A Chinese professor has been sacked after he criticized Chairman Mao Zedong on his 123rd birthday in an commentary he posted online that enraged leftists. Mao, who died on Dec. 9, 1976, is still officially venerated by the ruling Communist Party as the founder of modern China and his face appears on every yuan banknote. … Read more
The current global political, and security environment remains chaotic, dangerous, and unstable. While the Obama Administration has done its best to address them, there is no doubt that the incoming Donald Trump Administration will inherit one of the most difficult and challenging set of problems since the end of the Second World War. Under Obama’s … Read more
It’s a frightening prospect, India and China going to war. The countries are home to 2.5 billion people, a long and sometimes disputed border — which they’ve fought wars over — and each have nuclear weapons. And India announced last month it successfully tested the Agni-V missile, which could theoretically deliver a nuke to Beijing. … Read more
The political tumult that rocked the world in 2016 might be an appetizer for 2017. Crucial elections loom this year in France and Germany, where the same anti-establishment backlash that produced Donald Trump and Brexit could offer an opening to nationalist leaders who oppose Muslim immigration and further erode the European unity that has been … Read more
China will not allow anyone to use Hong Kong as a base for subversion against mainland China or to damage its political stability, Beijing’s top official in the territory told state television. Chinese leaders are increasingly concerned about a fledgling independence movement in Hong Kong, which returned to mainland rule in 1997 with a promise … Read more
They’re the islands where World War II never ended and now they’re the focal point of a rare meeting between the leaders of Japan and Russia. Russian President Vladimir Putin makes his first visit to Japan in 11 years on Thursday with Tokyo hopeful of progress in getting Russia to return islands in the Kuril … Read more
Donald Trump is not even President yet, but he’s already turning US foreign policy on two of the biggest challenges to American power — China and Russia — on its head. In just five weeks as President-elect, Trump has given the world a taste of what Americans know already after a tumultuous political year: He … Read more
The gray, concrete building looms over the street in central Beijing. Completely unmarked aside from a street number, its entrance is buttressed by barriers and fencing. Inside lies an organization that strikes terror into the hearts of some of China’s most powerful people, and oversees a sprawling network of secret prison where experts say torture … Read more
China lodged a diplomatic protest on Saturday after U. S. President-elect Donald Trump spoke by phone with President Tsai Ing-wen of Taiwan, but blamed the self-ruled island Beijing claims as its own for the “petty” move. The 10-minute telephone call with Taiwan’s leadership was the first by a U.S. president-elect or president since President Jimmy … Read more
Over 55 high level delegations, including more than 20 heads of state will participate in a tribute event to late Cuban leader Fidel Castro at the Revolution Square in Havana on Tuesday night, said the country’s Foreign Ministry. Around 30 presidents and prime ministers will start to arrive at the Caribbean nation in the coming … Read more
Chinese police have formally detained nine people involved in a power plant construction project in the east of the country which collapsed last week killing 74 people, state news agency Xinhua said on Monday. The accident happened on Thursday morning in Fengcheng, in Jiangxi province, during work on a cooling tower for a coal-fired power … Read more
The death of Cuban leader Fidel Castro prompted celebrations among the country’s exiles in Miami , but expressions of sorrow from several current af former world leaders. Former Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev on Saturday hailed Castro, who died aged 90 on Friday, for “strengthening” his island nation. “Fidel stood up and strengthened his country during … Read more
Facebook worked on special software so it could potentially accommodate censorship demands in China, according to a report in the New York Times. The social network refused to confirm or deny the software’s existence, but said in a statement it was “spending time understanding and learning more” about China. No decisions about the company’s approach … Read more
The Premier League has agreed a major new deal for its TV rights in China, which could be worth up to $700m (£560m). The three-year contract with Chinese video streaming service PPTV is set to be the league’s biggest-ever overseas broadcast sale. A PPTV source told the BBC a deal was in place. If the … Read more
Don’t assume the worst about Trump – Obama to Young Leaders President Barack Obama shakes hands after holding a town hall meeting with young leaders in Peru U. S. President Barack Obama had a message Saturday for 1,000 young leaders from around Latin America and the Caribbean on President-elect Donald Trump: “Don’t assume the worst.” … Read more
Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged on Saturday to further open the world’s second-largest economy as leaders of Asia-Pacific countries gathered in Peru to find new free-trade options after Donald Trump was s elected U. S. president on a protectionist platform. The annual APEC summit got under way in Lima just over a week after Trump’s … Read more
“The Chinese grab for fossil fuels or its military competition for naval control is not a challenge but rather a boost for the US Asia-Pacific –even an overall– posture. Calibrating the contraction of its overseas projection and commitments – some would call it managing the decline of an empire – the US does not fail … Read more
With Trump win, China looks to seize Asia China will position itself as free trade’s new champion at an Asia-Pacific summit this weekend, with the Communist government seeking to project economic leadership as a U. S.-led Pacific Rim trade pact languishes under President-elect Donald Trump. Beijing aims to capitalize on the Trump-induced coma of the … Read more
As China hosts execs from global tech companies at its World Internet Conference, human rights advocates are warning that online censorship in the country is only getting worse. Representatives of U. S. firms like Microsoft (MSFT, Tech30) and IBM (IBM, Tech30) will rub shoulders with their counterparts from Chinese tech giants like Alibaba (BABA, Tech30) … Read more
China’s most-wanted corruption suspect returned to China from the United States on Wednesday after turning herself in, a major victory for the ruling Communist Party’s overseas hunt for fugitive officials. Yang Xiuzhu, a former deputy director of Wenzhou’s construction bureau in the booming eastern province of Zhejiang, surrendered to Chinese authorities after spending 13 years … Read more