Edward Kus is a Research Associate in the Lowy Institute's East Asia Program.
- Amnesty International's report on land expropriation, Standing Their Ground, describes the violent eviction of residents by Chinese governments who then sell the land. Dissatisfaction over land seizures is a major source of discontent in China.
- As the 18th Party Congress approaches the Chinese government is drawing increasingly vocal criticism from the so-called 'new leftists'. The new leftists are supporters of recently ousted Chongqing party chief Bo Xilai who point to China's wealth gap, rampant government corruption and the exploitation of cheap Chinese labor as major justifications for a return to more traditionally Communist policies.
- The relationship between China and Japan appears to have matured: in contrast to the 2010 dispute over the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea, China has not stopped exporting rare earths to Japan in response to the current territorial incidents.
- Henry Kissinger suggests the US-China bilateral relationship is basically sound, but requires 'something on which we can genuinely cooperate'. Read Kissinger's thoughts during a panel discussion at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars which focused on the question: Will China's new leadership be an opportunity for the United States.
- Though it is considered 'vulgar' by Chinese commentators, the Korean pop song Gangnam Style has been viewed more than 300 million times online throughout China, which makes it an interesting case study for pop culture consumption in China.
- Reactions have been mixed to the news that Mo Yan won this year's Nobel Prize for Literature. Mo Yan, whose pen name ironically translates as 'don't speak' is Vice Chairman of the Communist Party's China Writers Association and a graduate of the People's Liberation Army College of Literature and Arts. Mo used his first public comments after receiving the prize to draw attention to Chinese dissident and recipient of the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize, Liu Xiaobo, who remains imprisoned.