Politics
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The Olympics and Selective Westernization
I think it is safe to say that the Olympics, as a concept and "movement," emerged in the modern era as a European project to universalize certain values of competition and character-building. A Frenchman, Baron Pierre de Coubertin, revived a… Continue reading
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Mao Zedong and the PRC’s Olympic Gold Anxiety
First of all, let me send out congratulations to all the Chinese athletes at the London Olympics. There have been many outstanding accomplishments, gold and non-gold, for a truly great team. And much has been made about the gold rush. … Continue reading
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The Politics of Rain in Beijing
The first thing to do in response to the horrendous flooding in and around Beijing over the weekend is to express condolences to the families of the 37 (at least) people who died. It must be truly devastating to lose… Continue reading
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Romney, Bain, and Sunzi
James Fallows reflects upon the Obama campaign's current line of attack against Mitt Romney's past experience at Bain Capital h/t: Sullivan). He writes that the effort is reminiscent of the "swiftboating" of John Kerry in 2004: The effect of this… Continue reading
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A Confucian Constitution for China: Where’s the Popular Sovereignty?
Daniel Bell and Jiang Qing have a short op-ed in today's NYT outlining what a Confucian political system for China might look like. This is a large and complex topic, and the brevity of the piece really cannot do it… Continue reading
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The US Supreme Court does the Mencian thing
As everyone knows by now, the US Supreme Court voted today to uphold the Affordable Care Act (ACA), thus allowing to stand President Obama's signature legislative action on health insurance. In doing so, the Court also, unintentionally I suspect, ratified… Continue reading
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Chinese Intellectuals Need Freedom: Zhuangzi Anticipated This…
Louisa Lim has a report on NPR this morning that reminds us that Chinese intellectuals and artists continue to press for freedom of expression, speech, and thought. She presents the work of artist Yang Weidong: A deceptively simple question has… Continue reading
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Reply to Eric X. Li: Cultures are not Incommensurable and the CCP is not Confucuian
Over at the Huffington Post, Rachel Beitarie interviews Eric X. Li, under the title "Democracy is not the Answer." Li, who describes himself as a Shanghai venture capitalist (which carries a bit of irony, as I will attempt to demonstrate),… Continue reading
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Chen Guangcheng: It ain’t over ’til it’s over
The news this morning, that Chen, with his family, may be able to travel to the US to study at NYU, is good. Let's hope it works out. But, as we have most chaotically learned in the past 48 hours,… Continue reading
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The Core Issue in the Chen Guangcheng case
The story has changed in the past twenty-four hours, but it is important to maintain focus on the central problem in all of this: the PRC government has failed to provide a consistent and fair rule of law and Chen… Continue reading
The Useless Tree 