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Willy’s Corner
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Chinese State Media Goes Global: A Great Leap Outward for Chinese Soft Power?
Even as the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is projecting hard power across the four corners of the earth, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is mapping out a multi-pronged strategy to publicize globally the apparent viability of the “China model.” The administration of President Hu Jintao... MORE
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China Flaunts Growing Naval Capabilities
The year 2009 is set to become a watershed in the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) development into a force capable of long-distance, multi-pronged power projection. This is despite the perception that owing to the global recession, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leadership under President Hu... MORE
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Intellectuals Lobby for Political Change as Party Marks 30th Anniversary of the Reform Era
While expectations for policy changes are not high as Beijing marks the 30th anniversary of the reform era, a clutch of forward-looking cadres and intellectuals are taking advantage of the occasion to press for bolder measures particularly in political liberalization. This is despite the fact... MORE
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Beijing’s Stimulus Plan: Preemptive Crisis Management
China’s $586 billion (4 trillion yuan) stimulus package, which was announced before last weekend’s G20 Summit in Washington, has been hailed as indicative of Beijing’s commitment to stave off further bleeding from the global recession. World Bank Vice-President Justin Lin noted that the resuscitation effort... MORE
Beijing’s Glorification of the “China Model” Could Blunt Its Enthusiasm for Reforms
While Beijing has reiterated its willingness to help combat the international financial crisis, the Hu Jintao-Wen Jiabao administration has stopped short of making substantial commitments to the global rescue effort. This is despite the fact that the ongoing crisis has afforded China a golden opportunity... MORE
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Hu’s New Deal and the Third Plenary Session of CCP’s 17th Central Committee
The just-concluded Third Plenary Session of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) 17th Central Committee has pledged a "new deal" with Chinese characteristics for the country’s 730 million-odd farmers through boosting their “material benefits and democratic rights.” The plenum communiqué promised that the party would raise... MORE
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The Hu-Wen Leadership Battles “Warlords” over Economic Policies and Bureaucratic Reform
For the Hu Jintao-Wen Jiabao leadership, the party is pretty much over. After the coming-out extravaganza of the Beijing Olympics, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) hoped to extend the festive mood through to late September for the launch of the country’s third manned space flight,... MORE
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Milk Powder Scandal Exposes China’s Worsening Administrative Malaise
China’s formidable state machinery was able to stage the largest Olympics in history and to have a “Taikonaut” perform a 20-minute “spacewalk” last week. Yet the world-scale scandal emanating from contaminated milk products has exposed the worsening malaise in the country’s political and administrative structure.... MORE
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Beijing’s Post Olympic Shakedown in Xinjiang and Tibet
While the catchwords and slogans of the just-ended Beijing Olympics trumpeted “harmony” and “One World, One Dream,” the traditionally tense relations between Han Chinese and ethnic minorities – particularly Uyghurs and Tibetans – could worsen significantly in the foreseeable future. Four quasi-terrorist attacks in the... MORE
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CCP Launches Personnel Reform to Stem “Mass Incidents”
While political reform is off the agenda, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has taken some visible steps toward improving the quality of its cadres in light of the large number of unexpected and near-disastrous “mass incidents” in this critical Olympic year. For example, the low... MORE