Sascha Matuszak

National Security Advisor Condoleeza Rice’s Asia trip produced several noteworthy developments. Although topics of conversation included trade and human rights, the talks with Chinese, Japanese and Korean officials revolved around the two major points of conflict in the region: North Korea and Taiwan. The first important development is the role of Jiang Zemin, former President … Continue reading “The US Stumbles Over North Korea, Taiwan”

Come payday a crew of us head toward Chengdu’s Computer City and stroll past a riot of electronics and dance groups touting their goods to techno beats. Underemployed and bored locals gather with migrant workers and stare at the computers and dancers. We continue on and enter an older building with a rickety elevator. A … Continue reading “In Defense of Piracy”

I wrote a column a ways back that infuriated a lot of Asians out there. Friends here in Sichuan said I had gone over the top and I apologized for what I thought was a pretty poor attempt to explain stereotypes in China. I have thought about that column for a while now and I … Continue reading “The Sage-King Mindset”

A story is told in southern Xinjiang about the first carpet weaver, a princess named Gulem. One day, her father, the king of his realm, was hunting in the forest with his court advisors. A little bird flew from branch to branch following the king and singing into his ear. The king demanded that his … Continue reading “The End of a Golden Age in China”

Beijing’s main aim with the release of the white paper on Tibet entitled “Regional Ethnic Autonomy in Tibet” was to make the parameters of any future talks extremely clear to all Tibetans, especially the Dalai Lama. What the white paper also did was define the two separate views of what Tibet is and should be … Continue reading “Medieval Theocracy vs. Market Socialism”

Kingdoms have risen and fallen in China’s Xinjiang region for the past 2000 years. In the early 20th century, foreign archaeologists were surprised and delighted to find Muslim communities built upon Tang dynasty ruins built upon Tibetan villages built upon Han forts built upon Indian Buddhist monasteries – with Roman and Bactrian frescos thrown in … Continue reading “China and Islam in the Northwest Chinese Region”

The kidnapping and swift release last week of seven Chinese citizens brings to light China’s relationship with Iraq. The Chinese were released to a local association of Islamic clerics within 36 hours without having been harmed, threatened or televised. A local Chinese businessman, Chen Xian Zhong, reported to domestic media that the seven were safe … Continue reading “Chinese Workers Work, American Workers Die in Iraq”

The Guangzhou Daily is the flagship of China’s newspaper industry. Launched just after Liberation by the Guangzhou Party Committee, the Daily spent 40 years as a Party organ, toeing the Party line, bringing the CPC’s views to the people. The Daily was the first of China’s papers to begin fending for itself in 1990, setting … Continue reading “The Price of Stability”

In my last column, I made some broad generalizations about Chinese and China. One of the points of the column was to show that Chinese businessmen make decisions based on guanxi. Any businessman – or any foreigner for that matter – has a collection of stories about the power of guanxi in China. The other … Continue reading “Chinese Generalizations”

Many Chinese revere Hitler. This may seem unfathomably irrational to Europeans, especially when coupled with the intense dislike most Chinese have for all things Japanese, but it fits in with the Revere the Big Man Effect that dominates vast aspects of Chinese culture. A RBME is usually followed closely by a RBCE — Revere the … Continue reading “Revering the Big Men”