By Gordon G. Chang Chinese leaders are not as lucky as their North Korean cousins. Beijing's cadres govern a population that is increasingly mobile, aware, and demanding--and that thinks for itself. The Communist Party's shameful coverup of the SARS epidemic ended when Chinese doctors told... MORE

By Willy Lam President Hu Jintao will intensify both united front tactics and "military readiness" after having taken over the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) Leading Group on Taiwan Affairs. The LGTA is the country's policy setting organ for reunification matters. Chinese sources in Beijing have... MORE

By Harvey B. Stockwin   It is a remarkable fact that numerous observers of the Chinese scene, anxious to see progress even where there is little at hand, have hailed as a sign of Chinese "glasnost"--or political openness--a decision by Beijing to disclose information about... MORE

By Gordon G. Chang China's problem is that it is stuck in the middle of the reform process, while North Korea's is that it is just starting it. To arrest the continued deterioration of North Korea's economy, Kim Jong-il, the communist world's first and only... MORE

By Al Santoli Superficially, the May 30 mob violence and the detention in Burma of Aung San Suu Kyi, Asia's revered champion of democracy, appears to be a case of business-as-usual by one of the world's most reviled military juntas--a group that, for over a... MORE

By Gordon G. Chang They're communist cousins, existing side-by-side, but they couldn't appear more different. One of them looks vibrant and dynamic--the other dark and desperate. Are we living in "China's Century," as some commentators tell us? And is North Korea, by contrast, on the... MORE

By Baopu Liu The deadly SARS virus in China is far more than just an epidemic and a threat to public health. Because of the outbreak, there has been much discussion about China's notorious control of national media and the flow of information. Of greatest... MORE

By Willy Lam Although he is generally deemed a moderate--if not liberal--cadre on political matters, President Hu Jintao issued a remarkably tough message on defense and armaments at a Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Politburo meeting in late May. During this special Politburo "study session" on... MORE

By Richard D. Fisher, Jr. A long awaited report assessing the real extent, plus the potential for danger to the United States from China's ongoing military modernization has been released by the New York-based Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). While this report makes useful contributions... MORE

By Harvey Stockwin The spread of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome--the SARS virus--throughout China is a phenomenon that had previously been denied by authorities and had gone unreported. But the penetration of the disease is now being admitted publicly, and efforts to combat it have begun.... MORE