January 2010 Archives

Avatar, that (CounterRevolutionary) Confucian Parable?!

This year's Golden Globe winner, Avatar, is stirring up some surprising debate and discussion among China watchers who are wondering why Beijing has pulled the 2D version from 1600 theaters around the country—swapping it out (to the delight, no doubt, of Chinese filmgoers) for a thrilling state-sanctioned biography of Confucius.

Chinese Censorship 2.0

Kaiser Kuo:  As cool as he looksThe discussions of Google's decision to stop kowtowing to Beijing after its gmail accounts were hacked from accounts based in China continue. In a fascinating Lowy Institute interview with Kaiser Kuo, Beijing-based American Ogilvy...

Being Less Evil in China

Outside Google’s Beijing headquartersPhoto: René Vandergoten, China Digital TimesOne of the scariest things about China’s censorship of the Internet and other media is that the government has effectively erased whole chapters of Chinese history.  Many—and I dare say, most—20-somethings...

About The China Hand

Dinda Elliott
"The most danger I’ve faced was covering a failed putsch in Moscow: I was in the crowd in 1993 when SpezNaz special forces opened fire on protesters. The democracy movement in China in 1989 was the story that changed my life, because it showed me that truly terrible things happen. Nowadays I get my kicks from revisiting hotspots and tracking responsible travel. My husband thinks I’m happiest when I am speaking Chinese."