Weiping Kang, Visiting Scholar ‘06

On November 21, the State Environmental Protection Administration of China (SEPA) announced the latest quality of the environment. In the first three quarters of 2006, environmental quality remained unchanged or deteriorated in some areas, compared with the same period last year.

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Yoshiaki Kasuga, Visiting Scholar ‘06

In Japan, the separation of State and religion is stipulated by the Constitution, which has been the founding legal document of the country since 1947. Soon after the end of World War II, the United States occupied Japan and brought this principle to my country. Until then, the Japanese government had made Shintoism the official religion.

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Brent Huffman (’05), FRONTLINE/World

Just like my native Cleveland and Cincinnati, and countless other cities in the United States, Urumqi and Lhasa are two cities sharply divided by race. By “divided” I mean literally and completely, like a pie chart, and the divisions are marked by hatred and violence.

Each city is part of an area that used to be its own sovereign nation. During Chairman Mao Zedong’s infamous Cultural Revolution, these nations were taken over by China. Thousands of native texts, cultural artifacts and religious sites were destroyed in the belief that, if the ethnic minorities of western China lost their identities, they could be assimilated into mainstream Chinese society.

However, even though territory was taken, the hearts and minds of the people were not. Present-day Urumqi, the Islamic capital of the western province of Xinjiang, is like two cities, divided between the Islamic Uighur people and the majority Han Chinese.

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by Li Min, Visiting Scholar ‘06>

Sorry, I am not talking about how businessmen preserve their health. Sure, some famous Chinese entrepreneurs died in the prime of their lives in recent years due to hard work or an unhealthy lifestyle, a signal that it is time for them to take care of their own health. However, a more crucial phenomenon is that Chinese entrepreneurs’ business and professional lives are generally not long. (more…)

By Austin Ramzy (’03), TIME Asia
December 01, 2006

To the boom of fireworks and the blare of high-volume slogans from a pair of loudspeaker trucks, Chen Chu storms into the Chukuang Market. Her curly afro is clearly visible in front of her two dozen supporters as she plows past the rows of parked scooters, the squid cooking on outdoor grills, and the children riding in circles on a miniature electric train. Chen, 56, a veteran activist and former political prisoner, is running for mayor of Taiwan’s second-largest city, Kaohsiung — and tonight she appears intent on shaking the hand of every hotpot eater, bra seller and pachinko player in this small outdoor market.

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