The Man Who Loved China by Simon Winchester. Harper Collins. US$27.95 There was, toward the end of China’s last dynasty, a widely held belief in the West that this strange and faraway country was backwards, devoid of scientific interest and lacking in technological sophistication. Whatever China had learnt in the last few millennia (how to […]
Category: Politics & Society
Despite earlier promises that foreign journalists covering the Olympic Games would have unrestricted internet access, China is blocking sites it considers sensitive, the Financial Times reports. China blocks its own citizens from viewing sites it deems politically sensitive. But earlier this month Jacques Rogge, head of The International Olympic Committee, said China had promised free […]
Foreign-owned hotels in China face "severe retaliation" if they refuse to install government software that can spy on internet use by hotel guests during the Olympics, AP quoted a US lawmaker as saying. Republican Senator Sam Brownback of Kansas produced a document from China’s Public Security Bureau that requires hotels to use the monitoring equipment. […]
Here’s a bit of pre-Olympic anxiety for you: No matter how many gold medals the Chinese team grabs in Beijing next month, or how many records its athletes set, they won’t make up for the woes of the Chinese men’s soccer team, writes history professor and author Xu Guoqi in today’s Washington Post: The real […]
A group opposed to Chinese rule in the western region of Xinjiang claimed responsibility for bombings around China, saying they were part of a campaign targeting the Beijing Olympics, the Financial Times reported. The video released by a group calling itself the "Turkestan Islamic Party" drew skepticism from Chinese police, who told state media on […]