the black China hand

With no eligible women in his village, Zhou Pin, 27 years old, thought he was lucky to find a pretty bride whom he met and married within a week, following the custom in rural China. Ten days later, Cai Niucuo vanished, leaving behind her clothes and identity papers. She did not, however, leave behind her bride price: 38,000 yuan, or about $5,500, which Mr. Zhou and his family had scrimped and borrowed to put together.

A combination of the One-Child Policy and the traditional Chinese love of male children has resulted in a social and public policy problem that will need to be resolved by the powers that be. I mean, a nation of men without a chance to get married can not be a good thing for China domestically or the world as a whole.

It’s Cold Cash, Not Cold Feet, Motivating Runaway Brides in China

While working as a reporter in Beijing during the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, he shot many photographs and recorded several hours of video. It wasn’t until weeks afterwards, when he had returned to Japan, that he discovered the magnitude of what he had captured.

Behind the Scenes: A New Angle on History

Twenty years ago, in the aftermath of the bloodshed in Beijing, when I first went into hiding, my mother had a stroke. It paralyzed one side of her face. I was 10 years in exile before my brother told me. I do not regret what we did in Beijing that year the Berlin wall fell, when there was so much hope of change in the air, but the deaths have haunted me for 20 years, and I want to hug my mother and tell her. “sorry”.

I was in China in on June 4th 1989. It was the day before my 21st birthday. This was my first time in China. I was studying in the coastal city of Dalian. I was young(er) and had a group of Chinese friends that I hung out with every weekend. In early May they (and all the students at the school) decided to ba ke (boycott class). The only students that continued studying were we, the international students. All 30 of us. The Chinese students, though they were far from the Beijing protests, supported the protests there as if they were themselves in the square. They gathers at Renmin Square in Dalian to make demands on the city government for more democracy. They marched from Heishijiao to Zhongshan Square to show their anger at corruption. Indeed, many, including those Chinese friends I hung out with, were supportive of the Beijing student leaders, especially one by the name of Wu’er Kaixi. Today, 20 years on Mr. Kaixi reflects on China now and then. Read on and get a glimpse into the mind of one of the “most wanted” protesters.

吾爾開希的流亡筆記

Check out this fairly “humorous” attempt by the Chinese government to impede a CNN journalist from reporting at Tian An Men on on the 20th Anniversary of the June 4, 1989 Protests.

General Motors has reached a preliminary agreement for the sale of its Hummer brand of large sport utility vehicles and pickup trucks to a machinery company in western China with ambitions to become a car maker, a person with knowledge of the Chinese government approval process said Tuesday.

The Hummer under Chinese leadership!?! Like the interaction of the characters in the movie Moscow on the Hudson, this automobile marriage is bound to be just as interesting and amusing to watch develop. Let’s hope both sides understand exactly what they’re getting into.

Chinese Company Said to Be Buyer of Hummer

Interesting update on the whos and hows of protesting in Modern China. (Apologies for the ad that runs before the report).

Nine hundred families already have been moved from Kashgar’s Old City, “the best-preserved example of a traditional Islamic city to be found anywhere in central Asia,” as the architect and historian George Michell wrote in the 2008 book “Kashgar: Oasis City on China’s Old Silk Road.” Over the next few years, city officials say, they will demolish at least 85 percent of this warren of picturesque, if run-down homes and shops.

I understand the need to make the city safe and protect lives but surely there must be a better way than razing the city. Furthermore, considering the smoldering tensions between the local Islamic citizens and the Han authorities (no love lost here), who could blame the locals for their anger and resentment. The project just smacks of ethnic cleansing and absolute thoughtlessness of the CCP’s powers that be.

To Protect an Ancient City, China Moves to Raze It

The deal that may give a group of Chinese investors a minority stake in the Cleveland Cavaliers and its arena signals the first significant investment in a major American sports franchise by investors from China.

Interesting. Very interesting! And what foresight. If Lebroon and the Cavs win it all, then the investment must pay some dividends. If not, then still your tied to one of the most dynamic players the NBA has every seen in such a small market (that is unless he goes to NY as some have suggested when his contract is up in Cleveland). Still, regardless of where Lebron ends up, this is, by my cursory review of the annals, the first time that Chinese investors had put it up for interest in an American team.

In Deal With Chinese Investors, Cavaliers Are Adding a Major Player

A week-long Guardian series offering a unique portrait of modern China, its politics, economy, society, environment and international relations through the eyes of migrant workers, business people, bloggers and officials.

An interesting reportage of contemporary China. Lot of good stories and insights within.

China at the crossroads

With the Saturday morning announcement of the nomination of Utah governor Jon Huntsman for appointment as the US Ambassador to China, I got to thinking about how many China Hands are in the Obama Administration. By my cursory count there are at least three (and counting): Huntsman, Gary Locke, Timothy Geithner. On deeper reflection, I got to thinking about the original group of people who coined the term China Hand (and in full self-disclosure, this is the group of people that inspired the name of this very blog). My reflection further lead to this short 1971 Times Magazine article describing two of the most well known of American China Hands (and the trials/tribulations that they went through). Enjoy.

The Old China Hands