- Government officials are bribing censors to have negative content about themselves removed from the public sphere.
- Turkmenistan increases its gas exports to China again.
- China's 'revisionists' could isolate North Korea diplomatically.
- CSIS has produced a good roundup of the Vietnam-China standoff, while the New York Times featured a Q&A with Taylor Fravel. On The Interpreter, Malcolm Cook wrote two posts on the implications for ASEAN, while Julian Snelder explored the considerations for the Australian debate on Chinese investment. I also gave my two cents.
- Federalism, Chinese style.
- Some great anecdotes in the latest Sinica Podcast: first experiences in China from the 1970s through 1990s.
- In Xinjiang, the economic divide is seen to be fueling ethnic unrest.
- After a protest in Hangzhou, government mouthpiece The Global Times has begun railing against Chinese 'nimbies':
China has probably become the most comfortable hotbed for nimby, which means Chinese authorities have to take urgent measures to reverse this dangerous tendency.