A Sliver of Hope?

<正>Conditions have improved in Syria,but challenges still lie ahead on the path to peace Since March 2011,the prolonged war in Syria has become a nightmare haunting its people and delivering each of them the bitter taste of terror.As the Syrian conflict enters its seventh year,some positive changes have occurred.Will the Syrian people seize the sliver of hope for peace?     

Bridging the Gap? An investigation of Beijing intellectual house church activities and their implications for China's democratization

This article investigates the link between Christian belief and the fight for political change in today's China focusing on the activities of certain Beijing house churches. It formulates the hypothesis that Chinese Christian intellectuals may be able to fulfil a special ‘bridge-function’ in Chinese society. This hypothesis is tested against evidence based on a close reading of two Beijing house church publications (Aiyan and Fangzhou) and interviews with intellectuals closely associated with these as well as ‘ordinary’ Christian intellectuals. Areas investigated include education, urban–rural co-operation, the demographic make-up of congregations, the Christian understanding of liberalism, and the activities of Chinese Christian human rights attorneys. It comes to the conclusion that while Christian intellectuals have great potential to play an important role in China's process of democratization, their most prominent members continue the splittist tradition of previous dissident groups while the more meaningful work is undertaken by unknown Christians away from the spotlight.     

Is It the Right Place for a Statue of Confucius?

<正>On January 11 this year, a bronze 7.9-meter-tall statue of Confucius (551-479 B.C.) was unveiled in front of the renovated National Museum of China in Beijing. The erection of this statue in such a prominent     

Is There“Backsliding”in China's Human Rights?——On US-China Dispute over Human Rights

On March 30. 2004, the Information Office of the State Council of China issued a white paper entitled Progress in China's Human Rights Cause in 2003. This is the seventh white paper ever published by the Office to expound China's human rights conditions and its views since 1991, when it first issued Human Rights in China. Based on solid facts, the latest Chinese white paper on human rights, as well as the previous ones, elaborates convincingly the efforts made by the Chinese government to promote and protect human rights and progress in China's human rights conditions, refuting the alleged "China's backsliding in human rights" made up by the US government.     

Is the Chinese Economy Nearing A Downturn?

People’s Daily: What is the meaning some necessary macro-controls, which have of an economic inflection point? been shown to be gradually effective over Wang Tongsan: Academically, an the last few months. Next year, the effects of inflection point can be explained in the fol- macro-controls will be more obvious. It is lowing way. When we look at the econom- expected that the economic growth rate will ic growth rate over a two-year period, it be around 10 percent in 2007, probably doesn’t m…     

What Affects China's National Image? A cross-national study of public opinion

This paper investigates macro-level sources of variations across countries regrading China's national image, as measured by the proportion of the public in each of 35 countries that expressed a favorable view of China in the 2007 Pew Global Attitudes Survey. It turns out that several expected factors have no significant measurable impact on China's image: not the extent of strategic ties between China and a given country; not the political system of that country; not the extent of Chinese investment in the country; and not the number of Confucius institutes and classrooms in that country. The only macro-level factor we find to affect China's image in a country is that country's level of economic and social development, as measured by the UN Human Development Index. Controlling for the other factors, publics in poor or developing countries are much more likely to have a favorable image of China than publics in economically advanced countries. Some implications of our findings are discussed.     

Is the Game of Flattery Compliments Praiseworthy?

There is a new craze among young people—flocking to so-called kuakuaqun, or flattery groups, on the Internet, where they praise one an other, at times even paying to be exaggeratedly complimented.     

Moving Beyond Sovereignty? A brief consideration of recent changes in China's approach to international order and the emergence of the tianxia concept

This article examines recent trends in the evolution of elite Chinese foreign policy discussions about the normative organizing principles that should ground contemporary international politics. It finds that a pragmatic emphasis on sovereignty, albeit as a right which is flexible and far from sacrosanct, still maintains a core position within Chinese thinking in this regard. However, at the same time, a surprising reconstitution of an old world view has begun to take shape in China. More specifically, the tianxia (all-under-heaven) concept has emerged as a new reference point for some Chinese deliberations on the normative structure of international relations. While such a perspective is still of secondary importance within Chinese international relations circles, its emergence suggests that a potentially far-reaching, if still inchoate, reconsideration of international order is underway in China. Moreover, such a development may have broad ranging implications for the security dynamic that takes shape in Asia in the coming years.     

Is the Cause of Professional Fraud Fighters Authentic?

<正>Dear Readers,Forum is a column that provides a space for varying perspectives on contemporary Chinese society.We invite you to submit personal viewpoints on past and current topics(in either English or Chinese).yanwei@bjreview.com Please provide your name and address along with your comments     

Is the Dearth of Young Rural Labor Worrisome?

正Dear Readers,Forum is a column that provides a space for varying perspectives on contemporary Chinese society.We invite you to submit personal viewpoints on past and current topics(in either English or Chinese).yanwei@bjreview.com Please provide your name and address along with your comments Recently,a study by the Beijing-based Economic Information Daily found that in many Chinese provinces—such as Jiangxi,Anhui,Sichuan and Hubei—there are few young people to be seen in rural areas.     

A Summary of the Seminar on “Construction of China's Human Rights Discourse System in the New Era”

A seminar on Construction of China's human Rights discourse System in the new era was held in Central South University(CSU) on April 12, 2018. The event was sponsored by the China Society for human Rights Studies and the Publicity department of the hunan Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China, and hosted by the CSU Research Center for human Rights and the CSU School of law. nearly 70 experts and scholars in law, international relations, and communication from institutes of higher learning, research institutions, and practical work departments from around the country shared their opinions on three topics: Cultivation of a Chinese human Rights discourse System in the new era, Communication of the Chinese human Rights discourse in the new era, and Chinese human Rights discourse and International human Rights Governance in the new era. They conducted an in-depth discussion on enhancing human rights self-confidence, grasping the characteristics of the new era and the general development trend, consolidating consensus between domestic and overseas human rights discourses, and effectively carrying out international human rights exchanges. Fully reflecting the in-depth thinking and insights of attending experts and scholars on the matter, the seminar effectively promoted the development of research on Construction of China's human rights discourse system in the new era.     

A Tragedy of the Nomenklatura? Career incentives,political loyalty and political radicalism during China's Great Leap Forward

We review James Kung and Shuo Chen's study, published in the American Political Science Review, on the causes of China's Great Leap Famine (1959–1961). Kung and Chen explain the variations in provincial leaders' radicalism on the basis of the career incentives facing the provincial First Secretaries. In this article, we question the validity of their basic assumptions and also uncover serious issues with the Kung and Chen dataset. We conclude that their empirical findings were based on faulty foundations. Our alternative hypothesis instead explains the dynamics of political radicalism during the Great Leap Forward in terms of the provincial leaders' political loyalty to Mao. Our findings point to the significance of political networks in influencing the behavior of elites and, by extension, political and socio-economic outcomes.     

Is the ‘Circuit Breaker' to Blame for the Stock Market Fall?

正In an effort to tame the frenzied stock market last year,the China Securities Regulatory Commission(CSRC)implemented a"circuit breaker"mechanism to mitigate the impact of future fluctuations.The mechanism started operating on January 4,but was subsequently responsible for the early end of the first day of trading in 2016.(Editor’s note:China has introduced the"circuit breaker"mechanism to follow the Hushen     

Is Real-Name Registration A Must for HIV/AIDS Tests?

正The Center for Disease Control and Prevention of Central China's Hunan Province announced on February 9 that real-name registration might be required for HIV/AIDS testst his year.     

Why Is China Supposed to Be Responsible for the World?

People's Daily: The point of China's responsibilities is to describe China as the original cause of world economic imbalances, blaming China's inaction in stimulating global economic recovery.What do you think about it?     

China Is in?the?Mind of Every Arab and Muslim

正CHINA has a strong relationship with Kuwait,characterized by continuous improvements and mutual respect.To shed more light on these relations,China Today sat down with Kuwait’s Ambassador to the People’s Republic of China Mohammed Saleh Ahmed Al-Thuwaikh.