China Passes New Laws on Foreign NGOs amid International Criticism

Stephen McDonell
BBC
Critics say the laws amount to a crackdown, but China has argued that such regulation is long overdue.

China Close to Passing Strict Law on Foreign Groups

Edward Wong
New York Times
A new law that would strictly control thousands of foreign nongovernmental organizations in China is on its way.

The Long Arm of Chinese Law Reaches All the Way to Kenya

Eric Olander & Cobus van Staden
The Kenyan government’s consent to a Chinese request for the deportation of dozens of alleged cyber and telecom fraud has now bloomed into a full-scale diplomatic crisis. Among those forcibly sent to China included dozens of Taiwan nationals, many...

Conversation

04.19.16

Fifty Years Later, How Is the Cultural Revolution Still Present in Life in China?

Guobin Yang, Federico Pachetti & more
Fifty years ago this May 16, Chinese Communist Party leader Mao Zedong launched the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, a chaotic, terrifying, and often deadly decade-long campaign to “purify” C.C.P. ideology and reassert his political dominance...

Caixin Media

04.18.16

Chinese Electric Vehicle Manufacturer BYD’s Image Hurt by Scandal Involving Dealer’s Suicide

China’s largest electric vehicle manufacturer, BYD Auto Co., is under intense scrutiny following the death of a Nanjing auto dealer who accused the company of bilking a government subsidy program and a Caixin probe suggesting the charge may have...

China Pulls License of Prominent Rights Lawyer

Christopher Bodeen
Associated Press
Pu Zhiqiang has been disbarred, a further step by Beijing on efforts to establish an independent rule of law.

China Will Retry Taiwanese Nationals Who Were Acquitted of Any Crime in Kenya

Lily Kuo
Quartz
China is showing its dominance of Taiwan in Africa just as Taiwan’s new president prepares to take office.

Judge in China Rules Gay Couple Cannot Marry

Edward Wong and Vanessa Piao
New York Times
It was ruled on Wednesday, and it was China’s first court case addressing the issue of same-sex unions.

China’s Top Lawyer in Hong Kong Says Secession Advocates Could Face Prosecution

Keith Bradsher
New York Times
British colonial legislation could be used to prosecute "separatists", but the Chinese govenment can't detain suspects in HK.

Conversation

04.12.16

Should Internet Censorship Be Considered a Trade Issue?

Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian, Susan Shirk & more
A new report from the Office of the United States Trade Representative lists, for the first time, Chinese Internet censorship as a trade barrier. The possible implications are complex: it could strengthen the hand of U.S. businesses, but also stands...

Caixin Media

04.12.16

Chinese Telecoms Gear Maker ZTE Fighting U.S. Export Ban

The second-largest maker of telecoms gear in China is scrambling to get off a U.S. export blacklist that threatens to dry up supplies of critical components.“The investigations are still in progress, and may result in criminal and civil liabilities...

Court to Hear China's First Transgender Labor Discrimination Case

Emily Rauhala
Washington Post
A transgender man who claims he was fired for wearing men’s clothing to work will get his day in court.

Conversation

04.06.16

China in the Panama Papers

Andrew J. Nathan, Bill Bishop & more
The overseas wealth of several relatives of senior Chinese leaders has come to light in an International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) report, part of the analysis by a group of media outlets of more than 11 million documents leaked...

China's Elite—including Xi Jinping—Are Linked to Offshore Deals That Hid Millions of Dollars

Zheping Huang
Quartz
At least eight top Chinese officials are implicated according to the leaked Panama Papers.

No April Fooling Please, We’re Chinese

Austin Ramzy
New York Times
Chinese state news agency Xinhua warned against people using “Fools’ Day” to start or spread rumors online.

China Vaccine Probe Nets 130 Arrests as Public Anger Builds

Charlie Campbell
Time
Some 20,000 doses of tainted inoculations have also been seized by authorities.

Chinese Activist in N.Y. Says Beijing Officials 'Abducted' His Parents and Brother

Los Angeles Times
An influential Communist Party critic with more than 220,000 Twitter followers said authorities detained his family in Guangdong.

Viewpoint

03.24.16

German President Joachim Gauck’s Speech at Tongji University in Shanghai

from Der Bundespräsident
On Wednesday, March 23, German President Joachim Gauck addressed an audience of university students in Shanghai. Among many views not typically aired in public in China, Gauck, a former Luterhan minister and anti-communist organizer, told the crowd...

Caixin Media

03.23.16

Fall of Shanghai’s Utilities Chief Unravels Web of Corruption

A graft probe into the head of a state-run utilities firm in Shanghai put investigators on the trail of two top local government officials, people with knowledge of the matter say.Feng Jun, the former general manager of State Grid Shanghai Electric...

China Vaccine Scandal Prompts Angry Backlash from Parents and Doctors

Charlie Campbell
Time
People are questioning how almost $90 million of illegal vaccines were distributed across two-thirds of the country.

Conversation

03.21.16

Cracks in Xi Jinping’s Fortress?

Andrew J. Nathan, Rana Mitter & more
Two remarkable documents emerged from China last week—the essay “A Thousand Yes-Men Cannot Equal One Honest Advisor,” which appeared on the website of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, and an open letter calling for Xi Jinping’s...

China Says It Found Ring Said to Sell Improperly Stored Vaccines

Austin Ramzy
New York Times
The police had uncovered a criminal ring suspected of selling improperly stored vaccines beginning in 2010.

Media

03.15.16

Taiwan’s New Direction

Eric Fish from Asia Blog
In January, Taiwan’s voters handed the traditionally pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) a landslide victory, giving it control of both the parliament and presidency for the first time ever. The victory came at the expense of the...

Conversation

03.15.16

What’s Driving the Current Storm of Chinese Censorship?

David Schlesinger, Anne Henochowicz & more
The latest lightning flashes on China’s shifting media horizon this month took the form of the banishment from social media of a real estate tycoon who voiced support for constructive criticism, the firing of an editor at a newspaper that appeared...

Conversation

03.11.16

Is China Doing Enough for the Environment?

Deborah Seligsohn, Angel Hsu & more
This week, at their biggest annual session in Beijing, Chinese lawmakers are expected to ratify the country’s 13th Five-Year Plan, which contains many new measures to address rampant pollution of the country’s air, soil, and water. Will the plan be...

Environment

03.10.16

How China’s 13th Five-Year Plan Addresses Energy and the Environment

Deborah Seligsohn & Angel Hsu
For the first time ever, a senior Chinese leader announced in his work report to the National People’s Congress—his most important formal speech of the year—that environmental violators and those who fail to report such violations will be “severely...

Needy Clauses: Would China’s Proposed Charity Law Be a Gift to the Disadvantaged?

Mandy Zuo
South China Morning Post
Top legislative body will on Wednesday begin deliberating the country’s first charity law.

China Says Takes ‘Distinct Chinese Approach’ to National Security

Ben Blanchard
Reuters
China is working on new laws on counter-terrorism to combat perceived threats.

China’s Censors Are Leaving the World’s Most Populous Nation With Very Little to Watch on TV

Hannah Beech
Time
New rules are so strict that even literary classics wouldn't make the cut.

Missing Bookseller Detained in China Returns to Hong Kong

Reuters
Bookseller specialized in gossip about Chinese leaders. 

China Lets Rights Lawyer Flee to U.S. After Release

Edward Wong
New York Times
Professor detained last summer has joined family after being released from surveillance.

China Corruption Crackdown ‘Netted 300,000 in 2015’

BBC
China's ruling Communist Party says it punished nearly 300,000 officials last year for corruption.

China Investigating Hong Kong Bookseller over Mail Sales

Washington Post
Chinese police are investigating a detained bookseller for allegedly selling books by mail illegally in mainland China.

Caixin Media

02.29.16

Former Energy Official Says Police Tortured Him into Confessing

A former deputy director of National Energy Administration (NEA) on trial for taking bribes has pleaded not guilty because he says the charges are based on a false confession that was extracted via torture and intimidation, according to a person who...

Ex-Official in China Blames Torture for Graft Confession

Austin Ramzy
New York Times
A former high-level Chinese energy official accused of receiving bribes said that he was tortured into confessing to the crime.

Viewpoint

02.25.16

A Looming Crisis for China’s Legal System

Jerome A. Cohen
In China, politics continues to control law. The current leadership has rejected many of the universal legal values that China accepted—at least in principle—under communist rule in some earlier eras. Today, for example, to talk freely about...

Gate-Crash! China’s New Housing Rules Irk the Gilded Classes

Hannah Beech
Time
New directive says roads in private housing estates should “gradually open up” to the public.

Conversation

02.23.16

How Long Can China’s Internet Thrive if the Rest of the World Gets Shut Out?

David Schlesinger, Jeff South & more
Last week, Chinese authorities announced that as of March 10, foreign-invested companies would not be allowed to publish anything on the Chinese Internet unless they have obtained government permission to publish with a Chinese partner. What does...

Conversation

02.09.16

What New Approach Should the U.S. and China Take to North Korea?

John Delury, Seong-Hyon Lee & more
On Sunday, North Korea launched a long range rocket many see as a test of its capability to launch a missile attack against the U.S., defying both American and Chinese pressure not do so. Republican U.S. presidential candidates argued Washington...

China Offers Rewards for Online 'Terrorist' Tip-offs

Brenda Goh
Channel NewsAsia
China has pledged to reward people who report online terrorist content up to 100,000 yuan for each tip off.

Media

02.04.16

Seeking Justice for China’s ‘Underage Prostitutes’

Four and a half years ago in a small village on the outskirts of the coastal city of Yingkou in northern China, a woman stopped a 12-year-old girl outside the child’s school and lured her into a car. “If you don’t come with me, I will beat you every...

China Resists Harsh Punishments for Those Involved in Wrongful Convictions

Javier Hernandez
New York Times
The Communist Party has made overturning cases of gross injustice a centerpiece of its efforts to overhaul the legal system.

Conversation

02.02.16

How Close Was the Latest Close Call in the South China Sea?

Julian G. Ku, Feng Zhang & more
Had things in fact calmed down in recent weeks as the Chinese official press claimed, only to be stirred up again needlessly by another Freedom of Navigation sail by the U.S. Navy?

Caixin Media

02.01.16

Tough Times call for Tougher Reform Push

Beijing has has done a good job in terms of industrializing the country but will face unprecedented challenges when dealing with a service-driven economy.

Shandong: Miners Rescued After 36 Days

BBC
Four Chinese miners who had been trapped underground for 36 days have been rescued, Chinese state media say.

Media

01.29.16

‘I Don't Want to Think About Activating Change’

Eric Fish from Asia Blog
In 2012, The New York Times published a groundbreaking investigative report showing that the family of Wen Jiabao, China’s then-prime minister, possessed wealth in excess of $2.7 billion. In response, the Chinese government blocked the Times’...

Viewpoint

01.28.16

The Trouble with Hong Kong’s Chief Executives

Denise Y. Ho & Alyssa King
On January 14, the trial of Sir Donald Tsang, Hong Kong’s former chief executive who served from 2005 to 2012, was set for January 3 of 2017. This past December, Tsang pleaded not guilty to two counts of misconduct in public office, charges on which...

Caixin Media

01.26.16

How Serial Killers Terrorized China’s Disorganized Elder Care Industry

The 45-year-old caregiver was calm on the witness stand, but her words were jarring. He Tiandai admitted during her murder trial that she killed a 70-year-old woman she cared for by poisoning her soup with sleeping pills and pesticide, injecting her...

Green Space

01.22.16

Sea Level Rise In Pictures, Cancer Villages Near Beijing

Michael Zhao
I think a big part of the reason why citizens of the world have not rallied to deal with climate change is the lack of a certain deadline that would warrant our immediate response to the grave consequences of our warming planet. There is no...

Viewpoint

01.21.16

After a Landslide Election, Now Comes the Hard Part for Taiwan's President

William Kazer
Taiwan elected its first woman president on Saturday in a landslide victory that brought a nominally pro-independence party back to power after eight years in opposition.Tsai Ing-wen led her Democratic Progressive Party to a thumping victory,...

Conversation

01.20.16

Beijing’s Televised Confessions

Jeremy Goldkorn, David Bandurski & more
Recent days have seen two more in a long string of televised “confessions” on China Central Television, that of Swedish human rights activist Peter Dahlin and Hong Kong bookseller Gui Minhai. Did these gentlemen break any Chinese laws? What do these...

China Vows to Keep High Pressure on Corruption

Hua Xia
Xinhua
The Communist Party of China will maintain a heavy-handed approach against corruption, “with unabated forces and unchanging rhythm.”

Conversation

01.13.16

Does Chinese Investment Pose a Threat to Hollywood?

Jonathan Landreth, Stanley Rosen & more
The Wanda Group, China’s leading real estate developer, on Monday paid $3.5 billion for a controlling stake in Hollywood studio Legendary Entertainment, maker of Jurassic World, among other global blockbusters. At a time when Hollywood is...

China is Said to Formally Arrest Four Human Rights Activists

Michael Forsythe
New York Times
The move continues a nationwide sweep of more than 200 lawyers and associates who worked on civil rights cases

Environment

01.11.16

Chinese Cities Most at Risk from Rising Sea Levels

from chinadialogue
A study by Climate Central, a non-profit news organization focusing on climate science, showed that 12 other nations have more than 10 million people living on land that would be destroyed should the earth’s temperature rise to 4 degrees Celsius.As...

Viewpoint

01.08.16

The Storm Beneath the Calm: China’s Regional Relations in 2016

Yanmei Xie
On the surface, 2015 came to a close in a moment of relative tranquility after a turbulent year for China’s neighborhood. But the calm is misleading: the optics of regional diplomacy have become increasingly detached from the reality of the...

Viewpoint

01.07.16

What Is Disappearing from Hong Kong

Alvin Y.H. Cheung
The recent disappearance of publisher Lee Po—allegedly kidnapped from Hong Kong and rendered to Mainland China—has prompted widespread alarm about the state of Hong Kong’s autonomy, both within the city and internationally. In a widely-shared video...

China Lands More Civilian Planes on Fiery Cross Reef

BBC
China has landed two civilian planes on an island built in the disputed South China Sea, days after an earlier landing there prompted international concern.