Exclusive: China Urges Diplomats and U.N. to Boycott Dalai Lama in Geneva

Stephanie Nebehay
Reuters
Inviting Dalai Lama to the aforementioned event violates the sovereignty and territorial integrity of China.

Why Does China Have Women-Only Mosques?

BBC
The old capital of the Song Dynasty is home to women-only mosques with female prayer leaders.

Media

02.22.16

Leave China, Study in America, Find Jesus

Shelly Cai was 18 years old when she left the southern Chinese metropolis of Nanjing to enroll in the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In August 2010, after a 13-hour flight from Shanghai to Chicago and a three-hour bus ride, Cai finally arrived in...

Media

02.11.16

Chinese Students Are Flooding U.S. Christian High Schools

It is no secret that Chinese students are pouring into the United States; over 300,000 of them attended U.S. colleges and universities in 2015 alone, and Chinese are filling up spots in U.S. secondary schools in search of a better education and an...

5 Things to Know About the Chinese New Year

Nash Jenkins
Time
China’s biggest and most ceremonious holiday is a chance to honor one’s ancestors and prepare for the good fortune to come.

Invisible Bridges

Peter Hessler, photo by Davide...
New Yorker
Over the past two centuries, there have been periodic tensions between Russia and China, including some serious border conflicts, and historically Russia has usually held the upper hand. But nowadays, at the personal level, Monteleone notices a...

How China's Celebration of the Year of the Monkey Breaks Down by the Numbers

Jonathan Kaiman
Los Angeles Times
Here’s a further look at the celebrations and some more related numbers.

Chinese Stock Plunge Forces a Trading Halt, and Global Markets Shudder

Keith Bradsher and Amie Tsang
New York Times
The aftershocks carried over to Europe and the United States, where markets fell sharply once again.

Schoolgirl's Death Sparks Riots, Clashes in China's Gansu

Lin Jing
Radio Free Asia
The 13-year-old is believed to have jumped from the top of a tall building after being accused of shoplifting, drawing around 1,000 locals.

China’s Database of ‘Living Buddhas’ Is the Latest Attempt to Control Tibetan Affairs

Hannah Beech
Time
The Chinese government’s self-declared right to choose living Buddhas extends to the Dalai Lama.

China Denounces Dalai Lama's 'Sympathy' for Islamic State

Sui-Lee Wee and Ben Blanchard
Reuters
"By saying, 'listen, understand and respect' them, it exposes, in his very bones, his sympathy or endorsement for IS."

China Stick to Right to Decide Reincarnation of Dalai Lama

Reuters
The Dalai Lama and China's officially atheist Communist Party have repeatedly tussled over who has final authority on the issue of reincarnation.

China Bars Anastasia Lin, Miss World Canada (and Rights Advocate)

New York Times
A Chinese who moved to Canada as a kid, the charismatic Lin is a practitioner of Falun Gong, the spiritual movement China calls an “evil cult.”

Conversation

11.24.15

The China Africa Relationship: Crossroads or Cliff?

Cobus van Staden, Eric Olander & more
As we approach the sixth Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) Summit in Johannesburg, we try better to understand the main issues that surely will arise when Chinese President Xi Jinping and South African President Jacob Zuma meet on December 4...

China Aims to Build Its Own Secure Smartphones

EVA DOU and JURO OSAWA
Wall Street Journal
State-owned and private tech firms team up to cut cord to U.S. suppliers.

Media

11.20.15

China Censors Online Outcry After ISIS Execution

Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian
On November 18, the Islamic State (IS) released photos of what it claimed were two executed hostages. The photos, appearing in the terrorist group’s English-language magazine Dabiq, depict two men with bloodied faces, the word “executed” emblazoned...

Conversation

11.19.15

Is China a Credible Partner in Fighting Terror?

Andrew Small, Chen Weihua & more
In the wake of the terror attacks in Paris China’s foreign minister Wang Yi said, “China is also a victim of terrorism. The fight against the ‘East Turkestan Islamic Movement’… should become an important part of the international fight against...

China to Push Cultural 'Blending' in Xinjiang Stability Push

Megha Rajagopalan and Ben Blanchard
Reuters
China will push the study of Mandarin and the "blending" of different races as part of a new stability push in the troubled far western region of Xinjiang.

Human Rights: What Is China Accused of?

Camila Ruz
BBC
China's human rights record has been criticised for years.

In a Region Disturbed by Ethnic Tensions, China Keeps Tight Lid on a Massacre

ANDREW JACOBS
New York Times
Armed with only knives, the assailants struck at the coal mine in the dead of night.

Dalai Lama: China More Concerned About Future Dalai Lamas Than I Am

Mick Krever
CNN
"I have no concern," he told Amanpour in London, adding that it is "possible" he would be the last Dalai Lama.

Media

10.02.15

Meet China’s Salman Rushdie

Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian
On a warm late afternoon in June, I sat with Perhat Tursun as he slowly exhaled a puff of smoke from a blue cigarette with shiny gold trim. Arrayed on the pale lace tablecloth before us was an assortment of nuts, sunflower seeds, and wine. The...

China’s Latest Ally in Its Crackdown on Religion: The Pope

Zheping Huang
Quartz
This week, Chinese president Xi Jinping and Pope Francis missed each other on their back-to-back visits to the United States.

China Micromanages Tibet, Floods It With Money to Woo Locals

Tablet
Nearly 6,500 civil servants have been dispatched to manage hefty budgets and shape Tibet's modernization.

Media

09.23.15

‘God’s United Front’ and the Battle Over China’s Crosses

This article first appear in Chinese on September 2 in Hong Kong-based outlet The Initium Media. Foreign Policy translates with permission, with edits for brevity and clarity.On the evening of August 16, nearly one hundred pastors, ministers, and...

I’m with the Banned: China Blocks Bon Jovi Gigs

Jennifer Duggan
Guardian
U.S. group were due to perform first China shows next week, but previous use of Dalai Lama image may have prompted officia intervention.

Inside the Quiet Lives of China’s Disappearing Tibetan Nomads

Rachel Lowry, photos by Kevin Frayer
Time
As settlements see an influx of Tibetans, the transition is difficult for these nomad-turned-villagers.

Suspect in Bangkok Bombing Has Chinese Passport, Thailand Says

Thomas Fuller
New York Times
The bombing was connected to the grievances of Uighurs who say they are oppressed by ethnic Han.

Who Loses Most from Chaos in China—And Some Possible Silver Linings

Washington Post
The panic may weaken demand for U.S. exports. But that could make some goods cheaper for consumers.

Tibet’s Road Ahead

Barbara Demick
Los Angeles Times
Tibetans complain that they live, essentially, as second-class citizens in their own land. Their language, culture and faith are all under pressure. They attend substandard schools and, if they manage to get an education, lack the same job...

Confucius Says, Xi Does

Economist
Since he came to power in 2012, Mr Xi has sought to elevate Confucius—whom Mao vilified—as the grand progenitor of Chinese culture.

China Cracks Down on Hong Kong Evangelists

Juliana Liu
BBC
A 2014 survey of more than 1,000 Protestant churches in Hong Kong by the Hong Kong Church Renewal Movement gives some insight into their activities.

Media

07.21.15

China: The Best and the Worst Place to Be a Muslim Woman

Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian
A woman’s solitary voice, earthy and low, rises above the seated worshipers. More than 100 women stand, bow, and touch their foreheads to the floor as a female imam leads evening prayers at a women-only mosque during the first week of Islam’s holy...

Chinese Tourists Warned over Turkey Uighur Protests

BBC
China advised citizens against travelling to Turkey after it said several tourists were attacked in protests over the Chinese government's treatment of Uighur Muslims.

China Concerned Over Turkish Religious Complaints

The Associated Press
Washington Post
China expressed displeasure with Turkey’s complaints about restrictions on worship and fasting by Uighur Muslims during Ramadan.

'Ghost Fleet' Depicts War Between China, U.S.

Tom Risen
USA Today
Peter Singer and August Cole expand their research as analysts into the realm of imagination about a future that could find the U.S. at war with China.

At Least 18 Dead in Ramadan Attack on Police Checkpoint in Xinjiang

Joshua Lipes, Mamatjan Juma
Radio Free Asia
18 dead after a knife and bomb attack by a group of Uyghurs on a checkpoint in Xinjiang amid harsh restrictions on observance of Ramadan.

China Opens New Land Route to Tibet for Indian Pilgrims

Edward Wong
New York Times
The crossing of Nathu La, between India and Tibet, signals the opening of a new pilgrimage route for Indian pilgrims to holy sites.

Civil servants, students, teachers in Xinjiang banned from fasting during Ramadan

Agence France Presse
South China Morning Post
China bans fasting for Ramadan and orders restaurants to stay open in Xinjiang.

Narendra Modi and Xi Jinping Aim to Shelve Rifts Amid Economic Courtship

Ellen Barry and Chris Buckley
New York Times
Indian and Chinese officials are promoting Modi’s three-day visit as a business trip filled out with displays of good will.

Why China and India Just Can’t Get Along

Hannah Beech
Time
A stunning dearth of fraternal ties exist between the two Asian superpowers.

Searching for Identity in China’s Outer Lands

Q. Sakamaki & Dave Gershgorn
New York Times
“ ‘China’s Outer Lands’ is about people instinctively looking for their own identity, between conformity or originality or autonomy or dependence,” Mr. Sakamaki said. “It’s natural, it’s happening in not only China, it’s everywhere.”

China Shocks World by Genetically Engineering Human Embryos

Sarah Knapton
Telegraph
Critics warn China's the ‘Wild West’ of genetic research, on its way to desiging children. 

Conversation

04.23.15

A New Era for China and Pakistan?

Andrew Small, Paul J. Smith & more
This week, Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Islamabad and showered Pakistan with attention and promises of $46 billion in development support. What does this intensified Sino-Pakistani engagement mean for Asia and the rest of the world? —The...

Sinica Podcast

04.20.15

China’s Ideological Spectrum

Kaiser Kuo & David Moser from Sinica Podcast
Last week, Harvard doctoral student Jennifer Pan and MIT graduate student Yiqing Xu co-released a paper, “China’s Ideological Spectrum,” that has garnered a tremendous amount of attention in China-watching circles. And the reason for the fracas?...

Wild Pigeon

Photos by Carolyn Drake, words by...
Daylight
“The underlying theme I heard when talking to people was that how you interpret things is how they will be, so its best to look at the bright side of things. You don’t mention bad dreams, or you try to interpret them in a positive way. People told...

China: What the Uighurs See

Ian Johnson from New York Review of Books
Xinjiang is one of those remote places whose frequent mention in the international press stymies true understanding. Home to China’s Uighur minority, this vast region of western China is mostly known for being in a state of permanent low-grade...

Mystery Surrounds Disappearance of Xinjiang Article and Related Apology

Dan Levin
New York Times
An article on a Muslim couple jailed for beard and burqa appeared Sunday in state media but was gone Monday.

Chinese Relic Experts Claim 1,000-year-old Mummified Monk Was Stolen

Naomi Ng
CNN
Fujian officials found photos and historical records suggesting the statue belonged to a village temple.

China’s Tensions With Dalai Lama Spill Into the Afterlife

Chris Buckley
New York Times
Chinese Communist Party leaders are deathly afraid that the Dalai Lama will not have an afterlife.

China’s Tensions With Dalai Lama Spill Into the Afterlife

Chris Buckley
New York Times
Chinese Communist Party leaders are deathly afraid that the Dalai Lama will not have an afterlife.

China Says Thousands Forced to Flee Myanmar Fighting

Ben Blanchard
Reuters
The Yunnan government said that since Feb. 9 there had been more than 30,000 trips by border residents both into and out of China.

Caixin Media

02.17.15

Prosperity, International Cooperation, Civil Rights Key to Defeating Terror

The global fight against terrorism has entered a new stage with the emergence of the Islamic State (IS), and the battle lines have never been so clearly drawn all over the world.On February 18, Washington will host the Summit on Countering Violent...

Parent Meddling Makes for Unmerry Marriages in China

Laurie Burkitt
Wall Street Journal
"Parental matchmaking is robustly correlated with lower marital harmony,” says a new World Bank report.

Is China Making Its Own Terrorism Problem Worse?

Justine Drennan
Foreign Policy
Beijing's repressive policies toward members of its Uighur minority may be helping to strengthen ties to the Islamic State and al Qaeda.

Obama’s Public Encounter With the Dalai Lama Riles China

New York Times
Obama previously met the Dalai Lama privately in the White House rather than in public.

Conversation

02.05.15

What’s the Case for Heads of State Meeting the Dalai Lama?

Francesco Sisci, Robert Barnett & more
On Thursday in Washington, the Dalai Lama attended the annual National Prayer Breakfast hosted by President Barack Obama, angering China's leaders in Beijing who have long called the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader a "splittist" and...

Viewpoint

02.04.15

Why China Is Banning Islamic Veils

Timothy Grose & James Leibold
This week, regional authorities outlawed Islamic veils from all public spaces in the regional capital of China’s Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region (XUAR). The Urumqi ban, which went into effect on Sunday February 1 (coincidentally the third annual*...

Features

02.04.15

The City of Urumqi Prohibition on Wearing Items That Mask the Face or Robe the Body

A Proclamation from the Standing Committee of the Urumqi People’s CongressThe “Regulation banning the wearing of items that mask the face or robe the body in public places in the city of Urumqi,” which was passed at the 21st Meeting of the 15th...