Author: Sascha Matuszak

The task ahead of President-elect Barack Obama is not to meet all of the expectations of his supporters or to solve every problem facing the United States right now, but to simply practice what he has preached. For many of his supporters, Obama represents a symbolic victory of reason and pragmatism over hubris and the … Continue reading “Business Over Bluster”

China currently stands alone in its ability to weather virtually any storm the banking crisis in the U.S. whips up. With almost $2 trillion in foreign currency reserves, China can afford to be unconcerned about an economic decline in the West that spreads throughout the world, hurting dependent and emerging economies from Pakistan to Panama. … Continue reading “A Win-Win Situation for China”

A photographer friend of mine came to Chengdu in June to do a photo essay on a few topics of interest in Sichuan – Gong Fu in Ya An, Hakka in the suburbs of Chengdu, and of course the earthquake that had just devastated much of the province. At the airport in Beijing, he bought … Continue reading “The Security Blanket”

In the past ten days, bombs have ripped people apart in high profile, bloody locations like Baghdad and India, killed more in relatively safe locations like Kunming and Istanbul and scared others in Spain. The world is on fire and Beijing is about to party. In China, unconfirmed reports of bomb threats, apprehended terrorists and … Continue reading “The World Under Fire”

In a few short weeks the party Beijing has been preparing for the last eight years will finally kick off, and the government’s disconnect with the people attending the party is growing ever deeper. Around Beijing, the word is that these are the “No-Fun Olympics” and the entire city is forcing a smile for the … Continue reading “The No-Fun Olympics”

Well, it looks like giving China some face will have little to no impact on the way things are done in this country. If anything, it will give the Party the confidence to continue harassing parents, journalists, and dissidents of all kinds in the name of social cohesion. Most local foreigners were skeptical when the … Continue reading “The US and China:
Unsettling Similarities”

Patriotism at the expense of another nation is as wicked as racism at the expense of another race…Let us resolve to be patriots always, nationalists never. – Rev. William Sloane Coffin On May 19th, the one-week anniversary of the Sichuan earthquake, the entire Chinese nation stood at attention for three minutes to remember the victims … Continue reading “Give China Some Face”

Chinese bloggers and foreign media are already stirring the pot against the corrupt construction firms and their greedy government sponsors. President Hu Jintao, who has been visiting the victims, and his faithful minister Wen Jiabao issued a warning to those who may have contributed to the deaths of hundreds of schoolchildren in China. Much has … Continue reading “Chinese Contradictions”

The city of Chengdu is both deflated and energized at the same time. Hours of tremors, the lack of a clear picture of the situation, and nights out on the streets in sleeping bags and tents have left the population of the city slightly jittery. On a walk through Chengdu, many residents were eating sunflower … Continue reading “Tremors in Chengdu”