Special to WorldTribune.com By Willy Lam, EastAsiaIntel.com China’s momentous “One Belt, One Road” (OBOR) strategy — a reference to the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road — has further illustrated the declining political fortunes of Premier Li Keqiang. Although Li is ranked second on the supreme Chinese Communist Party Politburo […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Willy Lam, EastAsiaIntel.com President Xi Jinping has invited Eric Chu, Chairman of Taiwan’s Kuomintang (KMT, or the Nationalists) Party for a “historic handshake” in Beijing early next month on May 4. This will be the second time since 1949 that the heads of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the KMT […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Willy Lam, EastAsiaIntel.com The much-awaited Fourth Plenary Session of the Central Committee closed in Beijing on Oct. 23 with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leadership vowing to “improve the socialist system of laws with Chinese characteristics.” However, what caught the attention of political observers in Beijing is that General Secretary and […]
By Donald Kirk, East-Asia-Intel.com The democracy demos in Hong Kong evoke so many memories going back to the late 1960s when I saw thousands pouring on to the streets of what was then a British crown colony brandishing copies of Mao Zedong’s “little red book.” That was the era of the Great Cultural Revolution, and […]
Special to WorldTribune.com East-Asia-Intel.com Following in the footsteps of Japan’s triumphant South Asia initiatives under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, China feels the pressure to compete for influence and goodwill in the region as well. This week, China’s Supreme Leader Xi Jinping made a swift visit to South Asia to curry favors from the governments of […]
By John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — Presidents, prime ministers, kings and potentates are gathering in New York for the 69th General Assembly of the UN. But as diplomats come together for the annual general debate which begins on Sept. 24, there’s a cloud of political and social unease greeting delegations from the 193 member […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Willy Lam, East-Asia-Intel.com A People’s Daily commentary on the one-and-half-year rule of President Xi Jinping has thus characterized the Chinese strongman’s unique approach to foreign policy: alternatively using tough and soft tactics so as to close the gap with the United States as the leading arbiter in global affairs. The extraordinary article, entitled […]
Special to WorldTribune.com East-Asia-Intel.com China has the world’s largest military force in terms of total number of personnel. However, the PLA also distinguishes itself for keeping a large number of non-combat military personnel who have often been promoted faster and more prominently than many combat personnel. Xi Jinping is determined to change that. Starting Aug. […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Willy Lam, East-Asia-Intel.com While Xi Jinping has accomplished what the official media call a “watershed triumph” by taking out “super-big tiger” Zhou Yongkang, tell-tale signs have emerged showing that the supremo’s hold on power is far from complete. Firstly, while the president’s opponents have apparently acquiesced in Xi’s breaking the taboo that “former […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Willy Lam, East-Asia-Intel.com It is a credit to Xi Jinping’s Machiavellian genius that he has pulled off a major achievement in fighting corruption — which is universally regarded as the most serious problem of the party and state — within less than two years in power. The decision to begin investigations into the […]