A Matter of Public Interest

A traditional Chinese saying goes, “Married daughters are the water splashed out,” meaning in a patriar- chal system, a married woman is the property of her husband’s family and has nothing to do with her parents’ family. Old biases die hard. The same…     

A ‘Mansion’ Makeover

The latest remaking of a classic novel has sparked debates over whether commercial production methods can convey its essence     

A‘Fruitful’Exchange

Cross-strait agricultural trade should have a promising future, but obstacles remain "Suppose every mainlander eats a mango. That would amount to 1.3 billion man-goes, far exceeding the total output of mangoes in a year in Taiwan," Lien Sheng-wen, a member of the Kuomintang (KMT) Central Standing Committee and son of Lien Chan, former chairman of the KMT, said during a Taiwan fruit promotion event in Shanghai in     

A Snubbed ‘Family Member’

CCTV’s annual Spring Festival Gala is no longer a must to watch on the eve of the Lunar New Year,but merely one of various entertainment choices open to the Chinese     

Britain's ‘betrayal’ of Hong Kong: A second look

Claims of British bungling and betrayal were repeatedly raised during the prolonged run‐up to the 1997 Hong Kong handover. This paper seeks to evaluate such claims. It examines five controversial episodes of reputed British mishandling of the Hong Kong transition: (1) Governor Murray MacLehose's reputed double faux pas of March 1979, when the governor first putatively erred by prematurely (and unnecessarily) raising the ‘1997 question’ in a routine meeting with Deng Xiaoping and then compounded his error by misrepresenting Deng's less‐than‐reassuring response; (2) Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's 1982 miscalculation in requesting a 50‐year extension of the New Territories lease when it was already abundantly clear that Chinese leaders regarded the original lease as ‘unequal'—and therefore non‐binding; (3) Britain's 1987 decision to unilaterally postpone Hong Kong's first direct legislative elections, a decision defended on the disingenuous grounds that government surveys had revealed a majority of the Hong Kong public to be opposed to rapid democratization; (4) Britain's ostensible failure, in the aftermath of the 1989 Tiananmen debacle, to secure the inclusion of adequate democratic safeguards in the final draft of the Hong Kong Basic Law, completed early in 1990; and (5) Governor Chris Patten's ill‐starred democratic reform initiatives of 1992–95, which sharply reversed Britain's previous ‘convergence’ policy and ultimately led to the derailing of Hong Kong's vaunted ‘through train’. Examining available evidence on these five episodes (and one or two other, related cases), this paper argues that despite occasional, palpable policy miscalculations and a notable lack of official candor, Britain did not do serious harm to the vital interests of Hong Kong. On the contrary, the paper argues, given the substantial advantage in resources and leverage enjoyed by the Chinese side throughout the transition period, a more favorable outcome could hardly have been achieved. The one residual allegation of British betrayal that cannot readily be countered, however, is the charge that racism within Britain's ruling Conservative Party—manifested in Parliamentary legislation severely restricting the flow of immigrants from British colonial territories—played a significant role in the British Government's choice of tactics in dealing with the ‘1997 question’.     

‘Maverick’ of the Internet

In a Starbuc ks shop in Beijing at the end of 2004,a 30-something man named Yang Bo could be found wor king on his laptop every day with a cup of coffee at hand.A few months late r,he launched a website called Douban.com,whi c h now many Interne t us e r …     

Secrets of the ‘King of Cable’

From watch repairman to cable magnate, Jiang Xipei takes success in his stride Jiang Xipei, Chairman of Far East Group, has worked his way up from being an ordinary watch repairman to being China's "King of Cable"-leading his company to a ranking of 30th in the 2006 Hurun IT Magnates List. He has undertak- en corporate restructuring on four occasions, and plays an active role in     

Implications of The ‘New Normal’

<正>Slowing growth rates in both developed and emerging economies will pose challenges in 2015 The global economy faces an uncertain future in 2015,marked with the prospect of weak growth.Challenges include a potential rate hike by the Federal Reserve,low bulk commodity prices in the international market and growing risksamong emerging economies.These trends     

A ‘Gold Mine’ for Foreign Investors

正In 2019,expanding foreign investment inflow was one of the bright spots in the Chinese economy,revealing that the country remains a major magnet for worldwide investors.Since the beginning of that year,China maintained a stable and upward trend in attracting foreign capital with more major foreign-invested projects worth billions or even tens of billions of dollars,said Meng Wei,spokesperson for the National Development and Reform Commission,on December 17,2019.Just a day later,128 deals with a combined investment of over 560 billion yuan($80 billion) were signed at a global investment promotion conference in Shenzhen in the southern province of Guangdong     

‘丁村人’與‘丁村文化’

一九五三年,山西襄汾縣丁村村南的汾河東岸,發現了一些動物化石。經過山西省文物管理部門進一步調查,又获得了原始牛角、象的下頜骨、犀牛和馬的牙齒等化石,還有人工打擊的石片等。一九五四年秋,中國科學院古脊椎動物与古人類研究所同山西省文物管理部門等單位組成發掘隊,在這里又進行了系統的調查發掘。他們在以丁村為中心的長达十一公里、寬五公里的地段内,發現大批石器、動物化石和三枚人類牙齒化石。經古人類學家鑒定,这三枚牙齒,一為上内側門齒,一為右下二臼齒,另一為右上外側門齒,均属于一个十二三岁儿童个体的;从齒冠較高、體積較小、嚼面紋理不甚複雜及石化程度等特徵考證,比較早發現的‘北京猿人’進步,而比現代人原始,属于人类发展史上的古人階段的一種人類,故命名為‘丁村人’。     

‘良心’为何遭此‘围攻’

中央电视台《经济半小时》在《对话》栏目请吴敬琏先生从"问题"的角度谈了自己对股市的一些认识和看法,目的十分明确,即希望中国的股市走向规范健康,为投资者提供畅通和较为安全的投资渠道。但万万没有料到,吴敬琏先生当时的一番言论却引起了轩然大波,遭到许多媒体、学者、股民甚至重量级经济学家的"围追堵截"。有人指责他的"言论"有操纵股市之嫌,是最近股市下跌的直接"导火索";有人指责他"情绪化"、"偏激不专业"、"不是股民,没资格谈股市";甚至有些经济学家还给他戴了不少帽子,认为他"反感股市","否定股市的成就",暗含着否定"国企改革和改革开放"的意思。     

Who Benefits From A ‘Cooling-off Period?’

China's Law on the Protection of Consumer Rights and Interests,which has been in place for 15 years,will soon undergo a major amendment.According to Professor Liu Junhai at Beijing-based Renmin     

From the Language of Class to the Rhetoric of Development: discourses of ‘nationality’ and ‘ethnicity’ in China

In the People's Republic of China's (PRC) continuous state-building project since its establishment in 1949, the notion of nation and nationality (minzu) has been uninterruptedly utilised by the leading elite in its political programmes. The notion of the ‘nationality question’ (minzu wenti) was employed especially for addressing the issues of the officially identified minority nationalities at the time when the multinational nature of the state was made fundamental. However, how a multinational character of the Chinese state is interpreted by the state elite and how this interpretation is shaped by their policies have arguably changed along with the political and economic preferences of the regime. This paper aims to explore the meaning of ‘nationality question’ during the period of socialist construction, and traces the shift in its notion during the reform period which started in the 1970s. The essay pays attention to the change in the preferred corresponding English term of minzu wenti. I argue that the substitution of the ‘nationality question’ term, which was dominant during the socialist period, with the concept of the ‘ethnic question’ during the reform period points not only to the changing character of the government policies towards minorities, but also legitimises them as the only suitable and rightful in the context of economic reforms.     

Judicial Reform in Interest of Human Rights

In performing its duties, the Chinese Government has always followed the principle of "governing the country in the interest of the people," and attached importance to respect for and protection of human rights to which the Chinese people are entitled. Social and economic conditions for protecting human rights have kept improving over the past two decades, in step with the constant growth of the national strength under the state policy of reform and opening up to the outside world. Moreover, the 15th Congress of the Chinese Communist Party established "rule of law" as the fundamental principle for governance of the country and called for a judicial reform to better protect the legitimate rights and interests of the Chinese people. Judicial organs across the country have yielded positive results in implementing the principle and the reform.     

当官的‘大’‘小’事

最近,浙江省衢州市市委书记蔡奇到省会杭州推销20几个“衢州保姆”。对这件事,衢州有人评论说,市委书记应该琢磨大事,管全局,搞些沽名钓誉的小事,有失身份。但本人对蔡书记的所为拍手称快。 群众利益无小事。凡是涉及群众切身利益和实际困     

A Tour of Beijing‘s Distinctive Streets

ON weekends and public holidays Beijing people used to converge upon large shopping centers and plazas, such as Dongdan, Xidan, the Zhongyou Department Store and SOGO. Nowadays, however, it is the streets of Beijing that have particular characteristics, a…     

The Grasslands of Inner Mongolla-Land of the ‘Big Sky’

Mongolian people are known as the 'ethnic group on horse back' - the traditional image of nomadic people moving slowly with great flocks of sheep. People who slept in easily erected circular "yurts"- tents covered with heavy felt. In today's modern Inner Mongolia although this old lifestyle is rapidly disappearing it can still be experienced.From the capital, Hohhot, a tree-lined road known locally as "The Snake"     

‘时间就是金钱’‘效率就是生命’

党的十二届三中全会《决定》指出:“社会主义的根本任务就是发展社会生产力,就是要使社会财富越来越多地涌现出来,不断地满足人民日益增长的物质和文化需要。”深圳青年提出了:“时间就是金钱,效率就是生命”这个口号。经过实践证明,这个口号是完全符合党的《决定》的。过去,人们把“时间就是金钱,效率就是生命”,视为资本主义的特产,似乎社会主义可以不讲时间,不讲效率。因此,“上班磨洋工,下班打冲锋。”成了一种通病。诚然,资本家提出了类似的口号,但他们是为了从工人身上榨取血汗,攫取更多的剩余价值。我们社会主义却是要创造出比资本主义更高的劳动生产率,使生     

From‘Competitor'''' to‘Stakeholder’

Change in diplomatic parlance hints at a further warming of Sino-U.S. ties, even as differences continue If there is one word that has emerged as a keyword in Sino-U.S. relations since 2005, that is "stakeholder." It first came up in a speech last September by U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick, who proposed that China be a "responsible stakeholder" in the international system. To many experts in international studies, it indicated that Washington was setting     

YADU:A Step Forward to a‘Green Olympics’

Ensuring that indoor air is fresh and safe is a growing concern among the public. Such a task will become easier for the 2008 Olympic Games, now that Beijing YADU Indoor Environmental Protection Science and technology Co. Ltd. has been selected as the exclusive air humidifier and purifier supplier by the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the