In October 2006, both the United States and the People’s Republic of China released documents that dictated their policies toward the international use of space. Issued just a week apart, the “U.S. National Space Policy” (NSP) and the “China’s Space Activities in 2006” dealt with... MORE

Coal extraction, by no means a safe endeavor, has had a particularly disastrous record in China. According to official statistics, more than 250,000 Chinese coal miners have died in mining accidents since the inception of the People’s Republic of China in 1949 [1]. In comparison,... MORE

Leadership ascension in China has long been an opaque and unpredictable process. The 17th Party Congress, due to convene this year, will present another opportunity for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to reshuffle its top leadership. Included in this will likely be new members of... MORE

CHINA AND PAKISTAN CONDUCT JOINT ANTI-TERROR TRAINING EXERCISES On December 18, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and the Pakistani Army concluded an eight-day exercise of “joint-terror operations in mountainous terrain” that was held in Abbottabad, northern Pakistan. The exercises, codenamed “Friendship 2006,” were held in... MORE

The transformation of the Second Artillery Corps, which is the arm of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) responsible for most of China’s conventional and nuclear ballistic missiles, is one of the centerpieces of China’s military modernization program. The number of short- and medium-range ballistic missiles... MORE

From November 20-26, President Hu Jintao paid consecutive visits to India and Pakistan, concluding a nearly two-week, four-country trip through Southeast and South Asia. The Delhi stop was the latest in a recent spate of bilateral diplomacy that includes the April 2005 announcement of a... MORE

China’s environmental problems are increasingly in the international limelight, as reports of the country’s mounting pollutants and stories of the choking air in major Chinese cities have made their way into newspapers throughout the world. The most serious of these challenges have been linked to... MORE

Attracting little international and media attention, the World Uyghur Congress (WUC) recently held its Second General Assembly in Munich, Germany from November 24-27. Some 40 activists took part in the meeting, representing Uyghur communities all over the world, including the United States, Canada, Great Britain,... MORE

Few subjects are as contentiously debated among students of contemporary China as the direction of its modernization and the progress of its reforms. More often than not, these discussions become dogmatic disputes that yield little value to the comprehension of the raison d’être behind China’s... MORE

NEW WAR GAMES SIMULATOR EMPLOYED AT NATIONAL DEFENSE UNIVERSITY China’s National Defense University (NDU) has initiated the use of a new situational conflict simulation system in order to train its mid- and high-level military and civilian personnel in operational and crisis decision-making. This “immersion-type strategic... MORE