After seven years of meticulous and costly preparation, the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics transpired without issue. In the eyes of the Chinese people and their government, the event – attended by 86 heads of state – was all about respect and acceptance into the world community.
The Beijing Olympics mark China’s emergence as a global leader, but present risks that could mar its reputation. Risks include logistical organization, pollution, security, and political protests.
China’s capitalist revolution presents two divergent political paths for the country: autocracy or democracy. While the current strength of the CCP might suggest China is traveling down the first path, there are signs that citizen resistance on issues like growing economic disparities and environmental degradation may be on the rise and become more potent in the future.
With only days to go before the Olympic Games, Minxin Pei joined a panel of experts on the Diane Rehm Show to discuss what the Chinese government hopes to gain from hosting one of the biggest spectacles in sports.
The massive overhaul of Beijing in preparation for the Olympic summer games was orchestrated by the state's top-down power structure without the participation of civil society. Minxin Pei explains in the Financial Times that political evolution historically associated with economic development is not taking place in China.
The ascension of China and Russia as autocratic global powers will redefine the power balance within the international community. Robert Kagan and Francis Fukuyama debate how the United States can successfully manage this transition.
With the Beijing Olympics only days away and the Chinese economy continuing its robust expansion, the Chinese people are increasingly optimistic about China’s future and confident about its global image. That is the major finding from Pew’s 2008 Global Attitudes Survey.
Yesterday U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice dropped in on an important Asian political conference she has missed in recent years. Ms. Rice's decision to attend the Association of Southeast Asian Nations' Regional Forum in Singapore this week is a welcome if belated sign that the Bush administration has begun to give Asia its due as the new global center of gravity.
For a meeting dubbed the "World Economic Forum" (WEF), Davos isn't nearly cosmopolitan enough. Of the 6,000 or so people who make up the top of the world's power pyramid, about one-third were from Asia, and that number is increasing on an almost daily basis. But, despite tectonic shifts in world markets and politics, Asian attendance at Davos remains disproportionately low.
Despite President Bush’s 2001 commitment to supply Taiwan with U.S. military equipment for its self defense, the administration froze the final part of the arms deal last week. The deal should move forward, not only to support a democratic ally whose leader is committed to improving cross-straits relations, but also as a pragmatic step toward balancing China’s military build-up.
























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