https://www.scmp.com/rss/311195/feed Yuwen Deng is an independent political commentator and scholar of international relations, with specialist knowledge about Chinese politics. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com China’s recent attempts to stabilise foreign investment have involved high-profile action from its top leadership. At two major international forums – the China Development Forum and Boao Forum for Asia – key officials delivered speeches aimed at attracting foreign capital. In particular, President Xi Jinping also met representatives from the international business community, marking the latest in China’s efforts to reassure foreign investors. Additionally, Beijing released the five detained... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3304595/can-chinas-latest-charm-offensive-reassure-foreign-business-succeed?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3304595/can-chinas-latest-charm-offensive-reassure-foreign-business-succeed?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 02 Apr 2025 08:30:08 +0000 To mark the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China, Beijing has granted special pardons to nine categories of prisoners. This is the ninth amnesty since the Communist Party took control of the country, and the second since Xi Jinping took office. The previous amnesty was announced in 2015, on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the end of the second world war. Before Beijing declared the latest amnesty for Chinese and foreign individuals, I had expected Xi to take... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3018549/beijing-offers-rare-amnesty-could-it-be-lost-opportunity-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3018549/beijing-offers-rare-amnesty-could-it-be-lost-opportunity-china?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 16 Jul 2019 09:00:14 +0000 Hongkongers have marched against the extradition bill by the million – highlighting the depth of their distrust in the mainland judicial system and the central government. This mistrust, accumulated over the years, will not only directly affect how the Beijing and Hong Kong governments handle this situation, but also shape the administrative arrangement for Hong Kong that will eventually replace “one country, two systems”. Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor has apologised to the public,... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3014563/beijing-hong-kongs-extradition-protests-are-sealing-citys-fate-can?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3014563/beijing-hong-kongs-extradition-protests-are-sealing-citys-fate-can?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 18 Jun 2019 09:00:07 +0000 Are civilisations destined to clash? Not if you ask Xi Jinping. At the Conference on Dialogue of Asian Civilisations in Beijing on May 15, the Chinese President told delegates from 47 countries: “It is stupid to believe that one’s race and civilisation are superior to others, and it is disastrous to wilfully reshape or even replace other civilisations.” It was a veiled rebuke of the United States State Department’s director of policy planning, Kiron Skinner, who recently defined relations with... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/3011140/americas-quarrel-not-chinese-civilisation-chinese-communist?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/3011140/americas-quarrel-not-chinese-civilisation-chinese-communist?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 25 May 2019 02:15:11 +0000 For the first time in years, two Chinese fighter jets crossed into Taiwanese airspace on March 31, causing Taiwan to scramble its own aircraft in a tense stand-off. What impact will this incident have on cross-strait relations, and will a similar stand-off eventually lead to an accidental exchange of fire? As Taiwan gears up for the 2020 presidential election, unification and independence will surely be one of hot topics of debate. So far, both President Tsai Ing-wen and her colleague at the... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/3005816/xi-jinping-wont-force-unification-taiwan-now-show-force?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/3005816/xi-jinping-wont-force-unification-taiwan-now-show-force?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 14 Apr 2019 19:00:07 +0000 The second Trump-Kim summit will soon be held in Hanoi, Vietnam. Should we be optimistic, pessimistic or indifferent to it? Following Kim Jong-un’s visit to Beijing in January and the announcement of a second summit between Donald Trump and Kim, I wrote an article about the increasing likelihood of Kim abandoning nuclear weapons in 2019. Stephen Biegun, the US’ special representative for North Korea, also revealed that Washington and Pyongyang had formed a consensus on the North’s early steps... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/united-states/article/2187604/second-time-lucky-why-donald-trump-and-kim?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/united-states/article/2187604/second-time-lucky-why-donald-trump-and-kim?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 25 Feb 2019 18:04:34 +0000 Developments in China in 2018, especially the abolition of presidential term limits and Beijing’s response to the trade war, indicated that the centralisation of power in Xi Jinping’s hands is complete. In six years of Xi’s rule, this centralisation has been the most prominent feature of Chinese politics. It is clear from 2018 that this consolidation of power has reached the apex of what is permissible under the current conditions. Any further and it would be the Mao Zedong era all over... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/united-states/article/2184088/trade-war-wont-shake-xi-jinpings-grip-power?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/united-states/article/2184088/trade-war-wont-shake-xi-jinpings-grip-power?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 29 Jan 2019 19:00:00 +0000 With cross-strait relations deteriorating and the United States frequently playing the Taiwan card, there is a distinct possibility of a Chinese military takeover of Taiwan. I have said President Xi Jinping is likely to recover Taiwan in 2020, the 100th anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party. But I am reassessing the timetable in light of the US-China trade war.  Unless something very unexpected happens, the probability of China retaking Taiwan in 2020 is basically zero for now. In the next... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/united-states/article/2174705/why-china-will-wait-until-2030-take-back?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/united-states/article/2174705/why-china-will-wait-until-2030-take-back?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 25 Nov 2018 22:01:43 +0000 Since the start of the US-China trade war, the situation has been on an expected downward trajectory. Since US President Donald Trump threatened to impose tariffs on the remaining US$267 billion of Chinese goods, markets have worried about the decoupling of the two economies. But I’m making a bold prediction that the trade war will end before the end of the year, and signs are already pointing to this. Be it in theory or history, there is no question that trade wars are detrimental to both... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/united-states/article/2170865/trade-war-could-well-end-november-donald-trump?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/united-states/article/2170865/trade-war-could-well-end-november-donald-trump?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 30 Oct 2018 18:00:37 +0000 As China marks the 40th anniversary of its reforms, Beijing has already announced that it will hold a grand commemoration at the end of the year, and officials have recently cranked up the propaganda about reforms. But besides paying tribute to the glory of past reforms, will Beijing announce a new round of changes and return to the path of Deng Xiaoping’s reforms? That’s unclear to the outside world. Meanwhile, most people in civil society, and even inside the system, are pessimistic about... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/united-states/article/2166498/reform-dead-china-trumps-trade-war-may-be?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/united-states/article/2166498/reform-dead-china-trumps-trade-war-may-be?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 01 Oct 2018 23:45:45 +0000 The “China collapse theory” was popular in the international community 10 years ago. However, with China becoming the world’s second-largest economy and exerting a growing international influence, despite the chorus of doom, such talk has died down. Yet, taking the long view, 2018 is shaping up to be a turning point for China. Today the country faces serious internal and external challenges, and is in the midst of a social transformation. Given the Chinese government’s ability to maintain... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/united-states/article/2159628/trade-war-raises-spectre-china-collapse-and?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/united-states/article/2159628/trade-war-raises-spectre-china-collapse-and?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 14 Aug 2018 21:00:30 +0000 The annual Beidaihe meeting will take place soon against the backdrop of the China-US trade war, which makes it of exceptional interest to the outside world. This is by no means a formalised meeting of China’s Communist Party. Rather, it refers to the casual meetings and “catch-ups” of senior party officials, usually in late July or early August, while they are in Beidaihe enjoying their summer holidays. No directives or resolutions will emerge. Its function is largely as a venue for current and... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/united-states/article/2156762/trade-war-looming-overhead-chinas-beidaihe?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/united-states/article/2156762/trade-war-looming-overhead-chinas-beidaihe?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 25 Jul 2018 09:02:53 +0000 China and the US are heading into an epic trade war. Does this signal the beginning of an era of all-out confrontation between the two powers, or will the fight be limited to the economy? There are different views on this. For the US, this trade war must be seen in the larger context of a shift in America’s perception of China. Many experts, scholars and even regular folk recognise that the Trump administration’s targeting of Chinese trade is not being done on a whim; it is supported by the two... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/united-states/article/2153587/us-sees-trade-war-tactic-contain-china-so-does?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/united-states/article/2153587/us-sees-trade-war-tactic-contain-china-so-does?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 03 Jul 2018 18:00:15 +0000 Observers will note that China has been taking a different approach in its peripheral diplomacy this year, and the previously hostile relationships with some of its neighbours have become much friendlier.  Late last month, President Xi Jinping held an informal summit in Wuhan with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. On May 9, Premier Li Keqiang made his first visit to Japan, the first such visit in eight years by a Chinese premier, and reached agreement with Japanese leader Shinzo Abe on a... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2147814/why-china-becoming-friendlier-neighbour-asia?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2147814/why-china-becoming-friendlier-neighbour-asia?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 27 May 2018 02:15:40 +0000 The historic summit between North and South Korean leaders ended as they signed the “Panmunjom Declaration for Peace, Prosperity and Unification of the Korean Peninsula”. Denuclearisation on the peninsula is the top concern of the international community, but the issue is mentioned only in the fourth point of the third article in the declaration.   According to this third article, the two Koreas agree on the urgent historic task of ending the “current unnatural state of armistice” and pledge to... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2144623/why-kim-jong-uns-promise-nuclear-free-north-korea-should-not?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2144623/why-kim-jong-uns-promise-nuclear-free-north-korea-should-not?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 04 May 2018 05:30:15 +0000 Delegates to the National People’s Congress have overwhelmingly voted to pass a constitutional amendment to abolish the two-term limit imposed on China’s president, a controversial move that will allow the incumbent, Xi Jinping, to stay in power beyond 2023. The question is: will he become president for life? In other words, does the Communist Party want to make Xi a leader for life or just give him a longer term? China watchers are divided on this. The government has kept its comments vague.... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2137136/chinas-president-life-not-xi-jinping-student-history?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2137136/chinas-president-life-not-xi-jinping-student-history?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 14 Mar 2018 09:00:45 +0000 Last Sunday, the Chinese Communist Party shocked the world by proposing to scrap the two-term limit for the Chinese presidency and vice-presidency, widely seen as a move to clear the way for Xi Jinping to retain power after 2023. The proposal is likely to be adopted later this month when the national legislature meets in Beijing. Xi’s wish to stay on is no surprise – China watchers have speculated for months about his intent – but the timing of the announcement caught many off guard. Though the... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2135380/end-term-limits-xi-can-realise-his-chinese-dream-will-price?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2135380/end-term-limits-xi-can-realise-his-chinese-dream-will-price?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 02 Mar 2018 04:15:45 +0000 Other than Xi Jinping, perhaps no other Chinese Communist Party official draws as much attention from the outside world as Wang Qishan. Even though he has retired, there remains much speculation about his future. Late last month, Wang was included in the roster of Hunan legislators who will attend the national legislature meeting in March. The news appears to confirm speculation that he would take up a key post at the annual “two sessions”. Just weeks after he stepped down from the powerful... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2132567/will-wang-qishan-become-xi-jinpings-go-man-chinese-vice?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2132567/will-wang-qishan-become-xi-jinpings-go-man-chinese-vice?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 09 Feb 2018 03:57:54 +0000 President Xi Jinping’s top economic aide Liu He, a Politburo member of the Chinese Communist Party who is widely expected to be named a vice-premier in March, told global elites at the World Economic Forum this month that a more extensive package of market-opening measures will be introduced to mark the 40th anniversary of China’s reform drive. And some of these reforms will go beyond “the expectations of the international community”, he said. Liu’s speech in Davos could be seen as an effort to... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2131213/china-revving-its-economic-reform-drive-again-liu-he-pledged?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2131213/china-revving-its-economic-reform-drive-again-liu-he-pledged?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 31 Jan 2018 10:00:07 +0000 Does Beijing have a timetable for seizing control of Taiwan? This has been a hot topic for the media and among experts on cross-strait relations. I believe such a timetable exists. If the timeline was rather vague in the past, it has become clearer now. And the US security strategy that President Donald Trump recently unveiled will hasten the pace of Beijing’s plan to take back the island, probably in 2020. President Xi Jinping’s report at the 19th Communist Party congress offers some clues. In... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2126541/china-planning-take-taiwan-force-2020?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2126541/china-planning-take-taiwan-force-2020?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 03 Jan 2018 09:30:00 +0000 The recent crackdown on migrant worker communities in Beijing may have been triggered by a deadly fire, but it must be seen as part of the government’s plan to turn China’s overcrowded capital into a liveable, international city. Urban planners want to cap the number of people living in Beijing at 23 million by 2020, and move all “non-capital functions” out of the city. Yet, in the hands of the city’s municipal authorities, this has turned into a campaign to evict the migrants. As the capital,... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2122444/beijings-eviction-migrants-exposes-officials-prejudice-and?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2122444/beijings-eviction-migrants-exposes-officials-prejudice-and?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 02 Dec 2017 01:01:10 +0000 China’s 19th party congress saw a new leadership team formed, with new political ideology added to the Communist Party’s constitution. It was also announced that ­socialism with Chinese characteristics had entered a “new era”. As President Xi Jinping’s report to the congress put it, the party must not only have a new look but also new achievements in this new era. So, what will be the top priorities for Xi and the party in the next five years? Top of the list will be to improve governance of the... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2119833/why-xi-jinping-needs-stronger-communist-party-achieve-his?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2119833/why-xi-jinping-needs-stronger-communist-party-achieve-his?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 14 Nov 2017 09:30:45 +0000 What kind of foreign policies will China adopt following the 19th party congress? Will Beijing maintain the hardline stance it has adopted in its disputes with others, or take a softer and more flexible approach? These are questions that the international community is asking, especially China’s neighbours. President Xi Jinping’s work report at the party congress offers a clue. Among his 14 points of how to develop “socialism with Chinese characteristics for a new era” is a commitment to “build a... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2117726/xis-new-era-chinese-diplomacy-will-be-display-hard-power?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2117726/xis-new-era-chinese-diplomacy-will-be-display-hard-power?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 31 Oct 2017 09:15:39 +0000 North Korea has conducted yet another nuclear test, almost a year after its last one. This sixth test, more powerful than the last, signals Pyongyang’s unstoppable will to become a nuclear power. The test was both unsurprising and surprising. It was not surprising because we know Pyongyang needed to run more tests to build up its nuclear capacity, so a sixth test would have happened sooner or later. Even so, the timing was a surprise. Harsh UN sanctions are in place, after all , and the... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2109871/why-north-koreas-nuclear-test-may-not-be-all-bad?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2109871/why-north-koreas-nuclear-test-may-not-be-all-bad?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 06 Sep 2017 09:44:46 +0000 In the recent Chinese hit drama In the Name of the People, Sha Ruijin, party secretary of the fictional Handong province, tells the graft-busting hero Hou Liangping that the clampdown on corruption has “no ceiling and no floor”. A zero-tolerance policy will be adopted and all will be investigated, regardless of status or rank. At the end of the series, Gao Yuliang, deputy secretary of the Handong political and legal affairs commission, and Qi Tongwei, director of the public security department,... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2093109/three-groups-untouchables-chinas-corruption-crackdown?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2093109/three-groups-untouchables-chinas-corruption-crackdown?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 05 May 2017 08:57:26 +0000 Since America’s inward shift after Donald Trump came to power, discussions about China taking the baton to become the leader of global free trade have appeared in the media. China itself, it seems, is finding it difficult to stay aloof from the clamour. Some Chinese scholars go further, advocating that China should step up to lead on global issues, replacing the US. We live in a world dominated by these two countries, as the summit meeting between Trump and President Xi Jinping (習近平) makes... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2085812/why-china-isnt-ready-be-global-leader?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2085812/why-china-isnt-ready-be-global-leader?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 09 Apr 2017 03:03:20 +0000 After South Korea’s Lotte Group agreed on a land swap with the military that will enable the deployment of the THAAD anti-missile defence system, the Chinese government has been fanning the flames for a boycott of the retail giant. This is neither necessary nor wise. Such boycotts should come from people’s decisions, and not be stirred up by governments. In fact, history shows that such agitation for patriotism and nationalism often backfires. If the government believes Lotte’s decision has... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2076420/china-must-take-hard-line-both-north-and-south-korea?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2076420/china-must-take-hard-line-both-north-and-south-korea?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 06 Mar 2017 09:29:36 +0000 Yuwen Deng Yuwen Deng Former Hong Kong chief executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen was sentenced to 20 months in prison at the end of his high-profile corruption trial, after the jury found him guilty of misconduct in public office. This made him the highest-ranking city official ever to be convicted and imprisoned. Two recent cases have aroused public concern in Hong Kong: Tsang’s trial and the conviction and jailing of seven policemen for assaulting a pro-democracy activist. The second case sparked heated debate both... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2073800/donald-tsangs-loss-victory-hong-kongs-rule-law?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2073800/donald-tsangs-loss-victory-hong-kongs-rule-law?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 26 Feb 2017 02:01:36 +0000 The “Thucydides trap”, a scenario in the study of international relations, warns of the attendant danger of war when a rising power rivals a ruling power. With Donald Trump as US president, the behaviour and policies of the new administration have greatly increased the possibility of the US and China falling into such a trap. In a short space of time, Trump has shown the world his way of working. In terms of political integrity, he is fulfilling his campaign promises. But the world is watching... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2069520/trump-era-we-cant-rule-out-war-between-china-and-us-whether?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2069520/trump-era-we-cant-rule-out-war-between-china-and-us-whether?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 10 Feb 2017 03:00:45 +0000 North Korea’s fifth and biggest nuclear test shocked the world, as it is now believed that Pyongyang has made significant technological breakthroughs. The blast was full of symbolism, taking place on the 68th anniversary of the country’s founding and soon after the G20 Hangzhou ( 杭州 ) summit. It delivers a message that Pyongyang is committed to nuclear weapons and will not abandon its programme even with outside pressure. For China, the test not only further worsens the geostrategic environment,... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2019699/china-must-rein-pyongyangs-nuclear-actions-its-too-late?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2019699/china-must-rein-pyongyangs-nuclear-actions-its-too-late?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 16 Sep 2016 03:43:49 +0000 The seventh ruling Worker’s Party congress in North Korea, the first in 36 years, turned out to be a coronation for Kim Jong-un, formalising the system centred on the young leader and promoting the party’s status vis-à-vis the army’s. North Korea’s ‘rare’ party congress only shows a country at a standstill The national byungjin strategy, which calls for securing a nuclear arsenal while seeking to develop the economy, was re-emphasised. A five-year plan was put forward to show the government’s... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1946189/collapse-north-korean-regime-appears-inevitable-and-world?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1946189/collapse-north-korean-regime-appears-inevitable-and-world?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 18 May 2016 09:25:35 +0000 Following its nuclear test in January, North Korea provoked renewed international condemnation by sending its latest satellite into orbit last month. By doing so, Pyongyang managed to enhance the international consensus on imposing sanctions and inflamed the sensitivities of neighbouring countries. READ MORE: North Korea threatens to turn US and the South into ‘flames and ashes’ with nuclear strikes as largest ever drills begin In all this, Beijing is the biggest loser. The crisis puts China in... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1922405/china-recognising-north-korea-nuclear-power-may-be-most?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1922405/china-recognising-north-korea-nuclear-power-may-be-most?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 08 Mar 2016 09:21:26 +0000 The domino effect of Britain's application to join the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank has been large: France, Germany, Italy and Luxembourg, along with Russia, Australia, the Netherlands, Denmark and South Korea have all followed. The infrastructure bank has become a new stage for the China-US game. The different attitudes towards the bank among the US and its allies showcase their disagreement. The US says it objects because the bank has an ambiguous mechanism and is not compliant with... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1752376/step-step-china-seeks-remake-international-finance?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1752376/step-step-china-seeks-remake-international-finance?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 31 Mar 2015 08:44:39 +0000 The mills of God grind slowly. Ling Jihua , a former presidential top aide and vice-chairman of the national committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, is the latest "tiger" to come under investigation as part of Xi Jinping's crackdown on corruption. Ling's case is different from the investigation into Zhou Yongkang , the once powerful former security chief. Ling is the most high-ranking serving official under investigation so far, thus his downfall is... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1670689/fall-ling-jihua-warning-well-connected-and-corrupt-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1670689/fall-ling-jihua-warning-well-connected-and-corrupt-china?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 30 Dec 2014 06:01:16 +0000 Soon after the official announcement that former security tsar Zhou Yongkang was under investigation, various provinces, cities and departments began lining up to declare their support for the wisdom and rectitude of Xi Jinping's decision. Among them were Zhou's first and last places of work - the public security system, Sichuan province and China National Petroleum Corporation. They made sure to declare their support for Xi and distance themselves from their disgraced former patron. Publicly... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1579311/declarations-loyalty-feature-chinas-dog-eat-dog-politics?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1579311/declarations-loyalty-feature-chinas-dog-eat-dog-politics?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 24 Aug 2014 18:45:30 +0000 Xi Jinping's intense nine-day tour of Latin America last month yielded significant gains for Beijing's strategy in the region and in the broader strategic arena vis-à-vis the United States. Moving beyond purely economic interactions, Beijing is content that Xi's trip has reinforced political relationships that will ultimately temper American influence in the region and help counter the US rebalance policy. Ever since Washington announced its intention to "rebalance" to Asia, China perceives that... https://www.scmp.com/comment/article/1567006/chinasties-latin-americacounter-us-rebalance-policy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/article/1567006/chinasties-latin-americacounter-us-rebalance-policy?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 05 Aug 2014 09:45:15 +0000 Barack Obama used his recent Westpoint military academy address to outline his foreign policy for the remaining term of his presidency and set out the principles for American global leadership in the longer term. He didn't say much about China directly - invoking the seriousness of cyberattacks, but not naming China as a major perpetrator. He mentioned the South China Sea, but only to say that the US supports Southeast Asian nations in their attempts to negotiate disputes according to... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1528123/china-faces-new-realities-us-interference-its-own-backyard?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1528123/china-faces-new-realities-us-interference-its-own-backyard?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 08 Jun 2014 19:30:15 +0000 The sudden eruption of student protests in Taiwan, ostensibly against the cross-strait services and trade agreement but incorporating wider concerns about President Ma Ying-jeou's government, has elicited minimal coverage in the mainland media. Due to controls exerted on the media, it has been difficult to find reports or analysis of the Taiwan student movement. One exception, an editorial in the Global Times on March 24, was emblematic of the tone of coverage of the escalating protests: a... https://www.scmp.com/comment/article/1462482/taiwan-protests-view-mainland?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/article/1462482/taiwan-protests-view-mainland?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 01 Apr 2014 09:45:00 +0000 Chinese society has been enthralled by the case of Sichuan businessman Liu Han , who was charged last week with various violent crimes, including murder. But, as unusual and scandalous as the revelations about Liu's mafia-style operations are, of even greater significance is the identity of the political protectors behind him. In China, violent crime is usually crude and the tools of the trade unsophisticated. In Liu's case, police apparently seized advanced and strictly controlled weapons and... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1440813/sichuan-tycoon-liu-hans-fall-underlines-culture-political?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1440813/sichuan-tycoon-liu-hans-fall-underlines-culture-political?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 05 Mar 2014 03:15:45 +0000 The appointment of Premier Li Keqiang to the Communist Party's powerful new state security committee should serve to dampen speculation inside and outside China that President Xi Jinping is weakening the role of his No 2 in a bid to consolidate power. Li has been named vice-chairman of the National Security Commission following his inclusion in the Central Leading Group for Overall Reform, which is tasked with implementing a bold set of economic reforms. The twin announcement surprised those who... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1425253/talk-li-keqiang-being-sidelined-not-backed-power-shuffle?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1425253/talk-li-keqiang-being-sidelined-not-backed-power-shuffle?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 10 Feb 2014 11:00:15 +0000 Whispers surrounding President Xi Jinping's "tiger hunt" - a metaphor for going after corrupt senior government officials - have been circulating ever since he assumed the top positions in party and state in 2012. In recent days, many Chinese-language media outside mainland China have reported that Xi's tiger hunt is about to pay dividends, with the "capture" of former security tsar Zhou Yongkang . Until 2012, Zhou was a member of the Politburo Standing Committee, with oversight for the police,... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1402129/zhou-yongkang-wont-easily-escape-net-xis-corruption?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1402129/zhou-yongkang-wont-easily-escape-net-xis-corruption?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 10 Jan 2014 03:30:00 +0000 China's establishment of an air defence identification zone around the East China Sea makes for a serious escalation in tension with Japan. Already, there are reports that not only Japan but also the US, Taiwan and South Korea have all flown warplanes into the zone without informing China, to defy its intent. China, for its part, maintains that it has scrambled warplanes of its own to probe so-called intrusions. Civil aviation in the area is also fraught. US airlines have reportedly been advised... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1372662/taiwan-style-accommodation-can-work-diaoyus-dispute?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1372662/taiwan-style-accommodation-can-work-diaoyus-dispute?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 04 Dec 2013 10:45:15 +0000