With over 350 million smokers, China accounted for more than one-fourth of the world's annual tobacco consumption in 2002 [1]. In addition, these smokers affected an additional 460 million second-hand (passive) smokers, most of whom are women and children [2]. In other words, nearly two-thirds... MORE

Conventional wisdom in Washington has stated that Beijing, if it wished to do so, could easily persuade Pyongyang to return to the Six-Party Talks and possibly even renounce its nuclear weapons program. This belief has only been bolstered by the statements of Chinese spokesmen who... MORE

CHINA RESHUFFLES ITS MILITARY LEADERSHIP Beijing recently instituted a new round of personnel changes among the top-ranking officers of the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) and its sister branches, the PLA Air Force (PLAAF) and the Second Artillery Corps (SAC). On August 16, Vice Chairman... MORE

An elaborate and intriguing ideological campaign is being waged in connection with the recently published Selected Works of Jiang Zemin—a collection of speeches and writings by the former president (China Brief, August 16). Jiang’s successor, current President Hu Jintao, has given instructions to all Communist... MORE

Since its admission to the United Nations, Beijing has used its prerogative as a permanent member of the Security Council (UNSC) to cast a negative vote—a veto—only twice. The first was on August 25, 1972 (Meeting 1660), less than a year after its admission, on... MORE

Military ties between China and the United States have lagged behind their economic and political relationships throughout the Bush administration. In recent months, however, exchanges between their national security communities have increased. Senior defense officials from both countries have made exchange visits, their military institutions... MORE

Light infantry units in the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) have been resurging as the PLA transforms itself into an organization that is capable of operating beyond its borders. These units were first permanently created during the reorganization of the PLA in 1954 [1]. Designed to... MORE

China’s 2002 revision of its 1992 People’s Liberation Army (PLA) doctrine shifted its focus away from the development of the ability to win a “limited war under high-technology conditions.” Instead of attempting to modernize the PLA solely through “mechanization” (enhancing its hardware platforms), China attempted... MORE

Openly defiant of the mounting domestic opposition, the strong protests from Beijing and Seoul and the growing criticism of international opinion, on August 15 Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi paid homage to the Yasukuni Shrine where Class-A war criminals from World War II are honored... MORE

--PLA GENERAL POLITICAL DEPARTMENT CALLS FOR THE STUDY OF “SELECTED WORKS OF JIANG ZEMIN” The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) General Political Department (GPD) issued a circular that called for the entire PLA and People’s Armed Police (PAP) to study the “Selected Works of Jiang Zemin,”... MORE