In The News

China’s Environmental Concerns Could Be GM Problem

Emanuele Berry February 14, 2014
Cars and other fossil fuel-using vehicles contribute to smog, and regulations to reduce notorious urban pollution in China could put a dent in GM and other foreign auto sales there. In recent years, GM has sold more cars in China than were sold in the United States during any years, notes Bruce M. Belzowski of the Transportation Research Institute at the University of Michigan, in the report....

Microsoft Blames “System Error,” Denies Censoring Chinese Search Results

Dominic Rushe February 13, 2014
Internet users, hungry for instant but complete information, often type a search term and check out top offerings. Depending on a user’s expertise, discrepancies or missing data may or may not be apparent. “On Tuesday, campaigners at FreeWeibo, a tool that allows uncensored search of Chinese blogs, revealed that Bing returns radically different results in the US for English and simplified Chinese...

China and Taiwan in First Government Talks

Martin Patience February 12, 2014
China and Taiwan have held high-level talks, the first since 1949, reports BBC News. “Beijing considers Taiwan part of its territory, insisting that it must be reunited with the mainland - by force, if necessary,” explains Martin Patience for BBC News. “For Taiwan, there is no ignoring China – the world's second largest economy.” Relations have improved since 2008 and the election of Taiwan...

Danger to Cities by the Sea

Aditi Sen January 28, 2014
Asia’s coastal megacities are among the most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, in particular the risk of coastal flooding. What makes cities like Jakarta, Manila or Bangkok so vulnerable is that they are heavily populated and among the least prepared, suggests Aditi Sen of Verified Carbon Standard. The organization aims to reduce greenhouse emissions and encourage quality assurance...

Chinese Journalists Face Marxist Ideology Exam

Jonathan Kaiman January 17, 2014
Leaders in China must be unnerved by assessments from Chinese journalists. The government will require them to pass an exam demonstrating an understanding of communist ideology in early 2014 to keep their press cards. The test is based on a 700-page manual that suggests “the relationship between the party and the news media is one of leader and the led,” reports Jonathan Kaiman for the Guardian....

Easing One-Child Policy May Be Too Late

Joseph Chamie January 7, 2014
A Chinese policy that generally limited families to one child has been revised: Couples can have two children if either spouse is an only child. But China may discover that increasing family size is tougher than reduction, warns demographer Joseph Chamie. “This mid-course correction in population policy will have marginal effect as China is aging at a much faster pace than occurred in other...

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,...