Category: China

China, Globalization, Politics, RussiaLeave a comment

Reviving The Realm Of Czars And Emperors

Fernando Kaskais

Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping during a reception at the Kremlin in Moscow on March 21. (Pavel Byrkin / SPUTNIK / AFP) Civilizational identity stands behind Xi and Putin’s front against a liberal world order. BY NATHAN GARDELS – Nathan Gardels is the editor-in-chief of Noema Magazine. Where a host meets his guests reveals the context in which he wants to be regarded. The background decor of the chosen setting is more than a telling detail. It is the writing on the wall.  In the case of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping, the image of power they want … Continue reading Reviving The Realm Of Czars And Emperors

China, Future, History, PoliticsLeave a comment

China Rises As The Ideal Civilizational State

Fernando Kaskais

The construction site of a new stadium project in Beijing. Dec. 15, 2021.(Kevin Frayer/Getty Images) In the Middle Kingdom, good governance is valued over indulgent rhetoric, unlike in many other countries, which has allowed it to evolve into a civilizational state that is both ancient and modern. BY ZHANG WEIWEI – Zhang Weiwei is the director of the Institute of China Studies at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences. From 1983 to 1988, he was an interpreter for the Chinese leadership, including Deng Xiaoping. The author of the best-selling book “The China Wave: The Rise of a Civilizational State,” he was … Continue reading China Rises As The Ideal Civilizational State

Activism, China, Fascism, Politics, RightsLeave a comment

The Spontaneous Activation Of China’s Civil Society

Fernando Kaskais

Protesters in Beijing on Nov. 27. (Kevin Frayer/Getty Images) Digital connectivity escapes the lockdown. BY NATHAN GARDELS, Nathan Gardels is the editor-in-chief of Noema Magazine. The startling public demonstrations against the zero-COVID lockdowns in China have shown yet again that inflexible hardlines set by autocrats are always brittle because they inexorably rouse the revolt of common sense. But there is a deeper story: the nascent emergence of an activated civil society sparked by Xi Jinping’s departure from the adaptive authoritarianism that has made China so successful over recent decades.  The spontaneous eruption of protests across the whole of China — from Beijing … Continue reading The Spontaneous Activation Of China’s Civil Society

China, Media&Culture, Philosophy, PsychologyLeave a comment

We are interwoven beings

Fernando Kaskais

Dragons in Clouds (1684) by Zhou Xun, Qing dynasty. Courtesy the Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art A dragon needs the clouds and the wind in order to fly. What happens when we too relinquish individualistic reasoning? Mercedes Valmisa is assistant professor in the Department of Philosophy at Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania. She is the author of Adapting: A Chinese Philosophy of Action (2021). What if I told you that there’s no such thing as an individual action? That every time you eat, walk up the stairs or read a book, you are not the sole agent behind what you are doing, but are … Continue reading We are interwoven beings

China, Living, Philosophy, PsychologyLeave a comment

Lao Tzu only wrote a single sentence about Yin and Yang, but it changed philosophy forever

Fernando Kaskais

Harmony and moderation make for a happier life. KEY TAKEAWAYS by Jonny Thomson This article was first published on Big Think in September 2021. It was updated in November 2022. No person is one thing. The kindest person you know has a tiny recess of cruelty in them. The happiest person you have ever met will have their depressive moments. The gentlest person you can think of can be filled with rage by one particular thing. There is no purity of any kind; life is a messy cocktail of things. This is the truth behind one of the most famous … Continue reading Lao Tzu only wrote a single sentence about Yin and Yang, but it changed philosophy forever

Ásia, China, History, PoliticsLeave a comment

What The West Misunderstands About Power In China

Fernando Kaskais

Andy Gilmore for Noema Magazine Often overlooked in media portrayals of China, provincial and local officials in fact have the greatest impact on day-to-day governance, and their actions actively shape national politics. BY XIAO MA, Xiao Ma is an assistant professor of political science at Peking University. His research interests include bureaucracy, political elites and development. He is the author of “Localized Bargaining: The Political Economy of China’s High-Speed Railway Program” (Oxford University Press, 2022). BEIJING — China is often portrayed as a monolithic authoritarian country, with the whole government acting on the command of a few top leaders. But this is a very large … Continue reading What The West Misunderstands About Power In China

China, Future, Globalization, Money, PoliticsLeave a comment

Quarterly Capitalism Can’t Compete With China

Fernando Kaskais

Most countries today have some form of national industrial strategy to ensure the well-being of citizens rather than just shareholders, and the United States needs one, too. BY RANA FOROOHAR Rana Foroohar is CNN’s global economic analyst and the global business columnist and associate editor for the Financial Times. This is a modified excerpt from her latest book, “Homecoming: The Path to Prosperity in a Post-Global World” (Crown, October 2022). In the United States, corporations capture the state. In China, the state rules corporations. It’s a One World, Two Systems paradigm that will continue to fundamentally change the global economy — and the … Continue reading Quarterly Capitalism Can’t Compete With China

China, Globalization, Politics, USALeave a comment

The Clash Of Two Gilded Ages

Fernando Kaskais

Despite their great-power rivalry, America and China are more similar than most people think. Both are living through a Gilded Age and struggling to end the excesses of capitalism. BY YUEN YUEN ANG Yuen Yuen Ang is a professor of politics at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. In 2021 she is named by Apolitical as one of the 100 Most Influential Academics in Government. Ang is also the inaugural recipient of the Theda Skocpol Prize, awarded by the American Political Science Association, for “impactful contributions.” Yet for all the advances in material and cultural life, there remained a feeling that … Continue reading The Clash Of Two Gilded Ages

China, Freak U.S.A, Money, PoliticsLeave a comment

The Rise And Fall Of Chimerica

Fernando Kaskais

For decades, America gave China a vision of future prosperity. But today, America has mostly ceased to offer a model for China or anywhere else, leaving China’s leaders without a guide as they chart a course into a future filled with potential turmoil. BY JACOB DREYER, Jacob Dreyer is a writer and editor based in Shanghai. I. Chinese Atlantis “Why is there an America?”— Wang Huning Once upon a time, there was an enchanted kingdom called Chimerica, with a beautiful capital known to residents and visitors alike as “Magic City” (“魔都”). The streets of Magic City were leafy and green, the … Continue reading The Rise And Fall Of Chimerica

Big Brother, Brain, China, Sex, Technology, WHAT THE FUCK ?Leave a comment

China develops porn-detection helmet that reads brain waves for censorship purposes

Fernando Kaskais

Pornography has been illegal in China for over 70 years By Rob Thubron  WTF?! China, always at the forefront of Orwellian surveillance technology, has created a device that detects when someone is watching pornography, a pastime that has been illegal in the country since 1949. As reported by the SCMP (via Hackaday), China uses a combination of AI bots and human appraisers, called Jian Huang shi, most of whom are women, to search the web for images and decide if they contain explicit content deemed illegal. But tiredness and overexposure mean even these safeguards don’t stop every bit of x-rated material from slipping through the cracks. … Continue reading China develops porn-detection helmet that reads brain waves for censorship purposes