The New China: Shenzhen, once a sleepy fishing village, is now a teeming city of skyscrapers and factories, artists and laborers. But will this microcosm of modern China be the model of metropolitan life, or a lesson in getting too big too fast? [Good]
China’s next-generation nationalists: As human rights protesters dogged the Beijing Olympics’ torch relay around the world, as supporters of Tibet condemned the violent crackdown in Lhasa, and as Darfur activists demanded change in China’s Sudan policy, Chinese young people worked themselves into a different form of righteous anger. In online forums and chat rooms, they blasted Beijing’s leaders for not being tougher in Tibet. They agitated for boycotts against Western businesses based in nations that object to Beijing’s policies, and they directed venomous fury against anyone critical of China. [LA Times]
China and Japan - A blossoming relationship?: FIRST came the “ice-breaking”, then the “ice-melting”. Now, comes the “cherry-blossom viewing”, admittedly late in the season. A succession of reciprocal visits by the two countries’ leaders have taken Sino-Japanese relations out of the cooler over the past 20 months. [Economist]
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