In The News

North Korean Purges Threaten Relations with China

Shim Jae Hoon December 18, 2013
The exercise of power is bizarre and tenuous in North Korea. Jang Song Thaek, second in command and uncle to dictator Kim Jong Un, was abruptly purged and executed. “Prospects of continuing purges loom, wiping out any lingering hopes that the Kim regime will follow the Chinese model and embark on economic reform,” explains journalist Shim Jae Hoon. The region, resentful about its desperate...

China Loses North Korea Link, But May Welcome Purge

December 13, 2013
Jang Song Thaek – uncle and mentor to North Korea’s young dictator, described as the regime’s second most powerful member after Kim Jong Un – was charged with treason and promptly executed. The swift purge demonstrates ruthless, tenuous power in the impoverished, isolated nation. Jang, 67, was described as a link between North Korea and Beijing. “In the two years since the death of Kim Jong-il,...

The Banal Reality of Censoring Books in China

David Austin Walsh October 28, 2013
Once a publisher accepts a book – editors and translators polish manuscripts, make corrections and offer suggestions on conciseness, logic or word choice. Some writers suggest that Chinese publishers go too far. “More authors and publishers are willing to accept censorship because the Chinese market is increasingly lucrative, even for university presses and trade publishers,” explains David...

End of Silk Road as FBI Shuts Down Illicit Website

Stuart Pfeifer, Shan Li, Walter Hamilton October 7, 2013
Since the days of the Roman Empire, traders traveled a network of routes winding from China and India to the Mediterranean Sea, known as the Silk Road. A young entrepreneur relied on the name in launching an internet site in 2011 that peddled illegal drugs, and other products and services. The US Federal Bureau of Investigation closed the site and arrested Ross William Ulbricht. The Los Angeles...

Bo Xilai Conviction Will Do Little to Curb Corruption

Zhiwu Chen September 24, 2013
China’s officials discourage public debate about corruption, regarding it as criticism of Communist Party rule, yet some abuses of power can’t escape attention, notably those associated with Bo Xilai, the popular former party chief of Chongqing, who has received a life sentence for bribery. The trial avoided years of systematic abuses, and so far, President Xi Jinping is following old trends,...

With Labs Pumping Out Legal Highs, China Is New Front in Global Drug War

Charlie Campbell September 18, 2013
Factories in China are rapidly manufacturing synthetic drugs, meant to mimic the effects of illegal substances like marijuana or cocaine. The drugs, untested for health and safety, are sold around the world labeled as bath salts or plant food. New to regulators, the substances remain legal until health issues, including deaths, are reported. The US Drug Enforcement Administration describes,...

Russia Issues International Travel Advisory to Its Hackers

Kevin Poulsen September 10, 2013
US-Russian relations are strained over revelations about US surveillance programs and Russia’s decision to provide temporary asylum to a former NSA contract worker who exposed details on US electronic spying capabilities. Russia’s Foreign Ministry issued a public notice advising citizens against travel abroad, especially to countries with extradition agreements with the United States, reports...