By Gordon G. Chang The Chinese gangs, as they have penetrated Japanese society, have gone beyond robbery and burglary, have branched out into more sophisticated criminal activities like forging credit cards and rigging pachinko machines. And kidnapping the innocent. As time has progressed, their acts... MORE

On December 7, voters in Taiwan's two metropolitan cities, Taipei and Kaohsiung, went to the polls to choose their mayors and the members of their respective city councils. Taipei, Taiwan's largest city and its capital, and Kaohsiung, the country's largest city in the south and... MORE

China's recent proposal to exchange its missiles deployed against Taiwan for reduced U.S. arms sales to Taiwan is an unsuccessful attempt at diplomatic linkage that will actually end up drawing increased scrutiny to China's own ongoing military and missile buildup, as well as its unwillingness... MORE

By Thomas Woodrow The transfer and sale of Chinese-origin nuclear weapons and missile technologies has started a spiraling cycle of proliferation with grave consequences for security in South and East Asia. Beijing has made nuclear and missile transfers directly and indirectly through proxy states such... MORE

With war imminent in Iraq, terrorism plaguing Southeast Asia and North Korean nuclear threats moving to the front burner, the territorial disputes in the South China Sea appear distant, not a top regional or international concern. But it would be a mistake to ignore the... MORE

By Willy Wo-Lap Lam While China's new Communist Party chief Hu Jintao has hardly emerged as first among equals--let alone the dominant figure--in China's new Politburo Standing Committee (PSC), his chances of survival in factional infighting may not be as low as once expected. Furthermore,... MORE

By Gordon G. Chang "It was almost like they were filming the movie of the invasion of Normandy," said New York City detective Ming Li, who witnessed frightened and wet Chinese heading towards the safety of a New York City beach. "They were coming ashore... MORE

So far as its main purpose--ensuring a smooth, orderly political succession--is concerned, the 16th Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Congress has spawned as many problems as it has solved. President Jiang Zemin, who was supposed to have handed over the baton at the just-ended conclave, seems... MORE

By Jonathan Mirsky China's new rulers, the nine members of the Politburo Standing Committee, confront critical problems bequeathed to them by their predecessors. These problems, which would be called a crisis anywhere else, are partly the result of over fifty years of Communist rule. The... MORE

By Gordon G. Chang These days China proudly calls itself "the workshop of the world." This is no idle boast: The People's Republic is attracting more and more of the world's manufacturing capacity. Yet success creates its own problems. The world now wants to know... MORE