Year: 2018

China Making Overtures to Japan as US Hopes to Negotiate Free Trade Deal

While Washington and Tokyo prepare for talks on a bilateral free trade agreement between the world’s first and third largest economies, the Chinese communist regime is trying to appeal to Japanese officials and businessmen in its efforts to stave off the worst effects of the ongoing Sino-U.S. trade…
Communist Policies Hurt China’s Coastal Economy as US Tariffs Loom

The Chinese private sector, having grown extensively in the last several decades, is now on the verge of collapse as China’s communist authorities squeeze companies for profits, and as Beijing maintains an unyielding stance in the Sino-U.S. trade war. Private businesses along the affluent Chinese…
Mike Pence’s Speech Signals a Historic Shift in Its US China Policy

On Oct. 4, U.S. Vice President Mike Pence delivered a 40-minute speech at the Hudson Institute in Washington, D.C., laying out the Trump administration’s stance on China. Pence’s remarks signal a new direction in Washington’s relations with the world’s most…
US Sanctions China for Buying Russian Jets and Missiles

The U.S. State Department has imposed sanctions on a Chinese military company, citing its breach of previous sanctions targeting Russia for its interference in the 2016 U.S. election. China’s Equipment Development Department (EDD), which is responsible for procuring weapons and military technology from other countries,…
Taiwan Buying American Soybeans Amid Sino-US Trade War

Trade officials of the Republic of China (Taiwan) have signed a letter announcing that they will purchase US$1.56 billion worth of soybeans from farms in Minnesota and Iowa, Reuters reported on Sept. 27, citing a statement made by Minnesota’s governor Mark Dayton. The letter of…
Is North Korea Drifting Away From China?

North and South Korea, created by the splitting of the Korean Peninsula into communist and non-communist regimes, have been in a technical state of war ever since the end of the Korean War (1950-1953), which ended in a ceasefire, not a peace treaty. The reason…
Legends of the Mid-Autumn Festival

After the Lunar New Year, the second-most important Chinese holiday is the zhongqiujie (中秋節), or Mid-Autumn Festival. It is a festival for a reunion under the full moon that often appears on the 15thday of the eighth lunar month, which is the day…
Why Chinese Eat Mooncakes

One of the most well-known staples of the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival is the mooncake, called yuebing (月餅) in Chinese. While the name “mooncake” goes back only to the Tang Dynasty over a millennium ago, the basic concept has been around since the…
The Chinese Government Paints a New Picture of the Cultural Revolution

The decade-long Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) was one of the Chinese communist dictator Mao Zedong’s largest political campaigns. Mao mobilized throngs of youth into the fanatical Red Guards, terrorizing or killing millions of people while destroying China’s traditional culture and heritage. The Cultural Revolution was so…
The Fall of China’s Superstar Fan Bingbing

China’s top-paid actress Fan Bingbing has been completely absent from the public for over three months following accusations of tax evasion. On September 6, a report by the Chinese state-run Securities Daily confirmed that she had been placed “under control” and could face legal consequences, a few hours…
The True Jade of He Bian

Jade has been valued since time immemorial in China for its beauty and purity. A well-known story recorded by the Legalist Chinese philosopher Han Fei Zi alludes to these qualities as it tells of the He Shi Bi (和氏璧), the jade disc discovered by a man named He…
The Legacy of China’s First Emperor

China has a history of around 5,000 years, but prior to the Qin Dynasty that began in 221 B.C., the concept of “China” was totally different than the one with which we are now familiar. Much like Europe during the Middle Ages, China was run according to feudalism. One king…