety or innocence” shown by a few Western media seems all the more ignorant and funny.

Why China should not fear open debate

Every writer on China knows that even mild public criticism of the middle kingdom generates vitriolic and sometimes deranged responses from Chinese nationalists. Among the more printable reactions to my previous column was an e-mail suggesting that I had an ingrained hatred of China and asking whether I had been castrated or my ancestors bullied by Beijing.

Elite China think-tank issues political reform blueprint

BEIJING (Reuters) – China risks dangerous instability unless it embraces democratic reforms to limit the power of the ruling Communist Party, foster competitive voting and rein in censors, the Party’s top think-tank has warned in a new report.

A Glimpse of Chinese Culture That Some Find Hard to Watch

.. dozens of people, perhaps a few hundred, were leaving.

They had realized that the show was not simply a celebration of the Chinese New Year, but an outreach of Falun Gong, a spiritual practice of calisthenics and meditation that is banned in China.