I posed this question to students and friends this week: Which is more important to you, China hosting the Olympics or shooting a man into space. Most answers revolved around questions of economics, pride and China's increasing contact with and role within the...
I spent this past week smiling and clinking wine glasses with a multi-millionaire from the town of GuangYan – roughly two hours north of the capital by highway. This particular boss is one of a breed of new rich that rule the "small" towns and cities outside of...
How much more foolishness from the Bush Administration can we expect before next year's elections? US Treasury Secretary John Snow's visit on the heels of the DPRK talks was a failure. He met with a few toadies and was sent on his way amidst a hail of protest from...
It is significant that US Treasury Secretary John Snow arrived in Beijing on the heels of the six-party talks concerning peace on the peninsula. Snow arrived to discuss the undervalued yuan, which may be held up during next year's elections as the dead rat fouling up...
This week the North Koreans and the "coalition" have agreed to talk more and to talk soon. The negotiations had a high note when the DPRK and US reps chewed the fat for a bit in the corner while (assumingly) the other five other delegations pretended not to...
A plane incident of a different sort is quietly being played out between the Chinese and US governments even as The Six Nations gear up for talks that may lead to temproary peace or disasterous war on the Korean peninsula. As one of the 124 Consulates and embassies...
All across the world economic ministers are asking themselves "What are we to do about China?" Everybody wants to sell their goods here, but inevitably, Chinese goods break through what trade barriers are left in place in the 21st century and swamp the...
Not many countries have benefited as much from 9/11 as China has. For almost a year, China stayed off of the US Most Wanted list and stayed on the Best Places to Put Your Cash list. While the US economy faltered amidst scandal, the Chinese economy gained strength from...
It was good to be home for a while. I was given the chance to witness the legalization of the "abominable act" of same sex marriage – which of course will lead toward Hell and the rampant practice of sodomy and oral sex. And the introduction in...
Next week the Chinese Communist Party celebrates yet another year in power. The Party has evolved since its inception, it claims, into the benevolent, progressive Party we see today: capable of discussing such radical concepts as "intra-party democracy."...
