Recent news reports have highlighted Chinese construction of a system of underground tunnels and raised serious questions about what they might imply regarding China’s nuclear capabilities. One story highlighted that the People’s Republic of China (PRC) may have some 3,000 miles of tunnels, sufficient to move systems underground across the breadth of the country. Much of this was apparently dug by the Second Artillery Force, which is responsible for China’s nuclear forces, so the assumption is that many of these tunnels are related to China’s nuclear deterrent. The most commonly …
The House Ways and Means Committee will hold a hearing tomorrow on America’s economic relations with China. This is easier said than done—there’s a lot of ground to cover. One topic gets the most attention, of course: China’s currency policy. We should all hope that the committee can move beyond currency. More than enough time has been wasted on this. There is no real relationship between the exchange rate and our unemployment rate. And there are plenty of other things to talk about. On China’s side, there are a number …
China has the dubious distinction of being one of the most controlled information environments in the world. Yet even China’s army of censors can at times have trouble staying on top of the vast sea of communication that flows through the Internet. The most recent challenge to government control is microblogging sites like Twitter, which produce a prodigious volume of output. Twitter itself is, of course, outlawed by the Chinese government, which created a number of internal Internet services, like the popular Weibo microblogging service. Ironically, that has now proven difficult …
The most recent reminder of the complex relationship dynamics between India and China was the first “Strategic Economic Dialogue” that took place last week. The diplomatic relationship between India and China has been less than warm in the last few years, with simmering border disputes and recent disagreements over China’s much disputed claims in the South China Sea. Many of the countries in the Indo-Pacific region, from India to Vietnam and the Philippines, are deeply concerned about China’s military modernization and intentions in the region. Today, and in the years …
Catching you up on clips, commentary and news of the day. Sign up for the daily email update from Scribe. The power of civil society – Ed Feulner, The Washington Times New State Laws Could Impact 2012 Vote – Sam Favate, Wall Street Journal The Best Countries for Business – Kurt Badenhausen, Forbes Former attorney general visits Hall residents – Ashley Fielding, Gainesville Times Democrats Tax the Poor With the “Durbin Fee” – John Hayward, Human Events Leon Panetta in Israel: Will his urgent messages bring action? – Howard LaFranchi, …
The Senate is today considering a bill to punish China for its currency policy. The bill requires the U.S. to place duties on Chinese goods if the exchange rate of the yuan against the dollar isn’t brought to a level Congress finds suitable. It is vague on that level, on timing, and on basic logic. There are serious issues in our economic relationship with the Chinese, but the Senate bill won’t address any of them. China’s currency policy doesn’t cost American jobs. In fact, 20 years of figures appear to …
Of the countries that present the greatest foreign policy challenges to the U.S. and will do so in the decades to come, China has to be close to the top of the list, if not number one. Every day brings a new gantlet thrown down by China to American leadership. Thursday, it was of China’s launch of a rocket containing elements of its new space laboratory, images that will be exploited to their full potential in the service of Chinese public diplomacy. This is why the decision of the Broadcasting …
Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton and former Defense Department official Dan Blumenthal have written an interesting and timely op-ed about China and the Law of the Sea Treaty (LOST). In “Time to Kill the Law of the Sea Treaty—Again,” the authors describe the duplicitous double game that China plays in the South China Sea by manipulating the provisions of LOST. China—which is a member of LOST—is interpreting the treaty’s provision on the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in a manner that prohibits lawful military surveillance activities conducted …
Sunday marked the anniversary of an oppressive law that has resulted in almost 40 million “missing” women and some of the most egregious human rights violations in recent history. Thirty-one years ago, on September 25, 1980, the Chinese government instituted a population control policy that prohibits almost all Chinese couples from having more than one child and forbids unmarried women from giving birth. Enforcement of the law has subjected Chinese women to forced abortions and involuntary sterilizations and helped in tipping the country’s demography toward a dangerous gender imbalance. Last …
Most Americans identify China as the country most likely to challenge the United States globally, and many even expect China to replace American dominance. U.S. lawmakers are finally waking up to the challenge, which is not only military and economic but extends to the spheres of information and public diplomacy. At least, some on Capitol Hill are determined make sure the United States faces the challenge and the Chinese government does not get away with brazen opportunism in our free and uncensored media environment. Consider these numbers: China’s state media (whose news reporting …
