China is often perceived as a monolith β not just politically, but socially and culturally, too. Nothing could be further from the truth, and The China Project dives deep into its diverse and changing society and culture on a daily basis.
In an attempt to revive Chinaβs battered economy and tame an unemployment crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, more than 27 Chinese cities, including key metropolises like Shanghai and Chengdu, have announced plans to bring back street vending. This comes after many years of crackdowns on street stalls for βurban beautification.β
In 1976, in Tiananmen, poetry became a subtle vehicle for civil protest. Understanding why poetry was used to express dissent, and how the government responded, would inform events 13 years later.
Historian Jeffrey Wasserstrom shares a personal story about music, mourning, and Hong Kong.
Last week, health authorities in Beijing unveiled a set of proposed regulations on traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) for public consultation. One article from the new regulations has drawn the ire of legal experts and people skeptical of TCM practices: Article 54 stipulates that those who βdefame and slanderβ TCM are subject to punishment by public security departments or even face criminal responsibility for picking quarrels, causing trouble, and "disrupting public order,β a vaguely defined crime often used by Chinese law enforcers to police online speech.
China's official response to Tiananmen has evolved over the years. What began as the Communist Party framing of the event as a success of government leadership eventually gave way to collective amnesia that involved the complicity of the entire nation. This year, the one place that has always remembered β Hong Kong β may soon forget, too.
Edison Chen (ιε εΈ ChΓ©n GuΔnxΔ«), a Hong Kong-born actor and fashion entrepreneur, is facing backlash after showing solidarity with U.S. protesters in the wake of George Floyd's death.
There was a time, not too long ago, when friendship was possible between the Han Chinese of Xinjiang and their Uyghur neighbors. But where there once was camaraderie, now there is suspicion, fear, and empty slogans.
Yew-Kwang Ng ι»ζε , a Malaysian economist who currently serves as a professor of economics at Fudan University in Shanghai, has attracted a great deal of ire on Chinese social media after publishing an article in which he suggested China legalize and promote polyandry β allowing women to marry multiple men β in a bid to solve the countryβs surplus of bachelors.
Being a centrist in Hong Kong can be a lonely proposition, as our writer well knows.Β βUpholding and respecting the liberal political cultures and values of the city would benefit Beijing and Hong Kong alike,β Brian Wong writes, βthough it pains me to see the futility of this pitch playing out before my eyes.β