Hong Kong anti-extradition bill protest 2019 (by Studio Incendo via Wikimedia Commons) On 30 June 2020, the unelected, Communist Party-controlled legislature of the People's Republic of China (PRC) passed by a unanimous vote a new national security law for the former British colony of Hong Kong. According to Article 1, the law was enacted for the… Continue reading The Rise and Decline of Hong Kong – From the British Colonial Era to the Chinese Communist Takeover
Taiwan Apple Daily head office (by Solomon203 via Wikimedia Commons) On 17 May 2021 the popular news outlet Apple Daily Taiwan shut down its print edition after 18 years. The company's management cited the pandemic as well as the global decline of print media due to the internet as the main reasons why the paper… Continue reading The End of an Era – Taiwan Apple Daily News Print Edition Shuts Down
Poster of Deng Xiaoping in Lizhi Park (by そらみみ via Wikimedia Commons) When the Bolshevik wing of the Russian Social-Democratic Workers’ Party led by Vladimir Lenin overthrew the Russian government and established the world's first Communist dictatorship in 1917, the new regime's aim was to abolish capitalism. “Socialism means the abolition of classes,” declared Lenin… Continue reading Lenin’s New Economic Policy and Deng Xiaoping’s Reform and Opening Up – Contradictions of Communist Theory and the Embrace of State-Led Markets
Shanghai skyline (by MasaneMiyaPA via Wikimedia Commons) In a recent interview, Tesla CEO Elon Musk praised the Chinese government, calling it "sensitive" to public opinion. "When I meet with Chinese government officials, they're always very concerned about this. Are people going to be happy about a thing? Is this going to actually serve the benefit… Continue reading The Chinese Government’s “United Front” and the Threat to Liberal Democracies
On April 27 The Global Times, a mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), published an op-ed claiming that the United States will lose a war over Taiwan. "Considering the congestion of hostile forces in, above, and below the Taiwan Straits and South China Sea, conflict could explode by accident or design," the article states.… Continue reading “US Will Lose War With China Over Taiwan”, China’s State Media Threatens
On 4 December 2020 the Hong Kong government introduced the 2020 Immigration (Amendment) Bill (2020年入境(修訂)條例草案) for the alleged purpose of "fulfilling the international obligation of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region under the Convention on International Civil Aviation". But critics of the Bill argue that its scope is excessively broad and vague, and that it… Continue reading Will New Law Amendment Prevent People From Leaving Hong Kong?
The former leader of the Baptist Convention of Hong Kong, Reverend Lo Hing-choi (羅慶才), has fled to the United Kingdom to escape political persecution amid a crackdown on pro-democracy figures. The Baptist Convention of Hong Kong announced on its website that Reverend Lo submitted his resignation on April 20 "for personal reasons", just ten days… Continue reading Hong Kong Baptist Convention Leader Lo Hing-choi Flees to UK to Escape Political Persecution
The government of the People's Republic of China (PRC) ordered primary and secondary schools to remove from curricula and libraries foreign books that are believed by the authorities to "worship and pandering to foreign thought" and to promote a wide range of ideas, from religious doctrines to "individualism". The move comes as the Chinese Communist… Continue reading China’s Government Orders Schools To Remove Books That “Worship Foreign Thought”
In 2015 Hong Kong bookseller Lam Wing-kee (林榮基), the founder of "Causeway Bay Books,” known for its salacious books critical of the Chinese Communist leadership, was detained by mainland China's Customs officers in the city of Shenzhen. After he was taken onto a 7-seater car and driven to a police station, he was interrogated by… Continue reading Will Hong Kong’s Free Media Be Banned? – How The Crackdown on Free Speech in the Former British Colony Is Intensifying
A 22-year-old Chinese citizen was arrested on charges of subverting state power after he worked as an intern for a foreign media outlet that published articles critical of the Chinese Communist government, Chinese state media reported. On April 15 the People's Republic of China (PRC) celebrated its 6th National Security Education Day (全民国家安全教育日) to raise… Continue reading Chinese Journalism Student Working For Foreign Media Outlet Arrested For Subverting State Power
Since Chinese President Xi Jinping came to power in 2013, it has become increasingly difficult for academics to do research in mainland China, say two Taiwanese scholars interviewed by Hong Kong-based news outlet Apple Daily. According to professor Wang Hsin-hsien (王信賢), head of the Graduate Institute of East Asian Studies of Taiwan's National Cheng-Chih University… Continue reading Xi Jinping Has Made It Harder To Study China, Say Taiwanese Scholars
