By Zachary Keck - The Diplomat
August
5, 2013
Some Monday China links:
E.J. Thomas, editor of U.S.-China Report, argues on the U.S.-China Report Blog
that, despite his short tenure, it is already apparent that Xi Jinping is the
most powerful leader China has witnessed since the days of Deng Xiaoping or Mao
Zedong.
The Washington Post reports
that Chinese authorities, finding they cannot control ever comment made
over the internet, are taking an innovative new approach: trying to actually
listen to what people are saying and responding. “Every comment made by the
591 million Chinese ‘netizens’ is analyzed at the People’s Daily Online
Public Opinion Monitoring Center, with summaries sent in real time to party
leaders. More than ever before, China’s rulers are actually
listening to their people, reacting quickly to contain potential crises
that could threaten one-party control.”
The Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars
has a new edited volume entitled: Clash
of National Identities: China, Japan, and the China Sea Territorial Dispute.
The contributors are Japanese and Chinese scholars analyzing the Diaoyu/Sekaku
Islands disputes from a number of different angles.
Mitch Moxley, a Canadian journalist, describes his
experience working in Beijing at China Daily, his new memoir: Apologies
to my Censor. An excerpt
of the book is up at The Atlantic.
The Wall Street Journal’s Chinese-language
paper is
being blocked on the mainland, although the English language version is
still available. At least it won’t get lonely as Bloomberg and The
New York Times were blocked last year after both outlets published
reports about how Chinese leaders use their power to amass vast fortunes for
themselves and their families. Japan’s Asahi Shimbun also found its
social media accounts in China blocked last month.
Over
at Foreign Policy, David Gompert and Terrence Kelly, both of the
RAND Corporation, air their concerns over AirSea Battle. Gompert and Kelly
write: “Civilian and military leaders alike need to understand that Air-Sea
Battle suggests the United States would strike China before China strikes U.S.
forces.” The article also highlights the classic security dilemma between two
adversaries; namely, that action taken by one state purely for defensive
security concerns can be perceived and often is seen as threatening by the
other side.
Reuters reports
that foreign companies operating in China are complaining that they
are being forced to choose sides in a turf war between two of China’s financial
regulators: the People's Bank of China (PBOC) and the State
Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE).
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