In The News

China's Color-Coded Crackdown

Yongding October 18, 2005
In response to the recent democratic "color" revolutions in Georgia, Ukraine, and Kyrgyzstan, the Chinese government is taking action to prevent similar uprisings in its own country. Under new "counterrevolution" measures approved by President Hu Jintao, censorship of web sites, books, and blogs has increased. But non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have borne the brunt of...

It Takes Two Hands to Clap

Ahmed Rashid October 6, 2005
Two days after Afghanistan's parliamentary elections in September, President Hamid Karzai boasted that his country "now has a constitution, a president, a parliament, and a nation fully participating in its destiny." But as journalist Ahmed Rashid writes, that is not exactly the case. Despite Karzai's previous promises of reform and nation-building, conditions in Afghanistan...

Il faut etre uni pour reconstruire

Ahmed Rashid October 6, 2005

The Railway Across the Roof of the World

Jonathan Watts September 21, 2005
They said it couldn't be done. The miles-high terrain of the Kunlun Range seemed no place for a railroad, yet the Chinese government forged ahead with plans for a route to the furthest reaches of Tibet. The 48-hour journey from Golmud to Lhasa, along the soon-to-be completed rail line, represents an opportunity for growth as well as a potentially dangerous expansion of China's...

Hail to the Chief

Hamish McDonald September 13, 2005
As Chinese President Hu Jintao prepares to visit New York for this week's UN summit, there appears to be anxiety in Washington over China's rapid rise. "Many US commentators are comparing China's rise to that of Japan early last century, the last time an Asian power seriously entered the big-power ranks," writes Hamish McDonald. With billions of dollars' worth of...

Central Asia's Energy Game Intensifies

Stephen Blank September 2, 2005
With China and India fiercely competing for accessible energy resources, the energy game in Central Asia has gained intensity in recent months. China attracted international attention last month when China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), a state-owned oil company, acquired PetroKazhakhstan, one of Kazakhstan's major energy producers. Meanwhile, India is following closely behind,...

Don't Let the Rose Revolution Wilt

Philip H. Gordon August 18, 2005
In November 2003, a frustrated population demanded the ouster of a corrupt and autocratic government. Georgia's Rose Revolution created a model for other peaceful regime changes, as later seen in Lebanon and the Ukraine. Despite its relative success, write Philip H. Gordon and Derek Chollet, Georgia's nascent government still lacks several elements essential for a stable democracy –...