In The News

Games Tensions on Slippery Track

Jason Dean April 28, 2008
Criticism of China’s human-rights record and Tibet policy has provoked an active defense among Chinese people. Without government direction, a strong wave of nationalist sentiment has driven boycotts of Western multinational corporations whose shareholders support the Free Tibet movement, as well as protests outside media outlets deemed to have reported on the issue with bias. In a year that the...

China Ascendant – Part I

Bertil Lintner April 25, 2008
Athletes and Chinese guards bearing the Olympic torch cut a swath through those supporting and protesting a rising China. In this series, YaleGlobal examines the impact of China’s ascendancy. China’s economic growth has given it new resources which, when doled out internationally, have the power to shift diplomatic allegiances. In Southeast Asia, China relies on a strategy of giving below-market...

The Need for Unanimity in China Exacts a Hidden Price

Howard W. French April 24, 2008
By scheduling the Olympics in Beijing, China and the rest of the world anticipated cooperation and new understanding of the other’s ways. Instead, disagreements over human rights in Tibet and subsequent media coverage have unleashed bitter criticism all around. Perhaps most alarming for the West: the intense anger displayed by Chinese citizens on the internet, defending China’s crackdown on...

Talking to Ourselves

Susan Jacoby April 23, 2008
The best ideas emerge when people hear out all opposing points of view. Unfortunately, Americans are less willing to attend lectures, read books or listen to radio that might offer new points of view. Instead, many increasingly read or listen to commentary that reinforces their beliefs. “Indeed, virtually everywhere I speak, 95% of the audience shares my political and cultural views – and...

China May Give Up Attempt to Send Arms to Zimbabwe

Celia W. Dugger April 23, 2008
Trade may seem like a neutral affair, but certain products – like arms – can raise alarms. A South African high court has barred the shipment of arms to Zimbabwe, with the latter divided over recent election results. South African leaders expressed concern that the arms could be used against the opposition party that, by some reports, won the election, write Celia Dugger and David Barboza for the...

We Can Accept Israel as Neighbor, Says Hamas

Rory McCarthy April 22, 2008
Peace comes by way of tiny little steps in the Middle East, moving forward and backward with diplomatic and military acts. The leader of Hamas said that his group would “respect Palestinian national will,” even if that meant some form of a Palestinian-Israeli peace agreement, during a meeting arranged by former US President Jimmy Carter. Currently, two rival parties, Fatah and Hamas, are deeply...

Battleground Over Globalization

Robert McMahom April 22, 2008
The presidential candidates repeatedly describe some voters as “real Americans” and “the lifeblood of this country.” Even for those voters, American” issues are international issues. Debates over NAFTA take center stage in industrial hotspots like Pennsylvania and Ohio, where steelworkers and other blue-collar communities harbor justifiable fears over how the trade deal has affected the US...