As the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) careens toward the 18th Party Congress and a generational leadership transition, Beijing seems concerned with the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and where it stands politically. CCP and PLA press have expressed these concerns in a variety of ways, whether... MORE

On the eve of the 91st anniversary of the founding of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), propaganda czar Li Changchun gave a speech to a political theories seminar emphasizing the need to re-popularize Chinese-style Marxism. Li, a Politburo Standing Committee member, argued the task is... MORE

Political reform in China since Deng Xiaoping’s “Southern Tour” in 1992 has seemed a distant if always tempting narrative for analysts and observers. The cycles of foreign hope and disappointment with Chinese leadership attest to this. The most recent stirrings of political reform discussion may... MORE

Every spring, the director-general of Taiwan’s National Security Bureau (NSB) goes before the Legislative Yuan’s Foreign and National Defense Committee to discuss national security-related developments. Befitting Taiwan’s focus on cross-Strait affairs and the Chinese military, the NSB chief, Tsai Te-sheng, almost always has something interesting... MORE

On May 9, Premier Wen Jiabao opened an executive meeting of the State Council on promoting China’s development of information technology and information security. The meeting promulgated a new opinion “Vigorously Promote Informatization Development and Earnestly Guarantee Information Security.” Premier Wen called for a clear... MORE

A series of editorials this week in leading official newspapers suggested pressure for reform within the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) continues to build. One of the unsigned commentaries—like Premier Wen Jiabao’s speech about political reform as Bo Xilai was ousted from Chongqing—stated “reform has reached... MORE

On April 11, Chinese President Hu Jintao met with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Beijing during the latter’s lavish if brief state visit. Both sides naturally promised cooperation and to expand ties (Xinhua, April 11; China Daily, April 11). The visit marked the... MORE

The fallout over Politburo member Bo Xilai’s removal as Chongqing Party Secretary on March 15 only increased the wave of rumor and speculation sweeping across China after Bo’s right-hand man, Wang Lijun, attempted to get political asylum last month at the U.S. Consulate in Chengdu... MORE

BEIJING DENIES RUSSIAN RUMORS OF SU-35 FIGHTER PURCHASE Last week, Russian media reported Moscow was close to finalizing a $4 billion deal for 48 Su-35s with Beijing. The reported sticking point was that the Russian side wanted greater assurances that Chinese engineers would not reverse... MORE

Chinese political culture contains a lot of dangerous ideas for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). This may go a long ways toward explaining Beijing’s fickle relationship with Confucius as a symbol of Chinese culture and, now, with the trappings of Maoism. While criticism of Chongqing’s... MORE