Politics
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Mencius Says: Donald Trump is Inhumane and Should Not Be President
When faced with challenging circumstances I turn to ancient Chinese philosophy in search of answers. And when the issue is a matter of political leadership I often find myself thinking: what would Mencius say? And so, here are some thoughts… Continue reading
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Two (more) defects of the “China Model”
I have been in a discussion, over at Parlio, with Daniel Bell about his book, The China Model. It's getting a bit long and I thought I would post some of my comments, as a single piece, here, and… Continue reading
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Thoughts on Yu Ying-shih’s brief reflection on “Confucianism’s Kiss of Death”
Thanks to Yaxue Cao on Twitter, I came upon some recent brief remarks by the eminent scholar Yu Ying-shih on the current revival of Confucianism in the PRC that had popped up on Weixin (wonder if it was taken down….). … Continue reading
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Hong Kong and the Mandate of Heaven
I have been totally captivated by the extraordinary events in Hong Kong this past week. Twitter has been my medium of choice, allowing, as it does, real time contact with people on the scene. Here are some thoughts. Having followed… Continue reading
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Mozi on the House Republicans
Yesterday, as I was watching the political debacle in DC unfold on my Twitter feed, I was simultaneously proof-reading a piece for the upcoming Berkshire Dictionary of Chinese Biography. I have written an entry for Mozi, the great pre-Qin philosopher… Continue reading
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How Bo Xilai might emerge as a Latter Day Confucian Hero
OK, this is a bit far-fetched, but bear with me…. I have been absorbed these past two days with the Bo Xilai trial (an 18 minute video backgrounder by WSJ here). On Wednesday night (Thursday morning Jinan time) I followed… Continue reading
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What Does the Ideological Crack-Down Mean for China’s Confucians?
The old Twitter feed lit up yesterday afternoon with links to Chris Buckley's story in the NYT: "China Takes Aim at Western Ideas." The lede: Communist Party cadres have filled meeting halls around China to hear a somber, secretive warning… Continue reading
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Han Feizi on why Xi Jinping must destroy Bo Xilai
So it looks like Bo Xilai's trial will start on Thursday. His is a long and sordid story: an ambitious and powerful politician looking to climb to the very top of the CCP pecking order, who ran a deeply corrupt… Continue reading
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Egypt is not China
Let me put on my contemporary Chinese politics cap for a moment to comment on the horrible events unfolding in Cairo. I notice, on Twitter, that comparisons are already being drawn between the violent crackdown on Egypt and the Beijing… Continue reading
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Reply to my Diaspora Fenqing Nationalist Critics
For the Record: one of the commenters on this post has, on another blog, accused me of "banning" him. That is not true. I suspect he ran into a bit of trouble with the Captcha system in Typepad Comments, and… Continue reading
The Useless Tree 