Not registered gatherings of religious believers have been a major force in the growing search for religion in China, but – says author Ian Johnson of The Souls of China: The Return of Religion After Mao in the Atlantic – they have largely been condoned by the government, and Johnson does not believe that might change.Read More →
The internet in China has become the country’s public sphere, says China watcher Kaiser Kuo, former Baidu communication director, at the Paulson Institute. Despite blocked websites and government control, it is the place where netizens express their opinions and discuss.Read More →
Mark Zuckerberg caused quite some controversy when plans emerged to censor Facebook to facilitate a possible return for the company to China again. Whether you agree or disagree, the way China censors the internet is more than just blocking a few Western sites, and will not go away, says internet expert Kaiser Kuo in ChinaFile.Read More →
Many have been remembering in 2016 the anniversary of both start and finish of the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976), and many scholars used the moment to publish their views on this ground-shattering event in the country´s recent history. Journalist Ian Johnson, author of the upcoming book The Souls of China: The Return of Religion After Mao reviews some of the milestones in the troublesome academic research for ChinaFile.Read More →
Western internet companies have a troublesome history in China, but – says internet veteran Kaiser Kuo in the Technology Review – Facebook has a bigger chance to reenter China than Google. “Google is not trusted.”Read More →
Award-winning journalist Ian Johnson reports in ChinaFile on the monthly trip poet Liu Xia makes to visit her husband, Nobel price winner Lui Xiaobo, and her slowly increasing production of new poems. “A small, fragile woman with extremely short-cropped hair that sets off her high cheekbones and bright, wide eyes.”Read More →
Should we link to firewalled content or not, we asked earlier in the week. At the China Speakers Bureau we have a policy of not linking to content behind any kind of firewall, financial or otherwise, because that would create a barrier for our readers and potential client. But from the reactions we learned tot not all support that policy. It does mean we miss out good content, for example from the Financial Times, and a part of the Wall Street Journal. But many more media try to survive by – what we see as outdated – subscription models to support journalism.Read More →
The surprise alliance between makes perfect sense, says retail analyst Ben Cavender to Reuters. Sony gets more access to the huge Chinese movie market, and Wanda to Hollywood. And we might expect more tie-up between Chinese companies and global players.Read More →
Ai Xiaoming is one of China´s leading documentary makers, and all of them are officially banned in the country. Journalist Ian Johnson sits down with her for the NY Review of Books and discusses how it is to make banned documentaries, and (amongst many other subjects) why China has no intellectuals.Read More →
Americans believe that China´s censorship at the internet is stifling creativity in the tech industry. Wrong, says tech commentator Kaiser Kuo who recently left internet giant Baidu as communication director to return on the US in the Washington Post.Read More →
The 50-year anniversary of the Cultural Revolution has passed mostly in silence. China media mentioned briefly the event was with hindsight not a good idea, much of the families of Chinese leader – including the Xi family – suffered from it, but talking to victims is not easy discovered the Globe&Mail. Author Zhang Lijia comments.Read More →
The USTR, the United State Trade Representative, has qualified the Chinese Great Firewall, blocking and filtering internet traffic, as a trade barrier. Analyst Sara Hsu is not that sure, and suggests more research to find this our, in the Diplomat.Read More →