China’s Under the Dome Doc Hits at Heart of Country’s Pollution Problems: Pervasive Worry

On an autumn afternoon in Beijing last year, a day when the sky was blue, which rarely happens in China’s capital, one of the most polluted cities on the planet, I had coffee with a young Chinese woman, a former journalism student of mine at a university where I taught […]



Huffington Post via CHINA US Focus http://ift.tt/1KY5JAg

China Demolishes the Taiwan Consensus

After decades of high tensions between Taipei and Beijing and the looming shadow of a devastating war between the United States and China, relations in the Taiwan Strait underwent a major transformation in 2008 with the election of Ma Ying-jeou and the return to power of the Kuomintang (KMT). Over […]



The National Interest via CHINA US Focus http://ift.tt/1BxALaF

China’s Plan for Winning the Currency Wars

The currency wars are still rumbling on. Today, Thailand became at least the 21st country to cut interest rates so far this year, as everyone tries to make their currency cheaper than everyone else’s. The Federal Reserve still seems on track to raise rates in June, turbocharging the dollar. But […]



Bloomberg via CHINA US Focus http://ift.tt/1wYecNZ

India’s Got a Plan For South China Sea Disputes (And China Won’t Like It)

In recent years, India has started to become increasingly more vocal about what it feels is the correct way for the five main territorial disputants in the South China Sea to resolve their differences. What’s particularly interesting is that the rhetoric coming out of New Delhi seems to be growing […]



The Diplomat via CHINA US Focus http://ift.tt/1BxAKUd

Cracks in Beijing’s Dome

Citizens of modern democracies often take for granted the muckraking journalism that goes along with a free press. Yet for most Chinese such reporting is new and exhilarating, which might explain the phenomenal success of a video calling attention to the scandal of China’s polluted skies. Viewed by hundreds of […]



Wall Street Journal via CHINA US Focus http://ift.tt/1wYefcw

Time for Japan to Come to Terms with History

To commemorate the 70th anniversary of the WWII in the Pacific, Japanese PM Shinzo Abe plans to make a statement of apology, which is already drawing concerns from the international community. Abe’s denials and changes to historical accounts mean that an “Abe Statement” could turn out to be a declaration on Abe’s “proactive pacifism” rather than a statement on Japan’s remorse and apology.



Wu Zhenglong, Research Fellow, China Foundation for Int'l Studies via CHINA US Focus http://ift.tt/1GqCfVg

Beyond Smog: Interesting Messages Behind Celebrity Documentary

The online release of Chai Jing’s new documentary “Under the Dome” swept across China, evidence the power of alternative media. Xiong Lei discusses the impact of this documentary, along with new media trends to return to “slow journalism.”



Xiong Lei, Guest Professor, Renmin University via CHINA US Focus http://ift.tt/1AbuNZq