China is staring economic stagnation in the face and the ruling Chinese Communist Party is panicking. The segment of society the CCP fears most – its younger people with their Internet capability and changing political and cultural outlook – represent a critical demographic the Party finds itself increasingly beholden to. Foreign Affairs reports.
Paris climate agreement is a triumph of hope over facts
China’s leaders, we are told, are leading us to planetary carbon salvation. For a reality check, consult a new report by Patricia Adams, the executive director of Probe International. Tom Switzer for the Sydney Morning Herald.
The negative effects on Haiti of too much foreign aid
Haitians know how to fish but they need access to a boat buoyed by property rights, rule of law and greater access to world markets. Nevertheless, some bright spots have emerged in a move away from the “over-aid” model: mangoes and the reopening of a wheat flour mill destroyed by the 2010 earthquake.
China puts rights lawyer Pu Zhiqiang on trial as police scuffle with diplomats and protesters
As President Xi’s crackdown on dissent continues, China’s most prominent human rights lawyer awaits sentencing on the “vague charges” leveled against him. Meanwhile, many of the 200 human rights lawyers authorities rounded up in July, in a major nationwide sweep, remain behind bars. The Los Angeles Times reports.
Deterrence lost in plea deals
Deferred prosecution agreements that let companies pay fines for wrongdoing could backfire by encouraging repeat criminality. Probe International’s Patricia Adams for the National Post.
No winners in corporate shakedown
DPAs were virtually unheard of in business settings prior to 2004, but their growing popularity in the U.S. is now being felt in Canada with SNC-Lavalin lobbying the Liberal government to have its fate determined by a DPA, rather than the criminal trial the Harper government pursued.
China’s smog battle ongoing but skies are clearer for Beijing
The problem of smog is declining faster in Beijing than elsewhere in China, where air pollution remains at hazardous levels, reports Greenpeace. Chinese authorities, meanwhile, are making a “big deal” of going after small-time or individual polluters rather than industrial polluters. Why the smoke screen?
China releases two NGO activists ‘on bail’ ahead of president’s US trip
Guo Yushan and He Zhengjun, detained former members of the influential Beijing Transition Institute (now shuttered), have been released on bail by Chinese authorities. Some analysts see the move as a symbolic concession to US concerns over Beijing’s human rights record. What might their release mean going forward? Radio Free Asia reports.
Uncivil society
A new draft law spooks foreign not-for-profit groups working in China.
Tianjin and China’s industrial calamities
This terrific opinion piece by Xiao Shu, a former columnist for China’s outspoken Southern Weekly newspaper, gets right to the point in saying the country’s “calamitous cycle of man-made disasters is the direct result of a dysfunctional government.” The answer: Give power back to the people.
China’s unspeakable consensus
“The Three Gorges Dam must be dismantled, and China’s political system must be changed,” writes veteran Chinese journalist Xiao Shu in this piece first published by the Taipei-based online news site, Storm Media. “To a great extent,” the author continues, “the Three Gorges Dam is the most apt metaphor for China’s political system.” A significant must-read.
China: CCP’s ‘profound dread’ behind crackdown on lawyers
The party’s attempts to project confidence do little to disguise its panic: It is beset by economic strife, antagonism between officials and the people, corruption, ecological disasters, unrest in Xinjiang and Tibet, and its own sense of ideological crisis.
In China’s crackdown on rights lawyers, big law says little
Chinese authorities are well aware how governments and bar organizations around the world feel about their fierce crackdown on human-rights lawyers. But the country’s commercial lawyers—including international firms active in China—have been relatively quiet. Why so? The American Lawyer reports.
China’s gloomy future
China’s increasing financial and economic assertiveness suggests its star is only set to rise on the world stage and that has prompted some major swagger on the part of its leaders. Swagger the nation’s long-term view doesn’t warrant. Commentary by John Robson.
Patricia Adams: China must free activists who championed environment and the rule of law
China must free Guo Yushan and He Zhengjun and restore confidence in their country.
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