1. UN The UN system is very important to China, more so than for countries such as Australia. Last week, Xi marked China (PRC)’s 50th anniversary at the UN with a speech. In it, he called the UN resolution to recognise the PRC as one that “restored the legitimate membership at the UN” 恢复联合国合法席位. “China” … more
A seemingly trivial story published on news.com.au about a Chinese Olympic diver not smiling turned into a minor media incident, compelling this media researcher to make sense of why this happened. Story and reactions One of the highlights of the Tokyo Olympic Games during the lockdown was the 14-year-old girl Chinese diver Quan Hongchan’s flawless … more
In 1931 the Japanese military seized Northeast China and in the following year established the puppet state of Manchukuo. As in other Japanese colonies and in contemporary Western colonial empires, the state used female education to promote its colonial goals. In Manchukuo, the Japanese used the conservative values of “Good Wives and Wise Mothers (GWWM良妻賢母)” … more
1. Climate policy The Chinese Government is getting very serious about climate change. A few days ago (just before the Glasgow Climate Change Conference), the Central Committee and the State Council jointly released Working Guidance For Carbon Dioxide Peaking And Carbon Neutrality In Full And Faithful Implementation Of The New Development Philosophy 关于完整准确全面贯彻新发展理念做好碳达峰碳中和工作的意见 [English | … more
At the height of the Cultural Revolution, Red Guard tabloids were ubiquitous. And yet, they don’t appear in Chinese statistics. They had their heyday from 1966-1968, but after the forceful dissolution of the Red Guard movement, the Party withdrew their approval of the tabloids as well, and they disappeared from the official account of the … more
In 1973 and 1974, the Taiwan-based Republic of China (ROC) government dispatched its “National Chinese Opera Theater” (NCOT) to the United States in order to challenge the international image of its archrival, the People’s Republic of China (PRC). However, the NCOT failed to generate widespread political support for the ROC. The ROC’s reliance on an … more
1. Chinese language media in Australia Two recently published papers shed some insights on Chinese-language media in Australia: Waning Sun’s journal article “Chinese-language digital news media in Australia” published in June in Continuum: Journal of Media and Cultural Studies and Fan Yang’s analysis “Translating tension” published last week by the Lowy Institute. Sun focused her … more
Mass-market tourism expanded in the capitalist world in Western Europe and the Americas just after World War II. But less well known is the growth in international tourism in the socialist world in Eastern Europe and Asia during the same period. Tourists from the People’s Republic of China ventured out into the socialist world in … more
1. Hostage exchange Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor were finally released this week, after being arrested and detained in China for almost three years. The release of these two Canadians occurred at the same time as the release by Canada of Meng Wanzhou 孟晚舟, the CFO of Huawei and the daughter of Huawei’s founder. This … more
Last few weeks we have focused on social issues inside China. This week we switch focus to international developments outside China. 1. AUKUS Much ado about nothing? With hastily arranged top-secret meetings on a “major international development” and speculations ranging from aliens to imminent warfare, I felt kind of let down by AUKUS. But perhaps … more
