Political Philosophy

14 Nov 2012

Is the Chinese state a dictatorship or an enlightened meritocracy? The once-in-a-decade leadership transition in Beijing has raised this question.

7:21AM

14 comments

Legacy of distrust through the ages

29 Oct 2012

A China editor once remarked that it makes perfect sense for the Communist Party to go big on Confucianism. "When it comes to control, communism and Confucianism have a lot in common," he said.

1:41AM

Using the past to speculate on China's future

16 Sep 2012

The title of this work is somewhat deceptive for it's only really in the last couple of chapters that we get into the meat of China going "into its second rise". The bulk of the book is a...

10:01AM

Parents fork out small fortunes to give their children a taste of the world

2 Sep 2012

There is a Chinese saying that those who seek wisdom should "read 10,000 books and travel 10,000 miles".

3:23AM

Time to give up national education

24 Jul 2012

It's easy for people who have lived normal lives to tell their life stories. It's far more difficult for individuals who have been traumatised or violated to give an unbiased account of their...

9:15PM

Justice: What's the Right Thing to Do?

22 Jul 2012

Justice: What's the Right Thing to Do?
by Michael Sandel
Allen Lane (e-book)

9:57PM

Opinion

Workers pay the price for our bargains

5:20AM

Howard Winn

Barry Cheung makes waves in Moscow

3:47AM

Judicial review cases in sharp fall

The number of applications for permission to lodge a judicial review last year dropped by a fifth from a peak figure of 149 cases in 2005.

9:42PM

Freedom and China not incompatible

It is a fight China does not want. But many western intellectuals and policymakers are already baying for blood.

7:09PM

Lessons to be learned from visions of order, disorder and political decay

Joseph Yam Chi-kwong's paper on the future of Hong Kong's monetary system caused quite a stir.

6:16PM

The golden jar

Long, long ago in Mongolia, there lived an emperor who was extremely vain and conceited. All he cared about was his appearance.

1:19PM

Sorry, but mainland is far from being a market economy

The economists within the liberal ranks understand that market economics forms the foundation of China's success. Yet their economic position has been hijacked by political ideologues who insist...

12:02PM

NGOs say easing of registration rules is limited

Mainland NGOs are decrying Guangdong's lead as the first province to ease registration requirements as a limited move, despite kudos from Beijing and pro-government academics.

11:47AM