Category: Environmental Politics in East Asia

Environmental Politics in East Asia, Huanqiu Shibao, Manchuria, North Korea, Sino-North Korean relations, 新闻自由

Odyssey of Extortion: Chinese Press Coverage of the North Korean Boat Hijacking

How is it that the world beyond Beijing and Pyongyang becomes aware of Chinese-North Korean fishing disputes in the Yellow Sea? North Korea remains silent on such matters, so information is distributed almost purely through reports in mainland Chinese media–in other words, we hear about such events when Beijing needs and wants them to become known. When Chinese fishermen are harassed and detained by North Korean … Continue reading Odyssey of Extortion: Chinese Press Coverage of the North Korean Boat Hijacking

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China, East Asian modernity, Environmental Politics in East Asia

Liaoyang-Dalian: The Transformation of China’s Rust Belt Unrest

The 14 August 2011 protests in Dalian, forcing the closing of a major chemical plant there, have inspired a fair amount of news in the Anglophone and Sinophone press. Now the Guardian’s essential environmental correspondent, Jonathan Watts, takes the analysis to a new level, describing the role of social class in forcing the environmental issue to the fore — or, in other words, the power of … Continue reading Liaoyang-Dalian: The Transformation of China’s Rust Belt Unrest

Adam Cathcart4 Comments
Cultural Politics, East Asian modernity, Environmental Politics in East Asia, EU-East Asia relations, Tibet

“Tibehtalaš” and Harnessing the Flood-Gates of Ethno-Nationalism: Hydroelectric versus Indigenous Power.

In keeping with our interest in Tibetan issues on this blog, I am glad to bring you another guest post by Kristiana Henderson of Pacific Lutheran University.   Here’s some more Tsampa for thought, especially since there’s even more to this story than meets the eye.  Which story? As Xinhua put it on March 28: Tibet has released the “Opinions on Accelerating Tibet’s Water Infrastructure … Continue reading “Tibehtalaš” and Harnessing the Flood-Gates of Ethno-Nationalism: Hydroelectric versus Indigenous Power.

Adam Cathcart9 Comments
East Asian modernity, Environmental Politics in East Asia, EU-East Asia relations, German, Huanqiu Shibao, Sino-German Relations

China’s Public Square Debate over Nuclear Power: Refracting Germany

Imagine my suprise to open the webpage of the Huanqiu Shibao this morning to find the headline “German Environmental Ministry Announces that Germany Will Close All Nuclear Plants by 2022.”  The following story/poll looks like this — and please note the minumum of spin: 德国环境部门宣布将于2022年关闭所有核电站 你是否支持中国继续发展核电 支持 不支持 环球网记者谭利娅报道，据法新社5月30日报道，德国环境部门30日早间宣布，德国到2022年将关闭国内全部核电站，这将成为全球主要工业化国家中首个放弃核电的国家。 自今年3月份日本大地震引发福岛第一核电站发生核泄漏事故以来，多个国家陆续掀起一场有关核能安全性的讨论。据德国媒体报道，5月28日德国有几十万民众上街游行，反对核电站继续存在。 In other words: Do you or don’t you support China continuing to develop nuclear power … Continue reading China’s Public Square Debate over Nuclear Power: Refracting Germany

Adam Cathcart17 Comments
American Foreign Policy, Cultural Politics, Environmental Politics in East Asia, Huanqiu Shibao, Japan, North Korea, North Korea-Japan relations, North Korean border region, Sino-North Korean relations, US-North Korea relations

The News from North Korea: Relations with China, Aerial Drone Denunciations, Green Totalitarianism, and the Middle East

Since the emergence of putative successor Kim Jong Eun into the public eye, the North Korean news media — specifically the Korean Central News Agency, or KCNA — has taken pains to publish more content about two things: youth, and the international situation. What this equates to is an expanded view of what North Koreans are encouraging people to talk about, and how the state … Continue reading The News from North Korea: Relations with China, Aerial Drone Denunciations, Green Totalitarianism, and the Middle East

Adam Cathcart7 Comments
China, East Asian modernity, Environmental Politics in East Asia, EU-East Asia relations, French, Tibet, US-North Korea relations

High Altitude Social Isolation Tense Political Situation = Dream Job for Foreign Aid Worker in Tibet

In the best cases, one of the unheralded side benefits of being a professor involves the holding of office hours, the offering of an open door.  This morning, the open door resulted in two very interesting meetings. My first meeting was with a very sharp ROTC officer, and ran the gamut of globe and various points of American military intervention.  To the benefit of readers … Continue reading High Altitude Social Isolation Tense Political Situation = Dream Job for Foreign Aid Worker in Tibet

Adam Cathcart4 Comments
Cultural Politics, Environmental Politics in East Asia, Huanqiu Shibao, North Korea, North Korean border region, Sino-North Korean relations

Updates on Sino-North Korean Relations

Chinese TV reports that preparations are underway for North Korean heir apparent Kim Jong Eun to visit CCP leaders in Beijing in “late April or early May.” Accordingly, a rather critical report on the Huanqiu Shibao website asserting that North Korean nuclear facilities in Yongbyon were leaking radioactivity (why else would Kim Jong Il avoid the place so assiduously?) has been taken down in favor … Continue reading Updates on Sino-North Korean Relations

Adam Cathcart6 Comments
East Asian modernity, Environmental Politics in East Asia, Japan, Manchuria

Japanese-Inflected Utopias and the Search for a Boat: Supporting Research Threads

Pimping products isn’t the style of Sinologistical Violoncellist, or what the Brooklyn literary blog Moby Lives calls “a single scholar’s East Asia Journal,” but when a product is tied to Japan in a fashion, veers toward a utopian vision, evokes Kenzo Tange’s “Marine City (1960)” and has yet to exist, then we have a situation worthy of some consideration. The project under view is Cesar … Continue reading Japanese-Inflected Utopias and the Search for a Boat: Supporting Research Threads

Adam Cathcart3 Comments
American Foreign Policy, China, Cultural Politics, East Asian modernity, Environmental Politics in East Asia, EU-East Asia relations, French, history and memory, Manchuria

Bibliotheque Blast Out #4: United Nations Library, Geneva

With but nine minutes to go and up against a French keyboard in the UN Library and Archives in Geneva, Switzerland, a few thoughts: – Yosuke Matsuoka is a tough guy even though it took Japan (and Germany) another two years to completely withdraw from League of Nations (reams of film footage here); at the same time it’s possible that Matsuoka got schooled by his … Continue reading Bibliotheque Blast Out #4: United Nations Library, Geneva

Adam Cathcart3 Comments