The Chinese government is now locking down Tibet while attempting to placate the outside world by meeting with the Dalai Lama’s representatives. Beijing’s harsh policing of Tibet is consistent with the tough line the government has taken in previous crackdowns in both 1959 and in... MORE

The resurgence of great powers' interests in Central Asia in recent years is reminiscent of the “Great Game” that ensued in the region in the 19th century between Czarist Russia and Imperial Great Britain. Afghanistan’s geographic location has made it a much coveted strategic pivot... MORE

On April 21, commercial satellite images on DigitalGlobe confirmed reports that China is building a major underground nuclear submarine base near Sanya, the southernmost city of Hainan Island, which is located on China’s southeastern coast (DigitalGlobe). Digital images taken of the base in December 2007... MORE

In a two-day operation completed on April 30, local police in Dongguan municipality, Guangdong Province, executed a high profile rescue operation that police reports claim rescued 167 children trafficked from the poverty-stricken Liangshan region in Sichuan, the Southern Metropolitan Daily reported (China Times, May 1).... MORE

China’s tolerance of inflation has a low threshold because of the risks it poses to social and political stability. That is why the government and the people have been worried about a steep rise in the consumer price index (CPI) since the first half of... MORE

When a camel meets a dragon, it would not usually raise eyebrows. If, however, there are huge economic stakes and strategic interests in the interaction between two ambitious growing economies—one being the world's fastest-growing economy and the other a forward-moving enigmatic desert economy—then it is... MORE

At a banquet to welcome visiting Chinese President Hu Jintao in April 2005, Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo proclaimed that in view of China’s eagerness to invest in the country’s crumbling infrastructure, booming Philippine exports to the PRC, and a recently concluded agreement among the... MORE

While Beijing started last weekend to rein in nationalistic outbursts against Western media and governments, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has upped the ante in its “people’s war” against separatists who are allegedly in cahoots with “anti-China elements overseas” to undermine Chinese rule and disrupt... MORE

An altercation between police and villagers in Saixi—protesting against insufficient compensation for the appropriation of land in the village for mining—resulted in bloodshed that left two reported dead, more than 20 injured and five critically wounded, according to a report by Hong Kong newspaper Ming... MORE

On February 9, 2008 the Burmese government announced a plan for an unprecedented referendum on a new constitution, which will be held in May, to be followed by a multi-party election in 2010 (Agence France-Presse, February 9). On February 19, the government declared that the... MORE