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Yaxue Cao, December 7, 2023 (Open in browser for audio.) Desperate times call for desperate measures. On the heels of worrying economic numbers of the first two quarters that defied bullish expectations at the beginning of the year, in mid-July, the CCP Central Committee and the State Council issued “Opinions on Boosting the Development and Growth of the Private Sector,” known as the 31 rules. A flurry of more specific directives followed in August, September, October, and November coming from the State Taxation Administration, the State Administration for Market Regulation, the Supreme People’s Procuratorate of the People’s Republic of China, and the People’s Bank of China respectively. The total of 129 rules exhort private businesses to invest and expand, promising more market access, fair competition, favorable […]
China Change Interviews - a view from the ground in an era of change
Reports
  • Shanghai Halloween 2023

    Shanghai Halloween 2023

    November 11, 2023 This year, a phenomenal Halloween party occurred in the streets of Shanghai, of all places. It interests us because it offers a unique window to observe the young people in China. The themes are eclectic, some political and social. The fact that such a crowd was able to amass is extraordinary, given the Chinese authorities’ perennial fear …
  • What Are the ‘Crimes’ of Journalist and MeToo Activist Huang Xueqin, According to Her Indictment?

    What Are the ‘Crimes’ of Journalist and MeToo Activist Huang Xueqin, According to Her Indictment?

    China Change, September 24, 2023 It took three whole years of secret detention for journalist Huang Xueqin (黄雪琴) and labor activist Wang Jianbing (王建兵) to be tried on charges of “inciting subversion of state power,” as announced on Friday, September 22, in the southern Chinese city Guangzhou. Still, little has been made public about the trial proceedings except that the …
  • The 8th Anniversary of 709 Crackdown on Human Rights Lawyers: Ten Notable Events Over the Past Year

    The 8th Anniversary of 709 Crackdown on Human Rights Lawyers: Ten Notable Events Over the Past Year

    The 29 Principles and China Change, September 6, 2023    Preface: With the escalating crackdown on China’s human rights lawyers in recent years, the authorities have developed increasingly sophisticated means for repressing attorneys who take on politically sensitive cases. Instances of prolonged detention without trial, trial without judgment, or secret trial have become increasingly common. In cases when lawyers are allowed …
  • Human Rights Lawyers Under Renewed Crackdown and Nasty Harassment 

    Human Rights Lawyers Under Renewed Crackdown and Nasty Harassment 

    China Change, June 17, 2023 Correction: The original post misstated that lawyer Yu Wensheng and his wife were intercepted on their way to German Embassy to meet the visiting German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, whereas the couple was on their way to a meeting at the EU Delegation. On April 13, lawyer Yu Wensheng (余文生) and his wife Xu Yan …
Analysis and Opinions
  • Whither China? — Xu Zhiyong’s Letter of Appeal

    Whither China? — Xu Zhiyong’s Letter of Appeal

    November 30, 2023 In August, while waiting for appeal, Dr. Xu Zhiyong wrote the following statement (Chinese original), not so much to the court as to his compatriots. In June, he and Ding Jiaxi were sentenced to 14 years and 12 years in prison respectively on subversion charges, ostensibly for an informal two-day gathering in Xiamen in December 2019. The …
  • The Education of Li Keqiang

    The Education of Li Keqiang

    Wang Tiancheng, November 2, 2023 The following essay by Wang Tiancheng was posted on Twitter titled “A Side View of Li Keqiang” (《李克强的一个侧面》), and I take the liberty to give it the somewhat inflated title you see so as to bring the essay into focus. The 1980s was a highly interesting and exciting time in China, a time marked by …
  • Eight Years as a Mother (2)

    Eight Years as a Mother (2)

    Wang Qiaoling, October 6, 2023 (Audio on browser) In the long year of 2018, there was a bright spot – that May, we found a school for my eight-year-old daughter. As early as 2016, my daughter was admitted to a bilingual school, which was the same school her brother attended for junior high. It also offered kindergarten and elementary. When …
  • Eight Years as a Mother

    Eight Years as a Mother

    Wang Qiaoling, October 3, 2023 (Audio on browser) Since the 709 crackdown on human rights lawyers in 2015, I often introduced myself to others as Wang Qiaoling (王峭岭), wife of 709 lawyer Li Heping. Starting from today, let me introduce myself in a new way. I am Wang Qiaoling, mother of Li Zeyuan (李泽远) and Li Jiamei (李佳美). My son, …
Interviews and profiles
  • An Interview With Ai Weiwei, Part Three: China, the World, and Freedom of Expression

    An Interview With Ai Weiwei, Part Three: China, the World, and Freedom of Expression

    China Change, July 6, 2023 (Continued from Part One: The Year 2008 and Part Two: Ruins. Rebars. Water Lilies.) China, the World, and Freedom of Expression YC: Throughout your work, what really astonishes me, and what seems to me incomprehensible, is the scale: one hundred million sunflower seeds, 1001 Chinese people going to Germany, 90 tons of rebar… AWW: Nearly 200 tons, …
  • An Interview With Ai Weiwei, Part Two: Ruins. Rebars. Water Lilies.

    An Interview With Ai Weiwei, Part Two: Ruins. Rebars. Water Lilies.

    China Change, June 30, 2023 (Continued from Part One: The Year 2008) Ruins. Rebars. Water Lilies. YC: Many details have left a deep impression on me from reading your autobiography. I want to bring up two ruins in front of which you stood. One is the ruins of schools that collapsed in the Wenchuan earthquake in May 2008, where you …
  • An Interview With Ai Weiwei, Part One: The Year 2008

    An Interview With Ai Weiwei, Part One: The Year 2008

    China Change, June 29, 2023 I interviewed Chinese artist and activist Ai Weiwei in May in Portugal. It was my first meeting with him, and as many Chinese activists do, I called him by his nickname “Aunt Ai” (“艾婶儿”). Out of the hundreds of interviews with Ai Weiwei, I hope readers find this one worthwhile. The interview will be posted …
  • Taiwan Interview Series (2): Lin Ping-yu, Member of New Taipei City Council

    Taiwan Interview Series (2): Lin Ping-yu, Member of New Taipei City Council

    Lin studied Taiwan-PRC relations, focusing on the CCP's United Front Work in Taiwan. He worked as an aide to Democratic Progressive Party council members in Taipei and New Taipei City prior to running office. He served in the Special Forces of Taiwan's army before as part of the country’s compulsory active duty military service for men. We spoke about China, …
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