China Archive

As a kid, I was constantly subjected to fear-mongering on population growth, which was not only out of control, but certain to lead to widespread conflict, political repression, and freakish efforts at human survival. (“Soylent Green,” anyone?) Now, in my middle years, I find myself increasingly assaulted with the opposite “dangers”: too few babies, and a rapidly and unevenly aging world. Somehow the dire predictions of what the consequences will be have remained the same. Funny how that works! Some things we know intuitively from our history, both personal and global. An easy example: In the modern world, single men […]

Chinese bloggers and artists, and rights advocates around the globe, are celebrating Beijing’s postponement of a wildly unpopular plan to mandate the inclusion of filtering software in all computers sold in China as of July 1. The decision to postpone the “Green Dam Youth Escort” program — which Chinese officials described as a concerted effort to address pornography on the Internet — followed weeks of massive domestic and international pressure over concerns the software would serve as a vehicle to increase state censorship. The move may also have been in recognition of the fact that computer companies’ needed more time […]

The Spanish National Criminal Court (Audiencia Nacional) said on Tuesday it was scrapping an investigation into a 2002 Israeli Air Force bombing in Gaza that killed a suspected Hamas militant and 14 civilians. The move comes just days after the lower house of the Spanish Parliament voted to limit the scope of a 1985 law that allows judges to investigate crimes against humanity anywhere in the world. Taken together, the developments mark a significant setback for advocates of universal jurisdiction, a legal concept whereby states can claim criminal jurisdiction over persons whose alleged crimes were committed outside the boundaries of […]

To critics of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Burma has long served as proof of the organization’s ineffectuality. For decades, the country’s ruling junta has suppressed democracy, oppressed its people, and ignored global calls to observe human rights. ASEAN member nations have previously been reluctant to apply economic sanctions to Burma because of a founding agreement not to intervene in the affairs of fellow members. But with the current trial of democracy advocate and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi drawing widespread international condemnation, ASEAN once again faces a critical test in its quest for legitimacy. The time […]

More progress on cross-Straits relations: Taiwan has opened its markets to mainland Chinese investment. The new rules are in part a testament to the power of Chinese cash reserves (Taiwan’s economy shrank 10 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2009). But they also represent a significant, if pragmatic, step towards Taiwanese President MaYing-Jeou’s goal of closer economic ties, which have to date beenmainly one-way (from Taiwan to China). “Institutional” investment — by which I understand state-sponsored, but I might be mistaken — is limited to 10 percent of stock ownership, while limits on corporate ownership will be decided on […]