Since Wen Jiabao's visit to Washington in December 2003, Beijing has steadily ratcheted up its rhetoric on Taiwan, pressuring Washington and threatening Taiwanese president Chen Shuibian to stop leading Taiwan towards independence from the Mainland. Following President Chen's re-election this spring, Beijing has made increasingly... MORE

The 1.784 million voters that participated in Hong Kong's 2004 Legislative Council Election gave a clear signal that they want democracy sooner rather than later. Whereas until now Hong Kongers have only been able to select the opposition, the recent elections indicated the people's desire... MORE

The Legislative Council (LegCo) polls in Hong Kong demonstrated that Beijing's carrot-and-stick approach has to a considerable extent been successful in countering the challenge of pro-democracy forces in the special administrative region (SAR). It is expected that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leadership will continue... MORE

Reconsidering the "Hu-Wen" notion China watchers' inclination to posit a new "Hu Jintao-Wen Jiabao" model of governance – a concept first put forward during the SARS outbreak in China last year – suggests the country's newly-installed "fourth generation" leadership has broken with its predecessors and... MORE

Recent indications point to a growing Sino-US rivalry in the Asia-Pacific, with China's emergence not only as an Asian power, but a world power. The impressive haul of Olympic golds by China, second only to the U.S., testifies to this Asian giant's rising prowess on... MORE

The soon-to-be-announced appointment of former Vice-Foreign Minister Wang Yi as Chinese Ambassador to Japan is emblematic of efforts by the Hu Jintao-Wen Jiabao leadership to improve Sino-Japanese relationship. In the past year, bilateral ties have deteriorated due to a host of issues ranging from “the... MORE

In late July, the Politburo standing committee met for a study session to consider ways to build a “prosperous nation and powerful military” (fuguo qiangbing). The result was a “new” strategy with decidedly ancient roots: “to be able to talk peace, one must be able... MORE

Nomination of candidates for the 2004 Hong Kong Legislative Council (LegCo) Election closed on August 4, with voting day set for September 12. A total of 88 candidates will run for 30 seats in five directly elected geographical constituencies (GCs). Another 60 candidates are competing... MORE

Israel keeps a low profile when it comes to cross-strait security issues; the official line of Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs’s (MFA) is that there is nothing to discuss. Moreover, Taiwan’s repeated attempts to resume official ties with the Israeli government have been rebuffed at... MORE

Although the Chinese leadership faces no electoral contenders, Beijing will soon have to deal with two uncertain but crucial elections in the next four months, the consequences of which could have serious implications for China's internal political cohesiveness as well as regional stability. In September,... MORE