by jpitney | Dec 6, 2022 | China, Coronavirus, Protest
Terril Jones in Politico: As in 1989, the latest round of protests is not likely to bring down the Party or its leadership. The machinery to control dissent is too strong and too omnipresent. There will be no defiant occupation of Tiananmen Square, and no need to send...
by jpitney | Dec 4, 2022 | China, civic virtue, Internet
Nathan Gardels at Noema: The old hierarchical system, in which the custodians of perception could impose an authoritative narrative, is doomed by the democratization of information. Just as, historically, the bourgeoisie created the space for civil society vis-à-vis...
by jpitney | Aug 3, 2022 | China, Taiwan
Minxin Pei: Until relatively recently, China’s leaders viewed the situation in the Taiwan Strait as unsatisfactory but tolerable. When Taiwan was ruled by the traditionally China-friendly Kuomintang Party, China was able to pursue a gradual strategy of economic...
by jpitney | Jul 28, 2022 | Business, China, Elections, Public Opinion
Caitlin Oprysko at Politico on Bruce Mehlman (P’21 P’25): MEHLMAN’S LATEST: Mehlman Castagnetti Rosen & Thomas’ Bruce Mehlman is out with his latest slide deck, which zeroes in backlash threatening to upend four different trends in politics and policy....
by jpitney | Jul 17, 2022 | China, Debt, Economic Policy
Minxin Pei at Nikkei Asia: Ever since China began to binge on debt to fuel its growth in 2009, many have wondered how long the party could go on. To the chagrin of many bearish observers, predictions of a financial crisis have not panned out. Today, China’s...
by jpitney | Mar 3, 2022 | China, Civility, Russia
Daniel Stid: War and international conflict are crude but effective forges of discipline and unity. We often look back on mid-Twentieth Century America as a golden era of civic comity. We overlook the extent to which the crucible of World War II and then the Cold War,...