Willy’s Corner
Beijing Revives Mao’s “People’s Warfare” to Ensure Trouble Free Olympics
Hardly anybody still believes that the Beijing Olympics will have the same kind of globalizing and liberalizing effect on Chinese politics that the 1988 Seoul Olympics had on the democratic development of South Korea. Yet even fewer expected the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) authorities to... MORE
Ma Ying-jeou and the Future of Cross-Strait Relations
While Ma Ying-jeou’s landslide victory at the presidential polls has lowered tension in the Taiwan Strait, and injected a shot of morphine into Taiwan's stock market, it is premature and unrealistic to expect a leap forward in Taipei-Beijing ties any time soon. The future of... MORE
The CCP Strengthens Control over the Judiciary
Chinese President Hu Jintao’s administration has boosted the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) control over the judiciary, a move designed to enhance Beijing’s ability to maintain stability and to crack down on dissent. More powers have been given to the party’s Central Political and Legal Affairs... MORE
Hu Leadership’s Third Wave of “Thought Liberation” Sidetracked
Apart from the Olympics, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leadership’s biggest challenge this year is to lay out a road map for “the next stage of reform.” The CCP will this December be marking with much fanfare the 30th anniversary of the start of the... MORE
Sichuan Quake Reveals Gross Failings in the System
Beijing’s quick response to the Sichuan earthquake, including allowing foreign experts to take part in the rescue effort, has earned the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leadership relatively high marks for openness—and for its apparent readiness to live up to the “putting people first” credo. Yet... MORE
Beijing Intensifies “People’s War” Against “Splittism” as Nationalism Rears its Head
While Beijing started last weekend to rein in nationalistic outbursts against Western media and governments, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has upped the ante in its “people’s war” against separatists who are allegedly in cahoots with “anti-China elements overseas” to undermine Chinese rule and disrupt... MORE
Stability Trumps Reform at China’s Parliamentary Session
The Chinese leadership at the ongoing National People’s Congress (NPC) has announced tough measures to rein in inflation and to promote government efficiency. In their talk to deputies in the two-week-long parliamentary session, however, Premier Wen Jiabao and his senior colleagues appeared to have made... MORE
Hu Jintao Tightens Grip Over “Shanghai Faction”
Since dumping former Shanghai party secretary Chen Liangyu in late 2006, President Hu Jintao has tightened his control over the East China metropolis—as well as the so-called Shanghai Faction in the tangled politics within the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). At stake is more than the... MORE
Beijing Unveils Plan for Super Ministries
While Western-style political reforms remain illusory, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leadership has pledged that it will improve governmental efficiency, boost central authority and eradicate corruption and other ills associated with maladministration. Major structural reforms within the State Council (or central government) are being worked... MORE
Taiwan Elections: Stability at the Expense of Democratization
The ruling Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) stunning defeat in Taiwan’s parliamentary polls last weekend is expected to lower tension in the Taiwan Straits and speed up economic integration between the mainland and the self-ruled island. The DPP’s Waterloo may help convince President Chen Shui-bian and... MORE