Duncan Hewitt reviews two important – and laconically witty – new books about China’s faultlines and prospects
28 Apr 13 Comments (0)The impossible dream
There’s a paradox at the heart of Xi Jinping’s new political maxim, writes James Leibold in Beijing
22 Apr 13 Comments (0)Imbalance of power
Despite the cuts, the United States will remain the world’s military giant for the foreseeable future, writes Andy Butfoy
05 Apr 13 Comments (0)Four dishes, one soup
There’s austerity in the air as China’s parliament meets, but has anything else changed, asks James Leibold in Beijing
13 Mar 13 Comments (0)Richer, more contentious, more powerful and more confusing
China is changing fast but its greatest challenges remain the same. And at the centre is the blackest of black boxes, writes Kerry Brown
13 Feb 13 Comments (1)
Androgenetic alopecia at the eighteenth party congress
There are plenty of full heads of hair in the new Politburo, but few of them are women’s, reports Antonia Finnane
19 Nov 12 Comments (2)Waiting for the great eighteenth
On the eve of China’s eighteenth party congress, life in Beijing is changing in increasingly obvious ways, writes Antonia Finnane
02 Nov 12 Comments (0)A Chinese constitutionalist and the state of the nation
The latest biography of Liang Qichao reveals a man of his times with a new significance for present-day China, writes Antonia Finnane in Beijing
17 Oct 12 Comments (0)Chinese whispers
A new book offers a tentative view of the largely uncharted terrain of public opinion in China, writes Kerry Brown
04 Oct 12 Comments (0)Between economy and security?
The forty years since Australia established relations with China have been about a lot more than trade and defence, writes Antonia Finnane
01 Oct 12 Comments (0)“Our society’s ability to present truth to itself is gradually disappearing”
An influential Chinese intellectual is arguing that only a freer and more diverse media can rebuild the credibility of government, reports Duncan Hewitt in Shanghai
25 Sep 12 Comments (0)The price of China
Hugh White offers a provocative but not entirely persuasive account of the implications of China’s growing strength, writes Geoffrey Barker
14 Aug 12 Comments (0)Like something out of the Cultural Revolution
Official China is ambivalent about Mao’s legacy, writes Duncan Hewitt in Shanghai
08 Jun 12 Comments (1)The sound of silence in Tiananmen Square
Twenty-three years after the massacre, the events of 4 June 1989 are still off limits, writes Antonia Finnane in Beijing
07 Jun 12 Comments (1)King Midas in China
While the media was gripped by the Bo Xilai scandal, the story of another privileged child of a Communist Party official was unfolding on the internet, writes Antonia Finnane in Beijing
23 May 12 Comments (0)Road to democracy? Yu Jianrong’s blueprint for China
In Beijing, Antonia Finnane looks at a ten-year plan for a staged transition to constitutional democracy
22 Apr 12 Comments (2)Easter in Beijing
After Tomb-sweeping day, the Chinese capital returned to normal, writes Antonia Finnane, except for the city’s Christians
10 Apr 12 Comments (1)“Asianising” education: the China option?
If we want to engage or compete with universities in Asia, we need to be clear about the aims of our own education system, writes Antonia Finnane
26 Mar 12 Comments (3)On Green Lotus Street
Shanghai doesn’t understand the appeal of its oldest precinct, writes Duncan Hewitt
01 Feb 12 Comments (0)
