Introduction In tandem with its increasingly provocative coercive military measures directed against Taiwan, throughout the course of 2022, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) also ramped up its accompanying rhetoric. The PRC vigorously reasserted its irredentist sovereignty claims, decried alleged “separatist” activities by Taiwan’s political... MORE

Soon after the demise of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War, the American political scientist Francis Fukuyama posited the idea of “the end of history.” In the eyes of Fukuyama and several other Western experts, the evaporation of the influence of... MORE

Introduction Every year on Lunar New Year’s Eve, people all over China gather around the television with hot dumplings to watch the China Central Television (CCTV) Chunwan (春晚)—Spring Festival Gala. Ever since the CCTV Spring Festival Gala was first broadcast in 1983, the Chunwan has... MORE

Last September, a primary school in Lipu City, in Southwestern China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, held a commemoration ceremony for the school’s designation as a “National Defense Education Model School” (国防教育示范学校) (Defense Times, September 15, 2022). At the event, local military leaders and government officials... MORE

Over the past two months, as the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has rapidly rolled back its strict zero-COVID epidemic prevention policy, COVID-19 has spread rapidly throughout the country. The combination of the PRC reopening its borders to outbound travel on January 8 and the... MORE

Introduction In mid-November, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) published an article evaluating the U.S. Air Force’s (USAF) recent efforts to use its heavy aircraft (bombers, tankers, and cargo aircraft) for more missions than they were designed to execute. The article casts doubt on the... MORE

On November 16, members of the local Young Pioneers group attended a lecture by Sanjianxi village party chief Gao Shuzen on the “Spirit of the 20th Party Congress” (二十大精神, ershida jingshen) in Jinan, the capital of Shandong province (China Youth Net, November 16). [1]  Gao,... MORE

Days after his dominant showing at the 20th Party Congress, General Secretary Xi Jinping led the newly appointed Politburo Standing Committee (PBSC) on a visit to the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) base of operations in the War with Japan and the Chinese Civil War in... MORE

General Secretary Xi Jinping has scored an overwhelming victory at the recently concluded 20th Party Congress and the First Plenum of the new Central Committee. Xi’s picks for the Politburo and its Standing Committee consist of unalloyed supporters, but these officials are also largely apparatchiks... MORE

Introduction The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) dramatic show of military force in the Taiwan Straits between August 4-6, ostensibly in retaliation for the visit to Taipei by U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the highest-ranking American visitor in decades, while impressive in many respects, was also... MORE