There has been terrible violence in India's Assam region recently and the violence has spread to other parts of India. Since this is a blog on China, not India, I am not going to dig too much into the cause or even meaning of the riots. But I do want to point out the relatively "favorable" coverage India is getting. In almost all reports I see, India is cast as the force … [Read more...] about Riots in Assam
human rights
The need for clarity
Unlike many of the bloggers here, I'm not a big fan of Eric X. Li's writing and speeches from what I have so far seen and heard. I disagree with what he has said as they are either irrelevant, confused, contradictory or a strawman. I think I have expressed why I felt this way in the comments section of the latest blog on Li but there still seems to be some misunderstanding … [Read more...] about The need for clarity
Eric X Li, Chinese pluralism vs. Western universality
As regular readers of this blog may know, we are fans of Eric X. Li. In this video below at the Aspen Institute, Anand Giridharadas (of NYT) interviewed him in front of a live audience. As Giridharadas said at the introduction, Eric indeed shakes the foundation of prevailing Western views present in the room. I especially liked his confident and forthright answers to a … [Read more...] about Eric X Li, Chinese pluralism vs. Western universality
India v/s China: We’ve got Facebook! What’ve you got?
An interesting analysis in TIME magazine, to the extent that it tries to be an analysis: The ChIndian Century And don't forget to check out these two accompanying arguments, one for India and one for China: The Case for India: Free to Succeed The Case for China: The Power of Planning I plan to blog about this general issue sometime soon. Right now however, I just … [Read more...] about India v/s China: We’ve got Facebook! What’ve you got?
Chinese scholars propose human rights commission
A panel of experts from China University of Political Science and Law have proposed establishing an independent human rights commission in a recent forum attended by both Chinese and foreign human rights experts. (China Daily has more details.) If this proposal becomes enshrined in China's constitution, that'd be a really interesting development. Below are couple of key … [Read more...] about Chinese scholars propose human rights commission