Despite campaign bluster, Trump has failed to take on the threat of the rising superpower. Trump has long seen his trade war with China as a way to secure his re-election. A closer look at his dealings with the United States’ rival superpower, however, reveals that Americans have borne the brunt of his trade war’s pain. And […]
China
Interpreting China’s Sloppy Rhetoric
A blip in one of China’s typically polished press releases raises eyebrows. Was it intentional or a product of incompetence?
Courts, Corruption, and Confucius: The CCP’s Illiberal Reforms
The Chinese Communist Party must choose between a weaker state or a weaker economy. President Xi Jinping believes he can forge a third option.
Grassroots Democratization on the Factory Floor
This past April, workers at the Yue Yuen Dongguan shoe factory swarmed out into the streets in protest. Despite the hundreds of riot police swarming the streets, the workers’ numbers only swelled as they continued to protest the company’s ongoing failure to pay its employees and the thousands of fraudulent contracts they had been forced […]
Leftover Women
Since last year, my childhood friend Huang has been avoiding her mother’s phone calls. At 25, Huang has only been out of college for three years, yet she has worked hard enough to achieve the position of HR manager at a large real estate development firm. However, Huang’s success at work does not seem to […]
Demanding Justice: China’s Broken Petitioning System
On July 20, 2013, wheelchair-bound Ji Zhongxing, 34, rolled into Terminal 3 of Beijing’s Capital Airport and detonated a homemade bomb. In the amateur online videos that went viral immediately following the incident, Mr. Ji is gesturing frantically, then there is a loud bang and the arrivals entry hall fills with thick black smoke. No […]
Authoritarian Resilience Through Democracy
In an era when United States foreign policy is dominated by the effort to create functioning democracies around the world, it is important to understand how or if democratic procedures alone can create a fairer society. The United States has promoted democracies abroad countless times. Arguments favoring the Democracy Peace Theory– that democratic states are […]