Tag: China

The Power of Photography: Rapid Growth has a Price

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Post date 25/01/2010
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Screenshot of New York Times 'Lens' blog

Words do little to convey the kind of destruction unfettered growth has caused in China. Stories of environmental degradation and displacement are common but fail to show the true, human impact of China’s rise.

Contrastingly, spectacular examples of China’s positive ambition are everywhere; in the mushrooming modern mega-cities as well as events such as the annual Harbin Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival; a whimsical Disney-like world made entirely of ice, snow and millions upon millions of Christmas lights. A tourist trap perhaps, but also a testament to the innovative and hopeful spirit of the country.

The following photo essays provide insights into the strange world of China’s yin and yang.

Lu Guang’s stunning, award-winning photography examines the effects of pollution in China on humans as well as landscapes.

Muge Huang Rong’s touchingly old-fashioned photographs illustrate the impact of displacement in the Three Gorges area.

Boston Globe’s Alan Taylor has put together a collection of images from the spectacular Harbin Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival.

Tags China, Pollution, Economic growth

Melting Expectations

Iceberg, Alaska, photo: Creativity+ Timothy K Hamilton/flickr

With the Copenhagen conference on climate change only two weeks away, it remains doubtful whether a legally binding agreement on climate change will emerge. Here a run-down of the (mostly vague) pledges made by key greenhouse gas emitters in the wake of the conference:

Tags Environment, United States of America, Japan, Global warming, Denmark, Climate, International Relations, China, European Union, India, Russia

A Close-Up of China

Screenshot of the Atlantic magazine, map of China

The Atlantic and Patrick Chovanec have published an excellent region-by-region analysis of China with an interesting historical/socio-political angle.

Too often, Chovanec reminds us, China is seen, analyzed and treated as a monolithic entity, while the truth is much more interesting: “China is a mosaic of several distinct regions, each with its own resources, dynamics, and historical character.”

He divides China into Nine Nations and analyzes the historical character, make-up and challenges of each ‘nation’ in turn. They’ve added a snazzy map to the analysis too. I highly recommend reading the whole text though, it gives invaluable insight into the unique challenge China faces as a historically, ethnically and socially complex country with a massive population and a vast geography.

It’s a learning opportunity and one that proves that with China in particular, myths- both accidental and self-generated- have to be questioned in order to “understand the Nine Nations and the role each of them is playing in shaping China’s future.”

Amen to that.

And if you’re still hungry for more, remember to check out our Special Report on US-China relations.

Tags International Relations, Government, China, History, Regions

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ISN Weekly Theme: US-China Relations

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Post date 11/11/2009
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Obama and Mao T-shirts, photo: Shea Hazarian/flickr

Obama’s three day visit to China is expected to breathe new life into the US-China partnership. With deep economic and financial links, as well as responsibility for 40 percent of global carbon dioxide emissions, the US and China are under immense pressure to deliver on the promise of great power cooperation and progress on a daunting set of challenges.

This week’s Special Report features an article by Graham Ong-Webb, from King’s College London, on the need for Obama to set a tone of mutual understanding on his visit, and a podcast with Elizabeth C Economy of the Council on Foreign Relations discussing the trip, related expectations and China’s problematic and conflicted view of itself as a emerging global power with strong roots in the developing world.

In Policy Briefs we feature a German Development Institute brief on the impact of the financial crisis on China and the country’s main economic policies in response to it.

In our Publications section, a Hudson Institute Paper on America’s strategic advantage in Asia and a Crisis Group Report examining China’s expanding role in UN peacekeeping.

A piece of history, from Primary Resources, in the form of the 1972 Shanghai Communique signalling the opening of relations between the US and China.

And finally, in Links, the Future of US-China relations website that focuses on the result of a conference about the future of US-China relations and on the relationship from a multidimensional perspective.

Tags Politician, China, Bilateral relations, United States of America, East Asia

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Those Immigrants…

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Post date 27/08/2009
1 Comment on Those Immigrants…

Migrant integration in Europe is one of the hot topics on the continent, especially concerning Muslims. A number of Muslim immigrants in France arrived from Algeria in the second half of the 20th century due to the colonial relationship that lasted until 1962. In France, and the rest of Europe, its the cultural-religious differences between devout Muslims and the secular majority that gives sociologists and right-wing politicians a lot to write about.

As one of the interesting side effects of globalization, Algeria itself now seems to have some problems with non-Muslim immigrants. There are an estimated 35,000 Chinese who live in the country who seem to be unwilling or unable to assimilate to the cultural norms of their hosts.

Tags International Relations, China, Culture, Migration, Algeria