In The News

US Imposes New Sanctions on China

May 23, 2003
Even though the new US embargo is not the first of its kind against China, it is the biggest in scope and it comes only a week before the two countries’ leaders meet in Russia. China sold weapons to Iran during its conflict with Iraq in the 80’s, but the US says a more recent arms sale breaks a weapons proliferation agreement reached between the US and China in 2000. The trade sanctions are...

HK Researchers say Civet Likely Source of Sars

May 23, 2003
After months on a heightened state of alert due to the global spread of Sars, Hong Kong University's claim to have found the source of this respiratory disease is considered a "significant breakthrough." According to findings from genetic information, the virus responsible for Sars, coronavirus, has been "jumping from the Civet cat to humans." Civet belongs to the same...

The Rise of the Net Dissidents in China

Frank Ching May 22, 2003
In a society where sensitive topics are avoided, virtual space has provided the Chinese people an online civil society where they can be more anonymous and enjoy more freedom of speech. However, the government is also catching up on it, employing tens of thousands of people to monitor web forums and chat-rooms all over China. While most governmental websites are still strictly controlled, more...

North Korea Is Said to Export Drugs to Get Foreign Currency

James Dao May 21, 2003
In order to increase the country's foreign currency reserves, North Korea has been exporting large quantities of drugs to foreign countries, a North Korean defector told lawmakers in Washington, DC. American intelligence officials believe that a big proportion of the money has been used to finance the country's nuclear programs, as well as production of traditional weapons, which...

WHO Shoots Down Assembly Entry Bid

Melody Chen May 20, 2003
China again succeeded in mobilizing its allies to block Taiwan's bid for observership at the World Health Assembly (WHA), the highest decision body of the World Health Organization (WHO). Taiwan's bid was rejected for the seventh time in a row. This year, however, because of the Sars outbreak, many countries decided to back Taiwan up "for humanitarian sake." Taiwan officials...

Vietnam Cutting Back on Coffee to Ease Glut

Jason Folkmanis May 19, 2003
After increasing coffee production more than six-fold in the past ten years to becoming the world's second biggest coffee producer, Vietnam is now trying to decrease its farmers' reliance on coffee. Global prices are simply too low to justify coffee's large role in Vietnam's agriculture, say officials. – YaleGlobal

Diagnosing SARS in China

May 19, 2003
Highly critical of the Hu government's handling of the SARS epidemic in China, this New York Times editorial's charges are many. Mainly Hu is belittled for not disclosing accurate statistics and for taking punitive measures, thereby turning to "depressingly familiar Communist methods of exhortation and regimentation" instead of looking to modernize China's political...