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

While President Xi Jinping has often been criticized by Western politicians, as well as intellectuals inside and outside of China, for restoring quasi-Maoist values, he has at least been consistent in his conservative agenda. On foreign policy, he has never strayed from the Chinese Communist... MORE

Introduction With Chinese authorities having shifted away from a zero-COVID policy at the end of November, the country now faces an unresolved dilemma as to its future approach to  economic development and public health policies. A critical question is: will the Dengist doctrine of "Reform... MORE

Introduction Kazakhstan is seeking to boost bilateral ties with China, which is reopening international travel after abandoning its Zero-COVID policy late last year (Kazinform, January 17). However, “Kazakh Gen Zs” born in the 2000s are worried about their country’s increasing dependency on China. [1] “China is... 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

On November 30, with mass protests only recently suppressed in Beijing and Shanghai and still simmering in Guangzhou and Chongqing, state media notified the “whole party, army and country” that former General Secretary Jiang Zemin, who led the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from mid-1989 to... 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

Both supporters and opponents of Russian President Vladimir Putin and his war against Ukraine all too often rely on two primary factors to determine the amount of public opposition to his policies among the Russian population. Many assume that protests are the best measure, concluding... MORE

About three weeks remain until the snap presidential elections in Kazakhstan, which are scheduled for November 20—18 months ahead of the original 2024 date (Tengrinews, September 22). In the words of Kazakhstani President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, changing the election date was necessary “to reload the main... MORE

More than two years have passed since the People’s Republic of China (PRC) began imposing a broad range of restrictions on Australian trade in what is widely regarded to be a campaign of economic coercion. Despite the apparent sanctions affecting numerous Australian export industries with... MORE