How Xi Jinping is going back to Confucius to define China’s future

How Xi Jinping is going back to Confucius to define China’s future

For most of the 103-year history of the Communist Party of China, the teachings of the philosopher Confucius were deemed relics of a backwards past, with its leaders looking to Marxism and socialism to modernise China. But under President Xi Jinping’s leadership, Confucianism has made a dramatic comeback as the bedrock of imperial Chinese ethics … Read more

In mainland China, Taiwanese books wait in limbo as censors bolster publishing barriers

In mainland China, Taiwanese books wait in limbo as censors bolster publishing barriers

In August 2018, Taiwanese writer Lung Ying-tai’s collection of essays – mostly about her love for her mother – was published in mainland China. It became a bestseller. Lung, who served as Taiwan’s minister of culture from 2012 to 2014, sold nearly 300,000 copies of her book in mainland China – an astonishing figure for … Read more

Wu Bangguo, formerly China’s No 2 official, dies at age 83

Wu Bangguo, formerly China’s No 2 official, dies at age 83

Wu Bangguo, the former head of China’s top legislature, died in Beijing on Tuesday morning at the age of 83, official news agency Xinhua reported. Wu was one of China’s most powerful men between 2002 and 2012, serving as chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPC), the country’s top legislature, and … Read more

China’s third plenum highlights the quiet rise of political theorist Wang Huning

China’s third plenum highlights the quiet rise of political theorist Wang Huning

Wang, 68, stepped away from his ideology role and became chairman of political advisory body the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) last year. But he continues to serve on the Politburo Standing Committee, the party’s top decision-making body, where he was ideology and propaganda chief from 2017, in his first … Read more

China’s Communist Party officials used press coverage of corruption to undercut rivals, study of 2000-2014 data shows

China’s Communist Party officials used press coverage of corruption to undercut rivals, study of 2000-2014 data shows

Authors Ji Yeon Hong, associate professor of political science at the University of Michigan, and Leo Yang, a postdoctoral fellow at the Stanford Center on China’s Economy and Institutions, built a complex model to carry out their comparative analysis. The model showed that key provincial officials with ties to more influential central leaders – specifically … Read more