
Latest China Brief Articles
DEATH SPREADS ACROSS CHINA, PART II
Beijing is fighting AIDS, but it prefers to fight AIDS activists. And shut down clinics to help the Chinese people afflicted by the disease, the worst in human history. This June the United Nations released its landmark report on AIDS in the People's Republic, "China's... MORE
BEIJING’S MISSILE CONTROLS: LESS THAN MEETS THE EYE
By Thomas Woodrow China's announcement in late August of a regime of export controls for missiles, missile-related items and technologies is a victory of sorts for U.S. diplomacy but likely will do little to stem continuing Chinese sales of such technologies. It also does nothing... MORE
TIBETAN TOURISTS
By Jonathan Mirsky Recent accounts of Chinese tourists in Tibet revive one of my clearest memories: the coarse behaviour of the Chinese during my six visits to the region between 1982 and 1990. It is as traditionally pious for Tibetans to walk clockwise in sacred... MORE
WATCHING COMRADE COLLECTOR
At the most important defense show in the Middle East, a major American company was demonstrating its missile defense plans and achievements using a VCR and a large TV monitor. Waiting until the lunch hour, when the American exhibit was down to one person, a... MORE
CHEN’S REFERENDUM FLAP
By Willy Wo-Lap Lam Hawkish officers in the People's Liberation Army (PLA) have cited Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian's remarks on the island's statehood and its readiness for a referendum on the issue to urge an early "liberation" of Taiwan. Chen's statements could also buttress the... MORE
DEATH SPREADS ACROSS CHINA, PART I
"To them we are like bubbles," says Xie Yan, referring to officials in her village. "They know if they turn away and ignore us, we will soon pop and be gone." The mother of three lost her husband recently. Suffering from severe headaches and nausea... MORE
KICKED UPSTAIRS: RETIREMENT OPTIONS FOR JIANG ZEMIN AND OTHERS
By Mark Simon Three problems with non-elected leaders are how they get in, how they stay in and how they go out. In this world, Jiang Zemin was actually a bit ahead of par in how he came in and how he has stayed. Yet... MORE
RETIREMENT: HU’S PROBLEM, JIANG’S CONUNDRUM
By Willy Wo-Lap Lam That Jiang Zemin's apparent refusal to retire has wrought havoc on an already rickety political system is clear from the reactions of the two persons deemed closest to the president: Vice President Hu Jintao and Jiang's wife, Wang Yeping. Hu, still... MORE
REINTEGRATING GLOBAL INDUSTRY IN CHINA
The end of the Cold War seemingly liberated business from geopolitical constraints. The "global factory" disintegrated industrial complexes from their former national homes and scattered facilities across the planet in the pursuit of low-cost labor and efficient subcontractors. Many small states from the Caribbean to... MORE
CHINA RISING, AMERICA SLEEPING
The recent release of two U.S. government studies on China--the Pentagon's annual report of Chinese military strength, and the findings of the Congressional U.S.-China Security Review Commission--should come as a wake-up call to those who craft U.S. China policy. Many of those who are engaged... MORE