"There is a group of people who make their living from politics, who along the way evolve into rulers. Their interests are not the same as the interests of the people. But to achieve their own goals, and to further their own interests, they will deceive the people and get them to make sacrifices for the nation. The truth is that they're getting people to sacrifice for their own interests. Most wars in our world were started this way." more ›

Minxin Pei, Professor of Government at Claremont McKenna College, argues that the downfall of former Chongqing party chief Bo Xilai has busted the notion that the Chinese Communist Party's rule is based on meritocracy. He says the government is "riddled with clever apparatchiks like Bo who have acquired their positions through cheating, corruption, patronage, and manipulation". more ›

"On 16 May 1966, the Chinese Communist Party launched the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution and unleashed the Ten Years of Turmoil. I suggest that we set this day aside as a National Day of Reflection. Here's what I've learnt: Blind belief in any one group or leader will not give us true democracy or real rule of law. Without democracy, there can be no freedom or participation in the system, and anyone can turn from unbridled zeal to violence. Without rule of law, there is no way to equitably protect the rights of citizens, and anyone can become a victim." more ›

"There are indeed many problems going on at the National Development and Reform Commission. I live just opposite their building and can see what's going on very clearly. On our road, you'll find many gift shops. All these people coming from out-of-town enter the building with big and small bags, and later leave empty-handed. At the end of the day, NDRC officials leave the building with big and small bags. They can't use all the stuff, so they sell them back to the gift shops, who in turn resell them to others who have come to Beijing on a mission. So that's what's happened to our street." more ›

"Every time Han Han tweets, he gets at least 10,000 retweets or comments. He is no doubt China's "King of the Microblogs". For such a young person to have such a wide reach, you really don't see this anywhere else in the world. I'd like to say to Comrade Han Han that he has a responsibility to use this power wisely -- to serve the people, and to serve the motherland. Other people can ignore this preachy advice, but he should take this to heart." more ›

"We have been attempting to block a whole load of Western things -- Western values, hostile Western forces, Western hegemony, and the Western cultural invasion. Our firewall is the world's most advanced. Strangely though, we've never heard of the West trying to block Oriental values, hostile Oriental forces, and the Oriental cultural invasion. Our CCTV4 has landed in the United States, and even The Founding of a Party is being shown on screens there. This illustrates a truth: Where there's freedom, there's no need for firewalls." more ›

"Countless events have proven the fact that real innovation in China does not exist in culture, but in food and medicine. If only just 1% of this creativity was applied in the film industry, Chinese films would no doubt be the world's best." more ›

"Does China have any modern political civilisation to speak of? No, we see only thick skins, black hearts, and the law of the jungle. No matter how gory this infighting within the palace is going to be, the people will do well not to expect Justice Bao to descend from heaven. It is only when the average Chinese start seeing themselves as truly human can civil society start to grow." more ›

"Fang (Lizhi) has died in the United States at the age of 76. To be honest, I kind of pity him. None of his pursuits and endeavours were in rhythm with the development of China. In reality, he has already been forgotten. I hope that Chinese intellectuals can be more rational in the future. China should not have any more of those elites who are receiving the support and protection of foreign countries to oppose the powers-that-be in this country. That is the old generation, that is going back to the past. The Dalai Lama has received the most support (from foreign nations), but he is just like a passing cloud, he has zero chance to succeed." more ›

"Every time I see our famous professors, famous writers, famous doctors, famous actors, famous entrepreneurs, famous cultural figures, famous artists, famous investors, famous media professionals, famous anchorpersons and all other famous figures meeting with government officials with fear and trepidation, afraid to displease them, I feel a deep sense of grief, one that consumes my entire being. I am sad not just for myself but for the country I live in, because when communication requires such a position, the cost of communication and psychological pressure is immense." more ›

As you may have heard, China's two biggest micro-blog services Sina and Tencent Weibo have been forced to suspend their comment functions from 8 a.m, March 31 to 8 a.m, April 3. While microbloggers have been restricted from commenting on tweets, they are still free to post their own original tweets and retweet what others have posted. more ›

"After the Chongqing saga, I have been pondering whether there are actually real leftists in the academic sense in China. The ideas presented by those apparent leftists are -- from the academic point of view -- anti-constitution and anti-modernization. The so-called "rightists" in 1957 weren't rightists but pro-constitution advocates. Anti-rightism is in fact anti-constitutionalism. The debate between the left and the right is often quite simply a debate between tradition and modernism, or between dictatorship and constitutionalism." more ›

"Why is the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) stubbornly there despite the anger of the people? Now, NDRC officials are defending the increase in oil prices again. In face of public anger, the NDRC just threw the magic words "for the sake of national energy security." However, in China, they're buying at a low price while selling at a high price and market competition is low given the monopoly. Both the nation and consumers have have a lot to lose. Hasn't that been caused by the NDRC? The people aren't saying they don't expect prices to go up, but what they're against is the monopoly. Under today's system, nobody can take the NDRC to task no matter how angry people are!" more ›

"The income gap in China is of course very big now, but the distribution system is not solely to be blamed. The inequality now is caused by the inequality at the starting point. Children of ordinary backgrounds have never enjoyed equal rights by any measure as their wealthier counterparts since the moment they were born." more ›

"90% of Hong Kongers take public transport. According to the Guangdong Daily, over 12 million bus trips are taken in Hong Kong every day. Most car owners and even rich people take buses. However, many mainland car owners can't imagine losing their faces and want everyone to know that they have cars. They even drive just to cover a few steps, and don't take the subway even if there's a station right outside their door. Does one really need a damn car to prove one's wealth? I think, we should learn more from Hong Kongers when it comes to civic consciousness!" more ›

"If criticizing the Chinese government means being ‘anti-China,’ then most American media would be 'anti America'. The China in the term anti-China media refers to a country with a 5,000 years of history, a very vast land. It is not someone's dynasty or career, nor some party's reign. If you hear people talking about "anti-China" media again, you may think this way: he may be smoking Zhonghua cigarettes, but even Zhonghua does not represent the country of China. Who does he think he is to represent the country?" more ›

"The fall of Bo Xilai, like the fall of the Gang of Four, was a non-normal process. It only goes to show that the Chinese Communist Party has failed to evolve even by a hair's breadth over the last three decades. In countries under the rule of law, problematic officials are dealt with using legal measures. China, on the other hand, operates within the black box. Bo Xilai may not be evil, but his opponents Hu and Wen are no saints either. It gives me goosebumps to hear people like Wang Kang praising Wen, like someone has just let off a foul odour. more ›

The US president only rides the US-made Cadillac. The UK premier rides the UK-made Jaguar. The French president rides France's Peugeot. The German chancellor rides in Germany's Audi. The Italian premier rides Italy's Maserati. The Japanese premier rides Japan's Toyota, and the Korean president rides Korea's Hyundai. I believe some day, Chinese leaders will only ride Chinese cars, and that some day, when Obama comes to China to deliver speeches after his retirement, he too will be riding on Chinese cars. more ›

In the thirty years before the reform and opening up, the total number of non-normal deaths resulting from political causes was 50 million. That's 160 times the number of people died from the Nanjing Massacre. Throughout this period, there was not a single foreign soldier that stepped on Chinese soil. Since the reform and opening up, there has been a huge improvement in Chinese human rights. Now, even if you want to kill a Wu Ying, it's become very difficult because there is now a respect for life. What we need to do now is to have this respect for human rights written into the law. In any situation, we must look at the most important facts. And only after you've accounted for the dead people can you talk about anything else. more ›

I don't like the website Utopia (Editor's note: an ultra-leftist website), but I hope they can continue to make their voice heard. I don't like what Liu (Xiaobo) stands for, but I wish he did not have to sit in prison, and that he would have his place in Chinese society like other "dissidents" do. Nevertheless, the tolerance level in Chinese politics is never as high as we wish it to be. Do what you must but be mindful of the measure. Once you break past a certain threshold, the constructiveness of the diversity you're trying to create will turn into destructiveness, and the backlash will happen. This is the real China. more ›

Concerning the fall of Bo (Xilai), there's been a great deal of rumours spread by the foreign media and on the internet. Here's my advice for everyone. First, trust in the Party. Second, trust in the general rationality of society that has developed decades after China's reform and opening up. Third, trust in the immense momentum China still possesses going forward. These are the words from the bottom of my heart to everyone. And the words I say to myself. more ›

Are red songs really just entertainment? You ask Bo (Xilai)! If this was purely entertainment, then Bo's gang would not have enlisted so many troops and used so much resources to promote them. In the last few decades, I have met many Chinese people on both sides of the straits, and the cultural disparity between mainlanders, Hong Kongers and Taiwanese is extreme. Sometimes I wonder: what led to this yawning gap in the cultural values held among what's supposed to be a homogeneous group? So don't underestimate the power of red songs. They can inject the poison of the revolution and the utter disrespect of human rights into your blood! more ›

The dramatic ousting of Bo Xilai as Chongqing party chief has sparked a huge debate not only on Bo's own fate but also the future of the Chinese Communist Party. Here's a selection of tweets on the issue by leading lights on Sina Weibo -- handpicked and translated by Shanghaiist for your reading pleasure: more ›

"Hong Kong journalists have asked me how I see the prime minister's remarks that real estate prices have not gone down to reasonable levels. I said SOHO is not your average developer. It is involved mainly in the development of office buidlings. When the premier said that real estate prices were not in line with incomes, he was referring to residential property prices. We have always thought that housing prices were too high vis-a-vis rental returns and household incomes. This is what we've said, and we've also acted in line with this belief. In the last few years, we have not bought any land for residential use." more ›

"I'm just a tennis player. I'm not here at the open for my country. I just want to play my tennis. It's my job to do my very best. If in the past I've had to lie, now I want to say that actually I haven't been comfortable doing that. Because if you've lied your first lie, then you'll have to lie many more times to cover up that first lie. And I really don't want to do that anymore. I know many people are going to start hating me for speaking the truth, but does it matter anymore? I've finally found my own happiness." more ›

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The government manufacturing Steve Jobs: this idea itself is unscientific. How could Steve Jobs be manufactured? The government cannot manufacture him. He was created by the market environment. In working in science and technology, the government must not spoil things by being too enthusiastic. I advocate following the “mushroom theory”: the government creates an environment, and with the right air, moisture levels, and humidity, mushrooms will grow by themselves. The government doesn’t need to go plant mushrooms, or choose specific mushrooms, just create an environment, an ecology. more ›

Zong Qinghou, China’s second-richest man, talks about the economy and the government's economic policy. Zong, the 66-year-old self-made billionaire who is chairman of Hangzhou Wahaha Group Co., is a member of China’s legislature. He also discusses Europe's sovereign debt crisis and his company's legal disputes with Danone SA. He spoke on March 3 in Beijing with Bloomberg Television's Stephen Engle. (Source: Bloomberg) more ›

"Chairman [Mao] was very strict with his descendants, and he himself was also very incorruptible. Look at our family, among all those descendants of Chairman, can you find anyone who is an official or does business? You can find none! Why? Because Chairman had set a good example." more ›

"I have an idea. There should be someone managing the web as well. We can't just let people do whatever they want. [The Internet] should be like the People's Daily. Foreigners are messing up [the Internet]. We can't be like this. We should make the Internet in accordance with our principles. We should not make a good thing turn bad and become a place where people can say whatever they want. Our country is a socialist country under the leadership of the Communist Party." more ›